John Nestor

The Buffalo Bills hadn't beaten the New England Patriots since Sept. 7, 2003. Opportunistic play and a 28-yard, game-winning field goal by Rian Lindell cleaned the slate Sunday.

The landscape has certainly changed over the years. Drew Bledsoe, who quarterbacked the Bills' previous win over the Patriots, was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame last week. In fact, only four players on the Bills' roster have experienced the entire 15-game, eight-year skid: Terrance McGee, Chris Kelsay, Brian Moorman and Lindell.

"A lot of us have been here for a while playing these guys," Kelsay said. "The trainers, equipment managers, security guards outside. It was awesome to run up the tunnel, looking up at the fans and all those guys.

"Ruben Brown was in the tunnel. I played with Ruben the first time that we beat them my rookie year and the last time we beat them until today."

The Bills, now 3-0 and the talk of the NFL, have not made the postseason since 1999. Knocking off the Patriots - who have won three Super Bowls in that span - is a career best for many, including Kelsay.

"It's the best one of my career," Kelsay said. "Regardless of if it's Week 3 or the last game of the season. I've never been to the postseason. I've played on Monday night, we played a close on against Dallas, but we came up short. We played these guys 17 times and only won one until today."

Even Nick Barnett, who joined the team prior to the season, took it to heart.

"I know how emotional it is for our fans, for our players, our coaches and all the organization that's been here," Barnett said. "I felt like I had been here for 12 years or 15 years."

The beefed up security staff at Ralph Wilson Stadium prepared for the worst, lowering the goal posts at game's end to avoid fans rushing the field to tear them down in celebration.

Former Bills quarterback and Hall of Famer Jim Kelly was all smiles outside of the Bills' locker room. "Where would you rather be than right here, right now?" he asked with a laugh, quoting former Bills head coach Marv Levy.

"I think in terms of what this means for the city of Buffalo, it's the biggest win since I've been here for sure," said Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Drayton Florence, who gave the Bills their first lead with his interception return for a touchdown late in the contest, summed it up best.

"It's time for those past Buffalo Bill memories to fade away," he said. "This is a new era, a new day. We're just out here playing good football and fundamental football."

 

NFL 2011 - Bills' Nightmare Ends: Win Over Patriots Special for Buffalo