In the early stages of the first quarter of the Bills-Chargers game, the clock showed 11:49, then the clock stopped showing 11:49 -- or anything else, for that matter. In fact, everything came to an abrupt halt at Ralph Wilson Stadium -- the scoreboard, the game clock, the CBS broadcast, and of course, the game itself. A power outage caused a delay of nearly 15 minutes during the first half.
This energy crisis was reportedly caused by balloons that somehow got entangled in the main power line outside the stadium. But whatever the reason, here was a game that cried out for the participation of Jeremy Shockey, Matt Light and especially Amp Lee, a diminutive running back of the 1990s. The Bills' offensive line of the 1970s, a unit known as "The Electric Company," would have fit in perfectly.
It's a good thing that stadium officials didn't require the services of Joe the Plumber, because he's been kind of preoccupied lately. But where the heck was Joe the Electrician? True, those weekend rates are killer, but we're talking about the NFL here.
The show must go on, as the saying goes, and once this show went on, it continued with officials keeping time manually on the field. Thus, it wasn't a complete shock that both teams were flagged for delay-of-game penalties. The show also went on with the Bills' radio announcers using their cell phones to broadcast the proceedings, giving an old-timey, voice-in-a-paper-cup feel to the play-by-play. If you closed your eyes, you were transported back to the days of Harry Wismer and Chris Schenkel.
Fortunately for the Bills, the show went on with Trent Edwards at quarterback. He had suffered a concussion in Buffalo's loss to Arizona, but a bye week enabled him to regroup, and he looked sharp against the Chargers. He completed 14 of his first 15 throws and was 19 of 21 during the first half. In the second quarter, Edwards and Lee Evans teamed up for perhaps the prettiest 1-yard touchdown pass ever, as the Buffalo receiver snared Edwards' deftly thrown lob with one hand, then secured the catch by hugging the ball to his helmet, David Tyree-style. The Bills held a 13-7 lead at halftime.
Power was completely restored in the second half -- stadium maintenance personnel could justifiably proclaim that "the surge is working." It also appeared that the Chargers were going to restore the power they had demonstrated in a convincing win over New England. Behind Philip Rivers, the Chargers assumed a 14-13 lead with 6:28 remaining in the third quarter. But Buffalo responded on the ensuing drive, as Edwards methodically marched his team 78 yards downfield. After a touchdown run by Marshawn Lynch, the Bills reclaimed the lead for keeps. A Rian Lindell field goal and Kawika Mitchell's clutch interception in the end zone were the fourth-quarter highlights of a 23-14 victory that gave the Bills a 5-1 record and their best start since 1995.
Sure, the power outage was annoying. But it could have been worse. I mean, just be grateful that this wasn't a Sunday night game.
