2005: Chambers Has Record-Setting Day as Dolphins Rally to Beat Bills

The December 4, 2005 game at Dolphin Stadium between host Miami and the Buffalo Bills featured two 4-7 teams. The Dolphins, under the direction of first-year Head Coach Nick Saban, had just won for the first time in four weeks the game before. The offense was led by QB Gus Frerotte, a 34-year-old journeyman, and had been without RB Ricky Williams for the first four weeks due to a suspension for substance abuse.

The Bills were reeling under Head Coach Mike Mularkey. The club had parted company with veteran QB Drew Bledsoe in the offseason and handed the offense over to their 2004 first draft pick and quarterback-in-waiting, J.P. Losman. The inexperienced quarterback was struggling, and it was showing in the won-lost column.

The first quarter was dominated by the Bills. On the fourth play from scrimmage, Losman connected with WR Lee Evans for a 46-yard touchdown and quick 7-0 lead. On Miami’s third play, WR Chris Chambers (pictured above) caught a pass from Frerotte that gained 20 yards, but he fumbled when hit by CB Nate Clements and the Bills recovered at their own 44 yard line. Losman immediately went to Evans again, this time for a 56-yard TD.

Later in the period, following a 36-yard punt return by WR Roscoe Parrish to the Miami 26, Buffalo took six plays to score again, on a much shorter Losman-to-Evans pass that covered four yards. The score stood at 21-0 after one quarter of action.

The Dolphins snuffed out another threat in the second quarter when the Bills drove to the Miami 15 but Losman fumbled when sacked by LB Donnie Spragan and LB Channing Crowder recovered for the Dolphins. Still, Miami’s offense couldn’t move until the last drive of the half. Frerotte completed five passes as the Dolphins advanced to the Buffalo five yard line, but had to settle for a 23-yard field goal by Olindo Mare. The Bills led by 21-3 at halftime.

Buffalo added to its lead in the third quarter when Frerotte was sacked in his end zone by LB London Fletcher for a safety. Suffering a concussion on the play, the veteran quarterback did not return. Meanwhile, the Bills drove to the Dolphins’ three and faced a first-and-goal situation when Losman was intercepted by CB Sam Madison. The Dolphins weren’t able to immediately capitalize, as backup QB Sage Rosenfels, running a no-huddle offense through much of the ensuing possession, drove the team down to the Buffalo nine but turned the ball over on downs with just seconds remaining in the period.

Following a Buffalo punt, the Dolphins were more successful on their next possession as Williams capped a nine-play, 70-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown run. Still, the score was 23-10 in favor of the visitors. But the Bills had to punt again, and once more Miami, going without a huddle for much of the way, scored on 23-yard pass play from Rosenfels to RB Ronnie Brown. Buffalo’s lead was narrowed to 23-17.

It seemed as though the margin would hold up when Rosenfels was intercepted by DE Aaron Schobel near midfield on the next Miami possession. The Bills took over with 2:29 remaining to play. The Dolphins called two timeouts and took advantage of the two-minute warning to get the ball back at their 27 yard line following a punt.

Only about 25,000 of the original crowd of 72,051 were still on hand as the Dolphins drove down the field. Rosenfels hit Chambers for a 57-yard gain to the Buffalo 16. Eight plays later, on fourth-and-four and with six second left, Rosenfels lobbed a pass from four yards out that Chambers came down with for a touchdown. Mare kicked the extra point and the Dolphins came away with a 24-23 comeback win. All of their touchdowns had occurred in the final period.

The Dolphins had not overcome a margin as large as 20 points since 1974. They outgained Buffalo, 434 yards to 294, and had 26 first downs to 16 for the Bills. Miami accumulated 387 net passing yards, going to the air a team-record 65 times, with Chris Chambers setting new franchise single game records with 15 catches for 238 yards.

Sage Rosenfels (pictured below) accounted for 272 of the passing yards while completing 22 of 37 passes with two touchdowns and an interception. Before getting knocked out of the game, Gus Frerotte was successful on 12 of 28 throws for 115 yards and had no scores or interceptions. Ricky Williams was the leading rusher, gaining 46 yards on 11 carries with a TD.


J.P. Losman completed 13 of 26 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns – all in the first quarter – and had one picked off. Wasted (and overshadowed by Chambers) was a fine performance by Lee Evans with 5 pass receptions for 117 yards and all three TDs. RB Willis McGahee gained 81 yards rushing on 27 attempts. The failure to take advantage of opportunities to pad the lead ultimately proved disastrous for Buffalo.

“We really like for everyone to get their money's worth,” Nick Saban joked afterward. “You talk about playing 60 minutes, and it's a cliche, but this was an example of that today.”

“I took a quick, deep breath and said, ‘Relax,’” Rosenfels said regarding the pass to Chambers for the game-winning score. “The clock was running. We figured whatever coverage they were in, the best play was to throw it up for Chris.”

From the Buffalo perspective, a disappointed Losman said, “Nobody will know how this feels unless they've been in the locker room. I can't really describe it, because I'm no Shakespeare.”

The win proved to be a high point in a season-ending surge for Miami. The Dolphins won six straight to close out the schedule for a 9-7 tally. It was good enough for second place in the AFC East, although not a playoff spot. Buffalo kept going in the wrong direction, winning just once more and finishing at 5-11 and third in the division. Both Coach Mularkey and GM Tom Donahoe were dismissed.

In his fifth season, the huge performance against Buffalo by Chris Chambers was considered a turning point. He ended up setting career highs in receptions (82), yards (1118), matched his previous best with 11 touchdowns, and was selected to the Pro Bowl. But his performance dropped off in ’06 and during a disastrous 2007 season for the team, he was dealt away to the Chargers. As the record-setting game against Buffalo showed, Chambers had outstanding ability, but he lacked consistency and was dogged by injuries (he wasn’t helped by instability at quarterback).

In his second year, Lee Evans (pictured below) caught 48 passes for 743 yards (15.5 avg.) and seven touchdowns; his best seasons were yet to come. J.P. Losman passed for 1340 yards with eight touchdowns and as many interceptions – more critically, the team’s won-lost record with him as the starting quarterback was a woeful 1-7 and, between ineffectiveness and injury, twice lost the job to Kelly Holcomb. While 2006 proved to be a better year for him, ultimately his tenure in Buffalo was a disappointment.

2007: Rob Bironas Kicks 8 FGs as Titans Nip Texans

In his first two seasons with the Tennessee Titans, placekicker Rob Bironas had demonstrated that he had a strong leg and the ability to make kicks in the clutch. While there had been occasional accuracy issues, his 78.9 % success rate on field goals was solid. In his third year, 2007, his memorable performance on October 21 served notice that he had reached the level of the league’s premier kickers.

The Titans were 3-2 as they traveled to Houston to take on the Texans at Reliant Stadium. Tennessee, under 14th-year Head Coach Jeff Fisher, was coming off of an 8-8 season and seeking improvement under second-year QB Vince Young. However, Young had suffered a quadriceps injury the week before in a loss to Tampa Bay and 34-year-old veteran Kerry Collins was starting in his place. Houston was under second-year Head Coach Gary Kubiak and had a new quarterback in Matt Schaub, obtained from Atlanta during the offseason.

The Titans started off the scoring on their first possession as Bironas boomed a 52-yard field goal. The clubs traded fumbles and then Houston went three-and-out and punted. But on Tennessee’s first play, Collins fumbled when sacked by LB DeMeco Ryans, who picked up the loose ball and ran 26 yards for a touchdown that gave the Texans a 7-3 lead.

On Houston’s next possession, Schaub suffered an ankle injury and left the game. His replacement, Sage Rosenfels, threw an interception on his first play to give the Titans good field position at the Texans’ 38 yard line. The resulting drive stalled at the seven and Bironas kicked his second field goal, of 25 yards, to narrow Houston’s lead to 7-6, which was the score at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter was all Tennessee as Bironas kicked field goals of 21, 30, and 28 yards and RB LenDale White scored on a one-yard touchdown run. Meanwhile, Schaub had returned to the lineup, but the Texans were forced to punt three times and lost a fumble. A hip injury near the end of the quarter knocked Schaub out of the game for good, and Bironas’ fifth field goal as time expired staked the Titans to a 22-7 lead at the half.

Rosenfels started the third quarter by throwing an interception, and that set up a sixth Bironas field goal of 43 yards seven plays later. After another three-and-out possession by Houston, Tennessee’s offense again marched downfield on a 12-play, 73-yard drive that ended with RB Chris Henry scoring on a four-yard run. With the score at 32-7, and the Texans’ offense having accumulated only 34 total yards, the game appeared to be a rout.

But as the third quarter wound down, Rosenfels began completing passes and early in the fourth period he completed a seven-yard touchdown throw to WR David Anderson. With a successful two-point conversion on a Rosenfels pass to WR Andre’ Davis, the Tennessee margin was narrowed, if ever so slightly, to 32-15.

Now it was the turn of the Titans to not move the ball. After a 28-yard run by White to start the next possession, Tennessee could go no further and punted. However, Craig Hentrich’s kick pinned the Texans down at their two yard line.

A 53-yard pass completion to Davis was nullified by a penalty, but completions by Rosenfels of 40, 23, and 8 yards to WR Kevin Walter, plus a 15-yard toss to RB Ahman Green, got the ball down the field and set up a six-yard Rosenfels-to-Walter touchdown pass. With the successful PAT, Houston was now only ten points behind at 32-22.

Tennessee went three-and-out on its next possession, but the Titans got a break when Anderson muffed Hentrich’s punt and it was recovered by Tennessee CB Reynaldo Hill at the Houston 33. Five plays later, the Titans were forced to punt again and the Texans took over at their 12 yard line.

With 4:30 left on the clock, Rosenfels immediately went to the air and was intercepted by LB Keith Bulluck. Four plays later, Bironas kicked his record-tying seventh field goal from 29 yards out.

The score was now 35-22 with under four minutes remaining. The Texans advanced from their 25 to the Tennessee 43, converting two third downs along the way, but at the two minute warning faced a fourth-and-five situation. Rosenfels completed a 12-yard pass to TE Owen Daniels to keep the drive alive and then followed up with a 24-yard completion to David Anderson down to the Tennessee seven. On the next play, Rosenfels connected with TE Jeb Putzier for the seven-yard touchdown, and with the extra point the score was 35-29.

Houston successfully executed an onside kick, recovered by LB Zac Diles at his own 34 yard line. Four plays later, Rosenfels completed a 53-yard pass play to Davis for a touchdown, and with Kris Brown’s successful point after, the Texans were ahead, 36-35, capping an amazing comeback.

There were still 56 seconds remaining, however, as the Tennessee offense returned to the field. Collins completed passes of 17 and 46 yards to WR Roydell Williams, and LenDale White’s six-yard run to the Houston 11 set up a last-play 29-yard field goal attempt for Bironas. The kick was successful, the Titans pulled out the 38-36 win, and Rob Bironas set a new single-game record with eight field goals in as many attempts.

Tennessee had 23 first downs to 18 for the Texans and also gained the most total yards with 422 to Houston’s 333. The chief disparity came in rushing yards, as the Titans piled up 155 on 39 carries to the Texans’ 39 on 12 attempts, but that reflected the need for Houston to resort heavily on the passing game in catching up in the second half.

Kerry Collins completed 25 of 42 passes for 280 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions - while he performed capably, the failure to reach the end zone after getting in scoring position set the stage for Bironas to set the field goal mark. LenDale White ran for 104 yards on 27 carries with a TD, while Chris Henry added 57 yards on 11 attempts and a touchdown as well. Roydell Williams gained 124 yards on 5 pass receptions and TE Bo Scaife caught 6 passes for 49 yards. CB Nick Harper intercepted two passes as part of an outstanding day on defense.


In relief of Matt Schaub, Sage Rosenfels (pictured above) went to the air 35 times and completed 22 of those passes for 290 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions (all four TD passes came in the fourth quarter, which tied an NFL record). Kevin Walter caught 6 passes for 97 yards and a TD to lead the club while Andre’ Davis added four receptions for 88 yards and a score. Ahman Green gained all 39 of Houston’s rushing yards on 11 carries and contributed 5 pass receptions for 32 more.

Tennessee went on to finish the regular season with a 10-6 record to place third in the highly-competitive AFC South and claim the second wild card spot. They lost in the first round of the playoffs to San Diego. Houston was in fourth with an 8-8 tally – it was the franchise’s first non-losing year.

In kicking eight field goals, Rob Bironas doubled his field goal total for the season to date. He also set a record for points scored by kicking only, with 26. The previous record of seven field goals in a game had first been set by Jim Bakken of the Cardinals in 1967 and was tied by Minnesota’s Rich Karlis in 1989, Chris Boniol of the Cowboys in 1996, and Billy Cundiff, also of Dallas, in 2003. Cincinnati’s Shayne Graham kicked seven in a game a few weeks after Boniol set the new mark.

Bironas ended up kicking a league-leading 35 field goals in 39 attempts for an 89.7 % success rate (fifth in the NFL). His 133 points ranked fourth. He was a consensus first-team All-Pro selection and was chosen for the Pro Bowl.