HOUSTON (Nov. 19, 2006) -- Lee Evans set the team record, then Peerless Price won the game.
J.P. Losman hit a diving Price in the back of the end zone for the 15-yard touchdown with 13 seconds left, giving Buffalo a 24-21 win over the Houston Texans.
The play was reviewed, but upheld by officials as Price dragged both feet inbounds.
Price, an eight-year NFL veteran, doesn't mind that Evans is the go-to receiver. He just wants to help out.
"I feel like I can make plays to help us win ballgames," he said. "But when Lee was having the type of day he was having, keep feeding him. I'm all for it ... but when your number's called, you've got to be able to make a play and I was able to do that." Evans had 11 receptions for 265 yards to break the franchise single-game receiving mark of 255 yards held by Jerry Butler since 1979.
"It's truly special," Evans said of the record. "It's good to celebrate it with a win."
David Carr tied the NFL record for consecutive completions with 22 in the loss.
Losman was unstoppable in the first quarter, throwing for 209 yards, but managed just 76 yards after that until the winning drive. On that march, he completed six passes for 55 yards.
"As a kid that's your dream," Losman said of throwing the winner. "The game is on the line and you practice as if it's your last play -- that no matter what happens we have to get this ball."
The game marked the first time the Bills' offense scored three touchdowns since Dec. 4, 2005.
The catch by Price was just his second of the game and he finished with 21 yards receiving.
"It was a great catch," Bills coach Dick Jauron said. "He's a professional, he works at it and he doesn't complain. I like to have him around."
Dunta Robinson gave the Texans (3-7) the lead on a 9-yard interception return midway through the third quarter. Losman was throwing out of the end zone when Robinson intercepted the pass intended for Evans to score his first career touchdown and the Texans' first defensive touchdown since 2004.
Robinson was a bit shocked at the way Losman directed his team on the last drive.
"If that had been Peyton Manning, you'd expect it," he said disgusted. "But it was J.P. Losman. That's embarrassing. I hope he doesn't feel too good, because we just shot ourselves in the foot."
The touchdown gave Buffalo (4-6) its first points of the second half.
Evans and Losman were splendid in the first quarter, connecting for 205 yards and two 83-yard touchdowns. Evans' first-quarter performance was a Buffalo record for a period and just shy of the NFL record for yards receiving in a quarter of 210 by Baltimore's Qadry Ismail in 1999.
The first touchdown came after Nate Clements ' interception on the third play of the game. Both were after Evans got in front of Texans cornerback Demarcus Faggins for the easy score.
"We knew coming into the game they wanted to put pressure on us," Evans said. "We knew that they took chances. It was imperative for us as receivers to beat the man coverage and make big plays down the field."
The 83-yard TDs were career highs for both Losman and Evans and marked the first time in franchise history the Bills have had two 80-yard passes in a single game.
Losman was 26 of 38 for a career-high 340 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. It was a great outing for a passing game that was averaging just 139 yards an outing before Week 11.
Carr opened 1 for 3 with an interception on his first pass before completing his next 22 throws. Carr finished 25 of 30 for 223 yards and no touchdowns.
Carr tied the record held by Mark Brunell, who had 22 consecutive completions in Washington's 31-15 win over the Texans at Reliant Stadium on Sept. 24. He tied Brunell's record on a short pass to Wali Lundy for no gain with 6:19 left. The streak was broken when his pass to Andre Johnson with 5:44 remaining fell short.
He said he didn't even realize he was close.
"I was kind of shocked when I saw it," he said. "At the time we were winning, so it was kind of exciting. You've just to find a way to pick up more. That's what I told somebody on the sideline: 24 would have been nice, and it probably would have helped us win."
Lundy cut the lead to 14-7 with a 17-yard run in the first quarter. That score was set up by a 17-yard reception by Eric Moulds on third-and-8.
Samkon Gado made it 17-7 on a 1-yard run in the second quarter. Moulds also had a key third-down reception on that drive.
"It was a football game that we should have won," said Texans coach Gary Kubiak. "We didn't make plays in the second half to put the ballgame away and they made us pay for it there at the end of the game."
Buffalo's Rian Lindell had a 40-yard field goal early in the second quarter.
Notes: Evans has 55 receptions this season, a career high. He had 48 in both of his first two seasons. ... Moulds, who spent 10 years with Buffalo before being traded to the Texans, had five catches for 68 yards.
