ORCHARD PARK – Quarterback Kyle Orton drove the Buffalo Bills 80 yards to a touchdown in the final minutes, tossing a 2-yard pass to rookie Sammy Watkins with one second to play, giving Buffalo a 17-16 victory over the Minnesota Vikings Sunday at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
Dan Carpenter kicked the extra point for the margin of victory, and the Bills (4-3) escaped an upset loss to the underdog Vikings (2-5) heading to next Sunday's game at the New York Jets (1-6).
A 33-yard field goal by Blair Walsh early in the fourth quarter put the Vikings ahead 16-10.
On the day, Buffalo's offense under quarterback Kyle Orton struggled mightily with four turnovers, two by Orton on a fumble and interception.
But Orton was money on the final drive.
On third and 12, he connected with Watkins over the middle. On first and 10 at the Minnesota 20, Orton was flagged for intentional grounding. That resulted in a 10-second runoff and loss of down, leaving Buffalo with a second and 20 at the Vikings' 30-yard line with 27 seconds left.Starting at his own 20, Orton was sacked near midfield and facing a fourth-and-20 play, but he managed to connect with Scott Chandler for 24 yards, moving the ball to the Vikings' 36-yard line with 1:18 left.
Orton then launched a ball to Chris Hogan between two defenders at the left goal line marker good for 28 yards. Orton spiked the ball to stop the clock with five second to play.
On second and goal from the 1-yard line, Orton found Watkins crossing right to left in the end zone against Xavier Rhodes for the tying touchdown.
Coming off a home defeat against rival New England, a loss to the underdog Vikings would've been hard for the Bills to overcome. The Vikings, who were underdogs by 5 ½ points, were playing without suspended star running back Adrian Peterson, and starting a rookie quarterback in Terry Bridgewater.
The victory came with a price, however, as Buffalo lost its two top running backs in to injuries, Fred Jackson (groin) and C.J. Spiller (shoulder). Both players are expected to miss significant time. The Vikings improved to 3-4.
A mistake-filled first half ended with the Vikings leading 13-10, thanks to a 55-yard field goal by Walsh. That followed an Orton interception, Buffalo's third turnover of the half, following fumbles by receivers Hogan and Robert Woods. Woods' gaffed also led to a Minnesota field goal and an early 3-0 lead.
In between, Orton found Watkins open on a deep sideline route for a 26-yard touchdown. That followed the second of two interceptions by the Bills' defense of Bridgewater.
Bridgewater responded with a 4-yard scoring toss to Cordarrelle Patterson following two long hookups with veteran Greg Jennings. The Bills tied the score 10-10 on a Carpenter field goal, set up by a 53-yard Spiller run that he was injured on.
Jackson was injured on a third-and-one run in which he was stopped for no gain with 21 seconds left in the first quarter.
