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The Buffalo Bills’ stunning last-second 24-23 win over Carolina on Sunday can be summed up in one word – emotional. It was emotional for their new head coach, Doug Marrone, who had a close friend pass away prior to the game. It was emotional for rookie QB EJ Manuel, who led his first fourth quarter comeback, then presented his father with a game ball he was awarded, on his dad’s birthday, which was Sunday. It was emotional for Stevie Johnson, who, despite being a playmaker in his time with the Bills, had a gigantic monkey of numerous critical dropped passes on his resume also. He caught the winning TD pass from Manuel with 2 seconds left on the clock. It was emotional for Mario Williams, who had the game of his career with 4 1/2  sacks while also tormenting Panther QB Cam Newton most of the day. Most of all, it was emotional for Bills’ fans, who have been beaten into submission by the team with one heartbreaking loss after another over the last decade, and surely already had this one chalked up in the loss column when Manuel and the offense took the field with 80 yards to cover, a touchdown needed and no timeouts at their disposal.

However, for the first time in ages, the Bills did the unthinkable and created some magic with the startling 80 yard touchdown drive to seal the win. It was a strange game in that the Bills seemed to spend most of it shooting themselves in the foot with turnovers, mistakes and costly penalties that either killed drives for the offense or extended drives for the Panthers. Yet after the dust cleared on the final drive and the improbable win was in the books, the statistics showed that not only did Manuel lead the winning drive, but C.J. Spiller rushed for 103 yards on 16 carries, and Johnson went over 100 yards in receiving also. It had to be the quietest pair of 100 yard games by Bills’ players in team history. While Mario’s sack total stood out and was evident as a major contribution to the defensive effort, Spiller’s and Johnson’s days were workmanlike and hardly noticed until seeing the stats afterwards.

The bottom line is that the Bills earned a much-needed victory that hopefully will boost their confidence and propel them to greater heights as the season progresses. They have undoubtedly treated their fans to a pair of exciting home games to start the season.