ORCHARD PARK - It was a great weekend for Buffalo sports fans.
After dropping their first six home games of the season, the Sabres defeated the Washington Capitals, 3-2 in overtime on Saturday thanks to two highlight goals by Thomas Vanek.
While it took the Sabres more than a month to get their first home win, the Bills finally picked up their first win of the season two months into the season.
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Craig Harvey
Making the win even sweeter was the fact they did it at home in front of their home fans at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
"I want to say I am amazed but I am not," Gailey said trying to find the right words to define the raucous crowd. "That's Buffalo fans. I didn't expect any different. They are loyal. They love the Bills. They are with you. They made a difference in the game. It is a true statement they made a difference in the game."
Helping the Bills secure the win was running back Fred Jackson who finished with a season best 25 carries for 133 yards, including a rushing touchdown. He also had six receptions for 37 yards and a 16-yard shuffle pass touchdown reception.
"I think everyone in there is real excited," Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said. "We have been waiting a long time for this. Chan has done a great job all year keeping everyone positive. We are hoping that this now turns into the momentum shifter we need to get back on the right track. It was great to play in front of our home fans today. It was a big deal for us and they really helped us out in the game."
And though Sunday's win wasn't the feel-good victory where the Bills gave their fans an exciting game where all three aspects of the game were clicking, it was finally a win.
What this game did have however, was a dramatic finish as the Lions had a heart-wrenching drive in the final two minutes, converting three fourth downs, including a 20-yard touchdown strike to Calvin Johnson down the middle on 4th and 2 with 19 seconds left to make the score 14-12. Detroit's comeback bid ended as they were unable to convert the two-point conversion.
Detroit helped the Bills win the game with 11 penalties for 60 yards. Bills safety Donte Whitner noted some of those penalties were thanks to the 12th man.
"We missed our crowd," Whitner said. "You can see guys feeding off the crowd. When you're at home, you're able to feed off the energy. They were really, really loud in that end zone away from the tunnel. They caused two false starts in a row. That's what we need out of our home crowd. We were missing that last week and the past month."
Despite 56,721 fans showing up in the stadium which holds 73,079, the crowd in attendance compensated for the empty seats.
"Every time," Whitner responded when asked if the Bills faithful continue to surprise him. "There were more fans than I expected. Coming in as an 0-8 team, you don't expect the type of crowd we had which is a great testament to our fans for showing up. We are really lucky to have them."
With the Sabres winning three of the last four games, including Saturday's home win and Buffalo winning Sunday, it was a weekend the Buffalo faithful deserved and surely enjoyed.
