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Rewind Buffalo Bills broadcast by Alan Parchment


Rewind Buffalo Bills broadcast by Alan Parchment

Early in the Buffalo Bills' 30-27 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday afternoon, CBS sideline reporter Melanie Collins recounted a conversation with Bills safety Damar Hamlin about communication difficulties due to crowd noise at Highmark Stadium.

Hamlin explained that you have to speak loudly to be heard.

“You wake up the next morning with a sore throat,” Hamlin told Collins. “If you don’t do it, you’re not doing it right.”

After three ties and four lead changes in the exciting game, many Bills fans may have gone home with a sore throat.







Ray Davis's 12th Man Celebration

Buffalo Bills running back Ray Davis (22) jumps into the stands to celebrate his touchdown run in the third quarter at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park on Sunday, November 3, 2024.


Derek Gee/Buffalo News


CBS play-by-play announcer Kevin Harlan's golden throat found just the right words after Tyler Bass' record-setting 61-yard field goal with five seconds left in the game gave the Bills victory. Harlan's enthusiasm for important plays is matched by few play-by-play announcers.

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“He’s got it! He's got it! He’s got it,” an excited Harlan said, raising his voice above a crowd used to seeing such kicks against the Bills.

CBS' cameras quickly panned to Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who appeared stunned on the sideline. Then he seemed to channel the memory of 13 seconds. He tried to calm his teammates, making them aware that they still had to prevent a Miami Miracle to combat Bass' Miracle.

Harlan followed the booming kick with some details that Bills fans noticed

Harlan noted what was also told viewers in a CBS graphic – that Bass had the longest active streak of tying the game or taking the lead in a game in the fourth quarter, with 15 consecutive made field goals. Who knew?

“He brought money,” Harlan said.

Now I love Harlan, especially his enthusiasm. But this statement was one of the few moments where I noticed an error or omission during a somewhat sloppy performance.

Bass was no money this season. He was actually about to lose his job and some money.


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And Harlan missed a crucial bass error. Some Bills fans haven't forgiven Bass for missing a potentially game-winning 44-yard field goal in last year's 27-24 playoff loss to Kansas City. A field goal was also blocked and a 27-yarder missed in a playoff win against Pittsburgh.

Harlan also found an odd way to corral Allen's first-quarter pass intended for Keon Coleman, which was intercepted on a deflection by Miami's Jalen Ramsey.

“Even though it was a deflected ball, they ruled it an interception,” Harlan said.

Say something? They “reigned” it as an interception? It was an interception.

Harlan also strangely engineered Miami's 97-yard touchdown drive after the interception that gave them a 7-3 lead.

“They benefit from Buffalo quarterback Allen’s interception,” Harlan said.

Allen's pass was intercepted at the Miami 3-yard line, and it was Coleman's fault, not the quarterback's fault.

Harlan was technically correct when he said Coleman's 21-yard reception was his first catch later in the game. However, the receiver had already noticed Allen's two-point conversion, which strangely was not included in the game statistics.

Harlan said the Bills faced 9 mph winds in the direction of Bass' kick. After the game, Bills forward Reid Ferguson said it was the rare game at Highmark where the wind favored bass at that end of the field. If the wind had been against Bass, Bills coach Sean McDermott probably would have opted for a punt.

Harlan's partner, analyst Trent Green, was “money” for most of the game.

Green noted that both Allen and Miami quarterback Tua Taglovailoa made safe throws because the defense was taking away big plays.

He played referee and questioned two phantom holding calls against the Bills' linemen on a late drive before halftime. A call nullified a highlight-reel touchdown run by Allen before the Bills settled for a field goal to cut the lead to 10-6.

When he watched the replays, Green said that Dion Dawkins used “good technique” when called for the stoppage and that the call against O'Cyrus Torrence was a “difficult affair.” “It must have been something they saw inside,” Green speculated.

Green was also vocal about the crucial unnecessary roughness penalty on Miami safety Jordan Poyer, the former Bill, who said in his postgame interview that he thought the hit on Coleman was a clean play. Green said it was a helmet-to-helmet hit, which is a penalty.







Dirty game

Miami Dolphins safety Jordan Poyer (21) hits Buffalo Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman (0) in the helmet to break up a pass in the fourth quarter at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. Poyer was penalized for playing.


Derek Gee/Buffalo News



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He said an earlier helmet-to-helmet penalty against the Bills' Taylor Rapp was actually caused by Miami running back Raheem Mostert.

The analyst was five seconds away from being right when he predicted that the last team to get the ball would win the game because neither offense could be stopped. Miami got the ball with five seconds left, which was too late for the Dolphins to do anything.

Before Bass' kick, Green said he was “a little surprised” the Bills didn't try a Hail Mary in place of the kick.

In some ways, Bass' kick was a Hail Mary given how his season has gone.

The CBS postgame show captured the poignant moment in the locker room as an emotional McDermott handed the game ball to Bass, whose voice broke as he spoke.

“It's moments like this that I miss,” said CBS studio analyst Matt Ryan, the former Atlanta and Indianapolis quarterback.

It wouldn't be surprising if many Bills fans also got a lump in their throats while watching.

Now for more ups and downs of the show.

Miller's bad timing: As Miami kicker Jason Sanders lined up for a 23-yard field goal, Harlan noted the magnitude of the offside penalty from Bills pass rusher Von Miller, which extended the drive. Green incorrectly said that the shot would have been from 50 yards if there had not been that penalty. The third down occurred at the Bills' 48-yard line, so the Dolphins actually would have had the choice of attempting a 65-yard field goal or punt had Miller not been offside.

Graphical errors: A CBS graphic briefly noted that Miami defensive end Javon Holland received an offensive pass interference call. CBS also claimed that the Bills only had one timeout left in the second half before correcting that to two timeouts.

Star talk: Green called Bills tackle Ed Oliver “a star in the making” and said Khalil Shakir “has to be one of the best slot receivers in the NFL.”


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The cranes! The cranes!: As CBS' cameras focused on the cranes used in the construction of the new stadium, Harlan predicted it will be “absolutely amazing.”

Not so great: Harlan said Mostert “had a great day.” The Miami back ran for 56 yards on ten carries and caught two passes for 32 yards. But Green saved his partner by quickly intervening. Mostert was frustrated by his fumble in the third quarter that changed the momentum of the game.

Good call: Green agreed with Miami coach Mike McDaniel's decision to go for it on fourth-and-3 yards before the start of the fourth quarter when the Dolphins were down a touchdown. “You don’t know how many times you’re going to get the ball back,” Green said, noting the Dolphins didn’t stop the Bills’ offense in the second half. Miami made the first down and then tied the score.

Giving McDermott credit: Given the kind of season Bass was having, many Bills fans may have been shaking their heads at the coach's decision to attempt the 61-yard field goal, especially since Miami might have had time to make its own long field goal. Goal if Bass had missed it. Green praised McDermott for making the difficult decision to go for it after Bass missed an extra point and “popped” another off the goal post before getting through.

Soon: Old friend Andrew Catalon, the Bills' preseason announcer, will be back with teammates Tiki Barber and Jason McCourty for the Bills' game in Indianapolis on Sunday at 1 p.m. CBS' No. 1 team of Jim Nantz and Tony Romo will undoubtedly be here for the Bills-Kansas City game with Allen and Patrick Mahomes on November 17 at 4:25 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on WIVB-TV, the local CBS affiliate.

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