Stunned Bills credit Bucs, own mistakes for their defeat Eric Pate, The St.Petersburg Times, published 1988 A funny thing happened to the Buffalo Bills on the way to the playoffs. They were upset Sunday by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Following the stunning defeat, Bills players chose not to blame the 60-degree weather - somewhat balmy for the northern visitors - or a home-field disadvantage. Rather, the team blamed itself and the young, hungry Buccaneers for its poor performance. “We didn't play well at all and the turnovers hurt us,” said Buffalo quarterback Jim Kelly, who threw two interceptions. “We have a team meeting (Sunday night) to discuss some of the turnovers and mistakes.” With 51 seconds left, Tampa Bay strong safety Mark Robinson completed the upset with an interception of a Kelly pass at the Bucs 14. Kelly, a former University of Miami star, completed 23 of 40 passes for 249 yards, but didn't throw for a touchdown. Among other things, the Bills were kicking themselves for not converting a fourth-and-goal from the 1. With 6 minutes 29 seconds left in the third quarter, Buffalo running back Robb Riddick was stopped by Bucs linebacker Ervin Randle at the Tampa Bay 1. “We were down 10-0 and we knew we needed a touchdown and a field goal to win it,” said Bills coach Marv Levy. “We were 2 feet away from it (goal line) and they stopped us.” They were also frustrated over an inability to capitalize after blocking two field goals, which kept the Bucs from taking a commanding 13-5 lead in the fourth quarter. First, Bills defensive end Bruce Smith nicked Bucs placekicker John Carney's 35-yard attempt, only to have the effort nullified by an offside penalty. After the penalty moved the ball to the Buffalo 13, the Bills defense held and blocked Carney's 24-yard field goal try. Following a second consecutive loss, Levy said his team may have been a bit overconfident. “Tampa Bay has turned the ball over at a tremendous rate, and today they didn't turn it over “ he said. “But when you have people telling you how great you are, it can hurt you. The celebration we had up there when we clinched will be okay only on V-E day, but all we did was clinch a playoff berth.” On Nov. 20, Buffalo defeated the New York Jets 9-6 at Rich Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y. After the game, fans tore down both goalposts in the end zones. “I can't speak for the rest of the guys, but I didn't take them lightly,” said Buffalo linebacker Cornelius Bennett, who played under Bucs coach Ray Perkins at Alabama. “We missed a lot of tackles. If we keep looking to the future we'll get our butts kicked again.” Despite the embarrassment of losing to the 4-10 Bucs, the Bills were complimentary of their conquerors. “Lots of people say they're a pretty bad football team, but I guess that's a matter of opinion,” said Buffalo defensive end Art Still. “I've seen them on film and they've had some close games. They've got a bunch of young guys and they had something to prove.” Said Buffalo nose tackle Fred Smerlas, “With a few breaks, Tampa Bay could easily be nine-and-whatever. They could've beaten a lot of teams (this season), including Minnesota and Chicago.” Bills strong safety Leonard Smith played for Phoenix when the Cardinals topped Tampa Bay 30-24 in Week 3. He was later traded to Buffalo. “It's frustrating and very embarrassing to lose to them, but it was a tight game when I played them with Phoenix,” Smith said. “They've been going through lots of personnel changes. This is a team in transition. Lots of those guys are playing hard to finish out the year, going all-out to show the coach something. This was their good week and we're having a good year,” he said. “This was their Super Bowl. It's a building stone for them.”