FOXBORO, Massachusetts (Ticker) -- The rain and wind at Foxboro Stadium were the perfect backdrop for another Doug Flutie miracle.
Steve Christie booted a game-tying 48-yard field goal with four seconds left in regulation and kicked a 32-yarder 4:32 into overtime as the Buffalo Bills kept their playoff hopes alive with a 16-13 victory over the New England Patriots.
It was Christie's 14th career winning field goal, including the seventh in overtime. But he never would have had a chance had it not been for Flutie's poise and leadership on the Bills' final possession of the fourth quarter.
Buffalo coach Wade Phillips did not know what to make of his club after it won on the road for the first time this season. Four of the Bills' five wins have come in the last minute.
"Like I've said before, I don't know if we're a real good team that's lost some close games or a real bad team that's won some in the last second," Phillips said. "But this is certainly an important win in a division game on the road."
The Bills (5-4) moved over .500 with their second straight last-second victory. They beat the New York Jets, 23-20, last week on Christie's late field goal.
"It just got sloppy out there," said Flutie, who finished 18-of-37 for 179 yards. "It was hard to grip it and rip it. I was tentative about throwing the ball today because I didn't want it to slide out."
New England (2-7) played the second half without Drew Bledsoe, who injured his right hand in the first quarter when he hit the helmet of Bills' linebacker Sam Rogers. Bledsoe left in the second quarter and did not return.
"I went back to pass and knocked my hand on the helmet," Bledsoe. "It bruised my thumb and I couldn't get a good, clean grip on the ball. It kept me from making some of the throws I wanted to make accurately."
With the little-used John Friesz at the helm, the Patriots also struggled on offense in the second half, failing on seven straight cracks from the Buffalo 1 before finally getting into the end zone.
It marked the first time that Bledsoe left a game and did not return since his rookie season in 1993. Bledsoe completed only 3-of-5 passes for 50 yards while Friesz was 11-of-21 for just 66 yards.
"The status with Drew is that he could have probably gone back into the game, but there were some throws he didn't feel he could make," New England coach Bill Bellichick said. "We wanted to go with the healthy quarterback."
After Adam Vinatieri booted a 43-yard field goal to give the Patriots a 13-10 lead, Flutie showed he hasn't lost his magic touch, engineering the kind of drive that will add to his legend.
Buffalo appeared to be going nowhere, punting on its first six possessions of the second half. Flutie was off target, completing just four of his first 12 passes afer intermission for 15 yards.
But the Natick, Massachusetts native got one more chance and made the most of it to improve to 12-1 all-time at Foxboro Stadium dating to his days at Boston College.
Flutie completed 4-of-7 for 46 yards to get Christie in position to tie it. He kept the drive alive by scrambling for 11 yards on 3rd-and-10 from the Buffalo 48, lunging for the first down.
"Flutie made the plays," Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. "He got away from me the one time. I still don't how. He had a great drive."
With no timeouts remaining and the clock running down, Flutie hit Peerless Price for a 10-yard gain and a first down at the 15. Flutie spiked the ball, leaving 13 seconds on the clock and setting the stage for a bizzare conclussion to regulation.
Christie was sent out to attempt the field goal, but Flutie returned for one more play after the Bills were called for delay of game.
He hit Price inside the 1, but the Bills' receiver was called for offensive interference, forcing Christie to kick from 10 yards further. The veteran got off a wobbly, line drive kick that barely cleared the crossbar, giving the Bills life.
"It was wet and the balls were getting heavy," Christie said. "I wanted to make sure it got there without hooking too much. If I leave it outside, I know that it's going to hook a little bit and I guess it hooked enough."
Flutie actually disagreed with his coaches on how the Bills should have handled the final sequence.
"I did not want to go for the touchdown at the end of the game," Flutie said. "Our coaches wanted to take one shot at the end zone. But I told them let's just stay in position to get the field goal. I'm glad Steve converted. He is a great money kicker."
New England couldn't move on the first possession of overtime, going three-and-out as linebacker Sam Cowart sacked Friesz on a third-down blitz.
Starting at its 35, Buffalo got a break when Patriots' cornerback Ty Law was called for interference on Eric Moulds, resulting in a 22-yard gain.
"This is just the story of our life now, it's hard," Law said.
After a six-yard pass to tight end Jay Riemersma, Shawn Bryson ripped off a 13-yard gain to the 22. Three plays later, Christie split the uprights.
Trailing 10-3, the Patriots had three separate 1st-and-goals on one series midway through the third quarter, but came away empty as linebacker John Holecek intercepted Friesz in the end zone.
"I was suprised by the play because you don't want to throw in the middle of a goal-line defense because there are so many players there," Holicek said. "If I hadn't intercepted it, Sam Cowart would have." Brown's 25-yard punt return gave New England a first down at the Bills 27 with 13:57 remaining in the fourth quarter and the Patriots finally cashed in, although it wasn't easy.
After two runs for no gain and an incomplete pass, J.R. Redmon scored around right end to tie it with 9:03 remaining.
After an exhange of punts, New England began its final possession of regulation at the Buffalo 43 with 3:53 left. Following one first down, Vinatieri gave the Patriots a 13-10 lead with his 43-yard field goal.
Buffalo had taken a 10-0 lead in the first half on Christie's 19-yard field goal and Flutie's nine-yard TD pass to tight end Riemersma. New England closed to 10-3 20 seconds before the half on Vinatieri's 48-yard field goal.
"It's tough every time we come in here," Phillips said. "I thought we had control of the game and then a guy makes a 48-yard field goal against the wind at the end the first half. I thought that really fired them up."
Buffalo posted its second straight overtime victory at New England, defeating the Patriots 13-10 here last season. New England dropped to 9-18 all-time in overtime.
