KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- Rob Johnson can win, too.
Johnson temporarily put an end to any quarterback controversy for the Buffalo Bills, passing for two touchdowns and scrambling for the winning score in a key 21-17 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
After Doug Flutie led the team to three straight wins, Johnson returned from a shoulder injury, reclaimed his starting job and kept Buffalo (7-4) in the thick of the AFC playoff race.
"Very big win here," said Johnson, who helped Buffalo snap a three-game losing streak at Arrowhead Stadium since 1986. "This helps us and hurts them."
Johnson scored the go-ahead touchdown with 2:58 to play, scrambling out of the pocket on 3rd-and-goal from the 12-yard line and diving at the left pylon.
Officials initially ruled Johnson out at the 1, but Buffalo coach Wade Phillips used a coach's challenge and video replays revealed the touchdown.
"I challenged it because (the players) said he touched the pylon," Phillips said. "They ruled it correctly and that's what instant replay is for."
"I never liked the instant replay in the first place, and I still don't like it," Chiefs coach Gunther Cunningham said.
Safety Keion Carpenter sealed the win in front of a raucous crowd of 78,457 by intercepting Elvis Grbac at the Bills 11 with two minutes left.
"It feels great," Carpenter said. "They said this is the loudest stadium. Yes, it is."
In his seventh start of the year, Johnson completed 21-of-36 passes for 196 yards and was the team's leading rusher with 41 yards on five carries. He is 3-3 in games he completes while Flutie is 4-1.
"I thought he handled being behind and coming back," Phillips said. "He's such a great athlete. The play he made for the touchdown, I'm sure they'll rerun that one many times."
"This was a big win for coach," Johnson said. "His father was here. But you don't want to go in if the coach is not behind you, and he showed his confidence in me."
Eric Moulds and tight end Jay Riemersma had TD receptions for the Bills, who entered the day two games behind first-place Miami in the AFC East but in the thick of the wild card race.
"To win four in a row, to win on the road, those are things that we had to do," Phillips said. "Being 7-4 is an important step for us. At 6-5, tied with Kansas City would have been really tough, and we have a tough game next week."
The win was even bigger for Phillips, whose father, former Houston Oilers coach Bum Phillips, was in attendance.
"All the wins are special, but having my dad and my family here made it a special win for us," Phillips said. "He doesn't come up to Buffalo very much because he thinks it's too cold up there."
Five of the Bills' last six games have been decided by four points or less. They are 4-1 in those contests.
"If we keep having games like this, I'm going to start getting gray hair," Phillips said.
The Bills visit Tampa Bay next week before playing three straight AFC East rivals.
Pro Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez had a pair of TD catches for the Chiefs (5-6), who suffered their third straight loss despite holding a 378-299 advantage in total yardage.
"We obviously didn't play well enough to win the game," Cunningham said. "We had the ball down there twice, had a field goal blocked and can't get in the end zone."
The Bills got off to a quick start, with Johnson capping a game-opening, 10-play, 71-yard drive by finding Moulds from nine yards.
Buffalo nearly added to the lead early in the second quarter, but Johnson's 38-yard TD pass to Riemersma was nullified by a holding penalty on Marcus Spriggs.
Kansas City, which punted on its first two possessions, scored the next 10 points but could have had more. It failed to get in the end zone on 1st-and-goal from the 4, settling for a 19-yard field goal from Todd Peterson for its first points.
Peterson then had a 35-yard attempt blocked by defensive tackle Pat Williams with 29 seconds left in the first half as the Bills entered the locker room with a 7-3 lead.
The Chiefs took a 10-3 lead on their second possession of the third quarter as Grbac threw a 13-yard TD pass to Gonzalez to cap a seven-play, 71-yard march.
Later, with the Chiefs driving, linebacker Sam Rogers sacked Grbac, forced a fumble and recovered it at the Buffalo 37. The Bills turned the ensuing drive into a 63-yard drive and 14-10 lead after Johnson found Riemersma from 18 yards.
On the next possession Kansas City converted a trio of third downs, including a 3rd-and-20, and took a 17-14 lead with 7:55 left on Grbac's nine-yard TD pass to Gonzalez.
Johnson immediately led the winning drive, going 4-for-6 for 40 yards. He was sacked for a five-yard loss before going around left end for the score.
"That was the same play we'd run earlier," Johnson said. "K.C. had better coverage so I just took it in. I didn't know if my foot was out, but I knew I hit the pylon with the ball."
Grbac, who completed 28-of-48 of passes for 341 yards, then led the Chiefs deep inside Bills territory before Carpenter intercepted a pass intended for Gonzalez.
"On the play they said to look for the seven cut and I just read the ball," said Carpenter, one of several Bills to miss practice during the week because of injury. "Elvis is a great quarterback and he was picking us apart."
Derrick Alexander had seven catches for 146 yards and helped the Chiefs set a franchise record. They have had a 100-yard receiver in 12 straight games.
"I'd trade all that in for a win," Alexander said. "It doesn't mean much to get those kind of numbers if you can't leave the field victorious."
Moulds finished with eight catches for 67 yards and surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for the second time in three years.
