The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 35

mm 1 I section Monday, December 26, 1981 Steve Cauthen, whose status as a jockey continues on an upward trend in his adopted England, drops in at Latonia Race Track for a brief visit. Page D-2. THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER ZJ Pendulum Swings To Buffalo's Side As Jets Fall Short 3 m-m Jji (tu ale play ol BY MIKE DODD Sports Reporter NEW YORK Football Is a game of dramatic swings, as no one knows better today than Buffalo free safety Bill Simpson. A year ago, Simpson was a goat in the Bills' playoff loss to San Diego when he was beaten on a 50-yard touchdown pass with two minutes remaining in the game. Sunday, his interception with 10 seconds left preserved the Bills' 31-27 AFC wild-card playoff victory over the New York Jets before 57,050 fans in Shea Stadium.

The victory, in one of the wildest playoff games in years, moved the Bills Into the AFC semifinals against the Bengals In Riverfront Stadium next Sunday. THE JETS came within 11 yards of pulling off the greatest comeback in NFL playoff history. They trailed, 24-0, in the second quarter and were down, 31-13, with a little over 10 minutes remaining. No team has ever come from more than 20 points back in a playoff game. "The only time I felt secure was when the gun sounded and I had the ball in my hands," said Simpson.

"It was a sandlot football game," Buffalo cornerback Charles Romes said. "I don't think I've ever been In a game that was this much of a rollercoaster," added teammate Mario Clark. Each quarterback, Buffalo's Joe Ferguson and New York's Richard Todd, threw four interceptions, and it was Todd's last one that finally settled the issue. On a second-and-10 play from the New York 11, Todd threw the ball over the middle Into the waiting arms of Simpson at the one, end- ing the Jets' cometack and season. "I had coverage on the back, (Scott) Dierking," said Simpson.

"I dropped coverage of Dierking and Just went over to (Derrick) Gaffney. I was reading Todd. Once I read it and saw him pull up short, I knew he was coming back to the wide receiver. That was my thinking and on thr.t, my thinking had better be rig-tt." "That was just a bad read by me. I should have thrown the ball out of bounds," Todd said.

A YEAR ago, Simpson sat patiently in another locker room, taking the blame for Ron Smith's winning touchdown in the playoff loss at San Diego. Sunday, he intercepted two passes but wasn't interested In the irony of the turnaround. "I think people made more of that play than I ever did," he said. "I don't look at specific plajs, I look at the whole thing. I made some mistakes tut I camo up with the big play and that's wiiat people will remember just like they remembered tiat big play last year." What the Bills will remember just a clearly is the officiating crew of Bob McElwee.

Buffalo had three interceptions called back on defensive penalties. Coach Chuck Knox wasn't exactly subtle in his comments. "I thought for while they were really going to see to it tiiere were two New York Uams in there (the playoffs). The forgot Bu'fa-i lo is in New York iv ate," he Laid.1 (See AFC AME, Page D-3) ftf "forty Jn 1 pry I AP Laserphoto BUFFALO BILLS receiver Frank Lewis heads for the end zone after catching a first-quarter pass in Sunday's AFC wild card playoff game at Shea Stadium. In pursuit are New York Jets Jerry Holmes, Ken Schroy (No.

48) and Donald Dykes (No. 26). Buffalo quarterback Joe Ferguson connected with Lewis on another touchdown pass in the second quarter as the Bills built up a 24-0 lead. Bengals Had Look At Bills Sunday, Work Begins Today mm Mill V'N on the third day of the new year. The variable is what the teams can, and will, do now.

What Buffalo did mostly Sunday was pass, and intercept passes. The interceptions are not a great matter of concern, because Anderson does not frequently throw them although, neither did Richard Todd until Sunday. If anything, Infante and the Bengals' offensive people may have learned something about how to th row into Buffalo's unique seven-back defense. New York threw against it for most of the day, making up many points. "You like to see a more balanced offense, so you get a look at how they play the run and the pass," said Infante.

"But at least we can look at what Buffalo does in those situations." The prevailing situation was that Buffalo was ahead, 24-0, and the Jets had to pass. It portended a large Buffalo victory or a high-scoring game. "I fully expect," said Bengals defensive co-ordlnator Hank Bullough when the score was 24-0, "that this game will end something like 30-29." He was kidding, -kind of. The final score was 31-27. When that was in, the Cincinnati coaches had learned what team they will play Sunday but little else from the television.

The medium is not one that absorbs them. "I don't even know who's announcing the game," said Bullough near the end. catcher. Our Job (the linebackers') is to stop Cribbs." More nettlesome to the Cincinnati secondary will be Lewis, whose best season has been this, his 11th, and who has the benefit of another blessed receiver, Jerry Butler, on the other side of the field. The Jets are a team known for their speed among the pass-catchers, but with Lam Jones injured, the stopwatch pointed to Buffalo.

Where the Jets exceed the team that won is on the defensive line, in the persons of Joe Klecko and Mark Gastineau. "I felt Klecko was the best defensive end I've faced all year," said Munoz, who was not frequently bested this season. "Talking to the other offensive tackle) Moonpie Wilson, from what he said, Gastineau has to be one of the best, also. "But Blair Bush, on the other hand, wanted the Jets to win, because with their four-man line there is nobody over the center." Buffalo's three-man front will have Fred Smerlas over Bush. Munoz's vls-a-vls adversary will be a former top draft choice of the Bengals, Sherman White.

THE PERSONAL match-ups next Sunday, however, will not Introduce any questions of who can beat whom. The teams have been through it, remember, the Bengals defeating the Bills, 27-24, in overtime, on the field they will return to Officially, it was a half -day off for the Bengals' coaches, Increasing to one-and-a-half the days they have had off in the last six months. There were turkey sandwiches at the Infante house, and the couch was Llndy's. The Bills and Jets kicked off at noon, which was 16 seconds before Buffalo led. Buff alo would lead all the playing afternoon, and will be In Cincinnati Sunday instead of the Jets, who would have been here if the Sack Pack had not played most of the first half as if staring at the insides of grocery bags.

The game being a preliminary to the one upcoming at Riverfront, the Bengals should have a slight Intelligence advantage for the first playoff game ever here. To capitalize on this count, which was earned by having the best record In the American Football Conference, the Bengals had no scouts In Shea Stadium Sunday. Nope. They didn't send one. What they did, Instead, was to let the coaches be home with their wives and couches and sandwiches and televisions.

The game films would soon be on wing here. As Sunday began, the Bengals already had three films waiting at Greater Cincinnati Airport for the proper addressing, New York or Buffalo. The reciprocal films, for three games Including the playoff opener, would be in hand by this morning, courtesy of NFL rules. The moving pictures will show all that any emissary could uncover, so the coaches had a Merry Christmas and a few extra hours. Friday was a genuine day off, with no blitz patterns discussed.

The personal viewings Sunday were more pleasure than business. "IT'S PRETTY useless to watch a game on TV," said Infante, the offensive coach whose responsibility it is to map a course through the defense. "All you can see Is the Interior line and the quarterback. It's not a good way for a coach to watch a game. We watch really just to see who the heck well be -playing." Immediately after the fact of Buffalo was established, the Cincinnati staff was reporting to Spinney Field.

Happy holidays, how do you stop Lewis on the post pattern? Hope your boy liked the bicycle, how do we block Smerlas? The Cincinnati players, meanwhile, were dividing up six-foot sandwiches at Ken Anderson's house. Their wives were there; it was the most amiable Sunday of the season, a spoil that goes to those who win their divisions. "I like to watch the skill positions," said offensive tackle Anthony Munoz. "I don't get to see them when we're in a game." What he saw of them Sunday were some very skilled and some very unskilled performances; the former put forth by such as Frank Lewis and Joe Cribbs, the unspectacular moments being supplied alternately by the quarterbacks. Most parties blamed the sloppy field for the resembling offense.

"I think we were seeing two very good football teams," said linebacker Glenn Cameron. "I think they were two much better teams than the ones that came on after them (the New York Giants and Philadelphia)." WHICH TEAM was the better of the Jets and Bills, though, was a matter of some debate between the Bengals' offense and defense. "I think the offense would rather play Buffalo and the defense would rather have played New York," said Cameron, who now has much with which to be concerned. "Buffalo has great wide receivers and a great running back. I think Cribbs is the best halfback in the league.

We voted him and Lewis to the Pro Bowl. Cribbs Is a great runner and pass- 4K Giants Control Philadelphia PHILADELPHIA (AP)-Coach Ray Perkins stole a lne from comedian Jackie Gleason to describe his New York Giants' wild- card playoff victory Sunday over the Philadelphia Eagles. "How sweet it is," said Perkins, who, In his third year as New York coach, led the team Into the playoffs after an 18-year famine. Leon Bright and Mark Haynes each scored touchdowns after fumbled kicks in the first quarter, triggering the Giants to a 27-21 decision over the favored Eagles In their National Football Conference battle. Eagles coach Dick Vermeil said the things that went wrong in the first half including those two fumbled kicks-affected his team's concentration.

"It shook us and we lost our poise a little bit. We came back and were better, but not good enough to win," Vermeil said. Perkins said, "We knew we. i uw big play," Brunner said. Vermeil shrugged his shoulders and declared, "It's hard to give a team 13 points, especially with that kind of defensive team, and then go ahead and win." Vermeil said those fumbles on kick returns gave the Giants "real impetus and confidence and hurt us because we had to go totally from what we planned to do run the ball." In the NFC semifinals next Sunday, the Giants travel to San Francisco to meet the West Division champion 49ers.

1 The Giants, who six weeks ago beat the Eagles for the first time in 12 games over a six-year period, took a 6-0 lead Just 4:42 into the opening period. The Eagles' Wally Henry fumbled a punt and Beasley Reece recovered at the Eagles' 25. It took the Giants six plays to score with Brunner throwing the final nine yards to Bright. Brunner bobbled the hold on the extra point try, and Joe Danelo's kick was blocked. Later In the quarter, the Giants drove 62 yards in 11 plays to make it 13-0.

Brunner passed 10 yards to wide receiver John Mistier for the score, and Danelo converted. On the following kickoff, Henry bobbled the ball at the Eagles three, and It rolled into the nfc playoff could run the. ball well on the Eagles, and we did." "OUR (OFFENSIVE) linemen came off the bail real well, and Rob Carpenter stayed within his blocks. Scott Brunner (Giants quarterback) played a very heady ballgame," Perkins said. Perkins said most people expected the game to be a defensive struggle, which would have given Philadelphia a slight edge, "but we ran the ball on them and made first downs, especially at the end when we ran out the clock." Carpenter, the former Miami star, gained 161 yards on 33 carries, enabling the Giants to maintain ball control and run out the final minutes of the game after the Eagles had drawn within six points on a one-yard touchdown plunge by Wilbert Montgomery.

Brunner saw as the key to the victory a 22-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tom Mullady at the end of a 62-yard drive before the end of the half, giving the Giants a 27-7 lead. "THEY (THE EAGLES) expected to get the ball back before the half, but we turned the tables on them with that 62-yard drive. It seems that every week, somebody different (like Mullady) Is picking up the slack for us and making a If inlGH Sports Editor JOHN GIBSON Tel. 369-1917 (After 4 p.m.) Scores 369-1005, 369-1006 (24 hours) COLLEGE BASKETBALL D-5 I Ill I II iiii.mi COLLEGE FOOTBALL D-6 HORSE RACING D-6 SCOREBOARD D-2 APLaset photo NEW YORK GIANTS receiver John Mistier rolls Into the endzone after catching a pass from Scott Brunner In first quarter of Sunday's NFC wild card playoff game at Philadelphia. SPORTS ETC.

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