The Buffalo Bills' second-to-last-second comeback win seemed so improbable that not even the team's official Twitter account could believe it was happening.
Trailing the Carolina Panthers, 23-17, with just six seconds remaining on the clock, rookie quarterback E.J. Manuel threw to his left and found Stevie Johnson in the back corner of the end zone for a go-ahead score. After taking a shotgun snap at the Panthers' 2-yard line, the rookie out of Florida State lofted a fade pass over a pair of confused defenders and Johnson hauled it in. The scoring play capped a nine-play drive that began at the Buffalo 20-yard line with 1:38 remaining in the game. Manuel completed 6 of 8 passing attempts for 51 yards on the touchdown march.
The go-ahead touchdown in the waning seconds seemed so improbable that not even the team's official Twitter account believed the Bills were about to win their first game of the 2013 campaign.
To the delight of Bills fans in Orchard Park, there would be no overtime. The six points from the touchdown evened the score at 23. The extra point staked Buffalo to a 24-23 lead. Following ensuing kickoff, the Bills' defense made sure that Cam Newton would not engineer a miracle finish of his own.
Having engineered a game-winning drive for his first career NFL win, Manuel appeared overcome with emotion. The 23-year-old rookie who was the first quarterback selected in the 2013 NFL Draft dropped to a knee and seemed to fight back tears as his teammates mobbed Johnson in the end zone.
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