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Eighty-eight seconds—instantaneous compared to the Giants drawn-out, seven-minute possession—rolled off the clock before the K-Gun evened the score. Largely the result of a forty-eight-yard catch-and-run by Thurman Thomas, Buffalo reached New York’s six-yard line. There, Kelly fired a quick strike over the middle and watched Andre Reed finish off the short touchdown pass. The Bills scored an opening-drive touchdown for the fifth consecutive week.

Buffalo continued exclusive use of their no-huddle offense and less than a minute into the second period, they were in the end zone again. Kelly and Reed hooked up for a thirty-six-yarder to set up Thomas’ tenth rushing touchdown of the season. The Bills had run seventeen plays, amassed 152 yards and a pair of touchdowns, all while running a few minutes off the game clock.

“On both drives, it was obvious the Giants’ defense was confused,” said Kelly. “Especially their linebackers, who didn’t seem to know exactly where to line up and looked awkward in their movement at the snap. After all the scoffing they had done about the no-huddle, I think we caught them off guard with it. It seemed like we were one step ahead of them in everything we did.”

When asked earlier that week about the unconventional and seemingly dynamic K-Gun, the Giants did not express much concern.

“We’re not going to have trouble,” Parcells said. “Huddle or no huddle, the offense has to play the defense. Execution is what counts.”

“I guess a lot of teams aren’t prepared for the no-huddle,” cornerback Mark Collins added. “They think it won’t happen to them. But we’ll be ready. Jim Kelly will be looking at us to see what we’re doing, but we’ll be looking at him.”

Barely a quarter into the game, New York had looked unprepared and overconfident. Despite the three-week slump that detonated a perfect record and sent the team into a tailspin, the Giants still owned the league’s top-ranked defense in both points and yards allowed. More important, they had already proven capable of completely shutting down explosive offenses packed with all-pro talent. New York crushed the Dolphins in September 20-3, limiting Dan Marino to paltry figures: 115 yards passing, two interceptions, and no touchdowns. Ten weeks later, they held Joe Montana to 152 yards on twenty-nine pass attempts, completely shut down the 49ers’ running game, and forced nine punts.

Two seemingly effortless touchdowns by Buffalo now overshadowed those previous achievements, and defensive coordinator Bill Belichick angrily corralled his unit for discussion. Crouching along the sideline with a dry-erase board against his knee, Belichick shouted out reminders and adjustments to the defense. Fortunately, Belichick and the players processing his instructions on a nearby bench had plenty of time: Phil Simms was in the middle of constructing another trademark time-consuming scoring drive.

The defense retook the field and, behind 14-10, received a lucky break.

At his own twenty-one-yard line, Bills quarterback Jim Kelly unloaded a short pass to Andre Reed, who caught the ball, gained a few yards, and set up an important third and short. Kelly stayed upright long enough to dump the pass off to Reed, thanks to solid protection from his offensive line.

But while Kelly read his options and prepared to release the ball, left tackle Will Wolford engaged the Giants’ Leonard Marshall, whom he successfully rebuked at the line of scrimmage. On Wolford’s right, guard Jim Ritcher also did his job, stymieing a blitzing Carl Banks. Ritcher so overpowered Banks that he hurled him toward Will Wolford. Banks crashed into Wolford, who stumbled backward and fell onto the left leg of Jim Kelly.

“I just turned around and it seemed like there were people laying everywhere,” Kent Hull remembered. “It was pretty scary.”

Absorbing the blow from his three-hundred-pound tackle caused Kelly to tumble to the turf where he writhed in pain. Carefully, the Bills training staff escorted their three-million-dollar-per-year