Tight end Charles Arbuckle stepped out of obscurity and introduced himself to the defending two-time AFC champion Buffalo Bills.
Arbuckle, signed by the Indianapolis Colts as a free agent in February after failing to make three other NFL teams, caught his first NFL pass Sunday. Before the day was over, the 6-foot-3, 240-pounder from UCLA had nine receptions for 106 yards to help the Colts upset Buffalo 16-13 in overtime."I've just been playing special teams waiting for the opportunity," said Arbuckle, a fifth-round draft pick of New Orleans in 1990 who also had trials with Cleveland and San Diego.
"Kerry (Cash) has been playing real well, so it's been hard to get on the field," said Arbuckle, who got his opportunity when coach Ted Marchibroda decided to go with two tight ends in an effort to slow the Buffalo defensive charge of Bruce Smith and Cornelius Bennett.
"All week we talked about going with two tight ends and using it to try and stop Bruce and Cornelius and it worked," Arbuckle said. "In the passing game, I think they underestimated myself because they hadn't seen anything on film. I guess I gave them a little something to think about."
"He made some very good catches," Buffalo safety Mark Kelso said. "I'd never heard of the guy."
"We might have gone into the game with a lackadaisical attitude," said Smith, who had a season-high 11 tackles including eight for losses when the Bills beat Indianapolis 38-0 earlier this season.
"Marchibroda said they were going to have two people on me every play, and I have to agree with him. They had at least two or more," said Smith, who was held to only six tackles and one sack. "I have to give them all the credit in the world. They did a great job. We played against a team that was hungry. They knew what they had to do to win the football game, and that's what they did."
Jack Trudeau completed 26 of 41 passes for 337 yards, a season-high for the Colts and the second-highest of his seven-year career.
"Jack had a lot of pressure today. He just threw the ball well," Smith said. "He played well. I said before the game he's a very capable quarterback and he just proved it."
Dean Biasucci, who missed two field goal attempts earlier, tied the game on a 23-yard field goal in the final minute of regulation and kicked a 40-yarder almost four minutes into overtime for the victory.
Biasucci went into the game with only seven field goals in 16 attempts this season.
The loss snapped a four-game losing streak for the Colts (5-7) and snapped a five-game winning streak of Buffalo (9-3).