Bills, NFL’s Only 8-1 Team, Blank Packers

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. â€”  Safety Mark Kelso got the points, but defensive end Bruce Smith got his share of the credit for a 78-yard interception-return touchdown in the third quarter that helped the Buffalo Bills post the best record in the National Football League with a 28-0 victory over the Green Bay Packers Sunday.

Smith, who helped the Bills (8-1) sack Packer quarterback Don Majkowski 6 times, was all over Majkowski when he threw the interception to Kelso.

“Bruce came over and said he’d take half of it (the credit),� Kelso said. “My best friend is the defensive line.�

Smith was helped by second-year linebackers Cornelius Bennett, who had 2 1/2 sacks and forced a fumble, and Shane Conlan, who had a sack and also forced a fumble.

The Bills held Green Bay (2-7) to 131 total yards and recorded their first shutout since a 27-0 victory over Miami last November.

“That’s all we were talking about in the second half, a no-hitter,� Conlan said. “We kept saying, ‘They’re not going to score on us.’ �

The Bills’ offense scored in the first half on a 1-yard pass from Jim Kelly to Butch Rolle and a 2-yard run by Robb Riddick. The defense matched those scores in the second half, on Kelso’s interception and a fumble recovery for a touchdown by defensive end Leon Seals that sealed the victory.

“We just got a pretty thorough whipping by an awfully good defensive team,� Packer Coach Lindy Infante said. “Their defense totally outplayed our offense. They beat us by at least the margin on the scoreboard.�

The Packers, who had the NFL’s best giveaway-takeaway ratio, also lost the ball on 3 fumbles.

Bennett, Conlan, Smith and Jeff Wright also had sacks for the Bills, and Scott Radecic shared a sack with Bennett.

Buffalo rookie Thurman Thomas ran for for 116 yards in 23 carries.