KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Perry Fewell strode into the visitors' interview room and let out a loud, exultant "Whooo!" Then, on his short walk to the lectern, the Bills' interim coach turned to the assembled media and said, "No. 2!"

Fewell's exuberance was understandable. His team had just hung on for a 16-10 win over the

Chiefs, giving him two wins in his first four games as an NFL head man. The Bills had battled

to the end. So what if it lacked a certain aesthetic charm?

"I don't see any ugly in victory," Fewell said. "All victories are pretty to me."

When you're in the midst of a seven-game trial for your dream job, any victory looks like

Kate Winslet in an evening gown. Fewell might need to run the table to have any shot at a

permanent gig. He's not about to quibble over style points. Plus, he's a defensive guy by

trade. They love winning ugly.

I'm not bound by such conventions. First of all, I wanted the Bills to get the best possible

draft pick, so my notion of victory is skewed. But whatever the case, that was one brutal

football game Sunday.

Sorry, but I can't summon the energy to lavish this team with praise for nipping another bad

team and keeping alive the chances of another 7-9 finish. This was the sort of triumph that

would have tickled Dick Jauron, an uninspired show where the Bills won by screwing up less

than the opponent.

Maybe it's the drudgery of another lost season, or the decade of persistently unwatchable

games. Maybe it's the Bills' offense, which is certain to finish among the bottom eight in the

league for a seventh straight season.

All I know is it's gotten very tiresome. My disdain for the NFL product becomes greater with

each passing week. If the sport is so wonderful, how come there are so many empty seats in

these stadiums? Has the NFL become mainly a passive entertainment for gamblers and fantasy

football nuts?

It's distressing to know that half the teams in the league are capable of putting on the sort

of show we witnessed between K.C. and the Bills on Sunday. And that includes the reigning

Super Bowl champions, the Steelers, who could lose to Navy right now.

The fortunate ones were the Kansas City fans who stayed away. The game sold out late, but

there might have been 20,000 empty seats in Arrowhead Stadium. You'd expect that sort of crowd

in Jacksonville or one of the other indifferent NFL cities in the South, but Kansas City?

This used to be one of the toughest places in the NFL to play. When you said Arrowhead, it

aroused feelings of dread, of deafening crowds and mesmerizing action. Now they're another

irrelevant team with a disaffected fan base.

It was sad to watch such a debacle between two once-proud AFL rivals celebrating the 50th

anniversary of the old league. Buffalo owner Ralph Wilson was not at the game, and maybe it

was best that he not have to suffer through it in person.

You know what's amazing? The Chiefs have not won a playoff game since Jan. 16, 1994, when

they beat Houston to reach the AFC title game. The next week, they went to Buffalo and got

drilled, 30-13, on a day when Thurman Thomas rushed for 186 yards and Joe Montana got knocked

out of the game.

The Bills have gone nearly as long as the Chiefs without a playoff win. Their last one came

against Miami on Dec. 30, 1995. This is the sort of nostalgia that can divert you from the

mediocrity unfolding in the present.

There were reasons to rejoice, of course. Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch finally had a good

game in tandem, combining for 183 yards rushing. Jackson had 20 carries, Lynch 12. The coaches

stuck with the run game and gave them enough opportunities for a viable two-man backfield.

The pass defense had another big day, picking off four Matt Cassel passes to move into the

league lead with 25 interceptions. They're a resourceful, genial bunch.

Oh, and eight of their games have come against quarterbacks rated among the bottom third of

the NFL. Watching Cassel brought back memories of that three-game stretch against Derek

Anderson, Mark Sanchez and Jake Delhomme.

When two bad teams get together, you can at least count on it being close. The Chiefs,

trailing, 13-10, got the ball at their own 41 after a missed field goal by Rian Lindell early

in the fourth quarter. On third down, Cassel made a lousy throw that was picked off by Paul

Posluszny.

Cassel had another chance to justify his six-year, $63 million contract, driving the Chiefs

to the Bills' 21 with 2:24 to play. Then Chris Chambers dropped an easy pass inside the 10. It

wasn't a shock. The Chiefs have dropped a lot of passes this year. Cassel was intercepted on

the next play.

The Bills' quarterbacking was no better. Ryan Fitzpatrick turned in another forgettable

performance. He threw two balls right at defenders who dropped them. At least you can take

comfort in the fact that Wilson doesn't shower millions on mediocre QBs.

Of course, one win like this one can be the difference between drafting, say, Ben

Roethlisberger or J.P. Losman. It could mean picking too low to take one of the top three

quarterbacks on the board in April.

That's not Fewell's concern. His sole objective right now is winning games, and they pulled

one out Sunday. Good for them. Pardon me for not jumping around like Aaron Maybin and acting

as if something amazing just occurred.