They had a much better game than the Bills, even if the broadcast had its share of exasperating moments.

The broadcast team does some very good things. Murphy has a great voice, follows the play well and sprinkles in a few opinions. Kelso can describe a play after it has run as well as Paul Maguire.

But wow, I hadn't realized what a homer Murphy can be. It was a bit of a surprise since he sat next to Van Miller for years. Miller may have lost a step or three in his later years, but he generally was pretty objective and rarely the homer that many announcers around the NFL are.

You might have thought that Murphy would have taken notice of Miller's philosophy and followed it. But to use one of Murphy's own words -- wow, does he go overboard at times.

Early on in the second half, he said "come on" after a critical, questionable call against Bills cornerback Leodis McKelvin. He shouted "you have to challenge that" after he thought a Bill had tipped a ball that would have negated an interference call.

Upon further review, Murphy said, "This was closer than we initially thought." Then the ruling stood. "I thought it was tipped," Murphy said. "I honestly thought it was tipped. That was certainly worth a challenge."

Not really. It wasn't tipped and cost the Bills a valuable timeout.

After a fumble by Bills tight end Derek Schouman later in the third quarter was recovered by the Bills, Murphy exclaimed: "Wow, it was close."

Wow, that sure sounded like a fan rather than an objective announcer. Then there was this moment when a 49er fumbled in San Francisco territory.

"The Bills may have it," Murphy said. "It looks like [49ers quarterback Shaun] Hill fell on top of it. Officials haven't said yet who has the ball. Kawika Mitchell and Ko Simpson say it is Buffalo ball."

Of course, defensive players always claim they have the ball even if they don't have a clue. The 49ers recovered.

This may sound like nit-picking, especially since Murphy is less of a homer than most NFL team announcers. But if Murphy cut out the "wows" and the "come ons" he would be one of the best home team play-by-play men in the league.

Kelso, who used to play for the Bills, is less of a homer than Murphy. This isn't to say he isn't essentially positive. He noted that backup quarterback J.P. Losman was doing something that starter Trent Edwards wasn't doing -- allowing receivers time to get open. He praised Losman's touch on a pass to Schouman. He also suggested that Bills coach Dick Jauron should take the points and kick a field goal before the Bills failed on a fourth down.

Just as amusing as what you hear on the broadcasts is what you don't hear on them. While Bills fans were exasperated by the play-calling and the misuse of timeouts, the team announcers were more muted in their criticism. With about 5 minutes left, Murphy noted the Bills had only one timeout and added "that doesn't help."

No kidding. Whose fault was that?

However, at least the announcers provided some self-deprecating moments. When the Bills got the ball back, down by a touchdown with under 2 minutes left, Kelso said, "They obviously have to come up with points here."

"You called me Captain Obvious [in a previous game]," replied Murphy.

"I'm a sheriff's deputy, I guess," Kelso said.

The funniest moment of the broadcast came immediately after Rian Lindell missed his second field goal of the game. In a moment of incredible comic timing, a radio commercial for a mattress company followed featuring Lindell. He asked listeners, "Want a great night's sleep? Do what my wife and I did. Go to [the name of the mattress company]."

Somehow, I doubt that Lindell slept so well Sunday night.

e-mail: apergament@buffnews.com