Doug Flutie was playing quarterback again Sunday.

Flutie, the New England Patriots' third string quarterback, came off the bench in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts and led the Patriots to a 21-17 victory.

Flutie scored the winning touchdown with 13 seconds left in the game. Flutie sent his team right and ran left. No one touched him.

Flutie was doing his job. A job Steve Grogan could not do the previous week. A job Tom Ramsey, who started the game, could not do Sunday.

Flutie was winning a football game. Not an easy task on a team that had won only once before, against three losses, this season.

But Sunday, Flutie was doing more than winning a football game. He was reaffirming the faith people in New England had put in him.

Doug Flutie had risen from the grave, which in this case took the form of a slab of wood beside the football field. He had conquered.

After the game, news casts rolled yards of Flutie footage. The Boston Globe threw a huge headline across its sports page: "It's Flutie to the rescue."

It was only a game--not much of a game at that. It wasn't the Super Bowl. It wasn't a playoff game. It was a game between teams with 1-3 records. Winner gets to be mediocre. Loser stinks.

This was a game not for the heart but for the nostrils. The losing team would have to smell itself for the next week.

Doug Flutie turned in a solid effort. He completed 12 of 16 passes for 132 yards. He threw a touchdown and an interception.

If Steve Grogan had done this, people would have said, "Fine, but your team is only 2-3. Win one next week, then we might say something nice about you."

If Tom Ramsey had done this, people would have said, "Good, but why did you play so poorly in the first three quarters?"

Doug Flutie led his team to two touchdowns. An everyday piece of work for pro quarterbacks.

But nothing Doug Flutie does is everyday. When he touches the ball, all of New England watches his fingers. When he throws the ball, all of New England follows its flight.