Phil The Thrill Posted September 4, 2019 Posted September 4, 2019 Sal Capaccio started this idea on WGR this morning and there are so many options. Openers that good and bad for different reasons. I’ll throw my 2 cents in. For me the best season opener was in 1991. The Bills were coming off a SB loss but were still loaded. They played Miami in Buffalo in Week 1 and this game was a shootout. Both the Bills and Dolphins executed really well on offense - not so much on defense. I think I was at the mall school shopping so I listened to the game on the radio mostly and spend about 2 hours watching the game in Sears while family shopped. Back in the day, Sears had about 30 TV’s on a wall - all tuned to the game. Some employees were watching as well LOL In the end, I remember the Bills were up by four and needed a first down to wind down the clock. Van Miller set the situation up perfectly and Thurman gained about 15 yards on 3rd and long. Bills win 35-31 and go onto to have a pretty memorable year! 1
Ray Finkel Posted September 4, 2019 Posted September 4, 2019 1980 opener against Dolphins when the Bills broke the losing streak. Fans ripped the posts down. Also, when Kelly ran for the touchdown against Miami with no time remaining to win. I believe that might have been an opening game. 6 2
LSHMEAB Posted September 4, 2019 Posted September 4, 2019 (edited) "Memorable." I've been an avid fan only since the beginning of the SB run and even then, I was 10 years old. Didn't really follow every game until the late 90's. Great timing. The two openers that stick out for me as "memorable" are at New England(Leodis, p... poor clock management) and Denver sometime in the mid to late 2000's where we lost on a last second field goal. On the more positive side, at the Chiefs maybe 8 years back was great. Went INTO Arrowhead and beat their breaks off. EDIT; The "Lawyer Milloy" game was by far the most fun I've had during an opener. I was an obnoxious 21 year old surrounded by Pats fans and started holding my fingers up after Brady threw his second pick. Then 3. Then 4. Glad I didn't run into the wrong person. Not quite sure why that Denver game stands out, but it was a TOUGH one. Did you mean good or memorable? Edited September 4, 2019 by LSHMEAB
bilzfancy Posted September 4, 2019 Posted September 4, 2019 Just now, Ray Finkel said: 1980 opener against Dolphins when the Bills broke the losing streak. Fans ripped the posts down. Also, when Kelly ran for the touchdown against Miami with no time remaining to win. I believe that might have been an opening game. That's it. Rosey Leaks falling into the end zone, breaking an 0 for the 70s streak. Bills made the playoffs that year and only a gimpy Fergy, and a long last minute TD kept the Bills from playing for the AFC title 1
Ray Finkel Posted September 4, 2019 Posted September 4, 2019 Just now, bilzfancy said: That's it. Rosey Leaks falling into the end zone, breaking an 0 for the 70s streak. Bills made the playoffs that year and only a gimpy Fergy, and a long last minute TD kept the Bills from playing for the AFC title We even faked a punt. Greg Cater hit Mark Brammer for the first down. Chuck Knox! 2
Big Blitz Posted September 4, 2019 Posted September 4, 2019 (edited) It's this one and no other opener comes close: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198909100mia.htm Here is Van's call of Kelly's winning TD run with no time left: https://www.buffalobills.com/video/van-miller-moments-1989-victory-over-miami-14012381 Edited September 4, 2019 by Big Blitz 4 2 1
Phil The Thrill Posted September 4, 2019 Author Posted September 4, 2019 15 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said: Season opener....not bottle opener!!!! 1
The Wiz Posted September 4, 2019 Posted September 4, 2019 7 minutes ago, LSHMEAB said: "Memorable." I've been an avid fan only since the beginning of the SB run and even then, I was 10 years old. The two openers that stick out for me as "memorable" are at New England(Leodis, p... poor clock management) and Denver sometime in the mid to late 2000's where we lost on a last second field goal. On the more positive side, at the Chiefs maybe 8 years back was great. Went INTO Arrowhead and beat their breaks off. Not quite sure why that Denver game stands out, but it was a TOUGH one. Did you mean good or memorable? I was at that Denver game as well. That was the Kevin Everett game. That's one of the reasons I remember it. The other was some Canadian chick. 1 1
K-9 Posted September 4, 2019 Posted September 4, 2019 14 minutes ago, Ray Finkel said: 1980 opener against Dolphins when the Bills broke the losing streak. Fans ripped the posts down. Also, when Kelly ran for the touchdown against Miami with no time remaining to win. I believe that might have been an opening game. The 1980 opener was an epic event. Goal posts torn down and a section passed up through the stands to Mr. Wilson’s suite. And he loved EVERY minute of the wild celebration. 3
Phil The Thrill Posted September 4, 2019 Author Posted September 4, 2019 8 minutes ago, LSHMEAB said: "Memorable." I've been an avid fan only since the beginning of the SB run and even then, I was 10 years old. The two openers that stick out for me as "memorable" are at New England(Leodis, p... poor clock management) and Denver sometime in the mid to late 2000's where we lost on a last second field goal. On the more positive side, at the Chiefs maybe 8 years back was great. Went INTO Arrowhead and beat their breaks off. Not quite sure why that Denver game stands out, but it was a TOUGH one. Did you mean good or memorable? Either one...memorable good or bad. Your choices are great. Here is the Denver game: 1
vorpma Posted September 4, 2019 Posted September 4, 2019 24 minutes ago, Ray Finkel said: 1980 opener against Dolphins when the Bills broke the losing streak. Fans ripped the posts down. Also, when Kelly ran for the touchdown against Miami with no time remaining to win. I believe that might have been an opening game. You got it!!!!!! 1
Chandler#81 Posted September 4, 2019 Posted September 4, 2019 (edited) ‘80 Opener was historic, ‘89 @ Miami was epic! But for my money, our 1st ever MNF game against the previously unbeaten MNF Raiders! I was there with my Dad in the end zone Rashad caught both TDs. Edit: ‘73 7th game vs Chiefs was our 1st MNF game. We won and O.J. went over 1000 yards in route to 2000. Dad & I were at that game as well. Edited September 5, 2019 by Chandler#81 Correction 2 2
LSHMEAB Posted September 4, 2019 Posted September 4, 2019 7 minutes ago, Phil The Thrill said: Either one...memorable good or bad. Your choices are great. Here is the Denver game: Ugh....No thanks!
RiotAct Posted September 4, 2019 Posted September 4, 2019 2003 against the Pats is the correct answer 4
Simstim Posted September 4, 2019 Posted September 4, 2019 I still remember that '91 game. Was the first game I watched a fan proper. Thought just occurred to me whilst re-watching some of it. My word the no huddle offense was great for making the match go quickly. It's no wonder the game seems so slow now. Not to mention the increasing amount of ads. Crazy.
Bangarang Posted September 4, 2019 Posted September 4, 2019 (edited) I remember having a lot of fun watching the 2011 opener against the Chiefs where we absolutely curb stomped them 41-7. We started the year 5-2 and were media darlings with Fitz getting a lot of attention...we finished the year 6-10. Edited September 4, 2019 by Bangarang 1
Kirby Jackson Posted September 4, 2019 Posted September 4, 2019 Nice topic @Phil The Thrill!! For me it is the Kelly TD run followed by the Lawyer Milloy game. 2
Bray Wyatt Posted September 4, 2019 Posted September 4, 2019 (edited) Lawyer milloy game for me, mainly due to my age and the fact that I was there. I remember when he was introduced the stadium was one of the loudest I ever heard it, then Sam Adams int return was amazing, plus it was beating the pats 31-0 doesn’t get much better Edited September 4, 2019 by Bray Wyatt 2
SlimShady'sSpaceForce Posted September 4, 2019 Posted September 4, 2019 Was 31-0 against the Putz an opener? 1
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