Best Bills Games Ever (Top Five)

[MarkyMannn]

23 hours ago, oldmanfan said:

From the perspective of one who sat in the Rockpile as a 4 year old for the first game in 1960:

 

1.  AFL championship game 1964.  The Stratton hit.

2.  The comeback game against the Oilers.

3.  AFL championship game 1965

4.  Season opener 1980 finally squished the Fish.

5 (tie):  First AFC championship 51-3 against the Raiders; 1974 Monday Night season opener against the Raiders.

Geez you are old LOL.  No we're both born in 56.  64 & 65 is before my time. I started following Bills in 67.  But yeah I agree the 80 Dolphins game that ended 0 for the 70's.  

 

74 Monday nighter comeback. We were in the parking lot cause Dad ALWAYS had to beat the traffic

Edited April 11, 2022 by MarkyMannn

[corta765]

9 minutes ago, SinceThe70s said:

 

As an out of market fan I was shocked at how much vitriol there was in the Flutie/Johnson debate.

 

I went to a game with my dad when we still had Kelly but I truthfully don't remember much so the bears game was my first. I really remember football around the 94 time frame. Flutie and Johnson was such a divisive thing for the city and area and it peaked in 2000. 98 wasn't as big of a thing as Johnson was hurt a bunch, but 99 things took foot for real. Flutie was good in 98, in 99 he was more a game manager and Johnson tearing up the Colts the last game of the year didn't help things and then obviously the playoff game only furthered the debate.  By 2000 you had two camps with one being Flutie because they guy won and Johnson because physically he was so gifted and much younger. I always thought it was wrong for fans to have boo'd him when he got taken off injuried, but it did show how ingrained fans were each side of the debate.

 

I always thought it was mistake that they let the QB debate play out for a third season and should've picked a guy for 2000 and went for it, better or wose. It 100% impacted their season and by that point the team was feeling it big time.

Edited April 11, 2022 by corta765

[BearNorth]

I was at the game 12/8/63, when Cookie set the "at the time" pro football record of 243 yards rushing in a basically unplayable field in the Rockpile.

 

I was also at "The Music City Forward Lateral" which was a great game until the last 15 seconds.

 

Of course Mike Stratton's hit on Keith Lincoln

Shutting out the Chargers on the road in 1965

The comeback against Houston

The 51-3 game

The stomping of the Pats last year.

[RocCityRoller]

15 hours ago, Charles Romes said:

Week 16 1990

Date: December 23

Location: Rich Stadium

Referee: Red Cashion

TV announcers (NBC): Marv Albert and Paul Maguire

The Bills, under backup quarterback Frank Reich, defeated the Miami Dolphins and wrapped up the AFC East title. Reich connected with James Loftonand Andre Reed for touchdowns, ultimately winning 24–14 despite fourteen penalties to five for Miami.

 

1990 had a lot of good games that forged that team. The Week 4 game versus Denver (20 points in 77 seconds), the week 5 game versus Raiders (down 24-14, exploded for 24 points in 4th quarter) and this game. I was at the Raider game. Great memory.

 

Week 4 and 5 put the Bickering Bills in the rear view mirror and showed Buffalo could score points quickly in clusters on offense, defense and special teams. Week 16 showed they had the depth to compete and could overcome a bad game and win against a quality team IMO.

[Greg S]

Another game I forgot to mention was the 38-35 win over Miami in the Orange Bowl in 1983. First win at Miami since 1966. 

[Ned Flanders]

On 4/10/2022 at 9:08 AM, hondo in seattle said:

5.  13 Seconds.  This would rank higher if we could rewrite the ending.  

I thought the title of this post was "Best" Bills Games Ever????  Good gawd, this game was an abomination.  If you're making a list of "Games that pulled your heart out and stomped on it," then yes, I would include this one.  As a Bills fan, I will never refer to this as a "great game."  FFS, in my mind, the game never happened.

[Bill from NYC]

I don't know, did anyone mention this one. It might have been the most exciting sports event that I ever attended. 

 

I was at this game. After that big play old ladys were hugging and kissing me and bodies were falling on me. I ended up on the bottom of a huge pile. As a Bills fan it was a surreal moment, one I will take to my grave. What a GREAT ending to a GREAT game. 

 

Bills fans are the BEST!!!!! Go to approx. 3:25 for the Flutie TD.....

 

 

 

 

 

[BigDingus]

3 hours ago, SinceThe70s said:

 

As an out of market fan I was shocked at how much vitriol there was in the Flutie/Johnson debate.

Same. As a kid, I honestly didn't even know there were Bills fans who supported Johnson & wanted Flutie benched. Not an exaggeration, I thought it was just understood he was a mistake 

[T master]

On 4/10/2022 at 9:47 AM, Big Turk said:

How does the Bills winning their only championships in 1964 and 1965 not rank on this list? 

 

He was probably born in 1985 & doesn't know the Bills won a championship i'm thinking .

[Reks Ryan]

On 4/10/2022 at 9:08 AM, hondo in seattle said:

I'm old enough to remember a lot of great games, but not so old that I had the privilege of seeing the AFL Championships.  But I did get to see the Dolphins decade long streak end, OJ break 2,000 yards, and lots of other fun moments.  My Top Five includes two games from this past season:

 

1.  The Comeback.  Coming back from 35-3 without Kelly was unlikely.  Even more unlikely when you recall what the Oilers did to us in the regular season.

 

2.  The Perfect Game.  So fun to watch this happen to Belichick and the Pats after all the suffering they caused us.

 

3.  The No Punt Game.  The two best offenses went toe-to-toe in a game that surpassed the pre-game hype.

 

4.  51-3.  It's always fun to see your team score a lot, but more fun when it convinces you that your team is peaking at just the right time for the Super Bowl.

 

5.  13 Seconds.  This would rank higher if we could rewrite the ending.  

Good list.   I would need to include Super  Bowl XXV against the Giants.  That was such a dramatic hard fought game.  So many "almost plays" in that game that could've tipped the scales.  And a penalty free game.     Would bump either the no punt or 51-3 game to make room.   My recency bias to choose "Perfect game" over 51-3.  Had the good fortune of attending both. 

 

Can't comment on games from the 60s and 70s

[BuffBillsForLife]

What, nobody said the 6-3 Browns game?  Or its oft-forgotten cousin, the 8-0 Browns game!?

 

I don't think I've ever seen anyone besides Bills fans call the Pats playoff game this year the "Perfect Game" and I always found it a misnomer.  A perfect offensive game yes but to be a truly perfect game the defense would have had to pitch a shutout too, IMO.  Kind of like the difference between a no-hitter and a perfect game in baseball, I guess.

 

Anyways

1. Comeback

2. Bills over the Pats in 2011

3. 13 seconds (the pain...)

4. No punt game

5. 51-3

[Ned Flanders]

13 hours ago, Reks Ryan said:

Good list.   I would need to include Super  Bowl XXV against the Giants. 

Are you sh$*#*ting me?

[machine gun kelly]

On 4/10/2022 at 9:08 AM, hondo in seattle said:

I'm old enough to remember a lot of great games, but not so old that I had the privilege of seeing the AFL Championships.  But I did get to see the Dolphins decade long streak end, OJ break 2,000 yards, and lots of other fun moments.  My Top Five includes two games from this past season:

 

1.  The Comeback.  Coming back from 35-3 without Kelly was unlikely.  Even more unlikely when you recall what the Oilers did to us in the regular season.

 

2.  The Perfect Game.  So fun to watch this happen to Belichick and the Pats after all the suffering they caused us.

 

3.  The No Punt Game.  The two best offenses went toe-to-toe in a game that surpassed the pre-game hype.

 

4.  51-3.  It's always fun to see your team score a lot, but more fun when it convinces you that your team is peaking at just the right time for the Super Bowl.

 

5.  13 Seconds.  This would rank higher if we could rewrite the ending.  

Good list Hondo, but would add or substitute the 1980 September Miami game in Buffalo.  10 years and 20 losses ended.  Some on the board may not be old enough to remember, but was so important to my family.  
 

To this day, my 91 yr. Old father still hates the Fins.

[Greg S]

5 minutes ago, machine gun kelly said:

Good list Hondo, but would add or substitute the 1980 September Miami game in Buffalo.  10 years and 20 losses ended.  Some on the board may not be old enough to remember, but was so important to my family.  
 

To this day, my 91 yr. Old father still hates the Fins.

 

Correct me if I am wrong but didn't the Bills have a chance to end the streak in 1979. They lost the opener to Miami 9-7 but missed a FG at the end that would have given them the win.

[machine gun kelly]

Greg, I honestly don’t remember that game.  I just barely remember my older brother and dad were going nuts watching the win in 80.  
 

It’s when I became serious about following the Bills.  When I moved in 91 to Tampa just out of college, my dad worked in advertising for the BN.  Now for the youngins, this was pre internet if you can believe it.  I had worked at the BN from 87-90 as my college job.   My dad knew how important that team was to me so he placed the Buffalo News extra that used to come out on Mondays after the game.  It was like a magazine inside the paper, and had to so of articles on every aspect of the game.  
 

My dad would place in a canister every Monday afternoon the magazine in a canister and overnight it to me.  I looked so forward to Tuesdays after work and the gym to read every article.

 

That was my Bills story, when I became a Bills addict.

[Matt_In_NH]

51-3 should be at the top of the list.

 

 

[stevestojan]

Dalton to Boyd is a top 5 Bills moment for me. I shed a tear. That tear likely would have registers a .20 BAC, but it was there. 

[Greg S]

28 minutes ago, 13 Second Prevent Defense said:

51-3 should be at the top of the list.

 

 

 

Either this or 38-35. Everything went right for the Bills that day. So it was the perfect day for the Bills and their fans. But that game was over in the 1st quarter and definitely by half. I think it was 41-3 at that point. The comeback vs the Oilers was a HOLY SHEEEEEEET moment. I lost my voice for days screaming my head off that they came back. Its really a toss up between these two games as the greatest Bills games ever. The back to back AFL championships in 64 and 65 was before my time so I can't count those games personally.

[Matt_In_NH]

1 hour ago, Greg S said:

But that game was over in the 1st quarter and definitely by half. I think it was 41-3 at that point

That is part of what made it so memorable, not that it was a blowout but that it was a blowout to get tot he SuperBowl the first time.

[The Frankish Reich]

On 4/11/2022 at 9:34 AM, Ned Flanders said:

I thought the title of this post was "Best" Bills Games Ever????  Good gawd, this game was an abomination.  If you're making a list of "Games that pulled your heart out and stomped on it," then yes, I would include this one.  As a Bills fan, I will never refer to this as a "great game."  FFS, in my mind, the game never happened.

It just so happens that the best "games" (see how I changed the emphasis?) have been, with the exception of The Comeback, not the best results:

 

1. 13 seconds. OK, maybe because it's still fresh in my mind (as in a fresh wound), but really ... have you ever seen a more entertaining game of football?

2. Wide Right. How can nobody else list that? The PTSD Mind Eraser at work. 

3. The Comeback. Just wow.

4. The Music City "Miracle." That one is the NFL equivalent of the Stanford Marching Band.

 

No other game comes close. Are there other franchises that have been involved in 4 epic games like that? So what if we lost 75% of 'em!