This date in Bills stadium history: Sept. 21

In the sunset season for the concrete cathedral so often overflowed with as many as 80,000 passionate patrons, WIVB News 4 Buffalo is taking a daily look back over 400 games played in the Orchard Park stadium’s 52 years.

Sept. 21

1975 — Bills 42, Jets 14 — Buffalo rushed for 309 yards in the opening game of the ’75 season, led by O.J. Simpson’s 173 yards and two touchdowns. A crowd of 77,837 at Rich Stadium watched the Bills intercept Joe Namath four times, with Pat Toomay returning one for a TD. Joe Ferguson completed just seven passes and found fullback Jim Braxton for a TD, but that was enough to make him the best quarterback wearing No. 12 that day. The Bills rushed for another 310 yards the following week in Pittsburgh, a consecutive game feat no NFL team would match for 34 years.

1986 — Bills 17, Cardinals 10 — Jim Kelly’s first win as quarterback of the Bills came on a day he completed just 6 of 10 passes for 105 yards and no touchdowns while taking four sacks, two from Leonard Smith, the strong safety Buffalo would trade in two years. Greg Bell ran for 79 yards and a touchdown, Ricky Moore also scored, and Buffalo kept St. Louis out of the end zone until late despite getting out-gained by 205 yards and allowing the Cardinals to possess the ball for more than 37 minutes. Cardinals kicker John Lee missed two field goal attempts to benefit the Bills. Attendance was 65,762 for the first of Buffalo’s three home wins during a 4-12 season.

1997 — Bills 37, Colts 35 — The second greatest comeback in stadium history. With Todd Collins at quarterback the Bills rallied from a 26-0 deficit. Between the 2:12 mark in the second quarter and 1:14 in the fourth, Buffalo outscored Indianapolis 37-3. Now the sixth-largest comeback in NFL history, and ranked third at the time. Antowain Smith rushed for 128 yards and three touchdowns, and Collins had 275 yards with scoring passes to Quinn Early and Lonnie Johnson. The Colts almost forced overtime when Jim Harbaugh threw a last-second touchdown to Marvin Harrison, but the tying two-point conversion pass failed. The crowd was 55,340, low for this era, at the second home game after the Bills lost the opener by three touchdowns against the Vikings. 

2008 — Bills 24, Raiders 23 — In another comeback engineered by a quarterback Buffalo had recently drafted in the third round, Trent Edwards led the way back from down nine points in the final 6:23, lifting the Bills to a 3-0 record for the first time since the Super Bowl seasons. Edwards had 279 yards passing, the second-most of his career, throwing a late touchdown pass to Roscoe Parrish and getting Rian Lindell in position to kick the winning field goal from 39 yards as time expired. Marshawn Lynch rushed for 83 yards and two TDs, including one early in the fourth quarter that capped a 96-yard drive.

2014 — Chargers 22, Bills 10 — A forgettable effort from the Bills following two wins to open the season. On a day Andre Reed received his Hall of Fame ring at halftime, and with Frank Reich coordinating the visitor’s offense, the Bills found no scoring rhythm. Philip Rivers subdued the 68,611 in the stands at Ralph Wilson Stadium by staking San Diego a 20-3 lead in the third quarter. EJ Manuel scavanged a touchdown pass to Fred Jackson, who led the Bills in receiving out of the backfield. Rookie wideout Sammy Watkins followed up a solid debut by catching two passes and short-arming a few more than that. The Chargers scored their final points when Manuel was penalized for intentional grounding in the end zone near the end of the game.