Today in Bills stadium history: Oct. 7

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.

Oct. 7

1973 — Bills 27, Eagles 26 — O.J. Simpson had 171 of Buffalo’s 229 yards rushing to counter a Philadelphia ground game that ran for 275 yards, and John Leypoltdt’s 47-yard field goal with four minutes remaining held up as the winning score in the second regular season game in stadium history. Joe Ferugson was 6 of 9 passing for 47 net yards, but the Bills quarterback had a rushing touchdown, as did Simpson. The winless Eagles got 155 yards rushing from Tom Sullivan, and 104 from Norm Bulaich. The Bills improved to 3-1 with the victory.

1979 — Bears 7, Bills 0 — No NFL game in stadium history had fewer scoring plays. Walter Payton dashed for 155 yards and his 1-yard rushing touchdown with 11:18 left in the fourth quarter was all Chicago needed to run past a Buffalo offense that compiled only 105 total yards. Joe Ferguson was 5 of 21 passing for 50 yards, which was actually better than Bears quarterback Bob Avellini (4 of 8 for 22 yards). But the Bills could hardly run the ball, an issue all throughout the ’79 season. And to make matters worse, Curtis Brown’s fumble at the start of the fourth quarter gave the Bears a short field for the winning score. Following consecutive wins, Buffalo’s record fell to 3-3. This was the fourth time in the 1970s that the Bills were shut out at home. It would happen here just three more times, and only once over the past four decades. Attendance for this game was 73,383, a season high but still several thousand short of a sellout.

1984 — Eagles 27, Bills 17 — The Rich Stadium crowd swooned to less than half capacity (37,555) to watch the Bills slump to an 0-6 to start the season. Lackawanna native Ron Jaworski passed for 234 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for a score that sealed the Eagles’ victory with four minutes remaining. Greg Bell had 126 yards from scrimmage (77 rushing) and two touchdowns but also lost a fumble, and Buffalo’s distinguished quarterback duo of Matt Kofler and Joe Dufek combined to complete 14 of 38 passes for 150 net yards with an interception. Buffalo’s defense had no takeaways in one of eight games it held an opponent under 30 points during the hopeless ’84 campaign.

1990 — Bills 38, Raiders 24 — The second-largest crowd (80,076) in stadium history at the time witnessed an incredible comeback for the second week in a row during Buffalo’s superb ’90 season. Trailing 24-14 in the fourth quarter in a Sunday night game on TNT, the Bills exploded for 24 points in six minutes for a victory that that would provide the head-to-head tiebreaker for home-field advantage in the AFC championship rematch. All three phases contributed to the winning rally with Jim Kelly throwing a 42-yard touchdown to James Lofton, Steve Tasker blocking a punt that J.D. Williams returned for a touchdown, and Nate Odomes stripping the ball from Willie Gault and racing 49 yards to score the epitaph. The Bills also got a field goal from Cornelius Bennett’s strip sack in the fourth quarter, along with TD receptions from Andre Reed and Keith McKeller earlier in the game. Thurman Thomas totaled 114 yards from scrimmage and Mark Kelso made an interception on one of Rich Stadium’s all-time great occasions. 

2001 — Jets 42, Bills 36 — Turning five Bills turnovers into 28 points with a pair of defensive touchdowns, the Jets knocked Rob Johnson out of the game and withstood a scoring surge in the second half led by Alex Van Pelt (23 of 41 passing for 268 yards, 3 TD). Travis Henry rushed for a rookie season-high 113 yards, Eric Moulds and Peerless Price both had over 100 yards receiving, and fullback Larry Centers caught 12 passes for 75 yards while scoring touchdowns rushing and receiving in the fourth quarter. Fumbles by Johnson and Sammy Morris got ran back for touchdowns, and Curtis Martin scored twice more while rushing for 135 yards. The Bills fell to 0-4. Attendance at Ralph Wilson Stadium was 72,654.

2018 — Bills 13, Titans 12 — Josh Allen’s first game-winning drive ended with Stephen Hauschka kicking a 46-yard field goal as time expired. Buffalo’s defense had three takeaways and didn’t give up a touchdown while allowing 221 yards. The Bills managed just 223 yards, but that was enough in a close contest. Allen accounted for just 88 yards but did run for the game’s only touchdown. LeSean McCoy ran for 85 yards, and a 13-yard reception on the closing drive was Buffalo’s biggest gain of the day. Attendance at New Era Field was 68,202.