Top 15 Most-Heartbreaking Bills Moments

[Giuseppe Tognarelli]

I'm only 32, and my Bills memories actually start in 1994 when we pasted the Dolphins in an ESPN Sunday Night Football game. Since that time, here are my top 15 most-heartbreaking Bills moments. What am I missing? I recall all of these so vividly.

 

1996 Jaguars (playoffs, Kelly injured)
1998 @ Patriots ("Just give it to 'em")
1998 @ Dolphins (playoffs, Moulds fumble)
1999 @ Titans ("Music City Miracle")
2004 Steelers (miss playoffs, lose to backups and third stringers)
2007 Cowboys (MNF "classic")
2007 Patriots (flexed to SNF at home, lose 56-10)
2008 Browns (MNF Lindell missed field goal)
2009 @ Patriots (McKelvin fumble)
2010 Steelers (Stevie Johnson OT drop)
2013 Patriots (23-21 season opener)
2015 Jaguars (London)
2016 Dolphins (OT, no playoffs, Rex fired)
2019 @ Texans (playoffs)
2020 @ Cardinals

[Warcodered]

I think this one might fade pretty quick depending on how the rest of the season goes.

[Motorin']

I mean, there's no way wide right isn't #1. 

Edited November 16, 2020 by Motorin'

[Big Turk]

3 minutes ago, Giuseppe Tognarelli said:

I'm only 32, and my Bills memories actually start in 1994 when we pasted the Dolphins in an ESPN Sunday Night Football game. Since that time, here are my top 15 most-heartbreaking Bills moments. What am I missing? I recall all of these so vividly.

 

1996 Jaguars (playoffs, Kelly injured)
1998 @ Patriots ("Just give it to 'em")
1998 @ Dolphins (playoffs, Moulds fumble)
1999 @ Titans ("Music City Miracle")
2004 Steelers (miss playoffs, lose to backups and third stringers)
2007 Cowboys (MNF "classic")
2007 Patriots (flexed to SNF at home, lose 56-10)
2008 Browns (MNF Lindell missed field goal)
2009 @ Patriots (McKelvin fumble)
2010 Steelers (Stevie Johnson OT drop)
2013 Patriots (23-21 season opener)
2015 Jaguars (London)
2016 Dolphins (OT, no playoffs, Rex fired)
2019 @ Texans (playoffs)
2020 @ Cardinals

 

Norwood Wide Right in the first Super Bowl against the Giants and second place is so far down its like triple the distance of the CN Tower to the ground...

[Process]

This is exactly what we all need right now 

[BillsFanSD]

If you watch the NFL besides just Bills games, somebody seems to take a loss like this one nearly every week.  This week was our turn.  

 

It's one thing to eat this sort of loss against a scrub team that you're supposed to beat.  Coming off a win against Seattle and knowing that we were one PD from a win against Arizona, it's a lot easier to absorb this one knowing that you went toe to toe with a legit super bowl contender.  I'm very unhappy having the win ripped out of our hands (literally) at the last second, but it counts the same as the three point loss we take if Allen doesn't find Diggs or the whatever loss if our defense doesn't keep Arizona more or less in check.  My guess is that this game just affects playoff seeding in a way that's impossible to evaluate right now.  We were most likely never getting a first round bye, so it just affects our draw. 

[Wacka]

5 minutes ago, Giuseppe Tognarelli said:

I'm only 32, and my Bills memories actually start in 1994 when we pasted the Dolphins in an ESPN Sunday Night Football game. Since that time, here are my top 15 most-heartbreaking Bills moments. What am I missing? I recall all of these so vividly.

 

1996 Jaguars (playoffs, Kelly injured)
1998 @ Patriots ("Just give it to 'em")
1998 @ Dolphins (playoffs, Moulds fumble)
1999 @ Titans ("Music City Miracle")
2004 Steelers (miss playoffs, lose to backups and third stringers)
2007 Cowboys (MNF "classic")
2007 Patriots (flexed to SNF at home, lose 56-10)
2008 Browns (MNF Lindell missed field goal)
2009 @ Patriots (McKelvin fumble)
2010 Steelers (Stevie Johnson OT drop)
2013 Patriots (23-21 season opener)
2015 Jaguars (London)
2016 Dolphins (OT, no playoffs, Rex fired)
2019 @ Texans (playoffs)
2020 @ Cardinals

We lost. Suck it up. Big deal. We're the best we've been since 1993' What are you 12?

[slipkid]

2 minutes ago, Motorin' said:

I mean, there's no way wide right isn't #1. 

Definitely mine and yours. But the kid said he is 32–likely 2 maybe 3 at that time.

 

I’ll take the forward lateral so-called “Music City Miracle” from his memory banks.

[Giuseppe Tognarelli]

1 minute ago, Process said:

This is exactly what we all need right now 

It actually was cathartic for me. It puts it in perspective and you realize how there really aren't heartbreakers like this very often. Probably the last one we'll have to live through for a while.

1 minute ago, Wacka said:

We lost. Suck it up. Big deal. We're the best we've been since 1993' What are you 12?

No, I'm 32. You must not have read the first sentence of the post.

 

Also, lighten up.

[Process]

4 minutes ago, BillsFanSD said:

If you watch the NFL besides just Bills games, somebody seems to take a loss like this one nearly every week.  This week was our turn.  

 

It's one thing to eat this sort of loss against a scrub team that you're supposed to beat.  Coming off a win against Seattle and knowing that we were one PD from a win against Arizona, it's a lot easier to absorb this one knowing that you went toe to toe with a legit super bowl contender.  I'm very unhappy having the win ripped out of our hands (literally) at the last second, but it counts the same as the three point loss we take if Allen doesn't find Diggs or the whatever loss if our defense doesn't keep Arizona more or less in check.  My guess is that this game just affects playoff seeding in a way that's impossible to evaluate right now.  We were most likely never getting a first round bye, so it just affects our draw. 

This is a good point. 

 

It just hurts a lot this week because it's our bills. 

 

Losing a non conference game to put you at 7-3 and leading the division, going into a bye week, is no where near one of the most heart breaking losses in bills history. 

 

I am way more upset about the terrible coaching and us blowing another lead, than I am at how the game ended. 

Edited November 16, 2020 by Process

[BillsFanSD]

3 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

 

Norwood Wide Right in the first Super Bowl against the Giants and second place is so far down its like triple the distance of the CN Tower to the ground...

I'm 48 years old and I'm still legit mad about "just give it to 'em."  That game occupies a special place in my heart because I was on the road that weekend to interview for the job that I currently hold.  This was back in the bad old days of highly limited internet and I had to go off highlight shows to see what happened. It took a couple of days for it to sink in just how preposterous that loss was. 

[Giuseppe Tognarelli]

4 minutes ago, BillsFanSD said:

If you watch the NFL besides just Bills games, somebody seems to take a loss like this one nearly every week.  This week was our turn.  

 

It's one thing to eat this sort of loss against a scrub team that you're supposed to beat.  Coming off a win against Seattle and knowing that we were one PD from a win against Arizona, it's a lot easier to absorb this one knowing that you went toe to toe with a legit super bowl contender.  I'm very unhappy having the win ripped out of our hands (literally) at the last second, but it counts the same as the three point loss we take if Allen doesn't find Diggs or the whatever loss if our defense doesn't keep Arizona more or less in check.  My guess is that this game just affects playoff seeding in a way that's impossible to evaluate right now.  We were most likely never getting a first round bye, so it just affects our draw. 

This one made national, non-sports news though. That is unusual.

[letsgoteam]

2 minutes ago, slipkid said:

Definitely mine and yours. But the kid said he is 32–likely 2 maybe 3 at that time.

 

I’ll take the forward lateral so-called “Music City Miracle” from his memory banks.

Im 32, I was in 5th grade for that game. I watched the first half, for some reason my family left to go do something that afternoon (no idea why).  I vividly remember the game while watching it, frustrated that Flutie wasn't in and how the Titans woudnt get a safety against him.

[Giuseppe Tognarelli]

1 minute ago, BillsFanSD said:

I'm 48 years old and I'm still legit mad about "just give it to 'em."  That game occupies a special place in my heart because I was on the road that weekend to interview for the job that I currently hold.  This was back in the bad old days of highly limited internet and I had to go off highlight shows to see what happened. It took a couple of days for it to sink in just how preposterous that loss was. 

I was 9 years old sitting on the toilet listening on Westwood One when that happened.

[Big Turk]

1 minute ago, BillsFanSD said:

I'm 48 years old and I'm still legit mad about "just give it to 'em."  That game occupies a special place in my heart because I was on the road that weekend to interview for the job that I currently hold.  This was back in the bad old days of highly limited internet and I had to go off highlight shows to see what happened. It took a couple of days for it to sink in just how preposterous that loss was. 

 

You can be mad but it wasn't heartbreaking. There was nothing at stake in that game or season. We were terrible like we were for a lot of the drought.

 

We legit were the best team in the NFL in 1990 and SHOULD have won that game. That's where the heartbreak comes from...the expectations were so high.

 

I mean can you really be heartbroken cause you lost a game that would have made you 6-10 instead of 5-11 that year?

[Giuseppe Tognarelli]

Just now, letsgoteam said:

Im 32, I was in 5th grade for that game. I watched the first half, for some reason my family left to go do something that afternoon (no idea why).  I vividly remember the game while watching it, frustrated that Flutie wasn't in and how the Titans woudnt get a safety against him.

Yeah, I was 11... watched it at a friend's house, and my brothers and I left to go to dinner at my grandmother's after we took the lead. Our uncle came in later to tell us we lost...

1 minute ago, matter2003 said:

 

You can be mad but it wasn't heartbreaking. There was nothing at stake in that game or season. We were terrible like we were for a lot of the drought.

 

We legit were the best team in the NFL in 1990 and SHOULD have won that game. That's where the heartbreak comes from...the expectations were so high.

 

I mean can you really be heartbroken cause you lost a game that would have made you 6-10 instead of 5-11 that year?

Yes, I think you can, if the game has been built up to mean something to you. For example, the 56-10 SNF loss to the Patriots when we were flexed into it and first primetime game in a long time.

[HappyDays]

Eh this one isn't too bad. It stung bad when it first happened but it isn't going to ruin my week like the playoff loss last year. If you're going to lose a game on a hail mary make it a road cross-conference game. It will only come back to bite us if we don't take care of business the rest of the way.

[BillsFanSD]

2 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

 

You can be mad but it wasn't heartbreaking. There was nothing at stake in that game or season. We were terrible like we were for a lot of the drought.

 

We legit were the best team in the NFL in 1990 and SHOULD have won that game. That's where the heartbreak comes from...the expectations were so high.

 

I mean can you really be heartbroken cause you lost a game that would have made you 6-10 instead of 5-11 that year?

To clarify, Wide Right and Homerun Throwback are clearly #1 and #2 on my list, with the Dallas game solidly at #3.  Just saying that Just Give It To 'Em is a good, clean example of the officials literally handing the game to the other team for reasons known only to them.

[Giuseppe Tognarelli]

1 minute ago, BillsFanSD said:

To clarify, Wide Right and Homerun Throwback are clearly #1 and #2 on my list, with the Dallas game solidly at #3.  Just saying that Just Give It To 'Em is a good, clean example of the officials literally handing the game to the other team for reasons known only to them.

Yeah, and the Dallas game was "meaningless." Those can still mean a lot to fans.

[BillsFanSD]

Just now, Giuseppe Tognarelli said:

Yeah, and the Dallas game was "meaningless." Those can still mean a lot to fans.

I literally woke my son up so he and I could watch the fourth quarter of a "meaningless" win against Dallas in a game that nobody gave us any chance to win.  He's about to graduate from college and still gives me **** about that lol.

[Big Turk]

4 minutes ago, BillsFanSD said:

To clarify, Wide Right and Homerun Throwback are clearly #1 and #2 on my list, with the Dallas game solidly at #3.  Just saying that Just Give It To 'Em is a good, clean example of the officials literally handing the game to the other team for reasons known only to them.

 

The forward lateral was bad too but we didn't really have a chance with Johnson at QB to win another playoff game so all it did was prevent an inevitable loss the next week.

[BillsFan130]

17 minutes ago, Wacka said:

We lost. Suck it up. Big deal. We're the best we've been since 1993' What are you 12?

He clearly stated that he was 32. just saying.

[SirAndrew]

Good list, except for the 2007 Pats MNF game. I didn’t really think it was heartbreaking, as it was expected. It just turned out to be worse than expected. It was JP Losman vs one of the greatest teams of all time after all. Every other game on the list involved unexpected twists. 

Edited November 16, 2020 by SirAndrew

[Nextmanup]

1 hour ago, matter2003 said:

 

Norwood Wide Right in the first Super Bowl against the Giants and second place is so far down its like triple the distance of the CN Tower to the ground...

I was going to say the same thing more or less.

 

ALL of the Superbowl losses were so huge the stuff on the OP's list hardly registers on the scale, at least for me.

 

Can't fault the OP for being young...his list only covers his time as a fan.

 

 

[Sherlock Holmes]

1 hour ago, Giuseppe Tognarelli said:

I'm only 32, and my Bills memories actually start in 1994 when we pasted the Dolphins in an ESPN Sunday Night Football game. Since that time, here are my top 15 most-heartbreaking Bills moments. What am I missing? I recall all of these so vividly.

 

1996 Jaguars (playoffs, Kelly injured)
1998 @ Patriots ("Just give it to 'em")
1998 @ Dolphins (playoffs, Moulds fumble)
1999 @ Titans ("Music City Miracle")
2004 Steelers (miss playoffs, lose to backups and third stringers)
2007 Cowboys (MNF "classic")
2007 Patriots (flexed to SNF at home, lose 56-10)
2008 Browns (MNF Lindell missed field goal)
2009 @ Patriots (McKelvin fumble)
2010 Steelers (Stevie Johnson OT drop)
2013 Patriots (23-21 season opener)
2015 Jaguars (London)
2016 Dolphins (OT, no playoffs, Rex fired)
2019 @ Texans (playoffs)
2020 @ Cardinals

Thanks for putting that together for us, I feel much better!

[Ethan in Cleveland]

2 hours ago, Giuseppe Tognarelli said:

I'm only 32, and my Bills memories actually start in 1994 when we pasted the Dolphins in an ESPN Sunday Night Football game. Since that time, here are my top 15 most-heartbreaking Bills moments. What am I missing? I recall all of these so vividly.

 

1996 Jaguars (playoffs, Kelly injured)
1998 @ Patriots ("Just give it to 'em")
1998 @ Dolphins (playoffs, Moulds fumble)
1999 @ Titans ("Music City Miracle")
2004 Steelers (miss playoffs, lose to backups and third stringers)
2007 Cowboys (MNF "classic")
2007 Patriots (flexed to SNF at home, lose 56-10)
2008 Browns (MNF Lindell missed field goal)
2009 @ Patriots (McKelvin fumble)
2010 Steelers (Stevie Johnson OT drop)
2013 Patriots (23-21 season opener)
2015 Jaguars (London)
2016 Dolphins (OT, no playoffs, Rex fired)
2019 @ Texans (playoffs)
2020 @ Cardinals

I recall all of these but there are two others that are in the top 5.

Wide right of course is #1.

Ferguson's ankle in 1980 is in the top 5 too.

[Hellcamino]

3 hours ago, matter2003 said:

 

You can be mad but it wasn't heartbreaking. There was nothing at stake in that game or season. We were terrible like we were for a lot of the drought.

 

We legit were the best team in the NFL in 1990 and SHOULD have won that game. That's where the heartbreak comes from...the expectations were so high.

 

I mean can you really be heartbroken cause you lost a game that would have made you 6-10 instead of 5-11 that year?

not true. that was 1998. we made the playoffs and wound up having to play on the road in the WC game vs Miami. If that Pats game isn"t stolen from us we get to play at home. that was the magic Flutie year and anything could have happened.

[Motorin']

3 hours ago, BillsFanSD said:

To clarify, Wide Right and Homerun Throwback are clearly #1 and #2 on my list, with the Dallas game solidly at #3.  Just saying that Just Give It To 'Em is a good, clean example of the officials literally handing the game to the other team for reasons known only to them.

The Ronnie Harmon drop against the Browns in the playoffs might be my #2. Illegal Forward Pass was the most infuriating loss, but as far as heart breaks go, in the moment I was more heart broken when we lost in the Dawg Pound. Long term, the Music City Miracle is more devastating bc that was literally the last gasp of the that era's Bills and it's taken 20 years to start feeling like it used to. 

 

 

[Do The Reich Thing]

3 hours ago, BillsFanSD said:

If you watch the NFL besides just Bills games, somebody seems to take a loss like this one nearly every week.  This week was our turn.  

 

It's one thing to eat this sort of loss against a scrub team that you're supposed to beat.  Coming off a win against Seattle and knowing that we were one PD from a win against Arizona, it's a lot easier to absorb this one knowing that you went toe to toe with a legit super bowl contender.  I'm very unhappy having the win ripped out of our hands (literally) at the last second, but it counts the same as the three point loss we take if Allen doesn't find Diggs or the whatever loss if our defense doesn't keep Arizona more or less in check.  My guess is that this game just affects playoff seeding in a way that's impossible to evaluate right now.  We were most likely never getting a first round bye, so it just affects our draw. 

Uhhhh there hasn't been one other hail mary this year? Has there?

[Utah John]

6 hours ago, BillsFanSD said:

If you watch the NFL besides just Bills games, somebody seems to take a loss like this one nearly every week.  This week was our turn.  

 

It's one thing to eat this sort of loss against a scrub team that you're supposed to beat.  Coming off a win against Seattle and knowing that we were one PD from a win against Arizona, it's a lot easier to absorb this one knowing that you went toe to toe with a legit super bowl contender.  I'm very unhappy having the win ripped out of our hands (literally) at the last second, but it counts the same as the three point loss we take if Allen doesn't find Diggs or the whatever loss if our defense doesn't keep Arizona more or less in check.  My guess is that this game just affects playoff seeding in a way that's impossible to evaluate right now.  We were most likely never getting a first round bye, so it just affects our draw. 

Good perspective here.  Lately the Bills have done this a lot more to other teams, than they've had it done to them.    From a playoff seeding standpoint, this is a loss outside the AFCE and the AFC so it doesn't hurt as much.  The Bills still have the tiebreaker against Miami and have a real chance to sweep the AFCE, which would make it hard for Miami to pass them. 

3 hours ago, Do The Reich Thing said:

Uhhhh there hasn't been one other hail mary this year? Has there?

I don't know about a full-size Hail Mary but the Bills win over the Rams was pretty much in the same category, just the other way around.

[Big Turk]

5 hours ago, Hellcamino said:

not true. that was 1998. we made the playoffs and wound up having to play on the road in the WC game vs Miami. If that Pats game isn"t stolen from us we get to play at home. that was the magic Flutie year and anything could have happened.

 

Ultimately it made no difference because Johnson started and while he had us in position to win the forward lateral game, he was a terrible QB who got sacked at a record rate and wouldn't have done much after that game.

[Billsatlastin2018]

Wide Right and then

down

down

down

down

 

 

 

 

 

....

 

 

down

down

down

 

to whatever is second, including Ronny Freakin' Harmon

[Wacka]

8 hours ago, BillsFan130 said:

He clearly stated that he was 32. just saying.

Scrolled the posts and that part was above the screen. when I replied.  People have to suck it up. There are lots of  heartbreak moments  going for and against the Bills and many more will happen in your(general your) lifetime .They are the best they have been in a long time.

 

[US Egg]

Trading Daryl Lamonica who went 62-16-6 at Oakland, while the Bills melted down the page at 17-64-3.

[Hellcamino]

48 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

 

Ultimately it made no difference because Johnson started and while he had us in position to win the forward lateral game, he was a terrible QB who got sacked at a record rate and wouldn't have done much after that game.

Again wrong.

that was the 99 season, not 98

[BobbyC81]

9 hours ago, Giuseppe Tognarelli said:

I'm only 32, and my Bills memories actually start in 1994 when we pasted the Dolphins in an ESPN Sunday Night Football game. Since that time, here are my top 15 most-heartbreaking Bills moments. What am I missing? I recall all of these so vividly.

 

1996 Jaguars (playoffs, Kelly injured)
1998 @ Patriots ("Just give it to 'em")
1998 @ Dolphins (playoffs, Moulds fumble)
1999 @ Titans ("Music City Miracle")
2004 Steelers (miss playoffs, lose to backups and third stringers)
2007 Cowboys (MNF "classic")
2007 Patriots (flexed to SNF at home, lose 56-10)
2008 Browns (MNF Lindell missed field goal)
2009 @ Patriots (McKelvin fumble)
2010 Steelers (Stevie Johnson OT drop)
2013 Patriots (23-21 season opener)
2015 Jaguars (London)
2016 Dolphins (OT, no playoffs, Rex fired)
2019 @ Texans (playoffs)
2020 @ Cardinals

 

You can add a 2004 game vs the Jags where Byron Leftwich throws a TD pass on the last play to win the game.  On a previous 4th down play, Nate Clements just has to knock a pass down to win the game but he goes for the INT, misses it and a receiver gets a big gain.

[nucci]

9 hours ago, Giuseppe Tognarelli said:

I'm only 32, and my Bills memories actually start in 1994 when we pasted the Dolphins in an ESPN Sunday Night Football game. Since that time, here are my top 15 most-heartbreaking Bills moments. What am I missing? I recall all of these so vividly.

 

1996 Jaguars (playoffs, Kelly injured)
1998 @ Patriots ("Just give it to 'em")
1998 @ Dolphins (playoffs, Moulds fumble)
1999 @ Titans ("Music City Miracle")
2004 Steelers (miss playoffs, lose to backups and third stringers)
2007 Cowboys (MNF "classic")
2007 Patriots (flexed to SNF at home, lose 56-10)
2008 Browns (MNF Lindell missed field goal)
2009 @ Patriots (McKelvin fumble)
2010 Steelers (Stevie Johnson OT drop)
2013 Patriots (23-21 season opener)
2015 Jaguars (London)
2016 Dolphins (OT, no playoffs, Rex fired)
2019 @ Texans (playoffs)
2020 @ Cardinals

Superbowl 25

[Fallser]

9 hours ago, Wacka said:

We lost. Suck it up. Big deal. We're the best we've been since 1993' What are you 12?

 

No, he's 32 - he even stated in his post. 

[BuffaloRebound]

When’s the last time we won on a fluke play...  Hail Mary against New England 40 years ago? Every team loses games they should win but these 1 in a thousand scenarios seem to happen more to us.  Missed field goals happen.  Collapses over the course of a game happen.  Music city miracle, yesterday, New England 1998, 2007 MNF against Dallas.  These are 100 year storms that happen too often to this franchise.  

[Matt_In_NH]

In 60 years you will have tough moments.  
 

When you play close games you play with fire.    You will get burned sometimes.  The bills got a fortunate penalty on the rams that flipped that outcome.  Yesterday the bills were short handed and played well.  They cardinals could try that play 10’times in a row and odds are they don’t get one of them.  It was a combination luck, great play by Hopkins and poor defense by the bills.  ***** happens.   From a tiebreaker stand point the games that mean the least are inter conference road games.  So this was the game to lose bad in vs say against the pats.