corta765 Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 This season was a roller coaster of amazing highs only to follow with incredible lows. Going from playoff expectations to top 15 in the draft was really hard and this season scared a lot of fans for a long time about the Bills starting fast. Week 1 at Kansas City Chiefs, 41-7 win: After a FG to go up 17-0 the Bills force a fumble on the kickoff which they recover. Buffalo kicks another FG to go up 20-0 and never look back as the fumble cements it’s going to be the Bills day. Week 2 vs Oakland Raiders, 38-34 win: The Fitz Scream was born this game. After the Bills spot Oakland a 21-3 lead they storm back to go back and forth with Oakland with the lead. Down 35–31 late The Bills offense moves downfield to the Raiders 15 yard line with .34 seconds to go. On fourth down Ryan Fitzpatrick connects with David Nelson in the end zone for a touchdown while letting out an inhuman scream that NFL films picks up on audio. Week 3 vs New England Patriots, 34-31 win: In the game to finally end the streak against NE there are many moments to choose from. As much as I want to pick Fred’s run which setup up the GWFG, the Drayton Florence Pick 6 with 10:32 to go is the moment. The Bills came back in this game to tie it at 24-24 with the Patriots getting the ball back with under 11 minutes to go. Tom Brady throws a pass to at gets batted at the line and Florence picks it and takes it to the house. Just about every Bills fan at that moment felt this is our game finally to beat these guys. The picture of Florence scoring famously ended up on Sports Illustrated cover the next morning (one which I need to frame). Week 4 at Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20 loss: Despite running out to a 17-3 lead into the 2nd half Buffalos offense couldn’t move the ball and the defense wore out. Tied 20-20 with just 52 seconds left in the game Andy Dalton dove for a first down on third down at mid field to give a new set of downs. Next play the Bengals got a 20 plus yard run and won the game on a last second FG. Week 5 vs Philadelphia Eagles, 31-24 win: Going into the season the Eagles were a self proclaimed “Dream Team” after a bunch of marquee free agent signings. Yet by this point they were 1-3 and not nearly the squad many expected. Up 14-7 after a Fred Jackson TD, Bills LB Nick Barnett intercepted Eagles QB Michael Vick for a touchdown to put Bills up 21-7, a lead they never would lose. Week 6 at the NY Giants, 27-24 loss: After weeks of getting timely turnover the well dries and Fitzpatrick Fitzs. Tied 24-24 with 4 minutes to go The Bills are on the Giants 30 with a chance to take the lead. Fitzpatrick under throws a pass down the left sideline which is INT. The Giants proceed to go down the field draining the clock and get a FG with 1:35 left. Buffalo goes four and out. Week 7 home in Toronto vs the Washington Redskins, win: 0-3 in their first three games in Toronto the 4-2 Bills just gave Ryan Fitzpatrick a contract extension. Up 10-0 Ryan Fitzpatrick gets hit hard in his mid section during a completed pass. He finishes the game but after the season it is revealed the hit broke some of his ribs. The impact of this is soon noticeable during the Bills slide the rest of the season and Fitzpatricks reduced play. Week 9 vs NY Jets, 27-11 loss: In what may be the season defining game the Bills take on the Jets in a hyped divisional showdown as the Jets were coming off back to back AFC title game appearances and were 4-3 winning 2 straight. In a game to show the NFL a statement Buffalo falls flat. Wearing white at home for the first time since 1986 the Bills are down 6-0 early in the 3rd quarter Fred Jackson fumbles the ball on the Bills own 20 and it is recovered by the Jets. It takes NY just three plays for a LaDanian Thomilson TD to put the Jets up 13-0 and they pull away from there. Additionally the injuries start to pile up as starting young center Eric Wood is injured for the season. Week 10 at Dallas Cowboys, 44-7 loss: With major questions on whether the Bills are real they get wrecked in Dallas. The defining moment is a pick six by Dallas in 4th quarter cementing Bills fans worst fears that their team is a pretender and the QB is not as good as they thought. Week 11 at Miami Dolphins, 35-8 loss: Hoping to get a win to at least solidly stay in the playoff hunt the Bills instead get embarrassed by their rivals. But the defining moment is the season ending injury to Fred Jackson who fracture his tibia. With Jackson gone the heart of the Bills offense went too. Week 12 at NY Jets, a 28-24 loss: At 5-5 the Bills need a win to truly think playoffs. The offense actually shows up in this game as it is back and forth throughout. With a minute left the Bills have the ball at mid field when Fitzpatrick throws a dart to a wide open Stevie who drops the ball at the Jets 20 and would’ve acted to take the lead. Week 13 vs Tennessee Titans, 23-10 loss: With any playoff hopes hinging on this game Buffalo again fails to produce. By this point in the season the Bills injuries and lack of depth show especially on defense. In the 2nd quarter Chris Johnson scores his second TD of the game and gets to 90 yds rushing already on the day as the pours Bills D cannot stop the run. Week 14 at San Diego Chargers, 37-10 loss: With the Bills playoff chances basically gone the Bills help to eliminate any mathematical chance with a bad loss in San Diego. Defining this game is Ryan Fitzpatricks pass in triple coverage to Lee Smith which hits the back of Chargers defender and pops right to a Chargers defensive back. At this point of the year not a single break would ever go Buffalos way. Week 15 vs Miami Dolphins, 30-23 loss: In a more spirited affair vs the division rivals Buffalo loses a spirited contest. Defining this game though early in the 3rd quarter down just 13-6 the Dolphins have the ball at mid field. Dolphins QB Matt Moore bombs a deep ball to WR Brandon Marshall who takes it in for 65 yard TD. The Bills fight back but the trend of falling behind my multi point deficits wrecks their chances. Week 16 vs Denver Broncos, 40-14 win: Against an upstart Broncos team led by Tim Tebow the Bills actually win. Leading 26-14 with 8 mins left in the game Tebow is intercepted by Jarius Byrd near mid field who scores cementing a Buffalo win. Week 17 at New England Patriots, 49-21 loss: I’m not even doing a defining moment here. Just look at the box score and see Buffalo had 21 pts in the first half and then the Patriots scored 49 pts consecutively. Stevie Johnson got himself benched also for another celebration penalty. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brennan Huff Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 I never knew about this “Fitz scream” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TUBSTER Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 I remember watching the game against the Patriots in my grandfathers office on a tiny TV. I called my dad who was at the airport and we talked about how we both thought this could be our year. Little did we know... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CincyBillsFan Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 I was at the Cincinnati Bengals game. It was a beautiful day and the place was crawling with Bills fans. The parking lot tailgate was cool as Bills & Bengals fans mixed and had fun. One of my friends from North Buffalo came down to watch the game and while we tailgated he went up to other tailgating Bills fans to ask them where in Buffalo they came from. He was amazed at the answers he got - Cincinnati, Louisville, Indianapolis, Columbus, Dayton, Memphis, Atlanta, Knoxville, etc. It really showed the national following the Bills enjoy since the great diaspora from Western NY in the late 20th century. As for the game what a huge disappointment. After racing out to a 17 - 3 halftime lead just one week after beating NE to go 3 - 0 the Bills blew the game. That was the game where rookie AJ Green was an absolute beast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corta765 Posted April 21, 2021 Author Share Posted April 21, 2021 13 minutes ago, CincyBillsFan said: I was at the Cincinnati Bengals game. It was a beautiful day and the place was crawling with Bills fans. The parking lot tailgate was cool as Bills & Bengals fans mixed and had fun. One of my friends from North Buffalo came down to watch the game and while we tailgated he went up to other tailgating Bills fans to ask them where in Buffalo they came from. He was amazed at the answers he got - Cincinnati, Louisville, Indianapolis, Columbus, Dayton, Memphis, Atlanta, Knoxville, etc. It really showed the national following the Bills enjoy since the great diaspora from Western NY in the late 20th century. As for the game what a huge disappointment. After racing out to a 17 - 3 halftime lead just one week after beating NE to go 3 - 0 the Bills blew the game. That was the game where rookie AJ Green was an absolute beast. Yea dalton and Green turned it on and Buffalo never responded 9 hours ago, Brennan Huff said: I never knew about this “Fitz scream” Lol 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseyBills Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 very fun year. I remember I made my Xbox gamertag FitzMagic with some numbers. I really enjoyed that team, even though I knew we had no shot at a SB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freddie's Dead Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 (edited) Awesome writeup Corta. I'd like to add two observations. Week 6 at the NYG featured Fred Jackson virtually untouched on an 80-yard TD run. It was a thing of beauty, watching Fred gliding down the field, loping like a gazelle. The second observation is that Fred was a legit MVP candidate before he broke his leg. He was on pace for 1500 yards rushing (5.5 YPC) and 700 yards receiving (11.3 YPC). Ah, what might have been. We just didn't have enough weapons on offense to overcome the loss of Fred. Edited April 22, 2021 by Freddie's Dead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machine gun kelly Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 Corta I can see you put a lot of prep into this thread so thank you. My vote is we don’t bring up any of the 17 year drought games anymore. It’s like watching a car crash over and over again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corta765 Posted April 22, 2021 Author Share Posted April 22, 2021 6 hours ago, Freddie's Dead said: Awesome writeup Corta. I'd like to add two observations. Week 6 at the NYG featured Fred Jackson virtually untouched on an 80-yard TD run. It was a thing of beauty, watching Fred gliding down the field, loping like a gazelle. The second observation is that Fred was a legit MVP candidate before he broke his leg. He was on pace for 1500 yards rushing (5.5 YPC) and 700 yards receiving (11.3 YPC). Ah, what might have been. We just didn't have enough weapons on offense to overcome the loss of Fred. Yea Fred's season was insane it sucked so much he went out. I really believe had he not have been injured they probably are 9-7 and near the playoffs as they had some close losses that his impact on offense would've helped. 5 hours ago, machine gun kelly said: Corta I can see you put a lot of prep into this thread so thank you. My vote is we don’t bring up any of the 17 year drought games anymore. It’s like watching a car crash over and over again. Haha well the plus is once I get to the 2017 season on it gets fun and happy quickly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machine gun kelly Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 Alright bud. Imagine you’re in Star Trek and we did one of those time warp things and you can just start at 2017. Here let me help. Sad thing is I’ve never even listen or watched the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Just looked stupid to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Royale with Cheese Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 Awesome thread! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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