What is your favorite totally random Bills game?

[Enemarty]

As far as random games, the home and season opener in 1988 holds a great memory for me.  We had shown promise during the prior strike season and acquired Bennett in the great halloween trade.  The team was ready to take the next step and what better way to test that than open against a very strong Minnesota team.  It was a beautiful day and the defense played strong, even without Bruce.  But our new running back Thurman Thomas was the highlight and we pulled out a tough win to start the season.  As we closed the doors of the car after the game, I turned to my friend and said, we might have something here.  He said - yeah, a good day to be in Buffalo, turned on the ignition and the 10,000 Maniacs came blaring out of the stereo.  As has been noted above, later that season was the memorable Jets OT goalpost game.  I stayed safely in my seat, but enjoyed the view.  

[Neo]

I’m an old man.    My memory often needs correcting.    Have at it.

 

BIlls v Colts, first regular season game of 1990.   Highly regarded QB Jeff George makes his regular season debut.   He’s sacked 3 times and harassed all day.   The Bills win by two touchdowns.   Now, my memory.    The No Huddle Offense, used to great effectiveness the season before when the Bills trailed late, emerges as the primary offense.   When the Bills first take the field, Kelly is not under center and Rich Stadium erupts in cheers.  There’d been speculation all off season.   The rest is history.    I attended.

Edited 17 hours ago by Neo

[Bill from NYC]

5 hours ago, dave mcbride said:

Bills-Ravens in 1999 (13-10 win). Flutie played terribly all game long against a Ravens D that was FAR better than everyone knew (the year before perhaps the best defensive season in league history) and somehow pulled  it out with a couple of circus-act plays on the final drive.

 

Worth watching the last 2 minutes and 40 seconds — start at around the 1:55:10 mark: 

 

 

That was vs Jax!

Correct. At least I had the right state!  

[34-78-83]

Sam Cowart. What could have been

[boyst]

2009 I think. It was October. I had to cut a late season hay harvest to ensure winter stocks. It was not pleasing but not cold, Carolina Fall chilly probably best describes it. It was an unremarkable fall day and uncomfortable to be on the tractor with fall temps, dry breeze and it was a Sunday that I was taking the windrows. I listened to the Bills-Browns 6-3 game.

 

That day was so dull I can barely remember it but I remember that I still enjoyed the technology to have noise cancelling headphones and a radio (Sirius Stiletto) to listen to the game.

[buffblue]

14 minutes ago, 34-78-83 said:

Sam Cowart. What could have been

Yep. In 2000 he was better than ever and an absolute terror until the big injury against Tampa. Looking back that seemed to be a major breaking point for the Bills (7-4 at the time) descent into mediocrity for years to come. 

[Rubes]

Don’t know if it’s been mentioned in the last 6 pages, but one that comes to mind is the game at home against the Packers with Rodgers at QB. Don’t remember the year, probably early-mid 2010s. Super Mario made the strip sack in the end zone to seal the game. Packers were really good that year and beating them was awesome, especially given how many Packers fans I work with.

 

[The Firebaugh Kid]

1 hour ago, Rubes said:

Don’t know if it’s been mentioned in the last 6 pages, but one that comes to mind is the game at home against the Packers with Rodgers at QB. Don’t remember the year, probably early-mid 2010s. Super Mario made the strip sack in the end zone to seal the game. Packers were really good that year and beating them was awesome, especially given how many Packers fans I work with.

 

Can’t remember the year but I have a giant five piece canvas bills mural on my living room wall and if you look closely it’s from this game.

[Another Fan]

1 hour ago, Rubes said:

Don’t know if it’s been mentioned in the last 6 pages, but one that comes to mind is the game at home against the Packers with Rodgers at QB. Don’t remember the year, probably early-mid 2010s. Super Mario made the strip sack in the end zone to seal the game. Packers were really good that year and beating them was awesome, especially given how many Packers fans I work with.

 

2014.  Marrone's last year.

 

Yeah still remember that game vividly.  Green Bay still has never won in Buffalo 

[Another Fan]

2009 against the Dolphins: the week after Jauron (RIP) got fired.

 

I forgot who the intern HC was at the time but I remember he made some pretty aggressive decisions Dick J never would have and they won the game 30-13.  Including an exciting Fitz to T.O touchdown 

[Another Fan]

It was 95 or 96 I know Kotite was the coach of the Jets in this game.  Despite the Jets being pretty bad they usually played the Bills competitive whenever they played in Jersey.

 

Yeah I know the Jets were down 8 and with no time left in the 4th quarter Boomer and the Jets actually got a TD on a Hail Mary attempt.  But failed on the 2 point conversion so the Bills won this game.  no doubt it was exciting though.  

[dgrochester55]

Late 2004 against the Browns. Up until the last game of the season against the Steelers backups, that Buffalo squad in the second half was about as on fire as I remember any Bills team being. The Browns game was the best in the bunch with a 37-7 blowout where Buffalo had Cleveland held to negative yards until a few garbage yards at the end got them in the positive.  We all know how that season ended, but at that point watching that game, I felt like Buffalo could not only break the drought, but make a deep playoff run.

[Mikie2times]

39 minutes ago, dgrochester55 said:

Late 2004 against the Browns. Up until the last game of the season against the Steelers backups, that Buffalo squad in the second half was about as on fire as I remember any Bills team being. The Browns game was the best in the bunch with a 37-7 blowout where Buffalo had Cleveland held to negative yards until a few garbage yards at the end got them in the positive.  We all know how that season ended, but at that point watching that game, I felt like Buffalo could not only break the drought, but make a deep playoff run.

That run in 2004 was among the more enjoyable stretches I have had as a fan. It doesn't get a lot of conversation because of the Steelers game. 

 

[Dan Darragh]

20 hours ago, galept said:

Beating Patriots in 2011. Watched it with my roommates on a small laptop screen and we were screaming the entire time.

Wow, can't believe this one didn't come up until page 5!  This is my choice hands down.

 

Bills picked off Brady 4 times, and the Bills came back from way down to snap the 15 game losing streak against the Pats. 

 

If you didn't love Fitz and Fred after this game, you don't have a heart.

 

 

Edited 9 hours ago by Dan Darragh

[NastyNateSoldiers]

12 hours ago, 34-78-83 said:

Sam Cowart. What could have been

I was at the game in Tampa when he got hurt he was on pace for over 275 tackles that season.  He was a machine I loved watching him play. 

[NastyNateSoldiers]

On 5/3/2025 at 3:00 AM, T.E. said:

A random one I just remembered that meant a lot to me because it was the first game I remember watching with my dad, a die-hard Buffalonian who got me into Bills fandom - an early season match up against the Houston Oilers at the Astrodome in 1989.

 

This game had everything. Kelly and Moon in a shootout. A blocked FG TD return. A blocked punt TD return. Went to OT where the Bills won 47-41 on a Kelly-to-Reed TD pass. If this exact game had been replicated in the Super Bowl, it would be inarguably known as the greatest football game of all time. 

 

I believe this is the game where Derrick Burroughs injured his neck as well. This one a classic I will never forget. 

[SoCal Deek]

Totally random? Okay…some similarly old fan can correct me but I think it was a preseason game when James Harris was at QB and he took a quarterback sneak something like 98 yards for a touchdown. I believe it still may be the longest play in Bills history…but being a preseason game it doesn’t register. 

[NastyNateSoldiers]

On 5/3/2025 at 3:42 AM, Htt2821 said:

Damn…this was going to be my choice lol.  Don’t forget 4th and 20 converted by Chandler down the middle. 

Vikings games always crazy . 

 

2002 Bledsoe vs Culpepper OT win for Buffalo in a comeback shootout victory. 

 

2014 Sammy last second TD 

 

2022 Jefferson 4th and 18 catch plus the fumble on the kneel down . 

On 5/3/2025 at 8:41 AM, Mikie2times said:

 

To me this was the peak of the drought era. I also met my first TBD poster in a crap bar in Kalamazoo Michigan for this game. If you're still here I don't remember your handle, I was formerly Kzoomike. We had so much talent on this roster. 

Best game I ever been to 31-0 home opener vs Pats the Lawyer Milloy game. 

[The Wiz]

Kevin Everett game and not because of the injury.

 

Has no idea he was as injured as he was at first glance and ended up losing the game without even realizing it because I met a group of people from Toronto and left early so I could hang out with some random girl. 

 

It was worth it to leave early. 😉

[Buffalo4Life01]

10 hours ago, dgrochester55 said:

Late 2004 against the Browns. Up until the last game of the season against the Steelers backups, that Buffalo squad in the second half was about as on fire as I remember any Bills team being. The Browns game was the best in the bunch with a 37-7 blowout where Buffalo had Cleveland held to negative yards until a few garbage yards at the end got them in the positive.  We all know how that season ended, but at that point watching that game, I felt like Buffalo could not only break the drought, but make a deep playoff run.

Great game and I remember that stretch of games exactly the same.  Buffalo had the running game rolling at that point and Bledsoe was basically playing the roll of steady game manager.  The defense was playing very well also.  I also felt like if Buffalo would have made the playoffs, they were a hot team more than capable of goin on a run.  

Just found this blurb regarding the 2004 season on Wikipedia:

'"According to Football Outsiders, who has tracked every play in the NFL since the early 1990s, the 2004 Bills were statistically the best NFL team (in their record-keeping history) to have failed to qualify for the playoffs"

Edited 2 hours ago by Buffalo4Life01