Ranking The Last 25 Years of Week 1 Opening Games

[corta765]

25 years into the new millennium has given us a lot of week games as Bills fans. The actual home opener is probably the best game yearly to attend as a Bills fan in terms of just anticipation as a fan and guaranteed energy in the stadium, but week one home or away has a truly special feel as a fan. Looking back was pretty fun as the Bills have had plenty of decent games but some truly great ones week 1 like the Rams on TNF or the Bears game in 2014... and a few just bad games like the 2018 47-3 implosion in Baltimore. I took a few minutes to rank from best to worst the last 25 years of Bills week 1 games. When ranking losses I judged not only on pain but expectations for the season also so a game like the 2002 OT loss to NY while an awful loss still gave hope at the time as Bledsoe looked really good. Not all losses are the same nor are all wins. Some games like losing 24-6 in 2000 or winning 22-7 over Houston in 2005 are relatively blah compared to the really good or really bad. Feel free to leave your thoughts, memories, what you hated or loved, and what you would change:

 

   
1    2022    31-10 win in LA on Opening Night (TNF)    
Bills fever was at max as they went to open the season against the Super Bowl Champion Rams with Von Miller now on roster. Buffalo blew out the Rams in spectacular fashion in the 2nd half capped by a 53 yard TD pass by Allen to Diggs            

 

2    2003    31-0 rout over New England    
With the defense infused with new talent including Takeo Spikes & Lawyer Milloy last minute the Bills boat raced the rival Pats in a memorable opener for the ages.            

 

3    2019    17-16 comeback win in NYC over the Jets    
Expectations were high in Buffalo & NYC that each teams young QB would a playoff berth. The Bills had a weird first half with some odd turnovers, but Josh Allen led a 17 pt comeback after the Bills went down 16-0 capped by a 38 yard John Brown TD with 3:00 minutes left.            

 

4    2014    23-20 OT win in Chicago    
A whirlwind of an offseason included Ralphs passing, Jim Kelly beating cancer, & the Bills trading up for Sammy Watkins the Bills upset the Bears in Chicago with an OT win. Fred Jackson's 38 yard run in OT to setup the winning FG was one for the ages & the defense was good            

 

5    2000    13-10 win over Titans on MNF    
At the time this game had mammoth hype as the Bills wanted revenge and the ending was just as memorable as the Bills special teams almost blew it again before Al Del Greco's kick went wide preserving a Bills victory            

 

6    2015    27-14 win over the Colts    
With the hype at an all time hype under Rex Ryan & first year of Pegula ownership the Bills took down the Colts who were coming off an AFC title appearance and SB hopefuls at the time. Tyrod Taylor's 51 yard TD to Percy Harvin was a highlight for the year that got the Ralph going            

 

7    2024    34-28 win over the Cardinals    
With many veteran studs gone it was expected to be a retool year and expectations were a bit lower. After sporting the Cardinals a 14-0 lead the Bills roared back as Josh found his groove and the defense successfully stopped a hail mary.            

 

8    2017    21-12 win over the Jets    
First game of the McD/Beane era was billed as the toilet bowl both the Bills & Jets were expected to be really bad. Instead on a beautiful fall day the Bills beat the Jets at home in a fairly exciting game with Poyer & Hyde making some big plays & McCoy going for over 110 yards rushing.            

 

9    2011    41-7 blowout win in KC    
Back in the royal blue uniforms the Bills trounced the Chiefs on opening day in KC. Ryan Fitzpatrick had four TDs as the Bills blew out the Chiefs in spectacular fashion            

 

10    2020    27-17 win over the Jets    
With COVID altering the world the Bills hosted the Jets week 1 with no fans and made quick work of NY as Josh Allen threw for 300 yards for the first time in his career and Stefon Diggs had 88 yards in his first game            

 

11    2008    34-10 beatdown of Seattle    
On a warm rainy opening day the Bills had a complete effort beating the Seahawks into submission. Brian Moorman pulled off a brilliant fake FG TD pass to Bills DE Ryan Denney while Trent Edwards had a solid day at QB            

 

12    2005    22-7 win over the Texans    
In their throwback 1960's blue unis with the standing buffalo rookie QB JP Losman had a solid game in his first start on a beautiful September day as the Bills started 1-0. The highlight play was a TD pass from Losman to TE Jason Peters            

 

13    2021    23-16 loss against the Steelers    
With Super Bowl expectations at an all time high and fans fully back in full force at home the Bills laid an egg against the Steelers as the offense outgained Pittsburgh, but a blocked Bills punt gave the Steelers a needed TD late in the game and Buffalo couldn't close the gap.            

 

14    2006    19-17 loss in New England    
In Dick Jauron's first game as head coach the Bills had a 17-7 lead entering the 2nd half but couldn't hold as a safety in the 4th quarter gave the Patriots a 19-17 lead which they held to the end.            

 

15    2023    22-16 OT loss in NYC against the Jets (MNF)    
In Aaron Rodgers first game as the Jets new QB & on the anniversary of  9/11 the Bills lost in NYC despite Rodgers playing just 2 downs. Josh had an all time bad game single handedly bringing the Jets back before special teams allowed a punt return TD in OT to finish the choke.            

 

16    2010    15-10 loss at to Miami    
Chan Gailey was coaching his first game as the Bills lost a dull boring affair vs their rivals. The one Bills highlight was a 31 yard fourth down TD to Roscoe Parrish by Trent Edwards.            

 

17    2001    24-6 loss against the Saints    
Despite leading 6-0 at half the Saints routed the Bills in the second half as Greg Williams first game as head coach went sour and Rob Johnson was bad and stud LB Sam Cowart hurt his achilles causing him to miss the remainder of the season            

 

18    2002    37-31 OT loss against the Jets    
The hype coming into the season was sky high with Drew Bledsoe in the hold and a free agency that saw London Fletcher come in. An incredible back and forth game including a Bledsoe comeback ended in brutal pain as the Jets returned the opening kickoff in OT for a TD            

 

19    2012    48-28 implosion in NYC against the Jets    
Expectations were high entering the season that this Bills team would end drought especially with Mario Williams signed and other additions. Instead the Bills 21-0 18 minutes into the season and everything went wrong fast before the offense found some life.            
 

20    2013    23-21 heartbreaking loss to the Patriots    
With new head coach Doug Marrone & rookie QB EJ Manuel at the helm the Bills put a spirited fight in against New England holding a small lead late in the game before Brady led a last minute drive to put the Pats up late.            

 

21    2016    13-7 loss in Baltimore    
In game that had the excitement of grass growing, the Bills offense was a major letdown, the Ravens had a nice passing TD, and everyone turned off the TV sad and bored. Worse any thoughts maybe the ship would be righted felt evaporated and the team wouldn't figure it out.

            

22    2018    47-3 destruction by the Ravens in Baltimore    
It was going to be a rebuilding year with Josh Allen drafted and some major cap hits being absorbed, but the Bills were down 26-0 at half. Nathan Peterman … Petermaned and Josh Allen ended up leading the team in passing despite not even playing until the 4th quarter.             

 

23    2004    13-10 loss against the Jaguars    
Year 3 of Bledsoe and Year 1 of Mularkey ended in gut wrenching pain as the Jags benefited on the push out of bounds rule the NFL had with a game ending TD. This loss in retrospect was even worse as it kept the Bills out of the playoffs            

 

24    2009    25-24 choke of a loss in New England on MNF     
With the Bills and fellow AFL sisters celebrating 50 years of football, the Bills went to New England for primetime. A seminal moment of the drought the Bills blew a 24-10 lead highlighted by Leodis McKelvin's kickoff fumble to lose to another Brady comeback.            

 

25    2007    15-14 loss against Denver    
Whatever small optimism the season entered with was silenced as Bills TE Kevin Everett was hurt on kickoff in the 2nd half nearly paralyzing him. When the game restarted the Bills got a 14-6 lead but blew it as the Broncos got a last second 42 yard FG to win as time expired.            
 

Edited 7 hours ago by corta765

[JohnNord]

If anything, this list tells me that week 1 is a liar 🤣

 

Still, there’s been some really openers.  I was glad to see 2019 ranked highly.  Up until that point, most assumed that Allen and Darnold were going in opposite directions.  I remember thinking how Buffalo never was able to win games when facing a large deficit.  Coming back from that 16-0 hole was huge.  

[corta765]

4 minutes ago, JohnNord said:

If anything, this list tells me that week 1 is a liar 🤣

 

Still, there’s been some really openers.  I was glad to see 2019 ranked highly.  Up until that point, most assumed that Allen and Darnold were going in opposite directions.  I remember thinking how Buffalo never was able to win games when facing a large deficit.  Coming back from that 16-0 hole was huge.  

Absolutely a week you should not take a lot out of good or bad. Generally good teams get good and bad teams get bad. 

2019 opener was seismic you could tell we had a baller and the way he closed mattered to me a lot.

[BuffaloBill]

34 minutes ago, corta765 said:

25 years into the new millennium has given us a lot of week games as Bills fans. The actual home opener is probably the best game yearly to attend as a Bills fan in terms of just anticipation as a fan and guaranteed energy in the stadium, but week one home or away has a truly special feel as a fan. Looking back was pretty fun as the Bills have had plenty of decent games but some truly great ones week 1 like the Rams on TNF or the Bears game in 2014... and a few just bad games like the 2018 47-3 implosion in Baltimore. I took a few minutes to rank from best to worst the last 25 years of Bills week 1 games. When ranking losses I judged not only on pain but expectations for the season also so a game like the 2002 OT loss to NY while an awful loss still gave hope at the time as Bledsoe looked really good. Not all losses are the same nor are all wins. Some games like losing 24-6 in 2000 or winning 22-7 over Houston in 2005 are relatively blah compared to the really good or really bad. Feel free to leave your thoughts, memories, what you hated or loved, and what you would change:

 

   
1    2022    31-10 win in LA on Opening Night (TNF)    
Bills fever was at max as they went to open the season against the Super Bowl Champion Rams with Von Miller now on roster. Buffalo blew out the Rams in spectacular fashion in the 2nd half capped by a 53 yard TD pass by Allen to Diggs            

 

2    2003    31-0 rout over New England    
With the defense infused with new talent including Takeo Spikes & Lawyer Milloy last minute the Bills boat raced the rival Pats in a memorable opener for the ages.            

 

3    2019    17-16 comeback win in NYC over the Jets    
Expectations were high in Buffalo & NYC that each teams young QB would a playoff berth. The Bills had a weird first half with some odd turnovers, but Josh Allen led a 17 pt comeback after the Bills went down 16-0 capped by a 38 yard John Brown TD with 3:00 minutes left.            

 

4    2014    23-20 OT win in Chicago    
A whirlwind of an offseason included Ralphs passing, Jim Kelly beating cancer, & the Bills trading up for Sammy Watkins the Bills upset the Bears in Chicago with an OT win. Fred Jackson's 38 yard run in OT to setup the winning FG was one for the ages & the defense was good            

 

5    2000    13-10 win over Titans on MNF    
At the time this game had mammoth hype as the Bills wanted revenge and the ending was just as memorable as the Bills special teams almost blew it again before Al Del Greco's kick went wide preserving a Bills victory            

 

6    2015    27-14 win over the Colts    
With the hype at an all time hype under Rex Ryan & first year of Pegula ownership the Bills took down the Colts who were coming off an AFC title appearance and SB hopefuls at the time. Tyrod Taylor's 51 yard TD to Percy Harvin was a highlight for the year that got the Ralph going            

 

7    2024    34-28 win over the Cardinals    
With many veteran studs gone it was expected to be a retool year and expectations were a bit lower. After sporting the Cardinals a 14-0 lead the Bills roared back as Josh found his groove and the defense successfully stopped a hail mary.            

 

8    2017    21-12 win over the Jets    
First game of the McD/Beane era was billed as the toilet bowl both the Bills & Jets were expected to be really bad. Instead on a beautiful fall day the Bills beat the Jets at home in a fairly exciting game with Poyer & Hyde making some big plays & McCoy going for over 110 yards rushing.            

 

9    2011    41-7 blowout win in KC    
Back in the royal blue uniforms the Bills trounced the Chiefs on opening day in KC. Ryan Fitzpatrick had four TDs as the Bills blew out the Chiefs in spectacular fashion            

 

10    2020    27-17 win over the Jets    
With COVID altering the world the Bills hosted the Jets week 1 with no fans and made quick work of NY as Josh Allen threw for 300 yards for the first time in his career and Stefon Diggs had 88 yards in his first game            

 

11    2008    34-10 beatdown of Seattle    
On a warm rainy opening day the Bills had a complete effort beating the Seahawks into submission. Brian Moorman pulled off a brilliant fake FG TD pass to Bills DE Ryan Denney while Trent Edwards had a solid day at QB            

 

12    2005    22-7 win over the Texans    
In their throwback 1960's blue unis with the standing buffalo rookie QB JP Losman had a solid game in his first start on a beautiful September day as the Bills started 1-0. The highlight play was a TD pass from Losman to TE Jason Peters            

 

13    2021    23-16 loss against the Steelers    
With Super Bowl expectations at an all time high and fans fully back in full force at home the Bills laid an egg against the Steelers as the offense outgained Pittsburgh, but a blocked Bills punt gave the Steelers a needed TD late in the game and Buffalo couldn't close the gap.            

 

14    2006    19-17 loss in New England    
In Dick Jauron's first game as head coach the Bills had a 17-7 lead entering the 2nd half but couldn't hold as a safety in the 4th quarter gave the Patriots a 19-17 lead which they held to the end.            

 

15    2023    22-16 OT loss in NYC against the Jets (MNF)    
In Aaron Rodgers first game as the Jets new QB & on the anniversary of  9/11 the Bills lost in NYC despite Rodgers playing just 2 downs. Josh had an all time bad game single handedly bringing the Jets back before special teams allowed a punt return TD in OT to finish the choke.            

 

16    2010    15-10 loss at to Miami    
Chan Gailey was coaching his first game as the Bills lost a dull boring affair vs their rivals. The one Bills highlight was a 31 yard fourth down TD to Roscoe Parrish by Trent Edwards.            

 

17    2001    24-6 loss against the Saints    
Despite leading 6-0 at half the Saints routed the Bills in the second half as Greg Williams first game as head coach went sour and Rob Johnson was bad and stud LB Sam Cowart hurt his achilles causing him to miss the remainder of the season            

 

18    2002    37-31 OT loss against the Jets    
The hype coming into the season was sky high with Drew Bledsoe in the hold and a free agency that saw London Fletcher come in. An incredible back and forth game including a Bledsoe comeback ended in brutal pain as the Jets returned the opening kickoff in OT for a TD            

 

19    2012    48-28 implosion in NYC against the Jets    
Expectations were high entering the season that this Bills team would end drought especially with Mario Williams signed and other additions. Instead the Bills 21-0 18 minutes into the season and everything went wrong fast before the offense found some life.            
 

20    2013    23-21 heartbreaking loss to the Patriots    
With new head coach Doug Marrone & rookie QB EJ Manuel at the helm the Bills put a spirited fight in against New England holding a small lead late in the game before Brady led a last minute drive to put the Pats up late.            

 

21    2016    13-7 loss in Baltimore    
In game that had the excitement of grass growing, the Bills offense was a major letdown, the Ravens had a nice passing TD, and everyone turned off the TV sad and bored. Worse any thoughts maybe the ship would be righted felt evaporated and the team wouldn't figure it out.

            

22    2018    47-3 destruction by the Ravens in Baltimore    
It was going to be a rebuilding year with Josh Allen drafted and some major cap hits being absorbed, but the Bills were down 26-0 at half. Nathan Peterman … Petermaned and Josh Allen ended up leading the team in passing despite not even playing until the 4th quarter.             

 

23    2004    13-10 loss against the Jaguars    
Year 3 of Bledsoe and Year 1 of Mularkey ended in gut wrenching pain as the Jags benefited on the push out of bounds rule the NFL had with a game ending TD. This loss in retrospect was even worse as it kept the Bills out of the playoffs            

 

24    2009    25-24 choke of a loss in New England on MNF     
With the Bills and fellow AFL sisters celebrating 50 years of football, the Bills went to New England for primetime. A seminal moment of the drought the Bills blew a 24-10 lead highlighted by Leodis McKelvin's kickoff fumble to lose to another Brady comeback.            

 

25    2007    15-14 loss against Denver    
Whatever small optimism the season entered with was silenced as Bills TE Kevin Everett was hurt on kickoff in the 2nd half nearly paralyzing him. When the game restarted the Bills got a 14-6 lead but blew it as the Broncos got a last second 42 yard FG to win as time expired.            
 

 The last two are probably the most memorable - the Kevin Everett situation was probably the most significant injury I have witnessed in football.

[Tenhigh]

That 2003 opener REALLY fooled me, and the irony of the score in the last game of that season was humiliating.

[Gregg]

Just looking at the last 25 years of openers I noticed the Bills have opened against the Jets 6 times, the Pats 4 times and the Dolphins only once. I guess the league likes to save the Bills - Dolphins games for later in the year. 

[Doc Brown]

That must've taken some time.  Well done.

 

Best was the 31-0 stomping we did of the Patriots.  Sam Adams making the Sports Illustrated cover was actually considered a big deal back in the day.  Let's just not talk about the regular season finale that year.

 

The worst was pry the Jags game on that last second TD given the hype that came before that season.  I think the home loss as heavy favorites to the Steelers in 2021 should be much lower.

Edited 6 hours ago by Doc Brown

[corta765]

9 minutes ago, Gregg said:

Just looking at the last 25 years of openers I noticed the Bills have opened against the Jets 6 times, the Pats 4 times and the Dolphins only once. I guess the league likes to save the Bills - Dolphins games for later in the year. 

Irony is Miami buffalo was week 1 a lot during the 80/90s

[corta765]

22 minutes ago, Doc Brown said:

The worst was pry the Jags game on that last second TD given the hype that came before that season.  I think the home loss as heavy favorites to the Steelers in 2021 should be much lower.

2021 opener in terms of pain wasn't bad for me for three reasons:

1. Just having fans back and COVID going rearview mirror was so reliving and refreshing

2. PIT was a solid team still and BUF while good was not fully established yet.. so hiccups were not a surprise and Buffalo wasn't awful as much as the offense just had some miscues.

3. The Bills had a very favorable schedule and figured it out in the first half before that weird middle happened and they still got it together to be rolling at seasons end.

 

Also my youngest son was born 2 days before the game. We were just happy to be home with home and our family so it was just nice having football by that point haha.

[LABILLBACKER]

Funny how if McKelvin hadn't fumbled, that game would've been top 3.

[corta765]

5 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

Funny how if McKelvin hadn't fumbled, that game would've been top 3.

 

Def would've been top ten prob top five for me as I was in college senior year and we had a house full of Bills fans going wild.

 

The worst thing about that loss too was it just cemented they were not going anywhere with Jauron. The prior two years they had floated near .500 with some major losses in big moments. They were the definition of in the hunt, but you hoped once you were actually over the hump to be in the dance. You had hoped the coach and QB had learned enough to take the step where you at least could be a wildcard team. PLUS with the ownership situation you knew things were not stellar so you were clinging to life. Lucky for us the we had a 6-3 loss coming a few weeks later!

Edited 5 hours ago by corta765

[US Egg]

1 hour ago, corta765 said:

Irony is Miami buffalo was week 1 a lot during the 80/90s

Pretty sure the one in '80 broke a 20 game losing streak against the Dolphins. It ranks up there as one of the best.

[corta765]

3 minutes ago, US Egg said:

Pretty sure the one in '80 broke a 20 game losing streak against the Dolphins. It ranks up there as one of the best.

Believe you are correct and they took the goal posts down also. There was another in 88 or 89 where they opened in Miami and Kelly ran it in last second. My dad said my uncle was so excited he nearly threw the TV through the window.

[strive_for_five_guy]

When can we expect the Week 2 review to drop? 😇

[corta765]

8 minutes ago, strive_for_five_guy said:

When can we expect the Week 2 review to drop? 😇

Weeks 2-18 are the responsibility of @Kirby Jackson

[Kirby Jackson]

5 minutes ago, corta765 said:

Weeks 2-18 are the responsibility of @Kirby Jackson

 

This is a fun offseason thread!! You did a really nice job with it. The time between the draft and camp can be so slow. This was a nice break.

[boyst]

the week 1 loss to the jets in 2002 must be higher. if we won that and rolls were reversed it'd be damn near number 1.

 

the hype before it was insane, it just happens we lost with two kickoff return for TD's. 

 

i was there. the returned KO TD was absolutely insane. The crowd went from wild to dead in 5 seconds.

[corta765]

48 minutes ago, boyst said:

the week 1 loss to the jets in 2002 must be higher. if we won that and rolls were reversed it'd be damn near number 1.

 

the hype before it was insane, it just happens we lost with two kickoff return for TD's. 

 

i was there. the returned KO TD was absolutely insane. The crowd went from wild to dead in 5 seconds.

This was my early days as a Bills fan since I was 13/14 so it was a bummer but my investment wasn’t the same so can’t compare. But Bledsoe coming was super big deal

[Mikie2times]

3 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

That must've taken some time.  Well done.

 

Best was the 31-0 stomping we did of the Patriots.  Sam Adams making the Sports Illustrated cover was actually considered a big deal back in the day.  Let's just not talk about the regular season finale that year.

 

The worst was pry the Jags game on that last second TD given the hype that came before that season.  I think the home loss as heavy favorites to the Steelers in 2021 should be much lower.

Ernest Wolford I believe? Somehow caught that ball with the half the team on him 😢. That was my sadness opener for sure.

55 minutes ago, boyst said:

the week 1 loss to the jets in 2002 must be higher. if we won that and rolls were reversed it'd be damn near number 1.

 

the hype before it was insane, it just happens we lost with two kickoff return for TD's. 

 

i was there. the returned KO TD was absolutely insane. The crowd went from wild to dead in 5 seconds.

That one was awful as well. Didn’t we tie that one late in fairly improbable fashion as well?

Edited 2 hours ago by Mikie2times

[eball]

12 minutes ago, Mikie2times said:

That one was awful as well. Didn’t we tie that one late in fairly improbable fashion as well?

 

Yes.  4th down Bledsoe to Moulds TD.  I was in the stadium and the only other time I’ve gone from exhilaration to silence in such short order was the Home Run Throwup game when we were in the stadium in Tennessee.