5 all-time best moments, 5 all-time worst

[tennesseeboy]

Great list. I might put some ahead of others (throwback #1 and wide right #2 for instance) but you hit the top five in each category.

[AnthonyF]

I thought RJ played well that game, but overall as a team I think we would have played better and wouldnt have been in that situation if Flutie was playing. No real facts to back it up ... just a feeling.

867511[/snapback]

 

 

You got to be kidding, the first half was one of the worst I've ever seen and our defense was outstanding. He had about 30 yards passing, sacked 4-5 times, a fumble (maybe 2) and a safety.... and by the end he was a spectacular 10-22 for 131....

 

If ever a fix was in (ie Ralphie calling the shots) it was that day. How Flutie sat on the bench was inconceivable....

 

As for the best game agreed it was vs. SF around 1992, in SF when Buffalo & SF basically went up and down the field all game, not a single punt and the Bills won something like 38-35 (Kelly vs. Young). Must have been 900 yards in offense.

[BuffaloWings]

For me...

 

5 favorite:

 

Comeback game vs Houston

51-3

31-0 over the genius in 2003

1994 AFC Champ - Kelly looking at the camera and saying "We're baaaaaaaack!!!"

Flutie's "Lambeau Leap" against Jax in 1998

 

 

5 worst:

 

Music City Gift

"Just give it to 'em"

Wide right

The entire 2001 season

Anytime a Bills kicker misses a potentially game-winning FG

[KnightRider]

Couple other great moments-

 

1. September, 1980, Bills win, 17-7. It may be the only time the goalposts have come down after a season opener...

 

2. December 23, 1990, Bills demolish the same opponent as in #1 by counter treying them to death. Goalposts came down again...

 

3. August 1986, when Kelly arrived.

 

4. Double Hail Mary game against the Patsies in 1981...

 

5. Bills-49ers in San Fran, 1992, Kelly vs. Young. No Punts and two of the best offenses in the history of the game generate >1000 yards.

 

Seems like the bad moments are easier to come up with...

 

1. Polian's resignation. Butler kept it going, but luck or close calls never seemed to go our way after Polian left. See the homerun throw-up.

 

2. The release of Thomas, Smith and Reed.

 

3. The comeback win against Carolina in 2001. That win cost us Peppers and stuck us with Williams.

 

4. Anytime Jim Jensen touched the ball.

 

5. Joe Cribbs being pulled to avoid a making bonus payment.

 

6. Jerry Butler breaking his leg.

[ch19079]

my friend, who is a HUGE giants fan, reminds me of the "wide right" on a almost daily basis. but i didnt watch that game cus i was so young. i watched the comeback but again, i was very young and didnt really care.

 

I do remember the music city bull sh-- forward pass pisses me off more than anything. i watched it live, i watched the replay. it was a forward pass, and people saying it wasnt jsut pisses me off more.

 

my best memory has to be he bills dominating the pats several years back in the first game of the season. i was drunk at a sports bar chearing the bills and laughing at the fin fans because they lost to the texans i think. LOL.

 

 

another great moment was Kelly's HOF speach. i remember holding back a few tears as he talked about his son.

[ryborg]

The loss to Jacksonville in the first round of the 1996 playoffs. It was our first loss at home in the playoffs -- and we really SHOULD have handled that team. Especially sad was watching Kelly being carted off the field, murmuring "I'm Batman!" It would be his last game ever, which makes it even sadder.

 

Agreed 100%. This is a massively underrated bad Bills moment. I no longer hate certain teams like the Redskins for badly beating Buffalo in the '80s/'90s (well, as much), but I still loathe Jacksonville.

 

Another one that hasn't been mentioned is the Week 16 game against the Colts in 1988. If they win that game, they get home-field for the playoffs and who knows what happens in the Cincy game in the AFC Championship. Gary Hogeboom? Come on. He was the '88 equivalent of 2005's Sage Rosenfels.

[rockpile]

1) Being at Comeback Game

2) Being at Raiders 51-3 Game

 

3) Storming the field after clinching AFC East against the Jets!!

1) Wide Right

2) Music City Miracle

 

everything after these two was just the same ole' kick in the arse

867602[/snapback]

 

You were one of the 1,000,000 people who went to that game? (kidding - honest). I watched the comeback game on satellite feed in Rochester and never considered leaving. Being there "live" had to be awesome!

 

I do not really have a top 5 good and bad.

 

Very Good:

Raiders 24 Bills 14, ten minutes left to play on a Sunday night.

Final score was Bills 38 Raiders 24 !

I was at that one! The Bills were like raptors.

 

Very good moment in a very bad game:

Don Beebe stripping the ball from a celebrating Leon Lett, touchdown denied.

 

Bad:

Going WAY back, the loss to KC in the AFL Championship, and missing the 1st NFL-AFL Championship (it was not a Super Bowl yet).

I watched it from a bar stool in South Buffalo on a snowy b&w antenna feed from Pennsylvania. Sold out but blacked out, as were all home games then.

[rockpile]

I do have to say that the single most painful moment in Bills history in my opinion will always be "wide right".

 

For the record, I do NOT blame Scott Norwood. Without his leg that season, The Bills would have been watching that game on television.

 

He was NEVER better than a coin toss outside the 40. <sigh> It should not have come down to that kick deciding the game.

[BADOLBILZ]

That prevented our 5th SB berth. I won't turn this into a Flutie RJ thread but though RJ played well i still think it was a distraction. And I'm drunk right now.

867504[/snapback]

 

 

Here's a hint, if you don't want to start a debate, stop bringing it up. The reality is that what prevented the Bills 5th Super Bowl berth that season was very bad QB play on an otherwise stellar team during the regular season, which lead to the controversial decision to play the backup, which almost resulted in an incredible road playoff win for a team that couldn't beat scrub teams like the NYG or Oakland Raiders AT HOME with a struggling starting QB during the regular season which cost them the homefield advantage that their talent level indictated they deserved. IMO, the most talented team the Bills had had since SB XXVI.

 

"Distraction" about the QB choice clearly didn't cost the team that playoff game though, lousy kick coverage did. Not just "HR Throwback" either, ALL DAY. The only real distractions were a good defense facing a suddenly banged up Bills offensive line, a loud, PA-system enhanced crowd and some unfortunate officiating from the Bills perspective. The backup QB lead Bills offense outplayed the Titans offense. Johnson outplayed Steve McNair. The Bills defense outplayed the Titans defense. So please enough with the QB debate and the nonsense about "distractions" and all the other mythology about that game.

[CFLstyle]

Well mine will be different because I'm young and havn't seen the Superbowl years, but here goes:

 

Greatest:

1. 31-0 win over Patriots.

2. Losman leads comeback win over Texans.

3. Upset win over the Bengals last year.

4. Bills win over the Redskins in '03 when Rob Johnson came in.

5. Tom Donahoe fired.

 

Worst:

1. Music City Miracle.

2. Comeback loss to Dolphins in '05.

3. Loss to Steelers to kill our playoff hopes in '04.

4. Flutie's fumble at the 5 vs. Miami in the playoffs.

5. 17-7 loss to the Dolphins in '03 (After an incredible start this was the bad turning point)

[stevewin]

51-3 will always be the best for me. Unbelievable - just a big party - "We're going to the SB"!!!

 

Wide right is obvious - but Harmon's drop stays with me to this day. HR throwback was pretty damn bad too,

[KD in CA]

Best:

 

1990 AFCC: 51-3...the first trip to the Super Bowl was like losing your virginity.

1990 Playoffs: 44-34 in the snow v. Miami. A playoff win over the Fish!!

1991 AFCC: 10-7 victory over Denver

1993 Playoffs: The Comeback.

1981 WC Game: Bills hold on after wild Jets comeback

 

 

Worst

1990 SB: Wide Right

1989 Playoffs: Ronnie F$%*ing Harmon v. Cleveland

1980 Playoffs: Fouts' 50 yard TD late in Division playoff game

1999 Playoffs: Homerun Throwup

1993 SB: Thurman's fumble at the start of the 2d half.

[AnthonyF]

Here's a hint, if you don't want to start a debate, stop bringing it up.  The reality is that what prevented the Bills 5th Super Bowl berth that season was very bad QB play on an otherwise stellar team during the regular season, which lead to the controversial decision to play the backup, which almost resulted in an incredible road playoff win for a team that couldn't beat scrub teams like the NYG or Oakland Raiders AT HOME with a struggling starting QB during the regular season which cost them the homefield advantage that their talent level indictated they deserved.  IMO, the most talented team the Bills had had since SB XXVI.

 

"Distraction" about the QB choice clearly didn't cost the team that playoff game though, lousy kick coverage did.  Not just "HR Throwback" either, ALL DAY.  The only real distractions were a good defense facing a suddenly banged up Bills offensive line, a loud, PA-system enhanced crowd and some unfortunate officiating from the Bills perspective.  The backup QB lead Bills offense outplayed the Titans offense.  Johnson outplayed Steve McNair.  The Bills defense outplayed the Titans defense.  So please enough with the QB debate and the nonsense about "distractions" and all the other mythology about that game.

868176[/snapback]

RJ was putrid that game.... His first half may have been the worst half of football ever played.....

 

Check the stats.... Any production from the QB and we would/should have been ahead by 10 minimum @ half. 10-22 131 yards, 2 fumbles, 6 sacks and a safety.... Please tell me you're kidding when you say that QB wasn't the deciding factor....

[clownments22]

i was in first through fourth grade for the super bowl years, so even though i watched the superbowls i wasn't a real fan. so for some of the moments that i consider myself a true fan:

 

best:

31-0 new england

TKO sack and forced fumble for TD of brady on the first play of the season

naked dog leg winning last second td against jacksonville

OT win against chicago in 02, that i was there for

training camp 04 getting JP, lee, and willis all to sign my hat

 

worst:

loss to pittsburgh 04

home run throw back

loss to dolphins in 05 after 21-0 first quarter lead

losing antoine winfield (i was a huge fan)

enduring the ridiculing in elementary school after SB losses

[pdh1]

Wondering what peoples' 5 all-time best Bills moments/events were, and 5 all-time worst.

867467[/snapback]

 

two more jim kelly moments.

 

Him getting knocked out by the Saints on the road, only to see him get up and flip off the Saints fans who were cheering him getting hurt, and leading the Bills back to victory.

 

The playoff game vs the Steelers were he got hurt and left the game. Bruce Smith was already out with the flu. After halftime, he comes storming out of the tunnel and almost brings the Bills back.

The annoucers were going nuts.

 

Oh yeah, and the Bills knocking out Jeff George from his first NFL Game.

[cåblelady]

i said witha smirk on my face, "now hoooooold on a minute lassie, we still gotta cover this kick!"

 

867507[/snapback]

Ahhhh, yes. Stay in your lanes.

[KD in CA]

RJ was putrid that game.... His first half may have been the worst half of football ever played.....

 

Check the stats....  Any production from the QB and we would/should have been ahead by 10 minimum @ half.  10-22 131 yards, 2 fumbles, 6 sacks and a safety....  Please tell me you're kidding when you say that QB wasn't the deciding factor....

868300[/snapback]

 

 

Thank you. Nothing more infuriating than the inane "RJ left with the lead" arguement. The game wouldn't have come down to the final play if Flutie had been QB all day.

[dhgold]

I generally agree with people's good and bad moments. Here are some more:

 

Bad:

Bruce Smith getting a 15 yard facemask penalty after making the most amazing sack I'd ever seen, on Esiason in 1989 AFC Championship game. The play, a horizontally airborne BS grabbing Boomer's jersey at the collar with one hand and pulling him down, was so remarkable that the ref figured it wasn't' possible to do w/out a facemask so he threw a flag, resulting in a 20+ yard swing in field position. (After the game, Bruce called the flag "the worst call in NFL history.) The Bills had chance in that game, but not with that kind of bad luck.

 

The Giants game towards the end of the 1990 season, when the Bills were having their way, in Meadowlands, with the very highly regarded Giants and a fan could finally believe the Bills were for real, when LT pushed Will Wolford into Kelly, injuring both Bills. As I watched the two Bills writhing on the field, that same old sinking feeling came over me.

 

The game at Foxborough during the 98 season (the year of Flutie), when the Bills had the Pats beat until the refs made two terrible calls in the final minute, giving the Pats the game. Those calls, along with the Vinny non-touchdown resulted in the reinstatement of instant replay.

 

The Mark Ingram play of the Bills first Super Bowl, when the Bills were ahead in the 3rd quarter and the Giants converted 3rd and 13 after about five Bills missed tackles on Ingram.

 

Losing Joe Cribbs out of cheapness. Was that the year when RW cut the all the assistant coach's salaries?

 

Good: (2nd tier since the best ones, esp 51-3, have already been mentioned)

 

This goes way back, the 1968 season I believe (I was a little kid), when the doormat Bills beat the mighty Jets by picking off Namath four times and running a couple back.

 

The second game of Bledsoe's first year as a Bill, the shootout at Minnesota, when the Bills amazingly won and indicated that after having been horrible the year before, they would at least be fun to watch.

 

 

 

Bizarre:

Jack Spike swallowing his tongue against the Oilers. 1967?

 

The Bills' D-lineman (Edwards?) who stepped on Bradshaw's unhelmeted head. When asked about it after the game, the Bills player said that he "thought it was the football."

[Brandon]

Thank you.  Nothing more infuriating than the inane "RJ left with the lead" arguement.  The game wouldn't have come down to the final play if Flutie had been QB all day.

868417[/snapback]

 

Maybe, but then again, maybe not. Lets not forget that the Bills lost on the final play against the Dolphins in the previous year in the playoffs. Flutie committed several turnovers in that game himself, including a fumble on the final play.

[Cynical]

Maybe,  but then again,  maybe not.  Lets not forget that the Bills lost on the final play against the Dolphins in the previous year in the playoffs.  Flutie committed several turnovers in that game himself,  including a fumble on the final play.

868441[/snapback]

 

Thank you. there is nothing more "infuriating" than somebody saying DF would have been the difference in that game because:

 

A). It would have never come down to the last play

 

or

 

B). DF would have never turned the ball over like that

 

 

The Miami playoff game the year before proves both arguments as false.

Despite all the great plays DF did perform, he had just as many crappy ones that cost the team dearly.