25 greatest games in Bills stadium history: Epic battles, monumental wins, and that comeback
The Bills will play one more season in their longtime home before moving to a new stadium across the street.
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Rich Stadium, Ralph Wilson Stadium, New Era Field, Highmark Stadium …
No matter what we call the Buffalo Bills’ old barn, the memories made there are irreplaceable.
To commemorate the final season at the original Orchard Park ballyard, The Athletic convened a panel of nine experts to rank the 25 greatest games played there. “Greatest” was left open to each voter’s interpretation. The Bills did not have to win the game. Stakes could be high or low. Electric Company, Ground Chuck, Bermuda Triangle, K-Gun, Flutie Flakes, the drought, Fitzmagic, Josh Allen – every era was on the ballot. A total of 62 games received at least one vote.
The list is comprehensive, but we admit it might be a tad premature. If we wait until the season is over, however, the focus will be on the Bills’ on-field successes and failures. Attention always shifts immediately to evaluating the roster, the coach’s and GM’s performance, free agency needs and the draft. Fans will be more excited about the new stadium opening across Abbott Road than talking about the one getting torn down.
So let’s look back now. There’s no better way to get ready for The Ralph’s last stand than to reflect on its greatest games. We have 52 years to draw from.
The farewell should be a hoot. Home games include potential blockbusters against the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles, and whatever matchup(s) might await in the playoffs. There will be weeks when we wonder whether a game deserves to crack the top 25 as set forth by a distinguished panel of nine experts.
That only adds to the fun of putting together an all-time list.
Be sure to stick around for the end-credit scenes.
The panelists:
Budd Bailey spent nearly a quarter-century as a reporter and editor for the Buffalo News. The former WEBR radio host is finishing his 16th book. “One Bills Drive,” co-authored with fellow panelist Greg Tranter, is a rundown of the 50 greatest Bills games in Orchard Park. It is scheduled to be released in October.
Erik Brady was a Buffalo Evening News paperboy who became a Buffalo Courier-Express sports columnist before joining USA Today as one of the sports department’s founding journalists.
Jonah Bronstein is a sports reporter for WIVB.com. The former Niagara Gazette sports editor has covered Western New York pros and colleges since 2005, also writing for the Associated Press and Buffalo News.
Mark Gaughan retired from the Buffalo News in May after 43 years. He was Pro Football Writers of America president and for 12 years served on the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee, presenting the cases for — in order — Joe DeLamielleure, James Lofton, Thurman Thomas, Bruce Smith, Ralph Wilson and Andre Reed.
Chris Parker’s voice has filled the airwaves since 1995 as the passionate conscience of the Buffalo sports fan. “Bulldog” started with WBEN 590-AM before switching to WGR 550-AM. For the past 22 years, he and Mike Schopp have co-hosted the afternoon drive shift.
Chuck Pollock spent over 50 years with the Olean Times Herald, serving as sports editor and producing over 7,000 columns. His first game covering the Bills was the 1973 preseason opener — the first game in Rich Stadium.
Greg Tranter is the former president of the Buffalo History Museum’s board of managers. He has written six sports books and is managing editor of the Coffin Corner, the Pro Football Researchers Association’s magazine. Tranter maintains what is considered the largest collection of Bills artifacts.
John Wawrow has been the Associated Press’ Buffalo bureau sports reporter since 2000. He covered the duration of the drought, an ownership change and several key firings before finally covering Bills home playoff games.
Lisa Wilson is The Athletic’s editorial director for talent and development and its former managing editor for the NFL. She spent nearly two decades at the Buffalo News, seven as executive sports editor. She became the first Black woman president of the Associated Press Sports Editors in 2020.
25. 1980 Week 14: Bills 10, Rams 7 (OT) — After five years without making the playoffs, the Bills reach double-digit victories and all but clinch the AFC East title by beating the reigning NFC champs in the rain and fog. Nick Mike-Mayer’s 30-yard field goal in sudden death shook the stadium. Postgame cheers were so loud that the Bills, as Brady notes, “return from locker room for can-can of a curtain call.”
24. 2001 Week 13: Bills 25, Panthers 24 — It’s December, and these teams have combined for two victories all year. Carolina leads by 18 points late in the second quarter, but Alex Van Pelt throws for 277 yards and Travis Henry runs for 101 yards for Orchard Park’s fourth-largest comeback.
23. 2024-25 playoffs: Bills 27, Ravens 25 — The Bills survive Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry when Ravens tight end Mark Andrews fumbles in the fourth quarter and drops what would have been the tying two-point conversion with 93 seconds left in the game.
“Do I have this game too high?” Gaughan asks of his No. 11 selection. “Maybe, but I think that Ravens team was one of the best, most talented all-around teams the Bills have ever beaten.”
22. 2022 Week 18: Bills 35, Patriots 23 — A week after Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest, Nyheim Hines returns the opening kickoff 96 yards for a TD then takes one 101 yards in the third quarter – the only time in club history a player has done it twice in one game. Stefon Diggs catches seven passes for 104 yards and a touchdown.
21. 1988-89 playoffs: Bills 17, Oilers 10 — The first playoff victory at Rich Stadium features a defensive and special-teams stranglehold on Warren Moon’s run-and-shoot attack. The Bills record an interception, two sacks and two fumble recoveries, advancing to their first AFC title game.
20. 1981 Week 12: Bills 20, Patriots 17 — The Bills are down four points with 35 seconds left and have the ball on their own 27-yard line. Running back Roland Hooks makes a 37-yard catch and then, with five seconds remaining, comes down with Joe Ferguson’s 36-yard, tip-drill chuck that glances off Frank Lewis’ hands. It was the only time in Hooks’ career he had two receiving TDs in one game.
19. 1993-94 playoffs: Bills 29, Raiders 23 — In the coldest game in Bills’ history (0 degrees Fahrenheit, wind chill of minus 32), Jim Kelly throws for 287 yards and two TDs to Bill Brooks.
“This was one of the great, underrated wins of the Jim Kelly era,” Gaughan says. “The Raiders had beaten the Bills in Orchard Park in December. The Bills got an ‘intercepted’ kickoff return from Steve Tasker, and had to come from behind in the fourth quarter. Kelly was brilliant.”
18. 1995-96 playoffs: Bills 37, Dolphins 22 — The Bills send Don Shula, the NFL’s winningest coach, into retirement with a loss. Thurman Thomas gains 200 yards from scrimmage, with a rushing TD, and Tasker has five receptions for 108 yards and a TD. Dan Marino throws for 422 yards, but is intercepted three times.
17. 1990 Week 5: Bills 38, Raiders 24 — Down 10 points with 10:28 left, Buffalo scores the final 24 points, including Tasker’s blocked punt that James Williams returns for a touchdown and Nate Odomes’ fumble recovery for another score.
16. 2020-21 playoffs: Bills 17, Ravens 3 — Taron Johnson’s 101-yard pick-six late in the third quarter are the final points. Buffalo gains just 220 yards, 32 on the ground, but the defense registers eight QB hits and forces three fumbles.
“In a breakthrough season, which 2020 was for today’s Bills era, there needed to be a signature win,” Wawrow says. “And nearly faltering against the Colts in the wild-card round a week earlier only upped the ante. Lamar Jackson and the big, bad Baltimore Ravens set the stage for what was supposed to be a prime-time quarterback showdown, only to have the Bills’ oft-maligned defense steal the show in a brawl. The Bills as an organization arrived that night.”
15. 2020-21 playoffs: Bills 27, Colts 24 — Josh Allen’s diving touchdown becomes his iconic Superman image. The Bills hang on to win despite the Colts outgaining, out-converting and out-possessing them in a turnover-free game.
“The Bills were outplayed,” Gaughan says, “by an outstanding Colts team with a great QB. Philip Rivers was sensational, but Josh Allen put on his Superman cape.”
14. 1988 Week 12: Bills 9, Jets 6 (OT) — Buffalo clinches the AFC East. Fred Smerlas blocks Pat Leahy’s 40-yard field goal attempt to bring overtime, and cornerback Derrick Burroughs forces a fumble two plays into sudden death. Cornelius Bennett recovers and Scott Norwood kicks the 30-yard winner.
“The Bills stormed to the best start in team history with an 11-1 record and became the earliest team to ever clinch a division title,” says Tranter, who was among the fans who poured onto the field. “The term ‘Fandemonium’ was born by Darryl Talley in the locker room after the game, and the term became synonymous with Bills radio announcer Van Miller describing the fan atmosphere at Rich Stadium. The 1988 Bills season was also the start of the greatest six-year run in team history.”
13. 2017 Week 14: Bills 13, Colts 7 (OT) — As nearly 17 inches of snow falls, LeSean McCoy runs 21 yards for the touchdown to keep Buffalo’s drought-ending playoff hopes alive — the game forever remembered as Snowvertime.
“The conditions were clear 90 minutes before kickoff,” Wawrow says. “Mayhem ensued from the skies and on the field by the time the game began. The snow fell so hard, the yard lines were covered, making yards gained and first downs a guess. Fans built snowmen in the stands. Nathan Peterman started, Joe Webb finished. Colts players frantically attempted to kick a hole through the snow to find a place to spot the ball for kicker Adam Vinatieri, who missed two field goals, including a 43-yarder in the final seconds of regulation.
“The game very few could see live or on TV because of the hard-falling snow was more than a spectacle. In the end, a Bills’ loss here to a Colts team that entered the day 3-9 would have essentially ended Buffalo’s playoff hopes and ushered in Year 18 of The Drought.”
12. 1998 Week 7: Bills 17, Jaguars 16 — A signature Doug Flutie victory with the franchise languishing and unable to sell tickets. Down six points with 1:50 to play, Flutie leads a 12-play, 70-yard drive that includes a 38-yard strike to Eric Moulds and ends with a 1-yard bootleg touchdown.
“Though the Bills still had star players, interest was sagging at a time the team was pushing ticket sales to help cover renovations at Rich Stadium, with the specter of the franchise moving once again being raised,” Wawrow writes.
“Enter Doug Flutie. The 1984 Heisman Trophy winner with Hollywood looks and a scrambling feistiness that made up for his 5-foot-10 stature returned to the NFL following a successful CFL career, signing with the Bills in January 1998. Despite the hype and resume, Flutie took a back seat to Rob Johnson. With Johnson sidelined, Flutie’s first start for the Bills was memorable in how it ended.
“Flutie was supposed to pitch the ball to Thurman Thomas, but the future Hall of Famer couldn’t hear the play call due to the crowd noise. Flutie — what else? — improvised and ran the ball in untouched to trigger a wild celebration, a bump in ticket sales and an unrelenting quarterback debate that lasted beyond both players’ tenures in Buffalo.”
David Nelson jumps into the crowd after Buffalo beat the New England Patriots at Ralph Wilson Stadium on Sept. 25, 2011. The Bills won 34-31. (Rick Stewart / Getty Images)
11. 2011 Week 3: Bills 34, Patriots 31 — After 15 straight losses to the Patriots, the Bills are down 21-0. But they intercept Tom Brady four times, Ryan Fitzpatrick connects with Fred Jackson on a 38-yard catch-and-run to the 1-yard line and Rian Lindell kicks a field goal as time expires. The Fitzmagic Bills are 3-0, and Drayton Florence’s pick-six is chosen for Sports Illustrated’s next cover.
“Another oasis in the drought that got the Bills on the cover of SI,” Bronstein says. “Venerable broadcaster Van Miller came out of retirement and broke press box etiquette to narrate the winning kick in Buffalo’s only other victory against Brady in a game he played all the way to the end. The goal posts were lowered before any fans could get to them, but many lingered in the afterglow, singing ‘Sweet Caroline.’ Good times never felt so good.”
10. 2003 Week 1: Bills 31, Patriots 0 — Buffalo signs New England’s cast-aside safety, Lawyer Milloy, before the game and introduces him last to a raucous Ralph ovation. Drew Bledsoe bests his former understudy, who throws for only 123 yards, is sacked twice (Milloy gets him on a blitz) and tosses four interceptions. Buffalo defensive tackle Sam Adams’ 37-yard, chugging pick-six is among the lasting images.
“For one glorious Sunday it felt like the usurping of a dynasty,” Bronstein says. “Uplifted by the arrival of Lawyer Malloy, the Bills beat down Tom Brady, made Bill Belichick look foolish, gave Drew Bledsoe fleeting redemption, and rumbled big Sam Adams onto the cover of Sports Illustrated. The largest defeat of the Brady-Belichick era in New England was avenged by the exact same score at season’s end, but that was no matter in an unforgettable opener at The Ralph.”
9. 1993-94 AFC Championship Game: Bills 30, Chiefs 13 — Buffalo advances to a fourth straight Super Bowl as Thurman Thomas rushes 33 times for 186 yards and three TDs. The defense terrorizes Joe Montana, whose concussion forces Dave Krieg to replace him early in the second half. An indelible image from the game is the fan’s homemade sign that reads “Deal with it, America.”
“My recollection is that two of the Chiefs best defensive players, the late Derrick Thomas and Neil Smith, got pulled from this game because they couldn’t handle the Bills’ running game,” Parker says. “Thurman Thomas running wild and being surly about it afterwards is peak Thurman Thomas. Oh, and the Bills held Marcus Allen to 50 yards rushing and knocked Joe Montana out of the game.”
The Bills defense attempts to block a Dolphins field goal during Buffalo’s 44-34 win on Jan. 1, 1991. (Rick Stewart / ALLSPORT)
8. 1990-91 playoffs: Bills 44, Dolphins 34 — Early in the second quarter, Buffalo has a 17-point lead, but Miami makes it a shootout, pulling within a score three times in the second half. Kelly and Dan Marino combine for 662 yards and six TDs. The 78 points set the playoff record for a regulation game. Thomas rushes for 117 yards and two TDs.
“This is one of the all-time great wins for the Bills because they beat Dan Marino in the prime of his Hall of Fame career, and Marino was sensational in the game,” Gaughan writes. “Check out any list of the top 10 quarterbacks in pro football history, and Marino is on it — ahead of Jim Kelly. If you’re ranking pure arm talent and quick release, Marino is close to No. 1 in both those traits. Kelly was coming off a knee injury from a Week 15 game versus the Giants but outplayed Marino. The Hall of Famers were at their gold-jacket best. And the snow-globe atmosphere added to the memorability.”
7. 1990 Week 4: Bills 29, Broncos 28 — A tone-setting victory for the Super Bowl era against the team that wore the AFC crown three of the previous four seasons. Buffalo pulls off one of the craziest sequences in NFL history to avoid defeat, scoring 20 points in 77 seconds in the fourth quarter on Cornelius Bennett’s blocked field-goal return, Leonard Smith’s pick-six off John Elway and a point-blank Kenneth Davis plunge.
“The Bills had come close in the two previous seasons to Super Bowl contender status, but failed to close the deal,” Bailey says. “The Broncos looked ready to kick a field goal and take a 24-9 lead. Same old story. But a block by Nate Odomes and a return for a touchdown by Cornelius Bennett changed everything. Buffalo went on to score three touchdowns in 77 seconds and hung on to win. Maybe this Bills team was ready to take another step forward after all.”
6. 1974 Week 1: Bills 21, Raiders 20 — After seven straight seasons with no playoffs, Buffalo re-establishes itself against John Madden’s club on “Monday Night Football.” With O.J. Simpson sidelined by an injury, the lead changes three times in the final two minutes. Joe Ferguson’s strike to Ahmad Rashad retakes the lead with 1:56 to play, Art Thoms returns Jim Braxton’s fumble for a touchdown, but Rashad catches another TD with 26 seconds left. George Blanda misses a 50-yard attempt as time expires. It’s also the debut of the charging Buffalo helmets.
“The atmosphere for this Monday night season opener was electric,” Gaughan writes. “After six miserable years, Simpson had rushed for 2,003 yards in 1973. The fans knew the ’74 Bills were good and were revved up like they hadn’t been in almost a decade. The ‘MNF’ brand, with Howard Cosell in town, was a huge phenomenon in the early ’70s. It was a traveling circus atmosphere. The Raiders were one of the Super Bowl favorites. It was a tense defensive showdown until the game script exploded late in the fourth quarter.”
5. 1991-92 AFC Championship Game: Bills 10, Broncos 7 — Buffalo is favored by 12 points, with the over-under at 46 points in the matchup of future Hall of Fame quarterbacks. Yet Kelly and Elway combine for 238 yards and zero touchdowns, three interceptions, a fumble and four sacks. Elway throws a pick-six to Carlton Bailey and gets knocked out of the game after three sacks and a fumble. Bills cornerback Kirby Jackson forces a fumble and recovers it with less than two minutes remaining to lock it down.
“The Bills came into this one known for their K-Gun offense, but won it with their under-the-gun defense,” Brady says. “Carlton Bailey returned a tipped John Elway pass for a pick-six. A year earlier, 51-3 was never in doubt; this one was very much in doubt until the Bills’ defense forced a late fumble.
“The Broncos had come into this one 0-4 in Super Bowls. Can you imagine?”
4. 2021-22 playoffs: Bills 47, Patriots 17 — Not against Tom Brady, but the Bills exorcise some Bill Belichick demons with seven touchdowns on seven possessions. Allen throws only four incomplete passes while amassing 308 yards and five touchdowns, and running six times for 66 yards. Five Bills score touchdowns, including backup Tommy Doyle on a tackle-eligible pass to rub it in a little more.
“Perfect games are for baseball, not football,” Brady says, “but the Bills are the only team in NFL history to play a game with no turnovers, no punts and no field-goal tries. They scored touchdowns on all of their possessions but for a kneel-down at game’s end. Even more perfect: The Bills battered their nemesis, Bill Belichick. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.”
3. 1980 Week 1: Bills 17, Dolphins 7. A dominant defensive performance overcomes seven Buffalo turnovers to end the 0-for-the-1970s famine against Miami. Bills safety Jeff Nixon collects three interceptions on Bob Griese, who gets knocked out of the game, and backup Don Strock. In his debut, eventual rookie of the year Joe Cribbs flashes his high-wattage abilities with 131 scrimmage yards and a touchdown with 2:02 remaining. Fans tear down the goal posts.
“It was year three of the Chuck Knox era and the Bills were on the rise, but a win over the Dolphins was the next big step,” Tranter says. “Following 20 consecutive losses, Buffalo’s come-from-behind victory energized the team and the fan base. The Bills rode the confidence and momentum from this game to their first AFC East title since joining the NFL in 1970 and broke the Curse of the Dolphins!”
Buffalo Bills linebacker Darryl Talley (56) in action after recovering a fumble against Los Angeles Raiders running back Marcus Allen (32)
during the 1991 AFC Championship at Rich Stadium. (Long Photography / USA Today)
2. 1990-91 AFC Championship Game: Bills 51, Raiders 3. The Bills establish themselves as the AFC’s no-doubt dominant force, using their no-huddle offense to dominate the Raiders’ wheezing defense for 41 points by halftime. Buffalo rolls up 502 yards of offense (James Lofton catches all five of his targets for 113 yards and two TDs) and intercepts Jay Schroeder five times. With victory essentially assured, fans spend the entire second half celebrating their team’s first trip to the Super Bowl.
“Some games like ‘Hit Heard ‘Round the World’ or ‘Wide Right’ are known by verbal shorthand,” Brady says. “It is a rare game that can be invoked numerically, such as ‘51-3.’ The Bills trampled the Los Angeles Raiders by that score to get to their first Super Bowl. Rich Stadium, never happier, all but levitated. You always remember your first.”
Voting for the top two games in stadium history was razor-thin, with four panelists choosing 51-3, but the other five choosing the winner.
3 Jan 1993: Quarterback Frank Reich of the Buffalo Bills (left) celebrates with teammate kicker Steve Christie after a playoff game
against the Houston Oilers at Rich Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. The Bills won the game in overtime, 41-38. (Rick Stewart / Getty Images)
1. 1992-93 playoffs: Bills 41, Oilers 38 — The Comeback Game.
Pollock: “’’Nuff said.”
Bailey: “You know the rest.”
Tranter: “As radio announcer Greg Brown said near the end of the third quarter, ‘It is like a Tidal Wave!!’”
“The Comeback game has to be the most lied about game in the history of the franchise and maybe in NFL history,” Parker writes. “That feels like it should count for something in this exercise. It does to me and I’m the one typing, so …
“Were you there? Did you stay? Conservative estimates have the number of fans that claim to have been in the stadium that day rivaling the crowd at Woodstock. The original Woodstock, by the way, not the one with Limp freakin’ Bizkit.
“The improbable comeback is one of the absolute best things in all of sports and we’ve got an all-time doozy here, so it tops my list.”
Sabres forward Thomas Vanek tries to get past Darryl Sydor and Ty Conklin of the Pittsburgh Penguins during the NHL Winter Classic at the Ralph Wilson Stadium on Jan. 1, 2008.
(Dave Sandford / Getty Images)
Now for some bonus picks …
Budd Bailey’s Oddest Game
1987 Week 6: Bills 6, Giants 3 (OT) — As the NFL Players Association picket lines begin to crumble, Lawrence Taylor terrorizes replacement quarterback Brian McClure, but Todd Schlopy kicks a short field goal in the fourth quarter and another in sudden death to help end the strike.Erik Brady’s Weather Atrocity Game
1973 Week 3: Bills 16, Jets 12 — The worst weather game in stadium history. (Yes, worse than any of the snow games.) Cold rain comes in sideways. Joe Namath completes two passes to his guys — and three to the Bills. Ferguson completes no passes, but he has Simpson.Jonah Bronstein’s One to Remember
2016 Week 8: Patriots 41, Bills 25 — The first sex toy throw. The Athletic chronicled the birth of a New Era Field tradition.Mark Gaughan’s Most Memorable Defeat and Chris Parker’s I Can’t Believe They Lost This Game:
2007 Week 5: Dallas 25, Bills 24 — In a signature drought-era loss on primetime TV, Dallas scores nine points in the final 20 seconds, including an onside kick recovery and a 53-yard field goal as time expired. Bills lose despite six takeaways and three return TDs. “There’s no way to check this,” Gaughan writes, “but I’d be willing to place a bet that no team at any level – pro, college, high school – ever lost a game with six takeaways and three return touchdowns. It was the quintessential drought defeat and the ‘highlight’ of the regrettable Dick Jauron tenure.”Greg Tranter’s Ultimate Test Game
2007 Week 1 Broncos 15, Bills 14 — It was the first Bills game that my wife-to-be, Tracy, attended. The night before the game, we saw Phil Collins and Genesis at HBSC Arena in a great concert. The Bills led the entire game against Denver, though the game was interrupted by the catastrophic injury to Kevin Everett that left Tracy stunned (I am sure she was wondering, ‘What am I getting myself into?’). And then, with time running down, the Broncos, with no timeouts and the clock running, raced out their field-goal team for Jason Elam’s 42-yard winning field goal. I looked at Tracy and said, “Welcome to being a Bills fan.” Her next game was the Bills versus Cowboys game four weeks later. But she didn’t even see that game. She got sick on the way, and I had to turn around and take her back to the condo. Then I went back to the game. LOL! And we lost!John Wawrow’s Most Comical Game
2009 Week 5: Browns 6, Bills 3 — “It remains the most memorable/immemorable game I’ve covered,” Wawrow says. The Athletic looked back on what’s considered one of the NFL’s all-time worst games.Chuck Pollock’s Hey, Don’t Forget This Game
2007-08 Penguins 2, Sabres 1 (SO) — At the first NHL Winter Classic, 71,217 fans turn out on New Year’s Day. Sidney Crosby scores the shootout winner.Tim Graham’s Most Eye-Popping Game
1990 Week 13: Bills 30, Eagles 23 — In perhaps the greatest play in Rich Stadium history, Randall Cunningham executes a wild, end-zone scramble and heaves to Fred Barnett for a 95-yard TD. The sorcery is part of a 23-point Philly explosion to pull within one. But the Bills hold on behind Kelly’s 334 yards and three TDs — 269 yards and two TDs to Lofton and Reed — and six Cunningham sacks.(Top photo of defensive back Leonard Smith celebrating after a playoff win against the Broncos on Jan. 12, 1992: Rick Stewart / Getty Images)