Today in 1974 - Oakland Raiders vs Buffalo Bills

September 16, 1974 – Today in 1974, the Oakland Raiders invaded Rich Stadium to take on the Buffalo Bills in a Week 1 matchup.

After a scoreless first quarter, Joe Ferguson threw a 4 yard touchdown pass to J.D. Hill to give Buffalo a 7-0 lead.  George Blanda kicked a 34 yard field goal for Oakland and the score was 7-3 at halftime.

The Raiders took the lead on a 15 yard touchdown run by Clarence Davis.  Oakland led at the end of the third quarter 10-7.

Oakland increased its lead to 13-7 with a 41 yard Blanda field goal.  Buffalo answered and took the lead when Ferguson threw a 4 yard touchdown pass to Ahmad Rashad.  Art Thoms recovered a Bills fumble and ran it in for a touchdown and the Raiders led 20-14.  Buffalo answered and took the lead for good on a 13 yard touchdown pass from Ferguson to Rashad. The Buffalo Bills edged the Oakland Raiders 21-20.

The Bills went to 1-0 and the Raiders went to 0-1.  Joe Ferguson passed 10-20 122 yards 3TDs and he rushed 5 times for 16 yards.  Ken Stabler passed 9-22 122 yards 1 INT. O.J. Simpson was held to under 100 yards, rushing 12-78 yards.  Clarence Davis rushed 10-61 yards 1 TD.

Notables

• There were 10 Hall of Famers playing or coaching in this game: O.J. Simpson and Joe DeLamielleure for the Bills, and Fred Biletnikoff, Art Shell, Gene Upshaw, Jim Otto, Willie Brown, George Blanda, Dave Casper, and head coach John Madden for the Raiders.
• This was the third year of Lou Saban’s second stint coaching the Bills.  He first coached the team from 1962-65 and led Buffalo to 2 AFL Championships.  In his second stint, he coached the team from 1972-76.
• This was John Madden’s sixth season coaching the Raiders.  He coached the team from 1969-78 and led the team to a Super Bowl title.  Madden never had a losing season and was 11-1-1 on Monday Night Football.
• Joe Ferguson wore number 12 for the Bills.  He wasn’t the only player there that day to have worn that number for Buffalo.  Raider backup quarterback Daryle Lamonica wore number 12 for the Bills from 1963-66.
• After this game, the Raiders went on a 9 game winning streak.  They finished the season at 12-2.
• The Bills went on a 6-1 run after this game and finished the season 9-5.
• Both teams made the playoffs and lost to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers, though Oakland beat the Steelers earlier in the season.

Game stats and other data can be found on Pro-Football-Reference.com at Oakland Raiders vs Buffalo Bills - September 16, 1974.