Today in 1981 - Buffalo Bills vs Cincinnati Bengals

September 27, 1981 – Today in 1981, the Cincinnati Bengals hosted the Buffalo Bills at Riverfront Stadium in a Week 4 game.

After a scoreless first quarter, Cincinnati got on the board in the second quarter with a 13 yard touchdown pass from Ken Anderson to Cris Collinsworth.  Buffalo answered with a 9 yard touchdown pass from Joe Ferguson to Frank Lewis and a 4 yard touchdown pass from Ferguson to Mark Brammer.  Jim Breech kicked a 23 yard field goal for the Bengals and at halftime, Buffalo led 14-10.

The third quarter went scoreless like the first.  In the fourth quarter, the Bills increased their lead on a 5 yard touchdown pass from Ferguson to Lewis.  But the Bengals would not be denied.  Ken Anderson threw two 16 yard touchdown passes to Steve Kreider to take the lead for the first time in the game, 21-17.  Nick Mike-Mayer kicked a 40 yard field goal to send the game to overtime tied 24-24.

In the overtime period, Jim Breech kicked a 28 yard field goal to win the game.  The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Buffalo Bills 27-24.

Joe Ferguson passed 25-45 287 yards and 3 touchdowns for the Bills.  Frank Lewis had 8 receptions for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns.  For the Bengals, Ken Anderson passed 28-40 for 328 yards and 3 touchdowns.  He also had 2 rushes for 21 yards.  Cris Collinsworth had 10 receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown.

The Cincinnati Bengals went to 3-1 with the win and finished the season at 12-4.  They played the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl and lost 26-21.

The Buffalo Bills fell to 2-2 with the loss.  They finished the season at 10-6 and lost to the Bengals 28-21 in a divisional playoff game.

Notables

• There were 3 Hall of Famers either playing or coaching in this game, all with Cincinnati: Anthony Munoz, head coach Forrest Gregg, and assistant coach Dick LeBeau.
  
• This was Gregg’s second season coaching the Bengals.  He coached the team from 1980-83.  He also coached the Cleveland Browns from 1975-77 and his former team, the Green Bay Packers, from 1984-87.
  
• Chuck Knox was in his fourth season coaching the Bills.  He coached the team from 1978-82.  He also coached the Seattle Seahawks from 1983-91 and the Los Angeles Rams from 1973-77 and 1992-94.
  
• Bills’ linebacker Jim Haslett went on to coach the New Orleans Saints from 2000-05.  He was the head coach when the team got its first ever playoff win in 2000.

Other scores on this day for teams facing each other this week…

1952 - San Francisco 49ers 31 – Philadelphia Eagles 21

1959 – San Francisco 24 – Philadelphia 14

2009 – San Diego Chargers 23 – Miami Dolphins 13

Game stats can be found on Pro-Football-Reference.com at Buffalo Bills vs Cincinnati Bengals - September 27, 1981.