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.

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.