The Jets make the ideal opponent for this weekendis reunion, which also honors the 1981 Bills, who reached the playoffs with a nearly identical lineup, if less flair than their immediate predecessors. Theyire from The Big City, which means they always get plenty of national attention, often more than they deserve. And theyire rarely very good. If this were high school football, the Jets would be the team you try to schedule for homecoming every year.
Gang Green has been building the self-esteem of Buffalo teams for decades.
The 1980 Buffalo Bills, whose AFC East championship the franchise celebrates Sunday at the stadium then known as Rich, registered the first of their 11 regular season wins against Miami.
That 17-7 win over the Dolphins snapped a decade-long losing streak that, along with the Blizzard of i77 and a rather pesky industrial decline, did for Buffalo what that burning river accomplished for Cleveland in terms of the national consciousness.
After the game, fans stormed the field and tore down the goal posts. About that time, someone decided to start playing iTalking Proudi — the jingly anthem the Buffalo Area Chamber of Commerce commissioned for a marketing campaign that, letis just say, didnit perform quite as well as the football team n each time the Bills scored.
Those Bills featured Joe Ferguson passing to Jerry Butler and Frank Lewis when he wasnit handing off to Joe Cribbs and a playmaking defense anchored by The Bermuda Triangle n nose tackle Fred Smerlas backed by linebackers Jim Haslett and Shane Nelson.
After the disastrous 1976-77 seasons, during which an aging, but still likable O.J. Simpson limped to his final yards in a Buffalo uniform as the Bills won five games while losing 23, fortunes steadily improved under new coach Chuck Knox. Buffalo went 5-11 in i78 and 7-9 a year later, so the Billsi arrival as a contender didnit stun anybody.
That didnit make it any less fun. For years, it had been O.J. and The Other Guys, casting that made for a lot of highlights, but few wins.
The i80 Bills, though, offered a mix of young talent like Cribbs, Butler and the aforementioned Triangle, along with Ferguson, who had long borne an oversized load of blame for all the losses, and key veteran pickups like linebackers Isaiah Robertson and Phil Villapiano, who had learned how to win with the Los Angeles Rams and Oakland Raiders, respectively. Rich Blake chronicled the season on the field and in the community in iTalking Proud: Rediscovering the Magical Season of the 1980 Buffalo Bills.i
Their second win that year came against the New York Jets, by the score of 20-10. Theyid wind up losing to San Diego on a last-minute touchdown pass after a gimpy Joe Ferguson led Buffalo to a late lead on one ankle. The Jim Kelly-led Bills of the 1990s would earn more glamour with four straight Super Bowl trips, but there havenit been many local teams in any sport, at any level, that were more fun.
The Jets make the ideal opponent for this weekendis reunion, which also honors the 1981 Bills, who also reached the playoffs with a nearly identical lineup, if less flair than their immediate predecessors. Theyire from The Big City, which means they always get plenty of national attention, often more than they deserve. And theyire rarely very good. If this were high school football, the Jets would be the team you try to schedule for homecoming every year.
Gang Green has been building the self-esteem of Buffalo teams for decades. When the Bills are good, the Jets provide two nearly guaranteed wins per year. And when theyire bad, they can usually count on at least a split of the annual series. Even the truly retched squads look better against New York n the only win by the i68 Bills came against the Jets of Joe Willie Namath, who went on to win Super Bowl III.
This edition looks like good fodder, too. The Jets beat a horrible Tennessee team n barely n in Week 1 and made last weekis game in New England cosmetically close after falling behind 24-0.
Reunions aside, the sell-out crowd at Ralph Wilson Stadium should be completely jacked before kickoff. The Bills, a 5.5-point favorite, wonit provide much reason to quiet down, either.
Bills, 21-11.
As for the rest of the NFL:
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh (-1.5): If Pittsburgh canit rebound from Mondayis beating by Jacksonville, its reign will be brief. Steelers, 16-13.
Jacksonville at Indianapolis (-7): Without much of a running game, Peyton Manning has a long day against a very tough defense. Jacksonville, 24-20.
Tennessee at Miami (-11): The Dolphins shouldnit be an 11-point favorite against anyone. Dolphins, 20-13.
Washington (-4) at Houston: The Redskins shouldnit be a road favorite against anyone. Texans, 19-14.
Chicago (-3) at Minnesota: The most surprising meeting of unbeaten teams. Vikings, 17-16.
Carolina (-3) at Tampa Bay: The most surprising meeting of winless teams. Panthers, 28-17.
Green Bay at Detroit (-7): Another weirdly large spread. When in doubt, go against Matt Millen, the most mysteriously employed executive in professional sports. Packers, 27-24.
Baltimore (-6.5) at Cleveland: The Ravens have to give up a touchdown at some point. But not this week. Ravens, 23-3.
St. Louis at Arizona (-4.5): The Cardinals can pile up all the Heisman Trophy winners and All-Pro free agents they want. Until they ditch that shade of red and that pretty bird on the helmet, theyire never going anywhere. Rams, 27-10.
N.Y. Giants at Seattle (-3.5): Eli Manning doesnit get off the hook as easily as he did in Philly last week. Seahawks, 30-14.
Philadelphia (-6) at San Francisco: So far, the Eagles have beaten a crummy Houston team and blown a big lead, at home, against the Giants. And theyire favored by a touchdown? 49ers, 28-26.
Denver at New England (-7): The Jay Cutler Era looms for the Broncos. Patriots, 31-13.
Atlanta (-3.5) at New Orleans: OK, so this pick is based on emotion. The game, the first in the Superdome since Katrina, will be, too. Saints, 20-17.
(Dave Staba has been predicting the outcomes of National Football League games in public for 16 years. If you’re betting actual money on games played by other people, you’d be just as well off flipping a coin to determine your wager. Or setting fire to the cash).