The Buffalo Bills are heading into week 16 with an 8-6 record and tied for a playoff spot. This gives the team the opportunity to pull off a monstrous upset over an 11-3 New England Patriots squad. Doing so would essentially clinch Buffalo a playoff spot in Gillette Stadium. Most don’t consider it a realistic possibility, but boy oh boy wouldn’t that lead to one of these heart-warming victories? With that said, here’s a look at some of the Bills most impactful recent victories.
A Look at Recent Heart-Warming Buffalo Bills Upset Victories
Week Three, 2011
Buffalo Bills 34, New England Patriots 31
Whenever the Patriots come to Buffalo there’s an extra level of excitement and buzz in the stadium. This stands true regardless of the relevance of the game. The Bills opened the season with a high-powered offense, an 18 point comeback and a two-game winning streak. In week three, the 2-0 New England Patriots would come to visit the facility then known as Ralph Wilson Stadium as nine-point favorites. A fresh, early season buzz was killed off in the Ralph thanks to an early 21-point deficit.
After narrowing the gap to 11 points at halftime, the Bills dominated in the second half as they forced Brady into throwing four interceptions. One of which got taken back for six by Drayton Florence in order to take the Bills first lead of the game. After Brady tied the game, it was capped off by an iconic touchdown reception by Fred Jackson out of the slot. The ruling would eventually be overturned and the ball would be placed at the one-yard line to set up Rian Lindell’s game-winning field goal. The Bills were now 3-0 and started the season with back-to-back, electrifying comeback wins at home.
Week 15, 2014
Buffalo Bills 21, Green Bay Packers 13
Back in 2014, the Bills were playing semi-meaningful football in December for the first time in a while. They’d be hosting the 10-3 Aaron Rodgers led Packers and enter the game with a 7-6 record themselves.
Despite being maybe a little conservative, Doug Marrone had developed his defense into a top five unit in the league. The dominant defensive team stifled Rodgers, as he completed less than half of his passes and threw two interceptions to Bacarri Rambo. Fans will painfully and vividly remember the pick six that could have been when Stephon Gilmore jumped, and unfortunately dropped, a screen pass to Jordy Nelson. Nelson would go onto drop what would have been a long touchdown pass right off of his fingertips. On Green Bay’s final drive, Mario Williams stripped Rodgers on a play that Eddie Lacy would recover for a safety. The Uncle Rico led offense would produce 21 points in a game that secured Buffalo’s first winning record since 2004.
Week One, 2015
Buffalo Bills 27, Indianapolis Colts 14
Rex Ryan was bringing a new era to Buffalo after the stingy and power hungry Doug Marrone bolted out of Buffalo for the Jacksonville Jaguars. The first quarter was full of fresh faces making plays. Second round pick Ronald Darby would pick off Andrew Luck with about two minutes left in the first quarter. This would set up Tyrod Taylor’s first touchdown pass as a Bill as he chucked a fifty-yard bomb to Percy Harvin on the last play of the first quarter. Taylor continued to put on a show with a 31-yard rush leading to a 26 yard touchdown run from fifth round rookie Karlos Williams. Ultimately, the Bills would score 24 points before the Colts were on the scoreboard. The Bills would end up absolutely routing Indianapolis in the first game of the Rex Ryan era.
