The Five Greatest Games Pete Metzelaars Ever Played

by MattRichWarren on Feb 3, 2012 8:45 AM EST in Buffalo Bills History

The Buffalo Bills have yet to announce that Pete Metzelaars will re-join the team as tight ends coach for the 2012 season, but multiple reports indicate that it's on the way. Metzelaars is by far tops in team history in catches, yards, and touchdowns at the tight end position. Let's take a closer look at Big Pete's five best games in a Bills uniform.

5. October 30, 1994: Buffalo Bills 44, Kansas City Chiefs 10
Metzelaars began the scoring with an 11-yard touchdown catch. He added another six points in the fourth quarter to make it 41-10, and on the day compiled four catches for 33 yards. Those two touchdowns sure look good on a day the Chiefs, led by Joe Montana, turned the ball over five times.

4. November 28, 1993 - Buffalo Bills 7, Kansas City Chiefs 23
While he was held out of the end zone like most of the Bills offense, Metzelaars caught 10 passes for 98 yards as the Bills fell to the Chiefs. Metzelaars accounted for over 38 percent of Buffalo's offensive output in a game that wasn't as close as the score. It was the second time in a month Metzelaars had double digits receptions.

3. November 7, 1993 - Buffalo Bills 13, New England Patriots 10 OT
The 6-1 Bills escaped with an overtime win over the 1-7 Patriots thanks to a fourth-quarter Metzelaars touchdown catch. It was Metzelaars' first career 10-catch game, and he finished the day with 74 yards and the touchdown. It still stands as the team record for most catches by a tight end in a single game. (Tom Rychlec did it once in 1960, Keith McKeller equaled it in 1991, and Metzelaars did it twice in 1993.)

2. November 2, 1986 - Buffalo Bills 28, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34
After falling behind 20-0, Metzelaars scored back-to-back touchdowns in the third quarter on passes from Kelly. On the day, he led both teams with seven catches and 113 yards, including a 44-yard score. The winning quarterback was Steve Young, by the way, and Buffalo fell to 2-7.

1. September 13, 1992 - Buffalo Bills 34, San Fransisco 49ers 31
Commonly referenced as the "No Punt Game," it was easily the best of Metzelaars' career and might be known as that had it not been for the other supreme statistical anomaly. The lumbering tight end had two gorgeous touchdown catch-and-runs of 53 and 24 yards to open the second-half scoring and give Buffalo the lead. He made only four catches, but they were huge on a day when the Bills needed every yard to out-gain Young and ~~Jerry Rice~~ Mike Sherrard.

What's your favorite memory of the statistically greatest tight end to ever put on a Bills uniform?

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Wow

He had games with double-digit reception totals, and other games with 100+ yards? Since his departure, we’ve had tight ends who haven’t put up those kind of numbers for an entire season.

by SiriusRed on Feb 3, 2012 9:43 AM EST via mobile reply actions

Metzelaars was a good tight end; I was definitely a fan of his. His numbers overall don’t do him justice due to the Bills being such a prolific running team and all the many receiving options Kelly had at his disposal. Also, defenders were allowed to grab and jam big, lumbering tight ends infinitely more than they can today (which is to say not at all). Tight ends were unquestionably easier to defend during Metzelaars’ career.

All that being said, it’s simply astounding how little Buffalo has received from the tight end position over the 50+ years of their existence. Aside from Warlick in the AFL, Buffalo has had nothing but contributors at best at the position. They’ve been in the NFL for over 40 years and Metzelaars, who was never a serious Pro Bowl contender during his entire career, was probably the best they’ve had during that span. It’s time this position is SERIOUSLY upgraded and I mean right now. I’d like to see Metzelaars as the second best tight end on the Bills pay role starting next year.

"There's only one C.J. Spiller." -Buddy Nix

by Port Royal on Feb 3, 2012 9:59 AM EST reply actions 1 recs

The sight!

My favorite memory was not a single play, but was many plays. It was watching the flaming orange hair burst along the back of the end zone as Kelly dropped back to fire in a pass. I knew if I seen the flash of red and orange that Metzelaars was about to reel in that pass. It almost felt as if Kelly threw toward Metzelaars, that it would be a sure catch. He had those BIG PAWS that you would think were made of super glue. He had to be one of my top 5 favorite players watching the Bills as a kid. Boy do I miss those days! Glad Nix decided to bring back a familiar face.

by ejtowne on Feb 3, 2012 10:47 AM EST reply actions

Dunks!

I remember Pete’s best game was back when I was in jr high. The BIlls came down and played our teachers in basketball and I can still still see Petey slamming one down as the teachers looked in awe. The only other player I remember being there was Kent Hull. Petey Hetey Hetey Hee…. and I always liked him better than Reimersma

by joeygny on Feb 3, 2012 12:24 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

Funny you mention that…. in the time before rims that had give in them when you dunked, Metz bent one of our HS rims pretty good.

by Pistol on Feb 3, 2012 12:27 PM EST up reply actions

Metzelaars was a hell of a basketball player

at Wabash College. Pretty sure they won a championship while he was there.

by Zorak84 on Feb 3, 2012 3:25 PM EST up reply actions

Actually, the Houston comeback game – he only had 3 catches for 43 yards, but his 24-yard catch on the first TD drive of the second half showed the Bills still had life.

by Krenn on Feb 3, 2012 12:57 PM EST reply actions

More about Matt's top choice

The Big Guy Steps Up

During the 1990 and 1991 campaigns, tight end Pete Metzelaars stopped blocking long enough to post 15 receptions for 114 yards. But when the two-time defending AFC champion Bills traveled to San Francisco on September 13, 1992, the 6’7", 254-pound veteran became the larger-sized Andre Reed and caught four of Jim Kelly’s passes for a career-high 113 yards and two touchdowns.

The first time Metzelaars found the then-Candlestick Park end zone was early in the third quarter with Buffalo behind, 24-13, when he scored on a 53-yard play. And, well, it was not easy.

“I barely got in,” he laughed. “Actually, it was one of our real basic plays that we ran six or seven times a game. My part was to just run as fast as I could, which wasn’t real fast, and get out of the way. But for some reason Jim said, ‘Hey, Pete, just be ready.’ He just had a sixth sense in the middle of the game where he would just feel like something was going to work, something would be open. And more times than not, it would work out just the way he thought it was going to. So I released and got down the field a little bit, looked around, and there was the ball. I caught it and made the free safety miss, or he just missed, and got to the end zone. Barely!”

Less than six minutes later, Metzelaars was back in the end zone finishing off a 24-yard scoring play that put the Bills on top, 27-24. They’d go on to win, 34-31. “That was actually about the same thing,” said Metzelaars. "It was the same pattern. I don’t know that Jim said to be ready, but it was one where I was clearing down the field and he got some pressure and started scrambling. I just broke it off to the right and there was nobody there, and he threw me the ball for another touchdown.

“It was a Ping-Pong match, a tennis match, whatever you want to call it. It was just back and forth. They’d go down and score, then we’d go down and score. That’s the way it went throughout. It was an incredible game."

Excerpt from: "Then Levy Said to Kelly…"

by Jim Gehman on Feb 3, 2012 2:37 PM EST reply actions 3 recs