Buffalo Bills (0-1) vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-1)
Sunday, September 20, 2009; 4:05 PM ET, Ralph Wilson Stadium
Some of you are still trying to get over the major letdown that was Monday Night Football. As a wise man once said, "Nothing gets you over the last one like the next one." So let's put that one out of mind for right now and take a look at the Buffalo Bills' next game: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A few facts:
1) The Bills have only played Tampa Bay eight times during their history, which means we will be digging way back into the archives.
2) The Bills are just 2-6 lifetime versus the Bucs.
3) The previous eight meetings between these two teams have all taken place in Tampa, meaning that this will be the first-ever visit to Buffalo by the Buccaneers franchise. Think about that; a team that has been around for 33 years has never played a single regular season game in Buffalo. These two teams' last five meetings are after the jump.
November 2, 1986: Buccaneers 34, Bills 28
Jim Kelly tossed three touchdown passes - two to Pete Metzalaars and one to Jerry Butler - and Ron Pitts returned a punt 49 yards for a fourth touchdown, but it wasn't enough. Steve Young scored twice or short dives across the goal line, and James Wilder took a 45-yard run to the house for another score. A Pat Franklin fumble recovery in the end zone and two Donald Igwebuike field goals provided the tying and go ahead scores. George Cumby (1.0), Bruce Smith (0.5) and Sean McNanie (1.5) recorded sacks for the Bills.
December 4, 1988: Buccaneers 10, Bills 5
That is not a typo. The Bills scored five lousy points in this game. John Carney kicked a 29-yard field goal, and Vinny Testaverde scored on a 4-yard TD run to give the Buccaneers a 10-0 lead before the Bills answered with a Bruce Smith safety, and a 30-yard Scott Norwood field goal. As you can imagine, given the total lack of scoring, there really isn't much to report on this one. Jim Kelly threw for 246 yards, but also tossed two interceptions. Chris Burkett (4-62) and Trumaine Johnson (4-63) led the Bills in receiving, and the Bills had a pathetic 39 yards rushing. Bruce Smith (1.0) and Art Still (1.0) recorded sacks.
September 22, 1991: Bills 17, Buccaneers 10
Carwell Gardner opened the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown plunge, which was answered by Reggie Cobb in the third quarter to tie up the game. Scott Norwood (33 yards) and Tampa's Steve Christie (19 yards) trade field goals to keep the game tied at 10. Jim Kelly capped the scoring with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Keith McKeller, and the Bills escaped Tampa with a rare win. Kelly had 342 yards passing, mostly to James Lofton (5-90) and Don Beebe (5-76), and Andre Reed led the team in rushing with 61 yards on 2 carries. Vinny Testaverde and Chris Chandler combined for 185 yards and one interception. Cornelius Bennett had two sacks for the Bills.
November 26, 2000: Buccaneers 31, Bills 17
Rob Johnson had a very Rob Johnson-like performance. He finished 24/39 for 262 yards and two touchdowns, but he got knocked out before the game was over. Seven sacks by the Tampa Bay defense didn't help. After Johnson hit Eric Moulds for a 19-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter to draw the Bills to within three points, Karl Wilson returned a punt 73 yards for a touchdown to all but ice the game for Tampa. The 39-yard scoring run by Warrick Dunn was just icing on top of the icing. Shaun King was a weak 10/18 for 106 yards for Tampa, but when your defense gives you seven sacks and Warrick Dunn goes for 106 yards on 20 carries, you don't need your QB to be dominant. Moulds had a good day, finishing with 8 catches for 102 yards and a TD. Corey Moore (1.0), Sam Cowart (2.5) and Marcellus Wiley (2.0) had sacks for the Bills. I have no idea where the other 0.5 went.
September 18, 2005: Buccaneers 19, Bills 3
Midway through the second quarter, Shelton Quarles sacked J.P. Losman in the end zone for a safety; on the ensuing Tampa drive, the Buccaneers marched down the field for a touchdown, with a Mike Alstott 1-yard bulldoze capping the drive. At this point, the game was basically over. Despite 13 penalties for 99 yards, the Buccaneers managed to control the clock for almost 36 minutes. The inept Bills offense managed just 147 total yards. Meanwhile, Tampa rumbled for 191 on the ground alone, led by Cadillac Williams' 128 and Micheal Pittman's 46. Lawyer Milloy recorded the Bills' only sack.