Today in Bills stadium history: Nov. 9

In the sunset season for the concrete cathedral so often overflowed with as many as 80,000 passionate patrons, WIVB News 4 Buffalo is taking a daily look back over 400 games played in the Orchard Park stadium’s 52 years.

Nov. 9

1975 — Colts 42, Bills 35 — O.J. Simpson scored three touchdowns in the first quarter and finished with 194 yards from scrimmage, among the top performances in the juiciest season of his career, but the big early lead didn’t hold up as Buffalo lost for the third time in four games following a 4-0 start. Bert Jones passed for 306 yards and three touchdowns, Lydell Mitchell had 137 scrimmage yards and three scores, and the Colts found the end zone on a faked field while scoring 35 straight points. Simpson scored on a 44-yard run and passes from Joe Ferguson covering 32 and 22 yards. Ferguson was knocked out of the game with a concussion and backup Gary Marangi struggled to complete 2 of 10 passes with a TD to Bob Chandler (118 yards receiving) in the waning minutes. Attendance at Rich Stadium was 77,320.

1986 — Bills 16, Steelers 12 — “Where else would you rather be than right here, right now?” Marv Levy encouraged the Bills before his debut game as Buffalo’s coach. The team responded with gritty effort on a very windy Sunday with 72,000 fans in the stadium. Rob Riddick rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown, Jim Kelly threw a TD pass to Andre Reed, and the Bills defense held the Steelers to 185 yards and 11 first downs on 13 drives. Buffalo possessed the ball for over 36 minutes and Rodney Bellinger sealed the victory with an interception at the goal line. Following the first of Levy’s franchise record 182 regular season victories, Kelly praised his new coach declaring, “it’s a new atmosphere around here now.”

1997 — Patriots 31, Bills 10 — Alex Van Pelt had 38 yards passing with three interceptions in his second game starting for the Bills before getting benched for Todd Collins, who lost the ball at his own 1-yard line for a pick 6 near the end of an ugly Bills loss. Curtis Martin rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown, Drew Bledsoe threw a TD pass to Ben Coates, and the Patriots never trailed after Derrick Cullors returned a kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown following Steve Christie’s early field goal. The loss dropped the Bills to 5-5 in Marv Levy’s final season. Attendance at Rich Stadium was 65,783.

2014 — Chiefs 17, Bills 13 — Jamaal Charles scored a 39-yard touchdown on a fourth down run in the fourth quarter, and a few minutes later Alex Smith had a rushing touchdown set up by Leodis McKelvin’s fumbled punt return in a droughty defeat at The Ralph. Kyle Orton passed for 259 yards with a touchdown to Chris Hogan, but the Bills squandered four trips to the red zone in the second half, coming away with just two field goals while losing a fumble and turning the ball over on downs. Marcell Dareus had three of Buffalo’s six sacks, and Jerry Hughes had two. After winning consecutive games going into the bye week, the Bills dropped to 5-4 with a losing record (2-3) at home. Attendance was 68,119.