(Editor’s Note: Reedy Press will be publishing “The Buffalo Bills: An Illustrated Timeline of a Storied Franchise” at the end of July. The book was written by Gregory Tranter and Budd Bailey; click here for more information. The authors wrote some potential chapters to the book that were not used, and didn’t want to put them to waste. Therefore, they thought people would like to read about events from the team’s past on this site. It will give you a taste of what the text of the coffee-table book is like.)
When it comes to surprise blizzards, Buffalo has nothing on Denver. In this case, we’re talking about both the weather and a whiteout of points.
For the first 40 minutes of their game with the Broncos in Denver, the Bills did everything right despite poor conditions due to snow. They scored touchdowns on short runs, they scored a touchdown on a long pass, and they scored a touchdown on an interception return. How did they miss some sort of kickoff or punt return for a score? In any event, the Bills had a 38-7 lead before the third quarter was over. The gameplan was to wind down the clock, win the game, and get out of the cold.
But Denver had other plans. Frank Tripucka threw three good-sized touchdown passes (80, 24, and 35 yards) to Lionel Taylor, one of the best wide receivers in the league. Even so, the Bills still led by 10 points with eight minutes left. Then Don Allen scored from the Buffalo 1-yard line, and the lead was down to three.
A three-and-out by the Bills’ offense and a short punt put the Broncos back in business in the final minutes. They moved the ball to the Buffalo 12, but only had time for one last play. Gene Mingo kicked a 19-yard field goal with four seconds left, and the Broncos had pulled out a miracle 38-38 tie.
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