1979 Buffalo Bills (NFL) |
| 4th place • American Football Conference • Eastern Division • 7-9-0 .438 |
| Head Coach: Chuck Knox |
| Tom Catlin | Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers |
| Jack Donaldson | Receivers |
| Steve Moore | Special Assignments |
| Elijah Pitts | Offensive Backfield/Special Teams |
| Ray Prochaska | Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line |
| Kay Stephenson | Quarterbacks |
| Jim Wagstaff | Defensive Backfield |
| Willie Zapalac | Defensive Line |
| SCORES | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Date | Opponent | Score | Location | Venue | Attendance | |||
| Sat | 8/4/1979 | H | Pittsburgh Steelers | 7-15 | L | Orchard Park, NY | Rich Stadium | 34370 | |
| Sat | 8/11/1979 | H | Detroit Lions | 13-34 | L | Orchard Park, NY | Rich Stadium | 26283 | |
| Sat | 8/18/1979 | A | Green Bay Packers | 6-7 | L | Green Bay, WI | Lambeau Field | 54857 | |
| Sat | 8/25/1979 | A | Oakland Raiders | 21-48 | L | Oakland, CA | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum | 52440 | |
| Sun | 9/2/1979 | H | Miami Dolphins | 7-9 | L | Orchard Park, NY | Rich Stadium | 69441 | |
| Sun | 9/9/1979 | H | Cincinnati Bengals | 51-24 | W | Orchard Park, NY | Rich Stadium | 43504 | |
| Sun | 9/16/1979 | A | San Diego Chargers | 19-27 | L | San Diego, CA | San Diego Stadium | 50709 | |
| Sun | 9/23/1979 | H | New York Jets | 46-31 | W | Orchard Park, NY | Rich Stadium | 68731 | |
| Sun | 9/30/1979 | A | Baltimore Colts | 31-13 | W | Baltimore, MD | Memorial Stadium | 31904 | |
| Sun | 10/7/1979 | H | Chicago Bears | 0-7 | L | Orchard Park, NY | Rich Stadium | 73383 | |
| Sun | 10/14/1979 | A | Miami Dolphins | 7-17 | L | Miami, FL | Orange Bowl | 45597 | |
| Sun | 10/21/1979 | H | Baltimore Colts | 13-14 | L | Orchard Park, NY | Rich Stadium | 50581 | |
| Sun | 10/28/1979 | A | Detroit Lions | 20-17 | W | Pontiac, MI | Pontiac Silverdome | 61911 | |
| Sun | 11/4/1979 | H | New England Patriots | 6-26 | L | Orchard Park, NY | Rich Stadium | 67935 | |
| Sun | 11/11/1979 | A | New York Jets | 14-12 | W | New York, NY | Shea Stadium | 50647 | |
| Sun | 11/18/1979 | H | Green Bay Packers | 19-12 | W | Orchard Park, NY | Rich Stadium | 39679 | |
| Sun | 11/25/1979 | A | New England Patriots | 16-13 | W | OT | Foxborough, MA | Schaefer Stadium | 60991 |
| Sun | 12/2/1979 | H | Denver Broncos | 16-19 | L | Orchard Park, NY | Rich Stadium | 37886 | |
| Sun | 12/9/1979 | A | Minnesota Vikings | 3-10 | L | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 42239 | |
| Sun | 12/16/1979 | A | Pittsburgh Steelers | 0-28 | L | Pittsburgh, PA | Three Rivers Stadium | 48002 | |
Exhibition game. Playoff game. A=Away game. H=Home game. N=Neutral site game. W=Win. L=Loss. T=Tie. OT=Overtime.
Click on Date to see boxscore.
| ROSTER | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Pos | Ht | Wt | Age | College | GP | GS |
| Jon Borchardt | 73 | OT | 6-5 | 265 | 22 | Montana State | 16 | 0 |
| Curtis Brown | 47 | FB | 5-10 | 203 | 25 | Fort Scott CC; Missouri | 15 | 15 |
| Jerry Butler | 80 | WR | 6-0 | 178 | 22 | Clemson | 13 | 13 |
| Bob Chandler | 81 | WR | 6-0 | 179 | 30 | Southern California | 3 | 0 |
| Mario Clark | 29 | LCB | 6-2 | 193 | 25 | Oregon | 16 | 16 |
| Mike Collier | 35 | FB | 5-11 | 200 | 26 | Morgan State | 16 | 1 |
| Joe DeLamielleure | 68 | ROG | 6-3 | 253 | 28 | Michigan State | 16 | 16 |
| Tom Dempsey | 6 | K | 6-1 | 275 | 32 | Palomar JC | 3 | 0 |
| Joe Devlin | 70 | ROT | 6-5 | 280 | 25 | Iowa | 16 | 16 |
| Joe Ferguson | 12 | QB | 6-1 | 190 | 29 | Arkansas | 16 | 16 |
| Steve Freeman | 22 | SS | 5-11 | 185 | 26 | Mississippi State | 16 | 16 |
| Danny Fulton | 84 | WR | 6-2 | 183 | 23 | Nebraska; Nebraska-Omaha | 6 | 0 |
| Ed Fulton | 62 | OG | 6-3 | 250 | 24 | Maryland | 5 | 0 |
| Reuben Gant | 88 | TE | 6-4 | 226 | 27 | Oklahoma State | 14 | 14 |
| Will Grant | 53 | C | 6-3 | 266 | 25 | Idaho State; Kentucky | 16 | 0 |
| Doug Greene | 21 | S | 6-2 | 205 | 23 | Lakewood JC; Texas A&M-KIngsville | 15 | 0 |
| Tony Greene | 43 | FS | 5-10 | 170 | 30 | Maryland | 16 | 12 |
| Dee Hardison | 74 | LDE | 6-4 | 280 | 23 | North Carolina | 16 | 3 |
| Jim Haslett | 55 | LILB | 6-3 | 236 | 24 | Indiana (Pennsylvania) | 16 | 16 |
| Tom Higgins | 54 | LB | 6-1 | 235 | 25 | North Carolina State | 16 | 0 |
| Roland Hooks | 25 | RB | 6-0 | 196 | 26 | North Carolina State | 16 | 0 |
| Ron Howard | 85 | TE | 6-4 | 230 | 28 | Seattle | 1 | 0 |
| Scott Hutchinson | 90 | RDE | 6-4 | 243 | 23 | Florida | 16 | 5 |
| Rusty Jackson | 4 | P | 6-2 | 190 | 29 | Louisiana State | 16 | 0 |
| Dan Jilek | 51 | LB | 6-2 | 225 | 26 | Michigan | 15 | 0 |
| Dennis Johnson | 39 | RB | 6-3 | 220 | 23 | Mississippi State | 3 | 0 |
| Ken Johnson | 91 | DT | 6-5 | 253 | 24 | Knoxville | 3 | 0 |
| Ken Jones | 72 | LOT | 6-5 | 270 | 27 | Arkansas State | 16 | 16 |
| Mike Kadish | 71 | NT | 6-5 | 265 | 29 | Notre Dame | 16 | 13 |
| Chris Keating | 52 | LB | 6-2 | 233 | 22 | Maine | 16 | 0 |
| Frank Lewis | 82 | WR | 6-1 | 196 | 32 | Grambling State | 15 | 15 |
| Dan Manucci | 11 | QB | 6-2 | 194 | 22 | Mesa CC; Kansas State | 14 | 0 |
| Reggie McKenzie | 67 | LOG | 6-5 | 255 | 29 | Michigan | 16 | 16 |
| Nick Mike-Mayer | 5 | K | 5-8 | 187 | 29 | Temple | 16 | 0 |
| Terry Miller | 40 | RB | 5-10 | 196 | 23 | Oklahoma State | 16 | 16 |
| Keith Moody | 46 | CB | 5-11 | 179 | 26 | Syracuse | 16 | 0 |
| Bill Munson | 9 | QB | 6-2 | 203 | 38 | Foothill JC; Utah State | 3 | 0 |
| Shane Nelson | 59 | RILB | 6-1 | 232 | 24 | Blinn JC; Baylor | 16 | 16 |
| Jeff Nixon | 38 | FS | 6-3 | 190 | 23 | Richmond | 16 | 4 |
| Willie Parker | 61 | C | 6-3 | 245 | 31 | Wharton County JC; North Texas | 16 | 16 |
| Lou Piccone | 89 | WR | 5-8 | 184 | 30 | West Liberty | 16 | 4 |
| Steve Powell | 23 | RB | 5-11 | 186 | 23 | Truman State | 15 | 0 |
| Isiah Robertson | 58 | LOLB | 6-3 | 225 | 30 | Southern University | 16 | 16 |
| Charles Romes | 26 | RCB | 6-1 | 190 | 25 | Lake City JC; North Carolina Central | 16 | 16 |
| Lucius Sanford | 57 | ROLB | 6-2 | 216 | 23 | Georgia Tech | 16 | 16 |
| Joe Shipp | 87 | TE | 6-4 | 225 | 24 | Southern California | 16 | 2 |
| Fred Smerlas | 76 | NT | 6-4 | 285 | 22 | Boston College | 13 | 3 |
| Tim Vogler | 65 | C | 6-3 | 285 | 23 | Ohio State | 10 | 0 |
| Sherm White | 83 | RDE | 6-5 | 250 | 31 | Laney JC; California | 15 | 9 |
| Ben Williams | 77 | LDE-RDE | 6-3 | 260 | 25 | Mississippi | 16 | 15 |
| Lenny Willis | 86 | WR | 5-11 | 180 | 26 | Nebraska Southern JC; Ohio State | 7 | 0 |
| DRAFT LIST | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Overall | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 1 | Tom Cousineau | LB | Ohio State |
| 1 | 5 | Jerry Butler | WR | Clemson |
| 2 | 32 | Fred Smerlas | DT | Boston College |
| 2 | 51 | Jim Haslett | LB | Indiana (Pennsylvania) |
| 3 | 62 | Jon Borchardt | T | Montana State |
| 4 | 83 | Ken Johnson | DE | Knoxville |
| 4 | 87 | Jeff Nixon | DB | Richmond |
| 5 | 114 | Rod Kush | DB | Nebraska-Omaha |
| 5 | 116 | Dan Manucci | QB | Kansas State |
| 6 | 141 | Mike Burrow | G | Auburn |
| 7 | 170 | Tom Mullady | TE | Southwestern (Tennessee) |
| 9 | 226 | Kevin Baker | DE | William Penn |
| 10 | 253 | Dave Marler | QB | Mississippi State |
| 11 | 279 | Paul Lawler | DB | Colgate |
| 12 | 308 | Mike Harris | RB | Arizona State |
| SCORING BY QUARTERS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | OT | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 21 | 73 | 95 | 76 | 3 | 268 |
| Opponents Totals | 54 | 91 | 50 | 84 | 0 | 279 |
| TEAM STATS | TOP | 1st Downs | FDR | FDP | FDX | 3rd Down Efficiency | 4th Down Efficiency | PEN | PENY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 252 | 83 | 147 | 22 | 86/228 37.7% | / % | 104 | 887 | |
| Opponents Totals | 273 | 137 | 117 | 19 | 98/233 42.1% | / % | 106 | 788 |
| SCORING | TD | X1 | X1A | PCT | FG | FGA | PCT | SAF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Mike-Mayer | 0 | 17 | 18 | 94.4 | 20 | 29 | 69.0 | 0 | 77 |
| Roland Hooks | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | ||
| Curtis Brown | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Jerry Butler | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Mike Collier | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Reuben Gant | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Frank Lewis | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Lou Piccone | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Tom Dempsey | 0 | 8 | 11 | 72.7 | 1 | 4 | 25.0 | 0 | 11 |
| Joe Ferguson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Steve Freeman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Terry Miller | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Isiah Robertson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Charles Romes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Lucius Sanford | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Joe Shipp | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Fred Smerlas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| (Team) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 30 | 25 | 30 | 83.3 | 21 | 33 | 63.6 | 0 | 268 |
| Opponents Totals | 34 | 27 | 34 | 79.4 | 16 | 31 | 51.6 | 0 | 279 |
| FIELD GOALS | MADE | ATT | PCT | BL | LG | 1-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Mike-Mayer | 20 | 29 | 69.0 | 1 | 42 | 0/0 | 8/8 | 8/10 | 4/11 | 0/0 |
| Tom Dempsey | 1 | 4 | 25.0 | 0 | 18 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0/2 | 0/1 | 0/0 |
| Team Totals | 21 | 33 | 63.6 | 1 | 42 | 1/1 | 8/8 | 8/12 | 4/12 | 0/0 |
| Opponents Totals | 16 | 31 | 51.6 | 0/0 | 5/8 | 9/14 | 2/8 | 0/1 |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curtis Brown | 172 | 574 | 3.3 | 25 | 1 |
| Terry Miller | 139 | 484 | 3.5 | 75 | 1 |
| Roland Hooks | 89 | 320 | 3.6 | 32t | 6 |
| Mike Collier | 34 | 130 | 3.8 | 22 | 2 |
| Joe Ferguson | 22 | 68 | 3.1 | 15 | 1 |
| Steve Powell | 10 | 29 | 2.9 | 9 | 0 |
| Jerry Butler | 2 | 13 | 6.5 | 12 | 0 |
| Dennis Johnson | 3 | 5 | 1.7 | 2 | 0 |
| Nick Mike-Mayer | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 |
| Frank Lewis | 2 | -6 | -3.0 | -1 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 474 | 1621 | 3.4 | 75 | 11 |
| Opponents Totals | 617 | 2481 | 4.0 | 55t | 18 |
| PASSING | ATT | COM | PCT | INC | YDS | Y/ATT | Y/COM | LG | TD | TD% | INT | INT% | TS | YL | NYP | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Ferguson | 458 | 238 | 52.0 | 205 | 3572 | 7.8 | 15.0 | 84t | 14 | 3.1 | 15 | 3.3 | 43 | 387 | 3185 | 74.4 |
| Bill Munson | 7 | 3 | 42.9 | 4 | 31 | 4.4 | 10.3 | 16 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 56.3 |
| Team Totals | 465 | 241 | 51.8 | 209 | 3603 | 7.7 | 15.0 | 84t | 14 | 3.0 | 15 | 3.2 | 43 | 387 | 3216 | 74.2 |
| Opponents Totals | 382 | 193 | 50.5 | 165 | 2713 | 7.1 | 14.1 | 73t | 14 | 3.7 | 24 | 6.3 | 23 | 183 | 2530 | 59.8 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Lewis | 54 | 1082 | 20.0 | 55 | 2 |
| Jerry Butler | 48 | 834 | 17.4 | 75t | 4 |
| Curtis Brown | 39 | 401 | 10.3 | 84t | 3 |
| Lou Piccone | 33 | 556 | 16.8 | 49 | 2 |
| Roland Hooks | 26 | 254 | 9.8 | 42 | 0 |
| Reuben Gant | 19 | 245 | 12.9 | 22 | 2 |
| Terry Miller | 10 | 111 | 11.1 | 52 | 0 |
| Mike Collier | 7 | 43 | 6.1 | 19 | 0 |
| Joe Shipp | 3 | 43 | 14.3 | 27 | 1 |
| Dan Fulton | 2 | 34 | 17.0 | 18 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 241 | 3603 | 15.0 | 84t | 14 |
| Opponents Totals | 193 | 2713 | 14.1 | 73t | 14 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | INT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Nixon | 6 | 81 | 13.5 | 43 | 0 |
| Mario Clark | 5 | 95 | 19.0 | 36 | 0 |
| Steve Freeman | 3 | 62 | 20.7 | 50t | 1 |
| Lucius Sanford | 2 | 44 | 22.0 | 25 | 0 |
| Isiah Robertson | 2 | 29 | 14.5 | 23t | 1 |
| Jim Haslett | 2 | 15 | 7.5 | 11 | 0 |
| Doug Greene | 1 | 21 | 21.0 | 21 | 0 |
| Shane Nelson | 1 | 13 | 13.0 | 13 | 0 |
| Tony Greene | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 10 | 0 |
| Charles Romes | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 24 | 370 | 15.4 | 50t | 2 |
| Opponents Totals | 15 | 161 | 10.7 | 30 | 0 |
| PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | BL | TB | I20 | RYDS | NYDS | NET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rusty Jackson | 96 | 3671 | 38.2 | 60 | 0 | 11 | 14 | 555 | 2896 | 30.2 |
| Team Totals | 96 | 3671 | 38.2 | 60 | 0 | 11 | 14 | 555 | 2896 | 30.2 |
| Opponents Totals | 92 | 3512 | 38.2 | 62 | 1 | 16 | 20 | 318 | 2874 | 31.2 |
| PUNT RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keith Moody | 38 | 10 | 318 | 8.4 | 32 | 0 |
| Lou Piccone | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Team Totals | 38 | 11 | 318 | 8.4 | 32 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 61 | 9 | 555 | 9.1 | 86t | 1 |
| KICKOFF RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keith Moody | 27 | 556 | 20.6 | 35 | 0 | |
| Terry Miller | 8 | 160 | 20.0 | 24 | 0 | |
| Mike Collier | 7 | 129 | 18.4 | 27 | 0 | |
| Steve Powell | 6 | 97 | 16.2 | 36 | 0 | |
| Lenny Willis | 4 | 92 | 23.0 | 33 | 0 | |
| Curtis Brown | 3 | 42 | 14.0 | 22 | 0 | |
| Lou Piccone | 3 | 41 | 13.7 | 17 | 0 | |
| Chris Keating | 1 | 14 | 14.0 | 14 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 59 | 1131 | 19.2 | 36 | 0 | |
| Opponents Totals | 54 | 1142 | 21.1 | 51 | 0 |
| SACKS | NO | YDS |
|---|---|---|
| Sherm White | 5.5 | |
| Dee Hardison | 4.5 | |
| Shane Nelson | 3.0 | |
| Mike Kadish | 2.0 | |
| Scott Hutchinson | 2.0 | |
| Fred Smerlas | 2.0 | |
| Jim Haslett | 1.0 | |
| Ben Williams | 1.0 | |
| Isiah Robertson | 1.0 | |
| Team Totals | 23.0 | 183.0 |
| Opponents Totals | 43.0 | 387.0 |
| FUMBLES | NO | LOST | OWN | OPP | REC | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curtis Brown | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jerry Butler | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Mario Clark | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 0 |
| Mike Collier | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Joe Devlin | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Ferguson | 5 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Steve Freeman | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Reuben Gant | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tony Greene | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Jim Haslett | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Roland Hooks | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ken Jones | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Kadish | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Frank Lewis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Terry Miller | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Keith Moody | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | |
| Shane Nelson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Willie Parker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Lou Piccone | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Isiah Robertson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 0 |
| Charles Romes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -10 | 0 |
| Fred Smerlas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 23 | 1 |
| Team Totals | 32 | 19 | 13 | 17 | 30 | 49 | 1 |
| Opponents Totals | 31 | 17 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 1 |
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