The refurbished Buffalo Bills hosted the New York Jets in an American Football League season-opening game on September 10, 1967. Coached by Joe Collier for the second year, the Bills had won the last three Eastern Division titles but, after advancing to consecutive league championships in 1964 and ‘65, failed to win the AFL title game in ’66, thus costing them a spot in the first Super Bowl. The team made major trades during the offseason in an effort to upgrade at key positions. QB Tom Flores and split end Art Powell were obtained from Oakland and HB Keith Lincoln from San Diego. All three were highly regarded veterans and Flores moved ahead of QB Jack Kemp (pictured above), who had been behind center during the previous successful seasons. The Bills even had a new placekicker in Mike Mercer, an experienced hand who performed ably for the Chiefs in 1966.
New York, entering the fifth year under Head Coach Weeb
Ewbank, was coming off of a 6-6-2 record in ’66, which was a step up from four
consecutive five-win seasons. Talented QB Joe Namath had a strong arm and quick
release that could yield big gains through the air but also gave up many
interceptions. There were outstanding receivers in flanker Don Maynard and
split end George Sauer, and an effective running tandem in FB Matt Snell and HB
Emerson Boozer. However, the defense had been a sore spot and would need to
improve if the club was to rise further in the standings.
There were 45,478 fans in attendance at War Memorial
Stadium and they saw both teams miss scoring opportunities in the first
quarter. Mike Mercer attempted a 46-yard field goal for the Bills that was blocked
by DB Cornell Gordon and New York’s Jim Turner was wide to the left on a
16-yard field goal try.
During the second quarter, the Jets put together a
10-play, 57-yard series that was helped along by a pass interference penalty on
LB John Tracey. Three plays later, Joe Namath threw to Don Maynard, who
outmaneuvered CB Booker Edgerson for a 19-yard touchdown. Turner added the
extra point.
Buffalo responded with a promising possession, but after
Keith Lincoln (pictured at left) ran for 23 yards to the New York 35, a holding penalty and two
sacks moved the Bills back. On the next series, the Jets took just five plays
to advance 71 yards. Namath again connected with Maynard, this time for a
56-yard TD with 21 seconds left in the first half. Turner’s conversion staked
New York to a 14-0 lead at halftime.
The Bills were unable to put together sustained drives with
Flores behind center and a twisted knee suffered late in the second quarter
forced him to the bench. Jack Kemp took his place in the second half, although
the results were not immediately different. One of his passes was intercepted
by safety Jim Hudson, and the result was that the Jets increased their lead
less than five minutes into the third quarter when Turner kicked a 32-yard
field goal.
The home team continued to struggle on offense and
another New York interception, this time by Cornell Gordon, who was injured on
the play, nearly led to another score but Turner missed a field goal attempt
from 40 yards.
Down 17-0 after three quarters, the Bills came to life early
in the final period. They advanced 46 yards in five plays, although it nearly
was for naught when Lincoln fell while running a pass route and Solomon
Brannan, the replacement for Gordon, dropped a potential interception. On the
next play, Kemp passed to Art Powell for a 24-yard touchdown and Mercer added
the point after.
The Jets had to punt following their next possession and
Curley Johnson’s 29-yard kick was returned seven yards by CB Butch Byrd to the
New York 37. On the next play Kemp threw long to Powell in the end zone for
another TD. Mercer’s conversion narrowed the tally to 17-14 with 4:39 on the
clock.
New York fought back as Namath completed two passes and a
personal foul penalty again moved the visitors into scoring territory. However,
Turner once again failed on an attempted field goal, this time from 35 yards. The
Bills were forced to punt but Paul Maguire’s kick traveled 50 yards and was
downed at the New York one yard line. The Jets had to punt in turn, and while
three plays by Buffalo gained nothing, Mercer kicked a 51-yard field goal (a
new club record at the time) to tie the score with 2:27 remaining to play.
Another series by the Jets resulted in a punt and the
Bills had the ball at their 18 with 1:20 to go. Kemp tossed a swing pass to
Lincoln that gained 24 yards and then threw to TE Paul Costa, who made a
leaping catch for 21 yards. With the clock down to four seconds, Mercer booted
a 43-yard field goal and Buffalo won by a final score of 20-17.
New York had the edge in total yards (287 to 248)
although the Bills led in first downs (15 to 14). Buffalo also suffered the
only two turnovers of the game and sustained four sacks by the Jets while
recording two of its own. However, while
Mike Mercer (pictured at right) kicked the two big field goals for Buffalo, Jim Turner missed on
three of his four attempts.
Jack Kemp completed 12 of 23 passes for 167 yards and two
touchdowns while giving up two interceptions in relief of Tom Flores, who was 6
of 11 for 40 yards and no TDs (or interceptions) in the first half. Keith
Lincoln rushed for 81 yards on 13 carries and netted another 23 yards on three
pass receptions. Flanker Elbert Dubenion caught 6 passes for 54 yards while Art
Powell gained 91 yards on his 5 receptions that included the two touchdowns.
For the Jets, Joe Namath was successful on 11 of 23
throws for 153 yards and two TDs while having none picked off. Don Maynard
caught 5 of those passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Matt Snell topped
the rushers with 95 yards on 19 attempts and Emerson Boozer contributed 53
yards on his 16 carries.
While Buffalo fans might have felt optimistic following
the come-from-behind win, particularly with newcomers Art Powell, Keith
Lincoln, and Mike Mercer having starring roles (if not Tom Flores), the season
went downhill from there. The Bills lost their next three games on their way to
a 4-10 record that tied with Miami for third place in the Eastern Division that
they had previously dominated. While Lincoln and Mercer performed well, Powell
lasted for six games before going out with a knee injury that required surgery
and Flores, suffering from a sore arm, completed only 34.4 percent of his 64
passes and threw for no touchdowns while giving up eight interceptions, thus
being relegated to the bench. Adding insult to injury, QB Daryle Lamonica, the
backup who was sent to Oakland in the deal for Flores and Powell, had a MVP
season as the Raiders won the AFL Championship.
The Jets went 5-0-1 over the next six weeks and appeared
to be the successors to the Bills, who they defeated in the rematch at New
York, until a late-season collapse caused them to finish second to Houston with
an 8-5-1 tally. Joe Namath passed for a record 4007 yards but threw for more
interceptions (28) than touchdowns (26). Don Maynard (pictured at left) caught 71 passes, second
only to teammate George Sauer, for a league-leading 1434 yards and 10 TDs.
