Super Bowl Monday_ From the Persian Gulf to the Shores of West Florida - Adam Lazarus [5]
Even with super Namath, the Bills’ abysmal record continued throughout the first two months of the regular season.
“I hate losing,” Kelly said before the Bills’ tenth game. “It hurts. It bothers me a lot. I’ve never been a loser. I’ve never been on a team with a losing record, not even in midget league, not in my whole life. We’re a young team, so you have to expect us to lose some games. But it doesn’t have to last. I can make this team a winner.”
Once Levy took control of the team, Kelly’s vow seemed reasonable.
“Marv had an immediate, positive impact on the team,” said Kelly. “But it wasn’t a case of coming in and running everybody into the ground, the way some new head coaches feel they have to do when they take over a losing program. In fact, the first thing Marv did was shorten practices saying it was quality that mattered, not quantity. . . . Marv came across as more of a college professor more than an NFL head coach, using a lot of big words and talking about a lot of historical figures whom most of us had never even heard of before.”
Bills players crammed Levy’s lesson plan that week, in preparation for their first exam, a November 9 home matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Despite their own poor record (3-6), the Steelers came to Buffalo on a two-game winning streak. Chuck Noll’s defense had not surrendered a touchdown in nine consecutive quarters, and with five touchdown passes from quarterback Mark Malone, the Steelers outscored their opponents 57-12 in the two wins.
Given the minor resurgence in Pittsburgh’s passing game and the presence of Buffalo’s skilled and exciting rookie quarterback, the game had the potential of becoming a shoot-out. Gusting winds on game day at Buffalo’s Rich Stadium prevented that from happening. Garbage bags repeatedly swirled by the field of play, eventually blowing up and out of the stadium. When the referee executed the pregame toss to decide possession, the coin soared seven yards from where he was standing.
“I’ve seen hurricanes in Mississippi with less velocity than that,” Bills center Kent Hull noted.
More than seventy-two thousand people braved the elements to see the Bills take an early lead.
Keeping his passes beneath the harsh wins, Kelly connected with wide receiver Andre Reed for a three-yard touchdown midway through the opening quarter. As the less-than-ideal passing conditions worsened, Levy suggested offensive coordinator Bob Leahy keep the ball on the ground. Buffalo’s Robb Riddick carried out Levy’s instructions, quickly racking up fifty yards and a touchdown late in the second period.
Buffalo’s defense was even more impressive. With a sore knee limiting star defensive end Bruce Smith’s availability, linebackers Darryl Talley and Ray Bentley anchored the defense and kept Pittsburgh without a single first down until two minutes before halftime.
“They were mixing up their defenses against the run,” Steelers tackle Ray Pinner said, “but mainly they were just beating us one-on-one. We got stuffed.”
With the score 13-0, the Bills charged out of the locker room after halftime, eager to preserve their lead and send the local fans home with a victory. However, within seconds of the start of the third period, one thought ran through the minds of every spectator present that day at Rich Stadium: “same old Bills.”
Standing deep in his own territory, Bills wide receiver Eric Richardson settled under the second half kickoff. At the fifteen-yard line, Pittsburgh’s Rick Woods crushed Richardson, who fumbled. After it had been accidently kicked by a nearby official, Steelers linebacker Mike Merriweather picked up the football. A member of the return team, Steve Tasker, who had been cut by Houston and signed off waivers two days earlier, brought down Merriweather at the five-yard line, saving a touchdown.
As he jogged off