The 7th Anniversary Of The Most Important Non-Bills Game Ever

Do you remember where you were 7 years ago today?  There's a good chance you do if you're a Bills fan.

It's New Year's Eve so you might remember where you were when the Bills finally ended their 17-year-long playoff drought with the help of the Cincinnati Bengals.

It was a snowy day here in Buffalo.  The Bills were staring down the barrel of one of the worst streaks ever, not just in football, but in any professional American sport.  The Bills hadn't been to the playoffs for 17 seasons.  The last time they were there was the 1999-2000 season (Yes, the day of the Music City Miracle).  Bill Clinton was still president and the Sabres were on their own 6-year drought.

The Bills were playing in Miami that day.  They were coming off a loss to the Patriots the week before.  They needed to win against the Dolphins and for the Cincinnati Bengals to beat the Ravens to make it to the playoffs and end the drought.  It felt like a pretty big ask at the time.

The Bills took care of business.  They beat Miami 22-16 at Hard Rock Stadium.  Then they headed to the locker room to watch as Cincinnati took on Baltimore.  The whole team knew what was at stake.  An entire city was waiting helplessly as their team's fate was in another team's hands.

It was looking good as Cincinnati was up 24-10 at one point but Baltimore wasn't about to just roll over for them.  With less than 9 minutes left in the 4th quarter Baltimore took the lead 27-24.  Hopes were fading again. With just over a minute left to play, Bengals' quarterback Andy Dalton threw an interception that would have just about ended the game. The Bengals only had one time out remaining and Baltimore could have run the clock out.

Then, there was a flag.

The call was holding against the Ravens which kept the Bengals alive.  The Ravens were holding Cincinnati for three downs.  On a 4th and 12, Dalton hurled the ball downfield to Tyler Boyd who took it the rest of the way for the Bengals touchdown!  The Bills locker room went crazy.

It was easily one of the most important non-Bills games in the team's history.  The drought was over, finally, and the Bills were so happy they did what only someone from Buffalo would do to say thanks.  They sent wings.

The locker room scene is one we will never forget.  They "got over the hump."

What followed was one of the first displays where Bills Mafia donated to another team's charity.  Andy Dalton's charity was flooded with donations from Bills fans to say thank you.