Sept 14 in Jets History: Winning Ugly is Still Winning
Sept 14, 2015 5:41:57 GMT -5
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Post by Lithfan on Sept 14, 2015 5:41:57 GMT -5
September 14, 1969
The Jets began the defense of their Super Bowl title with a visit to War Memorial Stadium for an Eastern Conference showdown with the Buffalo Bills. The defending champs were a heavy favorite against the Bills who were coming off of a 1-12-1 campaign in 1968. With the first pick in the AFL’s 1969 draft, the Bills selected OJ Simpson, so this game would mark his much anticipated NFL debut.
It was a sloppy, poorly played game by both teams with a total of 9 turnovers. It started out as a battle of FG kickers, with Jim Turner connecting on two in the first quarter, and Bills kicker, Robert Alford answering with one of his own. Turner added his 3rd FG, a 41-yarder in the 2nd for a 9-3 Jets lead.
Late in the 2nd quarter, Namath, who struggled on the day, hit his favorite target, Don Maynard for 60 yards and a TD. Namath connected on just 7 of 19 attempts for 157 yards. He also threw three costly interceptions.
The Jets extended their lead to 19-3 in the 3rd quarter but they began making mistakes to allow the Bills to come storming back. First, Matt Snell lost the ball deep in his own territory. His fumble was recovered by the Bills Safety, John Pitts at the Jets 8 yard line. 2 plays later Bills QB Jack Kemp hit Bill Envart for a 5 yard TD. The Bills went for two and missed, leaving the Jets with a seemingly comfortable 19-9 lead.
Two consecutive interceptions by Namath, however, both led to points. A George Saimes interception set the Bills up for Simpson’ first pro TD run, and 8 yarder to close the gap to 3. After the second interception, by LB Paul Guidry, the Jets defense stiffened in the red zone, but Alford’s FG tied the game at 19.
The Jets responded with a ground and pound drive that would have made Rex Ryan proud. Behind the running of Snell and Emerson Boozer, the Jets ripped through the Bills defense with a drive that did not include a single passing play. Snell went the last 11 for a TD and a 26-19 lead with 7:30 left to play. Paul Crane returned a Jack Kemp pass 26 yards for a touchdown to put the game away for the Jets in the final minutes.
“Make up anything you want to say about OJ and write it,” Namath would say after the game. “I can’t say enough good things about him. He is going to be great.”
Simpson was not happy with his performance, “I wasn’t satisfied,” Simpson said. “I picked up a cold on Saturday and it bothered me early in the game. And I’ll tell you, now that they’re playing for real, its a lot harder.”
The Jets began the defense of their Super Bowl title with a visit to War Memorial Stadium for an Eastern Conference showdown with the Buffalo Bills. The defending champs were a heavy favorite against the Bills who were coming off of a 1-12-1 campaign in 1968. With the first pick in the AFL’s 1969 draft, the Bills selected OJ Simpson, so this game would mark his much anticipated NFL debut.
It was a sloppy, poorly played game by both teams with a total of 9 turnovers. It started out as a battle of FG kickers, with Jim Turner connecting on two in the first quarter, and Bills kicker, Robert Alford answering with one of his own. Turner added his 3rd FG, a 41-yarder in the 2nd for a 9-3 Jets lead.
Late in the 2nd quarter, Namath, who struggled on the day, hit his favorite target, Don Maynard for 60 yards and a TD. Namath connected on just 7 of 19 attempts for 157 yards. He also threw three costly interceptions.
The Jets extended their lead to 19-3 in the 3rd quarter but they began making mistakes to allow the Bills to come storming back. First, Matt Snell lost the ball deep in his own territory. His fumble was recovered by the Bills Safety, John Pitts at the Jets 8 yard line. 2 plays later Bills QB Jack Kemp hit Bill Envart for a 5 yard TD. The Bills went for two and missed, leaving the Jets with a seemingly comfortable 19-9 lead.
Two consecutive interceptions by Namath, however, both led to points. A George Saimes interception set the Bills up for Simpson’ first pro TD run, and 8 yarder to close the gap to 3. After the second interception, by LB Paul Guidry, the Jets defense stiffened in the red zone, but Alford’s FG tied the game at 19.
The Jets responded with a ground and pound drive that would have made Rex Ryan proud. Behind the running of Snell and Emerson Boozer, the Jets ripped through the Bills defense with a drive that did not include a single passing play. Snell went the last 11 for a TD and a 26-19 lead with 7:30 left to play. Paul Crane returned a Jack Kemp pass 26 yards for a touchdown to put the game away for the Jets in the final minutes.
“Make up anything you want to say about OJ and write it,” Namath would say after the game. “I can’t say enough good things about him. He is going to be great.”
Simpson was not happy with his performance, “I wasn’t satisfied,” Simpson said. “I picked up a cold on Saturday and it bothered me early in the game. And I’ll tell you, now that they’re playing for real, its a lot harder.”
