1963 Bills-Jets AFL Game Shows Up in 2016!

GOING FOR THE BOMB!

Bills 31, Jets 37

Now, this- THIS- is what I'm talking a-bout!  Last night in Buffalo, New York, they played an old AFL game for your viewing astonishment.  Was this a Doormat Game?  Who cares!!

Here in the Basement, this game was so entertaining, we stopped drinking beer and building our pizza box fort for a while. We haven't seen this many long bombs since Jack Kemp and Joe Namath were chucking the pigskin into the ether without so much as a prayer and a middling-tall receiver.  These two teams didn't seem to care- at all. You actually had to watch every play, because...there goes another one!!

Of course, certain factors make such a wild evening possible, and they often need this guy in there:

Good Ol' Rob Ryan, who I believe gets hired because he LOOKS like somebody John Madden would drink beer with, and while back-slappingly drunk hire to coach his defense. The Nils, a team that got its defense dangerously close to respectable last year (19th) has, in just one preseason and two games, tanked to 31st in the league.  You can't get that kind of production without the right guy at the helm, and what better insurance than getting your picturesque twin brother into the fold for the job. Blitzing on 3rd down in your own red zone 100% of the time is somewhat predictable, but what do I know.

For the Jets, this means turnover magnet QB Ryan Fitzpatrick gets to complete passes down the field non-stop all night long. He doesn't need a whole lot of encouragement, it's true, but wowee. There were plays where EVERY receiver was open, with guys waving their hands "hey I'm open, I'm o- never mind."  Bills defensive backs threw hissy fits after they got their asses beat in an attempt to throw shade on somebody, anybody, maybe the grass. The Jets probably should have won this game 48-3, except the Bills had 3 plays that worked out of a total of 50.  One long-bomb, one scramble-bomb, and one fumble return (thanks Fitz!) for a TD.  That's 21 points in about 30 seconds of playing time. Other than that, the Bills didn't get into the red zone until there was 1:44 seconds left on the clock.  

They nearly got under the golden 20:00 of possession time (20:48). 

So the Bills are terrible, but man are they entertaining.  Improbably up 24-20 in the 3rd quarter, while barely holding the ball for any length of time, the Bills still pulled off the loss, and with more flair than anybody else in the Doormat.  And lets give the Jets some credit, going on an implosion run in the 3rd quarter that would make the Los Angeles Rams envious.

But YES!!  Thank, you, AFL Throwback Thursday.  That was fun.

-wacko