1964 Buffalo Bills season
5th season in franchise history, first league championship
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The 1964 Buffalo Bills season was the team’s fifth season. Buffalo was 12–2 in the regular season and won the first of two consecutive championships in the American Football League.
| 1964 Buffalo Bills season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Ralph Wilson |
| Head coach | Lou Saban |
| Home stadium | War Memorial Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 12–2 |
| Division place | 1st AFL Eastern |
| Playoffs | Won AFL Championship (vs. Chargers) 20–7 |
The 1964 Bills' defense set an AFL record by giving up the fewest rushing yards in league history, with only 918, or 65.5 yards per game.[1] They also led the league in points allowed (242), total yards allowed (3,878), first downs surrendered (206), and rushing touchdowns allowed (four).[2]
Buffalo's offense also led the AFL in total yards (5,206), passing yards (2,040) and total points (400).[3]
Offseason
AFL draft
Regular season
Season schedule
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | Sources | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 13 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 34–17 | 1–0 | War Memorial Stadium | 30,157 | Recap | ||
| 2 | September 20 | Denver Broncos | W 30–13 | 2–0 | War Memorial Stadium | 28,501 | Recap | ||
| 3 | September 26 | San Diego Chargers | W 30–3 | 3–0 | War Memorial Stadium | 40,167 | Recap | ||
| 4 | October 3 | Oakland Raiders | W 23–20 | 4–0 | War Memorial Stadium | 36,461 | Recap | ||
| 5 | October 11 | at Houston Oilers | W 48–17 | 5–0 | Jeppesen Stadium | 26,218 | Recap | ||
| 6 | October 18 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 35–22 | 6–0 | Municipal Stadium | 20,904 | Recap | ||
| 7 | October 24 | New York Jets | W 34–24 | 7–0 | War Memorial Stadium | 39,621 | Recap | ||
| 8 | November 1 | Houston Oilers | W 24–10 | 8–0 | War Memorial Stadium | 40,119 | Recap | ||
| 9 | November 8 | at New York Jets | W 20–7 | 9–0 | Shea Stadium | 61,929 | Recap | ||
| 10 | November 15 | Boston Patriots | L 28–36 | 9–1 | War Memorial Stadium | 42,308 | Recap | ||
| — | Bye | ||||||||
| 11 | November 26 | at San Diego Chargers | W 27–24 | 10–1 | Balboa Stadium | 34,865 | Recap | ||
| 12 | December 6 | at Oakland Raiders | L 13–16 | 10–2 | Frank Youell Field | 18,134 | Recap | ||
| 13 | December 13 | at Denver Broncos | W 30–19 | 11–2 | Bears Stadium | 14,431 | Recap | ||
| 14 | December 20 | at Boston Patriots | W 24–14 | 12–2 | Fenway Park | 38,021 | Recap | ||
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||||
Game summaries
Week 1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chiefs | 0 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 17 |
| • Bills | 31 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 34 |
- Date: September 13
- Location: War Memorial Stadium, Buffalo, NY
- Game attendance: 30,157
- Game weather: 51 °F (11 °C); wind 6 mph
| Q1 | BUF | Gogolak 13 yard field goal | BUF 3–0 | |
| Q1 | BUF | Bass 10 yard pass from Kemp (Gogolak kick) | BUF 10–0 | |
| Q1 | BUF | Dubenion 6 yard pass from Kemp (Gogolak kick) | BUF 17–0 | |
| Q1 | BUF | Bass 17 yard pass from Kemp (Gogolak kick) | BUF 24–0 | |
| Q1 | BUF | Sestak 15 yard interception return (Gogolak kick) | BUF 31–0 | |
| Q2 | KC | Brooker 12 yard field goal | BUF 31–3 | |
| Q3 | KC | Arbanas 5 yard pass from Dawson (Brooker kick) | BUF 31–10 | |
| Q3 | KC | Haynes 44 yard pass from Dawson (Brooker kick) | BUF 31–17 | |
| Q4 | BUF | Gogolak 13 yard field goal | BUF 34–17 | |
Week 2
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broncos | 3 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| • Bills | 3 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 30 |
- Date: September 20
- Location: War Memorial Stadium, Buffalo, NY
- Game attendance: 28,501
- Game weather: 64 °F (18 °C); wind 11 mph
| Q1 | DEN | Mingo 51 yard field goal | DEN 3–0 | |
| Q1 | BUF | Gogolak 33 yard field goal | Tie 3–3 | |
| Q2 | BUF | Gilchrist 15 yard run (Gogolak kick) | BUF 10–3 | |
| Q2 | BUF | Gogolak 21 yard field goal | BUF 13–3 | |
| Q2 | DEN | Taylor 46 yard pass from Lee (Mingo kick) | BUF 13–10 | |
| Q3 | DEN | Mingo 49 yard field goal | Tie 13–13 | |
| Q3 | BUF | Gilchrist 1 yard run (Gogolak kick) | BUF 20–13 | |
| Q4 | BUF | Gogolak 17 yard field goal | BUF 23–13 | |
| Q4 | BUF | Lamonica 8 yard run (Gogolak kick) | BUF 30–13 | |
Week 3
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chargers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| • Bills | 7 | 7 | 3 | 13 | 30 |
- Date: September 26
- Location: War Memorial Stadium, Buffalo, NY
- Game attendance: 40,167
- Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C); wind 13 mph
| Q1 | BUF | Byrd 85 yard interception return (Gogolak kick) | BUF 7–0 | |
| Q2 | SD | Blair 12 yard field goal | BUF 7–3 | |
| Q2 | BUF | Clarke 53 yard punt return (Gogolak kick) | BUF 14–3 | |
| Q3 | BUF | Gogolak 13 yard field goal | BUF 17–3 | |
| Q4 | BUF | Auer 2 yard run (Gogolak kick) | BUF 24–3 | |
| Q4 | BUF | Dubenion 40 yard pass from Lamonica (kick failed) | BUF 30–3 | |
Week 4
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raiders | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 20 |
| • Bills | 0 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 23 |
- Date: October 3
- Location: War Memorial Stadium, Buffalo, NY
- Game attendance: 36,461
- Game weather: 58°; wind 17 mph
| Q1 | OAK | Mercer 25 yard field goal | OAK 3–0 | |
| Q2 | BUF | Kemp 9 yard run (Gogolak kick) | BUF 7–3 | |
| Q3 | OAK | Davidson 6 yard run (Mercer kick) | OAK 10–7 | |
| Q3 | BUF | Lamonica 1 yard run (Gogolak kick) | BUF 14–10 | |
| Q4 | OAK | Mercer 19 yard field goal | BUF 14–13 | |
| Q4 | BUF | Dubenion 44 yard pass from Lamonica (Gogolak kick) | BUF 21–13 | |
| Q4 | BUF | Safety, Davidson tackled by McDole in end zone | BUF 23–13 | |
| Q4 | OAK | Herock 4 yard pass from Davdison (Mercer kick) | BUF 23–20 | |
Week 5
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Bills | 14 | 17 | 17 | 10 | 58 |
| Oilers | 7 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
- Date: October 11
- Location: Jeppesen Stadium, Houston, TX
- Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C); wind 4 mph
| Q1 | BUF | Gilchrist 1 yard run (Gogolak kick) | BUF 7–0 | |
| Q1 | HOU | Blanks 4 yard run (Blanda kick) | Tie 7–7 | |
| Q1 | BUF | Bass 9 yard pass from Kemp (Gogolak kick) | BUF 14–7 | |
| Q2 | BUF | Dubenion 19 yard pass from Kemp (Gogolak kick) | BUF 21–7 | |
| Q2 | HOU | Blanda 47 yard field goal | BUF 21–10 | |
| Q2 | BUF | Bass 94 yard pass from Kemp (Gogolak kick) | BUF 28–10 | |
| Q2 | BUF | Gogolak 18 yard field goal | BUF 31–10 | |
| Q3 | HOU | Hennigan 53 yard pass from Blanda (Blanda kick) | BUF 31–17 | |
| Q3 | BUF | Gilchirst 3 yard run (Gogolak kick) | BUF 38–17 | |
| Q4 | BUF | Gogolak 26 yard field goal | BUF 41–17 | |
| Q4 | BUF | Ross 1 yard run (Gogolak kick) | BUF 48–17 | |
- Jack Kemp 14/26, 378 Yds
- Elbert Dubenion 5 Rec, 183 Yds
- Glenn Bass 5 Rec, 147 Yds
Standings
| AFL Eastern Division | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Buffalo Bills | 12 | 2 | 0 | .857 | 5–1 | 400 | 242 | W2 | |
| Boston Patriots | 10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | 4–2 | 365 | 297 | L1 | |
| New York Jets | 5 | 8 | 1 | .385 | 2–4 | 278 | 315 | L3 | |
| Houston Oilers | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 1–5 | 310 | 355 | W2 | |
- Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings in the AFL.
Postseason
| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | December 26 | San Diego Chargers | W 20–7 | 40,242 | War Memorial Stadium | Recap |
AFL Championship Game
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chargers | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • Bills | 3 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
- Date: December 26
- Location: War Memorial Stadium, Buffalo, New York
- Game attendance: 40,242
- Game weather: 43 °F (6 °C) • Wind 13 mph
| 1 | SD | Dave Kocourek 26 yard pass from Tobin Rote (Keith Lincoln kick) | Chargers 7–0 | |
| 1 | BUF | Pete Gogolak 12 yard field goal | Chargers 7–3 | |
| 2 | BUF | Wray Carlton 4 yard run (Pete Gogolak kick) | Bills 10–7 | |
| 2 | BUF | Pete Gogolak 17 yard field goal | Bills 13–7 | |
| 4 | BUF | Jack Kemp 1 yard run (Pete Gogolak kick) | Bills 20–7 | |
Personnel
Staff
| 1964 Buffalo Bills staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
| |||||
Roster
| 1964 Buffalo Bills roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends |
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Taxi squad
Reserve list
| |||
| Note: rookies in italics | ||||||
Player stats
Passing
| Player | Comp | Att | Yds | Completion % | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Kemp | 119 | 269 | 2285 | 44.2 | 13 | 26 |
| Daryle Lamonica | 55 | 128 | 1137 | 43.0 | 6 | 8 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yds | Average | Long | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cookie Gilchrist | 230 | 981 | 4.3 | 67 | 6 |
| B. Smith | 62 | 306 | 4.9 | 37 | 4 |
| Daryle Lamonica | 55 | 289 | 5.3 | 18 | 6 |
| Joe Auer | 63 | 191 | 3.0 | 21 | 2 |
| Jack Kemp | 37 | 124 | 3.4 | 14 | 5 |
| Wray Carlton | 39 | 114 | 2.9 | 11 | 1 |
Special teams
Kicking
| Player | FG | Att | XP | XP Att | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pete Gogolak | 19 | 29 | 45 | 46 | 102 |
Punting
| Player | No. | Yards | Avg. | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Maguire | 65 | 2777 | 42.7 | 64 |
Awards and records
- Lou Saban, Coach of the Year