There is more chance to create memories in Highmark Stadium before it’s shuttered for good.
The Buffalo Bills host the New York Jets Sunday in what is likely to be the final game played in the 53-year-old stadium. It’s fitting the last opponent is the same as the first, even though none of the participants in the game were even a thought at the time.
Highmark Stadium — then Rich Stadium — was opened in 1973, the same year O.J. Simpson became the first player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. Even though he appeared in one career playoff, fans came to see perhaps the league’s best player of the 1970s.
His body breaking down, Simpson was traded to San Francisco in 1978 and Highmark Stadium became a caverness, half-empty joy-sucker for nearly a decade, albeit with a few good teams in between.
Then it became the home of miracles as the Bills took the community’s love for the franchise into another stratosphere with four consecutive Super Bowl appearances. Passion for the team didn’t dwindle, even when a 17-year playoff drought ensued.
The stadium closes with a franchise on a seven-year playoff streak, one of the NFL’s powerhouses and Josh Allen, the reigning MVP and perhaps the best quarterback in the world.
Here are some of the top individual performances in stadium history:
15. Andre Reed goes wild against the Packers
No player had more catches, yards or touchdowns within the walls of Highmark Stadium than the Hall of Famer, snagging 472 passes for 6,635 yards and 47 touchdowns in 111 games. No other player had 20 receiving scores at the stadium.
Reed set a franchise record with 15 receptions on that Nov. 20, 1994 day, the most in Highmark Stadium history until New England’s Wes Welker had 16 in 2011. Reed also added 191 yards to boot, with most of his damage in the first half.
Reed caught 15- and 10-yard touchdowns from Jim Kelly as the Bills opened a 27-6 halftime lead. Brett Favre threw a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter, but the Bills won 29-20.
14. Allen, Stefon Diggs torch Miami to maintain grip on AFC East
The Bills were supposed to take a step back in 2023 with the Dolphins installed as the new kings of the AFC East. It took until the final week of the regular season to finish off Miami, but the Bills proved in Week 4 they weren’t going away.
Allen went 21 of 25 for 320 yards and four touchdowns, while running for another as the Bills shellacked Miami 48-20. Diggs was Allen’s main target, torching the Dolphins for 120 yards and three touchdowns on six catches.
A back-and-forth game to start, Diggs caught an 11-yard touchdown early in the second quarter to take a 21-14 lead. Then, with 2:58 left in the half, Allen unleashed a pass to the opposite sideline to Diggs, who fought through illegal contact from cornerback Kader Kohou to make the catch.
Diggs then shucked Kohou’s tackle and raced for a 55-yard touchdown — the longest in his tenure with the team — as the Bills blitzed the Dolphins to take a 31-14 halftime lead.
13. Allen rips Buccaneers for six touchdowns
Perhaps it was because Allen had done it the year before or perhaps because he threw an interception on his second attempt of the game, but Allen’s six-touchdown performance almost seemed ho-hum.
A year earlier, Allen became the first player with three passing and three rushing touchdowns in a game. He duplicated that feat against Tampa Bay Nov. 16 to help the Bills rebound from a disappointing loss with a 44-32 win.
Trailing 26-24 in the third quarter, Allen hit James Cook on a 25-yard touchdown pass. After the Buccaneers responded to take a 32-31 lead, Allen marched the Bills downfield and scored on a 5-yard run and sealed the game with a 9-yarder with 2:35 remaining.
Allen finished 19 of 30 for 317 yards and ran for another 40.
12. Jim Kelly, Don Beebe make history in romp of Steelers
After Kelly found Reed for a 14-yard score in the third quarter, the Bills were ready to cake-walk to an easy win. But their 31-10 lead was trimmed to four entering the fourth quarter on Sept. 8, 1991.
Then the Bills exploded. Having hooked up for touchdowns of 34 and 14 in the first half, Kelly found Beebe again for an 11-yard score and added a fourth with a 4-yard pass moments later. Nate Odomes sealed the 52-34 win with a 32-yard pick-six.
Kelly went 31 of 43 for 363 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. His six scoring passes are a franchise and stadium record, while their 52 points was a record until the Patriots scored 56 in 2007, matched by the Bills in 2020.
Beebe, meanwhile, had 10 receptions for 112 yards, both highs during his tenure with the Bills. His four touchdown catches are tied for the team and stadium records.
11. Allen guts Dolphins take stranglehold on division
The upstart Dolphins stunned the Bills in Week 3 and they didn’t fade away. The Bills were in the midst of a mercurial stretch and Allen was playing with a sprained UCL ligament in his right elbow.
On a snowy Dec. 17, 2022, the Dolphins led 29-21 with 11:56 remaining following an Allen fumble that led to a field goal. Allen marched the Bills 75 yards — with a 44-yard run — in seven plays before finding tight end Dawson Knox for a 5-yard touchdown with a two-point conversion to tie..
Allen then led a 15-play, 86-yard drive that ended with a Tyler Bass field goal at the buzzer to win 32-29. Allen hit two third-down passes and Isaiah McKenzie drew a pass interference call on third and 6 with 50 seconds left that allowed the Bills to run out the clock.
On the final two drives, Allen went 5 of 8 for 45 yards and ran for 52 yards. He finished the game 25 of 40 for 304 yards and four touchdowns, while running for 77 on 10 attempts.
10. Allen announces arrival in last-second win over Rams
The Bills started 2020 2-0 and Allen threw for 729 yards. In a Week 3 game against the Rams, who were two years removed from a Super Bowl berth, Allen made it clear the first two games weren’t a mirage and he was ascending to be one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks in his third season.
The Bills jumped out to a 28-3 lead in the third quarter, only for the Rams to rattle off 29 consecutive points to take a four-point lead with 4:30 remaining. Allen took the Bills 75 yards on 11 plays over 4 minutes and 15 seconds.
Allen went 6 of 9 for 85 yards on the final drive, capped by a 3-yard touchdown to tight end Tyler Kroft with 15 seconds remaining to score a 35-32 win. Allen went 24 of 33 for 311, four touchdowns, an interception and 71 yards rushing.
9. O.J. gets within striking distance of 2K
Simpson had — 200-yard games in his career, but only — were at Highmark Stadium. Heading into Week 13 in 1973, Simpson had a superb season but the Bills likely weren’t postseason-bound despite being 7-5 and 2,000 yards seemed out of reach.
He needed 416 yards to hit 2,000 over his final two games and hadn’t run for 200 since rushing for 250 against the Patriots in Week 1. Simpson scored his only touchdown on a 6-yard run in the second quarter, but he ran for 219 yards on 22 carries, including a 71-yard jaunt to put himself within reach of 2,000 yards heading into the final week at the Jets.
Simpson ran for 200 yards the following week, becoming the only player to run for 2,000 yards in a 14-game season.
8. Nyheim Hines does it for Damar
Six days after safety Damar Hamlin collapsed during a Monday Night Football game in Cincinnati and needed CPR and an AED to revive him following cardiac arrest from commotio cordis, the Bills returned to the field wearing a patch with Hamlin’s No. 3 on their jerseys.
With Hamlin watching the 2022 regular-season finale from his hospital bed, Nyheim Hines took the opening kickoff against the Patriots 96 yards, bouncing off a defender before racing up the sidelines for a touchdown.
With the Bills trailing 17-14 in the third quarter, Hines fielded another kickoff and returned it 101 yards for a touchdown to push the Bills to a 35-23 win. Hines was acquired from the Colts at the trade deadline, but struggled to find a role.
In eight games up to that point, Hines had five receptions for 53 yards and a touchdown and six carries for minus 3 yards. He also had just a 19.9-yard average on 16 kick returns.
But Hines racked up 235 yards on four returns against the Patriots, the second-most return yards in stadium history to the Jets’ Chad Morton’s 258 in 2002.
7. Jeff Nixon helps swipe drought-ending win from Miami
The Bills went 0 for 20 against the Dolphins in the 1970s. But in the 1980 home opener, the Bills were ready to end the streak.
The second-year safety pounced on a Miami fumble late in the first quarter. Midway through the second quarter, Nixon intercepted Hall of Fame quarterback Bob Griese and returned it to the Miami 32, setting up a Bills field goal.
Nixon snagged another interception in the second quarter and got a third late in the game to seal a 17-7 win. Nixon is the only player in stadium history to record four takeaways in a single game.
6. Kelly shreds the Raiders for first Super Bowl berth
The Bills had minimal playoff success since winning back-to-back AFL championships in 1964 and 1965. They had gotten to the AFC championship game in 1988 and fell short in the divisional round in 1989.
They left no doubt in the 1990 AFC championship game. Kelly hit James Lofton for a 13-yard touchdown in the first quarter and never took his foot off the gas in a 51-3 trouncing of the Raiders. Kelly had a pair of touchdowns to Lofton as the Bills raced to a 41-3 halftime lead.
Kelly went 17 of 23 for 300 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. But it was his mastery of Buffalo’s no-huddle offense that kept the Raiders defense gasping for air until they were finally beaten into submission.
5. Jerry Butler flies past the Jets in all-time performance
The Bills were off to a 1-2 start in 1979 and would finish 7-9 before consecutive playoff appearances. But they had a talented rookie wide receiver named Jerry Butler, who had been taken fifth overall that year.
Butler had an uneven first three games, grabbing seven passes for 116 yards in a 51-24 win over the Bengals in Week 2, but had just four catches for 46 yards in the other two games. He had a 5-yard touchdown grab from quarterback Joe Ferguson, but the Bills trailed the Jets 24-12 just before halftime.
The Bills set up a Hail Mary-type play the Bills called “Big Ben.” Receiver Frank Lewis was supposed to tip the ball to Butler or running back Roland Hooks. But Jets cornerback Burgess Owens got his hand on it.
It caromed right to Butler, who raced the last 30 yards for a 75-yard score. Butler caught touchdowns of 74 and 9 in the third quarter as the Bills scored 34 straight to win 46-31.
Butler finished with 10 catches for 255 yards and four touchdowns. His yards and touchdowns are still franchise and stadium records.
4. Reich and Reed lead the greatest comeback ever.
The Comeback. You know the details. Backup quarterback Frank Reich helped lead the Bills back from a 35-3 second-half deficit to beat the Houston Oilers 41-38 in the 1992 AFC wild-card round, marking the greatest comeback in NFL history.
Reich went 21 of 34 for 281 yards and four touchdowns in the game. But the biggest star was Reed. Running back Thurman Thomas called it Reed’s breakout game even though the receiver had already been to four Pro Bowls and was a two-time All-Pro.
With Kelly and Thomas sidelined with injuries, Reed was the focal point of the offense. Reed caught eight passes for 136 yards and three second-half touchdowns on consecutive drives.
3. Thurman kicks off MVP season with a bang
Had Scott Norwood’s Super Bowl XXV kick not sailed wide right in 1990, Thomas would have been the game’s MVP. Instead, he was the NFL’s MVP in 1991 and he started his campaign with a bang.
Facing the Dolphins in an AFC divisional rematch in the season opener, the Bills fell behind 14-0 before finally rallying to take a 21-17 lead on a 50-yard pass from Kelly to Thomas in the third quarter. He added a game-clinching 7-yard run in the fourth as the Bills won 35-31.
Thomas carried 25 times for 165 yards and caught eight passes for 103 yards. His 268 yards from scrimmage is the second-most in stadium history and he is the only player to have 100 yards rushing and 100 receiving in the same game at Highmark.
2. Thomas runs Bills to fourth Super Bowl
The Chiefs thumped the Bills 23-7 during the 1993 regular season and Thomas was held to 25 yards on 15 carries. But in the AFC championship game rematch, the Bills decided to feed Thomas and didn’t stop.
He carried 33 times for a Bills playoff-record 186 yards and three touchdowns to win 30-13, advancing to an unmatched fourth consecutive Super Bowl. The game was a bit of a breakout for Thomas, who started 1993 with six 100-yard outings in the first 10 games.
The first Chiefs matchup started a run of being held under 100 six times in seven games leading into the AFC championship. Thomas had been held to 44 yards on 14 carries the previous week against the Raiders.
1. Allen, Bills show Patriots perfection
The Bills entered 2021 as Super Bowl favorites only to struggle midway through the season to go 11-6. The Patriots, with rookie quarterback Mac Jones attempting three passes, beat the Bills 14-10 Dec. 6, only for the Bills to get the win back later in the month and win the AFC East.
The rubber match was lopsided. Allen threw a touchdown pass to Knox on the first drive and the second and the Bills kept scoring. Seven drives, seven touchdowns.
Allen and the Bills’ offense produced the NFL’s first perfect game, scoring touchdowns on each possession until kneeling on the final drive to beat the Patriots 47-17 in the AFC wild-card round.
Allen went 21 of 25 for 308 yards and five touchdowns, while running for another 66 yards in what was New England coach Bill Belichick’s final playoff game.
Opponent games
• Dan Marino got the edge in the first matchup with Kelly on Nov. 16, 1986. Marino was the first player to throw for 400 yards at Highmark Stadium, going 39 of 54 for 404 yards and four touchdowns in a 34-24 Dolphins win.
• As the Patriots rolled to a 16-0 regular season in 2007, the Patriots flattened the Bills along the way. Their 56-10 Sunday Night Football win over a Bills team that entered winners of four straight set stadium records for most points scored and largest point differential. Brady went 31 of 39 for 373 yards and five touchdowns, with Randy Moss catching 10 passes for 128 yards and four touchdowns.
• Brady was wildly successful at Highmark Stadium, going 17-1 during his career. He finished sixth in stadium history in yards (4,964) and touchdown passes (38). Brady set a stadium record with 466 yards in a 40-32 win over the Bills in 2015, going 38 of 59 and throwing three touchdowns. Brady does have the distinction of joining Ryan Fitzpatrick and Michael Vick as the only players with four interceptions in a game at Highmark.
• The 2016 Bills were 6-6 when the Steelers visited and desperately needed a win. Running back Le’Veon Bell had other plans. He ran across a snowy Highmark Stadium field for 236 yards and three touchdowns on 38 attempts, setting stadium records for rushing yards and scrimmage yards (298) in a 27-20 win.