1966 Buffalo Bills season

1966 Buffalo Bills season
Head coach	Joe Collier
Owner	Ralph Wilson
Home field	War Memorial Stadium
Results
Record	9–4–1
Division place	1st AFL Eastern
Playoff finish	Lost AFL Championship

The 1966 Buffalo Bills season was the team’s seventh season in the American Football League. It was the first season for head coach Joe Collier, who had been the Bills' defensive coordinator for the previous four seasons.

It ended with a loss in the AFL Championship Game to the Kansas City Chiefs, ending the team's two-year reign as AFL Champions.

The Bills allowed the fewest points in the AFL for the third consecutive year. Although defensive tackle Tom Sestak hampered by a bad knee, defensive linemen Jim Dunaway and Ron McDole took a leadership position. Linebackers Mike Stratton, Harry Jacobs and John Tracey, and defensive backs George Saimes, Butch Byrd, Hagood Clarke and Tom Janik provided a strong defensive foundation.

Halfback Bobby Burnett and split end Bobby Crockett joined long-time Bills running back Wray Carlton and quarterback Jack Kemp, leading Buffalo's offense to scoring 358 points, second-most in the AFL in 1966. Burnett's 1,185 total yards from scrimmage were 5th in the AFL, and garnered AFL Rookie of the Year honors for Burnett.

Personnel

Staff

1966 Buffalo Bills staff
Front Office President – Ralph Wilson Head Coaches Head Coach – Joe Collier Offensive Coaches Running Backs/Wide Receivers – John Mazur Offensive Line – Jerry Smith			Defensive Coaches Linebackers/Defensive Backs – Richie McCabe

Offseason

Lou Saban, who had coached the Bills to consecutive AFL Championships, left the team after the 1965 season to coach at the University of Maryland.

Standings

AFL Eastern Division
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Buffalo Bills	9	4	1	.692	6–2	358	255	W1
Boston Patriots	8	4	2	.677	5–1–1	315	283	L1
New York Jets	6	6	2	.500	4–3–1	322	312	W1
Houston Oilers	3	11	0	.214	1–7	335	396	L8
Miami Dolphins	3	11	0	.214	2–5	213	362	W1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Season schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 4, 1966	at San Diego Chargers	L 27–7	27,572
2	September 11, 1966	Kansas City Chiefs	L 42–20	42,023
3	September 18, 1966	Miami Dolphins	W 58–24	37,546
4	September 25, 1966	Houston Oilers	W 27–20	42,256
5	October 2, 1966	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 29–14	43,885
6	October 8, 1966	Boston Patriots	L 20–10	45,542
7	October 16, 1966	San Diego Chargers	T 17–17	45,169
8	Bye
9	October 30, 1966	at New York Jets	W 33–23	61,552
10	November 6, 1966	at Miami Dolphins	W 29–0	37,177
11	November 13, 1966	New York Jets	W 14–3	45,738
12	November 20, 1966	at Houston Oilers	W 42–20	27,312
13	November 24, 1966	at Oakland Raiders	W 31–10	36,781
14	December 4, 1966	at Boston Patriots	L 14–3	39,350
15	Bye
16	December 18, 1966	Denver Broncos	W 38–21	40,583

Game summaries

Week 3

1 2 3 4 Total Dolphins 3 7 0 14 24 • Bills 21 27 3 7 58 Date: September 18 Location: War Memorial Stadium, Buffalo, NY Game weather: 61°F; wind 3

Scoring summary Q1 BUF Kemp 1 yard run (Lusteg kick) BUF 7–0 Q1 BUF Byrd 60 yard interception return (Lusteg kick) BUF 14–0 Q1 BUF Byrd 72 yard punt return (Lusteg kick) BUF 21–0 Q1 MIA Mingo 24 yard field goal BUF 21–3 Q2 BUF Crockett 26 yard pass from Kemp (Lusteg kick) BUF 28–3 Q2 BUF Burnett 1 yard run (Lusteg kick) BUF 35–3 Q2 BUF Burnett 3 yard run (kick failed) BUF 41–3 Q2 MIA Roderick 4 yard pass from Wilson (Mingo kick) BUF 41–10 Q2 BUF Spikes 11 yard run (Lusteg kick) BUF 48–10 Q3 BUF Lusteg 13 yard field goal BUF 51–10 Q4 MIA Roberson 66 yard pass from Wilson (Mingo kick) BUF 51–17 Q4 BUF Spikes 18 yard pass from Lamonica (Lusteg kick) BUF 58–17 Q4 MIA Kocourek 13 yard pass from Wilson (Mingo kick) BUF 58–24

Week 10

1 2 3 4 Total Jets 0 0 3 0 3 • Bills 0 0 0 14 14 Date: November 13 Location: War Memorial Stadium, Buffalo, New York Game attendance: 45,738 Game weather: 33°F; wind 10

Scoring summary Q3 NYJ Jim Turner 43 yard field goal NYJ 3–0 Q4 BUF Elbert Dubenion 14 yard pass from Jack Kemp (Booth Lusteg kick) BUF 7–3 Q4 BUF Jim Dunaway 72 yard blocked field goal return (Booth Lusteg kick) BUF 14–3

Roster

Buffalo Bills roster
Quarterbacks  - Daryle Lamonica  15 Jack Kemp Running Backs Wide Receivers Tight Ends		Offensive Linemen Defensive Linemen Defensive Backs Special Teams

Postseason

AFL Championship Game

	1	2	3	4	Total
Chiefs	7	10	0	14	31
Bills	7	0	0	0	7

Kansas City Chiefs 31, Buffalo Bills 7

January 1, 1967 at War Memorial Stadium, Buffalo, New York
Attendance: 42,080

The Bills went into the 1966 AFL Championship having already won the game the previous two years. Though the game was to be played in Buffalo, the visiting Kansas City Chiefs were three-point favorites, mainly because of their explosive and innovative offense led by head coach Hank Stram. The Bills were a more conventional team with a solid defensive line and a running mindset on offense.

Buffalo found no offensive rhythm in the second half, and the Chiefs closed the game out in the fourth quarter with Dawson found Chris Burford for a 45-yard gain, setting up a one foot touchdown run by rookie Mike Garrett. Garrett scored his second touchdown less than two minutes later following another Bills fumble.

Scoring

• KC – Arbanas 29 pass from Dawson (Mercer kick)
• BUF – Dubenion 69 pass from Kemp (Lusteg kick)
• KC – Taylor 29 pass from Dawson (Mercer kick)
• KC – Field goal Mercer 32
• KC – Garrett 1 run (Mercer kick)
• KC – Garrett 18 run (Mercer kick)

Awards and Records

• Bobby Burnett, Denver, Rookie of the Year

References

• Buffalo Bills on Pro Football Reference
• Buffalo Bills on jt-sw.com