Cardinals aim for first win in Buffalo since beating O.J. Simpson
Sep 20, 2016, 4:45 PM | Updated: Sep 21, 2016, 7:50 am
FILE - In this Sept. 3, 1977, file photo, Buffalo Bills running back O.J. Simpson (32), strides over teammates as he latches on to Joe DeLamielleurs (68) during a football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Buffalo, N.Y. Long before quarterbacks took center stage, the NFL was a running backs league. From Red Grange to Jim Brown to O.J. Simpson to Walter Payton to Emmitt Smith, the workhorse back has been a symbol of toughness and perseverance. (AP Photo/File)
(AP Photo/File)
Buffalo has never been confused as a big-time tourist spot. It’s an industrial city known for its hard workers but lacks the vacation weather, the eye-popping buildings and all-around riveting things to do.
For fans of the Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo also lacks something big; a Cardinals victory in the last 45 years.
The Cardinals haven’t won in Buffalo since Oct. 31, 1971, when their franchise belonged in St. Louis.
On that Halloween, the Cardinals were able to hold Bills running back O.J. Simpson to just 42 rushing yards on 16 carries. That 1971 season was the year just before Simpson went on a five-year tear, rushing for over 1,000 yards and being named to the Pro Bowl the next five seasons after that. Simpson was named the NFL MVP just two years later in 1973.
Quarterback Jim Hart led the victory for the Cardinals, completing 15-of-27 passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns. MacArthur Lane and Cid Edwards ran for a combined 106 yards and two touchdowns to aid the Cardinals in their 28-23 victory, moving them to 3-4 on the season. Miller Farr and Larry Wilson each had an interception, as the team won the turnover battle 3-0 to keep the Bills winless at 0-7.
Since, the Cardinals have played in Buffalo three times, with the Bills winning 17-10 in 1986, 45-14 in 1990 and 38-14 in 2004.
As you might expect, this is one of the longest road victory droughts for the Cardinals.
There are only five cities that play host to an NFL team where the Cardinals either haven’t won a regular season game in the last 45 years, or haven’t won a regular season game there at all.
A drought lasting longer than the one in Buffalo in which the Cardinals own a road win to their name is in Pittsburgh, as they haven’t stopped those Terrible Towel wavers since Oct. 5, 1969. The longest drought in a city where the Cardinals have a victory belongs to Green Bay, as they haven’t beaten the Packers on the road since getting a 39-17 win on Oct. 16, 1949.
The Cardinals have never won a road game against three franchises; the Denver Broncos, Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs.
The Cardinals’ first ever game in Kansas City ended up being a 6-6 tie in 1970, but they have lost there four times since. They have lost all five road games in Denver since 1977, and have just played at the Texans once, with it being a loss in 2005.
Looking purely at winning spans at home, there are seven teams with more than three consecutive regular season wins at home against the Cardinals, which is how many home games the Bills have won in a row against them.
The Packers have the longest regular season home winning streak against the Cardinals, having won eight games in a row. The Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings and Washington Redskins all have active seven game regular season home winning streaks against the Cardinals.
