Sept. 2, 1979 – Dolphins 9, Bills 7
Tom Dempsey claimed that he missed only two last-play-of-the-game field goals in his 11-year NFL career, and if that was true, both of them came at Rich Stadium with yours truly in attendance.
The first one had been in 1973 when he was with the Eagles and his misfire allowed the Buffalo Bills to win the game. The second came on this day as a member of the Bills, and it produced a far different effect for those of us in the stadium who walked out of the place with our jaws hanging open in frustration and disbelief.
After 18 consecutive losses to the Dolphins, victory was finally right there for the Bills on a rain-drenched opening day, and then it was gone. Dempsey, who had signed with Buffalo in 1978 and performed well so he was brought back in 1979, had an opportunity to forge his name into Bills’ lore by simply making a 34-yard kick on the final play of the game.
I was sitting in the end zone where Dempsey was kicking and I’ll never forget the excitement and anticipation that I shared with about 70,000 others that the misery against Miami was about to end because, come on, it was a 34-yard field goal, no way he’s missing that. And I’ll admit that no, I wasn’t thinking back to seven years earlier when I watched Dempsey miss his kick for the Eagles.
Well, I will also never forget the feeling of devastation, the ultimate punch in the gut that every one of us who were there felt, when Dempsey missed and the Dolphins laughed their way off the field as 9-7 winners over their favorite patsy.
This was several years before I became an impartial reporter covering the team that I grew up rooting for, so this loss really hurt and I can say, without question, it was the saddest moment I’ve ever experienced as a fan sitting in that stadium. That’s how much we hated the Dolphins and were so desperate to beat them.
“This is only the second time it has happened,” Dempsey said of his last-play miss. “It was just a bad kick on my part. It felt good, the snap and hold were good, and the weather was not a factor. I just blew it. A kicker’s job can depend on one kick and I’m thinking about that right now.”
Of course, Dempsey wasn’t solely to blame for the loss because leading up to the kick, it had been a gruesome day for the Bills’ offense as it managed only five first downs and 121 net yards. But the defense had been superb with the exception of one drive – which happened to occur during a fourth-quarter monsoon – which proved to be the difference.
Fullback Larry Csonka, returning to the Dolphins after a four-year absence, capped an impressive 14-play, 77-yard march that consumed 8:33 and gave Miami its winning points. Buffalo’s only score had come in the second quarter when defensive end Sherman White blocked a Uwe von Schamann field goal and Charlie Romes picked up the loose ball and ran 76 yards for a touchdown.
Yet here it was, 1:47 left to play after a 28-yard punt return by Keith Moody put the ball at the Miami 35, the rain suddenly stopped, and the Bills had a golden opportunity to end the Miami streak. “I thought the stage was set,” Moody said.
Coach Chuck Knox played conservatively, though, and rather than trying to score a touchdown, he admitted that he was playing for the field goal because, “We hadn’t scored a touchdown for 59 minutes and 35 seconds.” He trusted Dempsey, and Dempsey failed, and I remember holder Dan Manucci kneeling for probably half a minute after the ball sailed wide left, refusing to believe the Bills hadn’t won.
“Damn,” said longtime Bills offensive guard Reggie McKenzie who joined the team in 1972 and had experienced more losses to Miami than anyone on the team. “Fifteen times, man, 15 times. The fans, that’s the thing that hurts the fellas more than anything else. They wanted to win it for the 70,000 who came out to sit in the rain.”
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Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, he has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills stadium history: Tom Dempsey’s missed kick seals 1979 Miami win
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