The Best of One Bills Drive: Nov. 24, 2010

(Greg D. Tranter and Budd Bailey have written a book about the history of the football stadium in Orchard Park called "One Bills Drive." It has been published by Reedy Press (https://reedypress.com/shop/one-bills-drive-the-buffalo-bills-greatest-home-games/). The books covers the top 50 games played in the stadium's history from 1973 until January 2025. However, there are several other games that qualified as thrilling - but they couldn't crack the top 50. Those contests deserve to be remembered too, so we'll offer them in this space a couple of times per week during the season.)

Score by Quarters:

                                                 1       2       3       4      OT    Final

Pittsburgh (W, 8-3)                  7        6        0       3        3        19

Buffalo (L, 2-9)                        0        0        7        9        0        16

Scoring Summary:

Quarter – Team – Play

1 – Steelers – Mendenhall 1-yard run (Suisham kick)

2 – Steelers – Suisham 45-yard field goal

2 – Steelers – Suisham 46-yard field goal

3 – Bills – Fitzpatrick 65-yard pass to Jackson (Lindell kick)

4 – Bills – Lindell 29-yard field goal

4 – Bills – Lindell 32-yard field goal

4 – Steelers – Suisham 48-yard field goal

4 – Bills – Lindell 49-yard field goal

OT – Steelers - Suisham 41-yard field goal

Recap: Losses were plentiful during the 2010 football season for the Bills. Therefore, few had any expectations that they could suddenly change direction and knock off the powerful Pittsburgh Steelers relatively late in the season. An 0-8 start destroyed any of those aspirations, as well as any thoughts that a turnaround was coming in the near future.

Even so, their matchup became memorable mostly because of a message on social media that caused a good-sized stir. You also could say it raised some interesting theological discussions, which has to be unique in reviewing a football game.

The Steelers made a statement right away at the start of the game. They moved the ball 70 yards over the course of almost eight minutes to score an opening touchdown. In classic Pittsburgh fashion, no play went for more than 10 yards. On their next possession, the Steelers took more than six minutes in a methodical drive for a field goal. They essentially duplicated that before halftime to take a 13-0 lead, and the Bills showed few signs of life.

The trend continued until late in the third period, when Ryan Fitzpatrick connected with Fred Jackson on a middle screen pass for a long touchdown play. For all their inept play, the Bills only trailed by six points. Even better, Buffalo’s Rian Lindell kicked two field goals to tie the game with 11:29 left in regulation.

Pittsburgh again took the lead on a field goal by Shaun Suisham, but the Bills had one last chance to tie or win when they had the ball on their own 46 with 46 seconds left. Fitzpatrick hit David Nelson with a couple of midrange passes, and Lindell’s field goal with seven seconds left sent the game to overtime.

A few minutes later, the play that left everyone talking took place. Fitzpatrick threw a pass to a wide-open Stevie Johnson in the end zone … who dropped it. Johnson had been having a breakout season at wide receiver in his third year in the league, but this wasn’t one of the good moments. The Bills eventually punted, and Johnson headed for the bench, sat down, and stared at the scoreboard. He never had the chance to redeem himself. The Steelers went on a 13-play drive, and Suisham sent the Bills’ fans home unhappy with a 41-yard field goal.

There are no moral victories in the National Football League. There are only wins and losses. “I’m not taking anything positive out of it,” Buffalo defensive tackle Kyle Williams said. “We’re there. We should have won the game. At a point, you know, no. I’m sorry. No. No positives. Nothing.”

Yes, the Bills had found a way to lose. They had gotten good it. Buffalo’s last four losses had come by three points, and it was the team’s third loss in overtime.

Johnson went to his locker, and was seen “crying his eyes out” by teammate George Wilson. Then Stevie agreed to face the music by going to the interview room.

“How would you feel?” he asked. “You go through that whole game knowing you’ve got a big team like the Pittsburgh Steelers and you’ve got this kid coming up in the NFL making plays and all of a sudden when the biggest play needs to be made, you don’t make it. … I’ll never get over it. Ever.”

Then Johnson went to his phone and typed out this message for his followers on Twitter: “I PRAISE YOU 24/7!!!!!! AND THIS HOW YOU DO ME!!!!! YOU EXPECT ME TO LEARN FROM THIS??? HOW???!!! ILL NEVER FORGET THIS!! EVER!! TNX THO…”

In other words, Johnson dropped five passes on the day, including a potential game-winning touchdown, and it was God’s fault? Yes, that started up a good-sized conversation almost instantly. It lasted well into Monday, popping up on national media. Johnson went back on Twitter at that point and wrote, “And No I Did Not Blame God People! Seriously??!? Cmon! I Simply Cried Out And Asked Why? Jus Like yal did wen sumthin went wrong n ur life!”

Noteworthy: The loss ended Buffalo’s modest two-game winning streak. … The Steelers had the ball for 45:23, while the Bills had possession for 27:23. … Pittsburgh had a 206 to 74 edge in rushing yardage. … Naaman Roosevelt, who was a local high school football star in Buffalo at St. Joe’s and a college standout for the University at Buffalo, came off the practice squad to make his regular-season debut with the Bills. “I was definitely excited and well prepared. It was fun to be out there,” he said.

Legacy: The Bills staggered to a 4-12 season in 2010, the first of three losing seasons under head coach Chan Gailey. The Steelers went on to lose in the Super Bowl. But the biggest legacy from this game came off the field.

Adam Schefter of ESPN retweeted Johnson’s original message on the day after the game. Some Bills’ fans thought Schefter could be called for “piling on,” including Western New York’s Del Reid. "We just got through this whole news cycle. Now you're bringing it back up again?" Reid told ESPN much later. Schefter received some social-media abuse from Bills fans and he blocked some of them from his feed.

Then before the NFL draft, Reid sent a message to Bills fans (including the blocked ones) and ended it with the hashtag, “#Bills Mafia.” The concept exploded in short order, serving as a way for Bills fans to unite on line and beyond. The phrase not only became a synonym for the team’s backers, but the group became famous for its fund-raising activities connected to the outcome of games. Reid started a company called “26 Shirts” in which the proceeds of T-shirt sales go to charitable causes or organizations.

All because of a dropped pass.