1963 BUFFALO BILLS - BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE

The Boston Patriots annihilated the Buffalo Bills and advanced to the American Football League championship game by beating the Bills 26-8, in the Eastern Division title playoff in War Memorial Stadium.

A throng of 33,044 Bills fans became frost-bitten by the Bills masquerade, and by the 24-degree temperature as their team put on one of their worst efforts in the 1963 season,.

Both Boston and Buffalo ended the regular season with identical 7-6-1 records which mandated the AFL's first divisional playoff. By trouncing the Bills, the Patriots wound up going west to face San Diego in the 1963 AFL Championship game.

It was a well deserved victory for the Patriots. They scored four of the first five times they had the ball and completely dominated the game.

The Bills found themselves down 16-0 at halftime, but conjured the fans hopes of a comeback late in the third quarter when Bills second string quarterback Daryle Lamonica and Elbert Dubenion linked up on a 93-yard touchdown pass. To the surprise of the Patriots and their head coach, Lamonica tossed a pass to linebacker John Tracey, who checked in as a receiver, for the two-point conversion.

"I was beating Felt (Dick Felt, Boston cornerback) all afternoon," said Dubenion after the game. "I told them but they didn't try to take advantage of it. Other teams pick on our weaknesses. Why don't we pick on their's?"

However Boston super quarterback Babe Parilli used his magic arm to get the Pats on the board again (a 17-yard TD pass to Garron) and it was Gino Cappelletti who closed the door on the Bills with his fourth field goal.

The difference in this game between the two clubs was, Cappelletti's kicking and receiving. Parilli's clutch passing and both Boston's exalted defense and Buffalo's pungent offense .

Parilli, the 33-year old quarterback connected 14 times on his 35 passes for 300 yards and two touchdowns. Surprisingly, even the slick and icy turf didn't seem to bother his receivers much as they repeatedly found Bill defenders conspicuously absent as they roamed for Parilli's tosses.

Babe's famous swing pass, which appeared absolutely unstoppable when pitted against the Bills defense, was designed to pit Garron against the Bills left linebacker John Tracey,.

"We tried to get as close as we could to Tracey," said Garron in the happy Boston locker room. "The idea was for me to get him one-on-one." In the first quarter, the first scoring pass, went 59 yards. Garron took it just over the line of scrimmage and broke tackles by Tracey and Ray Abruzzese. The second came on the same play and covered 17 yards in the last quarter.

"I wasn't throwing to Garron on the checkoffs (plays changed on the line of scrimmage) though," explained Parilli. "Just about every time we checked off I threw to Cappelletti. We tried to work on Willie West (Bills corner) as much as we could."

The Bills had run only six offensive plays before being down, 10-0, and both Jack Kemp and Lamonica gave Buffalo's ground game little chance to operate thereafter.

Buffalo netted seven yards rushing, those coming on eight runs by fullback Cookie Gilchrist, who had piled up 357 yards in 67 carries in the last two regular season games.

Kemp, pulled out of the lineup with the Pats leading 16-0, completed 3 of 10 passes for 40 yards before returning when the score had reached 26-8. Then, operating from the shotgun formation, he hit 7 of 11 for 93 yards.

Lamonica threw 24 passes, had nine complete for 168 yards, however 93 came on the bomb to Dubenion and three passes were intercepted.

After Boston took a 3-0 opening lead on a Cappelletti 28-yard field goal, the Pats scored the game's first touchdown when Parilli flipped a swing pass to Larry Garron, who bounced off attempted tackles by Tracey and Abruzzese, and sped 59 yards for a touchdown. Cappelletti's kick at 10:04 made it 10-0.

Jack Kemp passed 27 yards to Glenn Bass, which put the Bills on the Pats' 45. Kemp fired to Ernie Warlick at the 37 on second down, then had to fall on Gilchrist's fumble for a five-yard loss.

Lamonica put up a tremendous punt which appeared to be downed by Billy Shaw on the Boston two-yard line, but the officials ruled Shaw had slid into the end zone for a touchback.

The Pats started from their own 20. Five plays later a 22-yard pass, Parilli to Art Graham, picked up 15 more to the Bills 30 when Booker Edgerson was called for a face-mask tackle. The Pats drive was halted at the 5, but Cappelletti's 12-yard field goal attempt, though partially blocked by Sid Youngelman, made it over the bar.

With 41 seconds gone in the second quarter, Boston led, 13-0.

Parilli's passes, one to Ron Burton for 12 yards and another to Cappelletti for 20, plus Garron's running sent the Pats from their 28 to the Buffalo 25. George Saimes was called for interference at the 6 on Parilli's pass for Burton. An illegal procedure penalty set Boston back to the 13, but Parilli's screen pass to Lott carried inn for a TD.

This play, too, was nullified as Boston had an ineligible receiver downfield. Set back to the 26, the Patriots' drive was halted,. So Cappelletti booted another, from 33 yards out, to make it 16-0 with 8:22 gone.

Dubenion returned Bob Yates' kickoff 62 yards to the Boston 27. Gilchrist gained five, then lost one before Rudolph blitzed to nail Lamonica at the 33. Gilchrist's 39-yard field goal try was short. An 18-yard punt by Tom Yewcic went out of bounds at the Pat 34, but O'Hanley intercepted Lamonica's third down pass on the 20 to end the threat and leave it 16-0 at the half.

When the game was over, Buffalo's fantastic football fans, having once again given more than they received, folded their "California here I come" banners, gingerly experimented with cold-stiffened limbs and filed - wondering out loud - out of the deep freeze of War Memorial Stadium.

Cookie Gilchrist seven yards in eight carries? First down on the Boston three and no touchdown? First down on the Boston nine and no touchdown and no score? Whatever happened to the punch that enabled the Bills to come from early season futility to a tie with these Patriots for the Eastern Division lead at season's end?

The Bills, whatever the reason, were not in the same league with boston Saturday although they were regarded as 2 ½ point picks among the betting gentry.

The wonder of the afternoon, if you were to overlook the fact that 33,044 fans showed up in 24-degree weather, was that there were any spectators left in the stadium at the end of the atrocious first half. In addition to being down 13 points, the Bills - second ranking team on offense in the AFL - had gained exactly six yards rushing. On top of that magnificent figure they added a gain of 32 yards on five completions of 18 pass attempts.

"The Pats were UP for the game," someone said. What does it take to get one team UP in a game that provides prestige and, above all a large lump of folding money that goes with playing in the AFL championship?

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