Divisional Round: Buffalo Bills at San Diego Chargers (Jack Murphy Stadium), with a Conference Championship spot at stake. Kickoff: Sat January 3, 1981 at 4:00pm. Winner advances to the Conference Championship. The losing team's season is over.[1][2]
The divisional round is where the bracket is supposed to take its real shape. Buffalo Bills traveling to San Diego Chargers at Jack Murphy Stadium, with the league watching to see whether the better team or the better matchup wins. Bye-week home favorites carry the weight of expectation; the visiting wild-card winner walks in with no one expecting them and nothing to lose.
The bracket has narrowed to the teams that survived the regular season. Buffalo Bills and San Diego Chargers are two of them; the rest of the league is in scouting mode for the offseason. What happens in Jack Murphy Stadium shifts the rest of the tree: a road favorite winning rearranges seeding expectations; a home upset shows the bracket math underweights heart.
Buffalo Bills versus San Diego Chargers in the Divisional Round. The teams who reach this round have already proven they survive a long schedule; the stats that matter most now are the ones that compress: scoring differential, red-zone efficiency, turnover margin. At this stage of the year, the simple math is that defenses tighten and the team that protects the ball wins more often than the team that scores the most. Whichever side of Buffalo Bills-San Diego Chargers cleans up the careless plays first usually walks out with the result. Conservative-game expectations should not surprise the reader; both staffs know exactly what worked all season and will lean hard on what travels. The early answer is the kicking game, where any swing of field position compounds.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Browns | 11-5 | W1 |
| Houston Oilers | 11-5 | W3 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 9-7 | L1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 6-10 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bills | 11-5 | W1 |
| New England Patriots | 10-6 | W2 |
| Miami Dolphins | 8-8 | L1 |
| Baltimore Colts | 7-9 | L3 |
| New York Jets | 4-12 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Oakland Raiders | 11-5 | W2 |
| San Diego Chargers | 11-5 | W2 |
| Denver Broncos | 8-8 | W1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 8-8 | W1 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 4-12 | L9 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Falcons | 12-4 | L1 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 11-5 | W2 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 6-10 | L2 |
| New Orleans Saints | 1-15 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Detroit Lions | 9-7 | W2 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 9-7 | L1 |
| Chicago Bears | 7-9 | W1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 5-10-1 | L4 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5-10-1 | L3 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 12-4 | W1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 12-4 | L1 |
| Washington Redskins | 6-10 | W3 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 5-11 | L2 |
| New York Giants | 4-12 | L2 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Chargers | Rolf Benirschke 22 yard field goal | 0-3 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Bills | Roosevelt Leaks 1 yard rush (Nick Mike-Mayer kick) | 7-3 |
| Bills | Frank Lewis 9 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Nick Mike-Mayer kick) | 14-3 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Chargers | Charlie Joiner 9 yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick) | 14-10 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Chargers | Rolf Benirschke 22 yard field goal | 14-13 |
| Chargers | Ron Smith 50 yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick) | 14-20 |
San Diego Chargers defeated Buffalo Bills 20-14 at Jack Murphy Stadium in the Divisional Round. The final scoring play was Chargers: Ron Smith 50 yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick). Top line of the day: Dan Fouts: 314 pass yards on 22-of-37, 2 TD, 1 INT. San Diego Chargers move on to the conference final.[1][2]
San Diego Chargers walked out of Jack Murphy Stadium as the team that survived a Divisional Round Buffalo Bills will replay in its head for the entire offseason. The scoreboard says 20-14. A one-score game throughout. The decisive points came on the fewest possible margin, which is how these matchups usually resolve. The final scoring play came from Chargers: Ron Smith 50 yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick). Whether it was the game-decider or just the period at the end of the sentence depends on what the camera caught earlier. San Diego Chargers move on to a conference championship.
San Diego Chargers 20, Buffalo Bills 14.
Round: Divisional Round.
Q1: 1 scoring play.
Q2: 2 scoring plays.
Q3: 1 scoring play.
Q4: 2 scoring plays.
Top performers:
- Dan Fouts: 314 pass yards on 22-of-37, 2 TD, 1 INT
- Chuck Muncie: 80 rush yards on 18 carries
- John Jefferson: 7 catches for 102 yards
Divisional Round, played at Jack Murphy Stadium. Final: Buffalo Bills 14, San Diego Chargers 20, with San Diego Chargers taking the result by 6.
First quarter
- Chargers: Rolf Benirschke 22 yard field goal
Second quarter
- Bills: Roosevelt Leaks 1 yard rush (Nick Mike-Mayer kick)
- Bills: Frank Lewis 9 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Nick Mike-Mayer kick)
Third quarter
- Chargers: Charlie Joiner 9 yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick)
Fourth quarter
- Chargers: Rolf Benirschke 22 yard field goal
- Chargers: Ron Smith 50 yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick)
Top performers
- Dan Fouts: 314 pass yards on 22-of-37, 2 TD, 1 INT
- Chuck Muncie: 80 rush yards on 18 carries
- John Jefferson: 7 catches for 102 yards
| Bills | Chargers | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 17 | 21 |
| Total Yards | 244 | 397 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 3 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 15/30 | 22/37 |
| Pass yards | 180 | 314 |
| Pass TD | 1 | 2 |
| Interceptions | 3 | 1 |
| Sacks taken | 3 | 2 |
| Sack yards lost | 33 | 13 |
| Net pass yards | 147 | 301 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 33 | 25 |
| Rush yards | 97 | 96 |
| Rush TD | 1 | 0 |
| Discipline | ||
| Fumbles | 0 | 3 |
| Fumbles lost | 0 | 2 |
| Penalties | 5 | 6 |
| Penalty yards | 40 | 66 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BUF | |||||
| Joe Ferguson | 15/29 | 180 | 1 | 3 | 43 |
| Dan Manucci | 0/1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 |
| SDG | |||||
| Dan Fouts | 22/37 | 314 | 2 | 1 | 93.7 |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BUF | ||||
| Joe Cribbs | 18 | 53 | 0 | 9 |
| Dan Manucci | 2 | 21 | 0 | 15 |
| Curtis Brown | 9 | 17 | 0 | 5 |
| Roosevelt Leaks | 4 | 6 | 1 | 2 |
| SDG | ||||
| Chuck Muncie | 18 | 80 | 0 | 18 |
| Mike Thomas | 5 | 22 | 0 | 8 |
| Dan Fouts | 2 | -6 | 0 | -3 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BUF | ||||
| Mark Brammer | 4 | 62 | 0 | 19 |
| Frank Lewis | 3 | 45 | 1 | 18 |
| Joe Cribbs | 4 | 36 | 0 | 11 |
| Jerry Butler | 2 | 19 | 0 | 12 |
| Roosevelt Leaks | 1 | 17 | 0 | 17 |
| Roland Hooks | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| SDG | ||||
| John Jefferson | 7 | 102 | 0 | 24 |
| Charlie Joiner | 4 | 83 | 1 | 45 |
| Chuck Muncie | 6 | 53 | 0 | 16 |
| Ron Smith | 1 | 50 | 1 | 50 |
| Greg McCrary | 2 | 19 | 0 | 11 |
| Kellen Winslow | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Mike Thomas | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
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