Bills Central

'Planes, Trains and Automo-Bills'? Buffalo Travels Mirror Thanksgiving Film

The Buffalo Bills' escape from a holiday blizzard eerily resembled Thanksgiving go-to cinematic fare.

Geoff Maggliocchetti

Like Del Griffith before them, it feels like the Buffalo Bills haven't been home in years.

In reality, it has only been about two weeks since the Bills last got to play a game in Orchard Park but that streak is set to continue on Thursday night when the team travels to Foxboro to battle the New England Patriots in a crucial divisional showdown (8:15 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime Video). 

In the meantime, the Bills have made the most of an extended road trip brought about by a late fall blizzard that proved historic in terms of snowfall. The frozen precipitation forced the team to relocate a Week 11 tilt against Cleveland from Highmark Stadium to Ford Field in Detroit. After topping the Browns, the Bills bestowed their lodgers a 28-25 on Thanksgiving four days later. 

If the Bills' woes ... fleeing their home thanks to a snowstorm to go on a business trip as the fourth Thursday in November looms ... sound oddly familiar, it's because their own Thanksgiving blockbuster uncannily mirrors the ultimate holiday movie, "Planes, Trains and Automobiles." 

The 1987 comedy film, which celebrated its 35th anniversary on Sunday, is widely revered as a Thanksgiving tradition. Directed by John Hughes, it centers upon Chicago-based advertising exec Neal Page (portrayed by Steve Martin) attempting to get home in time from a business meeting in New York City to celebrate the holiday with his family. When a blizzard in Chicago two days prior diverts Neal to Wichita, he reluctantly teams up with talkative-yet-friendly traveling salesman Griffith (John Candy), another family man on a similar quest, for a hijinks-laden trip throughout the Midwest. 

The Bills were trying to escape their home for holiday business, almost directly mirroring the leads from the film. Highway hijinks not unlike the ones encountered by Neal and Del ... namely snowy weather that put them in the conundrum in the first place ...threatened to derail their goal. 

Fortunately for the Bills, the cast of unexpected characters they met along the way ... first taking a team bus to Buffalo Niagara International Airport before taking off for Detroit during a brief reprieve in the snow ... proved far friendlier and more helpful than the ones the comedic duo encountered in Hughes' masterpiece.

As documented by players like tight end Dawson Knox, fans and neighbors of the Bills were more than happy to help shovel out their snowbound heroes to play a small but vital role in the ongoing championship trek. 

Unlike Martin's character, no Bill had to worry about a disaster like getting trapped in a rent-a-car parking lot with no vehicle. 

"It's the City of Good Neighbors man. It's hard to believe, but we pulled it off," Knox told the team's official site, referring to the city's unofficial nickname. "I was carrying my suitcase over my head trudging through the snow. Tommy (Sweeney) was with me. Thanks to an assembly line of neighbors shoveling we were able to get out. They just all showed up and got to work. I have a long driveway, so there was no way we would've gotten out. It was amazing to see."

Ironically enough, portions of "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" were filmed not far from Buffalo despite its primarily Midwestern setting. Most notably, the infamous scene where Neal and Del endure a near-death experience thanks to the latter driving the wrong way (complete with Candy briefly appearing as Satan himself) was staged on the New York portions of U.S. Route 219.

The Bills (8-3) are almost becoming as much of a holiday staple as Candy and Martin themselves: the team has played on three of the NFL's last four Thanksgiving tripleheaders, with wins over mainstays Dallas (2019) and Detroit (2022) sandwiching another victory over New Orleans in the 2021 nightcap. 

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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Geoff Maggliocchetti
GEOFF MAGGLIOCCHETTI

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