| January 01, 2004 | « Previous Story | HOME | Next Story » | Posted at 05:48 PM |
Following the Super Bowl, it did not take long for the Buffalo Bills to be victims of their own success. It began with the coaching staff, when offensive coordinator Ted Marchibroda accepted the position of head coach with the Indianapolis Colts, the same franchise he coached to playoff appearances in Baltimore during the mid-1970's. Receivers coach Nick Nicolau joined Marchibroda as the Colt's offensive coordinator. Tom Bresnahan replaced Marchibroda as the OC, and RB coach Elijah Pitts was elevated to assistant head coach. Defensive line Coach Chuck Dickerson was fired, and soon resurfaced as a controversial radio personality locally. The NFL's all-time leader in receptions, Charlie Joiner, joined the Bills as the receivers coach.
Buffalo also lost some depth through the Plan-B free agency period. TE Butch Rolle, who had an incredible 10 straight TD receptions dating back to 1987, signed with the Arizona Cardinals, LB Ray Bentley left to join the Cincinnati Bengals, and K Brad Daluiso went to the Dallas Cowboys. DB Leonard Smith was released after not recovering from an injured knee. DE Leon Seals was traded to Philadelphia just before the start of the season.
Lastly, the Bills all time leading scorer in club history, Scott Norwood was released four months after the team signed Tampa Bay place-kicker Steve Christie.
The 1992 NFL draft brought offensive lineman John Fina from Arizona in the first round. DE James Patton was selected in the second, LB Keith Gouganis in round 3, safety Matt Darby in the 5th, FB Nate Turner in the 6th, safety Kurt Schultz in the 7th, and WR Chris Walsh in the 9th. Buffalo went 2-2 in the preseason, losing to the Vikings 24-3, Beating the Detroit Lions in a sloppy contest 30-24, were beaten badly by the Chiefs in Kansas City 35-0, and finished the year with a strong 27-21 win over the Falcons in Atlanta. Bruce Smith missed most of the preseason while rehabilitating from knee surgery, but recovered in time to play some series in the Bills win over the Falcons.
Buffalo exploded out of the gate against an old familiar face. Chuck Knox, former coach of the Bills from 1978-82, took over the reigns of the Los Angeles Rams for the second time. The Bills inflicted the worst defeat ever on any Chuck Knox led team as they dismantled the Rams 40-7 before 79,001 at Rich Stadium. Thurman Thomas became only the sixth Bill to record four touchdowns in a game, while amassing 102 yards rushing. Offensive lineman Mitch Frerotte also scored on a trick play at the goal line, as Jim Kelly found him on a tackle eligible 2-yard TD pass. James Lofton became the NFL's all-time leader in receiving, surpassing Steve Largent's record of 13,089 yards.
In one of the wildest games in NFL history, the Bills' Jim Kelly and the 49ers' Steve Young put on quite a show for the 64,053 at Candlestick Park, as both quarterbacks threw for over 400 yards in Buffalo's 34-31 win over San Francisco. Both Kelly and Young were graduates in the USFL a decade earlier, and the reunion of the defunct league's two brightest stars brought back comparisons to the at wide open era of football. The two teams combined for 1,086 yards of offense, fourth-highest in NFL history, and neither team attempted a punt, an NFL first. As for Kelly, he became the first Bills QB to pass for more than 400 yards in a regular-season game, and also passed a career milestone with 20,000 yards in his NFL career.
San Francisco opened the scoring after taking advantage of a Bills' fumble, with Young passing 23 yards to Odessa Turner with 3:26 left in the first quarter. The teams then traded scoring on eight straight possessions. Steve Christie put Buffalo on the board with a 41-yard field goal with :18 remaining in the quarter, but San Francisco upped its lead to 14-3 as FB Tom Rathman capped off an 80-yard drive. Thurman Thomas hauled in a 20-yard pass from Kelly for Buffalo's first touchdown to make the score 14-10 with 9:35 left in the half, but San Francisco's Mike Cofer and Steve Christie traded field goals and the 49ers added another touchdown for a 24-13 San Francisco lead.
However, Buffalo opened the second half with a bang, marching 80 yards in five plays, finishing with a Pete Metzelaars 53-yard reception 2:27 into the third quarter to cut the 49er lead to 4, then Metzelaars added another less than six minutes later to put Buffalo on top. Young answered back, hitting Taylor for a 54-yard strike late in the third quarter, but Buffalo had the final answer, as Thurman Thomas' 11-yard run gave the Bills a 34-31 lead with 3:04 remaining in regulation. The 49ers were able to attempt a 47-yarder with :54 remaining to try to force overtime, but it was no good, giving Buffalo the win. For the afternoon, Kelly finished completing 22 of 33 passes for 403 yards, while Steve Young finished with 26 completions for 449 yards. Andre Reed had 10 catches for 144 yards, Pete Metzelaars had 4 catches for 113, and Thurman Thomas added 94 more on 4 grabs himself.
Week 3 had the high-flying Bills meeting their former Offensive Coordinator from the previous season, as Ted Marchibroda brought in his young Colts. In a laugher, Buffalo posted their only shutout of the season 38-0. Henry Jones became the first Bill to score 2 TDs on interception returns. John Fina became the second offensive lineman to score a TD for the Bills this season on a 1-yard reception from Kelly.
Buffalo then moved on to Foxboro to meet the Patriots, a team that stunned them one year ago. Buffalo was not about to take this team lightly this time around. After a close to the vest 1st half, the Bills expanded on their 6-0 lead by scoring 35 points in a span of 13:03. James Lofton had 2 TD receptions sandwiched around an Andre Reed score in the 3rd quarter. Thurman Thomas added a 1 yard plunge to open the 4th, followed 44 seconds later by a Mike Lodish fumble recovery for a TD. The Bills were off to a 4-0 start, outscoring the opposition 153- 45 in the process. Andre Reed had a career best 168 yards in receptions, with Lofton adding 113 more.
In week 5 The undefeated Miami Dolphins came to Rich Stadium in what was to be a showdown for the division lead. The Bills set another attendance record with a crowd of 80,368 on hand. Beating the Dolphins 11 of 12 previous meetings, the Bills looked to extend their run as AFC East division leaders to 37 consecutive weeks. It was not to be. The white hot Buffalo scoring machine became a turnover machine as Miami CB Louis Oliver had 3 key interceptions. The first Oliver interception led to a Dan Marino to Keith Jackson TD pass to put Miami up 10-3. Miami's JB Brown picked off Kelly again, setting up a second Dan Marino TD pass with 1:55 left in the half. Kelly shook off the turnovers to engineer a perfect 2-minute drill, capping the 82-yard drive with a 16-yard TD pass to Reed. Bobby Humphrey added a 9-yard TD run to put Miami back up 24-10 in the third. The Bills drove to the Miami 5 to answer, But Oliver's second of his three interceptions was returned 103 yards for the game breaking score. Miami added a late FG to provide the 37-10 final score.
.
Harassed and hurried all game long, the Bills were never a threat offensively all game. While Kelly did manage to set a Bills record becoming the first QB to throw for 300 yards in 3 consecutive games. Tim Brown hauled in a 54-yard TD pass to ice it for the Raiders, 20-3. The loss put the Bills a game and a half behind the Miami Dolphins in the AFC East.
Buffalo struggled against the winless Patriots at home in week 8. The Bills offense remained in their month long slump, and leaned heavily on their defense to win. For most of the first half, the Bills and Patriots engaged in a punting competition. With 1:23 in the half, The Pat's Dwayne Saab forced Thurman Thomas to fumble. Vincent Brown recovered and ran it back 25 yards for the game's first score. Pete Metzelaars got the Bills on the board with a 3-yard TD catch in the 3rd to tie. On the ensuing drive, the Patriots found themselves pinned at their own 11. Forcing New England to punt from their own endzone, Chris Hale capitalized on Punter Shane McCarthy bobbling the snap and tackled him for the safety. With Buffalo leading 9-7, the Patriots threatened midway through the 4th quarter, advancing to the Buffalo 13-yard line. Cornelius Bennet sacked QB Tommy Hodson forcing a turnover ending the threat. Buffalo converted the fumble into an insurance TD with a 13 yard Lofton TD catch.
In front of another 80,000+ crowd, the Bills defeated the Steelers 28-20 at home for the 6th time in the last 7 meetings between the teams. Thurman Thomas was brilliant, with 155 yards on a career best 37 rushing attempts. Lofton opened the scoring with a 22-yard TD catch, followed by offensive lineman Mitch Frerotte's second TD catch of the season. Thomas added a 1-yard TD run, and Lofton added a second TD catch of 45 yards in the third to put the game out of reach.
.
In week 10 Buffalo inflicted sweet revenge on the Dolphins with their 5th win in 6 tries at Joe Robbie Stadium on Monday Night Football. Both teams were 7-2 heading into the contest, and the Bills reclaimed the division lead with an impressive road win. Trailing 14-3, Ken Davis scored two TDs, and Steve Christy connected on 4 field goals (one a team record 53 yards) to put Buffalo in the win column, 26-20. The win was Marv Levy's 100th as an NFL head coach. .
The Bills returned to Rich Stadium in week 11 and out on a rushing clinic against the Atlanta Falcons. Both Thurman Thomas and Ken Davis hit the century mark rushing before the half. Thomas ended the game with 107 yards on the ground. Ken Davis had the game of his life, finishing with a career best 181 yards on the ground. The tone was set when Steve Tasker, the NFL's premiere kick coverage specialist, tackled the NFL's deadliest return man, Dieon Sanders at the Falcon 9 yard line on the opening kick. The Falcons could not generate any offense, and the Bills took over after a punt on the Falcon 44. Four plays laterCarwell Gardner put Buffalo up 7-0 4 minutes into the game. Before the first quarter ended, Pete Metzelaars, Andre reed, and Ken Davis all scored touchdowns. Ken Davis added a 64 yard TD run 1:02 into the second quarter to push the lead to 35-0. If things weren't bad enough for the Falcons, Jim Kelly broke Falcon CB Terry Ray's leg on a tackle after Ray intercepted a pass. The Bills would roll to a 41-14 win.
The New York Jets came to Buffalo in week 13 with heavy hearts, as teammate Dennis Byrd lay paralyzed in a New York hospital. Trailing 10-3 in the third quarter, Brad Baxter added a pair of TD runs. Pete Metzelaars tied the score in the 4th on a 1-yard reception for the score. Buffalo took possession on their own 19, But on second down Kelly's pass was picked off by Brian Washington and returned 25 yards for the winning 24-17 score. Oddly, after going 25-0 in games where Thurman Thomas rushed for 100 yards, the Bills lost their second in a row. Thomas finished with 116 yards.
Buffalo moved their record to 10-4 with a 27-17 victory at home over a Denver team without injured QB John Elway. Don Beebe, Jim Kelley, and Thurman Thomas all scored TDs in the 2nd quarter to push buffalo out to a 21-0 halftime lead. After Christie added a FG in the 3rd, Denver rallied with 17 unanswered points. Christie added an insurance FG to put the Bills on top for good, 27-17. It was Marv Levy's 71st win as coach of the bills, moving him ahead of Lou Saban as Buffalo's winingest coach in team history.
The Bills finished the regular season on Sunday night in Houston. With Miami beating the Patriots earlier in the afternoon, the Bills entered this game knowing they needed a victory over the playoff bound Oilers to win the division and earn the home field advantage throughout the playoffs for the third consecutive year. A loss meant they would play host to these same Oilers in Buffalo in the Wild Card game next week in Buffalo.
With the Bills trailing 10-3 in the second, Jim Kelly suffered a knee injury that put his season in doubt. Already suffering from a depleted defense, the Bills could not keep up. The Oilers run-and-shoot offense fired on all cylinders and cruised by Buffalo in an easy 27-3 win. Overshadowed in the loss were a number of accomplishments. Thurman Thomas broke the NFL record by leading the league for the 4th consecutive year for total yards from scrimmage, with 2,113- 4 yards shy of OJ Simpson's team record set in 1973. The loss denied the Bills their 5th consecutive division crown.
On a rainy, windy day in Orchard Park, New York, many thought that the reign of the Buffalo Bills as kings of the AFC were over. With QB Jim Kelly and LB Cornelius Bennett not dressed, the Bills were about to meet the Houston Oilers for the second straight week. And for the second straight week, the Oilers moved the ball at will-
Houston jumped out to a 28-3 halftime lead on four QB Warren Moon TD passes. Moon, who played a virtual flawless half, completed 19 of 22 passes for 218 yards and 0 INTs. Buffalo's lone points of the half came on a first quarter K Steve Christie 36-yard FG. Houston made it 35-3 on the Bills' opening drive of the second half when SS Bubba McDowell intercepted a QB Frank Reich pass and raced 58 yards for the score.
The Bills' amazing comeback began when RB Kenneth Davis scored from one yard out, and Christie recovered the ensuing onside kick at the Buffalo 48. Four plays later, Reich found WR Don Beebe on a 38-yard TD pass. The Bills' scoring flurry continued on their next possession when Reich hit WR Andre Reed with a 26-yard TD pass to pull Buffalo within 11, 35-24. On the first play of Houston's next possession, S Henry Jones picked off a Moon pass and returned it 15 yards to the Houston 23. On a 4th and 5 play from the 18 yard line, Reich found Reed once again in the endzone to make the score 35-31, Houston. The Bills took their first lead when Reich connected with Reed for the third time, this time from 17 yards out, to put Buffalo on top 38-35 with 3:08 left in regulation play. After a 12-play, 63-yard drive, Del Greco hit a 26-yard FG to send the contest into OT. After winning the toss, Houston gave the ball back to the Bills when DB Nate Odomes picked off a Moon pass. Three plays later, Christie kicked the 32-yard game winner to give Buffalo the dramatic 41-38 victory, sending the team to the second round of the AFC Playoffs.
- BillsZone Original- The Comeback
In what was quickly turning into a Cinderella post season, the Buffalo Bills moved on to Pittsburgh to take on the AFC Central division champions. Buffalo took advantage of three Pittsburgh turnovers, and sacked QB Neil O'Donnell seven times en route to a 24-3 victory, earning the Bills their third consecutive trip to the AFC Championship Game. Pittsburgh's only points came on its first possession when K Gary Anderson connected on a 38-yard FG. Buffalo set the halftime score at 7-3 when QB Frank Reich hit OL Mitch Frerotte out of the backfield on a one-yard TD pass. The score was set up when DE Bruce Smith sacked O'Donnell, forcing a fumble which was recovered by DE Phil Hansen on the Buffalo 41. 
On the Bills' first possession of the half, Buffalo marched 80 yards in 13 plays, capped off by a 17-yard scoring strike from Reich to WR James Lofton to make the score 14-3, Buffalo. After a botched FG attempt by Pittsburgh, Buffalo drove 44-yards, setting up a K Steve Christie 43-yard FG. The Bills put the game away on their next possession, putting together an 86-yard drive that ended with a FB Carwell Gardner one-yard run to set the final score, 24-3. RB Kenneth Davis rushed 10 times for 107 yards, while WR Don Beebe grabbed seven passes for 72 yards to compliment Reich's 16-23 passing performance. LB Darryl Talley recorded seven tackles and a sack, and NT Jeff Wright and DE Keith Willis had two sacks a piece to lead the Buffalo defensive effort.
Bills' K Steve Christie connected on five FGs, and QB Jim Kelly returned to the lineup to lead Buffalo to a 29-10 victory over Miami, and a berth in a third straight Super Bowl.
The Bills struck first as Bruce Smith forced a Dan Marino fumble on the Dolphins' 47-yard line, which was recovered by Darryl Talley. Buffalo converted that into a 21-yard Steve Christie field goal 9:17 into the contest. The Dolphins tied the score less than four minutes later with a 51-yard Pete Stoyanovich field goal, but that was all the Dolphins could muster until it was too late. Buffalo drove 64 yards down the field on the next play, with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Jim Kelly to Thurman Thomas giving Buffalo a 10-3 lead just :40 into the second quarter. The Bills forced another Miami turnover, as Phil Hansen picked off a Marino pass at the Miami 24, setting up a 33-yard field goal by Steve Christie just 2:18 later. Buffalo held their 13-3 lead at the half, but quickly built upon it in the second half.
The Bills' Mark Pike stripped the second-half kickoff from Miami's Mike Williams, and Carwell Gardner recovered, giving the Bills another chance at great field position with a Dolphins turnover. Kenneth Davis cashed it in for the Bills with a 2-yard touchdown run just 1:58 into the second half, putting the Bills firmly in control and Buffalo was on its way to the third straight AFC Championship.
Steve Christie added three more field goals in the second half, tying an NFL record with five field goals in a game. Miami did get on the board with 7:32 remaining, to make the score cosmetically closer, but the Dolphins could not prevent the Bills from rolling to Pasedena. Kelly finished the afternoon 17 of 24 with 177 yards passing and a touchdown throw, while the Bills' running game racked up 182 yards against the Dolphins' defense, with Thurman Thomas and Kenneth Davis teaming up for 157 rushing yards and 122 receiving yards, over 75 percent of Buffalo's total yardage. While Dan Marino had a 243 yard passing day, Miami could only manage 33 yards on the ground, and the Bills' defense forced four Dolphin turnovers and sacked Marino four times.
- AFC Championship game Bills Backers recap
Troy Aikman passed for four touchdowns, Emmitt Smith rushed for 108 yards, and the Cowboys converted nine turnovers into 35 points while coasting to the victory. Like in their first two previous appearances in the Super Bowl the last two seasons, the Bills opened the game with some early momentum. Deep in Dallas territory, Buffalo forced the Cowboy punting unit on the field. The Bills applied pressure to the right side of the Dallas line, and Steve Tasker sneaked past former Buffalo Bill center Dale Hellestrae to make the block on the punt. Four plays later, Thomas cut off right tackle and into the end zone, giving Buffalo a 7-0 lead.
Buffalo then began its self-destruction. On the Bills' next possession, Kelly, under intense pressure, tried to throw to tight end Pete Metzelaars. But James Washington stepped in front of the poorly thrown ball and returned it 15 yards to the Buffalo 47. Cowboy QB Troy Aikman then completed two key passes, a 20-yarder to Irvin over the middle and a 23-yard scoring strike to tight end Jay Novacek with 1:36 remaining in the period. On the next play from scrimmage, Kelly was sacked by Charles Haley and fumbled at the Bills' 2-yard line where the Cowboys' Jimmie Jones picked up the loose ball and ran two yards for a touchdown. Only 15 seconds had elapsed between scores, the quickest pair of touchdowns in Super Bowl history.
On the first series of the second quarter, a 40-yard pass to Reed over the middle quickly got the Bills to the Dallas 4. On second down from the 1, Thomas was stopped for no gain. On third down, backup halfback Kenneth Davis appeared to be close to scoring, but linebacker Ken Norton popped into the hole and stood him straight up for no gain. Fourth down. Levy called for a passing play that had Kelly rolling to his right against Dallas' goal-line defense.
Kelly wanted to pass to Thomas, but he had been cut off. So he looked deep into the end zone for Metzelaars. But safety Thomas Everett cut in front of the tight end and intercepted the pass. Turnover No. 3, a costly one.
On Buffalo's next possession, Kelly was hit by Dallas LB Ken Norton on a blitz and was knocked from the game with a knee injury. Architect of the Houston comeback 4 weeks earlier, Frank Reich was effective at first in releif. A 38-yard pass to Reed and two runs by Davis set up a first down at the Dallas 12. But the Dallas defense held again, stopping Thomas up the middle on a third-and-one play from the 3. This time, Levy opted for a field goal, a 21-yarder by Steve Christie that made it 14-10.
Dallas' next two possessions sunk the stake into the Bill’s hearts. Aikman tossed 19- and 18-yard touchdown passes to Michael Irvin 18 seconds apart to give the Cowboys a 28-10 lead at intermission. The second score was set up when Bills running back Thurman Thomas lost a fumble at his 19-yard line.
It got much, much worse in the second half. A 40-yard pass from Reich to Don Beebe pulled Buffalo within 31-17. But Aikman was growing in confidence with every pass. He found receiver Alvin Harper for a 45-yard score early in the fourth period, then, two plays later, Reich's pass intended for James Lofton was picked off by Everett and returned 22 yards to the Buffalo 8. Following an Aikman sack, Smith bounced off left guard from the 10 and sprinted into the end zone. Dallas, 45-17.
Had enough? Not yet. Reich fumbled a high snap in the shotgun, Norton picked it up and ran nine yards for the Cowboys' final touchdown, 52-17. It should have been worse. Later, Reich was sacked and fumbled. Lett recovered and began a long journey to the end zone. He started to celebrate just before crossing the end line. As Lett held out the ball after rumbling 64 yards, Beebe raced in and knocked it into the end zone. It rolled out of bounds for a touchback. It was a small victory for the Buffalo Bills on a long day- and made Don Beebe an NFL folk hero.
Super Bowl XXVII- Cowboys 52, Bills 17 Bills Backers recap
1992 Draft-
1992 Stats- 1992 Results-
