1996 Buffalo Bills - A Season of Wild Finishes

by Bill Choinski

The Buffalo Bills continued their success as one of the AFC’s top clubs while undergoing a major transformation. Gone were the days of the high powered , almost a score-at-will offensive juggernaut that led the team to four consecutive Super Bowls. However, the Bills quietly built one of the strongest defenses in the league, under defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. With the implementation of the NFL salary cap in 1994, the depth that made this team what it was slowly eroded. The Bills were forced into releasing or not resigning many popular long-term veterans. 1996 was no exception.

FB Carwell Gardner left to sign with the Baltimore Ravens, a franchise that uprooted itself from Cleveland in the offseason. The team’s leading receiver, WR Bill Brooks, signed on with the Redskins. But by far, the largest move in the offseason was the Bill’s decision not to re-sign long time All_Pro LB Cornelius Bennett. Bennett was acquired in 1987 for 2 #1 picks in the draft, a 2nd, RB Greg Bell and a TE in one of the biggest trades in team history. It was the catalyst of the Bills AFC East dynasty. Bennett went on to sign with the Atlanta Falcons, leading that team’s defense to it’s first appearance in a Super Bowl 4 seasons later.

Buffalo Bills GM John Butler didn’t leave the cupboards completely bare. The Bills signed free agent Pro- Bowl LB Chris Spielman of the Detroit Lions. Butler also brought in veteran WR Quinn Early, formerly of the New Orleans Saints. The NFL draft brought the Bills WR Eric Moulds of Mississippi St with the 24th pick of the first round. LB Gabe Northern followed in the 2nd, CB Matt Stevens in the 3rd, DE Sean Moran in the 4th, and DB Raymond Jackson in the 5th. Butler showed his ability to find quality players late in the draft with the selections of OL Dusty Zeigler in the 6th, and TE Jay Riemersma in the 7th.

Buffalo managed to split the four preseason games, losing both home games and winning both road appearances. It opened with a 17-7 loss to the Redskins in Rich Stadium. The Bills then hit the road and trounced both Minnesota (35-12) and Carolina (24-0). The preseason ended with a home loss to the Baltimore Ravens, 37-14.

BUFFALO 23, NEW YORK GIANTS 20 (OT)

The Buffalo Bills opened their season in the Meadowlands against the New York Giants. The Giants jumped out to a 17-0 2nd quarter lead, sparked by Armani Toomer’s 87 yard punt return for a TD, followed by FB Charles Way’s 37 yard TD reception from QB Dave Brown. Thurman Thomas put the Bills back into the game with a 1 yard TD run before the half. Opening the 3rd quarter, a Bills turnover led to a 20-7 Giants lead when former Bills Kicker Brad Daluiso made a 34 yard FG. But that would conclude the scoring for the Giants, as the Buffalo defense turned up the heat. They would allow the Giants offense only 75 more yards the rest of the way. Christie connected from 28 yards out, and then on the next Bills possession, the familiar duet of Jim Kelly to Andre Reed went to work. Fittingly, their 60th TD as a QB/WR tandem was a 60 yard score to close the gap to 20-17. Christie added his second of the game with 7:14 remaining to force an OT session. Bruce Smith moved into second all-time in sacks when in sudden-death overtime , he sacked Dave Brown for the second time in the game. LB Chris Spielman, who already had a game high 17 tackles, scooped up the loose ball. It Resulted in a 38 yard Christie FG to win it for the Bills 23-20.

BUFFALO 17, NEW ENGLAND 10

The Bills opened at home with a 17-10 win against Drew Bledsoe and the rival New England Patriots. Thurman Thomas broke the game open in the second with a 4 yard TD run. The Patriots tied it up in the third when Bledsoe found WR Terry Glenn on a 38 yard TD strike. But with 5:21 remaining, Kelly found WR Quinn Early on a 63 yard TD pass of his own to put he Bills on top for good. The Bills defense again was the story of the game. The Patriots managed to drive into Bills territory twice late in the game. With under 5 minutes left, Bruce Smith registered his 3rd sack of the game on Bledsoe (and his 5th of the young season) to stop a scoring threat. With 1:41 left from their own 20, the Bledsoe managed to drive the Pats to the Bills 2 yard line wit :04 on the clock. DE Phil Hansen was the hero stopping Dave Meggett cold on a run up the middle to preserve the win.

PITTSBURGH 24, BUFFALO 6

Week three had the Bill’s win streak snapped on Monday Night Football in a rainy Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. RB Jerome Bettis had a huge evening, rushing for 133 yards on 20 carries for 2 TDs. Pittsburgh controlled the clock for 2/3rds of the game as they held the Bills to 2 Christie FGs. Carnell Lake put the game away on a 47 yard interception return for a TD on the last play of the half. It would be one of four Kelly interceptions on the night. Lost in the game was Andre Reed’s feat of hitting the 10,000 yard receiving mark for his career, the 12th in NFL history to do that. Thurman Thomas fell 84 yards short of matching that feat in rushing yards.

BUFFALO 10, DALLAS 7

Week 4 had the defending Super Bowl Champion Dallas Cowboys in town and the Bills were faced with the task of facing them without injured QB Jim Kelly. Second year backup Todd Collins took the helm and on the Bills first possession of the game, he directed a methodical 17 play scoring drive covering 78 yards. Thurman Thomas capped it off with a 2 yard run to make it 7-0. The TD was Thomas’ 57th career rushing TD, tying the team record held by OJ Simpson. Both teams settled into a defensive slugfest as neither team could mount a sustained drive. Todd Collins was also dinged up and was replaced by Alex Van Pelt at QB. Buffalo added a Christie FG in the 3rd to push the lead to 10-0. Emmitt Smith capped a 10-play 60-yard drive with a2 yard TD rush to draw Dallas closer. But with under 2 minutes left, the Bills defense rose to the occasion as CB Manny Martin picked off Aikman, Martin’s second and the Bill’s third of the game to seal the win. Buffalo’s defense held the Cowboys to 192 total yards, with a mere 32 coming on the ground. Buffalo moved to 3-1 with the 10-7 win.

BUFFALO16, INDIANAPOLIS 13 (OT)

Todd Collins started for the second consecutive week in place of Jim Kelly and had a masterful game, going 23-44 for 308 yards and no interceptions. The Bills entertained the undefeated Indianapolis Colts with first place in the AFC East on the line. For the second time this season, the Bills would win a game in overtime, 16-13. The Bills also set the NFL record with their 11th consecutive victory in games decided by 7 points or less. Collins connected with Andre Reed on a 30 yard TD to open the scoring in the second quarter. After the Bills opened the 3rd with a FG, the Colts ran of 13 points, on 2 Blanchard FGs and a Marshall Faulk 1 yard run. Unfortunately, on the Faulk TD, Bills Safety Henry Jones was lost for the season with a broken leg. Collins then led an 11 play, 58 yard drive that culminated in the game tying Christie FG with 15 seconds left. Christie then won the game with a 38 yard FG in OT. The Bills defense was the story again, registering 6 sacks in the game. The 16-13 win gave Buffalo sole possession of the AFC East lead.

MIAMI 21, BUFFALO 7

The hated Dolphins came to Rich Stadium in Jim Kelly’s return to the lineup. For the second consecutive game, Kelly struggled mightily, tossing 3 interceptions without a TD pass. That gave the QB 7 interceptions and zero TD passes in his last 2 starts. The Dolphins were without the injured Dan Marino. Miami went up 14-0 on two Miami runs, but Thurman Thomas answered with a 19 yard gallop to the endzone in the 3rd quarter. The defense kept the Dolphins in check, with Bruce Smith registering sack #7 on the season, moving him past Lawrence Taylor into second all time. Kelly took over and connected with Andre Reed for a 48 yard pass that put Buffalo on the Miami 2 yard line with just over a minute remaining in the game. On first down, Kelly was penalized for intentional grounding when he threw the pass out of the endzone. Two incomplete passes later, the Bills faced 4th and goal. Kelly’s pass on 4th down to tie was tipped and intercepted by Terrell Buckley, who raced 91 yards for the score and the final margin- 21-7.

BUFFALO 25, NEW YORK JETS 22

Steve Christie was the star in game 7 of the season with a team record 6 field goals in Buffalo’s gritty 25-22 win over the Jets. Thurman Thomas made team history becoming the Bills’ all-time leading rusher, surpassing OJ Simpson. The Jets grabbed a 15-9, when former Buffalo Bill and current Jet QB Frank Reich completed a 9 yard pass to Keyshawn Johnson and converted on a 2 point conversion with 2:35 remaining in the 3rd quarter. Christie connected for the 4th time in the game after a 13 play drive to open the 4th quarter. On the next drive, the Jets fumbled giving the Bills a drive start a the Jet 5. Darrick Holmes scored on the 1 yard TD run to make it 19-15 with 8 minutes left. Christie added FG number 5 with 3:02 remaining to give the Bills a 22-15 edge. Frank Reich, who led many Buffalo comebacks including the biggest of them all in the 1992 playoffs, wove his magic for the jets. Wayne Cherbet hauled in a 21 yard TD with 1:43 to go to tie the score. But Kelly marched the Bills 51 yards in 9 plays setting up Christie’s 6th FG, and the game winner, with no time remaining.

NEW ENGLAND 28, BUFFALO 25

Week 8 had the Bills on the short end of a wild 4th quarter in which the two teams combined for 3 TDs in the final 1:25 of the game. The Bills visited the New England Patriots in Foxboro, MA, and fell behind 13-0 at the Half. Curtis martin hauled in a 4 yard Bledsoe pass for the half’s only TD. Steve Christie got Buffalo on the board with a 33 yard FG, followed by Darick Holmes’ 6 yard reception from Kelly to bring the Bills closer, 13-10. The Bills forced a NE punt on the next series, but took over on downs pinned on their own 1 yards line. In an attempt to avoid the sack in the endzone on the drive’s second play, Kelly dumped the ball off while wrapped in the arms of a Patriot defender. Intentional grounding was called in the endzone, resulting in a safety. Buffalo refused to give up, and took their first lead of the game midway through the 4th quarter. Thurman Thomas capped a 14 play, 72 yard drive with a 1 yard run to make the score 18-15 ( with Darick Holmes converting the 2 point play). With 2:47 remaining Pats QB Drew Bledsoe led an 8 play 87 yard TD drive culminated with Curtis Martin’s second TD of the game, a 10 yard run. The Pats failed to convert the extra point, leaving them with a slim 3 point lead. Kelly managed to move the Bills just inside New England territory when LB Willie McGintest stepped in front of a Kelly pass and returned it 49 yards for the TD with 41 seconds left. Buffalo refused to quit, as Kelly completed his next pass to Andre Reed for a 48 yard TD strike to pull the Bills back to within a FG, 28-25. The Patriots recovered the on-sides kick and killed the clock. The loss dropped the Bills to 5-3

BUFFALO 38, WASHINGTON 13

Buffalo returned the following week against the Washington Redskins and opened the second half of the season with their best offensive output of the year. Thomas and Holmes both went over 100 yards as the Bills ran for 266 yards on 53 carries. The Redskins opened the game with a Terry Allen TD for the 1st quarter’s only scoring. The Bills proceeded to reel off 31 consecutive points in the second and third quarters. Thomas evened the game with a 10 yard rush, followed buy a pair of Darick Holmes TD gallops. Christie added a FG, and the avalanche of points concluded with a Jim Kelly QB sneak. Allen added a second TD for the Skins in the 4th, biut it was followed by Holmes’ 3rd TD on the day. Buffalo moved to 6-3 with the 38-13 win.

BUFFALO 24, PHILADELPHIA 17

The 10th game of the season had the Bills travelling to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles. The Bills survived another cardiac finish as they completed a sweep of the NFC East. Trailing 7-0, Bills rookie LB Gabe Northern broke in on an Eagle punt attempt and made the clean block. Northern picked up the loose ball and returned it 18 yards for the tying TD. The Eagles responded with a 7 minute drive resulting in a Gary Anderson FG and a 10-7 lead. After a Marlon Kerner interception, the Bills put together a 16 play, 64 yard drive that ate up 7 minutes of the second quarter. Thurman Thomas scored on a 5 yard TD run just before the end of the half. A quick Philly 3 and out gave Kelly just over a minute in the half to drive the Bills 43 yards for a Christy FG. Buffalo owned a 17-10 halftime lead. WR Quinn Early hauled in a 5 yard Kelly TD pass at the end of the 3rd quarter to extend the Buffalo lead to 24-10. WR Irving Fryar responded for the eagles with a 10 yard TD reception from QB Ty Detmer. Detmer managed to drive Philadelphia 73 yards in the game’s final 8 minutes to the Buffalo 3 yard line. With 32 seconds left and facing 4th and goal, Bruce Smith managed to get his second sack on the afternoon on Detmer, killing the Eagle drive and preserving a 24-17 victory and extending the Bills to 7-3.

BUFFALO 31, CINCINNATI 17

Game 11 brought the Cincinnati Bengals to Buffalo and the Bills were ready. Buffalo hung 31 points in the first 34minutes of the game. Both Thomas and Kelly had 1 yard TD runs to give the Bills an early 14-0 lead. Bengal CB Ashley Ambrose stepped in front of a Jim Kelly pass and returned it 31 yards for the score. It was the 4th Kelly pass of the season returned for a touchdown. Bills LB David White, starting in place of the injured Bryce Paup, picked up a fumble and bringing it back 12 yards for the score. Christie closed the half with a FG to make it 24-7. Buffalo opened the third with possession of the ball, and Kelly continued the onslaught. 8 plays and 69 yards later, Kelly found reliable Steve Tasker on a 22 yard TD pass for the Bill’s final score. The Bengals managed 10 points in garbage time in the 4th, with the Bills winning 31- 17.

BUFFALO 35, NEW YORK JETS 10

Buffalo continued their offensive juggernaut the following week against the Jets. Jim Kelly and Andre Reed scored career TDs 63 and 64 as a QB/WR tandem to move past Unitas/Berry into 3rd place o the all-time NFL list. Kelly completed his 3rd TD of the game with 19 seconds left in the half with a 19 yard TD strike to Tasker. QB Todd Collins came in to start the third quarter for an injured Kelly and picked up where Kelly left off. Steve Tasker and Collins connected for 18 yards and another TD. Steve Tasker would finish with a career game, 6 receptions, 160 yards, and a pair of scores. Frank Reich would manage one more Jets TD drive. But the icing on the cake for the Bills came on the ensuing kickoff, as first round pick Eric Moulds would return the ensuing kick-off 97 yards for a TD. Former Bill QB Reich and the Jets offense were under seige from the Bills defense all day, as they suffered 5 turnovers and 5 sacks.

INDIANAPOLIS 13, BUFFALO 10

The Indianapolis Colts avenged an OT loss to the Bills in Buffalo with an OT win in Indianapolis. Marshall Faulk opened the game with TD on the Colt’s first Drive. The Bills would again Start QB Todd Collins in relief of the healing Jim Kelly. Collins, who ran a conservative offense all day, managed to hit Quinn Early with a 95 yard TD reception midway through the second to tie the game. Buffalo took a 10-7 lead at the half with the help of a Christie FG. Both sides entered into a defensive war in the second half. Ted Washington had a pair of sacks, and Bruce Smith added one more. But the Colts did manage an 8 play, 71 yard drive in the final 4:45 of the game to tie the score with a Corey Blanchard FG. Winning the coin flip, the Colts then embarked on a 9 play, 52 yard drive to set up the winning 49 yard FG. The loss dropped the Bills to 9-4 and tied for the AFC East lead.

SEATTLE 26, BUFFALO 18

With 3 weeks left in the season, the Bills came up flat on the road in Seattle. Jim Kelly returned to start, but early Buffalo turnovers resulted in 4 straight Seahawk scores to open the game. A Joey Galloway TD reception and 3 FGs put the Bills in a 16-0 hole. WR Eric Moulds made his first NFL TD on a reception hooking up with Jim Kelly for 37 yards. The Bills elected to go for 2, converting on a Kelly to Quinn Early pass. An exchange of FGs made it 19-11 Seahawks. Bills blunders cost them in the 4th quarter, as a fumble set up a 12 yard TD run to put Seattle up 26-11. With Andre Reed out of the game, Collins hit backup Chris Brantley to pull the Bills within a TD at 26-18. Eric Moulds made it interesting recovering the on-side kick with 3:35 remaining. But Seattle’s 3rd interception on the game sealed the Bills fate.

MIAMI 16, BUFFALO 14

For the first time in a decade, the Miami Dolphins would sweep the Buffalo Bills in their season series. Miami took the lead on 2 Joe Nedney FGs. Jim Kelly connected with Andre Reed for a 67 yard TD pass to give the Bills a slim 7-6 halftime advantage. Nedney added another FG to push the lead to 9-7. Buffalo responded with a long drive of their own that stalled on the Miami 2 yard line. In the turning point of the game, Christie’s lick bounced off the right upright for only his 4th missed FG of the season. OJ McDuffie opened the 4th quarter with a 5 yard TD pass from Dan Marino to push the Dolphins out front 16-7. Kelly led the Bills on one more scoring drive late in the game connecting with Moulds from 16 yards out to pull Buffalo within 2. Miami would kill off all but 20 seconds of the remaining 4:09 to preserve the 16-14 win. Buffalo fell to 9-6 with their 3rd consecutive loss.

BUFFALO 20, KANSAS CITY 9

The season finale in Buffalo would turn out to be the last regular season game for QB Jim Kelly, considered by many to be the greatest quarterback in team history. With the Bills needing a victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in the final week of the 1996 season to get into the playoffs, despite battling the flu, Kelly rallied the troops for their eighth trip to the post-season in nine years by leading a comeback 20-9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Buffalo and Kansas City entered came the game with 9-6 marks, and the Bills and Chiefs were put in a unique playoff situation in the final week of the regular season. The game, in essence, was a playoff, as the winner would advance on into the post-season, while the loser would be eliminated from playoff contention.

The Bills had only missed the playoffs once since 1988, while the Chiefs hadn't missed the playoffs at all in that time frame. However, with their season on the line, Jim Kelly completed 10 of 13 passes for 168 yards in the second half to rally the troops to a win in what turned out to be Kelly's final regular-season game with Buffalo. The game was a battle of field goals through three quarters, as Pete Stoyanovich staked the Chiefs to a 9-3 lead early in the third quarter. However, despite battling a nasty case of the flu, Kelly had enough to rally the troops and break through the Kansas City defense.

Bruce Smith forced Chief quaterback Steve Bono to fumble at the 50, which Phil Hansen recovered, and cut the Kansas City lead to 9-6 with 2:16 left in the third quarter. Then, Kelly engineered a long drive to put the Bills in front 13-9 with 2:37 gone in the fourth, as he hit Tony Cline for a 4-yard touchdown. Then, Chris Spielman picked off Bono at the Kansas City 41, and Kelly capped it off by hitting Quinn Early for a touchdown to give Buffalo a 20-9 win with 4:13 left in the contest.

AFC Wild Card Game
Jaguars 30, Bills 27

Buffalo dropped its first playoff game ever at Rich Stadium with a 30-27 defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Bills got off to a quick start when Jim Jeffcoat nearly sacked Mark Brunell for a safety, resulting in an intentional grounding penalty and subsequent punt from the back of the endzone.

With Thurman Thomas getting the call on five consecutive plays, the Bills capped a six-play, 43-yard drive with Jim Kelly’s seven-yard pass to a wide-open Thomas in the right flat. The TD was Thomas’ 19th in the playoffs, establishing a new NFL postseason record.

Midway through the first quarter Jacksonville’s Clyde Simmons intercepted a Kelly shovel pass and raced 20 yards to even the score at 7-7. The Bills reclaimed the lead on their next possession when they marched 68 yards in 10 plays, the score coming when Thomas went over the right side from two yards out. Thomas’ second score of the game made him the NFL’s leading scorer in postseason history with 120 points (a record Emmitt Smith tied later in the afternoon), eclipsing the old mark of 115 points held by George Blanda. Jacksonville closed the first quarter’s scoring at 14-10 when Mike Hollis connected from 27 yards out.

Neither team scored again until Natrone Means rumbled 30 yards for his lone score of the game with under 4:00 to play in the half. Buffalo answered once again to tie the score at 17 when Steve Christie kicked a 33-yarder at the two minute mark. Christie opened the third quarter scoring on the Bills’ initial drive with his second FG of the day, this one from 47 yards out. After the Jaguars knotted the score at 20 apiece on Hollis’ 24-yard FG, Jeff Burris intercepted a pass that was tipped by David White and went 38 yards for Buffalo’s final points of the game. Jacksonville evened the game on a Brunell-to-Jimmy Smith two-yard scoring pass and regained possession when they recovered a fumble at their own 42 yard line. Hollis’ 45-yard FG bounced off the right upright before going through, giving Jacksonville a 30-27 lead with just over 3:00 remaining. Todd Collins replaced a shaken up Jim Kelly, but was unable to muster a comeback for the Bills.

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