1988 Buffalo Bills season | |
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Owner | Ralph Wilson |
General manager | Bill Polian |
Head coach | Marv Levy |
Home field | Rich Stadium |
Results | |
Record | 12–4 |
Division place | 1st AFC East |
Playoff finish | Won Divisional Playoffs (vs. Oilers) 17–10 Lost AFC Championship (at Bengals) 10–21 |
Pro Bowlers | QB Jim Kelly WR Andre Reed C Kent Hull DE Bruce Smith DT Fred Smerlas OLB Cornelius Bennett ILB Shane Conlan K Scott Norwood |
The 1988 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 29th overall season as a football team and the 19th in the National Football League. The Bills ended a streak of four consecutive losing seasons by winning the AFC East; they finished the NFL's 1988 season with a record of twelve wins and four losses; it was the club's first winning season since 1981, its first 12-win season since the 1964 AFL championship season, and only the fifth double-digit win season in team history. The Bills were 8–0 at home for the first time in their franchise history. [1] On the road, the Bills were 4–4. From an attendance standpoint, the franchise set a record for attendance with 631,818 fans. [2]
This was the first of four consecutive AFC East titles for the Bills. They started the season 11–1 before losing three of their final four games, costing them the top seed in the AFC, and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
It was Buffalo's first trip to the postseason since 1981. The Bills were the #2 seed in the AFC (behind #1 Cincinnati), giving the Bills their first home playoff game since the 1966 AFL Championship, and their first ever playoff game at Rich Stadium. The 1988 season would be the first of five AFC Championship game appearances over six seasons, [3] and their only loss in the conference championship game.
The 1988 season was the first for running back Thurman Thomas, nose tackle Jeff Wright, and linebacker Carlton Bailey. Thomas would rush for 881 yards, despite only carrying the ball 207 times (42.7% of total team carries by a running back) while sharing carries with Robb Riddick, Jamie Mueller and Ronnie Harmon.
The Bills had a dominant defense in 1988: they gave up the fewest points (237) and the fewest total yards (4,578) in the AFC in 1988. The defensive unit was given the nickname "Blizzard Defense", [4] [5] alluding to Buffalo's harsh winters.
Four Bills players made the All-Pro team in 1988: defensive end Bruce Smith, linebackers Shane Conlan and Cornelius Bennett, and kicker Scott Norwood.
Head coach Marv Levy was named NFL Coach of the Year by The Sporting News and UPI.
ESPN's cameras watched Oklahoma State running back Thurman Thomas in his home as he waited to be drafted. He fell to the second round, where the Bills made him their first pick at 40th overall. Thomas would go on to a Pro Football Hall of Fame career, where he would eclipse O. J. Simpson's all-time team rushing record with 12,074 yards. Thomas would set an NFL record by leading the league in yards-from-scrimmage for four consecutive years, from 1989 to 1992. (The record of three was previously held by Hall of Famer Jim Brown.) Thomas was a five-time Pro Bowl selection and NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 1992.
1988 Buffalo Bills draft | |||||
Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
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2 | 40 | Thurman Thomas * † | RB | Oklahoma State | |
3 | 65 | Bernard Ford | WR | Central Florida | |
5 | 123 | Ezekial Gadson | DB | Pittsburgh | |
5 | 135 | Kirk Roach | K | Western Carolina | |
6 | 150 | Dan Murray | OLB | East Stroudsburg | |
7 | 177 | Tim Borcky | OT | Memphis | |
7 | 184 | Bo Wright | RB | Alabama | |
8 | 204 | John Hagy | DB | Texas | |
8 | 213 | Jeff Wright | DT | Central Missouri State | |
9 | 235 | Carlton Bailey | ILB | North Carolina | |
10 | 262 | Martin Mayhew | CB | Florida State | Placed on injured reserve |
11 | 289 | Pete Curkendall | DT | Penn State | |
12 | 309 | John Driscoll | OT | New Hampshire | |
12 | 316 | Tom Erlandson | LB | Washington | |
Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career |
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
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Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
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1 | September 4 | Minnesota Vikings | W 13–10 | 1–0 | Rich Stadium | 76,783 | |
2 | September 11 | Miami Dolphins | W 9–6 | 2–0 | Rich Stadium | 79,520 | |
3 | September 18 | at New England Patriots | W 16–14 | 3–0 | Sullivan Stadium | 55,945 | |
4 | September 25 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 36–28 | 4–0 | Rich Stadium | 78,735 | |
5 | October 2 | at Chicago Bears | L 3–24 | 4–1 | Soldier Field | 62,793 | |
6 | October 9 | Indianapolis Colts | W 34–23 | 5–1 | Rich Stadium | 76,018 | |
7 | October 17 | at New York Jets | W 37–14 | 6–1 | Giants Stadium | 70,218 | |
8 | October 23 | New England Patriots | W 23–20 | 7–1 | Rich Stadium | 76,824 | |
9 | October 30 | Green Bay Packers | W 28–0 | 8–1 | Rich Stadium | 79,176 | |
10 | November 6 | at Seattle Seahawks | W 13–3 | 9–1 | Kingdome | 61,074 | |
11 | November 14 | at Miami Dolphins | W 31–6 | 10–1 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 67,091 | |
12 | November 20 | New York Jets | W 9–6 (OT) | 11–1 | Rich Stadium | 78,389 | |
13 | November 27 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 21–35 | 11–2 | Riverfront Stadium | 58,672 | |
14 | December 4 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 5–10 | 11–3 | Tampa Stadium | 49,498 | |
15 | December 11 | Los Angeles Raiders | W 37–21 | 12–3 | Rich Stadium | 77,348 | |
16 | December 18 | at Indianapolis Colts | L 14–17 | 12–4 | Hoosier Dome | 59,908 | |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |
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The Bills clinch the AFC Eastern division title.
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The loss cost the Bills homefield advantage in the AFC playoffs.
AFC East | |||||||||
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W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
Buffalo Bills (2) | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 7–1 | 10–2 | 329 | 237 | L1 |
Indianapolis Colts | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 5–3 | 7–5 | 354 | 315 | W1 |
New England Patriots | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 5–3 | 7–5 | 250 | 284 | L1 |
New York Jets | 8 | 7 | 1 | .531 | 3–5 | 6–7–1 | 372 | 354 | W2 |
Miami Dolphins | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 0–8 | 3–9 | 319 | 380 | L1 |
Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Oilers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
Bills | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
Buffalo's first playoff game in seven years and first home playoff playoff game in 22 years was a 17–10 win over the Oilers. Jim Kelly threw for 244 yards and an interception while Thurman Thomas and Robb Riddick had rushing scores to go with 87 rushing yards. The Bills intercepted Warren Moon once and forced two Oilers fumbles.
Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Bills | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
Bengals | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati
The Bengals forced three interceptions and allowed only 45 rushing yards and 136 passing yards to go with an offense that held the ball for 39:29 out of sixty minutes. Bills starting running back Thurman Thomas was held to just six yards on four carries, while quarterback Jim Kelly completed only 14-of-30 passes for 161 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions.
First Team
Second Team
Super Bowl XXV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1990 season. The Giants defeated the Bills by the score of 20–19, winning their second Super Bowl.
Super Bowl XXVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1991 season. The Redskins defeated the Bills by a score of 37–24, becoming the fourth team after the Pittsburgh Steelers, the now Las Vegas Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers to win three Super Bowls. The Bills became the third team, after the Minnesota Vikings and the Denver Broncos to lose back-to-back Super Bowls. The game was played on January 26, 1992, at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the first time the city played host to a Super Bowl.
Super Bowl XXVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1992 season. The Cowboys defeated the Bills by the score of 52–17, winning their third Super Bowl in team history, and their first one in 15 years. This game is tied with Super Bowl XXXVII as the fourth-highest scoring Super Bowl with 69 combined points, as of 2023. The Bills became the first team to lose three consecutive Super Bowls, and just the second of three teams to play in three straight. The following 1993 season, the Bills became the only team to both play and lose four consecutive Super Bowls. The game was played on January 31, 1993, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, and is the last NFL championship game to date to be held in a non-NFL stadium. It was also the seventh Super Bowl held in the Greater Los Angeles Area, which did not host another until Super Bowl LVI in 2022.
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Thurman Lee Thomas is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Thomas was selected by the Bills in the second round of the 1988 NFL draft, where he spent all but one season of his professional career. He spent his final NFL year as a member of the Miami Dolphins in 2000.
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