1993 Buffalo Bills season | |
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Owner | Ralph Wilson |
General manager | John Butler |
Head coach | Marv Levy |
Home field | Rich Stadium |
Results | |
Record | 12–4 |
Division place | 1st AFC East |
Playoff finish | Won Divisional Playoffs (vs. Raiders) 29–23 Won AFC Championship (vs. Chiefs) 30–13 Lost Super Bowl XXVIII (vs. Cowboys) 13–30 |
Pro Bowlers | 7
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AP All-Pros | 3
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The 1993 Buffalo Bills season was the 34th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL). The Buffalo Bills finished the National Football League's 1993 season with a record of 12 wins and 4 losses, and finished first in the AFC East division.
The Bills qualified for their fourth straight Super Bowl, where they faced the Dallas Cowboys in a rematch of the previous season's Super Bowl. However, just like with the previous Super Bowl, the Bills would lose to the Cowboys, this time by a score of 30–13. Until the 2020 season, this Bills squad was the last to reach the AFC Championship Game.
Despite the many jokes about the Bills having lost three straight Super Bowls—a fan pleaded with head coach Marv Levy for the team to not return to the Super Bowl: "I can't take it. I can't go to work on Monday if we don't win the game. It's tearing me up. I can't handle it"—Don Beebe recalled that "I've got to be honest with you. We thrived in it. We enjoyed it. We were going to go to four ... I think that comes a lot from the Winston Churchill poems and the speeches that we would get from Marv". Dan Patrick reported that "Buffalo players have been wearing t-shirts reading something along the lines of 'Let's Tick Them Off and Go for Four'". [1] The team qualified for another Super Bowl; they became the first franchise to win four consecutive conference championships, as well as the first to appear in four consecutive Super Bowls.
Defensive end Bruce Smith was named NEA Defensive Player of the Year, and tied for the league lead with 13.5 sacks. Smith, linebacker Darryl Talley and special teams gunner Steve Tasker were named to the 1993 All-Pro team. The Bills' 47 defensive takeaways in 1993 is the third-highest total of the 1990s. [2]
Running back Thurman Thomas led the AFC with 1,315 rushing yards. [3]
1993 Buffalo Bills draft | |||||
Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
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1 | 28 | Thomas Smith | CB | North Carolina | |
2 | 55 | John Parrella | DT | Nebraska | |
4 | 111 | Russell Copeland | WR | Memphis | |
5 | 136 | Mike Devlin | C | Iowa | |
5 | 139 | Sebastian Savage | CB | NC State | |
5 | 167 | Corbin Lacina | OT | Augustana | |
7 | 195 | Willie Harris | WR | Mississippi State | |
8 | 223 | Chris Leuneberg | OT | West Chester (PA) | |
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 5 | New England Patriots | W 38–14 | 1–0 | Rich Stadium | 79,751 |
2 | September 12 | at Dallas Cowboys | W 13–10 | 2–0 | Texas Stadium | 63,226 |
3 | Bye | |||||
4 | September 26 | Miami Dolphins | L 13–22 | 2–1 | Rich Stadium | 79,635 |
5 | October 3 | New York Giants | W 17–14 | 3–1 | Rich Stadium | 79,283 |
6 | October 11 | Houston Oilers | W 35–7 | 4–1 | Rich Stadium | 79,613 |
7 | Bye | |||||
8 | October 24 | at New York Jets | W 19–10 | 5–1 | Giants Stadium | 71,541 |
9 | November 1 | Washington Redskins | W 24–10 | 6–1 | Rich Stadium | 79,106 |
10 | November 7 | at New England Patriots | W 13–10 (OT) | 7–1 | Foxboro Stadium | 54,326 |
11 | November 15 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 0–23 | 7–2 | Three Rivers Stadium | 60,265 |
12 | November 21 | Indianapolis Colts | W 23–9 | 8–2 | Rich Stadium | 79,101 |
13 | November 28 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 7–23 | 8–3 | Arrowhead Stadium | 74,452 |
14 | December 5 | Los Angeles Raiders | L 24–25 | 8–4 | Rich Stadium | 79,478 |
15 | December 12 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 10–7 | 9–4 | Veterans Stadium | 60,769 |
16 | December 19 | at Miami Dolphins | W 47–34 | 10–4 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 71,597 |
17 | December 26 | New York Jets | W 16–14 | 11–4 | Rich Stadium | 70,817 |
18 | January 2, 1994 | at Indianapolis Colts | W 30–10 | 12–4 | Hoosier Dome | 43,028 |
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Patriots | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
Bills | 0 | 17 | 0 | 21 | 38 |
at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Giants | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
Bills | 10 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
at Rich Stadium • Orchard Park, New York
Game information | ||
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November 1, 1993.
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AFC East | |||||||
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W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
(1) Buffalo Bills | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 329 | 242 | W4 |
Miami Dolphins | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 349 | 351 | L5 |
New York Jets | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 270 | 247 | L3 |
New England Patriots | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 238 | 286 | W4 |
Indianapolis Colts | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 189 | 378 | L4 |
Round | Date | Opponent | Game Site | Final score | Attendance |
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Divisional | January 15, 1994 | Los Angeles Raiders (4) | Rich Stadium | W 29–23 | 61,923 |
AFC Championship | January 23, 1994 | Kansas City Chiefs (3) | Rich Stadium | W 30–13 | 76,642 |
Super Bowl | January 30, 1994 | vs. Dallas Cowboys (N1) | Georgia Dome | L 13–30 | 72,817 |
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