The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence. It was more successful than earlier rivals to the NFL with the same name, the 1926, 1936 and 1940 leagues, and the later All-America Football Conference.
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 third-highest scoring Super Bowl with 69 combined points. The Bills became the first team to lose three consecutive Super Bowls, and just the second of three teams to play in three straight and. 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.
Super Bowl XXVIII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1993 season. The Cowboys defeated the Bills, for the second straight year, by a score of 30–13, winning their fourth Super Bowl in team history, tying the Pittsburgh Steelers and the San Francisco 49ers for most Super Bowl wins. The Buffalo Bills became the only team to both play and lose four consecutive Super Bowls for a 0-4 franchise Super Bowl record. The game was played on January 30, 1994, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. Since the 1993 regular season was conducted over 18 weeks, the traditional bye week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl was not employed; the last time this had happened was before Super Bowl XXV.
William Lewis Shaw is an American former professional football player who was an offensive guard for the Buffalo Bills in the American Football League (AFL). After playing college football with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, he was drafted by the Bills. Shaw was the prototypical "pulling guard" who despite his size held his own against much bigger defensive linemen like Ernie Ladd, Earl Faison and Buck Buchanan. He won three straight Eastern Division titles and two American Football League championships in 1964 and 1965 with Buffalo.
Thurman Lee Thomas is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He 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. Thomas spent his final NFL year as a member of the Miami Dolphins in 2000.
Donald Arvid Nelson is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. Nelson is second all-time in regular season wins of any coach in NBA history, with 1,335. He coached the Milwaukee Bucks, the New York Knicks, the Dallas Mavericks, and the Golden State Warriors. After an All-American career at the University of Iowa, Nelson won five NBA championships playing with the Boston Celtics, with his number 19 retired by the franchise in 1978.
The 1999 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1998–99 season, and the culmination of the 1999 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested by the Eastern Conference champion Buffalo Sabres and the Western Conference champion Dallas Stars. It was the 106th year of the Stanley Cup being contested.
The 1987 NFL season was the 68th regular season of the National Football League. This season featured games predominantly played by replacement players as the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) players were on strike from weeks four to six with week three being cancelled in its entirety. The season ended with Super Bowl XXII, with the Washington Redskins defeating the Denver Broncos, 42–10, at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. The Broncos suffered their second consecutive Super Bowl defeat. As of the conclusion of the 2021 NFL season, this is the most recent NFL campaign in which regular-season games were impacted by a labor conflict.
Raymond Newton Preston III is a former American football center for the Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Illinois.
Richard Manuel Jauron is a former American football player and coach. He played eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL), five with the Detroit Lions and three with the Cincinnati Bengals. Jauron served as the head coach the Chicago Bears from 1999 to 2003 and the Buffalo Bills from 2006 until November 2009. He was also the interim head coach for the Lions for the final five games of the 2005 season. Jauron was named the AP Coach of the Year in 2001 after leading the Bears to a 13–3 record.
The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offered by ESPNU and, for the first time, by NFL Network. Having signed a contract with the Houston Texans on the evening before the draft, Mario Williams, a defensive end from North Carolina State, became the draft's first pick. The selection surprised many commentators, who predicted that the Texans would draft Southern California running back Reggie Bush or Texas quarterback Vince Young. Ohio State produced the most first round selections (five), while Southern California produced the most overall selections (eleven). Twenty-seven compensatory and supplemental compensatory selections were distributed amongst seventeen teams; Tampa Bay, Baltimore, and Tennessee each held three compensatory picks. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season.
James Wilson Jeffcoat, Jr. is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills. He was most recently an assistant football coach for the Dallas Renegades of the XFL. He played college football at Arizona State University.
Frederick George Jackson is a former American football running back. He played college football at Coe College. After going undrafted in 2003 and playing three seasons in NFL Europe, Jackson spent nine seasons with the Buffalo Bills, becoming their third all-time leading rusher. In the 2015 season, he was the oldest active running back in the NFL.
Patrick Jay Toomay is a former professional football player, a defensive end for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Oakland Raiders. He played college football at Vanderbilt University and was selected in the sixth round of the 1970 NFL draft by the Dallas Cowboys. He is the author of books about professional football, including The Crunch and the 1984 novel On Any Given Sunday.
Albert "Al" Nelson is a former professional American football cornerback in the National Football League for nine seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles. He played college football at the University of Cincinnati and was drafted in the third round of the 1965 NFL Draft. Nelson was also selected in the ninth round of the 1965 AFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills.
Ronald Ford Howard is a former American football tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Seattle Seahawks and Buffalo Bills. He played college basketball at Seattle University.
David Alan Nelson is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football for the University of Florida, where he was a member of two BCS National Championship teams. He was signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2010, and also played for the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers.
The 2011 Buffalo Bills season was the team's 42nd season in the National Football League and its 52nd overall. The Bills improved on their 4–12 record from the 2010 season, winning six games; however, the team also missed the playoffs for the twelfth consecutive season; the team had not made the playoffs since 1999, the longest standing playoff drought in the NFL at the time after the Detroit Lions made the playoffs for the first time since 1999 during this season. On November 13, head coach Chan Gailey made his first return to Dallas since getting fired from the organization 12 years earlier. Gailey served as the Cowboys head coach from 1998-1999, and is the franchise's only coach to have never missed the playoffs. Gailey is also sometimes referred to by fans as the "forgotten coach" of Dallas.
Cole Dickson Beasley is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football at Southern Methodist University and was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2012.
Deon L. Lacey is a gridiron football linebacker for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at the University of West Alabama. He has also been a member of the Dallas Cowboys, Edmonton Eskimos, Miami Dolphins, and Buffalo Bills.
