1993 Buffalo Bills: 4-Time Runners-Up

1993 Buffalo Bills: 4-Time Runners-Up

[paypal_donation_button]1993 Buffalo Bills: 4-Time Runners-Up

The Buffalo Bills teams of the early 1990’s made history, although it wasn’t necessarily the kind of history they would prefer. The Bills became the first team in NFL history to make it to 4 consecutive Super Bowls, but only to lose all 4 of them. To their credit, however, they retained the core nucleus of talent that carried them through the long postseason journeys. John Butler became the new general manager of the Bills in 1993, a position he would retain until 2000.

The Bills went 12-4 in 1993, finishing 3 games ahead of the Miami Dolphins and 4 games ahead of the New York Jets for the AFC East crown. The familiar no huddle Run and Shoot offense was once again led by quarterback Jim Kelly, who completed 288 of 470 pass attempts for 3,382 yards and 18 touchdowns. Running back Thurman Thomas remained as the primary workhorse in the backfield as he had 1,315 yards off 355 rushing attempts and scored 6 touchdowns. Thomas also had 48 receptions for 387 yards. Running back Kenneth Davis had 391 yards off 109 rushing attempts and scored 6 touchdowns.

Wide receiver Andre Reed had 52 receptions for 854 yards and 6 touchdowns. Wide receiver Bill Brooks had 60 receptions for 714 yards and 5 touchdowns. Tight end Pete Metzelaars had 68 receptions for 609 yards and 4 touchdowns. Wide receiver Don Beebe had 31 receptions for 504 yards and 3 touchdowns. Wide receiver Russell Copeland had 13 receptions for 242 yards, but he was more productive on special teams as he had 274 yards off 31 punt returns and scored a touchdown, and 436 yards off 24 kick returns.

The Bills successfully reloaded during their 4-year span on defense obtaining new talent, but still having familiar faces excel. Outside linebacker Darryl Talley led the defense with 136 tackles to go along with 2 sacks, 3 interceptions for 74 yards and 1 touchdown, 4 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries. Inside linebacker Marvcus Patton had 118 tackles, 1 sack, 2 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles and 3 fumble recoveries. Defensive end Bruce Smith had 108 tackles and led the defense with 14 sacks to go along with 1 interception, 3 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery.

Outside linebacker Cornelius Bennett had 102 tackles, 5 sacks, 1 interception, 2 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries. Strong safety Henry Jones had 83 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions for 92 yards and 1 touchdown, 3 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries. Nose tackle Jeff Wright had 79 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery.

Inside linebacker Mark Maddox had 62 tackles, 1 forced fumble and 2 fumble recoveries. Inside linebacker Keith Goganious had 55 tackles, 1 sack and 1 fumble recovery. Corner-back Matt Darby had 53 tackles, 2 interceptions, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery. Free safety Nate Odomes had 47 tackles, 9 interceptions, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery for a touchdown. Defensive end Phil Hansen had 43 tackles, 3.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. Corner-back Mickey Washington had 1 interception return for a touchdown and 2 fumble recoveries. Corner-back James Williams had 2 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries.

Buffalo’s biggest regular season win came against the Houston Oilers in Week 6 on October 11 by the score of 35-7. Buffalo’s closest win came against the New York Jets in Week 17 on December 26 by the score of 16-14.

In the Division Round the Buffalo Bills faced the Los Angeles Raiders on January 15, 1994, and Buffalo would win by the score of 29-23. Jim Kelly completed 27 of 37 pass attempts for 287 yards and 2 touchdowns, but he also had 1 fumble. Opposing him would be Raiders quarterback Jeff Hostetler, who defeated Kelly and the Bills in Super Bowl XXV. Hostetler completed 14 of 20 pass attempts for 230 yards and 1 touchdown while also having 1 fumble. The scoring started in the 2nd quarter when Raiders kicker Jeff Jaeger kicked a 30-yard field goal. Kenneth Davis then punched in a 1 -yard touchdown run for the Bills, and Los Angeles running back Napoleon McCallum would have a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs. Thurman Thomas would pick up the Bills again with an 8-yard touchdown run, and in the 3rd quarter Bill Brooks would catch a 25-yard touchdown pass. Kicker Steve Christie added a 29-yard field goal for Buffalo while wide receiver Tim Brown kept Los Angeles alive by catching an 86-yard touchdown pass. A 22-yard touchdown pass from Kelly to Brooks won the game for the Bills.

The home of the Buffalo Bills, Rich Stadium, would host the AFC Championship Game against the Kansas City Chiefs on January 23. The Bills defeated the Chiefs 30-13. Thurman Thomas had a 12-yard touchdown run in the 1st quarter, and Kansas City would respond with a pair of 31-yard field goals by kicker Nick Lowery. Thomas came back in the 2nd quarter to have a 3-yard touchdown run to put the Bills up 14-6, and Steve Christie added to the score with a 23-yard field goal and a 25-yard field goal to extend the lead to 20-6.

Chiefs running back Marcus Allen then had a 1-yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter, but Kansas City’s scoring would be trumped by another 18-yard field goal by Christie and another 3-yard touchdown run by Thomas in the 4th quarter.

The Bills made it to their 4th consecutive Super Bowl as they would play in Super Bowl XXVIII at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on January 30. The Bills would play the Dallas Cowboys in a rematch of Super Bowl XXVII, and early on it looked like Buffalo would successfully avenge the previous loss on the big stage. Jim Kelly completed 31 of 50 pass attempts for 260 yards and threw 1 interception. Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman completed 19 of 27 pass attempts for 207 yards and threw 1 interception. Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith had a great game as he had 132 yards off 30 rushing attempts and scored 2 touchdowns. Smith would be named Super Bowl Most Valuable Player.

Cowboys kicker Eddie Murray began the scoring with a 41-yard field goal in the 1st quarter. Steve Christie countered with a 54-yard field goal, and then Murray came back with a 24-yard field goal. In the 2nd quarter Thurman Thomas had a 4-yard touchdown run and Christie kicked his second field goal from 28 yards out to give the Bills a 13-6 halftime lead.

However, it turned out that the Bills had run out of gas as a team since their play in the second half experienced a drop off. The Cowboys capitalized on this starting in the 3rd quarter as corner-back James Washington had a 48-yard fumble return for a touchdown. Emmitt Smith had a 15-yard touchdown run and then in the 4th quarter he had a 1-yard touchdown run. Murray would kick a 20-yard field goal to end the scoring as the Cowboys would beat the Bills 30-13, winning their 2nd of 3 Super Bowls in 4 years.

This marked the end of the 4-year run the Buffalo Bills had of making it to the Super Bowl. The Bills franchise have not made it back to the Super Bowl since. However, players like Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, Jim Kelly and Bruce Smith have went on to be honored in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.