ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Tuesday marked the beginning of my 46th year at the Times Herald … every one of them covering the Bills.
My first season was 1973, significant for two reasons: it was the year then-Rich Stadium opened and the campaign when O.J. Simpson rushed for an NFL-record 2,003 yards in only a 14-game season.
The following year, Buffalo went 9-5 and made the playoffs in what I assumed would be a relatively common occurrence in campaigns to come.
Oh, how wrong I was.
It was six years before the Bills made it back for two straight seasons, and seven more until Buffalo returned to the playoffs. That began a streak of six consecutive appearances and a stretch where they qualified eight of nine years and 10 of 12 through 1999.
But then began a stretch of — repeat after me — 17 seasons without a postseason berth.
That streak ended on Sunday when the confluence of a Bills’ road victory over the Dolphins and an Andy Dalton-engineered miracle triumph for the Bengals at Baltimore ended Buffalo fans’ playoff anguish.
Dalton’s 49-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Boyd on 4th-and-12 with 44 seconds to play gave Cincinnati a 31-27 victory and provided the longshot quiniela the Bills needed for a return to the postseason.
That got me to doing some math.
Between that 1974 appearance and the nightmarish “Music City Miracle” at the end of the ‘99 season, Buffalo was in 25 playoff games, of which it won 12, and yours truly covered every one of them.
So, on the day before the Bills return to the postseason against the Jaguars in Jacksonville, here are some memories from my Buffalo playoff Rolodex:
1974
Dec. 22
Steelers 32, Bills 14
Buffalo qualified as the AFC wild card but was handled by what would become Pittsburgh’s first Super Bowl champion. The Steelers stuffed O.J. for 49 yards. What I remember most though is that the Bills went back into Pittsburgh for the second game of the ‘75 regular season and led 30-7 in the fourth quarter before winning 30-21. Juice ran for 227 yards including an 88-yard touchdown.
1980
Jan. 3, ‘81
Chargers 20, Bills 14
Chuck Knox’s team led 14-13 at San Diego until quarterback Dan Fouts hit Ron Smith for a 50-yard touchdown pass with under three minutes to play. QB Joe Ferguson, playing on a badly sprained ankle, threw three interceptions.
1981
Dec. 27
Bills 31, Jets 27
The Bills blew almost all of a 24-point lead but New York’s bid to go ahead was foiled when safety Bill Simpson, who Buffalo had signed after he was released by the Rams, intercepted Richard Todd to ice the win with 10 seconds to play.
Jan. 3, ‘82
Bengals 28, Bills 21
Buffalo never led, but tied it twice, until Cris Collinsworth’s TD reception from Ken Anderson won it with just over four minutes remaining.
1988
Jan. 1, ‘89
Bills 17, Oilers 10
Blocks of a field goal and punt were all the Bills needed in an otherwise dull game.
Bengals 21, Bills 10
Jan. 8, ‘89
Cincinnati won the AFC Championship and a berth in the Super Bowl on two short Ickey Woods touchdown runs.
1989
Jan. 6, ‘90
Browns 34, Bills 30
Clay Matthews’ goal line interception of a Jim Kelly pass with nine seconds left secured Cleveland’s win. One play earlier, running back Ronnie Harmon dropped the potential game-winning throw. Thurman Thomas had a huge game for the Bills catching a then-playoff-record 13 passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns. Kelly threw for 405 yards and four TDs.
1990
Jan. 12, ‘91
Bills 44, Dolphins 34
Kelly won the battle of Hall-of-Fame-to-be QBs as he threw for 339 yards and three touchdowns. Dan Marino logged 323 yards and three TD tosses. Buffalo went up early by 17 until just over a minute to play.
Jan. 20, ‘91
Bills 51, Raiders 3
Buffalo led 21-3 in the first quarter and 41-3 at intermission en route to its initial AFC Championship. Kenneth Davis rushed for three scores and wide receiver James Lofton caught two TD throws.
Jan. 27, ‘91
Giants 20, Bills 19.
Buffalo lost time of possession by over 21 minutes in its first Super Bowl, but was still in position to win when Scott Norwood’s 47-yard field goal attempt on the game’s final play famously slipped “Wide Right.”
1991
Jan. 5, ‘92
Bills 37, Chiefs 14
Buffalo led 24-0, Kelly threw three TD passes and Norwood kicked a trio field goals in a total domination.
Jan. 12, ‘92
Bills 10, Broncos 7
Carlton Bailey’s 11-yard interception return of a John Elway pass provided the touchdown that broke a scoreless tie early in the third quarter and Buffalo hung on to win its second straight AFC title .
Jan. 26, ‘92
Redskins 37, Bills 24
Buffalo trailed 24-0 and 37-10 in its second Super Bowl until Kelly, who was intercepted four times, tossed two oh-by-the-way touchdown passes. This game is most remembered for Thomas losing his helmet before the first series.
1992
Jan. 3, ‘93
Bills 41, Oilers 38, OT
One of the most famous games in franchise history as Buffalo, playing at home, trailed 35-3 with just over six minutes left in the third quarter. But Frank Reich, playing in place of the injured Kelly, produced five touchdowns — four of them on passes — in a span of nine minutes to retake the lead. The Bills still needed a 32-yard Steve Christie field goal in overtime to win it. Wide receiver Andre Reed caught three of Reich’s TDs.
Jan. 9, ‘93
Bills 24, Steelers 3
Reich threw a pair of touchdown passes, one to offensive lineman Mitch Frerotte as Buffalo advanced.
Jan. 17, ‘93
Bills 29, Dolphins 10
Marv Levy was 17-6 against fellow Hall-of-Fame coach Don Shula, most of those wins coming with the Bills. Levy maintained it merely proved he had better players. Christie kicked four field goals and Kelly and Marino were each intercepted twice in the AFC Championship Game.
Jan. 31, ‘93
Cowboys 52, Bills 17
Buffalo’s third Super Bowl was every bit as one-sided as the score. The Bills turned the ball over nine times (4 picks, 5 fumbles) and a 14-10 deficit quickly became a 35-point blowout. It would have been worse, but wide receiver Don Beebe raced the length of the field to knock the ball away from Cowboys defensive tackle Leon Lett who was about to score on a 64-yard fumble return in the fourth quarter.
1993
Jan. 15, ‘93
Bills 29, Raiders 23
Buffalo trailed 17-6 late in the second quarter and was down 23-22 early in the fourth until Bill Brooks caught the winning TD from Kelly, his second scoring reception of the game.
Jan 23, ‘94
Bills 30, Chiefs 13
The Bills led 20-6 at the half, and Thomas rushed for three touchdowns en route to a playoff-record 189 yards. But the most memorable aspect of the game that sent Buffalo to a fourth straight Super Bowl was the pounding Kansas City quarterback Joe Montana took, eventually forcing him to leave the game.
Jan. 30, ‘94
Cowboys 30, Bills 13
Dallas proved why it was one of the best teams in NFL history. Buffalo led 13-6 at the half, but a Thomas fumble in the first minute of the third quarter was returned for the TD that put Dallas up for good, handing the Bills a fourth straight “Super” defeat.
1995
Dec. 30
Bills 37, Dolphins 22
Buffalo led 27-0 early in the fourth quarter before Miami scored three meaningless TDs. Four different Bills scored touchdowns and Christie kicked three field goals.
Jan. 6, ‘96
Steelers 40, Bills 21
Hall of Fame defensive end Bruce Smith sat out the game with the flu and Buffalo never had a chance, falling behind 20-0 before intermission. Norm Johnson kicked four field goals for Pittsburgh. Kelly threw three interceptions and Thomas scored twice.
1996
Dec. 28
Jaguars 30, Bills 27
Buffalo, playing at home, lost Kelly’s final game. A Mike Hollis field goal with three minutes to play ended the Bills season. Kelly threw for a TD and had an interception returned for a score. Thomas scored two touchdowns.
1998
Jan. 2, ‘99
Dolphins 24, Bills 17
Buffalo got to the Miami 5-yard line with nine seconds to play behind Doug Flutie, but turned the ball over on downs. Eric Moulds set an NFL record with 240 receiving yards on nine catches one for a TD.
1999
Jan. 8, 2000
Titans 22, Bills 16
The Music City Miracle. Buffalo, behind struggling Rob Johnson (sacked 6 times), appeared to have won the game when Christie kicked a 41-yard field goal to put it up, 16-15, with 16 seconds to play.
Then came Bills’ fans 17-year nightmare. Christie’s squibbed kickoff bounced into the hands of Titans tight end Frank Wycheck who threw a lateral pass to Kevin Dyson who went 75 yards for the winning score on a play called “Home Run Throwback.”
It was Buffalo’s last playoff game until Sunday.
(Chuck Pollock, a Times Herald sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@oleantimesherald.com)
