1991 Buffalo Bills season

1991 Buffalo Bills season
Head coach	Marv Levy
General manager	Bill Polian
Owner	Ralph Wilson
Home field	Rich Stadium
Results
Record	13–3
Division place	1st AFC East
Playoff finish	Won AFC Divisional playoff vs. (Chiefs) 24–7 Won AFC Championship vs. (Broncos) 10–7 Lost Super Bowl XXVI vs. (Redskins) 24–37

The 1991 Buffalo Bills season was the 32nd season, and 22nd in the National Football League. The Buffalo Bills finished the National Football League's 1991 season with a record of 13 wins and 3 losses, the same record as their previous year's record, and finished first in the AFC East division. The Bills qualified for their second Super Bowl appearance.

The Bills No Huddle "K-Gun" offense, after having a breakout 1990 season, once again dominated the league by gaining an NFL leading 6,525 yards and scoring 458 points, a franchise record, and second only to Washington. The leaders of the offense, quarterback Jim Kelly and running back Thurman Thomas, both had the best seasons of their careers. Kelly completed 64.1 percent of his passes for 3,844 yards and a league leading 33 touchdowns, with only 17 interceptions, to give him a 97.6 passer rating. Thomas rushed for 1,407 yards, caught 62 passes for 620 yards, and scored 12 touchdowns to earn him both the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award and the NFL Most Valuable Player Award. Just like Washington, Buffalo had more than one threat in their backfield. Running back Kenneth Davis emerged as a big threat off the bench, rushing for 624 yards, catching 20 passes for 118 yards, and scoring 5 touchdowns.

The Bills also had several major weapons in their passing game. Wide receiver Andre Reed led the team with 81 receptions for 1,113 yards and 10 touchdowns, and also rushed 12 times for 136 yards. On the other side of the field, veteran wide receiver James Lofton recorded 57 receptions for 1,072 yards and 8 touchdowns to earn his 8th Pro Bowl appearance and finish the year just 55 yards short of the all-time receiving record held by Steve Largent (13,089 yards). Pro Bowl tight end Keith McKeller was also a big contributor with 44 receptions for 434 yards, while receiver Don Beebe had 32 catches, 414 yards, and 6 touchdowns. Once again, the Bills offensive line was led by center Kent Hull along with Pro Bowl guard Jim Ritcher.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Despite few impact players in the later rounds, the Bills' first two picks had long careers in Buffalo. The first pick, safety Henry Jones, played for the next ten seasons in Buffalo, making the Pro Bowl in his second season. Defensive end Phil Hansen played his entire eleven-year career in Buffalo, joining the team's Wall of Fame in 2011.

Round #	Pick #	Player	Position	College
1	26	Henry Jones	Defensive Back	Illinois
2	54	Phil Hansen	Defensive end	North Dakota State
3	82	Darryl Wren	Defensive back	Pittsburg State
4	138	Shawn Wilbourn	Defensive Back	Long Beach State
5	166	Millard Hamilton	Wide receiver	Clark University
6	194	Amir Rasul	Running back	Florida A&M
8	222	Brad Lamb	Wide receiver	Anderson
9	249	Mark Maddox	Linebacker	Northern Michigan
10	277	Tony DeLorenzo	Guard	New Mexico State
11	305	Dean Kirkland	Guard	Washington
12	333	Stephen Clark	Tight End	Texas

Personnel

Staff

1991 Buffalo Bills staff
	Front office President – Ralph Wilson Vice President of Administration/General Manager – Bill Polian Assistant General Manager/Director of Pro Personnel – Bob Ferguson Director of Player Personnel – John Butler Assistant Director/Collegiate Scouting – A. J. Smith Head coaches Vice President for Football Operations/Head Coach – Marv Levy Administrative Assistant to the Head Coach – Chuck Lester Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Ted Marchibroda Running Backs – Elijah Pitts Receivers – Nick Nicolau Offensive Quality Control/Tight Ends – Don Lawrence Offensive Line – Tom Bresnahan			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers – Walt Corey Defensive Line – Chuck Dickerson Defensive Backs – Dick Roach Defensive Quality Control – Chuck Lester Special teams coaches Special Teams – Bruce DeHaven Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning Coordinator – Rusty Jones

Roster

1991 Buffalo Bills roster
Quarterbacks 7 Gale Gilbert 12 Jim Kelly 14 Frank Reich Running Backs 23 Kenneth Davis 33 Eddie Fuller 35 Carwell Gardner FB 34 Thurman Thomas Wide Receivers 86 Mike Alexander 82 Don Beebe 85 Al Edwards 80 James Lofton 83 Andre Reed Tight Ends 84 Keith McKeller 88 Pete Metzelaars 87 Butch Rolle		Offensive Linemen 75 Howard Ballard T 65 John Davis G 59 Mitch Frerotte G 67 Kent Hull C 74 Glenn Parker G 51 Jim Ritcher G 79 Joe Staysniak G 69 Will Wolford T Defensive Linemen 92 Gary Baldinger DE 93 Odell Haggins DE 90 Phil Hansen DE 73 Mike Lodish DT 96 Leon Seals DE 78 Bruce Smith DE 91 Jeff Wright NT		Linebackers 54 Carlton Bailey LB 52 David Bavaro LB 97 Cornelius Bennett ILB 50 Ray Bentley ILB 58 Shane Conlan ILB 99 Hal Garner LB 55 Marvcus Patton LB 94 Mark Pike LB 56 Darryl Talley ILB Defensive Backs 45 Dwight Drane S 27 Clifford Hicks DB 47 Kirby Jackson DB 20 Henry Jones S 38 Mark Kelso S 37 Nate Odomes CB 28 Chris Oldham DB 46 Leonard Smith S 21 Brian Taylor DB 31 James Williams CB		Special Teams 10 Brad Daluiso K 63 Adam Lingner LS  9 Chris Mohr P 11 Scott Norwood K 89 Steve Tasker WR

Preseason

Date	Opponent	Final Score	Record
July 28, 1991 Sun.	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 17–13	1–0

Regular season

• October 21, 1991 – Jim Kelly tied a Monday Night Football record by throwing for five touchdown passes in one game. He accomplished this versus the Cincinnati Bengals.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Game Site	Final Score	Record	TV Time	Attendance
1	September 1, 1991	Miami Dolphins	Rich Stadium	W 35–31	1–0	NBC 4:15pm	80,252
2	September 8, 1991	Pittsburgh Steelers	Rich Stadium	W 52–34	2–0	NBC 1:00pm	79,545
3	September 15, 1991	at New York Jets	The Meadowlands	W 23–20	3–0	NBC 4:15pm	65,309
4	September 22, 1991	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Tampa Stadium	W 17–10	4–0	NBC 4:15pm	57,323
5	September 29, 1991	Chicago Bears	Rich Stadium	W 35–20	5–0	CBS 1:00pm	80,366
6	October 7, 1991	at Kansas City Chiefs	Arrowhead Stadium	L 6–33	5–1	ABC 9:00pm	76,120
7	October 13, 1991	Indianapolis Colts	Rich Stadium	W 42–6	6–1	NBC 1:00pm	79,015
8	October 21, 1991	Cincinnati Bengals	Rich Stadium	W 35–16	7–1	ABC 9:00pm	80,131
9	Bye
10	November 3, 1991	New England Patriots	Rich Stadium	W 22–17	8–1	NBC 1:00pm	78,278
11	November 10, 1991	at Green Bay Packers	Milwaukee County Stadium	W 34–24	9–1	NBC 1:00pm	52,175
12	November 18, 1991	at Miami Dolphins	Joe Robbie Stadium	W 41–27	10–1	ABC 9:00pm	71,062
13	November 24, 1991	at New England Patriots	Foxboro Stadium	L 13–16	10–2	NBC 1:00pm	47,053
14	December 1, 1991	New York Jets	Rich Stadium	W 24–13	11–2	NBC 1:00pm	80,243
15	December 8, 1991	at Los Angeles Raiders	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	W 30–27	12–2	NBC 4:15pm	85,081
16	December 15, 1991	at Indianapolis Colts	Hoosier Dome	W 35–7	13–2	ESPN 8:15pm	48,286
17	December 22, 1991	Detroit Lions	Rich Stadium	L 14–17	13–3	CBS 1:00pm	78,059

Game summaries

Week 1 vs. Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills

1 2 3 4 Total Dolphins 7 7 3 14 31 • Bills 0 7 14 14 35 Date: September 1 Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York Game start: 4:15 p.m. EST Game attendance: 80,252 Game weather: 59°F, wind 9 mph Referee: Johnny Grier TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Bill Walsh Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

Scoring summary 1 Dolphins Mark Clayton 49-yard pass from Dan Marino (Charlie Baumann kick) Dolphins 7–0 2 Dolphins Mark Higgs 3-yard run (Charlie Baumann kick) Dolphins 14–0 2 Bills Andre Reed 54-yard pass from Jim Kelly (Scott Norwood kick) Dolphins 14–7 3 Dolphins Charlie Baumann 21-yard field goal Dolphins 17–7 3 Bills Butch Rolle 3-yard pass from Frank Reich (Scott Norwood kick) Dolphins 17–14 3 Bills Thurman Thomas 50-yard pass from Jim Kelly (Scott Norwood kick) Bills 21–17 4 Dolphins Mark Clayton 5-yard pass from Dan Marino (Charlie Baumann kick) Dolphins 24–21 4 Bills Carwell Gardner 1-yard run (Scott Norwood kick) Bills 28–24 4 Bills Thurman Thomas 7-yard run (Scott Norwood kick) Bills 35–24 4 Dolphins Mark Duper 3-yard pass from Dan Marino (Charlie Baumann kick) Bills 35–31

Despite three touchdowns Dan Marino could not hold off Jim Kelly as the Bills erased a 17-7 Dolphins lead to win 35-31. The two teams combined for 331 rushing yards.

Week 2 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Jim Kelly erupted to six touchdowns as the Bills crushed the Steelers 52-34. Kelly threw for 363 yards, overshadowing the 194 rushing yards the Bills produced.

Week 3 at New York Jets

The Bills faced stiffer competition in their first road game of the year. The Jets clawed to a 10-3 lead late in the second; a pass-interference penalty set up a seven-yard Andre Reed touchdown catch. The Jets led 20-16 lead in the fourth quarter until Thurman Thomas caught a 15-yard score. The Jets raced downfield in the final seconds but missed a 51-yard field goal attempt, falling 23-20 to the Bills.

Week 4 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Returning to Tampa Stadium for the first time since Super Bowl XXV, Scott Norwood missed two field goal attempts. The Bucs behind Chris Chandler tied the game in the fourth. In the final minutes an apparent Bills fumble was nullified, and Keith McKeller caught the winning 29-yard touchdown for the 17-10 final.

Week 5 vs. Chicago Bears

The Bills held off the Bears 35-20 after putting up 422 yards of offense to Chicago's 353. Jim Harbaugh was intercepted once.

Week 6 Monday Night Football at Kansas City Chiefs

Harvey Williams and Christian Okoye combined for 225 rushing yards in leading a 33-6 massacre of the Bills; by themselves the two Chiefs backs put up more offense than the entire Bills offensive unit (211 total yards). Steve DeBerg added 150 passing yards and a touchdown as Buffalo's win streak crashed to a halt.

Week 7 vs. Indianapolis Colts

The Bills rebounded by hammering the winless Colts 42-6. The Colts failed to exceed six points for the sixth time in the season so far; they put up just 240 yards of offense vs. 276 rushing yards and four scores by Thurman Thomas, Kenneth Davis, and Carwell Gardner.

Week 8 Monday Night Football vs. Cincinnati Bengals

The Bills hosted winless Cincinnati in their second Monday Night appearance in three weeks. Jim Kelly overcame three interceptions to toss five touchdowns, winning 35-16; Boomer Esiason managed one score and one pick while his Bengals squad also chewed up 105 yards in penalties.

Week 10 vs. New England Patriots

The Bills struggled to a 22-17 win as Jim Kelly was picked off twice and Leonard Russell rushed for 106 yards and two scores. Jason Staurovsky missed two first-half field goal attempts amid periodic heavy winds at Rich Stadium. The Patriots got the ball back in the final 50 seconds after Kelly's second pick, but Hugh Millen was himself intercepted at the Bills 20.

Week 11 at Green Bay Packers

Milwaukee County Stadium hosted the Packers and Bills and the Pack made a game of it as future Steeler Mike Tomczak tossed for 317 yards and two touchdowns but was intercepted twice. Sterling Sharpe caught a 58-yard touchdown but was also blown up for a 15-yard loss on a rushing attempt.

Week 12 Monday Night Football at Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins fumbled three times and Dan Marino was intercepted twice as the Bills rolled to 262 rushing yards and three Jim Kelly touchdowns, winning 41-27.

Week 13 at New England Patriots

The Patriots pulled off one of the bigger upsets of the 1991 season as they picked off Jim Kelly four times while Hugh Millen threw a 50-yard score to Irving Fryar and ran in the winning score in a 16-13 win.

Week 14 vs. New York Jets

Jim Kelly and Ken O'Brien were both picked off twice as the Bills clawed to a 24-13 win, overcoming four turnovers and eleven penalties (76 yards).

Week 15 at LA Raiders

Amid a burgeoning feud with team owner Al Davis, Marcus Allen put up 95 all-purpose yards on 19 combined touches (16 of them rushes) and a touchdown as the Raiders led 27-14 after three quarters. Scott Norwood had a nightmarish day as he missed a PAT and two FGAs but the Bills rallied to tie the game and in overtime Norwood connected on the winning 42-yarder, and a 30-27 Bills win.

Week 16 at Indianapolis Colts

Jim Kelly and Frank Reich managed just thirteen completions, but four of them were touchdowns as the Bills romped 35-7. Jeff George was benched after completing just 83 yards and Mark Herrmann was even worse, throwing three interceptions. The win secured the #1 playoff seed for the Bills while the Colts secured a 1-15 season.

Week 17 vs. Detroit Lions

With the #1 AFC seed confirmed, the Bills started Frank Reich against the Lions, still fighting for a playoff bye with the Bears to play the 49ers on Monday Night. Barry Sanders rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown, and his burgeoning legend as impossible to bring down showed when Cornelius Bennett appeared to bring him down for a ten-yard loss in the first quarter but Sanders escaped for a one-yard gain. Reich's touchdown to Steve Tasker forced overtime but the Lions won on a 21-yard field goal, 17-14 the final; with San Francisco's 52-14 massacre of the Bears, the Lions secured a playoff bye.

Standings

AFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(1) Buffalo Bills	13	3	0	.813	7–1	10–2	458	318	L1
(6) New York Jets	8	8	0	.500	4–4	6–6	314	293	W1
Miami Dolphins	8	8	0	.500	4–4	5–7	343	349	L2
New England Patriots	6	10	0	.375	4–4	5–9	211	305	L1
Indianapolis Colts	1	15	0	.063	1–7	1–11	143	381	L6

Playoffs

AFC Divisional Playoffs

Buffalo Bills 37, Kansas City Chiefs 14

	1	2	3	4	Total
Chiefs	0	0	7	7	14
Bills	7	10	7	13	37

at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

• Date: January 5, 1992
• Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 37 °F (3 °C), occasional rain
• Game attendance: 80,182
• Referee: Pat Haggerty
• TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Bill Walsh

AFC Championship Game

Buffalo Bills 10, Denver Broncos 7

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	0	0	0	7	7
Bills	0	0	7	3	10

at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

• Date: January 12, 1992
• Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 34 °F (1 °C), clear
• Game attendance: 80,272
• Referee: Dale Hamer
• TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Bill Walsh

Super Bowl XXVI

The Bills became the 8th team to go scoreless in the 1st half, while the Redskins scored 17 points in the second quarter.

The Redskins then increased their lead 24–0 just 16 seconds into the second half after linebacker Kurt Gouveia intercepted Kelly's pass on the first play of the third quarter and returned it 23 yards to the Bills' 2-yard line. One play later, Riggs scored his second touchdown of the game. The Redskins' 24–0 lead midway through the 3rd quarter is the largest shutout lead in Super Bowl history. The San Francisco 49ers had led the Cincinnati Bengals 20–0 at halftime in Super Bowl XVI.

The Bills finally got some momentum going with their next few drives. First, they drove 77 yards to the Redskins 3 yard-line, aided by a 43-yard completion from Kelly to receiver Don Beebe. Washington kept Buffalo out of the end zone, but kicker Scott Norwood kicked a 21-yard field goal to cut their deficit to 24–3. Then aided by a 29-yard pass interference penalty on Redskins cornerback Martin Mayhew in the end zone, the Bills finally scored a touchdown on their next drive with a 1-yard run by Thomas to make the score 24–10.

The two teams combined for the most points in a 3rd quarter in a Super Bowl history (24 total points: 14 for Washington and 10 for Buffalo) and the most combined in a second half (44 total points: 24 for Buffalo and 20 for Washington).

But Buffalo's hopes of a comeback faded when Washington advanced 79 yards in 11 plays on their ensuing drive, scoring on Clark's 30-yard touchdown reception to give the Redskins a 31–10 lead with 1:24 left in the third period. Then 3 plays after receiving the ensuing kickoff, Kelly fumbled the ball while being sacked by defensive back Alvoid Mays, and it was recovered by defensive end Fred Stokes. After the turnover, Washington drove to the Bills 7-yard line and increased their lead to 34–10 with Lohmiller's 25-yard field goal on the second play of the fourth quarter.

Then on the Bills ensuing drive, Kelly was sacked for a 9-yard loss by Stokes, threw an incomplete pass, and then threw his second interception of the game to Edwards, who returned it 35 yards to Buffalo's 33-yard line. Five plays later, Lohmiller kicked his second field goal with 11:36 left in the game to increase Washington's lead to 37–10. With the game almost completely out of reach, the Bills managed to respond with a 15-play, 79-yard drive to cut the score to 37–17 on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Kelly to Metzelaars. Then, after recovering an onside kick, the Bills drove 50 yards and scored another touchdown with Beebe's 4-yard reception to make the score 37–24. But the Bills' second onside kick attempt was unsuccessful and the Redskins were able to run out the clock. From there, the Bills attempted one final pass play before time expired.

Kelly, completed 28 of a Super Bowl-record 58 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns, but was sacked 4 times, intercepted four times, and lost a fumble. Thomas ran for only 13 yards on 10 carries and was limited to 27 yards on four receptions. James Lofton was the top receiver for the Bills with 7 catches for 92 yards. But Reed was limited to just 5 catches for 31 yards. Clark had seven catches for 114 yards and a touchdown and Monk added seven for 113 yards. (Clark and Monk became the third pair of teammates to each have 100 yards receiving in a Super Bowl; they joined the Steelers' John Stallworth and Lynn Swann who did it in Super Bowl XIII and the Bengals' Cris Collinsworth and Dan Ross who did it in Super Bowl XVI).

Washington Redskins 37, Buffalo Bills 24

	1	2	3	4	Total
Redskins	0	17	14	6	37
Bills	0	0	10	14	24

at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

• Date: January 26, 1992
• Game time: 6:17 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Indoors
• Game attendance: 63,180
• Referee: Jerry Markbreit
• TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden

Awards and records

• Led NFL in Total Yards Rushing, 2381 yards
• Led AFC in Points Scored, 458
• Led AFC in Yards Gained, 6252
• Jim Kelly, NFL Leader, Touchdown Passes, 33
• Jim Kelly, AFC Leader, Passer Rating, 97.6
• Jim Kelly, Super Bowl record, Most Passes Attempted in a Super Bowl, 58
• Thurman Thomas, NFL MVP
• Thurman Thomas, UPI AFL-AFC Player of the Year
• Thurman Thomas, NEA NFL MVP
• Thurman Thomas, PFWA NFL MVP
• Thurman Thomas, NFL Offensive Player of the Year
• Thurman Thomas, 1991 All-Pro Selection
• Thurman Thomas, NFL Combined Yards from Scrimmage Leader
• Thurman Thomas, AFC Leader, 1,407 Rushing Yards
• Thurman Thomas, AFC Leader, 12 Touchdowns

External links

• Bills on Pro Football Reference
• Bills on jt-sw.com
• Bills Stats on jt-sw.com