1988 Buffalo Bills season
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1988 Buffalo Bills season
| 1988 Buffalo Bills season | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head coach | Marv Levy | ||||||
| Owner | Ralph Wilson | ||||||
| Home field | Rich Stadium | ||||||
| Results | |||||||
| Record | 12–4 | ||||||
| Division Place | 1st AFC East | ||||||
| Playoff finish | Lost AFC Championship Game | ||||||
| Timeline | |||||||
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The 1988 Buffalo Bills season was the 29th season for the team and the 19th season in the National Football League. The Buffalo Bills finished in first place in the AFC East and finished the National Football League's 1988 season with a record of 12 wins and 4 losses. The Bills were 8–0 at home for the first time in their franchise history.[1] On the road, the Bills were 4–4. From an attendance standpoint, the franchise set a record for attendance with 631,818 fans.[2]
The Bills started the season 11-1 before losing three of their final four games, costing them the top seed in the AFC, and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
It was Buffalo's first trip to the postseason since 1981. The Bills were the #2 seed in the AFC (behind #1 Cincinnati), giving the Bills their first home playoff game since the 1964 AFL Championship, and their first ever playoff game at Rich Stadium. The 1988 season would be the first of five AFC Championship game appearances over six seasons,[3] and their only loss in the conference championship game.
The 1988 season was the first for running back Thurman Thomas, nose tackle Jeff Wright, and linebacker Carlton Bailey. Thomas would rush for 881 yards, despite only carrying the ball 207 times (42.7% of total team carries by a running back) while sharing carries with with Robb Riddick, Jamie Mueller and Ronnie Harmon.
The Bills had a dominant defense in 1988: they gave up the fewest points (237) and the fewest total yards (4,578) in the AFC in 1988. The defensive unit was given the nickname "Blizzard Defense,"[4][5] alluding to Buffalo's harsh winters.
Four Bills players made the All-Pro team in 1988: defensive end Bruce Smith, linebackers Shane Conlan and Cornelius Bennett, and kicker Scott Norwood.
Head coach Marv Levy was named NFL Coach of the Year by The Sporting News and UPI.
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Contents
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Offseason
NFL Draft
Main article: 1988 NFL Draft
ESPN's cameras watched Oklahoma State running back Thurman Thomas in his home as he waited to be drafted. He fell to the second round, where the Bills made him their first pick at 40th overall. Thomas would go on to a Hall of Fame career, where he would eclipse O.J. Simpson's all-time team rushing record with 12,074 yards. Thomas would set an NFL record by leading the league in yards-from-scrimmage for four consecutive years, from 1989-1992. (The record of three was previously held by Hall of Famer Jim Brown.) Thomas was a five-time Pro Bowl selection, and 1992 NFL Offensive Player of the Year
| = Pro Bowler [6] | = Hall of Famer |
| Pick # | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | Thurman Thomas | Running Back | Oklahoma State |
| 65 | Bernard Ford | Wide Receiver | Central Florida |
| 123 | Ezekial Gadson | Defensive Back | Pittsburgh |
| 135 | Kirk Roach | Kicker | Western Carolina |
| 150 | Dan Murray | Outside Linebacker | E. Stroudsburg, Pa. |
| 177 | Tim Borcky | Tackle | Memphis |
| 184 | Bo Wright | Running Back | Alabama |
| 204 | John Hagy | Safety | Texas |
| 213 | Jeff Wright | Nose Tackle | Central Missouri |
| 235 | Carlton Bailey | Inside Linebacker | North Carolina |
Personnel
Staff
| 1988 Buffalo Bills staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Front Office
Head Coaches
Offensive Coaches
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Defensive Coaches
Special Teams Coaches
Strength and Conditioning
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Roster
| 1988 Buffalo Bills roster | ||||||
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Quarterbacks
Running Backs
Wide Receivers
Tight Ends
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Offensive Linemen
Defensive Linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive Backs
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Special Teams
Reserve Lists
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Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game Site | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 4, 1988 | Minnesota Vikings | W 13–10 | 1–0 | Rich Stadium |
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| 2 | September 11, 1988 | Miami Dolphins | W 9–6 | 2–0 | Rich Stadium |
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| 3 | September 18, 1988 | at New England Patriots | W 16–14 | 3–0 | Sullivan Stadium |
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| 4 | September 25, 1988 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 36–28 | 4–0 | Rich Stadium |
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| 5 | October 2, 1988 | at Chicago Bears | L 24–3 | 4–1 | Soldier Field |
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| 6 | October 9, 1988 | Indianapolis Colts | W 34–23 | 5–1 | Rich Stadium |
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| 7 | October 17, 1988 | at New York Jets | W 37–14 | 6–1 | The Meadowlands |
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| 8 | October 23, 1988 | New England Patriots | W 23–20 | 7–1 | Rich Stadium |
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| 9 | October 30, 1988 | Green Bay Packers | W 28–0 | 8–1 | Rich Stadium |
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| 10 | November 6, 1988 | at Seattle Seahawks | W 13–3 | 9–1 | Kingdome |
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| 11 | November 14, 1988 | at Miami Dolphins | W 31–6 | 10–1 | Joe Robbie Stadium |
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| 12 | November 20, 1988 | New York Jets | W 9–6 (OT) | 11–1 | Rich Stadium |
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| 13 | November 27, 1988 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 35–21 | 11–2 | Riverfront Stadium |
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| 14 | December 4, 1988 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 10–5 | 11–3 | Tampa Stadium |
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| 15 | December 11, 1988 | Los Angeles Raiders | W 37–21 | 12–3 | Rich Stadium |
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| 16 | December 18, 1988 | at Indianapolis Colts | L 17–14 | 12–4 | Hoosier Dome |
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Standings
| AFC East | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Buffalo Bills | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 7–1 | 10–2 | 329 | 237 | L1 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 5–3 | 7–5 | 354 | 315 | W1 |
| New England Patriots | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 5–3 | 7–5 | 250 | 284 | L1 |
| New York Jets | 8 | 7 | 1 | .531 | 3–5 | 6–7–1 | 372 | 354 | W2 |
| Miami Dolphins | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 0–8 | 3–9 | 319 | 380 | L1 |
Playoffs
AFC Divisional Playoff
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AFC Championship Game
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The Bengals forced 3 interceptions, and allowed only 45 rushing yards and 136 passing yards, while their offense held the ball for 39:29. Bills starting running back Thurman Thomas was held to just 6 yards on 4 carries, while quarterback Jim Kelly completed only 14 of 30 passes for 161 yards and 1 touchdown, with 3 interceptions.
Awards and records
All-Pros
Main article: 1988 All-Pro Team
First Team
- Bruce Smith, Defensive end
- Shane Conlan, Linebacker
- Cornelius Bennett, Linebacker
- Scott Norwood, Kicker
Second Team
- Kent Hull, Center
- Nate Odomes, Cornerback (Associated Press honorable mention)
References
- ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 262
- ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 390
- ^ Buffalo also reached the conference championship following the 1990, 1991, 1992, and 1993 seasons, winning them all
- ^ Milwaukee Journal, 21 December, 1988 | Retrieved 11 January, 2012
- ^ Orlando Sentinel, 22 December, 1988 | Retrieved 11 January, 2012: "ANOTHER BLIZZARD is sweeping through Buffalo. The effects of this one aren't being felt by residents, but by opposing teams at the Buffalo Bills' Rich Stadium. This blizzard is actually The Blizzard Defense, which is the name Bills defenders chose for themselves as part of a local newspaper's Name That Defense contest. Members of the AFC's top-ranked defense selected that name over dozens submitted by readers of The Buffalo News."
- ^ Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.
- ^ 1988 Buffalo Bills Media Guide. pp. 3–24. http://www.buffalobills.com/team/history/mediaguidearchive.html. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
External links
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