1988 Buffalo Bills season

29th season in franchise history November 2013 March 2026 Buffalo Bills 1988 12–4 1st AFC East Marv Levy Jim Ringo Walt Corey Bill Polian Ralph Wilson Rich Stadium Won Divisional Playoffs(vs. Oilers) 17–10Lost AFC Championship(at Bengals) 10–21 QB Jim KellyWR Andre ReedC Kent HullDE Bruce SmithDT Fred SmerlasOLB Cornelius BennettILB Shane ConlanK Scott Norwood Bills seasons The 1988 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 29th overall season as a football team and the 19th in the National Football League. The Bills ended a streak of four consecutive losing seasons by winning the AFC East. They finished the 1988 season with a record of twelve wins and four losses; it was the club's first winning season since 1981, its first 12-win season since the 1964 AFL championship season, and only the fifth double-digit win season in team history. The Bills were 8–0 at home for the first time in their franchise history.NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, 0-7611-2480-2, p. 262 On the road, the Bills were 4–4. From an attendance standpoint, the franchise set a record for attendance with 631,818 fans.NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, 0-7611-2480-2, p. 390 It was only their fourth playoff appearance since the NFL-AFL merger. This was the first of four consecutive AFC East titles for the Bills. They 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 1966 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,Buffalo also reached the conference championship following the 1990, 1991, 1992, and 1993 seasons, winning them all 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 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",December 21, 1988July 2026 InternetArchiveBot , Milwaukee Journal | Retrieved January 11, 2012December 22, 1988, Orlando Sentinel | Retrieved January 11, 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." 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. Offseason NFL draft 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 Pro Football 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 to 1992. (The record of three was previously held by Hall of Famer Jim Brown.) Thomas was a five-time Pro Bowl selection and NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 1992. 1988 Buffalo Bills 2 40 Thurman Thomas RB Oklahoma State yes yes yes 3 65 Bernard Ford WR Central Florida yes 5 123 Ezekial Gadson DB Pittsburgh 5 135 Kirk Roach K Western Carolina 6 150 Dan Murray OLB East Stroudsburg 7 177 Tim Borcky OT Memphis 7 184 Bo Wright RB Alabama yes 8 204 John Hagy DB Texas yes 8 213 Jeff Wright DT Central Missouri State yes 9 235 Carlton Bailey ILB North Carolina yes 10 262 Martin Mayhew CB Florida State Placed on injured reserve yes 11 289 Pete Curkendall DT Penn State 12 309 John Driscoll OT New Hampshire 12 316 Tom Erlandson LB Washington The Football Database. Retrieved 2014-Aug-11. Personnel Staff 1988 Buffalo Bills President – Ralph Wilson Vice president of administration/general manager – Bill Polian Vice president of football operations – Marv Levy Director of college scouting – John Butler Director of Pro Personnel/Asst. Director of Football Operations – Bob Ferguson National scout – Norm Pollom College scout – A. J. Smith Administrative assistant to the head coach – Chuck Dickerson Head coach – Marv Levy Offensive coordinator/offensive line – Jim Ringo Quarterbacks/Passing Game Coordinator – Ted Marchibroda Running backs – Elijah Pitts Receivers – Ted Tollner Tight ends – Chuck Dickerson Defensive coordinator/linebackers – Walt Corey Defensive line – Ted Cottrell Defensive backs – Dick Roach Defensive assistant – Chuck Lester Special teams – Bruce DeHaven Strength and conditioning coordinator – Rusty Jones 1988 Buffalo Bills Media Guide 3–24 Roster 1988 Buffalo Bills rosterQuarterbacks  8 Stan Gelbaugh 12 Jim Kelly 14 Frank Reich Running backs 35 Carl Byrum FB 33 Ronnie Harmon KR 39 Jamie Mueller FB 40 Robb Riddick KR 34 Thurman Thomas Wide receivers 85 Chris Burkett 80 Flip Johnson KR/PR 86 Trumaine Johnson 83 Andre Reed 89 Steve Tasker Tight ends 84 Keith McKeller 88 Pete Metzelaars 87 Butch Rolle Offensive linemen 75 Howard Ballard T 61 Leonard Burton C 70 Joe Devlin T 71 Dale Hellestrae LS/T 67 Kent Hull C 51 Jim Ritcher G 73 Will Wolford T Defensive linemen 94 Mark Pike DE 96 Leon Seals DE 76 Fred Smerlas NT 78 Bruce Smith DE 72 Art Still DE 91 Jeff Wright NT Linebackers 54 Carlton Bailey ILB 55 Cornelius Bennett OLB 50 Ray Bentley ILB 58 Shane Conlan ILB 99 Hal Garner OLB 97 Scott Radecic ILB 56 Darryl Talley OLB Defensive backs 29 Derrick Burroughs CB 20 Sherman Cocroft CB/S 21 Wayne Davis CB 45 Dwight Drane SS 47 Kirby Jackson CB 38 Mark Kelso FS 37 Nate Odomes CB 46 Leonard Smith SS 22 Erroll Tucker CB/KR/PR Special teams  4 John Kidd 11 Scott Norwood Reserve lists 81 Walter Broughton WR (IR) 7px 68 Tony Brown T (IR) 7px 53 Tom Erlandson LB (IR) 7px 82 Bernard Ford WR (IR) 7px 49 John Hagy S (IR) 7px 42 Joe Howard WR (IR) 7px -- Martin Mayhew CB (IR) 7px 74 Bruce Mesner NT (IR) 7px 57 Dan Murray LB (IR) 7px 98 Elston Ridgle DE (IR) 7px 64 Rich Strenger T (IR) 7px 65 Tim Vogler G (IR) 7px -- Bo Wright RB (IR) 7px rookies in italics 47 active, 13 inactive Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 4 Minnesota Vikings W 13–10 1–0 Rich Stadium 76,783 2 September 11 Miami Dolphins W 9–6 2–0 Rich Stadium 79,520 3 September 18 at New England Patriots W 16–14 3–0 Sullivan Stadium 55,945 4 September 25 Pittsburgh Steelers W 36–28 4–0 Rich Stadium 78,735 5 October 2 at Chicago Bears L 3–24 4–1 Soldier Field 62,793 6 October 9 Indianapolis Colts W 34–23 5–1 Rich Stadium 76,018 7 October 17, 1988 at New York Jets W 37–14 6–1 Giants Stadium 70,218 8 October 23 New England Patriots W 23–20 7–1 Rich Stadium 76,824 9 October 30 Green Bay Packers W 28–0 8–1 Rich Stadium 79,176 10 November 6 at Seattle Seahawks W 13–3 9–1 Kingdome 61,074 11 November 14, 1988 at Miami Dolphins W 31–6 10–1 Joe Robbie Stadium 67,091 12 November 20 New York Jets W 9–6 (OT) 11–1 Rich Stadium 78,389 13 November 27 at Cincinnati Bengals L 21–35 11–2 Riverfront Stadium 58,672 14 December 4 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 5–10 11–3 Tampa Stadium 49,498 15 December 11 Los Angeles Raiders W 37–21 12–3 Rich Stadium 77,348 16 December 18 at Indianapolis Colts L 14–17 12–4 Hoosier Dome 59,908 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Season summary Week 1 Vikings 0 3 0 7 Bills 10 0 0 3 September 4 Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York 1:00 p.m. EST 68 F, wind 11 mph on Bob McElwee Tim Ryan and Dan Jiggetts CBS Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com yes 1 Bills Scott Norwood 27-yard field goal Bills 3–0 1 Bills Thurman Thomas 5-yard run (Scott Norwood kick) Bills 10–0 2 Vikings Chuck Nelson 30-yard field goal Bills 10–3 4 Bills Scott Norwood 26-yard field goal Bills 13–3 4 Vikings Allen Rice 2-yard run (Chuck Nelson kick) Bills 13–10 yes Week 2 Miami Dolphins (0-1) at Buffalo Bills (1-0) Dolphins 3 0 3 0 Bills 0 3 0 6 September 11 Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York 1:00 p.m. EST 60 F, wind 9 mph on Johnny Grier Chuck Thompson and Jerry Kramer NBC yes 1 MIA Fuad Reveiz 31 yard field goal Dolphins 3–0 2 BUF Scott Norwood 41 yard field goal Tie 3–3 3 MIA Fuad Reveiz 27 yard field goal Dolphins 6–3 4 BUF Scott Norwood 35 yard field goal Tie 6–6 4 BUF Scott Norwood 28 yard field goal Bills 9–6 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com Week 3 Bills 0 3 3 10 Patriots 0 14 0 0 September 18 Sullivan Stadium, Foxboro, Massachusetts 1:00 p.m. EST 55,945 67 F C •Wind 14 mph km/h knot Fred Wyant NBC yes 2 BUF Scott Norwood 38 yard field goal Bills 3–0 2 NE Cedric Jones 41 yard pass from Steve Grogan (Teddy Garcia kick) Patriots 7–3 2 NE Stanley Morgan 19 yard pass from Steve Grogan (Teddy Garcia kick) Patriots 14–3 3 BUF Scott Norwood 44 yard field goal Patriots 14–6 4 BUF Robb Riddick 3 yard pass from Jim Kelly (Scott Norwood kick) Patriots 14–13 4 BUF Scott Norwood 41 yard field goal Bills 16–14 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com Week 4 Steelers 0 14 0 14 Bills 10 6 14 6 September 25 Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York 1:00 p.m. 57 F; wind 7 mph on Ben Dreith Curt Gowdy and Al DeRogatis NBC yes Q1 BUF Norwood 38 yard field goal BUF 3–0 Q1 BUF Burkett 26 yard pass from Kelly (Norwood kick) BUF 10–0 Q2 PIT Brister 1 yard run (Anderson kick) BUF 10–7 Q2 BUF Norwood 39 yard field goal BUF 13–7 Q2 PIT Williams 5 yard pass from Brister (Anderson kick) PIT 14–13 Q2 BUF Norwood 39 yard field goal BUF 16–14 Q3 BUF Riddick 1 yard run (Norwood kick) BUF 23–14 Q3 BUF Riddick 5 yard blocked punt return (Norwood kick) BUF 30–14 Q4 BUF Norwood 48 yard field goal BUF 33–14 Q4 BUF Norwood 49 yard field goal BUF 36–14 Q4 PIT Brister 1 yard run (Anderson kick) BUF 36–17 Q4 PIT Thompson 42 yard pass from Brister (Anderson kick) BUF 36–24 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Aug-10. Week 5 Buffalo Bills (4-0) at Chicago Bears (4-0) Bills 3 0 0 0 Bears 7 17 0 0 October 2, 1988 Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois 1:00 p.m. EST 62,793 59 F; wind 11 mph on Fred Silva Curt Gowdy, Merlin Olsen NBC Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com yes 1 Bears Emery Moorehead 4-yard pass from Jim McMahon (Kevin Butler kick) Bears 7–0 1 Bills Scott Norwood 28-yard field goal Bears 7–3 2 Bears Ron Morris 63-yard pass from Jim McMahon (Kevin Butler kick) Bears 14–3 2 Bears Kevin Butler 22-yard field goal Bears 17–3 2 Bears Dennis Gentry 58-yard rush (Kevin Butler kick) Bears 24–3 yes . Retrieved 2021-Apr-18. Week 6 Indianapolis Colts (1-4) at Buffalo Bills (4-1) Colts 10 7 3 3 Bills 0 7 14 13 October 9, 1988 Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York 1:00 p.m. EST 76,018 42 F, wind 7 mph on Tom Dooley Tom Hammond and Dave Lapham NBC Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com yes 1 Colts Dean Biasucci 31-yard field goal Colts 3–0 1 Colts Chris Chandler 1-yard run (Dean Biasucci kick) Colts 10–0 2 Colts Clarence Verdin 39-yard pass from Gary Hogeboom (Dean Biasucci kick) Colts 17–0 2 Bills Ronnie Harmon 26-yard pass from Jim Kelly (Scott Norwood kick) Colts 17–7 3 Bills Andre Reed 16-yard pass from Jim Kelly (Scott Norwood kick) Colts 17–14 3 Colts Dean Biasucci 40-yard field goal Colts 20–14 3 Bills Andre Reed 12-yard pass from Jim Kelly (Scott Norwood kick) Bills 21–20 4 Colts Dean Biasucci 22-yard field goal Colts 23–21 4 Bills Scott Norwood 45-yard field goal Bills 24–23 4 Bills Scott Norwood 19-yard field goal Bills 27–23 4 Bills Robb Riddick 1-yard run (Scott Norwood kick) Bills 34–23 yes Week 7 Bills 17 14 3 3 Jets 0 7 7 0 October 17 Giants Stadium • East Rutherford, New Jersey 9:00 p.m. EST 63 F • Wind 13 mph on Dick Jorgensen Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Dan Dierdorf ABC yes 1 BUF Scott Norwood 30-yard field goal Bills 3–0 1 BUF Andre Reed 65-yard pass from Jim Kelly (Scott Norwood kick) Bills 10–0 1 BUF Flip Johnson 66-yard pass from Jim Kelly (Scott Norwood kick) Bills 17–0 2 BUF Robb Riddick 1-yard run (Scott Norwood kick) Bills 24–0 2 NYJ Johnny Hector 1-yard run (Pat Leahy kick) Bills 24–7 2 BUF Andre Reed 16-yard pass from Jim Kelly (Scott Norwood kick) Bills 31–7 3 BUF Scott Norwood 34-yard field goal Bills 34–7 3 NYJ Erik McMillan 40-yard interception return (Pat Leahy kick) Bills 34–14 4 BUF Scott Norwood 28-yard field goal Bills 37–14 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com Week 8 December 2014 Week 9 Packers 0 0 0 0 Bills 7 7 7 7 October 30 Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York 1:00 p.m. EST 36 F; wind 15 mph on Gene Barth Greg Gumbel and Ken Stabler NFL on CBS yes Q1 BUF Riddick 2 yard run (Norwood kick) BUF 7–0 Q2 BUF Rolle 1 yard pass from Kelly (Norwood kick) BUF 14–0 Q3 BUF Kelso 78 yard interception return (Norwood kick) BUF 21–0 Q4 BUF Seals 7 yard fumble return (Norwood kick) BUF 28–0 yes Thurman Thomas 23 Rush, 116 Yds Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Dec-15. Week 12 Jets 0 3 0 3 0 Bills 0 0 3 3 3 November 20 Rich Stadium • Orchard Park, New York 1:00 p.m. EST 78,389 43 F • Wind 10 mph on Dick Hantak Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy NBC yes 2 NYJ Pat Leahy 23-yard field goal Jets 3–0 3 BUF Scott Norwood 25-yard field goal Tie 3–3 4 BUF Scott Norwood 26-yard field goal Bills 6–3 4 NYJ Pat Leahy 40-yard field goal Tie 6–6 OT BUF Scott Norwood 30-yard field goal Bills 9–6 yes The Bills clinch the AFC Eastern division title. Pro-Football-Reference.com Week 16 Buffalo Bills at Indianapolis Colts Bills 0 7 0 7 Colts 3 0 0 14 December 18, 1988 Hoosier Dome Indianapolis, IN 1:00 p.m. EST 59,908 DOME Marv Albert and Paul Maguire NBC The loss cost the Bills homefield advantage in the AFC playoffs. Pro-Football-Reference. Retrieved 2022-Mar-23. Standings Playoffs AFC Divisional Playoff Buffalo Bills 17, Houston Oilers 10 Oilers 0 3 0 7 Bills 0 7 7 3 Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York 12:30 pm EST NBC Marv Albert and Paul Maguire Gordon McCarter 79,532 Buffalo's first playoff game in seven years, first home playoff playoff game in 22 years (since their days in the AFL) and first-ever playoff game at Rich Stadium was a 17–10 win over the Oilers. Jim Kelly threw for 244 yards and an interception while Thurman Thomas and Robb Riddick had rushing scores to go with 87 rushing yards. The Bills intercepted Warren Moon once and forced two Oilers fumbles. AFC Championship Game Cincinnati Bengals 21, Buffalo Bills 10 Bills 0 10 0 0 Bengals 7 7 0 7 Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati 12:30 pm EST NBC Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen Gene Barth 59,747 The Bengals forced three interceptions and allowed only 45 rushing yards and 136 passing yards to go with an offense that held the ball for 39:29 out of sixty minutes. Bills starting running back Thurman Thomas was held to just six yards on four carries, while quarterback Jim Kelly completed only 14-of-30 passes for 161 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. Awards and records All-Pros 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 External links 1988 Buffalo Bills at Pro-Football-Reference.com Buffalo Bills Category:AFC East championship seasons Category:Buffalo Bills seasons Buff