1992 Buffalo Bills season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1992 Buffalo Bills season
Head Coach Marv Levy
Home Field Ralph Wilson Stadium
Results
Record 11-5
Place 2nd AFC East
Playoff Finish AFC Champions
Timeline
Previous Season Next Season
1991 1993

The 1992 Buffalo Bills season was the 33rd season for the team in the National Football League. The Buffalo Bills finished the National Football League's 1992 season with a record of 11 wins and 5 losses, and finished second in the AFC East division. The Bills qualified for their third straight Super Bowl appearance.

Contents

[hide]

[edit] NFL Draft

Pick # NFL Team Player Position College
27 Buffalo Bills John Fina Tackle Arizona

[edit] Regular Season

  • November 22, 1992 – Buffalo set an NFL record by rushing for 315 yards in a game versus the Atlanta Falcons.

[edit] Season Standings

AFC East
Team W L T PCT PF PA
Miami Dolphins 11 5 0 .688 340 281
Buffalo Bills 11 5 0 .688 381 283
Indianapolis Colts 9 7 0 .563 216 302
New York Jets 4 12 0 .250 220 315
New England Patriots 2 14 0 .125 205 363

[1]

Qualified for playoffs

[edit] Regular season schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Game Site

[edit] Playoffs

[edit] AFC Divisional Playoff

[edit] Miracle at Rich

Frank Reich's defining moment in his pro career is actually another comeback, this one often called the greatest comeback in NFL history (it is the greatest comeback in terms of deficit overcome, 32 points), in the playoffs following the 1992 season against the Houston Oilers. Reich led the Bills on a 35-3 run in the second half and overtime against the Oiler defense en route to a 41-38 victory. Reich would help the Bills defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the divisional round before once again giving the team back to Kelly, who led them into Super Bowl XXVII, where they fell to the Dallas Cowboys 52-17.

Scoring summary

1 2 3 4 OT Total
Oilers 7 21 7 3 0 38
Bills 3 0 28 7 3 41
  • HOU - Jeffires 3-yard pass from Moon (Del Greco kick) 7-0 HOU
  • BUF - FG Christie 36-yards 7-3 HOU
  • HOU - Slaughter 7-yard pass from Moon (Del Greco kick) 14-3 HOU
  • HOU - Duncan 26-yard pass from Moon (Del Greco kick) 21-3 HOU
  • HOU - Jeffires 27-yard pass from Moon (Del Greco kick) 28-3 HOU
  • HOU - McDowell 58-yard interception return (Del Greco kick) 35-3 HOU
  • BUF - K. Davis 1-yard run (Christie kick) 35-10 HOU
  • BUF - Beebe 38-yard pass from Reich (Christie kick) 35-17 HOU
  • BUF - Reed 26-yard pass from Reich (Christie kick) 35-24 HOU
  • BUF - Reed 18-yard pass from Reich (Christie kick) 35-31 HOU
  • BUF - Reed 17-yard pass from Reich (Christie kick) 38-35 BUF
  • HOU - FG Del Greco 26-yards 38-38 tie
  • BUF - FG Christie 32-yards 41-38 BUF

[edit] AFC Championship Game

[edit] Super Bowl XXVII

The Bills entered Super Bowl XXVII trying to avoid becoming the first team to lose three consecutive Super Bowls. Once again the team was loaded with talent, boasting 12 Pro Bowl selections. During the regular season, Buffalo's no-huddle offense ranked as the number two offense in the league (6,114 yards) and ranked as the number one rushing offense (2,436). Running back Thurman Thomas rushed for 1,487 yards and 9 touchdowns during the regular season, while also catching 58 passes for 626 yards and another 3 touchdowns. Running back Kenneth Davis rushed for 613 yards, caught 15 passes for 80 yards, and added another 251 yards returning kickoffs. Quarterback Jim Kelly had 269 out of 462 completions for 3,457 yards, 23 touchdowns, and 19 interceptions. Wide receiver Andre Reed lead the team with 65 receptions for 913 yards and 3 touchdowns, receiver James Lofton contributed 51 receptions for 786 yards and 6 touchdowns, and wide receiver Don Beebe had 33 receptions for 554 and 2 touchdowns. Also tight end Pete Metzelaars recorded 30 receptions for 298 yards and 6 touchdowns. The Bills also had one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, lead by Pro Bowlers Will Wolford, Jim Ritcher, and Howard Ballard, along with center Kent Hull.

On defense, the line was anchored by tackles Bruce Smith (14 sacks) and Jeff Wright (6 sacks, 1 fumble recovery), who were fully recovered after missing almost all of the previous season due to injuries. The Bills were once again led by their trio of linebackers Darryl Talley (77 tackles, 4 sacks), Shane Conlan (66 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 interception), and Pro Bowler Cornelius Bennett (52 tackles, 4 sacks, 3 fumble recoveries. The defensive secondary was aided by the emergence of second year defensive back Henry Jones, who led the NFL with 8 interceptions, returning them for 263 yards and 2 touchdowns. Defensive back Mark Kelso recorded 7 interceptions, while Pro Bowl defensive back Nate Odomes had 5.

However, the Bills quest for a third consecutive Super Bowl suffered a major setback when they lost the final game of the season to the Houston Oilers. The loss caused the Bills to finish with an 11-5 record, losing the AFC East title to the Miami Dolphins based on tiebreaking rules, and thus making them a wild card team for the playoffs. Thus, even if they won their first playoff game, they would have to win two on the road to make the Super Bowl. To make matters worse, Kelly also suffered strained knee ligaments during the loss to the Oilers and had to miss the first 2 playoff games. Furthermore, their first opponent in the playoffs ended up being the Oilers. A headline on a Buffalo newspaper stated the Bills situation: "Bills Begin The Longest Road Today."

[edit] Starting Lineups

Source:[2]

Position Name
WR James Lofton
LT Will Wolford
LG Jim Ritcher
C Kent Hull
RG Glenn Parker
RT Howard Ballard
TE Pete Metzelaars
WR Andre Reed
QB Jim Kelly
RB Thurman Thomas
FB-WR Don Beebe
Position Name
LE Phil Hansen
LDT-NT Jeff Wright
RDT-RE Bruce Smith
RE-LOLB Marvcus Patton
LOLB-LILB Shane Conlan
MLB-RILB Cornelius Bennett
ROLB Darryl Talley
LCB James Williams
RCB Nate Odomes
SS Henry Jones
FS Mark Kelso

[edit] Scoring summary

  • BUF - TD: Thurman Thomas 2 yard run (Steve Christie kick) 7-0 BUF
  • DAL - TD: Jay Novacek 23 yard pass from Troy Aikman (Lin Elliott kick) 7-7 tie
  • DAL - TD: Jimmie Jones 2 yard fumble return (Lin Elliott kick) 14-7 DAL
  • BUF - FG: Steve Christie 21 yards 14-10 DAL
  • DAL - TD: Michael Irvin 19 yard pass from Troy Aikman (Lin Elliott kick) 21-10 DAL
  • DAL - TD: Michael Irvin 18 yard pass from Troy Aikman (Lin Elliott kick) 28-10 DAL
  • DAL - FG: Lin Elliott 20 yards 31-10 DAL
  • BUF - TD: Don Beebe 40 yard pass from Frank Reich (Steve Christie kick) 31-17 DAL
  • DAL - TD: Alvin Harper 45 yard pass from Troy Aikman (Lin Elliott kick) 38-17 DAL
  • DAL - TD: Emmitt Smith 10 yard run (Lin Elliott kick) 45-17 DAL
  • DAL - TD: Ken Norton Jr. 9 yard fumble return (Lin Elliott kick) 52-17 DAL

[edit] Awards and Records

  • Fewest Rushing Yards allowed in NFL, 1395 yards
  • Led NFL in Total Yards Rushing, 2436 yards
  • Led AFC in Points Scored, 381
  • Led AFC in Yards Gained, 5893
  • Set NFL record for most rushing yards by a club in one game (315)
  • Steve Christie, Tied NFL record, Most Field Goals Attempted in a Playoff Game (6)
  • Steve Christie, Tied NFL record, Most Field Goals Made in a Playoff Game (5)
  • Henry Jones, Tied NFL Lead, 8 Interceptions
  • Steve Tasker, Pro Bowl MVP
  • Thurman Thomas, AFC Leader, 12 Touchdowns

[edit] Roster

Buffalo Bills roster
view  talk  edit
Quarterbacks

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

Offensive Linemen

Defensive Linemen

Linebackers

Defensive Backs

  • 20 Henry Jones S
  • 31 James Williams CB
  • 37 Nate Odomes CB

Special Teams

[edit] References

  1. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 292
  2. ^ Neft, David S., Cohen, Richard M., and Korch, Rick. The Complete History of Professional Football from 1892 to the Present. 1994 ISBN 0312114354
1992 NFL season
v  d  e
AFC East Central West NFC East Central West
Buffalo Cincinnati Denver Dallas Chicago Atlanta
Indianapolis Cleveland Kansas City NY Giants Detroit LA Rams
Miami Houston LA Raiders Philadelphia Green Bay New Orleans
New England Pittsburgh San Diego Phoenix Minnesota San Francisco
NY Jets Seattle Washington Tampa Bay
1992 NFL DraftNFL PlayoffsPro BowlSuper Bowl XXVII