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, , 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, , 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, 1988, 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
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.
The Football Database. Retrieved 2014-Aug-11.
Personnel
Staff
Roster 1988 Buffalo Bills rosterQuarterbacks Stan Gelbaugh Jim Kelly Frank Reich
Running backs Carl Byrum FB Ronnie Harmon KR Jamie Mueller FB Robb Riddick KR Thurman Thomas
Wide receivers Chris Burkett Flip Johnson KR/PR Trumaine Johnson Andre Reed Steve Tasker
Tight ends Keith McKeller Pete Metzelaars Butch Rolle Offensive linemen Howard Ballard T Leonard Burton C Joe Devlin T Dale Hellestrae LS/T Kent Hull C Jim Ritcher G Will Wolford T
Defensive linemen Mark Pike DE Leon Seals DE Fred Smerlas NT Bruce Smith DE Art Still DE Jeff Wright NT Linebackers Carlton Bailey ILB Cornelius Bennett OLB Ray Bentley ILB Shane Conlan ILB Hal Garner OLB Scott Radecic ILB Darryl Talley OLB
Defensive backs Derrick Burroughs CB Sherman Cocroft CB/S Wayne Davis CB Dwight Drane SS Kirby Jackson CB Mark Kelso FS Nate Odomes CB Leonard Smith SS Erroll Tucker CB/KR/PR
Special teams John Kidd Scott Norwood Reserve lists Walter Broughton WR (IR) Tony Brown T (IR) Tom Erlandson LB (IR) Bernard Ford WR (IR) John Hagy S (IR) Joe Howard WR (IR) Martin Mayhew CB (IR) Bruce Mesner NT (IR) Dan Murray LB (IR) Elston Ridgle DE (IR) Rich Strenger T (IR) Tim Vogler G (IR) Bo Wright RB (IR)
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 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 at Miami Dolphins W 31–6 10–1 Joe Robbie Stadium 67,091 12 November 20 New York Jets W 9–6 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
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 2
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 3
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 4
Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Aug-10.
Week 5
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
. Retrieved 2021-Apr-18.
Week 6
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 7
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 8
Week 9
Thurman Thomas 23 Rush, 116 Yds Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Dec-15.
Week 12
The Bills clinch the AFC Eastern division title.
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 16
The loss cost the Bills homefield advantage in the AFC playoffs.
Pro-Football-Reference. Retrieved 2022-Mar-23.
Standings
Playoffs
AFC Divisional Playoff
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
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
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