Time to put the 1986 Buffalo Bills season to bed. This is probably a good thing. Even though it was an exciting time with the additions of Jim Kelly, Marv Levy, Steve Tasker, and Kent Hull, when your team goes 4-12 it’s not parade time. The Bills took their lumps and learned they had the building blocks for a developing team. But there was much to be done.
My plan for each season in this series is to end with a summary post, a “season in review”, if you will. I thought it’d be fun to document every game result not discussed in detail in other parts, listing the salient points/moments/events during the game. To keep these from being only informational, though, I will put my 2 cents in parenthesis after each game. Bills’ record will be listed after each game score. Remember, the Bills started 0-1 week one after losing to the Jets. One other note – to avoid saying “at that point” for every record I state, keep in mind that some of these milestones may have been superceded in coming years.
Game 2 – Bills 33, Bengals 36 OT (0-2)
– Bills held 33-23 lead with 5:19 left but Bengals staged the comeback with the tying score a Boomer Esiason 2 yard run with 22 seconds left.
– Jim Kelly threw his first 2 career interceptions, including his second on the first play of OT that led to Jim Breech’s winning FG.
– Darryl Talley had first career interception.
– Kelly’s 84 yard TD pass to Chris Burkett tied for fifth longest in team history.
– Greg Bell ran for 94 yards and a score.
(Tough to lose when you put up 33 points. Kelly comes down to earth with 2 interceptions. I’m sure my schoolmates were ripping him good as I attempted to defend him.)
Game 3 – Cardinals 10, Bills 17 (1-2)
– Bills snap 8 game regular season losing streak.
– Kelly’s first win but he only threw 10 (yes 10!) passes. Bills ran the ball 29 times.
– Cardinals had ball for 37:14 and outgained Bills 381-176.
– Rb’s Greg Bell and Ricky Moore scored Bills’ TD’s.
(Boggles my mind that Bills had Kelly only throw the ball 10 times. Machine Gun Kelly was holstered. You have to imagine Ralph wasn’t happy with that output given how much he was paying JK, even though they won.)
Game 4 – Chiefs 20, Bills 17 (1-3)
– With Greg Bell out of the lineup with injured groin, Robb Riddick had best career game (13 carries for 79 yards and 5 catches for 67 yards and 1 rushing TD).
– Ronnie Harmon’s receiving TD was his first career score.
– Frank Reich came in for Kelly after he was hit hard by Tim Cofield after a completion to Andre Reed to the KC 2. Two plays later, Reich and Riddick botched a handoff, causing a fumble and giving ball back to the Chefs. This was arguably the turning point in game as Bills were leading 7-3 at that time in 1st half.
– Nick Lowery kicked winning FG with 1:07 left, sandwiched between 2 Kelly int’s (he had 3 picks for the game).
(Until I reviewed this season, I had forgotten how prominent Riddick was subbing in for Bell. And effective.)
Game 5 – Bills 13, Jets 14 (1-4)
– Jets win on 36 yard pass from Ken O’Brien to Mickey Shuler with 57 seconds left.
– Greg Bell had 128 total yards, including 70 receiving and 1 TD catch.
– Bruce Smith had 2 sacks.
– The infamous “Giving him the business down there” game after late hit on Kelly by Jets’ Marty Lyons.
(I clearly remember that Marty Lyons’ hit and the brouhaha that spilled out from it. Referee Ben Dreith’s call was hilarious and Kelly later joked about it when he appeared on Late Night with David Letterman. As a big Letterman fan back then, I was enthused to see two of my favorite celebrities together on TV. Jim seemed a little awkward, but how often is a Bill on late night TV? So very cool. One other note – before this game Kelly called out his O-line for not defending him after late hits. So after this one, his teammates dove onto Lyons to clear him away. Message received? I would think so.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNoy1yKmcRw&w=425&h=349]
For good or ill, Jim never shied away from publicly criticizing his teammates. To be continued with the “Bickering Bills” in 1989!)
Game 6 – Bills 14, Dolphins 27 (1-5)
– 1st head to head meeting of Kelly vs Marino.
– Dolphins held 27-7 lead before late Kelly to Reed TD.
– The game had only 1 punt. Only fifth time in history.
– Robb Riddick had 129 totals yards (47 rushing, 82 receiving).
(Pretty disappointing 1st Kelly-Marino “battle”. Don’t worry – Jim’s gets his revenge in later seasons.)
Game 7 – Colts 13, Bills 24 (2-5)
– Ronnie Harmon came in for injured Greg Bell and ran for 86 yards.
– In third quarter, Rookie CB Rodney Bellinger ran in a fumble to open scoring for Bills.
– Kelly hit Reed for 2 TD’s in third quarter.
– Bills stopped Colts twice on 4th down in 4th quarter.
(Greg Bell being injured seems like a common them, doesn’t it? The Kelly to Reed combo started nice and early in their careers.)
Game 8 – Patriots 23, Bills 3 (2-6)
– Kelly sacked 5 times, 3 1/2 by Andre Tippett
– Reich came in for Kelly with 8 minutes left and was picked twice.
– Tony Franklin kicked 3 FG’s for NE to go along with TD runs by Craig James & Robert Weathers
(Pretty soon after this season, the Bills would have the Pats’ number for several years. As we well know, it’s switched back the other way the last 10 years. Maybe this kind of thing is cyclical and good fortune will return our way? Watch out, Brady!)
Game 9 – Bills 28, Buccaneeers 34 (2-7)
– Bills were losing 20-0 but came back to within 6 points before Riddick dropped a winning TD at goal line. It was final play of game.
– Kelly was 29-39 & 3 TD’s.
– Pete Metzelaars had 2 TD receptions and 113 yards receiving.
– Ron Pitts scored on a 49 yard punt return.
– Steve Young ran for 2 scores for Bucs.
(A lot of heartbreaking last minute losses or missed opportunities this season. “Need to learn how to win” is more than just a cliche.)
Game 10 – Steelers 12, Bills 16 (3-7)
– Bills win in Marv Levy’s 1st game as head coach.
– Riddick ran for 100 yards a game for first time in career.
– Bills outrush Steelers 172-53.
– Wind gusts were up to 40 MPH at Rich Stadium (early November game).
– John Kidd had a 5 yard punt.
– Both Bills & Steelers missed XP’s in game. The Steelers actually missed 2!
– Bellinger intercepted Mark Malone on last play of game to clinch win.
(Marv starts off on right foot. Rest of season would be counter to the rest of his Bills coaching career, though, as he only wins 1 more.)
Game 11 – Dolphins 34, Bills 24 (3-8)
– Dan Marino completed 39 passes, most ever against Bills, in a high-scoring affair.
– Jerry Butler broke his right ankle catching a 2nd quarter TD pass.
– Ray Bentley (who signed as a free agent in September) led team with 10 tackles.
– Lucius Sanford had a costly unsportsmanlike penalty at the end of 1st half that helped turn the tide of the game. Led to a Fuad Reveiz FG that cut the Bills’ lead to 21-10 & gave Miami momentum.
– Kelly threw for 2 TD’s, going 17-33 and 189 yards.
– Miam outscored Bills 24-3 in second half to complete comeback.
(Speaking of teams having our number, Miami absolutely dominated us for a couple decades. By far our most hated rival at this point in team history. It just doesn’t have the same feel now.)
Game 12 – Patriots 22, Bills 19 (3-9)
– Bills were down 15-0 but came back to take 19-15 lead with 2:50 left.
– Pats then drove 60 yards in 5 plays to win with Tony Eason to Greg Baty pass with 1:40 left.
– Kelly was sacked 6 times & threw interception to end game, which broke his streak of 104 passes without an INT.
– Steve Tasker blocked a punt in 2nd quarter, which led to a Scott Norwood FG. Norwood would add 3 more in a row.
– Fred Smerlas recorded an interception.
– Riddick had 95 yards receiving & a TD catch.
(After game, Smerlas reacted to negative comments about defense by Kelly. He understood Jim’s frustration but said he need to “Check his own laundry”. Fred was another Bill than never pulled his punches when he had something to say.)
Game 13 – Bills 17, Chiefs 14 (4-9)
– Bills end 22 game road losing streak. Avoided tying Houston’s record for that “distinction”. Last road win previous was also vs K.C. (12-4-83).
– Riddick ran for career high 118 yards.
– Reed had a solid day: 7 catches for 95 yards and 2 TD’s
– Chiefs had chance to tie game at the end, but Nick Lowery missed a 44 yard FG attempt.
(We played KC twice this season? Guessing there wasn’t a system for determining opponents as there is now.)
Game 14 – Browns 21, Bills 17 (4-10)
– Rainy home finale – Kelly was angered by snow-ball throwing fans.
– Metzelaars set a new record for receptions by a TE, breaking Reuben Gant’s mark of 41 set in 1977.
– Kevin Mack scored 2 TD’s for Cleveland. Browns outgained Bills on ground 141-83.
– Kelly threw for 315 yards and a long 75 yard TD pass to Burkett.
– Bills were backed up all day by excellent punting of Jeff Gossett.
(You think the Bills of the last 10-15 years would take Pete Metzelaars now? 40 catches seems like 80.)
Game 15 – Bills 14, Colts 24 (4-11)
– Bills held 14-0 lead at halftime but Colts stormed back with 3 Gary Hogeboom TD passes.
– Bills only had ball 3 times in 2nd half.
– Kelly was knocked out of game with mild concussion. Reich came in and led Bills on an impressive 10 play, 92 yard drive, culminating in a Bell TD run.
– Bills, down by 7, were to get ball back with 1:30 left but the punt caromed off WR Eric Richardson’s foot & the Colts recovered at Bills’ 24. Indy tacked on another TD with 30 seconds left.
– Burkett had huge game receiving – 5 catches for 145 yards & 1 TD.
(James Lofton was an obvious upgrade over Chris Burkett, but he sure was a deep ball target in his short time as a Bill.)
Game 16 – Bills 7, Oilers 16 (4-12)
– With the loss, Marv Levy finished with a 2-5 record to end season.
– All 3 Bills’ RB’s ended up being hurt before or during game – Bell (inactive) & Riddick/Harmont (in-game).
– For season, Kelly set team records for completions (285) & completion % (59.4)
– Kelly to Burket for 12 yards was Bills’ only score.
– Kelly & Reed fumbles on two separate drives halted any comeback.
(Bills had a bit of “RB by committee” thing going on here. That all changed when Thurman arrived in 1988.)
Some Key stats for the season:
Offensive Rank – 20th in points and 19 in yards
Defensive Rank – 20th in points and 24 in yards
Individual Leaders:
Passing: Kelly – 285 for 480, 3593 with 22 TD’s and 17 Int’s. 83.3 passing rate with 43 sacks
Rushing Attempts: Riddick – 150
Rushing Yards: Riddick- 632
Rushing AVG (with at least 50 carries): – Riddick & Bell 4.2
Catches: Reed – 53
Receiving Yards: Burkett – 778
Receiving Average: (with at least 25 catches): Burkett – 22.9
Receiving TD’s: Reed – 7
Kicking: Norwood – 17-27 on FG’s, 32-34 on PAT’s, 83 Points
Punting: Kidd – 75 attempts for a 40.4 average and 14 inside 20 yard line
Tackles: Eugene Marve – 114
Sacks: Smith – 15
Fumble Recoveries: Bellinger – 2
Forced Fumbles: Smith – 3
Inteceptions: Romes – 4 for 23 yards
Kickoff Returns: Harmon – 18-321, 17.8, 0 TD’s
Punt Returns: Pitts 1- 8-194, 10.8, 1 TD
I started this series as a connection or hopeful bridge to our current Bills’ squad. Interestingly enough the 2010 team had the same 4-12 record as this 86 one. The logical track would be for them to show growth in year two as the 87 Bills team did, perhaps getting up to 7 or 8 wins. Granted I don’t think the Bills will trade for a Cornelius Bennett type player (more on that very soon!), but improvement & development of the likes of C.J. Spiller, Torell Troup, & Alex Carrington, along with the panning out of this year’s promising crop of defensive rookies will help greatly. Fitz is no Jim Kelly, but he arguably has a more talented receiving corps and more maturity than Jim did at this point in his career.
Let’s hope history repeats itself and allows the Bills to move forward and not stumble backwards yet again. Looking back, 1986 was hard. But the Bills showed they did learn from it, and strides were clearly made.
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Previous Rebirth Articles:
Part 1: 1986 – Jim Kelly Signs
Part 2: 1986 – Jim Kelly’s First Game
Part 3: 1986 – What Came Before
Part 4: 1986 – Tasker & Levy
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