1996 Buffalo Bills: The End Of The Kelly Era

Jim Kelly came to the Buffalo Bills in 1986, after a brief stint in the defunct United States Football League (USFL) out of college. Kelly’s tenure in Buffalo was the greatest in franchise history. By 1988, the Bills were a perennial contender. They won a historic four straight AFC crowns from 1990-93. Even though they never got that last win of the season, the franchise helped define the NFL in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The 1996 season was the last hurrah. Kelly played his final year, and the Bills made the playoffs one more time.

Kelly could still make big plays, and his 7.4 yards-per-attempt ranked fifth among starting quarterbacks. His completion percentage, at 59 percent, was still good enough to be middle of the league in this era. Where you could see Kelly’s decline was in the mistakes—his TD/INT ratio was 14-19, and the 5.0 percent interception rate was one of the NFL’s worst.

Andre Reed, another veteran standout, was still the preferred target, and he caught 66 passes, averaging almost 16 yards a catch. Quinn Early was a nice second target, adding 50 receptions. Lonnie Johnson was at tight end, and he caught 46 balls.

Thurman Thomas was in the backfield, still yet another prong of the explosive offense that had dominated the AFC. At age 30, Thomas ran for over 1,000 yards, but he only averaged 3.7 yards per rush. His 26 catches were also a decline. Darick Holmes also got carries and gained 571 yards, but his 3.0 yards-per-rush was even worse.

All of that pointed to an offensive line that was also in decline, with only Pro Bowl left guard Ruben Brown really standing out. When all was said and done, the Buffalo offense ranked 15^th in the league for points scored.

But the defense, coordinated by Wade Phillips, made up for it. The legendary Bruce Smith was still at the top of his game. The Hall of Fame defensive end made All-Pro and recorded 13 ½ sacks. Phil Hansen came off the other end for eight sacks. Bryce Paup, who won Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1995, was back at outside linebacker. The Bills didn’t have great players in the back seven, but Phillips brought the heat and Buffalo ranked sixth in the NFL for points allowed.

The season opened on a Sunday Night in the Meadowlands against a bad New York Giants team. The evening certainly didn’t start off well, as the Bills dug themselves a 17-0 hole. The offensive line problems quickly showed, as Kelly was sacked seven times. But Kelly hit Reed on a 60-yard touchdown strike that was the key part of a comeback where Buffalo rallied, forced overtime, and escaped with a 23-20 win.

New England came in for the home opener. Facing a team they would battle all year in the AFC East, the Bills were in a 10-10 tie in the fourth quarter. Kelly had thrown three interceptions. But he also threw a 63-yard touchdown strike to Early that delivered a 17-10 win. Smith’s three sacks keyed the strong defensive effort.

A year earlier, Buffalo’s season ended in the Divisional Round at Pittsburgh, and the Steelers went on to reach the Super Bowl. The Bills returned to old Three Rivers Stadium for a Monday Night date. It went about as well as the previous January’s playoff game. They were outrushed 222-86, Kelly was intercepted four times and the result was an ugly 24-6 loss.

The Dallas Cowboys had won three of the previous four Super Bowls, the first two of those coming at Buffalo’s expense. Their visit to Rich Stadium was in the late afternoon marquee TV window. Kelly was on the sideline, having been injured during the week in practice. Todd Collins got the start, but the defense was the story. Buffalo intercepted Troy Aikman three times, twice by defensive back Emanuel Martin. They held the Cowboys to 32 yards rushing and got a hard-fought 10-7 win.

After a bye week, the Bills hosted the Indianapolis Colts, who had made a surprise run to the AFC Championship Game in ’95. The Colts were back for more and this was a big early October game in the division, with Indianapolis joining the AFC East’s four current teams in the alignment that existed prior to 2002.

 Kelly was still out, but Collins stepped up with a brilliant 23/34 for 309 yards performance. Thomas caught eight balls for 111 yards. The defense delivered six sacks. The afternoon wasn’t perfect—they didn’t force turnovers, didn’t run the ball and it ultimately went to overtime. But Buffalo got the last word in a 16-13 win.

The Bills had ousted the Miami Dolphins from the playoffs the prior year, triggering a coaching change in South Beach from Don Shula to Jimmy Johnson. The Dolphins would be in the mix this year, and a tough defensive game went down to the wire. Kelly went 21/32 for 247 yards. Reed caught ten passes for 134 yards. But Kelly also threw three interceptions. Buffalo still had a chance to win, trailing 14-7, and driving late in the game. But Kelly’s final pick was returned 91 yards to the house and finished a 21-7 loss.

A trip to face the woeful New York Jets seemed like the perfect tonic, but the Bills made it interesting. They trailed 15-9 after three quarters. But Kelly was staying away from mistakes, Thomas ran for 97 yards and Lonnie Johnson caught six passes for 90 yards. In a fourth quarter that opened up, Buffalo rallied for a 25-22 win.

The return trip to New England was for the Sunday Night audience on the final weekend of October. In a good game, Thomas ran for 119 yards, Reed produced 121 receiving yards, and the Bills only trailed 21-18 in the fourth quarter. But Kelly threw another fatal Pick-6 that ended a 28-18 defeat.

At 5-3, Buffalo hosted the Washington. The Redskins were riding high at 7-1. Their second-half collapse to miss the playoffs began in Buffalo. The Bills muscled up on the running game, with both Thomas and Holmes going for 100-plus yards. Kelly was sharp and efficient, going 19/23 for 206 yards and no mistakes. Buffalo played their best game of the year in a 38-13 rout.

Another good NFC East foe awaited in a road trip to Philadelphia to face the playoff-bound Eagles. The Bills allowed a blocked punt for a touchdown and trailed 7-0 early. But Thomas ground out 90 yards, Smith came up with a couple sacks and Buffalo got an impressive 24-17 win.

The good times continued against the mediocre Cincinnati Bengals at home. The Bills turned the pass rush loose and got eight sacks, with two by Hansen and two from veteran Jim Jeffcoat. They won turnover margin 4-2 and rolled to a 31-17 win.

Then they hosted the Jets on the Sunday prior to Thanksgiving and coasted to a 35-10 win. Kelly hit Reed on touchdown passes from 31 and 22 yards, then hit veteran Steve Tasker from 19 yards out. The downside of the afternoon was that Kelly was knocked out.

We were headed into December and Buffalo was a Super Bowl contender again. At 9-3, they led New England by a game in the AFC East. The Bills were tied with the Steelers for the 2-seed, a prize that then came with a first-round bye, although the head-to-head tiebreaker would work against Buffalo there.

What Buffalo didn’t have going for them was the schedule—three straight road games loomed. They also didn’t have their quarterback. While Kelly wasn’t out for the year, he wasn’t ready to come back right away.

It started in Indianapolis, where the Colts were 6-6 and fighting for their lives. Trailing 7-0 early, Collins hit Early over the top on a 95-yard touchdown bomb. But that was the last offensive production of the day in a game where the Bills also turned the ball over three times. The defense fought gamely and took it to overtime, but it ended in a 13-10 loss.

New England’s win pulled them even with Buffalo, and the Patriots were ahead of the Bills on division record, the tiebreaker that would be used if they finished in a dead heat.

Buffalo went on to play a so-so Seattle Seahawks team and the offensive line collapsed. Both Kelly and Collins played and both spent time running for their lives, getting sacked a combined nine times. Buffalo gave away five turnovers and lost 26-18.

The Patriots won again and the prospects for winning the division were looking bleak. In the race for three wild-card spots, the Bills and Kansas City Chiefs were both 9-5 and led the way. But the Colts were coming at 8-6. There were several 7-7 teams, including the Jacksonville Jaguars, still giving chase. And the schedule wasn’t getting easier.

Buffalo went to Miami for Monday Night Football. The Dolphins had been knocked out of the playoff race a week earlier, but they played with pride. The Bills were outrushed 145-51, the defense was on the field for 42 minutes, and they lost 16-14.

In the blink of an eye, a season that once had Super Bowl hopes was down to a desperate fight. Buffalo was coming back home for the finale on December 22, but the game would be against Kansas City. The Chiefs were also slumping, and both teams were 9-6.

The Colts had clinched one of the wild-card spots. The Jaguars, coming hard down the stretch, controlled their destiny for another. The Bills and Chiefs had tough tiebreaking situations, so the stakes were simple—the winner would make the playoffs. The loser would be dependent on Jacksonville falling to the lowly Atlanta Falcons. Both games would be in the early afternoon time slot.

Buffalo had knocked Kansas City out in the Divisional Round of 1991 and then beat the Chiefs in the 1993 AFC Championship Game. This one wasn’t quite at that level, but it was close.

The Bills struggled for the better part of three quarters, but red-zone defense saved them. Three K.C. trips inside the 10-yard line ended in field goals and Buffalo only trailed 9-3. They got a field goal of their own to make it 9-6 in the fourth quarter. Jacksonville was on its way to winning. It was do or die.

Kelly came through. He finished the afternoon 20/29 for 279 yards. A four-yard touchdown flip to tight end Tony Cline gave the Bills the lead. Another four-yard toss, this one to Early, sealed it. With the 20-9 win, Buffalo got to 10-6 and made the playoffs. Even better, when Indianapolis lost, the Bills moved up to the 4-seed and got to host a Wild-Card Round game (there were only three divisions per conference in the pre-2002 alignment).

Jacksonville was the playoff opponent and on a four-game winning streak. The Bills and Jaguars kicked off the postseason with an early Saturday afternoon game. Buffalo took an early 7-0 lead, but Kelly threw a Pick-6 that turned momentum. They were outrushed 184-92. Kelly still responded by going 21/32 for 239 yards, and Early had a huge day, catching nine balls for 122 yards. The game was tied 27-27. But with three minutes to go, the Jags clanked a field goal in off the upright. That was the difference in a 30-27 loss.

It was a tough ending, but it was still a nice epilogue season to the entire era of excellence with Kelly at the helm, particularly the big win over Kansas City. The great quarterback announced his retirement following the season. Marv Levy, the head coach who had overseen the entire era, left a year later after the franchise slipped to 6-10 and needed to retool. 1996 was the last hurrah of a great era in Buffalo Bills history.