The1988 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 29th overall season as a football team and the 19th in theNational 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 since1981, its first 12-win season sincethe 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.[1] On the road, the Bills were 4–4. From an attendance standpoint, the franchise set a record for attendance with 631,818 fans.[2] It was only their fourth playoff appearance since theNFL-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, andhome-field advantage throughout theplayoffs.
It was Buffalo's first trip to the postseason since1981. The Bills were the #2 seed in the AFC (behind #1Cincinnati), giving the Bills their first home playoff game since the1966 AFL Championship, and their first ever playoff game atRich Stadium. The 1988 season would be the first of five AFC Championship game appearances over six seasons,[3] and their only loss in the conference championship game.
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",[4][5] alluding toBuffalo's harsh winters.
ESPN's cameras watchedOklahoma State running backThurman 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 aPro Football Hall of Fame career, where he would eclipseO. J. Simpson's all-time team rushing record with 12,074 yards. Thomas would set anNFL record by leading the league inyards-from-scrimmage for four consecutive years, from 1989 to 1992. (The record of three was previously held by Hall of FamerJim Brown.) Thomas was a five-timePro Bowl selection andNFL Offensive Player of the Year in 1992.
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 atRich Stadium was a 17–10 win over the Oilers.Jim Kelly threw for 244 yards and an interception whileThurman Thomas andRobb Riddick had rushing scores to go with 87 rushing yards. The Bills interceptedWarren Moon once and forced two Oilers fumbles.
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 backThurman Thomas was held to just six yards on four carries, while quarterbackJim Kelly completed only 14-of-30 passes for 161 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions.
^December 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'sName That Defense contest. Members of the AFC's top-ranked defense selected that name over dozens submitted by readers of The Buffalo News."
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