Marv Levy’s Buffalo Bills – The Best Second-Best Team In NFL History!
Head coach Marv Levy took over the Buffalo Bills midway through the 1986 campaign, and it was apparent from the start that Levy was a powerful speaker. Maybe one of his more famous quotes is his, “Where else would rather be, than right here, right now?” which was used as a battle cry in Rich Stadium many times during his tenure.
If there was anywhere Marv Levy’s Buffalo Bills would have rather been, it would probably be that they were on the winning side of just one of their four consecutive Super Bowl appearances.
What is lost though in that run of Super Bowl defeats, is just what an achievement it actually was to reach the Super Bowl four consecutive years in the first place. Although they didn’t win that final game, they were without question the best team in the AFC four years straight, which is better than Lombardi’s Packers three straight NFL championships in the mid-1960s, and the Don Shula-led Dolphins who won three straight AFC Championship games in the early 1970s. In fact when you take into account their 1988 and 1989 seasons, the Bills actually made the AFC Championship game five times in six years.
If there was anywhere Marv Levy’s Buffalo Bills would have rather been, it would probably be that they were on the winning side of just one of their four consecutive Super Bowl appearances.
What is lost though in that run of Super Bowl defeats, is just what an achievement it actually was to reach the Super Bowl four consecutive years in the first place. Although they didn’t win that final game, they were without question the best team in the AFC four years straight, which is better than Lombardi’s Packers three straight NFL championships in the mid-1960s, and the Don Shula-led Dolphins who won three straight AFC Championship games in the early 1970s. In fact when you take into account their 1988 and 1989 seasons, the Bills actually made the AFC Championship game five times in six years.
Between 1990 and 1993 the Bills had a regular season record of 49-15 and won the AFC East three out of those four years (they had also won the AFC East following the 1988 and 1989 seasons).
They had a plethora of offensive weapons at their disposal. Under centre and for the most part calling his own plays, quarterback Jim Kelly led the quick pace, no-huddle attack. Not only cerebral, Kelly had a great arm and was as hard-nosed as they come. Linebacker Darryl Talley took to calling him “Heathcliffe” who was the cat who thinks he is a dog. Talley explained “Jim Kelly is a quarterback who thinks he is a linebacker – Heathcliffe!”
Behind Kelly was running back Thurman Thomas, who was equally as dangerous running the ball up the middle or wide of the line as he was catching the ball out of the backfield. On each side of the line at wide receiver they had Andre Reed, who after being drafted in 1985 was just coming into his own during the Bills’ remarkable run, and James Lofton, the veteran who while at the end of his Hall Of Fame career, was still as dangerous as anyone in the league.
On defense they had Bruce Smith who had terrorised quarterbacks since the mid-1980s from his defensive end position, while at linebacker they had Cornelius Bennett and Darryl Talley, both tough, smart players who always gave one-hundred percent. Even on special teams they possessed who many think is the best special teams player of all time, Steve Tasker, who would hit you as soon as look at you, and hit you hard.
In short, they were loaded with talent, well coached and arguably the most resilient team the NFL has ever served up. Before we look at Levy's Bills teams, check out the short video clip below. It features Levy's "Bills Fight Song" and is a great example of the kind of spirit he brought the Buffalo Bills.
They had a plethora of offensive weapons at their disposal. Under centre and for the most part calling his own plays, quarterback Jim Kelly led the quick pace, no-huddle attack. Not only cerebral, Kelly had a great arm and was as hard-nosed as they come. Linebacker Darryl Talley took to calling him “Heathcliffe” who was the cat who thinks he is a dog. Talley explained “Jim Kelly is a quarterback who thinks he is a linebacker – Heathcliffe!”
Behind Kelly was running back Thurman Thomas, who was equally as dangerous running the ball up the middle or wide of the line as he was catching the ball out of the backfield. On each side of the line at wide receiver they had Andre Reed, who after being drafted in 1985 was just coming into his own during the Bills’ remarkable run, and James Lofton, the veteran who while at the end of his Hall Of Fame career, was still as dangerous as anyone in the league.
On defense they had Bruce Smith who had terrorised quarterbacks since the mid-1980s from his defensive end position, while at linebacker they had Cornelius Bennett and Darryl Talley, both tough, smart players who always gave one-hundred percent. Even on special teams they possessed who many think is the best special teams player of all time, Steve Tasker, who would hit you as soon as look at you, and hit you hard.
In short, they were loaded with talent, well coached and arguably the most resilient team the NFL has ever served up. Before we look at Levy's Bills teams, check out the short video clip below. It features Levy's "Bills Fight Song" and is a great example of the kind of spirit he brought the Buffalo Bills.
The (Super Bowl) Team Nobody Wanted!
The Bills ended their Super Bowl run with consecutive big game defeats at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXVII and XXVIII. In their final Super Bowl appearance they went into the locker room leading the Cowboys 13-6. However, Emmitt Smith went on to have the kind of second half that John Riggins had for the Redskins eleven years earlier as he scored two rushing touchdowns and ended the game with 132 yards on the ground and was voted the game's MVP.
Perhaps the first defeat to the Cowboys however was more painful for the Bills. Especially when considering all they had gone through just to get there for the third straight time. They had finished the season 11-5 losing out on first place in the AFC East to the Miami Dolphins and so entered the post-season as a wild card team.
They welcomed the Houston Oilers to Rich Stadium on a typically grey skied day in Buffalo for the AFC wild card game. The outlook for the Bills quickly looked equally as grey. The Oilers took a 28-3 lead in to the locker room after the first half, a lead they quickly increased to 35-3 early in the third period when Bubba McDowell returned an interception 58 yards for a score.
What followed is now referred to as “The Comeback” and is the stuff of legend. With their back-up quarterback in control to boot, the Bills systematically erased the thirty-two point deficit. Kenneth Davis scored the first Buffalo touchdown with a 1-yard run, before wide receiver Don Beebe hauled in a 38-yard score to pull the game back to 35-17.
Andre Reed then caught two touchdown passes in the third period and a third scoring pass in the fourth to put the Bills ahead, 38-35, much to the utter disbelief of the shell-shocked Oilers. The visiting side did manage to tie the game 38-38 and send it into overtime. However Steve Christie would boot through the game-winning 32-yard field goal to claim the victory for the Bills over the stunned Houston team, 41-38.
Perhaps the first defeat to the Cowboys however was more painful for the Bills. Especially when considering all they had gone through just to get there for the third straight time. They had finished the season 11-5 losing out on first place in the AFC East to the Miami Dolphins and so entered the post-season as a wild card team.
They welcomed the Houston Oilers to Rich Stadium on a typically grey skied day in Buffalo for the AFC wild card game. The outlook for the Bills quickly looked equally as grey. The Oilers took a 28-3 lead in to the locker room after the first half, a lead they quickly increased to 35-3 early in the third period when Bubba McDowell returned an interception 58 yards for a score.
What followed is now referred to as “The Comeback” and is the stuff of legend. With their back-up quarterback in control to boot, the Bills systematically erased the thirty-two point deficit. Kenneth Davis scored the first Buffalo touchdown with a 1-yard run, before wide receiver Don Beebe hauled in a 38-yard score to pull the game back to 35-17.
Andre Reed then caught two touchdown passes in the third period and a third scoring pass in the fourth to put the Bills ahead, 38-35, much to the utter disbelief of the shell-shocked Oilers. The visiting side did manage to tie the game 38-38 and send it into overtime. However Steve Christie would boot through the game-winning 32-yard field goal to claim the victory for the Bills over the stunned Houston team, 41-38.
In the divisional round they destroyed the Pittsburgh Steelers, 24-3 in the din that was Three Rivers Stadium, before heading down to the stifling heat of south Florida where they hammered the Miami Dolphins, 29-10. By the time they reached Pasadena for Super Bowl XXVII it seemed third time would be a charm for the Bills – even entering the playoffs as a wild card and coming back from thirty-two points, followed by two games played on the road hadn’t stopped them reaching the big game.
Unfortunately for the Bills the Cowboys were just short of their peak under Jimmy Johnson and after knocking Jim Kelly out of the game early, they proceeded to take apart a weary Buffalo team 52-17. It is perhaps though the points that the Cowboys didn’t score that are most remembered. In a play that summed up the Bills resilience, as Leon Lett was just about to run the Dallas total up to fifty-eight as he returned a fumble to the end-zone, wide receiver Don Beebe sprinted down the side-line, with the game already decided and knocked the ball loose at the last second resulting in a touchback for the Bills.
The previous year in 1991 the Bills seemed to cruise control through the regular season, finishing 13-3 and on top of the AFC East they eliminated the New York Jets 37-14 in the divisional round before holding off the Denver Broncos 10-7 in a hard fought AFC Championship game. However when super Sunday rolled around for the twenty-sixth time they just didn’t seem ready. In fact in Thurman Thomas’ case, he literally wasn’t. Infamously, Thomas could not locate his helmet so back-up Kenneth Davis started the game.
Shortly after halftime the Redskins were in front 24-0 and in complete control, holding on for a 37-24 victory. The short video below features a TV commercial featuring Levy and some of his players - a good example of how endeared they were to the general public, despite never winning the "Big Game!"
Unfortunately for the Bills the Cowboys were just short of their peak under Jimmy Johnson and after knocking Jim Kelly out of the game early, they proceeded to take apart a weary Buffalo team 52-17. It is perhaps though the points that the Cowboys didn’t score that are most remembered. In a play that summed up the Bills resilience, as Leon Lett was just about to run the Dallas total up to fifty-eight as he returned a fumble to the end-zone, wide receiver Don Beebe sprinted down the side-line, with the game already decided and knocked the ball loose at the last second resulting in a touchback for the Bills.
The previous year in 1991 the Bills seemed to cruise control through the regular season, finishing 13-3 and on top of the AFC East they eliminated the New York Jets 37-14 in the divisional round before holding off the Denver Broncos 10-7 in a hard fought AFC Championship game. However when super Sunday rolled around for the twenty-sixth time they just didn’t seem ready. In fact in Thurman Thomas’ case, he literally wasn’t. Infamously, Thomas could not locate his helmet so back-up Kenneth Davis started the game.
Shortly after halftime the Redskins were in front 24-0 and in complete control, holding on for a 37-24 victory. The short video below features a TV commercial featuring Levy and some of his players - a good example of how endeared they were to the general public, despite never winning the "Big Game!"
The "Bickering Bills" (Almost) Put It All Together
Perhaps the very best of all of those Marv Levy coached teams and the team that was closest to winning that elusive championship was the 1990 version, which first featured the Bills “two-minute” or “no-huddle” offense which would allow Kelly to call his own plays (the only quarterback who was doing so at the time).
Kelly would prove to be a slick signal caller and went on to have one of his best seasons, making the Pro Bowl and although he missed the last two games of the season, he threw for 2,829 yards with 24 touchdowns against only 9 interceptions. After a nervous 26-10 victory over the Indianapolis Colts to open the season the Bills travelled to the heat of Miami to take on the division rival Dolphins. They wilted, badly.
Worse than the 30-7 defeat, at least to the Bills’ players, was that midway through the final period, Levy pulled his defensive starters out of the game. This infuriated his players, with many looking visibly animated on the side-line in full view of the TV audience. This didn’t help the Bills already established reputation for “back-biting” and “bickering” that had reared it’s head the previous season when many Buffalo players made less than complimentary comments in the media at their own team-mates and coaches.
Years later Levy stated:
Kelly would prove to be a slick signal caller and went on to have one of his best seasons, making the Pro Bowl and although he missed the last two games of the season, he threw for 2,829 yards with 24 touchdowns against only 9 interceptions. After a nervous 26-10 victory over the Indianapolis Colts to open the season the Bills travelled to the heat of Miami to take on the division rival Dolphins. They wilted, badly.
Worse than the 30-7 defeat, at least to the Bills’ players, was that midway through the final period, Levy pulled his defensive starters out of the game. This infuriated his players, with many looking visibly animated on the side-line in full view of the TV audience. This didn’t help the Bills already established reputation for “back-biting” and “bickering” that had reared it’s head the previous season when many Buffalo players made less than complimentary comments in the media at their own team-mates and coaches.
Years later Levy stated:
“I admired the players who didn’t want to come out. And I said (to them) ‘I am glad you are upset!”
Kelly to Reed (left) was a deadly combination in the early 1990s, while RB Thurman Thomas (right) was a solid attack on the ground
Following the defeat, the Bills went on to win eight straight games, standing at 9-1 and alone on top of the AFC East when they headed to Houston to play the Oilers on Monday Night Football. The Oilers, with their run-and-shoot offense were a similar team to the Bills in that they could score from anywhere on the field at any time, and had a nasty, hard hitting defense to back it up. The previous season in the third week of 1989 the two teams had put on an offensive onslaught of sorts, again on Monday Night Football, with the Bills coming out on top, in overtime, 47-41.
This time around though, despite the Oilers coming into the game with a 5-5 record, the home side took control of the contest early and edged out the Bills 27-24. The Bills then reeled off four straight wins to wrap up the division by the sixteenth week of the season, with Levy opting to rest his starters for the season finale, which was a 29-14 loss to the Washington Redskins. However, it was a starter who he had lost two weeks earlier that was concerning Levy and the Bills’ coaching staff.
In their 17-13 week fifteen victory over the New York Giants at Giants Stadium, on a cold, damp day in New Jersey, quarterback Jim Kelly was accidentally hit from behind by one of his own lineman and suffered minor damage to the ligaments at the back of his knee. Frank Reich had taken control of the offense since, but with the playoffs approaching and a divisional playoff match-up against the Miami Dolphins, the Bills could only hope Kelly would be ready to play. He was.
Before we look at perhaps the Bills finest sixty minutes under Marv Levy in the 1990 AFC Championship game, check out the video below featuring Levy defending his team against the press - something he did regularly, which was not lost on his players.
This time around though, despite the Oilers coming into the game with a 5-5 record, the home side took control of the contest early and edged out the Bills 27-24. The Bills then reeled off four straight wins to wrap up the division by the sixteenth week of the season, with Levy opting to rest his starters for the season finale, which was a 29-14 loss to the Washington Redskins. However, it was a starter who he had lost two weeks earlier that was concerning Levy and the Bills’ coaching staff.
In their 17-13 week fifteen victory over the New York Giants at Giants Stadium, on a cold, damp day in New Jersey, quarterback Jim Kelly was accidentally hit from behind by one of his own lineman and suffered minor damage to the ligaments at the back of his knee. Frank Reich had taken control of the offense since, but with the playoffs approaching and a divisional playoff match-up against the Miami Dolphins, the Bills could only hope Kelly would be ready to play. He was.
Before we look at perhaps the Bills finest sixty minutes under Marv Levy in the 1990 AFC Championship game, check out the video below featuring Levy defending his team against the press - something he did regularly, which was not lost on his players.
The Post-Season That Got Away!
In the freezing cold of Buffalo’s Rich Stadium, the Bills were red hot. They took control of the contest early, eventually defeating the Dolphins 44-34 in what was a shoot-out between the Bills’ Kelly and Miami’s eventual legend Dan Marino.
The following week as the Los Angeles Raiders travelled to Buffalo for the AFC Championship, the Bills had what was arguably their finest, most dominant game under Marv Levy. Buffalo got the ball first and Jim Kelly led the offense down the field as if the Raiders weren’t even there to take an early 7-0 lead. The Raiders responded with a field goal, but what followed is arguably the greatest afternoon in Buffalo Bills history.
By the end of the first quarter the score was 21-3. By halftime it had increased to 41-3. As night fell over Rich Stadium and the 80,000 plus people that were crammed inside, the Bills added ten more points to their final tally winning the AFC Championship more than convincingly 51-3. Running back Thurman Thomas had rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown while also adding 61 more yards on five catches. His back-up, Kenneth Davis, tied an AFC playoff record by rushing for three scores himself.
They were firm favourites as they headed to Tampa for the Silver Anniversary Super Bowl.
The following week as the Los Angeles Raiders travelled to Buffalo for the AFC Championship, the Bills had what was arguably their finest, most dominant game under Marv Levy. Buffalo got the ball first and Jim Kelly led the offense down the field as if the Raiders weren’t even there to take an early 7-0 lead. The Raiders responded with a field goal, but what followed is arguably the greatest afternoon in Buffalo Bills history.
By the end of the first quarter the score was 21-3. By halftime it had increased to 41-3. As night fell over Rich Stadium and the 80,000 plus people that were crammed inside, the Bills added ten more points to their final tally winning the AFC Championship more than convincingly 51-3. Running back Thurman Thomas had rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown while also adding 61 more yards on five catches. His back-up, Kenneth Davis, tied an AFC playoff record by rushing for three scores himself.
They were firm favourites as they headed to Tampa for the Silver Anniversary Super Bowl.
Jim Kelly lays injured during the week 15 game at the New York Giants, their eventual Super Bowl XXV opponents.
Played against the backdrop of increased security due to the first Gulf War, Super Bowl XXV had, what New York Giants defensive back, Mark Collins referred to as a “very surreal atmosphere right from the start. We were all searched as we entered the stadium for the game and there were helicopters flying over the stadium.”
Indeed viewers who watched the game on Channel 4 will recall that while Tina Turner’s “Simply The Best” was blasting out of the stadium’s PA speakers, Mick Luckhurst, Dan Marino and Kenny Stabler analysed the team’s from the Channel 4 booth, through the booth windows military helicopters were clearly visible flying around outside over the stadium. The intense security, combined with the fact the game kicked off under the lights and dark early evening sky of Tampa, almost lent a futuristic feel to the contest.
Gary Imlach, Channel 4’s side-line reporter, stated from the roof of Tampa Stadium in one of his pre-game reports that there was a 2000-strong security force, some of which could be seen clearly behind Imlach while he spoke to camera:
Indeed viewers who watched the game on Channel 4 will recall that while Tina Turner’s “Simply The Best” was blasting out of the stadium’s PA speakers, Mick Luckhurst, Dan Marino and Kenny Stabler analysed the team’s from the Channel 4 booth, through the booth windows military helicopters were clearly visible flying around outside over the stadium. The intense security, combined with the fact the game kicked off under the lights and dark early evening sky of Tampa, almost lent a futuristic feel to the contest.
Gary Imlach, Channel 4’s side-line reporter, stated from the roof of Tampa Stadium in one of his pre-game reports that there was a 2000-strong security force, some of which could be seen clearly behind Imlach while he spoke to camera:
“Just getting in today is an achievement in itself. Every one of the 75,000-strong crowd is individually searched, and what the security forces are basically looking for is any kind of electrical device. No min-televisions, no radios, or even cameras were permitted to be brought into the stadium. It took us over an hour to get in,” Imlach finished off, “All of our gear was X-rayed before we could get in!”
You can check out the video clip at the bottom of this article to see the report.
There was also an exclusion zone in affect around and over the stadium, meaning that there would be no shots from the ABC airship. Super Bowl XXV was also the Super Bowl where Whitney Houston sang the national anthem. Imlach offered to the viewer “whether she will be able to make herself heard over the crowd is another thing!” The rendition many feel is one of, if not the greatest version of the famous anthem that begins any American sporting event – partly in terms of the vocal performance, but partly for the moment in time it captured, if only from an American’s perspective.
There was also an exclusion zone in affect around and over the stadium, meaning that there would be no shots from the ABC airship. Super Bowl XXV was also the Super Bowl where Whitney Houston sang the national anthem. Imlach offered to the viewer “whether she will be able to make herself heard over the crowd is another thing!” The rendition many feel is one of, if not the greatest version of the famous anthem that begins any American sporting event – partly in terms of the vocal performance, but partly for the moment in time it captured, if only from an American’s perspective.
C4's Gary Imlach at SBXXV with security forces in the background.
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Inside the Channel 4 booth at Super Bowl XXV - left to right, Kenny Stabler, Dan Marino, Mick Luckhurst.
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Following the emotional build up it was finally time for the game to begin. It was time for the Bills to claim their crown. After a first quarter that saw each team boot through a field goal, the Bills went ahead 10-3 off the back of a 1-yard run by Don Smith. They increased their lead to 12-3 when Bruce Smith sacked Jeff Hostetler in his own end-zone for a safety. Hostetler also appeared “shaken up” on the play. What the replay showed was that Smith almost ripped the ball free, which had the Bills recovered would have given them an even bigger lead. It was only due to quick thinking and reaction by the Giants quarterback that he managed to pull the ball to his chest.
It seemed the Bills were starting to take control of the contest, then, came two drives by the New York Giants that changed the whole tone of the game. In fact you could argue that more than the eventual missed field goal, these two drives were the reason the Giants would win Super Bowl XXV.
The first came in the dying minutes of the first half as the Giants drove 87 yards up the field, chipping away with passes to tight-end Mark Bavaro, wide receiver Mark Ingram and running back Dave Meggett, while Ottis Anderson contributed pounding runs on the ground. The drive would end with Jeff Hostetler hitting wide receiver Mark Baker for a 14-yard touchdown pass as New York pulled the half-time score to within two points, 12-10.
Opening the second half the Giants embarked on what ABC commentator Dan Dierdorf would describe as, “One of the great drives in Super Bowl history.....it was physical domination.”
They began at their own 25-yard line. Aside from taking an eventual 9:29 off the game clock and it resulting in another touchdown, the advance was memorable mainly due to three key plays, all of which resulted in key first downs for the Giants, and all of which showed an absolute will to win.
First, early on in the crusade, the Giants faced a third-and-8 at their own 29-yard line. Hostetler hit running back Dave Meggett who avoided potential tacklers with unmitigated grace and took the ball to the 37-yard line. A 5-yard run by Meggett and a 4-yard plough by Anderson left the Giants facing a third-and-1 at their own 46. Anderson took the hand-off and clinging to the rock headed around the corner of the line for a gain of twenty-four yards inside the Bills’ 30-yard line.
The third and most impressive key play of the drive came several moments later on a third-and-13. In what arguably was the play of the game Hostetler found wide receiver Stephen Baker with the pass. Baker then bobbed, weaved, squirmed and simply forced his way through the Bills defense for a first down. From there, the Giants continued to chip away at a near exhausted and almost humiliated Buffalo defense, a unit that had been on the field since midway through the second quarter. Ottis Anderson eventually went over for the score from the 1-yard line to move the Giants out in front 17-12.
It seemed the Bills were starting to take control of the contest, then, came two drives by the New York Giants that changed the whole tone of the game. In fact you could argue that more than the eventual missed field goal, these two drives were the reason the Giants would win Super Bowl XXV.
The first came in the dying minutes of the first half as the Giants drove 87 yards up the field, chipping away with passes to tight-end Mark Bavaro, wide receiver Mark Ingram and running back Dave Meggett, while Ottis Anderson contributed pounding runs on the ground. The drive would end with Jeff Hostetler hitting wide receiver Mark Baker for a 14-yard touchdown pass as New York pulled the half-time score to within two points, 12-10.
Opening the second half the Giants embarked on what ABC commentator Dan Dierdorf would describe as, “One of the great drives in Super Bowl history.....it was physical domination.”
They began at their own 25-yard line. Aside from taking an eventual 9:29 off the game clock and it resulting in another touchdown, the advance was memorable mainly due to three key plays, all of which resulted in key first downs for the Giants, and all of which showed an absolute will to win.
First, early on in the crusade, the Giants faced a third-and-8 at their own 29-yard line. Hostetler hit running back Dave Meggett who avoided potential tacklers with unmitigated grace and took the ball to the 37-yard line. A 5-yard run by Meggett and a 4-yard plough by Anderson left the Giants facing a third-and-1 at their own 46. Anderson took the hand-off and clinging to the rock headed around the corner of the line for a gain of twenty-four yards inside the Bills’ 30-yard line.
The third and most impressive key play of the drive came several moments later on a third-and-13. In what arguably was the play of the game Hostetler found wide receiver Stephen Baker with the pass. Baker then bobbed, weaved, squirmed and simply forced his way through the Bills defense for a first down. From there, the Giants continued to chip away at a near exhausted and almost humiliated Buffalo defense, a unit that had been on the field since midway through the second quarter. Ottis Anderson eventually went over for the score from the 1-yard line to move the Giants out in front 17-12.
Thurman Thomas had a great game in SBXXV - many feel if the Bills had won he would have been voted MVP.
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The fateful kick - wide, right!
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Wide Right!
That drive was the longest in Super Bowl history and contributed heavily to the Giants final record setting time of possession of 40:33 of the sixty game minutes.
“We wanted the ball. We didn’t want them to have it,” Giants’ head coach Bill Parcells told the media in the locker-room during the Vince Lombardi Trophy presentation afterwards. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Buffalo’s Thurman Thomas ran for a 31-yard touchdown putting the Bills back in front 19-17.
New York got the ball back on the kick-off, and again proceeded to march down the field, again taking huge amounts of time off the clock. Behind receptions to tight-end Mark Bavaro, and bruising runs from Anderson the Giants drove down to the Bills’ 4-yard line. Matt Bahr kicked a 21-yard field goal from there to edge his team ahead 20-19.
Following unfruitful possessions for both teams, the Bills got the ball back though at their own 10-yard line with 2:16 left in the game, armed with one time-out and the two-minute warning. Behind some key scrambles by Kelly, passes to Thomas, Andre Reed and tight-end, Keith McKeller, and a 19-yard run by Thomas the Bills quickly moved into field goal range, and with eight seconds left on the clock, Scott Norwood came on to attempt a 47-yard field goal attempt.
Time must have stood still for the Buffalo kicker, and indeed the Buffalo players both those on the field and those stood hand-in-hand on their side-line. On the opposite side-line Giants’ players were huddled together in prayer exactly as they had been in the dying moments of the NFC Championship game a week earlier when their very own Matt Bahr had kicked them all the way to Super Bowl XXV. Now with the kick up, it was sailing right, it was no good. It had sailed wide right. The kick was no good.
Wide, right.
Giants' head coach, Bill Parcells, who reflecting on the game and how his team had ultimately won the contest said in the locker-room:
“We wanted the ball. We didn’t want them to have it,” Giants’ head coach Bill Parcells told the media in the locker-room during the Vince Lombardi Trophy presentation afterwards. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Buffalo’s Thurman Thomas ran for a 31-yard touchdown putting the Bills back in front 19-17.
New York got the ball back on the kick-off, and again proceeded to march down the field, again taking huge amounts of time off the clock. Behind receptions to tight-end Mark Bavaro, and bruising runs from Anderson the Giants drove down to the Bills’ 4-yard line. Matt Bahr kicked a 21-yard field goal from there to edge his team ahead 20-19.
Following unfruitful possessions for both teams, the Bills got the ball back though at their own 10-yard line with 2:16 left in the game, armed with one time-out and the two-minute warning. Behind some key scrambles by Kelly, passes to Thomas, Andre Reed and tight-end, Keith McKeller, and a 19-yard run by Thomas the Bills quickly moved into field goal range, and with eight seconds left on the clock, Scott Norwood came on to attempt a 47-yard field goal attempt.
Time must have stood still for the Buffalo kicker, and indeed the Buffalo players both those on the field and those stood hand-in-hand on their side-line. On the opposite side-line Giants’ players were huddled together in prayer exactly as they had been in the dying moments of the NFC Championship game a week earlier when their very own Matt Bahr had kicked them all the way to Super Bowl XXV. Now with the kick up, it was sailing right, it was no good. It had sailed wide right. The kick was no good.
Wide, right.
Giants' head coach, Bill Parcells, who reflecting on the game and how his team had ultimately won the contest said in the locker-room:
“If we play this game again tomorrow, the score would be 22-20 Buffalo!"
That isn’t to take anything at all away from the Giants – they won the game. But if we are all honest, in spite of statistics that may tell you otherwise and as much of a fantastic game plan on both sides of the ball by the Giants – nine, maybe eight times out of ten, on the huge stage that it was, Norwood makes that field goal.
What Marv Levy achieved in Buffalo really was remarkable, and he should be viewed as one of the greatest NFL coaches to ever patrol a gridiron side-line, as should the teams that he led. We will leave with the words of linebacker Darryl Talley who stated in 2005 over a decade after he had played for Levy:
What Marv Levy achieved in Buffalo really was remarkable, and he should be viewed as one of the greatest NFL coaches to ever patrol a gridiron side-line, as should the teams that he led. We will leave with the words of linebacker Darryl Talley who stated in 2005 over a decade after he had played for Levy:
“If there were aliens on this planet, I bet Marv could sit down and talk to them! There couldn’t have been anyone else be around the cast of characters that we had on our team, and got us to do what we did!”
Check out the videos below. The first features a clip from the UK's Channel 4 coverage of Super Bowl XXV and the added security it was played under. The following two videos look at Marv Levy in a little more detail.
[Marcus Lowth January 2016]
[Marcus Lowth January 2016]
Marv Levy doing what he did best, coaching the Buffalo Bills 1986-1997.
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In The Music City Miracle And The 1999 Tennessee Titans - A Team Three Years In The Making Who Fell One Yard Shy we look at the 1999 Tennessee Titans - a team who had "roamed" the NFL in 1997 and 1998 only to make it all the way to the Super Bowl in 1999, winning one of the most controversial playoff games in recent history along the way. CLICK HERE |
CAPTAIN COMEBACK HARBAUGH AND THE 1995 CARDIAC COLTS
In Captain Comeback Harbaugh, The Cardiac Colts And The Lost Miracle Of The 1995 AFC Championship Game we look at the 1995 Indianapolis Colts - a team led by Jim Harbaugh who developed a habit of bringing his team from behind and almost took them to the Super Bowl, coming up one caught hail-mary shy in the AFC Championship game. CLICK HERE |