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 National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

. The Bills ended a streak of four consecutive losing seasons by winning the AFC East; they finished the NFL's 1988 season with a record of twelve wins and four losses; it was the club's first winning season since

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

, 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. On the road, the Bills were 4–4. From an attendance standpoint, the franchise set a record for attendance with 631,818 fans. 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 In team sports, the term home advantage – also called home ground, home field, home-field advantage, home court, home-court advantage, defender's advantage or home-ice advantage – describes the benefit that the home team is said to g ...

throughout the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

. It was Buffalo's first trip to the postseason since

. The Bills were the #2 seed in the AFC (behind #1

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

), giving the Bills their first home playoff game since the 1966 AFL Championship, and their first ever playoff game at

Rich Stadium Highmark Stadium is a stadium in Orchard Park, New York, in the Southtowns of the Buffalo metropolitan area. The stadium opened in 1973 as Rich Stadium and is the home venue of the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). It was kno ...

. The 1988 season would be the first of five AFC Championship game appearances over six seasons, and their only loss in the conference championship game. The 1988 season was the first for running back

Thurman Thomas Thurman Lee Thomas (born May 16, 1966) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He was selected by the Bills in the second round of th ...

nose tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the l ...

Jeff Wright, and linebacker

Carlton Bailey Carlton Wilson Bailey (born December 15, 1964) is a former professional American football player who played linebacker in the National Football League for the Buffalo Bills, New York Giants, and Carolina Panthers. He played college football at ...

. 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 Robbert Lee Riddick (born April 26, 1957) is a former American football running back in the NFL who played for the Buffalo Bills. He played college football at Millersville University, as a running back and defensive back. He set numerous of t ...

Jamie Mueller Jamie F. Mueller (born October 4, 1964) is an American football player. He worked as running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Buffalo Bills from 1987 to 1992. Career Mueller played college football at Tiny Bened ...

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," alluding to Buffalo's harsh winters. Four Bills players made the All-Pro team in 1988: defensive end

Bruce Smith Bruce Bernard Smith (born June 18, 1963) is an American former football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football at Virginia Tech, where he was ...

, linebackers

Shane Conlan Shane Patrick Conlan (born March 4, 1964) is a former professional American football player. He played college football at Penn State University, where he won two national championships in 1982 and 1986, although he was red-shirted prior to the ...

and

Cornelius Bennett Cornelius O'Landa Bennett (born August 25, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Buffalo Bills from 1987 to 1995, Atlanta Falcons from 1996 to 1998 ...

, and kicker Scott Norwood. Head coach Marv Levy was named

NFL Coach of the Year The National Football League Coach of the Year Award is presented annually by various news and sports organizations to the National Football League (NFL) head coach who has done the most outstanding job of working with the talent he has at his disp ...

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

and

UPI United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...

Offseason

NFL Draft

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

's cameras watched

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, ...

running back

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 The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...

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 1989–1992. (The record of three was previously held by Hall of Famer

Jim Brown James Nathaniel Brown (born February 17, 1936) is a former American football player, sports analyst and actor. He played as a fullback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from 1957 through 1965. Considered to be one ...

.) Thomas was a five-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

selection and

NFL Offensive Player of the Year The National Football League Offensive Player of the Year Award is an annual American football award given by various organizations to the National Football League (NFL) player who is considered the top offensive player during the regular season. Or ...

in 1992.

Personnel

Staff

Roster

Regular season

Schedule

Season summary

Week 1

* Source:''
Pro-Football-Reference.com

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

* Source:''

Week 6

* Source:''

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

23 Rush, 116 Yds

Week 12

The Bills clinch the AFC Eastern division title.

Week 16

, Pro-Football-Reference
Retrieved 2022-Mar-23.

Standings

Playoffs

AFC Divisional Playoff

Buffalo's first playoff game since 1981 was a 17–10 win over the Oilers. Jim Kelly threw for 244 yards and an interception while

and

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

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 *

, Defensive end *

, Linebacker *

, Linebacker * Scott Norwood, Kicker Second Team * Kent Hull, Center *

Nate Odomes Nathaniel Bernard Odomes (born August 25, 1965) is a former professional American football cornerback who played for the Buffalo Bills (1987–1993), Seattle Seahawks (1994–1995), and the Atlanta Falcons (1996). Before his NFL career, he play ...

, Cornerback (Associated Press honorable mention)

References

External links

1988 Buffalo Bills
at Pro-Football-Reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:1988 Buffalo Bills season

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...

AFC East championship seasons Buffalo Bills seasons

Buff Buff or BUFF may refer to: People * Buff (surname), a list of people * Buff (nickname), a list of people * Johnny Buff, ring name of American world champion boxer John Lisky (1888–1955) * Buff Bagwell, a ring name of American professional w ...