1986 Buffalo Bills season

The 1986 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 17th season in the National Football League, and the 27th overall.

1986 Buffalo Bills season
OwnerRalph Wilson
General managerBill Polian
Head coachHank Bullough
Marv Levy
Home fieldRich Stadium
Results
Record4–12
Division place4th AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlersnone

Although the Bills were only 2–6 at the midway point of the season, their games were much more competitive than in years past. (Only two of their losses in the first eight games were by more than a touchdown.) Still, after a 6-point Week Nine loss to Tampa Bay, the Bills fired coach Hank Bullough, and hired former Kansas City coach Marv Levy to replace him. (Though Levy was not on the Bills' coaching staff, he had served as a television analyst for the team during the 1986 preseason and was hired away from his executive role from the Montreal Alouettes because of that team's terminal financial situation.) Levy would win his first game with the Bills against Pittsburgh in Week Ten, and one more game against Kansas City in Week Thirteen, finishing with a 2–5 record in his first half-season as head coach.[lower-alpha 1]

Years later, Bills offensive tackle Will Wolford alleged that the team purposely lost the week 9 game to Tampa Bay in order to get Bullough fired.[1]

The Bills ended their 22-game losing streak on the road by beating the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, 17–14. Coincidentally, the Bills beat the Chiefs, 14–9, in the road game leading up to the losing streak in 1983.

Offseason

At the end of the 1985 season, the Bills' future was in serious jeopardy; two consecutive seasons in which the team had finished 2–14 had driven attendance at Rich Stadium to less than 30,000 fans per game. 1985 first overall draft pick Bruce Smith, while he had a respectable rookie season, underperformed compared to expectations and was admittedly not putting his whole heart into the game of football. Quarterback Jim Kelly, whom the team had drafted in the first round of the 1983 draft as their franchise quarterback of the future, still refused to play in Buffalo and was prepared to play the 1986 season as a member of the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League; the Generals' soon-to-be-displaced quarterback, Doug Flutie, who would become a Bill much later in his career, also rejected the team's overtures and stayed in the USFL.[2] These rejections forced the Bills to sign Art Schlichter, a notorious compulsive gambler who had flamed out with the Indianapolis Colts, as their backup plan; Schlichter was to compete with Frank Reich, whom the Bills drafted the previous year, for the starting position.

Buffalo's fortunes underwent a drastic improvement before the season. On July 29, 1986, the USFL received only a nominal judgment in its antitrust lawsuit against the NFL, leaving the league without much-needed capital and forcing the end of its operations. With no other options, Kelly then signed with the Bills amid much fanfare, and Schlichter was released. The signing (along with those of fellow USFL refugees Ray Bentley and Kent Hull) doubled the team's home attendance.[3]

NFL draft
Main article: 1986 NFL draft

University of Iowa running back Ronnie Harmon played for the Bills for four seasons.[lower-alpha 2] Vanderbilt's Will Wolford played offensive tackle for the Bills for seven years, and was voted to the Pro Bowl in 1990 and 1992.[lower-alpha 3] Linebacker Mark Pike played his entire 13-year career with the Bills, mostly as a special teams star; he is the NFL's all-time leader in tackles on special teams, with 283. Tight end Butch Rolle played for the Bills for 6 years, and at one point had a streak of ten consecutive receptions for touchdowns.

1986 Buffalo Bills draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 16 Ronnie Harmon *  RB Iowa
1 20 Will Wolford *  OT Vanderbilt
3 77 Leonard Burton  C South Carolina
5 111 Carl Byrum  RB Mississippi Valley State
7 168 Bob Williams  TE Penn State
7 178 Mark Pike  LB Georgia Tech
7 180 Butch Rolle  TE Michigan State
8 202 Tony Furjanic  LB Notre Dame
9 222 Reggie Bynum  WR Oregon State
10 251 Guy Tefatiller  DT Illinois
11 278 Tony Garbarczyk  DT Wake Forest
11 282 Billy Witt  DE North Alabama
12 313 Brian McClure  QB Bowling Green
12 331 Derek Christian  LB West Virginia
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff
1986 Buffalo Bills staff
Front office
  • President – Ralph Wilson
  • Vice President of Administration/General Manager – Bill Polian
  • Vice President of Football Operations – Hank Bullough
  • Director of player personnel – Norm Pollom
  • Assistant director of Player Personnel – Bob Ferguson
  • Administrative Assistant to the Head Coach – Jim Valek

Head coaches

  • Head coach – Hank Bullough

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches
  • Defensive coordinator/Inside Linebackers – Herb Paterra
  • Defensive Line – Ted Cottrell
  • Outside Linebackers – Ardell Wiegandt
  • Defensive Backfield – Dick Moseley

Special teams coaches

  • Special Teams – Elijah Pitts

Strength and conditioning

[4]

Roster
1986 Buffalo Bills roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists
  • 69 Greg Christy T (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 41 Steve Clark S (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 13 Brian McClure QB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 60 Jim Melka LB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Regular season

Transactions
  • Steve Tasker was claimed off waivers by the Buffalo Bills on November 8, 1986.[5]

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 7 New York Jets L 24–28 0–1 Rich Stadium 79,951
2 September 14 at Cincinnati Bengals L 33–36 0–2 Riverfront Stadium 52,714
3 September 21 St. Louis Cardinals W 17–10 1–2 Rich Stadium 65,762
4 September 28 Kansas City Chiefs L 17–20 1–3 Rich Stadium 67,555
5 October 5 at New York Jets L 13–14 1–4 Giants Stadium 69,504
6 October 12 at Miami Dolphins L 14–27 1–5 Miami Orange Bowl 49,467
7 October 19 Indianapolis Colts W 24–13 2–5 Rich Stadium 50,050
8 October 26 New England Patriots L 3–23 2–6 Rich Stadium 77,808
9 November 2 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 28–34 2–7 Tampa Stadium 32,806
10 November 9 Pittsburgh Steelers W 16–12 3–7 Rich Stadium 72,000
11 November 16 Miami Dolphins L 24–34 3–8 Rich Stadium 76,474
12 November 23 at New England Patriots L 19–22 3–9 Sullivan Stadium 60,455
13 November 30 at Kansas City Chiefs W 17–14 4–9 Arrowhead Stadium 31,492
14 December 7 Cleveland Browns L 17–21 4–10 Rich Stadium 42,213
15 December 14 at Indianapolis Colts L 14–24 4–11 Hoosier Dome 52,783
16 December 21 at Houston Oilers L 7–16 4–12 Astrodome 31,409
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Week 1 vs. Jets
See also: 1986 New York Jets season
New York Jets (0–0) at Buffalo Bills (0–0)
Period 1 2 34Total
Jets 7 7 01428
Bills 7 3 01424

at Rich Stadium • Orchard Park, New York

  • Date: September 7
  • Game time: 4:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: 56 °F or 13.3 °C • Wind 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn)
  • Game attendance: 79,951
  • Referee: Jerry Markbreit
  • TV announcers (NBC): Marv Albert and Bob Griese
  • Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information

Three years after being drafted by the Bills, Jim Kelly debuted in front of the home crowd with 292 yards passing and three touchdowns but it was not enough to overcome the divisional rival Jets.

Week 2 at Bengals
See also: 1986 Cincinnati Bengals season
1 234OTTotal
Bills 3 61700 26
• Bengals 7 140123 36


[6]

Week 3
1 234Total
Cardinals 0 037 10
• Bills 0 1007 17
  • Date: September 21
  • Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 57 °F or 13.9 °C; wind 7 miles per hour (11 km/h; 6.1 kn)
  • Referee: Jim Tunney
  • TV announcers (CBS): Jack Buck and Joe Theismann
Scoring summary
Q2BUFNorwood 35 yard field goalBUF 3–0
Q2BUFMoore 2 yard run (Norwood kick)BUF 10–0
Q3STLLee 27 yard field goalBUF 10–3
Q4BUFBell 6 yard run (Norwood kick)BUF 17–3
Q4STLSikahema 19 yard pass from Lomax (Lee kick)BUF 17–10

[7]

Week 4
1 234Total
• Chiefs 3 7010 20
Bills 7 073 17

[8]

Week 5
Buffalo Bills (1-3) at New York Jets (3-1)
1 234Total
Bills 0 733 13
• Jets 0 707 14
Scoring summary
Q2NYJAl Toon 4 yard pass from Ken O'Brien (Pat Leahy kick)NYJ 7–0
Q2BUFGreg Bell 40 yard pass from Jim Kelly (Norwood kick)TIE 7–7
Q3BUFNorwood 23 yard field goalBUF 10–7
Q4BUFNorwood 32 yard field goalBUF 13–7
Q4NYJMickey Shuler 36 yard pass from Ken O'Brien (Pat Leahy kick)NYJ 14–13

[9]

Week 6
1 234Total
Bills 7 007 14
• Dolphins 3 7107 27

[10]

Week 7
1 234Total
Colts 3 370 13
• Bills 7 1070 24
Scoring summary
Q1BUFBellinger 15 yard fumble return (Norwood kick)BUF 7–0
Q1INDBiasucci 46 yard field goalBUF 7–3
Q2BUFNorwood 37 yard field goalBUF 10–3
Q2INDBiasucci 44 yard field goalBUF 10–6
Q2BUFReed 6 yard pass from Kelly (Norwood kick)BUF 17–6
Q3INDBrooks 18 yard pass from Trudeau (Biasucci kick)BUF 17–13
Q3BUFReed 13 yard pass from Kelly (Norwood kick)BUF 24–13

[11]

Week 8
1 234Total
• Patriots 7 1033 23
Bills 0 030 3
  • Date: October 26
  • Location: Rich Stadium
  • Referee: Bob McElwee

[12]

Week 9
1 234Total
Bills 0 01414 28
• Buccaneers 10 10014 34

[13]

Week 10
1 234Total
Steelers 0 0120 12
• Bills 6 703 16
Scoring summary
Q16:15BUFReed 3 yard pass from Kelly (kick failed)BUF 6–0
Q23:06BUFRiddick 5 yard run (Norwood kick)BUF 13–0
Q314:44PITJackson 5 yard run (kick failed)BUF 13–6
Q310:11PITThompson 11 yard pass from Malone (kick failed)BUF 13–12
Q410:18BUFNorwood 29 yard field goalBUF 16–12

[14]

Week 11
Miami Dolphins (4-6) at Buffalo Bills (3-7)
1 234Total
• Dolphins 0 101014 34
Bills 7 1430 24

[15]

Week 12
1 234Total
Bills 0 3313 19
• Patriots 9 607 22

[16]

Week 13
1 234Total
• Bills 0 1070 17
Chiefs 7 007 14

[17]

Week 14
1 234Total
• Browns 7 770 21
Bills 0 377 17

[18]

Week 15
1 234Total
Bills 7 700 14
• Colts 0 01410 24

[19]

Week 16
1 234Total
Bills 0 700 7
• Oilers 7 333 16

[20]

Standings
AFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
New England Patriots(3) 11 5 0 .688 7–1 8–4 412 307 W1
New York Jets(4) 10 6 0 .625 6–2 8–4 364 386 L5
Miami Dolphins 8 8 0 .500 5–3 6–6 430 405 L1
Buffalo Bills 4 12 0 .250 1–7 3–11 287 348 L3
Indianapolis Colts 3 13 0 .188 1–7 2–10 229 400 W3

Notes
  1. Levy would go on to coach the Bills for the subsequent eleven full seasons, before retiring after the 1997 season.
  2. Harmon made the Pro Bowl with the San Diego Chargers in 1992.
  3. Wolford made a third Pro Bowl with Indianapolis.

References
  1. Talbot, Ryan (March 29, 2019). "Losing for Levy: How throwing game led to Buffalo Bills hiring HOF coach". syracuse.com. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  2. "2008 Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame: Bruce Smith". September 14, 2008.
  3. [Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M.; and Korch, Rich The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Football, 12th Edition, p. 526, Martin's Press, August 1994, ISBN 0-312-11073-1
  4. 1986 Buffalo Bills Media Guide. pp. 5–25.
  5. "The Month of November in Bills History". Buffalo Bills. Archived from the original on April 13, 2009. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
  6. The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Jan-07.
  7. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Jun-06.
  8. The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Jan-07.
  9. The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Jan-07.
  10. The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Jan-07.
  11. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Nov-20.
  12. The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Jan-07.
  13. The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Jan-07.
  14. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-May-17.
  15. The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Jan-07.
  16. The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Jan-07.
  17. The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Jan-07.
  18. The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Jan-07.
  19. The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Jan-07.
  20. The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Jan-07.
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