How does this afc championship stack up to the bills previous ones?

[st pete gogolak]

16 hours ago, Beast said:

Happened in our very first AFC Title game after the 1988 season.

 

We were second seed, Cincinnati was first.

 

Cincinnati won 21-10.

 

The next four AFC Championship games the Bills were expected to win and, win they did. The third one might have been a toss up but I believe the country felt Buffalo would beat Miami in Miami....and they did just that convincingly so.

The '88 team should have won the Super Bowl.  Lost #1 seed with inexplicable late season collapse losing to a couple of bad teams (started 11 - 1, finished 12 - 4).  Needed better offensive and defensive coordinators (Marchibroda arrived one year too late; Corey was mediocrity personified).  I've said it before, if they had used Steve Tasker as a slot receiver (Welker and Edelman before Welker and Edelman), they would have won multiple Super Bowls.  Instead of Tasker, we were plowing Jamie Mueller and Carwell Gardner into the line a few times a game.

[Bermuda Triangle]

Just now, st pete gogolak said:

The '88 team should have won the Super Bowl.  Lost #1 seed with inexplicable late season collapse losing to a couple of bad teams (started 11 - 1, finished 12 - 4).  Needed better offensive and defensive coordinators (Marchibroda arrived one year too late; Corey was mediocrity personified).  I've said it before, if they had used Steve Tasker as a slot receiver (Welker and Edelman before Welker and Edelman), they would have won multiple Super Bowls.  Instead of Tasker, we were plowing Jamie Mueller and Carwell Gardner into the line a few times a game.

the '88 offense wasn't very good.  Our WR2 and WR3 were Trumaine Johnson and Flip Johnson, and McKeller wasn't at all a part of the offense in '88.  It was strange, because in the regular season matchup against CIN, we got down big, went no-huddle, and mounted a comeback.  It wasn't until the WC game in '89 when we used the no-huddle with regularity. 

[Beast]

8 minutes ago, Bermuda Triangle said:

the '88 offense wasn't very good.  Our WR2 and WR3 were Trumaine Johnson and Flip Johnson, and McKeller wasn't at all a part of the offense in '88.  It was strange, because in the regular season matchup against CIN, we got down big, went no-huddle, and mounted a comeback.  It wasn't until the WC game in '89 when we used the no-huddle with regularity. 

 

I thought our #2 WR in '88 was Chris Burkett? Or was he gone by then? Fuzzy memory of him.

Edited January 19, 2021 by Beast

[scribo]

If the Bills win Sunday, this is the best Buffalo Bills team of all time. And I am not some young gun.

[May Day 10]

There was never any opponent in the AFC as ominous as the Chiefs.  The aforementioned Bengals in 88 were pretty tough though and the Bills were certainly an underdog.  For the most part, the rotation of Miami, Raiders, Pittsburgh, Denver, and Houston in the playoffs brought extremely flawed, 1-dimensional teams.

 

 

[eball]

I'll give this a go.

 

Coaching:  Slight edge to 2020 Bills.  Marv is a legend and great motivator/communicator but McD might be as good.  Assistant coaches/coordinators are better on the 2020 team.

 

Offense:  Edge to 90s Bills.  Kelly/Reed/Lofton/McKeller/Thurman were just so damn good.  Those Bills could beat you with the pass OR the run.  Josh may have already surpassed Kelly, and Diggs is better than Reed, but the rest of the offense lags behind the 90s squad, particularly in the running game.

 

Defense:  Edge to '20 Bills.  The 90s Bills had Bruce, Biscuit, Talley, and Odomes, but they were vulnerable and got exposed in those four Super Bowls.  The '20 Bills don't have the stars (besides Tre) but I believe they are better coached and more adaptable.

 

Special Teams:  Edge to 90s Bills.  Norwood/Christie were solid (save for one kick).  Mohr was a decent punter.  Coverage units were solid.  Tasker should be in the HOF.

 

If the '20 Bills conclude this run with a Super Bowl Championship they will be the greatest Bills team in history.

[Billsatlastin2018]

9 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

The difference for me between now and back then is that this season and this team has snuck up on me.

 

We seem to have taken the last 2 or 3 steps of progress/development all at once late in the regular season and have "arrived" at least a season before I thought we would.  It's happened quickly!  

 

Back in the '80s, it seemed like the progress was more gradual and graduated.  We had ups and downs but we were always moving further up on a gradual curve of progress.  We hit our high water mark (IMO) in the AFC Championship game against the Raiders.  The 51-3 game.  1/20/1991.

 

But it felt to go a bit more slowly than it has this time around.  At least that is how I remember it; others back then may have experienced it differently.

 

Also, after the Raiders game, I always assumed we would win any playoff game, including big games or tough games.  

 

I'm not there yet with this team, but we keep progressing all the time.

 

 

 

 

Having attended multiple Playoff games, 2 AFC Championships & 2 SBs, I completely agree with this post. 
 

It seems to me, coming into the Season, that the Bills’ goal was to make the Playoffs and appear, reasonably competent. As you recall, on the way during the first quarter of the Season. Then? Outgunned by the Playoff Chiefs and trashed by the Playoff Texans!

 

Ruh Ro!

Then, two more life and death Ws over stiffs. But followed by a trashing of the 6-1 Seahawks and a toe to toe, stolen Away victory in Arizona. That started on November 8.
 

Then, 3 more convincing wins against decent teams, which is the second higher goal! 
 

Followed by... a month of outright ass kickings to teach the: ‘Search and Destroy’ highest SB level!

 

Again, how did this transpire in less than half a Season. It seemed to me, the Glory Years were on a slower, building trajectory, with dips ! This time, it is so fast, that I simply want them to roll through Tampa and then finally wake up! 
 

JUST WIN IT, BEFORE YOU COME TO THE REALIZATION!
It only happens one time.

 

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

It’s their best chance to go all the way since  The 1990 team imo. 

[njbuff]

21 hours ago, Beast said:

Happened in our very first AFC Title game after the 1988 season.

 

We were second seed, Cincinnati was first.

 

Cincinnati won 21-10.

 

The next four AFC Championship games the Bills were expected to win and, win they did. The third one might have been a toss up but I believe the country felt Buffalo would beat Miami in Miami....and they did just that convincingly so.

 

The Cincinnati loss IS STILL the most annoying loss I endure as a Bills fan because I was totally convinced the Bills were going to walk into Cincinnati and beat those frauds with that albino QB.

 

I can't believe how the offense fell flat on their face, giving the the Bills no chance to win that game.

 

Boy did that loss suck.

5 hours ago, Beast said:

 

I thought our #2 WR in '88 was Chris Burkett? Or was he gone by then? Fuzzy memory of him.

 

He was cut in early 89, but he was a major disappointment in 1988, which contributed into him being cut early in 1989.

[TheBrownBear]

We all expected us to win those 4 AFC championship games (not the 1988 game, since the Bengals were the best in the AFC that year).  The road game at Miami we had Kelly returning and we were coming off of a dominant road win at Pittsburgh in the divisional round.  

[Albany,n.y.]

I went to 3 of the 4 AFC Championship games (the January 1993 game was the only one not at our stadium) and the 4 Super Bowls.  I expected us to win the AFC every time, but before & after the 4th straight I figured the run was over.  I remember going to the game & telling my friend who I went to the game with to savor it because it's probably the last one.  I never expected that 27 years later there still hasn't been another AFC championship game in OP and it would take this long to get back to the AFC championship game.  

Highlights of confidence: 

For the 1st one vs the Raiders I bought a plane ticket to Orlando for the trip to XXV the Saturday before I left for Buffalo.  That's how confident I was.  I went with the Disney package.   

For the 3rd one it was in Miami I invited 3 friends & one brought a Dolphins fan to watch the game in my apt. I bought a bottle of champagne & popped the cork in the 4th quarter.   

Edited January 19, 2021 by Albany,n.y.

[skibum]

This is easily the most exciting matchup of any of them, with the possible exception of the Miami game, and that's only becasue of the rivalry at the time. 

 

It's not going to be 51-3, I can say that with confidence. 

[Ray Stonada]

So much great stuff in this thread.

 

I think the 1988 season, when we broke out and lost to Cincinatti twice including in the AFC game,  our team was not as far developed as the 2020 Bills. We were a defensive team that year and the offense found itself the next year, really in the playoff game against the Browns. We lost on the Harmon drop, but something clicked there.

 

In 1990, I was at the 44-34 game against the Dolphins and the 51-3 game against the Raiders. I remember how long we chanted Howie Long's name up in the upper deck, after he'd talked trash about the Bills before the game... That season we got a sense of destiny going, especially in the Denver game where Biscuit started us off scoring three times in 90 seconds and we just exploded. Suddenly it was like the team knew it could do anything. The 2020 Bills had those moment against the Rams and Seahawks, this year. By the time we got to the 49ers and Pittsburgh, we knew we could do anything. 

 

This team is different in a lot of ways, but the biggest one is that that 1990 team had THURMAN THOMAS. He was just an incredible spark plug, and drove the team with his will more than he gets credit for, and should have won Super Bowl MVP of course (win or lose). 

 

This 2020 team has already won 2 playoff games and is only in the AFC championship. Grueling. The prior year similar to that is of course 1993, when we were a wildcard and won the comeback game.

 

The great news, to my mind, is that like the 1990 team we have broken through. Our guys know we can beat anyone now, we are in control of our own destiny, and that knowledge/feeling usually lasts for a while... for multiple seasons to come. LET'S DO THIS.

Edited January 19, 2021 by Ray Stonada
Typo

[Stenbar]

23 hours ago, Bob Chandler's Hands said:

I recall thinking they were unlikely to win in '88, felt pretty good against the Raiders in '90, and expected them to win all the subsequent games after that. We owned the AFC in those days. 

I have been following football since the 1976 playoffs. I have noticed a pattern of teams growing from, a has been, to a playoff team, onto a Super Bowl contender, to one expected to make the Super Bowl and win the Super Bowl. And then there is the surprise OMG everything fell into place, and that team wins the Super Bowl. It does not happen often, the Pats on 2001 with Brady's first win, they grew into one after that but no one thought they would be headed to where they ended up. 

With that said, this Bills team has paid its dues to get to where they are at right now. The question to me is, do they still need a little more seasoning to make the next step? Is there one more heartbreak in order to push them to the next level? Or is this the team that moves the needle to SB Champion? I believe they are on the top of the fence ready to put their two feet on the other side of the land called Super Bowl Champion,  I think they win it it this year, they have all the pieces, they are relatively healthy, and the team they are playing is a little banged up. Home field advantage is not what it was a year ago for the Chiefs, and this Bill's team is very hungry, and playing very disciplined football. If they keep playing turnover, penalty free football they win this game regardless of Mahomes or not.

 

GO BILLS

[Ray Stonada]

11 hours ago, Stenbar said:

I think they win it it this year, they have all the pieces, they are relatively healthy, and the team they are playing is a little banged up. Home field advantage is not what it was a year ago for the Chiefs, and this Bill's team is very hungry, and playing very disciplined football. If they keep playing turnover, penalty free football they win this game regardless of Mahomes or not.

 

GO BILLS

 

I think so too, my only nightmare is returning to the Super and losing (to a rolling Pack, for instance). That would be tough.

 

 

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

On 1/18/2021 at 5:14 PM, RobbRiddick said:

As I remember Kelly just killed the Phins with an endless stream of screens to Thurman.

Quick!  See if Tyrod is doing anything on Sunday! 😳

[BobbyC81]

On 1/18/2021 at 2:34 PM, D. L. Hot-Flamethrower said:

I don't feel like this is '88, salary cap makes it difficult to compare. However, you really can win quicker and in a smaller window than those days. The Bills in '88 had played the Bengals earlier and had our strong defense dismantled. In the AFCCG we were 4 pt underdogs and quite honestly didn't have the offense yet. In '90 I was confident we were solid favs (-7) and destroyed the Raiders. In '91 we were huge favs against Denver, we were all very confident, and frankly were fortunate to escape. In '92 we owned Miami in those days, and after the comeback against Houston , knee we had a great chance. '93 I remember feeling so proud of the team, it felt like we had achieved more than I ever dreamed. So TBH I don't really see much of a parallel. This team is unique.

 

Yep, since they haven’t won a Super Bowl yet, that demolishing of the Raiders 51-3 to get to SB25 is the ultimate Bills game.

[oldmanfan]

This one reminds me of the '64 and '65 games.  San Diego was favored in both, had dominant offenses each year, but we just rolled on through.  

[gonzo1105]

The thing that I think is the big difference between those teams and this team is the AFC was by far the inferior conference in that era. It’s what allowed the Bills IMO to get to 4 straight. Now the AFC is the superior conference in terms of top teams and depth

[freddyjj]

22 hours ago, Beast said:

 

I thought our #2 WR in '88 was Chris Burkett? Or was he gone by then? Fuzzy memory of him.

He started 8 games.  He was 3rd wr after Andre Reed and Trumaine Johnson.  Flip Johnson was also on the roster 

Edited January 20, 2021 by freddyjj