1994 Buffalo Bills season

The 1994 Buffalo Bills season was the 35th season for the team franchise and the 25th in the National Football League. The Bills entered the season as the four-time defending AFC champions and looked to advance to the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season and to the Super Bowl for the fifth consecutive season.

1994 Buffalo Bills season
Head coach	Marv Levy
General manager	John Butler
Owner	Ralph Wilson
Home field	Rich Stadium
Results
Record	7–9
Division place	4th AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

However, for the first time since 1987, the Bills failed to make the playoffs. Buffalo finished at 7–9 for the year, only good enough for fourth place in the AFC East.[1]

In Week 14, the Bills were still in postseason contention, before losing their final three games and finishing the season with a losing record at 7–9.

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1	27	Jeff Burris	Cornerback	Notre Dame
2	48	Bucky Brooks	Cornerback	North Carolina
2	61	Lonnie Johnson	Tight end	Florida State
2	64	Sam Rogers	Linebacker	Colorado
3	81	Marlo Perry	Linebacker	Jackson State
3	98	Corey Louchiey	Tackle	South Carolina
4	130	Sean Crocker	Defensive Back	North Carolina
5	158	A. J. Ofodile	Tight end	Missouri
6	188	Anthony Abrams	Defensive tackle	Clark Atlanta
6	192	Kevin Knox	Wide receiver	Florida State
6	221	Filmel Johnson	Defensive back	Illinois

Personnel

Staff/Coaches

1994 Buffalo Bills staff[2]

Front Office President – Ralph Wilson Vice President of Administration/General Manager – Bill Polian Assistant General Manager/Director of Pro Personnel – Bob Ferguson Director of Player Personnel – John Butler Assistant Director/Collegiate Scouting – A. J. Smith Summer Intern - Tom Telesco Coaching Staff Vice President for Football Operations/Head Coach – Marv Levy Assistant Head Coach - Elijah Pitts Administrative Assistant to the Head Coach – Chuck Lester Offensive Coaches Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line – Tom Breshnhan QuarterbackskCoach s - Jim Shofner Running Backs Coach – Elijah Pitts Receivers Coach – Charlie Joiner Offensive Quality Control/Tight Ends – Don Lawrence Defensive Coaches Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers – Walt Corey Defensive Line – Don Sekanovich Defensive Backs – Dick Roach Linebackers Coach - Walt Corey Assistant Linebackers Coach – Chuck Lester Special Teams Special Teams – Bruce DeHaven Strength & Conditioning Strength and Conditioning Coordinator – Rusty Jones

Roster

1994 Buffalo Bills roster
Quarterbacks 12 Jim Kelly 14 Frank Reich 11 Rick Strom Running Backs 23 Kenneth Davis 34 Thurman Thomas 35 Carwell Gardner FB 28 Yonel Jourdain KR Wide Receivers 82 Don Beebe 80 Bill Brooks 85 Russell Copeland 83 Andre Reed 89 Steve Tasker RS 82 Damon Thomas Tight Ends 84 Lonnie Johnson 87 Vince Marrow 88 Pete Metzelaars 21 Nate Turner		Offensive Linemen 66 Jerry Crafts T 62 Mike Devlin C 65 John Davis G 70 John Fina G 67 Kent Hull C 76 Steve Hoyem T 68 Corbin Lacina G 63 Adam Lingner C 72 Corey Louchiey T 60 Jerry Ostroski G 74 Glenn Parker T Defensive Linemen 90 Phil Hansen DE 73 Mike Lodish NT 99 James Patton DE 71 Ed Philion DT 94 Mark Pike DE 78 Bruce Smith DE 91 Jeff Wright NT		Linebackers 97 Cornelius Bennett OLB 96 Monty Brown OLB 55 Mark Maddox ILB 53 Marvcus Patton ILB 58 Marlo Perry 59 Sam Rogers OLB 56 Darryl Talley OLB Defensive Backs 22 Jeff Burris CB 43 Matt Darby SS 38 Mike Dumas FS 36 Jerome Henderson CB 20 Henry Jones SS 24 Kurt Schulz FS 28 Thomas Smith CB 25 Mickey Washington CB Special Teams  2 Steve Christie K  9 Chris Mohr P		Reserve lists 81 Bucky Brooks WR (IR)
* Note: Rookies in Italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Game Site	Attendance	Notes
1	September 4, 1994	New York Jets	L 3–23	0–1	Rich Stadium	79,460	Bills fumbled twice
2	September 11, 1994	at New England Patriots	W 38–35	1–1	Foxboro Stadium	60,274	Steve Christie booted winning 32-yard field goal in final seconds
3	September 18, 1994	at Houston Oilers	W 15–7	2–1	Houston Astrodome	55,424	Third straight Buffalo win over Oilers
4	September 26, 1994	Denver Broncos	W 27–20	3–1	Rich Stadium	75,373	Thurman Thomas scored twice
5	October 2, 1994	at Chicago Bears	L 13–20	3–2	Soldier Field	62,406	Jim Kelly and Steve Walsh combined for just 276 passing yards
6	October 9, 1994	Miami Dolphins	W 21–11	4–2	Rich Stadium	79,491	Dolphins committed 12 penalties for 94 yards
7	October 16, 1994	Indianapolis Colts	L 17–27	4–3	Rich Stadium	79,404	Jim Kelly sacked four times
8	Bye
9	October 30, 1994	Kansas City Chiefs	W 44–10	5–3	Rich Stadium	79,501	Chiefs used three quarterbacks
10	November 6, 1994	at New York Jets	L 17–22	5–4	The Meadowlands	66,949	Jets used Boomer Esiason and Jack Trudeau at quarterback
11	November 14, 1994	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 10–23	5–5	Three Rivers Stadium	59,019	Steelers score final points on goal line fumble recovery
12	November 20, 1994	Green Bay Packers	W 29–20	6–5	Rich Stadium	79,029	Bills put up 455 yards of offense
13	November 24, 1994	at Detroit Lions	L 21–35	6–6	Pontiac Silverdome	75,672	Bills lost despite holding Barry Sanders to just 45 yards
14	December 4, 1994	at Miami Dolphins	W 42–31	7–6	Joe Robbie Stadium	69,358	Dan Marino intercepted three times in first game following The Fake Spike Game
15	December 11, 1994	Minnesota Vikings	L 17–21	7–7	Rich Stadium	66,501	Warren Moon defeated Bills two years after 1992 game in Buffalo with Oilers
16	December 18, 1994	New England Patriots	L 17–41	7–8	Rich Stadium	56,784	Bills eliminated from playoff race
17	December 24, 1994	at Indianapolis Colts	L 9–10	7–9	RCA Dome	38,458	Colts finished 8–8

Game summaries

Week 1

Pete Carroll's debut as a head coach with the New York Jets.

1 2 3 4 Total • Jets 0 17 3 3 23 Bills 3 0 0 0 3 Date: September 4 Location: Rich Stadium Orchard Park, New York Game start: 4:00 PM EST Game attendance: 79,460 Game weather: 57 °F (14 °C) • 8 miles per hour (13 km/h; 7.0 kn) Referee: Gerald Austin TV announcers (NFL on NBC): Marv Albert and Paul Maguire

Week 2

See also: 1994 New England Patriots season and Bills–Patriots rivalry

Week Two: Buffalo Bills (0–1) at New England Patriots (0–1)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bills	14	14	0	10	38
Patriots	7	7	7	14	35

at Foxboro Stadium • Foxborough, Massachusetts

• Date: September 11
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: 62 °F (17 °C) • Wind 15 miles per hour (24 km/h; 13 kn)
• Game attendance: 60,274
• Pro-Football-Reference.com, The Football Database

Game information
Bills Jim Kelly 25/41, 328 Yds, 4 TD, 3 INT Thurman Thomas 26 Rush, 106 Yds Andre Reed 7 Rec, 142 Yds, TD Patriots Drew Bledsoe 26/42, 380 Yds, 3 TD, 2 INT Marion Butts 18 Rush, 82 Yds, 2 TD Ben Coates 9 Rec, 124 Yds, 2 TD

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP BUF NE 1 12:38 8 80 Bills Andre Reed 37-yard touchdown reception from Jim Kelly, Steve Christie kick good 7 0 1 6:58 11 89 Bills Thurman Thomas 4-yard touchdown reception from Jim Kelly, Steve Christie kick good 14 0 1 0:07 6 42 Patriots Ben Coates 18-yard touchdown reception from Drew Bledsoe, Matt Bahr kick good 14 7 2 12:04 9 77 Bills Bill Brooks 12-yard touchdown reception from Jim Kelly, Steve Christie kick good 21 7 2 2:58 10 88 Patriots Ben Coates 5-yard touchdown reception from Drew Bledsoe, Matt Bahr kick good 21 14 2 1:13 6 78 Bills Don Beebe 14-yard touchdown reception from Jim Kelly, Steve Christie kick good 28 14 3 12:33 1 19 Patriots Marion Butts 19-yard touchdown run, Matt Bahr kick good 28 21 4 14:07 Bills Fumble recovery in end zone for touchdown by Mike Lodish, Steve Christie kick good 35 21 4 9:17 3 23 Patriots Michael Timpson 12-yard touchdown reception from Drew Bledsoe, Matt Bahr kick good 35 28 4 9:22 5 69 Patriots Marion Butts 6-yard touchdown run, Matt Bahr kick good 35 35 4 0:52 8 53 Bills 32-yard field goal by Steve Christie 38 35 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 38 35

Week 3

In a game that featured the old American Football League helmets, the Houston Oilers starting QB for this game was Bucky Richardson.

Buffalo Bills (1-1) at Houston Oilers (0-2)

1 2 3 4 Total • Bills 0 9 3 3 15 Oilers 0 0 0 7 7 Date: September 18 Location: Astrodome Houston, Texas Game start: 1:00pm EST Game attendance: 55,424 Game weather: DOME Referee: Ron Blum TV announcers (NFL on NBC): Charlie Jones (sportscaster) and Randy Cross

Week 4

1 2 3 4 Total Broncos 0 7 10 3 20 • Bills 3 14 7 3 27 Date: September 26 Location: Rich Stadium Game attendance: 75,373 TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Al Michaels, Dan Dierdorf and Lynn Swann (Sideline Reporter)

Week 5

Buffalo Bills (3-1) at Chicago Bears (2-2)

1 2 3 4 Total Bills 3 3 7 0 13 • Bears 0 7 3 10 20 Date: October 2 Location: Soldier Field Chicago, Illinois Game start: 4:00 PM EST Game attendance: 62,406 Game weather: 56 °F (13 °C) • 16 miles per hour (26 km/h; 14 kn) Referee: Ed Hochuli TV announcers (NFL on NBC): Dick Enberg and Bob Trumpy

Week 6

1 2 3 4 Total Dolphins 3 0 0 8 11 • Bills 0 7 7 7 21 Date: October 9 Location: Rich Stadium Orchard Park, New York Game start: 1:00 PM EST Game attendance: 79,491 Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C) • 20 miles per hour (32 km/h; 17 kn) Referee: Jerry Markbreit TV announcers (NFL on NBC): Dick Enberg , Bob Trumpy

[3]

Week 7

1 2 3 4 Total • Colts 3 7 7 10 27 Bills 7 3 0 7 17 Date: October 16 Location: Rich Stadium

Week 9

1 2 3 4 Total Chiefs 7 0 3 0 10 • Bills 14 17 3 10 44 Date: October 30 Location: Rich Stadium Game attendance: 79,501 Game weather: 58 degrees, wind 14 mph Referee: Gordon McCarter TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg, Bob Trumpy, Hannah Storm (Sideline Reporter)

Week 10

1 2 3 4 Total Bills 0 14 0 3 17 • Jets 3 7 6 6 22 Date: November 6 Location: Giants Stadium

Week 11

1 2 3 4 Total Bills 0 3 7 0 10 • Steelers 10 6 7 0 23 Date: November 14 Location: Three Rivers Stadium - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game start: 9:00 PM EST Game attendance: 59,019 Game weather: 58 °F (14 °C) • 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn) Referee: Ed Hochuli TV announcers (Monday Night Football, ABC): Frank Gifford , Al Michaels , Dan Dierdorf, Lynn Swann (sideline reporter)

Week 12

1 2 3 4 Total Packers 0 6 14 0 20 • Bills 14 13 0 2 29 Date: November 20 Location: Rich Stadium

Week 13

1 2 3 4 Total Bills 0 7 7 7 21 • Lions 7 14 0 14 35 Date: November 24 Location: Pontiac Silverdome Game weather: Indoors (dome)

Week 14

1 2 3 4 Total • Bills 7 0 21 14 42 Dolphins 0 17 0 14 31 Date: December 4, 1994 Location: Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami, Florida Game start: 8:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 69,358 Game weather: 79 °F (26 °C) • 15 miles per hour (24 km/h; 13 kn) Referee: Bob McElwee TV announcers (ESPN Sunday Night Football): Mike Patrick , Joe Theismann , Mark Malone (sideline reporter)

Scoring summary Q1 BUF Brooks 8 yard pass from Kelly (Christie kick) BUF 7–0 Q2 MIA Fryar 3 yard pass from Marino (Stoyanovich kick) Tie 7–7 Q2 MIA Stoyanovich 23 yard field goal MIA 10–7 Q2 MIA Fryar 45 yard pass from Marino (Stoyanovich kick) MIA 17–7 Q3 BUF Beebe 72 yard pass from Kelly (Christie kick) MIA 17–14 Q3 BUF Reed 21 yard pass from Kelly (Christie kick) BUF 21–17 Q3 BUF Gardner 1 yard run (Christie kick) BUF 28–17 Q4 MIA Jackson 23 yard pass from Marino (pass failed) BUF 28–23 Q4 BUF Gardner 1 yard run (Christie kick) BUF 35–23 Q4 BUF Reed 83 yard pass from Kelly (Christie kick) BUF 42–23 Q4 MIA Miller 1 yard pass from Kosar (Parmalee run) BUF 42–31

[4]

Week 15

1 2 3 4 Total • Vikings 3 6 3 9 21 Bills 7 3 7 0 17 Date: December 11 Location: Rich Stadium

Week 16

1 2 3 4 Total • Patriots 3 14 14 10 41 Bills 10 7 0 0 17 Date: December 18 Location: Rich Stadium

Week 17

1 2 3 4 Total Bills 0 6 0 3 9 • Colts 0 0 10 0 10 Date: December 24 Location: Hoosier Dome

Standings

AFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
^(3) Miami Dolphins	10	6	0	.625	389	327	W1
^(5) New England Patriots	10	6	0	.625	351	312	W7
Indianapolis Colts	8	8	0	.500	307	320	W2
Buffalo Bills	7	9	0	.438	340	356	L3
New York Jets	6	10	0	.375	264	320	L5

Awards and records

References

1. 1994 was the only season from 1988–1996 that Buffalo did not qualify for the postseason
2. 1994 Buffalo Bills Media Guide. pp. 2–23.
4. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Jun-25.

• Bills on Pro Football Reference
• Bills on jt-sw.com
• Bills Stats on jt-sw.com