34th season in franchise history, fourth straight Super Bowl appearance and loss
The 1993 Buffalo Bills season was the 34th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL). The Buffalo Bills finished the National Football League 's 1993 season with a record of 12 wins and 4 losses, and finished first in the AFC East division.
The Bills qualified for their fourth straight Super Bowl , where they faced the Dallas Cowboys in a rematch of the previous season's Super Bowl . However, just like with the previous Super Bowl, the Bills would lose to the Cowboys, this time by a score of 30–13.
Until the 2020 season , this Bills squad was the last to reach the AFC Championship Game. The Bills' four consecutive Super Bowl appearances remains unmatched as of 2024, with no other team having even so much as played in four out of five consecutive Super Bowls until the Kansas City Chiefs did so from the 2019 through the 2023 seasons .
Despite the many jokes about the Bills having lost three straight Super Bowls —a fan pleaded with head coach Marv Levy for the team to not return to the Super Bowl: "I can't take it. I can't go to work on Monday if we don't win the game. It's tearing me up. I can't handle it"—Don Beebe recalled that "I've got to be honest with you. We thrived in it. We enjoyed it. We were going to go to four ... I think that comes a lot from the Winston Churchill poems and the speeches that we would get from Marv". Dan Patrick reported that "Buffalo players have been wearing t-shirts reading something along the lines of 'Let's Tick Them Off and Go for Four'".[ 1] The team qualified for another Super Bowl; they became the first franchise to win four consecutive conference championships, as well as the first to appear in four consecutive Super Bowls.
Defensive end Bruce Smith was named NEA Defensive Player of the Year , and tied for the league lead with 13.5 sacks . Smith, linebacker Darryl Talley and special teams gunner Steve Tasker were named to the 1993 All-Pro team . The Bills' 47 defensive takeaways in 1993 is the third-highest total of the 1990s.[ 2]
Running back Thurman Thomas led the AFC with 1,315 rushing yards.[ 3]
Undrafted Free Agents [ edit ] 1993 Undrafted Free Agents of note Player Position College Phil Bryant Running back Virginia Tech
1993 Buffalo Bills staff Front office
Owner/President – Ralph Wilson Vice President of Administration/general manager – John Butler Vice President of Football Operations – Marv Levy Assistant general manager/Director of Pro Personnel – Bob Ferguson Director of player personnel – John Butler Assistant director/Collegiate Scouting – A. J. Smith Director of Player Development/Alumni Relations - Jerry Butler Head coaches
Head coach – Marv Levy Assistant head coach – Elijah Pitts Administrative Assistant to the Head Coach – Chuck Lester Offensive coaches
Defensive coaches Defensive coordinatorr/Linebackers – Walt Corey Defensive line – Dan Sekanovich Defensive backs – Dick Roach Defensive Quality Control / Administrative Assistant – Chuck Lester Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 5 New England Patriots W 38–14 1–0 Rich Stadium 79,751 2 September 12 at Dallas Cowboys W 13–10 2–0 Texas Stadium 63,226 3 Bye 4 September 26 Miami Dolphins L 13–22 2–1 Rich Stadium 79,635 5 October 3 New York Giants W 17–14 3–1 Rich Stadium 79,283 6 October 11 Houston Oilers W 35–7 4–1 Rich Stadium 79,613 7 Bye 8 October 24 at New York Jets W 19–10 5–1 Giants Stadium 71,541
9 November 1 Washington Redskins W 24–10 6–1 Rich Stadium 79,106 10 November 7 at New England Patriots W 13–10 (OT) 7–1 Foxboro Stadium 54,326 11 November 15 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 0–23 7–2 Three Rivers Stadium 60,265 12 November 21 Indianapolis Colts W 23–9 8–2 Rich Stadium 79,101 13 November 28 at Kansas City Chiefs L 7–23 8–3 Arrowhead Stadium 74,452 14 December 5 Los Angeles Raiders L 24–25 8–4 Rich Stadium 79,478 15 December 12 at Philadelphia Eagles W 10–7 9–4 Veterans Stadium 60,769 16 December 19 at Miami Dolphins W 47–34 10–4 Joe Robbie Stadium 71,597 17 December 26 New York Jets W 16–14 11–4 Rich Stadium 70,817 18 January 2, 1994 at Indianapolis Colts W 30–10 12–4 Hoosier Dome 43,028
Week One: New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total Patriots 0 7 7 0 14 Bills 0 17 0 21 38
at Rich Stadium , Orchard Park, New York
Date : September 5Game time : 1:00 p.m.Game weather : 66 °F (19 °C), wind 12 mph (19 km/h)Referee : Gerald AustinTV announcers (NBC) : Tom Hammond and Cris CollinsworthBox Score
Scoring summary Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Patriots Bills 2 Bills 28-yard field goal by Steve Christie 0 3 2 Bills Bill Brooks 4-yard touchdown reception from Jim Kelly, Steve Christie kick good 0 10 2 Patriots Ben Coates 54-yard touchdown reception from Drew Bledsoe, Scott Sisson kick good 7 10 2 Bills Andre Reed 41-yard touchdown reception from Jim Kelly, Steve Christie kick good 7 17 3 Patriots Greg McMurtry 2-yard touchdown reception from Drew Bledsoe, Scott Sisson kick good 14 17 4 Bills Andre Reed 22-yard touchdown reception from Jim Kelly, Steve Christie kick good 14 24 4 Bills Andre Reed 14-yard touchdown reception from Jim Kelly, Steve Christie kick good 14 31 4 Bills Punt returned 47 yards for touchdown by Russell Copeland , Steve Christie kick good 14 38 "TOP" = time of possession . For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football . 14 38
1 2 3 4 Total • Bills 7 3 0 3 13 Cowboys 0 3 0 7 10
Date: September 12Location: Texas Stadium , Irving, Texas Game start: 3:00 p.m. Game weather: 85 °F (29 °C), wind 16 mph (26 km/h)Referee: Bernie KukarTV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Bob Trumpy
[ 4]
1 2 3 4 Total • Dolphins 16 3 3 0 22 Bills 0 6 0 7 13
1 2 3 4 Total Oilers 7 0 0 0 7 • Bills 7 21 0 7 35
[ 5]
[ 6]
November 1, 1993.
1 2 3 4 Total Redskins 7 3 0 0 10 • Bills 14 0 7 3 24
[ 7]
1 2 3 4 Total Colts 3 3 3 0 9 • Bills 0 16 7 0 23
Buffalo Bills (8–2) at Kansas City Chiefs (7–3) 1 2 3 4 Total Bills 7 0 0 0 7 • Chiefs 7 3 10 3 23
[ 8]
[ 9]
1 2 3 4 Total • Bills 9 17 21 0 47 Eagles 7 13 7 7 34
Buffalo (9–4) at Miami (9–4) 1 2 3 4 Total • Bills 9 17 21 0 47 Dolphins 7 13 7 7 34
1 2 3 4 Total Jets 7 0 7 0 14 • Bills 7 6 0 3 16
Date: December 26, 1993Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, NYGame start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 70,817Game weather: 9 °F (−13 °C) • 23 miles per hour (37 km/h; 20 kn)Referee: Ed Hochuli TV announcers (NFL on NBC ): Don Criqui , Paul Maguire
DAL – FG: Eddie Murray 41 yards 3–0 DAL BUF – FG: Steve Christie 54 yards 3–3 tie DAL – FG: Eddie Murray 24 yards 6–3 DAL BUF – TD: Thurman Thomas 4 yard run (Steve Christie kick) 10–6 BUF BUF – FG: Steve Christie 28 yards 13–6 BUF DAL – TD: James Washington 46 yard fumble return (Eddie Murray kick) 13–13 tie DAL – TD: Emmitt Smith 17 yard run (Eddie Murray kick) 20–13 DAL DAL – TD: Emmitt Smith 1 yard run (Eddie Murray kick) 27–13 DAL DAL – FG: Eddie Murray 20 yards 30–13 DAL ^ "Four Falls of Buffalo" . 30 for 30 . Season 3. December 12, 2015. ESPN. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1990 to 1999, in the regular season, sorted by descending Takeaways , behind the 1991 Eagles and 1991 Saints . ^ Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M.; and Korch, Rich The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Football, 12th Edition , p. 680, Martin's Press, August 1994, ISBN 0-312-11073-1 ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved 2013-Dec-14. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved 2021-Jun-06. ^ "Washington Redskins at Buffalo Bills - November 1st, 1993" . Pro-Football-Reference.com . ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com , [1] ^ "Los Angeles Raiders at Buffalo Bills - December 5th, 1993" . Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved November 11, 2024 .
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