The 1986 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 17th season in the
National Football League, and the 27th overall.
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.[a]
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]
University of Iowa running back
Ronnie Harmon played for the Bills for four seasons.[b]Vanderbilt's
Will Wolford played
offensive tackle for the Bills for seven years, and was voted to the
Pro Bowl in
1990 and
1992.[c] 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 endButch Rolle played for the Bills for 6 years, and at one point had a streak of ten consecutive receptions for touchdowns.
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.
The 1986 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 17th season in the
National Football League, and the 27th overall.
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.[a]
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]
University of Iowa running back
Ronnie Harmon played for the Bills for four seasons.[b]Vanderbilt's
Will Wolford played
offensive tackle for the Bills for seven years, and was voted to the
Pro Bowl in
1990 and
1992.[c] 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 endButch Rolle played for the Bills for 6 years, and at one point had a streak of ten consecutive receptions for touchdowns.
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.