1986 Buffalo Bills season

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. 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.

NFL draft

Main article: 1986 NFL draft

University of Iowa running back Ronnie Harmon played for the Bills for four seasons. Vanderbilt's Will Wolford played offensive tackle for the Bills for seven years, and was voted to the Pro Bowl in 1990 and 1992. 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.

Personnel

Staff

• 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 coach – Hank Bullough

• Offensive coordinator/Offensive Line – Jim Ringo

• Quarterbacks/Passing Game Coordinator – Bob Leahy

• Running Backs – Elijah Pitts

• Receivers – Joe Daniels

• Tight Ends – Joe Faragalli

• Defensive coordinator/Inside Linebackers – Herb Paterra

• Defensive Line – Ted Cottrell

• Outside Linebackers – Ardell Wiegandt

• Defensive Backfield – Dick Moseley

• Special Teams – Elijah Pitts

• Strength and Conditioning Coordinator – Rusty Jones

Roster

Regular season

Transactions

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

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 1 vs. Jets

;Jets

• Ken O'Brien 18/25, 318 Yds, 2 TD
• Freeman McNeil 21 Rush, 72 Yds
• Al Toon 6 Rec, 119 Yds, TD ;Bills
• Jim Kelly 20/33, 292 Yds, 3 TD
• Greg Bell 17 Rush, 44 Yds
• Andre Reed 5 Rec, 95 Yds, TD

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

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

• Marv Levy first game as Buffalo Bills head coach.
• First Buffalo head coach to win coaching debut

Week 11

Week 12

Week 13

Week 14

Week 15

Week 16

Standings

Notes

References

References

1. Talbot, Ryan. (2019-03-29). "Losing for Levy: How throwing game led to Buffalo Bills hiring HOF coach".
2. (September 14, 2008). "2008 Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame: Bruce Smith".
3. [Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M.; and Korch, Rich [http://www.abebooks.com/book-search/isbn/0312110731/soft-cover/ 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".
5. "The Month of November in Bills History". [[Buffalo Bills]].
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20. [http://www.footballdb.com/games/boxscore.html?gid=1986122103 The Football Database]. Retrieved 2018-Jan-07.