# 1986 Buffalo Bills season

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.
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.
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 a 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. 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

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.
1986 Buffalo Bills draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 16 | Ronnie Harmon * | RB | Iowa |
| 1 | 20 | Will Wolford * | OT | Vanderbilt |
| 3 | 77 | Leonard Burton | C | South Carolina |
| 5 | 111 | Carl Byrum | RB | Mississippi Valley State |
| 7 | 168 | Bob Williams | TE | Penn State |
| 7 | 178 | Mark Pike | LB | Georgia Tech |
| 7 | 180 | Butch Rolle | TE | Michigan State |
| 8 | 202 | Tony Furjanic | LB | Notre Dame |
| 9 | 222 | Reggie Bynum | WR | Oregon State |
| 10 | 251 | Guy Tefatiller | DT | Illinois |
| 11 | 278 | Tony Garbarczyk | DT | Wake Forest |
| 11 | 282 | Billy Witt | DE | North Alabama |
| 12 | 313 | Brian McClure | QB | Bowling Green |
| 12 | 331 | Derek Christian | LB | West Virginia |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Regular season
### Transactions

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

### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 7 | New York Jets | L 24–28 | 0–1 | Rich Stadium | 79,951 |
| 2 | September 14 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 33–36 | 0–2 | Riverfront Stadium | 52,714 |
| 3 | September 21 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 17–10 | 1–2 | Rich Stadium | 65,762 |
| 4 | September 28 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 17–20 | 1–3 | Rich Stadium | 67,555 |
| 5 | October 5 | at New York Jets | L 13–14 | 1–4 | Giants Stadium | 69,504 |
| 6 | October 12 | at Miami Dolphins | L 14–27 | 1–5 | Miami Orange Bowl | 49,467 |
| 7 | October 19 | Indianapolis Colts | W 24–13 | 2–5 | Rich Stadium | 50,050 |
| 8 | October 26 | New England Patriots | L 3–23 | 2–6 | Rich Stadium | 77,808 |
| 9 | November 2 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 28–34 | 2–7 | Tampa Stadium | 32,806 |
| 10 | November 9 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 16–12 | 3–7 | Rich Stadium | 72,000 |
| 11 | November 16 | Miami Dolphins | L 24–34 | 3–8 | Rich Stadium | 76,474 |
| 12 | November 23 | at New England Patriots | L 19–22 | 3–9 | Sullivan Stadium | 60,455 |
| 13 | November 30 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 17–14 | 4–9 | Arrowhead Stadium | 31,492 |
| 14 | December 7 | Cleveland Browns | L 17–21 | 4–10 | Rich Stadium | 42,213 |
| 15 | December 14 | at Indianapolis Colts | L 14–24 | 4–11 | Hoosier Dome | 52,783 |
| 16 | December 21 | at Houston Oilers | L 7–16 | 4–12 | Astrodome | 31,409 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Game summaries
#### Week 1 vs. Jets

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Jets | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
| Bills | 7 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 24 |
at Rich Stadium • Orchard Park, New York
* Date: September 7
* Game time: 4:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: 56 °F or 13.3 °C • Wind 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn)
* Game attendance: 79,951
* Referee: Jerry Markbreit
* TV announcers (NBC): Marv Albert and Bob Griese
* Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information :
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.
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | NYJ | BUF |
| 1 | 8:55 | | | | Bills | Bell 2-yard touchdown reception from Kelly, Norwood kick good | 0 | 7 |
| 1 | 6:14 | | | | Jets | Paige 2-yard touchdown run, Leahy kick good | 7 | 7 |
| 2 | 3:51 | | | | Jets | Toon 46-yard touchdown reception from O'Brien, Leahy kick good | 14 | 7 |
| 2 | 3:05 | | | | Bills | 19-yard field goal by Norwood | 14 | 10 |
| 4 | 14:00 | | | | Bills | Reed 55-yard touchdown reception from Kelly, Norwood kick good | 14 | 17 |
| 4 | 9:58 | | | | Jets | Hector 1-yard touchdown run, Leahy kick good | 21 | 17 |
| 4 | 5:24 | | | | Jets | Walker 71-yard touchdown reception from O'Brien, Leahy kick good | 28 | 17 |
| 4 | 3:55 | | | | Bills | Metzelaars 4-yard touchdown reception from Kelly, Norwood kick good | 28 | 24 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 28 | 24 |

#### Week 2 at Bengals

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Bills | 3 | 6 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 26 |
| • Bengals | 7 | 14 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 36 |

#### Week 3

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| • Bills | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |

#### Week 4

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Chiefs | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 20 |
| Bills | 7 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 17 |

#### Week 5

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bills | 0 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 13 |
| • Jets | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |

#### Week 6

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bills | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| • Dolphins | 3 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 27 |

#### Week 7

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Colts | 3 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 13 |
| • Bills | 7 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 24 |

#### Week 8

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Patriots | 7 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 23 |
| Bills | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |

#### Week 9

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bills | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 | 28 |
| • Buccaneers | 10 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 34 |

#### Week 10

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Steelers | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| • Bills | 6 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 16 |
* Marv Levy first game as Buffalo Bills head coach.
* First Buffalo head coach to win coaching debut

#### Week 11

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Dolphins | 0 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 34 |
| Bills | 7 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 24 |

#### Week 12

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bills | 0 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 19 |
| • Patriots | 9 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 22 |

#### Week 13

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Bills | 0 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
| Chiefs | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |

#### Week 14

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Browns | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| Bills | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 |

#### Week 15

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bills | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| • Colts | 0 | 0 | 14 | 10 | 24 |

#### Week 16

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bills | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • Oilers | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 16 |

### Standings

AFC East :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| New England Patriots$^{(3)}$ | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 7–1 | 8–4 | 412 | 307 | W1 |
| New York Jets$^{(4)}$ | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 6–2 | 8–4 | 364 | 386 | L5 |
| Miami Dolphins | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 5–3 | 6–6 | 430 | 405 | L1 |
| Buffalo Bills | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 1–7 | 3–11 | 287 | 348 | L3 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 1–7 | 2–10 | 229 | 400 | W3 |