The team finished the year with a record of 13 wins and 3 losses, and first in the American Football Conference (AFC) East division.
Buffalo qualified for their first Super Bowl appearance, but lost 20–19 to the New York Giants after an infamous missed field goal by Scott Norwood in the game's closing seconds.
[4] The season was chronicled on October 2, 2008 for America's Game: The Missing Rings, as one of the five greatest NFL teams to never win the Super Bowl.
Running backs Wide receivers Tight ends Offensive linemen Defensive linemen Defensive backs Special teams Practice squad 47 active, 11 inactive, 4 practice squad Bruce Smith set a club record with 19 sacks.
The Bills, on Sunday Night Football, trailed 24–14 in the fourth quarter before erupting to 24 points to defeat the then-unbeaten Los Angeles Raiders, 38–24.
The Bills welcomed the NFC East team Phoenix Cardinals to an extremely windy Rich Stadium, and defeated them 45–14.
This time the Oilers made sure there would be no comeback as Warren Moon and Lorenzo White authored 425 combined yards of offense and three touchdowns.
The Bills, under backup quarterback Frank Reich, defeated the Miami Dolphins and wrapped up the AFC East title.
Reich connected with James Lofton and Andre Reed for touchdowns, ultimately winning 24–14 despite fourteen penalties to five for Miami.
Bills Head Coach Marv Levy decided to rest his starters for the playoffs, dropping the final game of the season in Washington, 29–14.
Despite being a close score, the Bills never trailed in this classic Jim Kelly versus Dan Marino shootout.
The Raiders offense clearly missed running back Bo Jackson, who suffered what would turn out to be a career-ending injury the week before in a win against the Cincinnati Bengals.
After forcing the Bills to punt on the opening drive of the game, the Giants consumed 6:15 off the clock by marching 58 yards in 10 plays to score on a 28-yard field goal from Matt Bahr.
But the Bills struck right back on their ensuing possession with a five-play, 66-yard drive that took 1:23 off the clock, including a tipped 61-yard completion from quarterback Jim Kelly to receiver James Lofton that set up Scott Norwood's 23-yard field goal to tie the game at 3–3.
On second down, defensive lineman Bruce Smith sacked quarterback Jeff Hostetler in the end zone for a safety, increasing the Bills' lead 12–3.
Taking the ball at their own 13-yard line with 3:43 left in the second quarter, the Giants abandoned their long drive strategy and employed a quick strike attack of their own.
Hostetler led the Giants 87 yards, scoring on a 14-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Stephen Baker with just 25 seconds left in the half to cut New York's deficit to 12–10.
The Bills managed to halt the drive at their own 3-yard line when linebacker Cornelius Bennett broke up Hostetler's third down pass, but Bahr kicked his second field goal to give New York a 20–19 lead.
After gaining 219 total yards versus the New York Jets, Thomas was named AFC offensive player of the week.