Super Bowl Monday_ From the Persian Gulf to the Shores of West Florida - Adam Lazarus [29]
But not a single Eagle sacked quarterback Jim Kelly in their December 1990 matchup, and Buffalo’s lone turnover didn’t even cost them a possession. (An interception was negated when Thurman Thomas deflected Joyner’s attempt to lateral the ball, and the Bills recovered the fumble.)
Fluke plays such as this one were not necessary for the Bills to ground out yardage, first downs, and points. At 9-2, they were averaging more than twenty-eight points per game, far better than any other team in the league. Prior to the Philadelphia game, Kelly paced the AFC in completion percentage, Thomas led the entire NFL in total yardage, and receiver Andre Reed was in the midst of a second straight all-pro season.
The Bills featured the most balanced, yet supremely explosive attacks in the league. It was also, coincidently, the most unique and unconventional offense seen in decades.[1]
The Bills flirted with a fast-paced approach early in the 1989 season. Trailing by eleven points late in the fourth quarter in the opener against Miami, a pair of touchdowns—orchestrated via the no-huddle—spurred the Bills to victory. Using the offense throughout the second half a week later against the Broncos didn’t produce another comeback and convinced Levy that the no-huddle was not reliable.
“If you think you’re going to win games doing that right out of the box, it will win you one and lose you two,” Levy told reporters after the loss to Denver. “You make a garrison try at it and it looks exciting, but it’s desperation football. It pays off on rare occasions, but not on frequent occasions.”
But Kelly lobbied the coaching staff for more opportunities to perfect the no-huddle. In Week Three, the Bills played Houston in the Astrodome. Running a perpetual “two-minute” offense, Kelly posted five touchdowns and 363 yards passing—the best performance of his short career—as the Bills triumphed in overtime 47-41. (The Bills eventually dubbed this offense the “K-Gun,” a salute to their tight end Keith “Killer” McKeller.)
By their first-round playoff game against Cleveland, the no-huddle was ready for an extended test. The Browns boasted the second-best defense in the conference, and on that day inside Municipal Stadium by Lake Erie, the unit surrendered just forty-nine rushing yards on eighteen carries.
The absence of a ground attack did nothing to slow down the Bills offense. In fact, it worked to their advantage.
“They chose not to feature the running game,” Browns linebacker Clay Matthews said afterward. “Instead they spread us out and confused us. We were out of sync. They created some matchup problems.”
The greatest matchup problem quickly became Cleveland’s entire defense versus Thurman Thomas. In his second NFL season, Thomas emerged as an every-down, multitalented player. He finished the regular season sixth in the NFL in rushing yards, but 669 additional yards on sixty receptions meant the NFL lead in total yards from scrimmage. (He would win that title four consecutive years, a record that still stands.)
So when running lanes did not open up early in the playoff battle against Cleveland, Thomas tied a playoff record, catching thirteen passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns. Every member of the Buffalo passing game benefited from Thomas’ omnipresence. In the first half, receivers Andre Reed and James Lofton each caught long touchdown passes from Kelly, who finished the day with over 400 yards passing.
Spreading out the Browns defense added a new wrinkle to the Bills attack. But the pace of the Bills offense handcuffed their opponent. Buffalo ran virtually every play without a huddle. The unorthodox strategy not only prevented the defense from catching its breath in between plays, it also kept the Browns coaches from making instantaneous substitutions to both the lineup and the defensive strategy.
Across a frozen though snowless field, Kelly