2008 Buffalo Bills

If the NFL gave out Super Bowl trophies for sheer grit and persistence, the Bills would have been the 2007 NFL champion. While injuries cursed this team’s 2007 campaign, the 2008 Bills are defined by their new and emerging talent. New starting QB Trent Edwards is capable of polished performances that remind us of a younger Tom Brady – this should help the Bills convert far more red zone opportunities. Free agency acquisitions are key for the Bills this year, with linebacker Kawika Mitchell expected to lift the tenacity of the defense. There is much to like about the Bills depth of talent this year, and we expect them to contend – at the very least – for a wild card playoff spot.

Some Buffalo Bills history: The Bills built powerful teams in both the now-defunct American Football League (AFL) and the NFL. The team won consecutive AFL titles in 1964 and 1965 with teams that starred running back Cookie Gilchrist and quarterback Jack Kemp. During the 1970s Bills running back O. J. Simpson became one of the most prolific rushers in professional football history, breaking nearly every NFL rushing record. Buffalo appeared in four consecutive Super Bowls from 1991 through 1994 with teams starring linebacker Cornelius Bennett, quarterback Jim Kelly, defensive end Bruce Smith, and running back Thurman Thomas.

Buffalo became a charter member of the AFL in 1960. After four mediocre seasons, the team won the Eastern Division in 1964 under head coach Lou Saban, who was named AFL coach of the year. Also that year, the Bills' star kicker, Hungarian-born Pete Gogolak, became professional football's first soccer-style kicker, using the side of his foot rather than his toe to propel the football. The Bills beat the San Diego Chargers in the 1964 AFL Championship Game. A year later they repeated the feat. Saban again won top coaching honors, and Jack Kemp was named the league's MVP.

Led by veteran quarterback Joe Ferguson and rookie running back Joe Cribbs, Buffalo made the playoffs in 1980, and Chuck Knox was named AFC coach of the year. The Bills continued to improve during the 1980s, reaching the playoffs again in 1981 and acquiring key players such as quarterback Jim Kelly, running back Thurman Thomas, and wide receiver Andre Reed.

In 1988 the Bills reached the AFC Championship Game for the first time since joining the NFL. In 1991 the Bills went to the first of four consecutive albeit unsuccessful Super Bowls:

• 1991 Super Bowl XXV Lost to New York Giants, 20-19
• 1992 Super Bowl XXVI Lost to Washington Redskins, 37-24
• 1993 Super Bowl XXVII Lost to Dallas Cowboys, 52-17
• 1994 Super Bowl XXVIII Lost to Dallas Cowboys, 30-13

Buffalo continued to be a dominant force in the AFC Eastern Division in the mid- and late 1990s.