The poor Buffalo Bills and the Bills’ Mafia. A 16-0 lead in Saturday’s AFC Wild-Card game turned into a brutal, 22-19 overtime loss to the Houston Texans. The last Bills’ playoff victory came Dec. 30, 1995 against the Miami Dolphins. Ouch.
The President was …
Bill Clinton was President of the United State on Dec. 30, 1995, the day the Bills defeated the Miami Dolphins in a Wild-Card game. Clinton’s VP was Al Gore.
The No. 1 song was …
“One Sweet Day” by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men. Proving some things never change, Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” stands atop the Billboard Top 100 currently.
Dead Man Walking
The movie “Dead Man Walking,” starring Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon was released the day before the Bills met the Dolphins in the Wild-Card round.
The NFL MVP was …
Brett Favre. The quarterback led the Packers to an 11-5 record by throwing for 4,413 yards and 38 touchdowns in 1995. Green Bay was knocked out in the NFC Championship Game by the Dallas Cowboys.
The Bills’ coach was ….
Marv Levy. He had turned 70 on Aug. 3, 1995, and led the team to a 10-6 record. Jim Kelly was Buffalo’s quarterback, starting 15 games and going 10-5.
AFC Rookie of the Year
The New England Patriots’ Curtis Martin took AFC honors. The rookie from Pittsburgh rushed for 1,487 yards.
1995 World Series
The Atlanta Braves and Cleveland Indians met in the 1995 World. Series. Five of the six games were won by one run, including the clinching sixth game, a 1–0 combined one-hitter by Tom Glavine and Mark Wohlers for the Braves.
College football champion
Nebraska won its second straight championship, crushing second-ranked Florida, 62-24, in the Fiesta Bowl. Eddie George of Ohio State won the Heisman. A trivia note: The Southwest Conference played its final game, an 18–17 Houston win over Rice.
Josh Allen had not been born
Yes, it was that long ago. Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen was born on May 21, 1996. That was more than five months after the Bills’ playoff victory. Neither was Devin Singletary, Tremaine Edmunds, Ed Oliver and Corey Bojorquez of Buffalo.
The Bengals had the first pick in ’95 draft
Cincinnati had the first pick in the 1995 NFL Draft. The Bengals have the first pick in 2020. They had best hope they have better luck this go-round. In 1995, they drafted Ki-Jana Carter, a running back from Penn State, who suffered many injuries and never lived up to his No. 1 overall pick status.
The Bills’ first pick in ’95 was
Quarterback Todd Collins from Michigan. He was taken with the 45th overall pick in the second round. Collins lasted three seasons in Buffalo, going 7-10 as a starter.
The Texans did not exist
The first year for the Houston Texans was 2002. There was a team in Houston, however, known as the Oilers and they went 7-9. They called the Astrodome home. The Oilers’ coach was Jeff Fisher.
Miami’s coach in 1995 was …
Don Shula coached the final game of his Hall-of-Fame career as the Bills ousted the Dolphins, 37-22. It was the final game of Shula’s coaching career. A coincidence: Saturday was Shula’s 90th birthday.
