Important Dates in Bills History presented by M&T Bank helps fans recognize what's important. In the NFL, winning is important and on Jan. 20, 1991 the Bills dominated against the Raiders in the AFC Championship.
In 1990 the Buffalo Bills put together an impressive 13-3 regular season, which left the team poised to make a playoff run. After coming away with a 44-34 victory over the Miami Dolphins in the AFC divisional round, the Bills moved on to face the Los Angeles Raiders. Playing at Rich Stadium in front of over 80,000 fans, the Bills won their first of four consecutive AFC Championship titles.
Led by a host of Hall of Famers including quarterback Jim Kelly, running back Thurman Thomas and wide receiver James Lofton, the Bills rallied to put together a near perfect performance. Looking at the numbers, Kelly completed 17 of 23 pass attempts for 300 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Thomas fueled the effort on the ground with 138 yards rushing on 25 carries for one touchdown, while Lofton hauled in five receptions for 113 yards and two touchdowns.
Like the Bills, the Raiders had a commendable season coming into the game. Going 12-4, Los Angeles came out strong during the divisional round of playoffs and defeated Cincinnati 20-10. However, the Raiders could not get anything going against Buffalo's physical defensive unit. In the end, the Bills would advance to the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history.
