Buffalo Bills fondly recall four consecutive Super Bowl losses

DALLAS  Twenty years ago, they were all Buffalo Bills. That meant something then, but given the judgment of time, means even more now.

The only man to ever be a head coach in four straight Super Bowls will have his first novel published soon, at the age of 85. "The protagonist," Marv Levy said over the phone, "is a sportswriter."

The only general manager to ever put together a team that went to four straight Super Bowls now is president of the Indianapolis Colts and understands how the modern ways of the NFL make such a thing nearly unimaginable, for his team or anyone else's. "It's not likely to be repeated," Bill Polian said. "It's a standalone accomplishment."

The only quarterback to ever start four straight Super Bowls has never watched any of them. Jim Kelly was riding in a car with 15-year-old daughter Erin the other day and said, "You know what; daddy has never watched any of those Super Bowls. One day we're going to get them out and look at them."

"Dad," Erin answered, "you sure you really want to do that?"

Twenty years ago this month, the Bills went to their first Super Bowl. And lost. They would go to three more in succession. And lose. They made elation and pain parts of every Buffalo winter.

First was the 20-19 heartbreaker, when the New York Giants kept the ball more than 40 minutes and Scott Norwood's 47-yard field goal slipped just right at the end.

Then the 37-24 whipping by Washington.

Then a 52-17 mashing by Dallas, which included nine Buffalo turnovers.

Then a 30-13 loss in a Cowboys rematch, when the Bills led 13-6 at halftime but were outscored 24-0 in the second half.

How could it happen to a powerhouse that won its four conference title games by a combined score of 120-33, beating Joe Montana, John Elway and Dan Marino? The Bills had future Hall of Famers in Levy and Kelly, running back Thurman Thomas, receiver James Lofton and defensive end Bruce Smith. They owned the AFC.

"We were like the Brooklyn Dodgers of the '50s," Polian said, "a great team that didn't win it all. Except the Dodgers did win one."

And yet, the Bills kept coming back for more, even as the nation turned them into a punchline for futility. "Time tends to soften that some," Polian said.

"The further we're removed from those games," Kelly said, "the more people appreciate what we were able to do."

They had struggled with chemistry in the 1980s. The Bickering Bills became an unwanted nickname. "We realized we had talent, but we were never going to get anywhere unless we pulled together," said Kelly, who started having players and families to his house after every home game to watch highlights on ESPN.

Glued together, the Bills prospered in an amazing way — except when the game had a Roman numeral. But 20 years later, history should applaud. If what they did wasn't extraordinary, how come no one else has done it?

Polian: "They had incredible resilience as individuals. Marv cultivated that. He made them aware of the fact that we always had tomorrow. One loss didn't define them."

Levy: "The formula we used was there was a period where we mourned, a period when we owned up and thought about what we could do different, a period where we recognized the good. Then you made a plan and went to work again."

Kelly: "As time went by, people started realizing how hard it was to go back year after year, and lose. If you talk to any player about that, I guarantee 99% of the players would say that would never be done again, and probably say they don't know how we did it."

Levy: "I remember our locker room after the (Giants) game, and Scott (Norwood) was sitting there. I walked over to console him and I hardly knew what to say. But Darryl Talley and Nate Odomes came up and said, "If we would have made that tackle on third and long, it wouldn't have come to that.' One guy after another came by."

Polian, on a draw play just before the Norwood attempt, when Thomas had room to get Norwood much closer, but stepped out of bounds because the Bills were low on timeouts. "We looked at the tape the next day with Marv and we both stopped and took a deep breath. He could have run 15 more yards.

"Sometimes, it was just fate that happened."

Levy: "I had a call-in show, and after the third one, a fan called in and said, 'Please don't go back to the Super Bowl next year. I can't stand it. I get so depressed, I can't go to work the next day.'

"I said, 'Sir, I understand. But I'm glad that you're not on my team.' "

Kelly: "People always ask, would you rather win one time or go four times and lose. It's a hard question. But to be honest with you, I would rather go four times and lose."

Polian: "The way things have turned out in Buffalo (no playoffs for 11 years), in a strange and ironic way, that team has taken on even greater significance."

Levy: "They'll always hurt a little but. But we'll remember the good times more. That team has stayed very close personally through the years. Those guys I directed, they're my friends.

"There's one way to assure you'll never lose a Super Bowl. Don't go."

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Contact Mike Lopresti at mlopresti@gannett.com.

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