Each week, Buffalo Rumblings will prepare you for the Buffalo Bills' upcoming opponent by looking back into the history of the series to find a memorable game or moment. This week, we continue by looking at the 1990 AFC Championship game between the Bills and the Oakland Raiders.
The 1990 Buffalo Bills were 13-3 and tops in the AFC. After beating the Miami Dolphins in the divisional round, the Los Angeles Raiders were squarely in Buffalo's sights. The Raiders were 12-4 and the second seed in the AFC. They beat the Cincinnati Bengals 20-10 in the divisional round, and traveled to Buffalo on January 20, 1991.
The Raiders' 12 wins were driven by their defense, while the Bills had the top scoring offense in the league. Something had to give, and it did in epic fashion for the home team.
By the end of the first quarter, the 80,000-plus fans at Rich Stadium saw their team jump all over the Raiders for a 21-3 lead. By halftime is was 41-3, and the game was over.
The Bills forced seven turnovers and held the Raiders' offensive stars in check; Tim Brown had two catches, and Marcus Allen just 26 yards on 10 carries. Buffalo's offense went over 500 yards, and James Lofton had two touchdown grabs.
While this game wasn't the largest margin of victory in NFL playoff history, the 51-3 beatdown is such a remarkable game. The second-best team in the AFC and one of the top five teams in the league didn't just get beaten, they got embarrassed.
See the full recap of the game in our archives.