Often overlooked in NFL history, James Lofton etched himself into league history in 1992
We are 53 days away from real Buffalo Bills football! In celebration of the 53rd and final year of the original Highmark Stadium, I’m breaking down the 53 most memorable moments from the stadium’s rich history.
Feel free to suggest moments you think should be included on this list. The criteria will be based off memorability of the average Bills fan and any impact the moment has in team and league history.
We begin with perhaps a little bit of a curve ball…
James Lofton breaks the NFL all-time receiving yards record
James Lofton made NFL history during Buffalo’s season opener of the 1992 season. On Spetember 6, 1992, Lofton hauled in six passes for 56 yards and moved his career mark to 13,091 yards, surpassing Steve Largent (13,089 yards).
Buffalo won the game 40-7 over the Los Angeles Rams and Lofton’s record landed as the cherry on top of a blowout that would begin Buffalo’s third consecutive AFC Championship campaign. With it being Week 1 the record was inevitably going to be Lofton’s, but the Bills made a point to feed Lofton at the end of the game to secure the record in front of Bills Country.
Lofton had invited a convoy of friends, relatives and former teammates to the game and remarked about the importance of doing it in front of the home crowd.
“My teammates and even one official told me how close I was during the game. We were running the ball exceptionally well and we didn’t have a great need to pass the ball. When the fourth quarter started, we were just grinding it out. I’m sitting over there thinking about all the people who came into town and how hollow it would be to get it on the road.”
As the game wound down and Buffalo led comfortably, Lofton received three straight targets. The first was on a short in-route catch for a first down, the second was an acrobatic attempt on an overthrown ball from Frank Reich, and the third was the record-setting catch.(skip to 2:56:06 to see Lofton make history).
Lofton is highly regarded in Western New York for being a veteran anchor during the Super Bowl years, but this achievement has faded into the background over time. That’s mostly because the record only lasted for three years before Jerry Rice overtook Lofton’s final career mark (14,004).
Lofton now sits 12th on the all-time list in lieu of the era of the quarterback, but he was still the first to reach 14,000 yards in a career and is second in yards per reception (min 200 catches) since his pro debut in 1978. The pop of the crowd as Lofton inched closer to the record is palpable and this moment lives on as one where the entire NFL was keyed in to then Rich Stadium.