Buffalo hosted the Houston Oilers for the team’s first Super Bowl-era postseason game in 1989
It took 15 years for the Buffalo Bills to get a home playoff game in the NFL. They had played host to contests in old War Memorial Stadium during the team’s dominant AFL games (last in the 1966 AFL Championship versus Kansas City), but all four playoff appearances in a merged football league had come on the road and Buffalo was 1-3 in those games.
In fact in the Bills’ entire history, they have only hosted a playoff game in 12 of 55 Super Bowl-Era seasons. It’s a playoff canvas marred by decades-long droughts and spiked by the Kelly- and now Allen- led teams that create(d) continued success.
What Josh Allen and no bye week for a 2 seed does to a franchise.
Buffalo waited 18 years to host their first Super Bowl-Era playoff game in 1988 and with two playoff games at Highmark this year, Bills fans would see more post-season action in 6 seasons than the 50(!) years… pic.twitter.com/7AXPCmS1p1— HurryUpOffense (@anzalone_cam) July 22, 2025
Buffalo won 12-plus games for the first time since 1964 and snapped a skid of seven consecutive losing seasons in the third season for Jim Kelly and what was Thurman Thomas’ rookie year. The core group that made up the Bills’ otherworldly ‘90s teams shared their first taste of playoff action here, and got to experience Rich Stadium’s first case of playoff pandemonium.
The game itself was a defensive battle with Houston fumbling the ball five teams (losing two of them). Despite both squads accumulating over 350-plus yards of offense, finishing drives was difficult as both teams’ kickers went one-for-three on field goals.
Buffalo never got too uncomfortable in this game, Thurman Thomas and Rob Riddick both punched in a rushing touchdown and when Houston made the game 17-10 in the fourth quarter, Buffalo’s special teams iced the game by recovering a fumble on a punt return with under two minutes to go. The Bills would play in the AFC Championship for the first time the following week but fell short to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Internal drama drove headlines leading up to this game, with Riddick publicly criticizing Kelly for not throwing to the running backs enough and “not being that good” in general. Outside of his touchdown, Riddick ran for just 12 yards on nine attempts and ironically (or purposely) zero receptions. It would also be Riddick’s last season in the NFL.
The anticipation of witnessing a home playoff game for the first time at Rich Stadium made the occasion a monumental one at the time, but it falls lower on this list due to the game itself being a little less memorable. That, as it relates to this series, is a testament to the consistent excellence the stadium would hold in the years to come — and which we’ll look back on in the coming days and weeks.