AFC Championship, 1990: Buffalo 51 Los Angeles Raiders 3

Game information
Raiders head coach Art Shell became the first African-American coach to take his team to a conference championship game, but the results were not in his favor. Two years after a devastating loss in Cincinnati, the Bills returned to the AFC title game and, this time, shredded the Raiders, 51–3.

On Buffalo's opening drive, Kelly completed six consecutive passes for 65 yards, the last a 13-yard touchdown toss to Lofton after he recovered a fumbled snap in shotgun formation. The Raiders responded with Schroeder's two 26-yard completions to Willie Gault and Mervyn Fernandez, setting up a 41-yard field goal from Jeff Jaeger, but Buffalo stormed back to score just four plays after the ensuing kickoff on a 66-yard drive. Following a 41-yard completion from Kelly to Lofton, and an 11-yard scramble by Kelly, Thomas's 12-yard touchdown run gave the Bills a 14–3 lead. After a punt, Garry Lewis intercepted a pass from Kelly that went through Thomas's hands. But three plays later, Talley intercepted a pass from Schroeder and returned it for a touchdown. The Raiders were forced to punt on their next possession, and Nate Odomes returned it 18 yards to the Bills 42-yard line. Buffalo then drove 58 yards in 12 plays, scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run by Davis on fourth and goal, which gave the team a 27–3 lead after LA's Scott Davis blocked the extra point.

The Bills had a chance to score again when Jamie Mueller recovered a fumble from Jamie Holland on the ensuing kickoff. But this time LA's defense stopped Buffalo on three straight plays and Scott Norwood missed a 45-yard field goal attempt. Still, Buffalo's dominance would resume after this. Following a Raiders punt, Kelly's completions to Thomas and Steve Tasker for gains of 15 and 44 yards set up Davis's second touchdown run. Then Odomes intercepted a pass from Schroeder and returned it 9 yards to the Bills 38-yard line. Buffalo drove for 62 yards and took a 41–3 lead just before the end of the half. The key player of the drive was Lofton, who caught a 36-yard pass from Kelly, and then caught an 8-yard scoring pass from him on the next play.

The misery would continue for Los Angeles in the second half, as their first three drives ended with interceptions. Meanwhile, Buffalo increased their lead to 48–3 with Davis's third touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter. Later on, Talley intercepted a pass from Schroeder and returned it 31 yards to the Raiders 27-yard line, setting up Norwood's 39-yard field goal to make the final score 51–3.

On offense, the Bills amassed 502 total yards, including 202 yards on the ground. Running back Thurman Thomas rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown while also catching five passes for 61 yards. Running back Kenneth Davis tied an AFC playoff record with three rushing touchdowns, despite gaining only 21 yards on 10 carries. Buffalo also set an NFL playoff record by scoring 41 points in the first half. Bills quarterback Jim Kelly threw for 300 yards and two touchdowns to wide receiver James Lofton, who finished the game with five receptions for 113 yards. Thomas recorded a 12-yard touchdown run, while Davis scored from one yard, three yards, and one yard out. Linebacker Darryl Talley returned one of his two interceptions 27 yards for a touchdown.

Buffalo recorded a total of six interceptions, the third highest total ever in a single NFL game. Mark Kelso recorded his fourth career postseason interception in the game, a Bills' record.

For Los Angeles, quarterback Jay Schroeder completed only 13 of his 31 passes for 150 yards. Of those 150 yards, 52 came on two 26-yard completions to Mervyn Fernandez and Willie Gault on Los Angeles's first offensive series. His five interceptions tied him with Dan Pastorini of the Oilers and Richard Todd of the Jets with what was at the time the most interceptions thrown in a playoff game since the AFL–NFL merger (eleven years later, Brett Favre would throw six in a game). That record still stands for either conference championship games or Super Bowls; twelve years after Schroeder threw five interceptions in Buffalo, Rich Gannon did so for the Raiders against Tampa Bay in Super Bowl XXXVII. Vince Evans replaced Schroeder in the fourth quarter and completed two of his eight passes for 26 yards but threw L.A.'s sixth interception of the day.

Running back Marcus Allen, seeking to return to Tampa seven years after winning Super Bowl MVP honors in Tampa Stadium, gained just 26 yards on 10 carries. Former Ram Greg Bell, himself a year removed from a blowout loss in the NFC title game in San Francisco, led the Raiders in rushing with 36 yards, despite only carrying the ball 5 times. Coincidentally, as was the case for the Rams a year earlier, the Raiders only scored three points the entire game during the first half of play.

Arguably, what hurt the Raiders the most (besides inclement weather conditions) was the loss of Bo Jackson. On television, both the day before and the day of the game, O. J. Simpson opined that Jackson's injury would cause him to miss both the AFC title game (and, additionally, the Super Bowl) and the start of baseball that spring. Simpson, though roundly criticized for the remark, was proven correct. So onerous was Jackson's absence that January day that, according to Mike Downey of the Los Angeles Times, "Buffalo fans batted a Bo Jackson inflatable doll around in the stands.

That January day in Buffalo would be the last AFC title game appearance for the Raiders for ten years. Coincidentally, the Raiders only managed three points in that game; coincidentally, their Super Bowl opponent would have been the New York Giants; and, coincidentally, that Super Bowl was also played in Tampa, albeit this time at Raymond James Stadium.

Referee Jim Tunney retired following this game, concluding a stellar 31-year career in which he was the referee for three Super Bowls (VI, XI and XII).

This was the first postseason meeting between the Raiders and Bills.

Wikipedia

Bills running back Thurman Thomas.

Bills linebacker Darryl Talley had an interception for a touchdown.

Bills Linebacker Darryl Talley picks off a Jay Schroeder pass for a touchdown.

Bills tight end Keith McKeller (84) is dragged down from behind by Raiders Mike Harden.

Bills linebacker Cornelius Bennett chases down Raiders quarterback Jay Schroeder.