Teams
- Buffalo Bills (1986-1996)
Accolades
- Pro Football Hall of Fame
- 5x Pro Bowl (1987-1988, 1990-1992)
- First-Team All-Pro (1991)
- 2x Second-Team All-Pro (1990, 1992)
“Never mind his eye-popping statistics, he never cared about them anyway. He cared about winning, and he was a winner.”
—Marv Levy, Hall of Fame Head Coach, Buffalo Bills (source)
Jim Kelly never wanted to play for Buffalo. He then ended up playing his entire NFL career there, making four Super Bowls, and essentially becoming Mr. Buffalo Bill. It’s hard to believe that there may have been a team more dominant over a four-year period during the Super Bowl era than those Bills teams of the early nineties. And the man who ran the offense was the Miami University product who never wanted to be there in the first place, and turned his tenure there into a Hall of Fame career.
Jim Kelly was the third quarterback taken in the famous NFL Draft Class of ’83. But the four-year starter at Miami University chose to play for the Houston Gamblers of the USFL instead, winning league MVP in his rookie year. He followed that performance with another outstanding year for the Gamblers in ’85, including a game in which he threw an unbelievable 574 yards (apparently still a U.S. pro football record). But, in 1986, the league folded. The Buffalo Bills had Kelly’s rights. If he wanted to play in the NFL, he was going to need to buy a heavier coat.
In 1986, Kelly immediately became the team’s starter, taking over a team that had been a miserable 2-14 the year before. That wouldn’t be the only important change for the Bills in ’86. After a 2-7 start, Head Coach Hank Bullough would be fired, replaced by former Chiefs Coach Marv Levy. They would go 2-5 to finish up a 4-12 year. Kelly would have a noteworthy rookie campaign though, finishing sixth in the league in passing yards (3,593) and tied for fifth in TD passes with 22. Buffalo would improve in strike-shortened ’87, going 7-8. While the scab team went 1-2, they would go 6-6 when Kelly started, and he would finish in the Top 10 in virtually every major passing category, including a fourth-place finish in completion percentage.
The 1988 season saw Buffalo’s dramatic progression. In his second consecutive Pro Bowl season, Kelly would finish fifth in completion percentage (59.5%) and sixth in passing yards (3,380) even though his TD:INT ratio dipped to 15:17. But most importantly, the Bills found themselves atop the AFC East at 12-4. In a hard-fought Divisional Round battle, Buffalo would beat Warren Moon and the Houston Oilers 17-10. Kelly wouldn’t score, but he would have 262 total yards and a lone interception. Two years prior, the Bills were a 4-12 afterthought. Now, in, 1988 they had made the AFC Championship Game. Against Boomer Esiason in Cincinnati, Kelly would hit Andre Reed for a game-tying TD pass early in the second quarter. But the Bengals D would dominate Kelly after that, limiting him to 173 total yards on 14-for-30 passing and causing three interceptions. The Bills were close, but weren’t yet where they wanted to be.
The 1989 Buffalo Bills showed a surprising regression, finishing 9-7. Kelly would suffer a shoulder injury that would keep him out for three games. He subsequently criticized his offensive line which contributed to some dissension among his teammates, notably Thurman Thomas. Back-up Frank Reich did a terrific job keeping the ship afloat though, going 3-0 in his starts. The team would actually struggle upon Kelly’s return, finishing 3-5 in the second half of the season. However, 9-7 proved enough to win a weak AFC East, and Buffalo traveled to Cleveland for the Divisional Round. In an offensive slugfest against Bernie Kosar and the Browns, the hosts would triumph 34-30. Kelly would have an impressive showing though. Despite two picks, he would throw for 405 yards and four TDs. At least there was hope to build off the offense’s impressive showing.
Whatever issues the Bills had the previous season, they seemed to shake those problems off to start the new decade. In 1990, Buffalo would go a dominating 13-3, the AFC’s best mark. Kelly would lead the league in passer rating (101.2) and completion percentage with 63.3%, one of only three QBs to exceed 60% that year. He also finished tied for fourth in touchdown passes with 24. A shootout in the Divisional Round with Dan Marino was inevitable, and that’s what we got. In a Class of ’83 clash, the Bills would win 44-34. Kelly would outplay his legendary counterpart by throwing for 339 yards, running for 37 more, and throwing for three touchdowns. As though the 44 point outburst wasn’t impressive enough, Buffalo would crown themselves as AFC champs in a 51-3 massacre of the L.A. Raiders. Kelly was 17-for-23 for 300 yards, two TDs, and one INT.
The Buffalo Bills were on their way to their first Super Bowl and arrived in Tampa as six-and-a-half point favorites against a New York Giants team they had defeated six weeks prior, 17-13. In that game, the defense knocked Giants’ quarterback Phil Simms out of the game. It turned out to a season-ender. But the G-Men had thrived under back-up Jeff Hostetler. While Kelly was solid, going 18-for-30 for 212 yards and 23 more on the ground, New York dominated the clock by a 2:1 ratio. With the Bills trailing 20-19 and only 2:16 left on the clock, Kelly carried his team from their own 10. He ran three times for 18 yards, and went 2-for-3 for 10 yards. With eight seconds left, Scott Norwood trotted out onto the field to kick a 47-yarder to win the Super Bowl. It missed right. An incredible season ended in heartbreak.
After the disappointing end to the 1990 season, the Bills came right back to dominate the AFC in ’91. The guy running the league’s #2 scoring offense was Jim Kelly in what was his most productive season. In 15 starts, he finished third in the NFL in passing yards with 3,844, first in TD passes with 33, and had Top 5 finishes in completion percentage (64.1%) and passer rating (97.6). In the Divisional Round, Buffalo easily handled Steve DeBerg, Marc Vlasic, and the Chiefs 37-14. Although Kelly had three INTs in the game, he also threw for 273 yards and three TDs in the win. In the AFC Championship Game, Kelly would face another Class of ’83 counterpart, John Elway and the Denver Broncos. Unlike the previous year’s shootout with classmate Dan Marino, Kelly and Elway were stifled by each other’s defenses. Kelly was held to only 117 yards passing and two interceptions. Ultimately the scoring would be done by the kickers, the Bills D, and Elway’s back-up Gary Kubiak, as the Bills hung on for a 10-7 victory. For the second consecutive year, Buffalo was headed to the Super Bowl.
Unfortunately, it would be another letdown for the Bills as they fell behind 24-0 and never were really able to get into the game. Mark Rypien, Kelly’s counterpart on Washington, would win the game’s MVP award. While Kelly would throw for 275 yards and two touchdowns, he would also suffer four interceptions and lose two fumbles. Another great season would culminate in a disappointing finish.
Despite leading the league with 19 interceptions in ’92, Kelly was named to his third straight Pro Bowl, and fifth in six years. He helped his cause though with 3,457 yards and 23 TD passes as the Bills would go 11-5. But Kelly would be injured during the final game of the regular season, a loss in Houston. This took him out of their Wild Card Round rematch the following week in Buffalo. Without their regular signal caller, Buffalo struggled tremendously, falling behind 35-3 in the third quarter. Then, in perhaps the greatest comeback in NFL history, back-up Frank Reich led Buffalo on an almost impossible run, scoring 35 unanswered points before a Houston kick sent the game to overtime. But it was there that Bills kicker Steve Christie would put the game away on a 32-yarder to pull off “The Comeback” 41-38. Reich would help overcome Pittsburgh the following week 24-3, setting up Jim Kelly’s return for the AFC Championship Game in Miami. Both he and the Dolphins’ Marino struggled, but Buffalo’s run game succeeded where Miami’s couldn’t. Kelly for his part threw for 177 yards, a TD, and two picks. It was enough to return Buffalo to a third straight Super Bowl. But the game would be a disaster for Kelly and his team. He would be knocked out in the second quarter after throwing only seven passes, two of which were intercepted, as the Dallas Cowboys destroyed the Bills 52-17. Another great year for the Bills, another disappointing ending.
The Buffalo Bills refused to give up on their Super Bowl dreams. And in 1993 they once again won the AFC East at 11-5. Kelly would finish fifth in the league with 3,382 passing yards, and sixth with 18 TDs. He would played solidly against the L.A. Raiders in the Divisional Round, throwing for 287 yards and two TDs in the 29-23 win. Then, facing legendary counterpart Joe Montana and the Kansas City Chiefs, Kelly would again play consistently in a turnover-free 160-yard performance. The Bills would return to the Super Bowl for the fourth straight year after the 30-13 victory. It would be a rematch with the Cowboys. Despite being ten-and-a-half point underdogs, they would go into the half with a 13-6 lead. But it fell apart at the beginning of the third quarter when a Thurman Thomas fumble was returned 48 yards to tie the game. Dallas would run away with it from there, a 30-13 final. Kelly would have his best Super Bowl performance in three years, contributing 272 yards on 50 pass attempts and one interception. But no TDs were to be found for the veteran quarterback as the Bills suffered a Super Bowl heartbreaker for the fourth year in a row.
Over the next three years, Jim Kelly would continue to lead the Bills, going 25-17 in his starts and eclipsing 3,000 yards passing twice more. This included two trips to the postseason where the Bills would go 1-2. After the 1996 season, he would call it a day, wrapping up a career that saw him as one of the league’s best under Center over the previous ten years. Since then, he has had numerous well-publicized battles with cancer, and fortunately has been able to overcome it thus far. Although he never won the Super Bowl, he had a pretty incredible career, leading one of NFL history’s most dominating teams over a four-year period. He was rewarded for his efforts with enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002. He resides in the Buffalo area where he is still a legend, possibly the organization’s greatest player in their 60-year history. Pretty terrific for a guy who didn’t want to be there in the first place.
Chart
| Season | W-L% | Tot Y/G | Tot TD/G | Tot TO/G | Y/C/Y/A | Cmp % | TD% | Int% |
| Reg Season | 0.074 | -0.002 | 0.051 | 0.047 | 0.040 | 0.061 | 0.102 | -0.010 |
| Playoffs | 0.016 | -0.023 | -0.077 | -0.075 | -0.006 | 0.047 | -0.034 | -0128 |
Longevity Bonus = 1.4 Title Bonus = 0.0
Index Score = 3.282 (average QB = 0.0)
Deviation Rank (out of 155)
| Season | W-L% | Tot Y/G | Tot TD/G | Tot TO/G | Y/C/Y/A | Cmp % | TD% | Int% |
| Reg Season | 23rd | 70th | 34th | 76th | 37th | 25th | 15th | 114th |
| Playoffs | 44th | 82nd | 101st | 117th | 81st | 37th | 91st | 119th |
Why is he on the Top 50 list?
Jim Kelly’s greatest asset was his nose for the end zone, and it certainly didn’t hurt that he had Thurman Thomas and Andre Reed. He’s #15 all time in terms of touchdowns per attempt deviation. He also makes the Top 25 in both win-loss percentage (#23) and completion percentage (#25). On top of that, he’s a Top 40 guy in total touchdowns per game (#34) and average of yards/completion + yards/attempt (#37). Overall, that’s a Top 40 finish in five of eight categories. Lastly, 11 seasons as the Bills’ primary starter helped him gain an additional 1.4 points for longevity.
Why isn’t he higher on the list?
For a guy as accurate as Jim Kelly, he was also quite interception-prone. I guess if the ball didn’t find his teammate’s hands, it found the hands of someone on the opposing team. He’s #114 overall for interceptions per attempt. Also, he was not always a great playoff performer. As the number of postseason games he played in (17) makes up about 10% of his career starts, his playoff performance does have more bearing on his index score than many others. Unfortunately, he only makes the Top 50 in two postseason categories, while falling outside the top half of the 155 QBs analyzed in six categories, notably turnovers per game (#117) and interceptions per attempt (#119).
The Quarterback Project 