'What If?' Series #1 - Super Bowl XXV

To this day, my heart goes out to the man in the picture to your left. His name is Scott Norwood, a former placekicker for the Buffalo Bills in the 1990s. No matter what his accomplishments were in his profession, what most people will always remember when they hear his name is his missed field goal at the end of Super Bowl XXV that led to a 20-19 victory for the New York Giants that season.

As I thought about that game, it made me think just how different the NFL history of the 1990s might have been if the Bills were able to win that first of four consecutive appearances in the Super Bowl. What if the kick was good and Buffalo brought home its first Super Bowl crown in a 22-20 thriller? Just what if?

Buffalo had all the talent to be Super Bowl champions on a number of occasions in the early 90s. I remember Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Kenneth Davis, Andre Reed, Don Beebe, James Lofton, Bruce Smith, etc. But when they lost to the Giants, something happened. The next three times they played in the Super Bowl (vs Washington and vs Dallas twice) they did not even come close to winning. In fact, the three games weren't even competitive. Yet when AFC battles were on the line, the Bills were able to overcome the John Elway-led Denver Broncos, the Joe Montana-led Kansas City Chiefs, the Warren Moon-led Houston Oilers and Dan Marino-led Miami Dolphins. Those were impressive, hard-earned victories, especially the comeback against the Oilers. But when Buffalo played in the Super Bowl, it was as if they were a completely different team.

I would go so far as to say that if Buffalo had beaten the Giants, they may have also beaten Washington and may have taken one of two against Dallas. It is very possible because the idea that they had won the big one would have given them the confidence to get at least another title. With each loss in the Super Bowl, their dreams of becoming champions only seemed to become further and further out of reach until things just completely disintegrated within the organization. The Bills have not been anywhere near the Super Bowl after their last loss to Dallas in 1994. Buffalo has only made four more playoff appearances since with its last playoff appearance coming in the 1999 season. We are currently in 2014. Yikes!

So just a little something for sports fans to think about. We'll be having more 'What If?' posts as a weekly feature going forward. This could be fun.

Enjoy life,

LandoRigs