The Current Winnipeg Blue Bomber Team Is A Perfect Comparison To The 1991-1994 Buffalo Bills

Maybe one of the only teams in football history that can compare to this Winnipeg team.

5 straight Grey Cups

4 straight Super Bowls.

How often do you see a team make four straight championships? Even in a four-team league, there is a small chance of you making the championship four straight times. What about 5? The current Winnipeg Blue Bombers team and the 1991-1994 Buffalo Bills had 4 straight. Winnipeg is led by star Zach Collaros, and Buffalo’s king was Jim Kelly.

Unlike Buffalo, Winnipeg has had successful Grey Cups, winning the first two, and being less than a minute away from winning the next two, and the fifth is undecided. Buffalo on the other hand lost all four. Buffalo lost 20-19 against the Giants in 1991, 37-24 against Washington in 1992, 52-17 to Dallas in 1993, and 30-12 in 1994 also to Dallas. Sounds bad right? Well, it does sound bad, but what other team was so successful that they made the Super Bowl 4 straight years?

For Winnipeg, in 2019, they upset the favourite Hamilton Tiger-Cats 33-12, in 2021 (there was no 2020 season due to covid) Winnipeg won 33-25 against Hamilton once again. Then in 2022, they got upset in the last minute by the Argos, losing 24-23, and last year, they lost to Montreal 28-24 after Tyson Philpot scored a touchdown with 13 seconds left.

In 1990-1991, Buffalo was 13-3 while placing 1st in the AFC East. They were first in scoring with 26.8 points per game, and 6th in points allowed with 16.4 points against per game. They were 7th in rushing yards per game with 130, and 13th in passing with 212.8 yards per game. Jim Kelly was the starting quarterback and went 219 for 346 (63.3%) for 2,829 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. Thurman Thomas was the RB1 with 271 attempts for 1,297 yards and 11 touchdowns. Andre Reed was the wide receiver to guard on this team with 71 catches for 945 yards and 8 touchdowns. The Super Bowl this season was a heartbreaker, a 20-19 loss to the New York Giants and it is very well known by two words that basically sum up the history of the Buffalo Bills: Wide Right. Their kicker, Scott Norwood missed a 47-yard kick to the right of the pole, ending their Super Bowl hopes with 8 seconds left. Video analysis showed that the holder Frank Reich incorrectly aligned the laces to the right, which resulted in the kick fading right once in the air.

In 1991-1992, the Bills won the AFC East with a 13-3 record (again!), scoring 28.6 points a game; second in the NFL, while allowing only 19.9 points a game; 19th in the NFL They also averaged 258.8 passing yards a game which was 3rd, and were first on the ground with 148.8 rushing yards. Jim Kelly was 304/474 with 3,844 yards 33 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Thurman Thomas again led the running game with 1,407 yards on 288 carries and 7 touchdowns. Andre Reed was once again the star receiver with 1,113 yards on 81 catches and 10 touchdowns. In the Super Bowl, they lost to the Washington Redskins 37-24 on January 26th.

In 1992-1993, Buffalo was 11-5, tying but losing the tiebreaker to Miami in the AFC East. For the third straight year, Kelly, Thomas, and Reed were the leaders. Kelly was 269 for 462 (58.2) with 3,457 yards, 23 touchdowns, but 19 interceptions. Thomas had 312 carries for 1487 yards and 9 TDs. Andre Reed had 65 receptions for 913 yards and only 3 touchdowns. James Lofton and Pete Metzelaars both had 6 touchdown receptions. The Bills were third in points per game with 23.8, but 14th in points allowed with 17.7. They led the NFL with 152.3 rushing yards a game and were 5th with 229.9 passing yards a game. In this Super Bowl, they never had a chance. They lost 52-17 to Dallas. 35 of the Cowboys’ points came off the Bills jaw-dropping 9 turnovers. Troy Aitken was the Bowl’s MVP that year.

Then finally, in 1993-1994 the Bills were 12-4 and 1st in the AFC East. Buffalo was 7th in points per game with 20.6 points and was 5th in points allowed per game with 15.1. They finished 8th in rushing yards a game with 121.4 yards and 11th in passing yards per game with 220.9. Kelly, Thomas, and Reed were the three leaders. Jim Kelly had 3,382 passing yards, with 18 touchdowns and 18 interceptions and 7 fumbles. Thurman Thomas had for 1,315 yards, with 6 touchdowns. He fumbled 6 time on the season, but manages to make the pro bowl. Andre Reed led the receiving core with 854 yards and 6 touchdowns. Bill Brooks was close behind with 714 yards and 5 touchdowns. Buffalo struggled in this Super Bowl, losing to the Cowboys 30-13, only scoring one touchdown. Thurman Thomas scored that touchdown, but only ran for 37 yards. Reed threw for 260 yards; but no touchdown and an interception. The team fumbled 3 times, and two of them resulted in turnovers.

In 2019 for Winnipeg, they ended 11-7, and were third in the west division. In 2021, they went 11-3, first place in the west for the first time since 2011. In 2022 the CfL went back to the 18-game schedule, where Winnipeg was 15-3, first in the West again. But, they lost the Grey Cup to Toronto 24-23. In 2023, they were 14-4, first in the west, but lost to Montreal in the cup.

Winnipeg was led by Zach Collaros all 5 of these seasons, but he always had help. The team’s running backs have always been good. Andrew Harris, the future hall of famer had won 4 Grey Cups. Harris signed a one day contract with Winnipeg to officially retire as a Bomber in April. Nowadays, Brady Oliveria is the team’s superstar. Brady was the West Division MOP and MOP nominee the last 2 years. He won the MOC last year, and I think he should win both this year.

Zach Collaros has had an amazing career, as a future hall of famer. In 148 career games in the CFL, he has 2564 completed passes on 3796, about 68.5%. He has 3293 passing yards, 199 touchdowns and 101 interceptions. In 243 career carries he’s ran for 1323 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Jim Kelly, the Hall Of Fame QB was 2874 for 4779 passing in his career, about 60.1%. He threw for 35467 career yards, 237 touchdowns, and 175 interceptions. In the run game, he has 304 carries for 1049 yards and 7 touchdowns.

Jim Kelly struggled in the postseason even with his impressive career stats. In the 17 playoff games he played in he was 322/545 passing, 59.1 per cent. He had 3863 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 28 interceptions. Zach Collaros has had plenty of playoff success, making his 5th straight Grey Cup. Zach Collaros will go down as one of the best players in CFL playoff history with 330 completions on 464 attempts. He had 3960 passing yards for 23 touchdowns to 13 interceptions in 20 playoff games.

If the Bombers win on Sunday, they will have 3 Grey Cups championships in 5 years, cementing their dynasty status. The ‘90s Bills could be considered a dynasty but since they lost all four I wouldn’t call them a dynasty .