Who makes the cut on the Buffalo Bills’ all-time Mount Rushmore?

Ralph Wilson Jr., then a Detroit-based insurance agent and minority owner of the NFL Lions, sent a short telegram to Lamar Hunt, founder of the new American Football League, in the summer of 1959, a simple message that contained only five words. : “Count me in with Buffalo.” »

Thus began a love affair between a region and a football franchise, as strong today as it was six decades ago.

The Buffalo Bills, since their formation on that fateful summer day, have become a franchise that is one of the most beloved franchises in professional football, a club that, despite not having a Lombardi Trophy at the top of his career, has a famous history that includes two AFL championships. , four Super Bowl appearances and a host of players who are now considered icons in Western New York. Several members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame wore the iconic “Charging Buffalo” helmet throughout their careers, these individuals being as beloved around town as the players who won over the Buffalo faithful not with their boundless talent , but with their work ethic.

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NFL Media recently celebrated the history of the Bills – and every other franchise in the league – in a video building each club’s “Mount Rushmore,” identifying the four most iconic players in each team’s history. NFL. Buffalo’s Mount Rushmore includes defensive end Bruce Smith, running back OJ Simpson, quarterback Jim Kelly and running back Thurman Thomas.

Smith, Kelly and Thomas were all on the team throughout the same era, a dominant period from the late 1980s to the early 1990s in which the team appeared in four consecutive Super Bowls. Smith – the first overall pick in the 1985 NFL Draft – led the way for the team defensively, scoring 171 sacks during his 15 years in Buffalo. He earned two NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards and nine first-team All-Pro nominations during his 19-year career, retiring with a still-standing NFL record of 200 sacks in career.

Kelly was the team’s quarterback throughout its AFC dominance, throwing for over 35,000 yards and 237 touchdowns during his 11 professional seasons. He’s still the franchise’s all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns – not a bad career for a player who initially joined a new team in a rival league to avoid playing in Buffalo.

Thomas rushed for over 12,000 yards and 65 touchdowns throughout his time in Western New York, winning the NFL MVP award in 1991. He is Buffalo’s all-time leader in most rushing statistics important, although he is not too far ahead of Simpson, who totaled 10,183 yards. yards and 57 touchdowns during his nine years with the Bills. He played in Buffalo from 1969 to 1977, passing for 1,000 yards five times and 2,000 yards in 1973 – all of those stat lines came in 14 game seasons.

These four players are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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It’s hard to argue with any of NFL Media’s selections: Smith, Kelly and Thomas have been the faces of the team throughout its most dominant period, and Simpson has been one of the team’s most productive rushers. its time. It would have been nice to see a player like Hall of Famer Andre Reed earn a spot in these rankings, but it’s hard to say for sure that he should have been included among the players listed.

This Mount Rushmore could However, that will change in the coming years, assuming current quarterback Josh Allen continues to stand out as one of the most dominant players in football. Over the course of six seasons, he has already moved closer to Kelly in several key statistics. If the same thing would almost guarantee him a spot on the team’s Mount Rushmore by the time he finally retires.

You can watch the full video uploaded to the NFL Throwback channel here.

—Benefit from free bill coverage Buffalo Bills on SI—