NFL history: The Mount Rushmore of every NFL franchise

Buffalo Bills: Jim Kelly, Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed

There was a stretch where the Buffalo Bills were one of the most exciting teams in the entire NFL. In fact, they even made the Super Bowl four-straight years from the 1990 to 1993 NFL seasons. However, they did lose each title bout, which led to many jokes about the franchise, but it’s still an incredible feat to have been such a dominant AFC team for so long.

It was also the most impressive run of their existence, which is why all four members of their Mount Rushmore were a part of that run. The leader of their fast-paced no-huddle offense was quarterback Jim Kelly — who originally didn’t want to go to Buffalo. He even joined the USFL in order to stay in warmer weather.

He played two seasons with the Houston Gamblers before the league folded and he had to go to the Bills. That ended up working out for him, as he had a Pro Football Hall of Fame career and is the all-time leader in just about every statistical passing category.

On offense, Kelly was aided by running back Thurman Thomas and receiver Andre Reed. Thomas was with the team from 1988 through 1999 and topped O.J. Simpson for the most rushing yards in team history with 11,938, as well as touchdowns as he went for 65 in his career.

Reed was Kelly’s top receiver and played in Buffalo from 1985 until 1999. He is also atop their leaderboards with 941 receptions for 13,095 yards and 86 touchdowns.

The Bills were known for their offense in this era, but they also had one of the best sack artists — if not the best — to ever play the game. Bruce Smith played for nearly 20 years and is the all-time leader in the NFL with 200 career sacks.

While he did finish his career with the Washington Redskins, he did most of that damage with Buffalo. The big defensive end finished his time in Western New York with 171 career sacks, which more than doubles anyone else in the history of the franchise.