SUPER BOWL XXVIII: Buffalo Bills vs. Dallas Cowboys : It Keeps Getting Worse : History: The Bills come back for more after three increasingly bad losses.

The first time, they were welcomed enthusiastically, the new guys on the block who offered a refreshing change.

The second time, they were welcomed back because they deserved another opportunity, the guys who had missed the winner’s circle by a foot.

The third time, they were welcomed with some apprehension, the guys who were beginning to try the patience of a nation of football fans.

The fourth time, they are about as welcome in Atlanta as was General Sherman.

These are the Buffalo Bills of the 1990s, the NFL’s biggest winners and the Super Bowl’s biggest losers.

Yes, the Bills have a 58-18 record in the ‘90s, counting all games played, best mark in the league. Over that span, Buffalo has won three AFC titles and nine consecutive AFC playoff games since losing in 1990. But the only record that counts this Super Bowl week is 0-3.

Everywhere they go in Atlanta, the Bills are trying to put that record behind them. But everywhere they go, it is waved in their faces.

0-3.

How did it happen?

Buffalo fans beware, it may be too painful to read any further.

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SUPER BOWL XXV

Tampa, 1991

New York 20, Buffalo 19

It was a euphoric time for the Bills. They had won a club-record 13 games, going 13-3 to win the AFC East, then blew past both the Miami Dolphins, 44-34, and the Raiders, 51-3, in the AFC playoffs.

The Giants, featuring a powerful, stifling defense, stuck their collective noses up at the high-powered team from that little city across the state.

“We would have to have seven guys break legs and everybody else come out totally unprepared for a team to score 51 points against us,” Giant linebacker Pepper Johnson sneered.

Johnson’s job was made easier by New York’s ball-control offense, which maintained possession for an impressive 40 minutes 33 seconds.

In the third quarter, the Giants, with Jeff Hostetler at the controls, took the ball on their initial drive and went 75 yards in 14 plays, consuming 9:29 before Ottis Anderson went over from a yard out.

But it wasn’t all Giants. Somehow, in the 19:27 in which they had the ball, quarterback Jim Kelly, running back Thurman Thomas and their offensive teammates also found time to put points on the board. The Bills totaled 371 yards, Thomas a big part of that with 135 yards rushing and 55 yards receiving.

And at the end, it came down to a field-goal attempt by Buffalo’s Scott Norwood from 47 yards with four seconds remaining. If he had made it, the entire course of franchise history might have been different.

But he missed, wide right.

“Power,” Giant Coach Bill Parcells said, “wins games.”

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SUPER BOWL XXVI

Minneapolis, 1992

Washington 37, Buffalo 24

This time, the war was one of words featuring several prominent Bills. Thomas complained about being underappreciated. Defensive line coach Chuck Dickerson filled up the Redskins’ bulletin board by poking fun at Washington’s offensive linemen, calling them everything from “Neanderthal” to “ugly,” talking about one player having “bad breath” and claiming another “slobbered.”

On a more serious note, defensive end Bruce Smith, citing racist hate mail, said he might leave Buffalo.

The controversy hardly ended with the opening kickoff.

The game started two plays later for Thomas than for the rest of the Bills’ offensive unit. He spent that time looking for his helmet.

The Bills needed hard hats to dodge the criticism when the game had ended.

Redskin quarterback Mark Rypien completed 18 of 33 passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns on a day when Washington had 417 yards in offense.

Down, 17-0, at the half, the Bills contributed to their own demise and helped seal their second consecutive Super Bowl loss on their first play of the third quarter. Kelly was picked off by Kurt Gouveia, who returned the ball 23 yards to the Buffalo two. One play later, Gerald Riggs scored to give the Redskins an insurmountable lead.

There were plenty of negative numbers for Buffalo. Kelly was intercepted four times. The Bills also lost a fumble and dropped nine passes. Thomas gained only 13 yards in 10 carries.

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SUPER BOWL XXVII

Pasadena, 1993

Dallas 52, Buffalo 17

Where to begin?

For linebacker Darryl Talley, another Super Bowl worth forgetting was preceded by an incident no one seemed willing to forget. That was the mysterious run-in he had or didn’t have in an L.A. night spot with a man who was identified as Magic Johnson’s bodyguard.

There was no doubt, however, about the beating Talley and his teammates took in the Rose Bowl on Super Sunday.

Nor was there anything mysterious about it.

Any team that turns the ball over nine times figures to get beaten badly.

The Cowboys intercepted four passes, two from Kelly and two from Frank Reich, who took over when Kelly got hurt. Dallas also recovered five fumbles, the nine turnovers resulting in 35 Cowboy points.

Dallas had its offensive weapons operating at peak efficiency. Troy Aikman threw four touchdown passes and Emmitt Smith rushed for 108 yards.

Now the Bills are back, hoping to write a new chapter in their history rather than reliving the old one again.