The Bills and Oilers had faced each other for the final game of the regular season, with Houston defeating Buffalo, 27–3 in Houston. During that game, Kelly suffered strained ligaments in his knee, leaving backup quarterback Frank Reich to finish the game in his place. Reich completed a mere 11 of 23 passes for 99 yards, with 2 interceptions and a passer rating of 23.6. With Kelly out, Reich would take the reins starting in place of Kelly the following week in the wild card game, which Buffalo would be hosting. Reich would also start the following divisional playoff game in Pittsburgh in which Buffalo also won 24–3 to advance to the AFC Championship game the following week versus the Miami Dolphins.