No Josh Allen, no biggie: 10 times backup quarterbacks have led Buffalo Bills to victory

ORCHARD PARK - What could come to pass Sunday afternoon at Highmark Stadium is the why the Buffalo Bills traded a 2022 seventh-round draft pick to the Cleveland Browns for quarterback Case Keenum.

Knowing they were going to have a great chance to get to the Super Bowl and possibly win it this season, and knowing that 2021 backup Mitch Trubisky was leaving in free agency, the Bills were willing to part with a draft asset to buy an insurance policy just in case Josh Allen were to get injured.

Well, here we are as the Bills may have to cash in that policy because the elbow injury Allen suffered last week in the loss to the Jets might sideline him when the Bills host the surging Minnesota Vikings.

Sign up for the Bills Blast newsletterDelivered straight to your inbox, additional Bills analysis, insight, stats, quotes and team history from Sal Maiorana

More:Case Keenum may need to start this week for the Bills. Here's what to know about the QB

“We believe in Case Keenum, he’s here for a reason,” coach Sean McDermott said. “He’s been a great addition to our team in more ways than one and like anybody else, if and when your number’s called it’s time to step up.”

Just as numerous other Bills backup quarterbacks have in the past when they were thrust into action, either because the starter got hurt or benched. Here are 10 occasions when a Bills backup played and came out on the winning side:

Oct. 16, 1989: Frank Reich vs. Los Angeles Rams

Reich had been Jim Kelly’s backup since 1986, but this was the first time he actually had to start in his place after Kelly suffered a shoulder injury the week before during a loss to the Colts.

The Rams came to Rich Stadium for Monday Night Football with a 5-0 record, but in his first NFL start, Reich completed 10-of-11 for 132 yards in the final 8:50 of the game and drove the Bills to two go-ahead touchdowns in the final three minutes. Thurman Thomas scored on a one-yard run with 2:23 left to put the Bills up 16-13, but after the defense created a turnover on downs, Thomas lost a fumble as the Bills were trying to close out the game.

Two plays later, Jim Everett threw a 78-yard TD pass to Flipper Anderson to put the Rams ahead 20-16 with 1:22 to go. Unfazed, Reich drove the Bills 64 yards and capped the march with an eight-yard TD pass to Andre Reed with 26 seconds remaining to win the game 23-20.

Dec, 23, 1990: Frank Reich vs. Miami Dolphins

One year later, Reich took over in a far more important spot after Kelly suffered a knee injury against the Giants the week before. With the AFC East division title hanging in the balance, the 12-2 Bills hosted the 11-3 Dolphins on a wintry day two days before Christmas.

Reich completed 15 of 21 passes for 234 yards and two TDs and Thomas rushed for 154 yards to lift the Bills to a convincing 24-14 victory over Dan Marino and Miami, clinching their third straight division title crowd and setting a franchise record with their 13th regular-season victory.

A record crowd of 80,235 was on hand and many stormed the field after the game and tore down the goal posts.

Jan. 3, 1993: Frank Reich vs. Houston Oilers

The most famous relief performance in Bills history also became the greatest NFL postseason comeback in NFL history as Reich once again stepped in for an injured Kelly and pulled out a miraculous 41-38 overtime victory over the Oilers in an AFC wild-card playoff game.

Reich threw for 289 yards and four touchdowns, all of those coming after the Bills had fallen behind 35-3 two minutes into the third quarter. The first was a 38-yarder to Don Beebe that cut the deficit to 35-17, and the last three went to Reed from 26, 18 and 17 yards that put the Bills up 38-35.

The Oilers managed to tie the game and force overtime, but a Nate Odomes interception early in the extra period set up Steve Christie for a game-winning 32-yard field goal and it’s unlikely Reich has ever bought another beer in Buffalo since.

Sept. 22, 1996: Todd Collins vs. Dallas Cowboys

In Kelly’s final season, he pulled a hamstring in practice the week that Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and the Cowboys - winners of three of the previous four Super Bowls - were coming to Rich Stadium.

Collins had been selected in the second round of the 1995 draft and was considered the Bills QB of the future with Kelly likely retiring after 1996, but he had thrown only 29 NFL passes before this game and no one gave the Bills much of a chance.

Collins didn’t do a whole lot in his first NFL start − 11 of 17 for 87 yards − but the Bills defense rose up and limited the Cowboys to 192 yards of total offense and intercepted Aikman three times in a 10-7 victory.

Oct. 18, 1998: Doug Flutie vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

The quarterback controversy to end all quarterback controversies got its start on this day when Rob Johnson couldn’t play at Rich Stadium after he’d gotten hurt the week before in Indianapolis.

Flutie rescued the Bills against the Colts, and then his first Bills start against the 5-0 Jaguars, he threw for 228 yards and a touchdown to Eric Moulds, and won the game 17-16 with a daring one-yard QB bootleg on fourth-and-goal with 13 seconds left to play.

The win was Buffalo’s third straight after an 0-3 start in Wade Phillips’ first season as coach, and Flutie officially became the starter and he went on to lead the Bills to a wild-card playoff berth.

Jan. 2, 2000: Rob Johnson vs. New Orleans Saints

One of the most bizarre situations in Bills history. With the Bills already in the playoffs, Flutie − who had not played particularly well throughout the season − was rested for the regular-season finale against the Colts, who had already locked up the AFC East.

Johnson started and lit up the Colts − again, in a rather meaningless game − for 287 yards and two touchdowns during a 31-6 victory. And then, at the urging of owner Ralph Wilson, Phillips was compelled to name Johnson the starter in the wild-card playoff game against Tennessee.

It was a crazy decision, though ultimately Johnson had the Bills in the lead with 16 seconds left. That’s when the Music City Miracle happened and Buffalo’s season came to a crushing end. The QB controversy raged throughout 2000 and didn’t end until Flutie left to sign with the Chargers in 2001.

Oct. 9, 2005: Kelly Holcomb vs. Miami Dolphins

J.P. Losman, the Bills’ first-round pick in 2004, was named the starter in 2005 and in the first four weeks he was twice benched for poor play by coach Mike Mularkey. So for the Week 5 game against the Dolphins, Mularkey named Holcomb as the starter and he completed 20 of 26 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown as the Bills beat Miami 20-14 at home.

Holcomb started the next four games before suffering a concussion, then returned a month later to start the last three games in what turned out to be his lone season in Buffalo.

Sept. 30, 2007: Trent Edwards vs. New York Jets

Losman played terribly in the first two games, then suffered a knee injury in a Week 3 loss at New England which forced Edwards − the rookie 2007 third-round pick − onto the field to finish that game.

The following week in his first NFL start, Edwards completed 22 of 28 for 234 yards and a touchdown and led the Bills to a 17-14 victory over New York and that essentially ended Losman’s short-lived reign as the starter. Coach Dick Jauron stuck with Edwards - with the exception of games he missed due to injury - as the starter until early 2009.

Oct. 25, 2009: Ryan Fitzpatrick vs. Carolina Panthers

FitzMagic wasn’t a thing yet, but his tenure as the Bills starter, one that lasted 3 ½ years, began on this day. The week before, Edwards was knocked out with a concussion and Fitzpatrick, who joined the Bills before 2009, came on in relief and helped the Bills beat the Jets 16-13.

His first Bills start came against the Panthers and he completed 11 of 22 for 123 yards in a 20-9 victory. With the exception of just a few games lost to injury, Fitzpatrick remained the Bills starter through 2012.

Oct. 4, 2014: Kyle Orton vs. Detroit Lions

E.J. Manuel, the Bills’ first-round pick in 2013, started only 10 games as a rookie for coach Doug Marrone because of injury, and then in 2014, he played poorly in the first four games so Marrone pulled the plug and turned the team over to the veteran Orton.

Orton, who had been a starter in both Chicago and Denver, signed with the Bills before 2014, and did not throw a pass until he made his debut in Week 5. He completed 30 of 43 passes for 308 yards and a touchdown, rallying the Bills from a 14-0 deficit to a 17-14 victory over the Lions at Ford Field. Orton remained the starter for the rest of the season, and then retired at the end of it.

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana.To subscribe to Sal's new twice-a-week newsletter, Bills Blast, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: No Josh Allen? 10 times backup QBs have led Buffalo Bills to wins