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Many former members of the Buffalo Bills are sharing condolences after the death of teammate Mark Pike, who played an important role on four Super Bowl teams in the 1990s.
Pike passed away this week at age 57 after a battle with cancer, leading many of his former teammates to share their memories of his impact both on and off the field.
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Pike Remembered as Talented Player
As the USA Today’s Steve Gardner reported, Pike had been battling non-Hodgkins lymphoma and his condition was complicated by a COVID-19 infection that was followed by a bout with pneumonia. He died on Wednesday, family members said.
Pike came to the Bills in 1986, with the team taking the Georgia Tech defensive lineman in the seventh round of the draft. He quickly found a role on special teams, and teammate Steve Tasker said Pike’s combination of size and speed made it difficult for opposing teams to account for him.
“He was a big man who played special teams which was a matchup nightmare for our opponents,” Tasker said. “He was a unique specimen. His ability to run and play special teams with his versatility was unbelievable.”
While it was their offense that got most of the attention during the four-year run to the Super Bowl, the Bills had one of the top special teams units during that period and Tasker said it was largely because of Pike.
“Mark was really the centerpiece of our league-leading coverage units,” Tasker said. “I was kind of a wide guy. I was a gunner, and I was an L-2 on the outside. I wasn’t in there with the threes, fours and fives very much. Mark was. So, the physicality of special teams was his wheelhouse, and he would routinely blow people up. So, while I would draw some people out and they would have to defend my speed and my ability to keep leverage and cut the field off, he was a freaking bulldozer man. He was an absolute freight train.”
Teammates, Coaches Mourn Pike’s Death
Many members of the Bills have shared messages remembering Pike after his death this week. Hall of Fame running back Thurman Thomas shared condolences on Twitter, leading many Bills fans to share memories of the role Pike played on the Super Bowl teams.
Former Bills head coach Marv Levy added that Pike’s impact stretched beyond the field, saying he was a model teammate.
“It had been such a great privilege for me to have been his coach with the Buffalo Bills during the 1990’s when Mark had been such an integral part in contributing to the success our teams enjoyed during our four trips to those Super Bowl games and beyond,” Levy said. “Mark was not only an outstanding defensive lineman, linebacker, and special teams standout, but he was the epitome of all that I had ever hoped our players would be like.”
Though Pike had been battling cancer, he remained close to the organization. In Week 4, he attended the team’s home game against the Houston Texans and served as the organization’s honoree for the Crucial Catch program, which raises cancer awareness.
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