List of Buffalo Bills seasons

Last updated

This list of seasons completed by the Buffalo Bills American football franchise of the National Football League documents the season-by-season records of the franchise from 1960 to present, including postseason records and league awards for individual players or head coaches.

Contents

In their time in the American Football League from 1960 to 1969, the Bills reached the AFL Championship three consecutive times from 1964 to 1966, winning twice in 1964 and 1965. They did not return to the postseason until 1974 nor win a division title until 1980.

The Bills won the AFC East in 1988 under third-year coach Marv Levy to reach their third postseason in the 1980s. They lost in the AFC Championship (their first championship appearance in AFC history), but it would be the first of six consecutive playoff appearances. In the 1990 season, they won the AFC Championship to reach their first Super Bowl. They lost in Super Bowl XXV. They reached the next three Super Bowls with victories in the AFC Championship. They became the first team (and as of 2024, only team) to reach the Super Bowl four straight times. They made the playoffs four more times from 1995 to 1999, but they did not reach the playoffs from 2000 to 2016. In 2017, they returned to the postseason under new head coach Sean McDermott. They won their first division title in over 25 years in 2020, where they returned to the AFC Championship.

In 64 seasons of the franchise, the Bills have reached the playoffs 23 times.

Seasons

AFL champions (1960-1969) Super Bowl champions (1970-present)Conference championsDivision championsWild card berth One-Game playoff berth
Franchise records according to Pro-Football-Reference.com [1]
Season Team League Conf­erenceDivision Regular season Postseason resultsAwardsHead coaches
FinishWLT
1960 1960 AFL Eastern3rd581 Buster Ramsey
1961 1961 AFLEastern4th680
1962 1962 AFLEastern3rd761 Lou Saban
1963 1963 AFLEastern2nd761Lost Divisional Playoffs (Patriots) 26–8
1964 1964 AFLEastern1st1220Won AFL Championship (1) (Chargers) 20–7 Lou Saban (COY)
1965 1965 AFLEastern1st1031Won AFL Championship (2) (at Chargers) 23–0 Lou Saban (COY)
1966 1966 AFLEastern1st941Lost AFL Championship (Chiefs) 31–7 Bobby Burnett (ROY) Joe Collier
1967 1967 AFLEastern3rd4100
1968 1968 AFLEastern5th1121Joe Collier (0–2)
Harvey Johnson (1–10–1)
1969 1969 AFLEastern4th4100 John Rauch
1970 1970 NFL AFC [upper-alpha 1] East [upper-alpha 1] 4th3101 Dennis Shaw (OROY, ROY)
1971 1971 NFLAFCEast5th1130Harvey Johnson
1972 1972 NFLAFCEast4th491Lou Saban
1973 1973 NFLAFCEast2nd950 O. J. Simpson (MVP, OPOY)
1974 1974 NFLAFCEast2nd950Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Steelers) 32–14
1975 1975 NFLAFCEast3rd860
1976 1976 NFLAFCEast5th2120Lou Saban (2–3)
Jim Ringo (0–9)
1977 1977 NFLAFCEast5th3110Jim Ringo
1978 1978 NFLAFCEast4th5110 Chuck Knox
1979 1979 NFLAFCEast4th790 Jim Haslett (DROY)
Jerry Butler (ROY)
1980 1980 NFLAFCEast1st1150Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Chargers) 20–14 Joe Cribbs (ROY)
Chuck Knox (COY)
1981 1981 NFLAFCEast3rd1060Won Wild Card Playoffs (at Jets) 31–27
Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Bengals) 28–21
1982 1982 NFLAFC—9th [upper-alpha 2] 450
1983 1983 NFLAFCEast3rd880 Kay Stephenson
1984 1984 NFLAFCEast5th2140
1985 1985 NFLAFCEast5th2140Kay Stephenson (0–4)
Hank Bullough (2–10)
1986 1986 NFLAFCEast4th4120Hank Bullough (2–7)
Marv Levy (2–5)
1987 1987 NFLAFCEast4th780 Shane Conlan (DROY, ROY)Marv Levy
1988 1988 NFLAFCEast1st1240Won Divisional Playoffs (Oilers) 17–10
Lost AFC Championship (at Bengals) 21–10		 Marv Levy (COY)
1989 1989 NFLAFCEast1st970Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Browns) 34–30
1990 1990 NFLAFCEast1st1330Won Divisional Playoffs (Dolphins) 44–34
Won AFC Championship (Raiders) 51–3
Lost Super Bowl XXV (vs. Giants) 20–19		 Bruce Smith (DPOY)
1991 1991 NFLAFCEast1st1330Won Divisional Playoffs (Chiefs) 37–14
Won AFC Championship (Broncos) 10–7
Lost Super Bowl XXVI (vs. Redskins) 37–24		 Thurman Thomas (MVP, OPOY)
1992 1992 NFLAFCEast2nd1150Won Wild Card Playoffs (Oilers) 41–38 (OT)
Won Divisional Playoffs (at Steelers) 24–3
Won AFC Championship (at Dolphins) 29–10
Lost Super Bowl XXVII (vs. Cowboys) 52–17
1993 1993 NFLAFCEast1st1240Won Divisional Playoffs (Raiders) 29–23
Won AFC Championship (Chiefs) 30–13
Lost Super Bowl XXVIII (vs. Cowboys) 30–13		 Marv Levy (COY)
1994 1994 NFLAFCEast4th790
1995 1995 NFLAFCEast1st1060Won Wild Card Playoffs (Dolphins) 37–22
Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Steelers) 40–21		 Bryce Paup (DPY)
1996 1996 NFLAFCEast2nd1060Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Jaguars) 30–27Bruce Smith (DPY)
1997 1997 NFLAFCEast4th6100
1998 1998 NFLAFCEast3rd1060Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Dolphins) 24–17 Wade Phillips
1999 1999 NFLAFCEast2nd1150Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Titans) 22–16
2000 2000 NFLAFCEast4th880
2001 2001 NFLAFCEast5th3130 Gregg Williams
2002 2002 NFLAFCEast4th880
2003 2003 NFLAFCEast3rd6100
2004 2004 NFLAFCEast3rd970 Mike Mularkey
2005 2005 NFLAFCEast3rd5110
2006 2006 NFLAFCEast3rd790 Dick Jauron
2007 2007 NFLAFCEast2nd790
2008 2008 NFLAFCEast4th790
2009 2009 NFLAFCEast4th6100Dick Jauron (3–6)
Perry Fewell (3–4)
2010 2010 NFLAFCEast4th4120 Chan Gailey
2011 2011 NFLAFCEast4th6100
2012 2012 NFLAFCEast4th6100
2013 2013 NFLAFCEast4th6100 Kiko Alonso (PFWA DROY) Doug Marrone
2014 2014 NFLAFCEast2nd970
2015 2015 NFLAFCEast3rd880 Rex Ryan
2016 2016 NFLAFCEast3rd790Rex Ryan (7–8)
Anthony Lynn (0–1)
2017 2017 NFLAFCEast2nd970Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Jaguars) 10–3 Sean McDermott
2018 2018 NFLAFCEast3rd6100
2019 2019 NFLAFCEast2nd1060Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Texans) 22–19 (OT)
2020 2020 NFLAFCEast1st1330Won Wild Card Playoffs (Colts) 27–24
Won Divisional Playoffs (Ravens) 17–3
Lost AFC Championship (at Chiefs) 38–24		 Brian Daboll (ACOY)
2021 2021 NFLAFCEast1st1160Won Wild Card Playoffs (Patriots) 47–17
Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Chiefs) 42–36 (OT)
2022 2022 NFLAFCEast1st1330Won Wild Card Playoffs (Dolphins) 34–31
Lost Divisional Playoffs (Bengals) 27–10
2023 2023 NFLAFCEast1st1160Won Wild Card Playoffs (Steelers) 31–17
Lost Divisional Playoffs (Chiefs) 27–24		 Damar Hamlin (PFWA CPOY) [5]
Totals
2 AFL Championships
4 AFC Conference Championships
14 Division titles		4735018All-time regular season record (1960–2023)
1921—All-time postseason record (1960–2023)
4925228All-time regular and postseason record (1960–2023)

Note: Statistics are up to date 1/21/2024.

See also

Notelist

  1. 1 2 In 1970, the NFL and American Football League (AFL) officially merged in the AFL–NFL merger to form one league with two conferences. All ten former AFL teams as well as Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Baltimore from the pre-merger NFL joined the AFC; the other thirteen remaining NFL teams joined the NFC. Each of those two were divided into three divisions: East, Central, and West. [2] [3]
  2. ↑ The 1982 season was shortened to nine games after a players' strike. The top eight teams in each conference advanced to the playoffs. [4]

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References

  1. ↑ "Buffalo Bills Franchise Encyclopedia". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  2. ↑ "On this day in 1969, a brand-new NFL took shape". National Football League . May 10, 2020. Archived from the original on September 4, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  3. ↑ Anderson, Dave (December 23, 1979). "Solving a Problem in the N.F.L. With Realignment" . The New York Times . Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  4. ↑ Lowitt, Bruce (November 21, 1982). "Here it is mid-November already, and everyone's still in the race!". The News Tribune . p. B2. Archived from the original on October 25, 2023. Retrieved October 22, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Bills' Hamlin 2023 PFWA Comeback Player of the Year; Buccaneers' Mayfield Most Improved Player of the Year". profootballwriters.org. Pro Football Writers of America. 26 January 2024. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
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