The Bills began the season strong with a 4–0 start, their first since2008. Despite two straight losses afterwards, with both of their games during their losing streak postponed due to aCOVID-19 outbreak within theTennessee Titans' organization, the Bills won 9 of their final 10 games, with their only loss during that span being the "Hail Murray" game against theArizona Cardinals, to finish on a six-game winning streak with a 13–3 record, improving on their 10–6 record from2019 and tying the franchise record set in theSuper Bowl seasons of1990 and1991.
In addition to returning to the playoffs for the third time in four years after previously going 17 consecutive seasons without a playoff appearance, the team won theAFC East division title for the first time since1995 (during theMarv Levy/Jim Kelly era) after a 48–19 win over theDenver Broncos in Week 15, becoming only the second team other than the2008 Miami Dolphins to win the division over theNew England Patriots since theNew York Jets in2002.[1] Not only did they sweep the Patriots for the first time since1999, but the Bills swept their entiredivision for the first time in franchise history.[2] They also qualified for the playoffs in consecutive years for the first time since1998 and1999 (during theWade Phillips/Doug Flutie era), which was also the last time the Bills had back-to-back double-digit-win seasons.
The #2 seed Bills began their playoff run in the Wild Card Round against the #7 seedIndianapolis Colts, winning 27–24 for their first playoff victory since1995. After this, they defeated the #5 seedBaltimore Ravens 17–3 in the Divisional Round, advancing to their first AFC Championship Game since1993, where they faced the #1 seed and defending Super Bowl championKansas City Chiefs, who they coincidentally faced in their last AFC Championship Game appearance. The Bills would lose 38–24.[3]
The Bills would not make another AFC Championship game appearance until2024. Coincidentally, the Bills would face the Chiefs in the AFC Championship that year as well.
^abcdThe Bills traded their first-, fifth- and sixth-round selections and 2021 fourth-round selection to theMinnesota Vikings in exchange for Minnesota's seventh-round selection (CBDane Jackson) and WRStefon Diggs.[4]
^abThe Bills traded a 2021 seventh-round selection and GWyatt Teller to theCleveland Browns in exchange for Cleveland's fifth- and sixth-round selections (155th and 188th overall).[5]
Buffalo handily won after racing to a 21–0 second quarter lead. QuarterbackJosh Allen surpassed 300 passing yards for the first time in his career—throwing for 312, to be exact—and rushed 14 times for 57 yards as newly acquired receiverStefon Diggs made his debut with the team. The defense largely shut down the Jets' offense aside from a field goal, a 69-yard touchdown pass fromSam Darnold toJamison Crowder and a garbage-time touchdown in the fourth quarter, though rookie kickerTyler Bass struggled in his debut, missing two of his four field goal attempts.[12]
In a back-and-forth affair against the rival Dolphins and former Bills quarterbackRyan Fitzpatrick, Josh Allen sealed the game for the Bills with two fourth-quarter touchdown passes to rookieGabe Davis andJohn Brown, respectively, as the defense was playing without starting linebackersTremaine Edmunds andMatt Milano. Stefon Diggs also caught his first touchdown as a Buffalo Bill, which occurred during a power outage atHard Rock Stadium in the second quarter that temporarily preventedCBS from airing the game. With the win, Buffalo improved to 2–0, as Allen threw for a career-high in passing yards with 415.[13]
Buffalo raced to a 28–3 lead in the middle of the third quarter, but after a pass from Josh Allen to TETyler Kroft was controversially ruled an interception for Los Angeles as Rams DBJohn Johnson III grabbed the ball moments after Kroft caught it, the Rams stormed back with five scoring drives to erase the deficit and take the lead in the fourth quarter.[14] Allen would nonetheless lead a game-winning drive in the final four minutes of the game, including three crucial passes to WRCole Beasley, capping it off with a touchdown pass to Kroft following a defensivepass interference call onDarious Williams on 4th and 9.[15] With the win, not only did Buffalo start 3–0 for the second year in a row, but for the third week in a row, Allen threw for over 300 yards.
Buffalo scored on the opening drive of the game when Josh Allen found a wide open Gabe Davis for a 26-yard touchdown. The Bills would not lose the lead for the remainder of the game, with Allen continuing his hot start to the season. Late in the second quarter, Allen scrambled and found Stefon Diggs for a 9-yard gain, but took a big hit from Raiders DEArden Key, resulting in an injury to his left shoulder. He would return, however, and score on a 1-yardquarterback sneak, along with 136 yards passing in the second half, with his longest being a 49-yard throw to Diggs. Buffalo would win and go to 4–0 for the first time since2008 (the team started 4–0 that season before losing nine of their final 12 games).[16]
Due to aCOVID-19 outbreak within the Titans organization, the game was at first postponed from Sunday to the following Tuesday,[17] marking the first time since 2010 that an NFL regular-season game was played on a Tuesday.[18] In a battle of unbeaten teams, the Bills, missing starters such as Matt Milano, John Brown,Quinton Spain andTre'Davious White, were unable to contain Titans quarterbackRyan Tannehill, who scored four overall touchdowns on the Bills defense. To make matters worse, three turnovers by Buffalo allowed for short fields and quick touchdowns for the Titans.[19] With their first loss of the season and first loss to Tennessee since2012, the Bills fell to 4–1.
Despite holding the high-powered Kansas City offense to 13 points in the first half of a rain-soaked game postponed from the previous Thursday (due to the Titans game being pushed back to the previous Tuesday), the Bills defense was not able to contain Chiefs rookie RBClyde Edwards-Helaire, who led Kansas City to 245 rushing yards, while the Bills offense was bottled up for the most part, despite numerous pass-interference penalties called on the Chiefs secondary and two Josh Allen TD passes to Diggs and Beasley. A missed field goal by the Bills at the end of the first half proved costly, as the Chiefs were able to go up by two scores with a late field goal, preventing a potential game-winning drive by the Bills. Instead, Allen was intercepted on the final drive with 1:20 remaining, sealing the win for the Chiefs. With the loss, Buffalo fell to 4–2.[20]
In a rematch from Week 1, New York jumped to an early 10–0 lead following a strip-sack of Allen by Jets linebackerTarell Basham, but the Bills would score 18 unanswered points, all field goals byTyler Bass, who went 6-of-8 with his field goals on the day, to win an ugly game. The Bills moved the ball well outside the red zone and were never forced to punt. Despite early struggles, Buffalo's defense was outstanding after halftime, allowing just 4 total yards to the Jets offense in the second half. Buffalo improved to 5–2 with the win, snapping a two-game losing streak and sweeping the Jets for the first time since2015 (former head coachRex Ryan's first season with Buffalo after six seasons with the Jets; the Bills won both meetings that year 22–17, with the latter meeting eliminating the Jets from the playoffs).[21] The Bills also became the first team since 1941 with no touchdowns and also no punts in a game.
In a windy game, both the Bills and Patriots opted for run-heavy offensive attacks, with both teams nearing 200 overall rushing yards apiece, as Bills rookie RBZack Moss rushed for the first two touchdowns of his career. Played down to the wire, the game was decided when DTJustin Zimmer forced Patriots QBCam Newton to fumble in the red zone as New England was driving to either tie the game or take the lead on its final drive. With the win, not only did Buffalo improve to 6–2 with a 1.5-game lead over Miami for the division lead, but achieved its first win over the Patriots since2016 and first at home since2011.[22] It was also the first career win over the Patriots for both head coach Sean McDermott and QB Josh Allen.
Thanks to an emotionally charged performance from Josh Allen, whose grandmother, Patricia, died the previous night, not only did the Bills improve to 7–2 on the season, their strongest record after nine regular season games since1993, but the team also notched their first victory over the Seahawks since2008, their first win over aPete Carroll-coached team since1999 (when Carroll coached theNew England Patriots before being replaced byBill Belichick the following season) and the most points scored by the Bills in a game since defeating theSan Francisco 49ers 45–16 in2016.
ARI – DeAndre Hopkins – 7 receptions, 127 yards, TD
In a back-and forth game in which the Bills were up 23–9 in the third quarter but then allowed 3 consecutive Cardinals scores, the Bills would go down the field to score with 0:34 remaining on a 21-yard Stefon Diggs touchdown pass from Josh Allen, taking a late 30–26 lead. However, the Cardinals would go down and respond with a score of their own, a 43-yard passHail Mary touchdown withKyler Murray connecting withDeAndre Hopkins with just 0:02 remaining to give the Cardinals the 32–30 win, dropping the Bills to 7–3 heading into the bye week (it would be the team's last loss of the 2020 regular season).[23]
Despite suffering three turnovers (each in the fourth quarter) and a knee injury Josh Allen sustained in the second quarter, the Bills held on to win, stifling rookie QBJustin Herbert and the Chargers' offense for much of the game. With the win, Buffalo improved to 8–3 and handed Los Angeles its first loss by more than a touchdown of the season. This was also the Bills' first win over the Chargers since2008 and their first win over the Chargers as a Los Angeles-based team since1960, in addition to being the first Bills–Chargers matchup since2002 without QBPhilip Rivers on the Chargers' roster (Rivers joined theIndianapolis Colts roster in the offseason).[24]
This game was played atState Farm Stadium inGlendale, Arizona instead of the 49ers' home stadium,Levi's Stadium inSanta Clara, California, due to COVID-19 cases inSanta Clara County, California. In the Bills' return to the site of theHail Murray play three weeks earlier, Josh Allen and Cole Beasley led the offense in an effective showing, while the defense kept a stout 49ers rushing offense in check for the most part with linebacker Matt Milano returning from injured reserve. With the win, not only did Buffalo improve to 9–3, but the team also earned its first win onMonday Night Football since1999.[C] The team also clinched its second winning season in a row, the first time since1998-1999.[25] The win over their final NFC West opponent also meant that theHail Murray play cost the Bills a season sweep of the NFC West.
TheSunday Night Football matchup was a repeat from Week 15 of the 2019 season, when the Bills traveled to Pittsburgh and won 17–10 to clinch a playoff berth. This time around, Buffalo hosted the Steelers, and once again got their tenth win of the season to start 10–3 for the first time since1991. After a scoreless first quarter, Pittsburgh scored first withBen Roethlisberger completing a 19-yard TD pass toJames Washington in the second quarter. The Bills then scored on a field goal drive and a 51-yard pick six of Roethlisberger byTaron Johnson to go up 9–7 at halftime, a lead they would never relinquish. The Bills added two third-quarter touchdowns from Allen to Diggs andGabe Davis respectively to prevail, 26–15. With the win, not only did the Bills match their win total from the previous season and defeat the Steelers at home for the first time since1999, but Josh Allen also passedJim Kelly for most total touchdowns in a single season in team history, while Stefon Diggs tiedEric Moulds' record of 100 receptions in a single season.[27]
A 48–19 blowout victory in Denver was the Bills' fourth straight double-digit win, and their first win by more than two scores since Week 12 of2019 (incidentally also against the Broncos). Their 48 points scored was the greatest number of points scored by the Bills since scoring 49 against theBengals in Week 11 of2010. It was also their first road win over the Broncos since2008. With the dominant win, the Bills not only clinched their third playoff berth in four seasons after having previously missed the playoffs for 17 consecutive seasons, but also won theAFC East division for the first time since1995. Josh Allen joinedDrew Bledsoe in2002 as the only quarterbacks in franchise history to surpass 4,000 passing yards in a season.[28][29]
After a close first quarter, in which the Bills were leading 10–9 following a 9-yardCam Newton touchdown run, the Bills offense scored 28 unanswered points en route to a 38–9 blowout victory on the finalMonday Night Football game of the season, sweeping the Patriots for the first time since1999 and clinching their first 12-win season since1993. The win extended the Bills' streak of double-digit wins to five games. Josh Allen passed Jim Kelly's franchise record for most passing touchdowns in a single season with 34, while Stefon Diggs surpassed Eric Moulds for the franchise single-season receiving yards record.[30]
In a rematch from Week 2, the Bills closed out the regular season hosting the Dolphins, who needed a win to make the playoffs. The Dolphins were forced to start rookie QBTua Tagovailoa, asRyan Fitzpatrick tested positive for COVID-19. Unfortunately for the Dolphins, Tagovailoa had his worst performance of the season, as he had three interceptions (one of which was returned for a TD by Bills CBJosh Norman), despite passing for a career-high 361 yards. QB Josh Allen threw for 224 yards, three TDs and a first quarter interception, with two of those TDs going to WRIsaiah McKenzie, who also returned a punt 84 yards for a TD in the second quarter. Despite Allen being replaced in the second half byMatt Barkley, the Bills continued their dominating performance of the previous five weeks. They extended their streak of double-digit wins to six games by scoring a season-high 56 points, the second-most points in a single game in franchise history (they scored 58 against the Dolphins in1966).
Despite only playing for one half, Josh Allen still broke the single season record for most passing yards by a QB in franchise history. Meanwhile, Stefon Diggs became the first wide receiver in NFL history to lead the league in both receptions and receiving yards in his first season with a new team. With the 56–26 victory, the Bills finished 13–3 for the franchise's best season since1991, swept all three divisional opponents for a 6–0 record within the division for the first time in franchise history, and clinched the #2 seed in the playoffs (although they would not get a first-round bye because of theexpanded playoff format).
^abTennessee finished ahead of Indianapolis in the AFC South based on division record.
^abBaltimore claimed the No. 5 seed over Indianapolis based on head-to-head victory. Division tiebreaker used to eliminate Cleveland (see below).
^abBaltimore claimed the No. 5 seed over Cleveland based on head-to-head sweep.
^abCleveland claimed the No. 6 seed over Indianapolis based on head-to-head victory.
^abNew England finished ahead of the LA Chargers based on head-to-head victory.
^When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.
In their fourth consecutive playoff game against theAFC South dating back to1999, and what would end up being Colts quarterbackPhilip Rivers' final NFL game, the Bills held on despite a fourth quarter comeback by the Colts to win their first playoff game since1995. In his first playoff win, Josh Allen threw for 2 touchdowns and 324 passing yards, and scored another rushing touchdown. Dawson Knox and Stefon Diggs caught a touchdown each. Tyler Bass kicked a 54-yard field goal, a new rookie playoff record. Allen became the first QB in NFL history to throw for 300+ yards, run for 50+ yards and complete at least 70% of his passes in a playoff game. The game was also coachSean McDermott's first playoff win as head coach.
After four consecutive playoff games against the AFC South dating back toMusic City Miracle in1999, the Bills finally played a team from another division in the playoffs for the first time since1998. In a windy game which saw three missed field goals in the first half alone (two by the league's best kicker inJustin Tucker and one by Bills rookieTyler Bass), the Bills scored the first touchdown of the game in the third quarter on a three-yard pass from Josh Allen to Stefon Diggs to take a 10–3 lead. The Ravens then drove to the Bills' 9 yard line, where quarterbackLamar Jackson threw the first end-zone interception of his career to Bills cornerbackTaron Johnson, which was returned 101 yards for a touchdown, tied for the longest pick-six in NFL playoff history, to expand the Bills' lead to 17–3. Jackson then suffered an injury on the next series, and was unable to return. Although the Bills offense was held scoreless for the rest of the game, Ravens backup quarterbackTyler Huntley was unable to complete a comeback, sealing the 17–3 win for the Bills to advance to their first AFC Championship since1993.
This was the third AFL/AFC championship game between the two teams. Kansas City won the 1966 AFL Championship game to advance toSuper Bowl I, while Buffalo bested the Chiefs in the 1993 AFC Championship game to advance toSuper Bowl XXVIII, its fourth in a row.[31] Despite taking a 9–0 lead in the first quarter, the Bills offense was ineffective in the red zone, and on defense, they were unable to contain the Chiefs offense for the remainder of the game. After giving up three consecutive touchdowns in the second quarter, the Bills scored a field goal to go into halftime down 12–21. The Chiefs momentum continued into the second half with two more scoring drives, while the Bills settled for another field goal. In the fourth quarter, Allen's pass intended for receiver John Brown was tipped and intercepted, leading to the Chiefs' final touchdown of the night. The Bills followed up with a scoring drive on a Josh Allen touchdown pass toIsaiah McKenzie, followed by an unsuccessful two-point attempt, and a successful onside kick recovery leading to a field goal. The Chiefs recovered the Bills' next onside kick and were able to drive to the Bills' 15-yard line and run out the clock, ending the Bills' hopes for a comeback victory.
^abDue to aCOVID-19 outbreak within theTennessee Titans' organization, the Bills-Titans game during Week 5 was rescheduled from October 11 to October 13, contingent on no more positive COVID-19 tests from the Titans. As a result, the Bills' Week 6 game vs. theKansas City Chiefs, originally scheduled for October 15 (Thursday), was moved to October 19 (Monday).[10]
^In2014, the Bills' Week 12 matchup against theNew York Jets, which was played inDetroit'sFord Field due to weather conditions and won by Buffalo 38–3, was postponed to Monday, November 24, but was not aprime time game.
