NFL Team History- Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills franchise, established by Ralph Wilson Jr in 1960, was named after the former Buffalo franchise that once competed in the All-American Football Conference. Shortly after the Bills origination, they joined the American Football League.

The Buffalo Bills hired Buster Ramsey as their first head coach. The Bills played their opening game against the New York Titans on September 11, 1960 at the storied Polo Grounds. Unfortunately, the Titans routed the Bills by a humbling score of 27-3.

Their foundational season in the AFL ended with a disappointing record of 5 wins 8 losses 1 tie.

The Buffalo Bills found themselves in the AFL post-season in 1963 as they were matched-up against the Boston Patriots. Disappointment ensued as a 26-8 loss was the final result.

The Bills were able to enact revenge against the Boston Patriots a year later by handing their heated rivals a 24-14 defeat. The victory earned the Buffalo Bills their first Eastern Division title. After being crowned Eastern Division champions, the Bills hosted the San Diego Chargers in the AFL Championship Game. The Bills conquered their first AFL Championship by defeating the Chargers 20-7.

In 1965, the Bills became back-to-back AFL Champions after shutting out their West Coast nemesis San Diego Chargers 23-0.

The Bills would earn a third successive trip to the AFL Championship Game as they hosted the Kansas City Chiefs, however, the winner of this game would face the National Football League champions in what has become widely known as the Super Bowl. The Chiefs handed the Bills a thwarting 31-7 defeat.

Following their dreadful 1968 season in which the Buffalo Bills ended the season with only 1 win, they were granted the first overall pick in the 1969 draft. As expected, the Bill selected the Heisman Trophy winning running back O.J. Simpson.

In 1975, running back O.J. Simpson would set a new NFL record by scoring 23 touchdowns, and accumulating 1,817 yards.

The Bills traded O.J. Simpson to the San Francisco 49ers after he spent the majority of the 1977 NFL season sidelined due to multiple injuries. In return for Simpson, the Bills received future draft picks from the 49ers. It was apparent that the Bills were looking to restructure their roster.

In 1980, the Buffalo Bills finally captured the Division title that had eluded them since 1966. Unfortunately, the Division crown did not translate into a Super Bowl title as they were defeated by the San Diego Chargers by a score of 20-14 in the Divisional playoff match-up.

The Bills 1983 draft pick, quarterback Jim Kelly, finally signed with the Bills in 1986 after spending three years in the now defunct Unites States Football League (USFL).

Kelly, under the leadership of head coach Marv Levy, helped guide that Buffalo Bills into the post-season in 1988, as the Bills would host their first playoff game since 1965. After edging out the Houston Oilers 17-10, the Bills faced the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game. The Bengals 21-10 victory ended the Bills remarkable post-season run.

The 1990 NFL season marked the beginning of an incredible four-season ascendancy in the AFC for the Buffalo Bills. They crushed the Oakland Raiders 51-3 in the 1990 AFC Championship. A year later, they marginally defeated the Denver Broncos 10-7 in the AFC Championship Game. The 1992 and 1993 AFC Championship Games saw the Buffalo Bills defeat the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs capping off a remarkable four-year reign in AFC. Despite making history, the Bills were unable to capture the coveted Super Bowl trophy.

In 1990, the Bills were only a field goal away from their first Super Bowl triumph, however Scott Norwood would miss the game-winning field goal, and the Bills watched the New York Giants celebrate their 20-19 victory.

The lost to the Giants set the stage for three additional Super Bowl disappointments. The Washington Redskins trounced the Bills in 1991, and the Dallas Cowboys did the same in 1992 and 1993.

The 1993 season had some memorable moments for the Buffalo Bill franchise. Their post-season was highlighted by not only their fourth consecutive AFC Championship, but even more so, their miraculous comeback versus the Houston Oilers in the AFC Wild Card Game. The Bills found themselves behind the Houston Oilers by an overwhelming deficit of 35-3 early in the third quarter. All hope of a comeback seemed out of reach when their star quarterback Jim Kelly suffered an ankle injury. Not only was Kelly on the sidelines, but running back Thurman Thomas was unavailable as well. Backup quarterback Frank Reich pulled the rabbit out of his helmet so to speak as the Bill scored 35 unanswered points to take a 38-35 lead late in the fourth quarter. The Oilers answered with a late-game field goal sending the game into overtime. Fate was on the side of the Buffalo Bills as an interception by defensive back Nate Odoms handed the Bills the momentum they needed to set up the game winning field goal. This has been regarded as perhaps the greatest comeback in all of sports history.

After the Bills bittersweet run of four successive Super Bowl appearances, they have yet to return to the AFC Championship Game despite playoff appearances in 1995, 1996, 1998, and 1999.

The core of the Buffalo Bills AFC Championship teams began to change as quarterback Jim Kelly retired following the 1996 season. A year later, Marv Levy stepped down from his head coach position. Pro Bowl players such as running back Thurman Thomas, wide receiver Andre Reed, and defensive end Bruce Smith were all released in 1999.

The 21st century has been a decade of futility for the Buffalo Bills and their countless fans as they have yet to appear in a post-season game since 1999. In 2005, the Bills hired their most victorious coach, Marv Lavy, to take over the General Manager position.