Week 1 The Bills began their season at
Gillette Stadium for an AFL Legacy duel with their AFC East rival, the
New England Patriots, in the first game of a
MNF doubleheader. Buffalo got off to a fast start in the first quarter as quarterback
Trent Edwards completed an 11-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end
Shawn Nelson. The Patriots would respond in the second quarter as running back
Fred Taylor got a 1-yard touchdown run, yet Buffalo came right back as defensive end
Aaron Schobel returned an interception 26 yards for a touchdown. New England would close out the half with kicker
Stephen Gostkowski getting a 20-yard field goal. In the third quarter, the Bills would add to their lead as kicker
Rian Lindell made a 40-yard field goal. In the fourth quarter, the Patriots replied with Gostkowski nailing a 28-yard field goal. Buffalo would increase their lead as Edwards completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to running back
Fred Jackson. With just over 5 minutes to play, The Patriots would strike back as quarterback
Tom Brady completed an 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end
Benjamin Watson (with a failed two-point conversion). On the ensuing kickoff, cornerback
Leodis McKelvin got the kickoff from his own endzone and got as far as the Bills 31-yard line, where he was stripped of the ball and New England's Gostkowski recovered. This would eventually set up Brady's 16-yard touchdown pass to Watson (with another failed two-point conversion). With under a minute to play Buffalo tried to respond, but the Patriots' defense was too much to overcome. With the bitter loss, the Bills began their season at 0–1.
Week 2 Hoping to rebound from a tough loss to the Patriots, the Bills would play their Week 2 home opener in an interconference duel with the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This would be the first time that Buffalo ever hosted Tampa Bay in a regular season game, having played a preseason game with each other in 1977. In the first quarter, the Bills came out firing as quarterback
Trent Edwards completed a 32-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver
Lee Evans, safety
Donte Whitner returning an interception 76 yards for a touchdown and kicker
Rian Lindell making a 31-yard field goal. The Buccaneers would get on the board in the second quarter as quarterback
Byron Leftwich completed a 42-yard touchdown pass to tight end
Kellen Winslow, while Buffalo replied with Lindell getting a 43-yard field goal. Tampa Bay would close out the half as Leftwich completed an 8-yard touchdown pass to running back
Carnell "Cadillac" Williams. After a scoreless third quarter, the Bills began to pull away as Lindell got a 43-yard field goal and Edwards completed a 43-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver
Terrell Owens. The Buccaneers tried to rally as Leftwich completed a 6-yard touchdown pass to tight end
Jerramy Stevens (with a failed two-point conversion), yet Buffalo closed out the game with Lindell nailing a 20-yard field goal. With the win, the Bills improved to 1–1.
Week 3 Coming off their win the Buccaneers, the Bills stayed at home for a Week 3 interconference duel with the
New Orleans Saints. Buffalo would trail early as Saints running back
Lynell Hamilton got a 1-yard touchdown run. The Bills would answer in the second quarter on a fake field goal attempt, punter
Brian Moorman threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to defensive end
Ryan Denney. New Orleans would close out the half with kicker
John Carney's 27-yard field goal. After a scoreless third quarter, the Saints took control in the fourth quarter with running back
Pierre Thomas' 34-yard touchdown run, Carney's 35-yard field goal and Thomas' 19-yard touchdown run. With the loss, Buffalo fell to 1–2.
Week 4 Hoping to rebound from their home loss to the Saints, the Bills flew to
Land Shark Stadium for a Week 4 AFC East duel with the
Miami Dolphins. After a scoreless first quarter, Buffalo would find themselves trailing in the second as Dolphins kicker
Dan Carpenter got a 33-yard field goal, followed by cornerback
Vontae Davis returning an interception 23 yards for a touchdown. The Bills would get on the board with a 35-yard field goal from kicker
Rian Lindell, but Miami would answer with running back
Ronnie Brown's 1-yard touchdown run. The Dolphins' domination continued into the third quarter with quarterback
Chad Henne completing a 5-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver
Brian Hartline, followed by a 1-yard touchdown run by running back
Ricky Williams. Buffalo tried to salvage the game in the fourth quarter with quarterback
Trent Edwards completing a 3-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver
Josh Reed, but Miami would close out the game with Brown's 4-yard touchdown pass. With the loss, the Bills fell to 1–3.
Week 5 The Bills, hoping to shake off a loss to the winless
Miami Dolphins on the road the week before, faced the 0–4
Cleveland Browns at
Ralph Wilson Stadium. The wind played a factor throughout the game, making it difficult for both teams to sustain drives in the air. The Browns and Bills traded punts in the first quarter until the Bills had a drive end at their own 47 after turning it over on downs. This stop led to the only points of the first half by the Browns, a 24-yard field goal by backup kicker
Billy Cundiff. Cundiff was the starter at kicker for the Browns due to the injury to their regular kicker
Phil Dawson. In the second half, the longest drive by the Bills in the game was in their opening possession, which led to a successful 36-yard field goal by Bills kicker
Rian Lindell to tie the game at 3. Later in the third quarter, each quarterback threw an interception, first
Trent Edwards of the Bills to cornerback
Eric Wright of the Browns, and then
Derek Anderson of the Browns to Bills' safety
Jairus Byrd. Deadlocked at 3 apiece going into the fourth quarter, both offenses continued to be stifled. However, a special teams blunder by Bills punt returner
Roscoe Parrish allowed the Browns to set up at the Buffalo 16-yard line after Parrish muffed the punt. From this turnover, the Browns were able to win the game on an 18-yard field goal by Cundiff with 23 seconds left to play. This loss dropped the Bills' record to 1–4, with the division rival
New York Jets next up on the schedule in the
Meadowlands. The Browns improved their record to 1–4. During the game, the Bills lost two defensive starters to injury who were carted off the field- linebacker
Kawika Mitchell and linebacker
Marcus Buggs. In this loss, the Bills earned the dubious distinction of losing to a quarterback with the worst completion percentage in NFL history in a win (minimum of 10 attempts), the Browns Derek Anderson, who completed just 2 out of 17 passes for just 23 yards- a percentage of 11.7%.
Joe Ferguson (Buffalo) won a game on September 29, 1974, against the
New York Jets while completing neither of his two pass attempts in the last NFL game won by a team without a pass completion.
Week 6 Trying to snap a three-game losing streak, the Bills flew to
The Meadowlands for a Week 6 AFC East duel with the
New York Jets. In the first quarter, Buffalo got the initial strike as kicker
Rian Lindell got a 33-yard field goal. The Jets would answer with a 23-yard field goal from kicker
Jay Feely. New York would take the lead in the second quarter Feely's 41-yard field goal and running back
Thomas Jones' 71-yard touchdown run. In the third quarter, the Bills fought back as Lindell nailed a 25-yard field goal, followed by quarterback
Ryan Fitzpatrick completing a 37-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver
Lee Evans. Both teams would fight hard throughout the fourth quarter and eventually, Lindell got a chance to kick a last-second field goal. However, his 46-yard attempt went wide right, sending the game into overtime. In overtime, both teams would slug it out with each other throughout most of the quarter. In the end, Buffalo emerged victorious as Lindell booted the game-winning 47-yard field goal. With the win, not only did the Bills improve to 2–4, but the defense managed to record five interceptions (two for rookie safety
Jairus Byrd, one for safety
George Wilson, one for cornerback
Reggie Corner, and one for linebacker
Paul Posluszny). Starting quarterback
Trent Edwards (5/5 for 43 yards) left the game in the second quarter with a concussion.
Week 7 Coming off their thrilling overtime road win over the Jets, the Bills flew to
Bank of America Stadium for a Week 7 interconference duel with the
Carolina Panthers. With quarterback
Trent Edwards recovering from a concussion, quarterback
Ryan Fitzpatrick was given the start. Buffalo delivered the opening charge in the first quarter with a 7-yard touchdown run from running back
Marshawn Lynch. In the second quarter, the Panthers got on the board as defensive tackle
Hollis Thomas tackled running back
Fred Jackson in his own endzone for a safety. After a scoreless third quarter, the Bills increased their lead in the fourth quarter with Fitzpatrick completing a 2-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver
Lee Evans, followed by a 29-yard field goal from kicker
Rian Lindell. Carolina tried to rally as running back
DeAngelo Williams got a 15-yard touchdown run, yet Buffalo pulled away with Lindell's 22-yard field goal. With the win, the Bills improved to 3–4.
Week 8 Coming off their road win over the Panthers, the Bills went home for a Week 8 duel with the
Houston Texans. In the first quarter, Buffalo struck first as wide receiver
Terrell Owens got a 29-yard touchdown run. The Texans would answer in the second quarter with a 42-yard and a 22-yard field goal from kicker
Kris Brown. The Bills would end the half with kicker
Rian Lindell's 21-yard field goal. Houston would creep closer in the third quarter with Brown booting a 26-yard field goal. In the fourth quarter, the Texans would take the lead and never look back as running back
Ryan Moats got three touchdown runs of 11 yards (followed by quarterback
Matt Schaub's 2-point conversion pass to wide receiver
Andre Johnson), 1 yard, and 3 yards. With the loss, Buffalo went into their bye week at 3–5. Despite the loss, rookie safety
Jairus Byrd once again had two interceptions. He would become the first rookie and only the second player in NFL history to have three-straight multi-interception games.
Week 10 Coming off their bye week, the Bills flew to
LP Field, donned their throwbacks, and played a Week 10 AFL Legacy game with the
Tennessee Titans. In the first quarter, Buffalo struck first with a trick play as running back
Fred Jackson completed a 27-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver
Lee Evans. The Titans would answer with a 28-yard touchdown run from running back
Chris Johnson and quarterback
Vince Young's 14-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver
Nate Washington. Tennessee would add onto their lead in the second quarter with a 38-yard field goal from kicker
Rob Bironas. The Bills would close out the half with quarterback
Trent Edwards' 8-yard touchdown pass to Evans. Buffalo would tie the game in the third quarter with kicker
Rian Lindell nailing a 25-yard field goal, but the Titans would pull away in the fourth quarter with Johnson's 1-yard touchdown run, Bironas' 51-yard field goal, safety
Vincent Fuller returning an interception 26 yards for a touchdown and cornerback
Rod Hood returning an interception 31 yards for a touchdown. With the loss, not only did the Bills fall to 3–6, but head coach
Dick Jauron would get fired two days later.
Week 11 Hoping to rebound from their loss to the Titans, the Bills flew to Jacksonville Municipal Stadium for an intraconference duel with the
Jacksonville Jaguars. In the 1st quarter Buffalo trailed early as kicker
Josh Scobee made a 29-yard field goal. Then the Bills came on top with kicker
Rian Lindell hitting a 26 and a 28-yard field goal. The Bills fell behind in the 2nd quarter when RB
Maurice Jones-Drew got a 3-yard touchdown run. Then the Bills would score to end the half with Lindell nailing a 22-yard field goal. In the third quarter Buffalo took the lead with QB
Ryan Fitzpatrick making a 98-yard touchdown pass to WR
Terrell Owens (with a failed 2-point conversion attempt). In the fourth quarter Buffalo fell behind again with QB
David Garrard making a 3-yard touchdown pass to WR
Mike Sims-Walker (With a successful QB sneak to make the two-point conversion). With the loss, the Bills fell to 3–7 in
Perry Fewell's first game as interim head coach.
Week 12 Trying to snap a three-game losing streak, the Bills went home, donned their throwback uniforms (again), and played a Week 12 AFC East rematch with the
Miami Dolphins. After a scoreless first quarter, Buffalo would trail early in the second quarter as Dolphins quarterback
Chad Henne threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver
Brian Hartline. The Bills would tie the game with quarterback
Ryan Fitzpatrick getting an impressive 31-yard touchdown run. Miami would retake the lead in the third quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run from running back
Ricky Williams, yet Buffalo's offense would explode with points in the fourth quarter. It would begin with running back
Fred Jackson's 3-yard touchdown run and continued with kicker
Rian Lindell booting a 56-yard field goal. Afterwards, Fitzpatrick would hook up with wide receiver
Terrell Owens on a 51-yard touchdown pass, while Jackson got a 7-yard touchdown run. With the win, the Bills improved to 4–7.
Week 13 In their second-ever regular season game north of the border, Buffalo traveled to
Toronto to take on divisional rivals the
New York Jets. The team traded field goals in the first quarter before the Bills took a 10–6 lead after a 15-yard touchdown run from
Marshawn Lynch. The Jets regained the lead after quarterback
Mark Sanchez threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to
Braylon Edwards. The teams went scoreless in the third quarter that was notable for Sanchez suffering a sprained
Posterior cruciate ligament to his right knee. The team again traded field goals in the final quarter. Buffalo had a chance to take the lead or at least tie in the final two minutes, but quarterback
Ryan Fitzpatrick threw an interception to
Darrelle Revis, sealing the victory for the Jets. With the loss, Buffalo fell to 4–8 overall and 1–2 since firing Jauron.
Week 14 Week 15 Week 16 Week 17 Buffalo won its season finale for the first time since
2002. ==References==