The 2021 season is the Buffalo Bills' 62nd season as a franchise, 52nd in the National Football League, seventh full under the ownership of Terry and Kim Pegula and their fifth under the head coach/general manager tandem of Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane. The Bills will attempt to win the AFC East divisional title for the second straight year, a feat not accomplished since winning 4 straight from 1988 to 1991, in addition to returning to the playoffs for the fourth time in five years. However, with a Week 11 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, the Bills failed to improve on their 13–3 record from the previous season.
On March 29, the Bills sold the naming rights to their stadium to Pittsburgh-based health insurance company Highmark; the stadium is now known as Highmark Stadium.[1]
Despite a 10–0 halftime lead and a strong performance from the Buffalo defense, the Bills' hopes for a third straight Week 1 victory were dashed after Pittsburgh scored 20 unanswered points in the second half, including a blocked punt returned for a touchdown. The Bills were also hurt by several penalties throughout the game. With the loss, Buffalo began the season 0–1 for the first time since 2018.[2]
Week 2: at Miami Dolphins[]
Week 2: Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
Buffalo rebounded from its loss the prior week with the most dominant win over division rival Miami in franchise history. Despite another mediocre performance by quarterback Josh Allen, a strong performance from running backs Devin Singletary and Zack Moss, as well as the defense, allowed the Bills to win 35–0. Dolphins quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa and Jacoby Brissett were sacked six times, with Tagovailoa leaving the game in the first quarter after a rib injury.[3]
Week 3: vs. Washington Football Team[]
Week 3: Washington Football Team at Buffalo Bills – Game summary
1
2
3
4
Total
Washington
0
14
0
7
21
Bills
7
20
9
7
43
at Highmark Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
Date: September 26
Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
Game weather: Sunny, 66 °F (19 °C)
Game attendance: 68,434
Referee: Tony Corrente
TV announcers (Fox): Chris Myers, Daryl Johnston, and Jen Hale
Josh Allen and the Bills' passing game enjoyed a strong performance, as Allen accounted for five total touchdowns and surpassed 300 passing yards for the first time in the season. Aside from a 73-yard scoring reception by running back Antonio Gibson and two scores from quarterback Taylor Heinicke set up by a Buffalo special teams gaffe and garbage time, respectively, Washington's offense struggled against the Bills defense. With another win, Buffalo improved to 2–1.[4]
Week 4: vs. Houston Texans[]
Week 4: Houston Texans at Buffalo Bills – Game summary
1
2
3
4
Total
Texans
0
0
0
0
0
Bills
7
9
3
21
40
at Highmark Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
Date: October 3
Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
Game weather: Light rain, fog and mist, 67 °F (19 °C)
Buffalo faced Houston for the first time since a 22–19 overtime loss in the 2019–20 NFL playoffs. Despite an early interception, Allen completed two touchdown passes to tight end Dawson Knox and led the Bills to 33 points before backup Mitchell Trubisky was substituted on in the fourth quarter. The Bills defense limited the Texans' rookie quarterback Davis Mills, filling in for former Bills starter Tyrod Taylor, to just 87 passing yards and intercepted him four times. The Texans finished with just 109 total offensive yards. With the 40–0 victory, their second shutout win of the season, the Bills improved to 3–1.[5]
Week 5: at Kansas City Chiefs[]
Week 5: Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
1
2
3
4
Total
Bills
7
17
7
7
38
Chiefs
3
10
0
7
20
at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
Date: October 10
Game time: 8:20 p.m. EDT/7:20 p.m. CDT
Game weather: 71 °F (22 °C)
Game attendance: 73,389
Referee: Carl Cheffers
TV announcers (NBC): Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya, and Terry McAulay
The Bills returned to Arrowhead Stadium for a Sunday night rematch of the previous season's AFC Championship game looking to avenge a 38–24 loss; in that same season, the Bills had also lost in the regular season to Kansas City. In a game nationally anticipated as a potential bellwether for AFC contention,[citation needed] the Bills scored 38 points, and they were dominant on both sides of the ball throughout the game. While Allen earned a 139.1 passer rating and threw for 315 yards (averaging 21 yards per pass completion), the Bills defense sacked Patrick Mahomes twice and forced him into three turnovers, with one being returned for a touchdown. The game was affected greatly by weather conditions, as a rain delay extended halftime by over an hour, and by numerous penalties, as the two teams combined for 158 penalty yards.[6]
This was Buffalo's first win over Kansas City since 2017 and their first win with Mahomes as the Chiefs' starting quarterback. The win improved the Bills to 4–1.
Week 6: at Tennessee Titans[]
Week 6: Buffalo Bills at Tennessee Titans – Game summary
The Bills attempted to avenge a 42–16 loss to the Titans from the previous season, which was rescheduled several times due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the Titans organization.[7] In the final moments of a back-and-forth shootout on Monday Night Football, in which the lead changed seven times, the Titans defensive line stopped Josh Allen on a fourth-down quarterback sneak at the Tennessee 3-yard line, and Buffalo narrowly lost 34–31, falling to 4–2 ahead of its bye week.[8]
Week 8: vs. Miami Dolphins[]
Week 8: Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills – Game summary
The Dolphins, who entered the game at 1–6, dominated the time of possession in the first half and limited Buffalo's offense to a field goal; however, they also squandered two scoring opportunities in the red zone, culminating in a 3–3 tie at halftime. The Bills would score two unanswered touchdowns to Gabriel Davis and Stefon Diggs after halftime en route to a 26–11 win, their seventh straight over Miami.[9]
Week 9: at Jacksonville Jaguars[]
Week 9: Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars – Game summary
The Bills entered this game as 14.5-point favorites over the 1–6 Jacksonville Jaguars.[10] Nevertheless, the game was a defensive struggle, with neither team finding the end zone. Despite outgaining Jacksonville by 83 yards, the Bills lost the turnover battle 1–3, with all of their turnovers coming from quarterback Josh Allen (two interceptions and a lost fumble). Allen was sacked four times for 35 yards, and Buffalo was penalized 12 times for 118 yards. After allowing field goals on each of their first two drives, the Jaguars defense had their way with the Bills offensive line, which was missing Jon Feliciano and Spencer Brown due to injury. Notably, Josh Allen's namesake on the Jaguars sacked, intercepted, and recovered a fumble from his Bills counterpart.[11] Jacksonville pulled off one of the biggest upsets in NFL history, defeating the Bills 9–6 and winning their first game in North America since Week 1 of the 2020 season.[12] With the stunning loss, Buffalo fell to 5–3, with their division lead over the New England Patriots shrinking to just half a game.
Week 10: at New York Jets[]
Week 10: Buffalo Bills at New York Jets – Game summary
Buffalo rebounded against the divisional rival New York Jets, scoring six touchdowns after being held out of the endzone the week prior, with two of those touchdowns accounted for by third string running back Matt Breida. On defense, all five starting defensive backs for the Bills, namely Taron Johnson, Micah Hyde, Tre'Davious White, Levi Wallace, and Jordan Poyer, recorded a turnover off the Jets' offense, stifling quarterback Mike White.[13] With the 45–17 win, Buffalo improved to 6–3.[14]
Week 11: vs. Indianapolis Colts[]
Week 11: Indianapolis Colts at Buffalo Bills – Game summary
The Bills defense, missing key run-stoppers Star Lotulelei and Tremaine Edmunds, struggled to contain Colts RB Jonathan Taylor, who scored five total touchdowns from scrimmage.[15] To make matters worse, the Buffalo offense and special teams unit committed key turnovers, contributing to a 41–15 blowout loss. Buffalo fell to 6–4, also falling to second place in the AFC East as the Patriots had won earlier that week.[16] This was the first NFL game to ever end in the score of 15-41, a scorigami.[17][18]
Week 12: at New Orleans Saints[]
Thanksgiving Day games
Week 12: Buffalo Bills at New Orleans Saints – Game summary
In their second Thanksgiving Day game in three years, the Bills traveled south to play the injury-depleted Saints. Josh Allen continued to struggle with interceptions, throwing two in the second quarter, but also threw four touchdown passes, including two to Dawson Knox, as Buffalo routed New Orleans 31–6 to improve to 7–4.[20] Unfortunately, they would also lose Tre'Davious White for the season to a torn ACL suffered during the game.[21]
Week 13: vs. New England Patriots[]
Week 13: New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills – Game summary
In a game affected by winds greater than 40 miles per hour, divisional rival New England ran the ball 46 times and only threw three passes, accumulating over 200 rushing yards and just 19 passing yards. The Bills also tried a run-heavy approach but relied more on the passing game late in the game despite the heavy winds affecting several of Josh Allen's passes. New England never trailed after taking the early lead with a 64-yard rushing touchdown by Damien Harris, and Buffalo finished just 1 for 4 on redzone possessions, leading to a 14–10 loss to the Patriots.[22]
Week 14: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers[]
Week 14: Buffalo Bills at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Game summary
1
2
3
4
OT
Total
Bills
0
3
7
17
0
27
Buccaneers
7
17
0
3
6
33
at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida
Date: December 12
Game time: 4:25 p.m. EST
Game weather: Cloudy, 81 °F (27 °C)
Game attendance: 65,655
Referee: Scott Novak
TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Tracy Wolfson and Gene Steratore
The Buccaneers raced to a 24–3 halftime lead under former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, along with a strong first-half performance by running back Leonard Fournette and a furious pass rush that largely shut down Josh Allen and the Bills' offense, which did not hand off the ball to a running back in the first half, the first time an NFL team had not done so since 1991. However, the Bills mounted a comeback, outscoring Tampa Bay 24–3 in the second half, to force overtime. After a three and out on the first series of the extra period, a 63-yard punt from Matt Haack pushed Tampa Bay to its own 6-yard line. A controversial pass interference call on Levi Wallace allowed Tampa Bay to convert a 3rd-and-long, and the Buccaneers sealed the game minutes later with a 58-yard catch-and-run touchdown pass from Brady to Breshad Perriman, sending Buffalo to a 7–6 record with the loss.[23] Allen became just the fourth quarterback in NFL history with 300 passing yards and 100 rushing yards in the same game, playing through a sprained ankle suffered in the fourth quarter.[24]
Week 15: vs. Carolina Panthers[]
Week 15: Carolina Panthers at Buffalo Bills – Game summary
Buffalo avenged its Monday Night loss to the Patriots earlier in December, as Josh Allen passed for over 300 yards and 3 touchdowns and was not sacked during the game. Despite receivers Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis coming down with COVID-19 and missing the game, utility player Isaiah McKenzie had a dominant performance in Beasley's place. New England relied heavily on its run game again, with Damien Harris scoring 3 touchdowns, but was forced to pass more with rookie quarterback Mac Jones, who completed less than 50 percent of his throws and was intercepted twice by Micah Hyde. With the 33–21 win, Buffalo improved to 9–6 and retook the division lead from New England.[25]
Week 17: vs. Atlanta Falcons[]
Week 17: Atlanta Falcons at Buffalo Bills – Game summary
1
2
3
4
Total
Falcons
0
0
0
0
0
Bills
0
0
0
0
0
at Highmark Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
Date: January 2
Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
Referee: Land Clark
TV announcers (Fox): Kevin Kugler, Mark Sanchez and Laura Okmin
^ abCincinnati wins tiebreaker over Buffalo based on conference record.
^ abBuffalo wins tiebreaker over New England based on division record.
^ abIndianapolis wins tiebreaker over New England based on head-to-head victory.
^ abcMiami wins tiebreaker over Baltimore based on conference record.
^ abMiami wins tiebreaker over LA Chargers based on record vs. common opponents. Division tiebreaker initially used to eliminate Las Vegas (see below).
^ abBaltimore wins tiebreaker over LA Chargers based on head-to-head victory. Division tiebreaker initially used to eliminate Las Vegas (see below).
^ abLA Chargers wins tiebreaker over Las Vegas based on head-to-head victory.
^ abCleveland wins tiebreaker over Denver based on head-to-head victory.
^ abNY Jets wins tiebreaker over Houston 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.
Legend
w — Clinched wild card
x — Clinched playoff berth
y — Clinched division
z — Clinched first-round bye and home-field advantage
