2019 Buffalo Bills season
The 2019 Buffalo Bills season was the team's 60th overall, 50th in the National Football League, fifth full under the ownership of Terry and Kim Pegula and third under the head coach/general manager tandem of Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane. With a 37–20 win over Miami Dolphins in Week 11, they improved on their 6–10 record from 2018. The Bills also clinched their second winning season in three years and fourth in 20 years after a 26–15 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day that gave them their ninth win of the season. In Week 14, despite losing 24–17 to the Baltimore Ravens, the Bills' 9–4 record marked the first time since 1996 that the team won at least nine of their first 13 games and matching their highest full-season win total in the 21st century with four games left to play.
With a 17–10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 15, the Bills not only clinched their second playoff berth in three years, but reached 10 wins for the most in a season since winning 11 in 1999. They also became the only other AFC East team aside from the New England Patriots to appear in the playoffs more than once during the 2010s. The Bills attempted to win their first playoff game since 1995 in the Wild Card round, but were defeated by the Houston Texans 22–19 in overtime after giving up a 16–0 lead. The loss extended their playoff win drought to 25 years.
Transactions
Free agency
The Bills freed up cap space after paying off the dead money for players from the Doug Whaley era they had either cut or traded over the past two offseasons, including WR Sammy Watkins, CB Ronald Darby and DT Marcell Dareus. To address the team's offensive woes from the previous season, numerous offensive players such as WRs John Brown, Cole Beasley and Andre Roberts, C Mitch Morse, RBs Frank Gore and T. J. Yeldon and others were added in free agency, with Beane angrily dismissing the notion that "free agents don't want to play for Buffalo."Arrivals
Departures
NFL Draft
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 9 | Ed Oliver | DT | Houston |
| 2 | 38 | Cody Ford | G | Oklahoma |
| 3 | 74 | Devin Singletary | RB | FAU |
| 3 | 96 | Dawson Knox | TE | Ole Miss |
| 5 | 147 | Vosean Joseph | LB | Florida |
| 6 | 181 | Jaquan Johnson | S | Miami |
| 7 | 225 | Darryl Johnson | DE | North Carolina A&T |
| 7 | 228 | Tommy Sweeney | TE | Boston College |
Notes
- The Bills traded their second fifth round pick to Oakland for G Cody Ford.
- The Bills traded both their fourth round picks to Washington for TE Dawson Knox.
Staff
Final roster
Preseason
The Bills went undefeated in their preseason games for the first time in franchise history. The team had only once before won their first three preseason games in 1966 before losing the preseason finale.| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game site | NFL.com recap |
| 1 | Indianapolis Colts | W 24–16 | 1–0 | New Era Field | ||
| 2 | at Carolina Panthers | W 27–14 | 2–0 | Bank of America Stadium | ||
| 3 | at Detroit Lions | W 24–20 | 3–0 | Ford Field | ||
| 4 | Minnesota Vikings | W 27–23 | 4–0 | New Era Field |
Regular season
Schedule
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.Game summaries
Week 1: at New York Jets
Despite four first-half turnovers, two of which were interceptions by QB Josh Allen and being down 16–0 in the third quarter, the Bills scored on three consecutive drives afterwards, with the defense stifling Jets QB Sam Darnold and RB Le'Veon Bell for the most part, but it was an injury to Jets LB C. J. Mosley, along with misses on an extra point and a field goal by Jets K Kaare Vedvik, that paved the way for Buffalo's largest comeback win since Week 3 of the 2011 season, when the Bills came back from a 21–0 first-half deficit to upset the New England Patriots 34–31.Week 2: at New York Giants
With the win, not only did Buffalo earn its first 2–0 start since 2014, but also became the first team to win back-to-back road games in the same stadium since the Chicago Bears, who ultimately went on to lose Super Bowl XLI to the Indianapolis Colts.Week 3: vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Buffalo dominated the first half, holding the Bengals offense to just 76 yards and occupying 22:57 of ball possession, compared to just 7:03 for Cincinnati, but were only able to hold a 14–0 lead due to some miscues on offense, including a T. J. Yeldon fumble in the red zone. After Allen threw an interception to the Bengals defense in the third quarter, Cincinnati surged to 17 unanswered points, but Buffalo scored on its final drive, which featured a 49-yard pass from Allen to rookie TE Dawson Knox in which Knox broke two tackles and was capped by a touchdown run by RB Frank Gore. Bengals QB Andy Dalton was intercepted by CB Tre'Davious White for the second time on Cincinnati's ensuing drive, sealing a 21–17 victory for Buffalo. With the win, the Bills earned their first 3–0 start since 2011.Week 4: vs. New England Patriots
The game was a defensive battle, as both Allen and Patriots QB Tom Brady struggled throughout the game. However, the Patriots took an early 13–0 lead following a Brandon Bolden rushing touchdown and a blocked punt returned for a touchdown. After leading the Bills to 10 points, Allen was knocked out of the game in the fourth quarter after sustaining a helmet-to-helmet hit with Patriots CB Jonathan Jones during a scramble. The Patriots defense stifled backup quarterback Matt Barkley, keeping the Bills offense out of the end zone for the rest of the game. With their first loss of the season, the Bills fell to 3-1, failing to earn their first 4–0 start since 2008. On a positive note, Gore became the fourth running back in NFL history to attain 15,000 career rushing yards.Week 5: at Tennessee Titans
In another defensive game, Buffalo scored first with an Allen pass to TE Lee Smith in the second quarter, while Titans QB Marcus Mariota was sacked four times in the first half. The Titans responded in the third quarter with a Derrick Henry rushing touchdown and were on the way to taking the lead in the fourth quarter. However, in a reversal of luck compared to the Music City Miracle from 20 years earlier, the Titans were denied a Mariota passing touchdown when it was determined that Mariota crossed the line of scrimmage prior to making a forward pass. The resulting penalty forced the Titans to settle for a field goal by K Cairo Santos, which was blocked by the Bills defense. Santos wound up missing his other three field goal attempts, finishing 0-for-4 on the day. Following the miss, the Bills drove 80 yards down the field, capitalizing with a go-ahead touchdown from Allen to receiver Duke Williams as Tennessee was unable to respond. With the win, Buffalo improved to 4–1 heading into the bye week. WR Zay Jones was traded to the Oakland Raiders the day after this game.Week 7: vs. Miami Dolphins
Against the winless Dolphins, the Bills trailed at halftime 14–9 following a strong second quarter from Miami QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was Buffalo's starter from 2009-2012. The Dolphins looked to extend their lead in the third quarter, but White intercepted Fitzpatrick at the Buffalo 2-yard line. The Bills then regained the lead with two Allen touchdown passes to WRs John Brown and Cole Beasley, respectively, with the latter occurring after White forced the Dolphins to fumble near their 30-yard line. Though the Dolphins scored again later in the fourth quarter, the Bills iced the game after safety Micah Hyde returned Miami's ensuing onside kick for a 45-yard touchdown. With the win, the Bills improved to 5–1 for the first time since 2008.Week 8: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
During a rain-swept, windy game, the Bills took an early 7–3 lead, but after an Allen fumble shortly before halftime, the Eagles stormed back, outscoring the Bills 28–6 afterwards and finishing with 218 rushing yards under RBs Jordan Howard and Miles Sanders. With the loss, the Bills fall to 5–2.Week 9: vs. Washington Redskins
The Bills won against the Redskins with 140 total yards from rookie RB Devin Singletary, improving to 6–2, making this their best start since 1993, also the same year the Bills last made a Super Bowl.Week 10: at Cleveland Browns
In a game featuring a showdown between Allen and fellow 2018 draftee Baker Mayfield, Cleveland scored first with a Mayfield touchdown pass to Jarvis Landry and dominated the time of possession in the first half, but the Bills defense provided two goal-line stands in the second quarter, causing a turnover on downs and limiting the Browns to a field goal, respectively. Allen passed for a career-high 266 yards and had two rushing scores, the second of which gave Buffalo a 16–12 lead late in the fourth quarter, but Mayfield then drove Cleveland down the field to retake the lead with a touchdown pass to Rashard Higgins. The Bills drove to the Cleveland 35-yard line on the ensuing drive, but K Stephen Hauschka missed the potential game-tying field goal attempt, sealing the loss for Buffalo and dropping them to 6–3 on the season.Week 11: at Miami Dolphins
In the rematch against Miami, the Bills defense sacked Fitzpatrick seven times and limited the Dolphins to 23 rushing yards, but the special teams unit allowed a 101-yard kickoff return touchdown from Dolphins KR Jakeem Grant and an onside kick. Offensively, Allen and Brown posted strong performances as the Bills cruised to over 400 total yards and Hauschka rebounded from his poor performance in Cleveland, making all three of his field goals with a long of 51 yards. With the dominating win, Buffalo improved to 7–3, improving on their 6–10 record from 2018.Week 12: vs. Denver Broncos
Against a strong Broncos defense, Allen's streak of games without throwing an interception came to an end at five, as he threw one to Broncos S Justin Simmons in the second quarter. Nonetheless, Allen still passed for two touchdowns and Buffalo's rushing offense recorded 244 yards. RBs Singletary and Gore each hit notable milestones, as Singletary recorded his first career 100-yard rushing game and Gore surpassed Barry Sanders on the NFL's all-time rushing list, taking over third place for career rushing yards. Defensively, the Bills shut down the Denver offense, limiting the Broncos to just 134 net yards and a 45-yard field goal midway through the third quarter in addition to sacking QB Brandon Allen four times. The Bills improved to 8–3 with the win.Week 13: at Dallas Cowboys
Thanksgiving Day GameBuffalo traveled to Dallas for its first Thanksgiving game since 1994, when they lost 35–21 to the Detroit Lions. Despite an opening-drive touchdown pass from Cowboys QB Dak Prescott to TE Jason Witten, the Bills defense kept the Cowboys' top-ranked offense out of the end zone for the rest of the first half and most of the second half and forced two turnovers from Prescott. The Bills would respond in the second quarter when Beasley, making his first return to Dallas since signing with Buffalo in free agency, caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Allen. They took the lead for good when they scored on a trick play 28-yard pass from Brown to Singletary just before halftime. Buffalo wound up scoring 26 unanswered points before allowing a 15-yard touchdown pass from Prescott to Ventell Bryant in garbage time. With the 26–15 win, the Bills improved to 9–3, clinching just their fourth winning season since 1999.