2024 Buffalo Bills season

Week 1: vs. Arizona Cardinals

Trailing 17–3 at one point in the second quarter, the Bills stormed back in the second half with 21 unanswered points to take the lead. The Cardinals had one last chance to win after the Bills expanded their lead to 34–28, but quarterback Kyler Murray's last second Hail Mary pass attempt was denied by Bills cornerback Ja'Marcus Ingram, preventing a repeat of the Hail Murray from the 2020 season.^[63] Bills quarterback Josh Allen had four total touchdowns in the win, tallying his fourth career game with multiple rushing and passing touchdowns, tied for the most in league history with Steve Young.^[64] The Bills would begin their season with a 1–0 record.

Week 2: at Miami Dolphins

The Bills cruised to a 31–10 win over the rival Dolphins, thanks to three total touchdowns by running back James Cook and the defense intercepting Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa three times. However, the win was overshadowed by Tagovailoa suffering a concussion after running into contact with safety Damar Hamlin. This was Tagovailoa's third officially reported concussion in two years.^[65] With this win, the Bills improved to 2–0.

Week 3: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

The Bills turned in a strong performance against the Jaguars in Week 3 on Monday Night Football. Buffalo's defensive line only allowed Jacksonville a field goal and a touchdown in the game, with Bills safety Damar Hamlin picking off Jaguar quarterback Trevor Lawrence for his first interception. Rookies Keon Coleman and Ray Davis scored their first career NFL touchdowns, with Coleman catching a 24-yard pass from Josh Allen and Davis running for a 3-yard touchdown. Davis' fellow halfbacks James Cook and Ty Johnson also scored touchdowns as the Bills improved their record to 3–0.

Week 4: at Baltimore Ravens

After three consecutive wins to open the season, the Bills took a sour loss from the Ravens on Sunday Night Football. With the defense missing several key players due to ongoing injuries, they were unable to contain Baltimore running back Derrick Henry as he rushed for 199 yards. The offense was outgained 236 to 427 culminating in the Bills' first loss of the 2024 season as they fell to 3–1.

Week 5: at Houston Texans

The Bills faced off against former receiver Stefon Diggs for the first time since they traded him to the Texans in the offseason. The game started off with a 38-yard Tyler Bass field goal, only for Texans running back Cam Akers to rush for a 15-yard touchdown and Houston quarterback C. J. Stroud to throw a 67-yard pass touchdown pass to wide receiver Nico Collins. The Bills would ultimately turn around in the second half with touchdowns from James Cook and Keon Coleman, and another Tyler Bass field goal put the Bills in a tied situation against the Texans. However, in what was seen as a major gaffe, the Bills opted to pass three consecutive times from their own end zone with just seconds left in regulation, resulting in three incompletions from Josh Allen, who finished with a career-worst 30% completion percentage. Buffalo punted with 16 seconds left in the game and Houston retaining all three of its timeouts. After a quick gain to get into field goal range and a timeout taken by Houston, Kaʻimi Fairbairn kicked a 59-yard field goal just as time expired, denying Buffalo’s attempt to come back. With the loss, Buffalo dropped back-to-back games and fell to 3–2 on the season.

Head coach Sean McDermott took the blame for deciding to pass in the waning moments of the game instead of running, which would have forced the Texans to burn their timeouts and likely taken the game to overtime,^[66] and the team's training staff was criticized for allowing Allen back into the game after he suffered what appeared to be a concussion at first glance, though a later review found no violation of the NFL's concussion protocol.^[67]

Week 6: at New York Jets

After suffering back-to-back losses, the Bills started this Monday Night Football game against the division rival Jets with a strong rushing attack, despite missing starting tailback James Cook due to a toe injury, and Josh Allen scoring three touchdowns in the first half, namely a one-yard rushing touchdown and scoring passes to Mack Hollins and Dawson Knox. The defense struggled to contain Aaron Rodgers and Breece Hall at times, despite the returns of cornerback Taron Johnson and safety Taylor Rapp, culminating in the Jets keeping the score close, with Rodgers throwing a 52-yard Hail Mary pass to Allen Lazard as time expired in the first half. During a low-scoring second half, Bills kicker Tyler Bass kicked a go-ahead field goal with just three minutes to go, and Rodgers was intercepted by Johnson on the ensuing drive, sealing Buffalo’s fourth win in the 2024 season.

Ray Davis filled in admirably for Cook, rushing for 97 yards overall. Khalil Shakir also returned to play in limited snaps after missing the week prior due to an injury he suffered in the Ravens game two weeks prior. Both Bass and Jets kicker Greg Zuerlein struggled in the game, missing two kicks apiece, and the two teams combined for 22 accepted penalty flags for 204 yards in a sloppy, tension-filled game.^[68] The Bills improved to 4–2, with their first win in three weeks.

Week 7: vs. Tennessee Titans

Despite Tennessee leading 10–0 at one point in the second quarter, Buffalo ultimately took control in the second half, overcoming consecutive three-and-out possessions in the first half to score 34 unanswered points. All three of Buffalo's active halfbacks, namely James Cook, Ty Johnson, and Ray Davis, scored touchdowns, in addition to newly-acquired receiver Amari Cooper. With the win, Buffalo improved to 5–2 in Josh Allen's 100th career game.^[69]

Week 8: at Seattle Seahawks

Buffalo's dominance continued once more against Seattle, with the Seahawks' defense unable to contain the Bills' offense, resulting in the Bills gaining 31 unanswered points. Buffalo got touchdowns from Keon Coleman and Dalton Kincaid, while James Cook rushed for two touchdowns and Tyler Bass successfully made a 27-yard field goal. Buffalo's defensive line only allowed Seattle a field goal and a touchdown. However, Josh Allen's streak of no interceptions in 2024 ended when Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe picked him off. Despite that interception, the Bills improved to 6–2.^[70]

Week 9: vs. Miami Dolphins

The Bills opened the scoring in their second regular-season meeting with the Dolphins, with Tyler Bass making a 40-yard field goal. The Buffalo defense allowed Miami to put points on the board in two consecutive drives. The Dolphins took advantage of Josh Allen's second interception of the season, where a pass intended for Keon Coleman bounced off of the receiver's hands and was picked off by Miami cornerback Jalen Ramsey on the 3-yard line. Miami drove 97 yards to score their first touchdown of the game, putting them ahead 10–3. The Bills were forced to settle for a 49-yard field goal from Bass to end the first half after two consecutive plays ending in touchdowns were negated by holding penalties. The Dolphins received the kickoff to start the second half, but their first drive ended in a forced fumble by Taron Johnson, with Kaiir Elam recovering the ball for the Bills. Miami and Buffalo traded scores through the third and fourth quarter, leading to a 27–27 score in the final moments. The Bills got into field goal range on their final drive of the game with the help of a personal foul penalty called on Miami safety (and former Bill) Jordan Poyer after he hit Coleman in the head.^[71] The penalty set the Bills up for a game-winning, 61-yard field goal by Bass,^[72] setting a new record for the longest field goal in Bills history.^[73] The Dolphins were unable to score in the time remaining, improving Buffalo's record to 7–2. This was the Bills' fourth consecutive victory and their fifth consecutive regular-season victory against Miami.

Week 10: at Indianapolis Colts

The Bills started this matchup against the Colts with a pick six by Taron Johnson, who intercepted a pass from Indianapolis backup quarterback Joe Flacco, and a 29-yard Tyler Bass field goal. Both teams put up a strong performance against each other, although Josh Allen threw his third and fourth interceptions of 2024 to Colts linebacker E. J. Speed and cornerback Kenny Moore II. The Bills' defense at times struggled to contain the Colts' offense, with Matt Gay kicking two field goals and Flacco throwing a touchdown pass to Tyler Goodson to put the Colts ahead by three points in the second quarter. However, a 13-yard touchdown run by Allen and a 47-yard field goal from Bass put the Bills ahead again by seven points. Buffalo put the game out of reach in the final quarter, as James Cook ran for a two-yard touchdown and Bass kicked his third field goal of the game, this time for 28 yards. The Bills improved to 8–2 on the season and secured their first win in Indianapolis since 1998.

With his 13-yard touchdown, Allen became tied for second in Bills franchise history for rushing touchdowns at 57. Furthermore, the Bills had no passing touchdowns in the game. Also this was first time when the Bills won five consecutive games in a 8–2 record since 1993.^[74]

Week 11: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

The Buffalo Bills hosted the Kansas City Chiefs for their fifth consecutive regular season matchup. The Chiefs received the ball to start, but the Bills defense forced a turnover on the second play of the game. Taylor Rapp picked off a pass thrown by Patrick Mahomes as he was being tackled by DaQuan Jones, and the Bills capitalized on the takeaway with an 8-play, 65-yard drive to go up 6–0. There were four lead changes during the second quarter of the tame, beginning with the Chiefs driving 88 yards for a touchdown to make it 7–6 and the Bills answering with a 70-yard touchdown drive to go up 13–7. The Chiefs took advantage of a miscue to make it 14–13 after picking off Josh Allen, and the Bills ended the first half with a 33-yard field goal to bring the score to 16–14.

After trading punts on the first four plays of the second half, the Bills held onto the ball for 6:03 on their longest touchdown drive of the game, putting them two scores ahead of the Chiefs at 23–14. The Chiefs responded with a touchdown, bringing the game within 2 points. Facing 4th & 2 on the Chiefs' 26 yard line, Josh Allen took control of the game and brought his team to 30–21 with a 26-yard rushing touchdown. The Chiefs attempted to bring the game within one score, but with 1:17 left to play, Terrel Bernard intercepted a pass intended for Travis Kelce and clinched the game for Buffalo. The Bills ended the Chiefs' undefeated season and their 15-game win streak, and the Bills became the first team to score 28 or more points against Kansas City since the 2022 season.^[75] Josh Allen's rushing touchdown put him in 2nd place for most rushing touchdowns in Bills history, with 58.^[76] He also tied Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly for the most total touchdowns, at 244.^[77] With their fourth consecutive win against Kansas City, and first home win against the Chiefs since 2012, the Bills entered their bye week at 9–2. It was the first time this particular matchup had been decided by more than one score since Week 5 of the 2021 season. The win also dashed the Chiefs' hopes of going undefeated, and prevented the Chiefs from being the first NFL team to start a season 10–0 since the 2020 Pittsburgh Steelers.

The game was watched by 31.2 million viewers, becoming the highest-rated football game of the 2024 NFL season. It was the highest-rated regular season and non-holiday game since the Week 9 matchup of the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts during the 2007 NFL season.

Week 13: vs. San Francisco 49ers

The Bills' Sunday Night Football matchup against the 49ers saw Buffalo cruise to their 7th consecutive victory and 10th overall victory in 2024. They did so in a dominant fashion, with the Bills Defense Line only allowing San Francisco a field goal and a touchdown. Meanwhile, the Bills offense gained 35 points with 28 of them unanswered. These points included rushing touchdowns from Ray Davis, James Cook, and Josh Allen, while Allen and Mack Hollis scored passing touchdowns. Allen also became the first quarterback in NFL history to score passing, receiving, and rushing touchdowns all in the same game. This game would improve the Bills to 10–2 and win their fifth consecutive AFC East title. It is the fastest an NFL team has clinched their division since the 2009 Indianapolis Colts, a complete opposite scenario compared to the Bills 2023 season where they clinched their division in the last regular season game. This marks the team's best start to a season since 1991.^[78]

Week 14: at Los Angeles Rams

Following seven consecutive victories, Buffalo’s dominance took a hard loss from the Rams with Buffalo’s defense constantly struggling to contain the Matthew Stafford led Rams offense with the team gaining multiple points, including a blocked punt by Rams tight end, Hunter Long. The Bills would attempt to come back with touchdowns by Josh Allen, Ty Johnson, Khalil Shakir, and Mack Hollins, but it wouldn’t be enough as an attempted punt return would be stopped as time expired in the game, dropping their record to 10–3.^[79] Despite this, Allen had yet another record-breaking performance, including becoming the first player in modern NFL history to score three passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns in a single game.

Week 15: at Detroit Lions

Following a hard loss the week prior, Buffalo utilized their strong rushing attack in game to gain multiple points. Despite the rare scenario of being the underdogs of the match, Buffalo would start the game off with a 14–0 lead. However, from there, both teams put up good performances against each other during the game, consistently scoring points back and forth. For the Bills, Josh Allen and James Cook rushed for two touchdowns each, Khalil Shakir and Ray Davis each caught passing touchdowns and Tyler Bass made two of his three attempted field goals. However, it would ultimately be Bass’ two field goals that played a factor in the Bills putting the game out of reach of Detroit. To finish it off, Taron Johnson narrowly recovered an onside kick with twelve seconds left in the game, giving the Bills the win. This victory would raise them to an 11–3 record.

Week 16: vs. New England Patriots

After earning an explosive win the previous week, Buffalo began their first meeting of the season against their division rival sluggishly, as both the offense and defense struggled against New England. After trailing 14–0, Buffalo managed to find rhythm and scored 24 unanswered points to make it a two-score game. These points included a rushing touchdown by James Cook, a field goal by Tyler Bass, a passing touchdown from Josh Allen to Cook, and a 0-yard fumble return touchdown by Taron Johnson. New England answered back with another touchdown towards the end of the game, but were unable to recover their onside kick. From there, Buffalo secured enough first-downs to run out the game clock and secure the win. The Bills would now go up to a record of 12–3, improving upon their regular season record from the previous year.

Week 17: vs. New York Jets

After a close game with the Jets earlier in the season, the Bills approached their rematch with dominance by shutting the Jets out 33–0 by the end of the third quarter. Josh Allen scored one rushing touchdown and two passing touchdowns, the latter being caught by Amari Cooper and Keon Coleman. A safety by A.J. Epenesa and a field goal by Tyler Bass contributed to the lead as well. With this performance, the Bills would rest their starters. Shortly after doing so, they scored a 69-yard touchdown pass from Mitchell Trubisky to Tyrell Shavers to make it 40–0. The Jets responded back with two touchdowns, but ultimately had no shot of making a comeback. With this win, the Bills would rise to a 13–3 record and secure the no. 2 seed in the AFC for the third consecutive year.

In addition to this, Allen became the first quarterback in NFL history with 40+ touchdowns in five consecutive seasons, while Cooper eclipsed 10,000 receiving yards across his career. Franchise milestones were also achieved, such as the Bills going undefeated at home for the first time since 1990.

Week 18: at New England Patriots

With the no. 2 seed in the AFC secured, the Bills largely played their backups in the final matchup of the regular season, though Josh Allen got the start and played one snap, a hand-off, to continue his active starts streak.^[80] Backup quarterback Mitchell Trubisky led the Bills to 16 points including a James Cook touchdown run, which helped Cook tie O. J. Simpson's franchise record for rushing touchdowns in a season.^[81] However, the backup defense allowed the Patriots offense, led by backup quarterback Joe Milton III, to score 23 points, resulting in a win for New England that cost them the number one pick in the 2025 NFL draft.^[82]

With the loss, the Bills finished the regular season with a 13–4 record. In addition to this, they would score 525 points throughout the season, the highest in franchise history. This surpasses the record of 501 points from 2020.

Division

Conference

AFC Wild Card Playoffs: vs. (7) Denver Broncos

This was the second playoff meeting between Buffalo and Denver; the first was in the 1991 AFC Championship when the Bills beat the Broncos 10–7 in Buffalo to reach Super Bowl XXVI. The Bills and the Broncos did not meet in the regular season. It was Denver's first postseason appearance since winning Super Bowl 50 nine years earlier.

On the opening possession of the game, rookie Bo Nix capped a five-play opening drive with a 43-yard touchdown pass to former college teammate Troy Franklin. The Bills responded with a field goal by Tyler Bass to cap a 12-play drive on their opening possession and then forced a quick three-and-out to get the ball back. James Cook added a touchdown on a 5-yard run early in the second quarter to give the Bills a 10–7 lead. Before the end of the first half, Broncos kicker Wil Lutz missed a 50-yard field goal that would have tied the game at 10–10.

After Bass knocked home a 27-yard field goal at the beginning of the third quarter, leading 13–7, Buffalo broke open the game with a Josh Allen touchdown pass to Ty Johnson on fourth down with 3:06 left in the third quarter. The score held up following a replay review, which showed Johnson's foot touching out of bounds but only after he secured the ball. Moments later, a two-point conversion was successful on an Allen pass to Keon Coleman. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Allen's 55-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Samuel effectively sealed the game for Buffalo. Bass added two more field goals, with the final score being 31–7. The Bills methodically wore down the Broncos in the game with a combined 210 yards rushing (120 yards from Cook, 46 from Allen, 44 from Johnson). Allen added 272 yards through the air, with two touchdowns.

AFC Divisional Playoffs: vs. (3) Baltimore Ravens

This was the second overall playoff meeting between the Bills and Ravens. In their only other meeting, the Bills won the 2020 AFC Divisional Game, 17–3. In the regular season, the Ravens defeated the Bills 35–10 during Week 4 in Baltimore. This game featured the two favorites for the NFL MVP, Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Before the game, at a press conference on January 13, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, alongside the rest of the press conference, laughed when a reporter called Buffalo a "city of losers" about a clip he made on his radio show. As the Ravens took the field, the Bills played the clip from the radio show over the stadium loud-speakers resulting in a chorus of boos from fans.

The Ravens received to start the game. The teams traded touchdowns on their opening dives, with a 16-yard Jackson pass to Rashod Bateman being followed by a drive that ended with a 1-yard Ray Davis rushing touchdown for the Bills. On the subsequent drive, Jackson threw an interception to Buffalo safety Taylor Rapp; the Bills failed to score and punted after four plays. The Ravens started from their 9-yard line and drove the ball to the Buffalo 28-yard line but Jackson fumbled the ball when being sacked by Damar Hamlin saw Von Miller recover the fumble and return it to the Baltimore 24-yard line. Four plays later, Josh Allen scored on a tush push rush to give Buffalo the lead. The Ravens marched the ball down the field on their next drive (getting as close as the 2-yard line) before being stopped on the goal line, which saw them decide to have Justin Tucker kicked a 26-yard field goal to narrow the deficit. The Bills responded by also marching the ball down the field (going 70 yards in 3:27) with Allen again scoring a rushing touchdown on a 4-yard play action draw that saw Buffalo go up 21–10 with 0:16 in the first half.

The Bills received the ball to start the half but punted after three plays. The Ravens drove from their 36-yard line to the Buffalo 27-yard line but could not get any further and elected to take the field goal by Tucker from 47 yards out to make it 21–13. The Bills continued to struggle, again punting on their next drive. The Ravens went 80 yards in seven plays, scoring off a Derrick Henry 5-yard run; however, the two-point conversion attempt to try and tie the game was batted down by Bills linebacker Matt Milano for an incompletion. Starting at their own 30, the Bills went 37 yards to set up a 51-yard field goal attempt by Tyler Bass to make the score 24–19 with 12:04 remaining in the fourth quarter. On the next drive, when Jackson completed a pass to tight end Mark Andrews to the 44-yard line of Buffalo, Terrel Bernard forced a fumble that he recovered to give Buffalo the ball. The Bills responded with a grinding drive of 52 yards that took five minutes off the clock and culminated with Bass making a 21-yard field goal (after Buffalo elected to kick on 4th-and-goal from the 2-yard line) with 3:29 remaining to give Buffalo a 27–19 lead. A subsequent penalty on the kick return meant Baltimore started at their own 2-yard line. The Ravens drove down the field quickly, going 88 yards in eight plays that saw Jackson throw a 24-yard pass to Isaiah Likely in the end zone to cut the deficit to two. On the two-point conversion attempt, Jackson threw it to Andrews near the pylon, but Andrews dropped the pass. With 1:33 remaining, the Ravens attempted an onside kick, but Rasul Douglas recovered it for the Bills. Buffalo had one 17-yard running play to burn the last Ravens timeout before kneeling the ball to end the game.

The Ravens outgained the Bills in total yards (416–273) while punting zero times but had three turnovers, while Buffalo had none while not trailing after the first quarter. With the win, Buffalo was guaranteed to face Kansas City for the fourth time in the last five postseasons in the AFC Championship Game; the last time Buffalo had played in the AFC Championship Game was in 2021 against the Chiefs.

AFC Championship: at (1) Kansas City Chiefs

This was the fourth meeting between Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen in the postseason, and their second meeting in the AFC Championship since 2020. Earlier in the season, Buffalo secured a 30–21 win at home in Week 11, and attempted to secure another win for the Championship in the postseason.

The game began with Buffalo receiving the ball first and being forced to punt. Like the Broncos and Ravens games, Kansas City would score first from Kareem Hunt's 12-yard run to make it 7–0. Tyler Bass' 53-yard field goal kick would put the Bills on the board at 7–3. In the second quarter, after Mahomes fumbled the ball, James Cook's 6-yard run would give the Bills a 10–7 lead. However, the lead was cut shortly after Xavier Worthy gave the Chiefs a 14–10 lead. After the Bills forced a punt, a controversial catch was made by the Chiefs as the ball appeared to land on the ground. Sean McDermott would throw a challenge flag to overturn the call as incomplete pass, but after review, the call stood, leading to a 1-yard run by Mahomes to make it 21–10. The Bills would immediately respond with Mack Hollins’ 34-yard pass to make it 21–16 before halftime.

The second half saw some adjustments by the Bills as they would stop the Chiefs in the opening drive. The Bills would regain the lead from James Cook's leaping reach to the endzone, making it 22–21. However, the Bills failed to convert the 2-point for the second time after the Mack Hollins touchdown. The Bills would stop the Chiefs once again and thus have a chance to extend the lead. However, another controversy sparked when Allen supposedly made the 1st down from a 4th down conversion, but the officials reviewed it as a turnover on downs.

The Chiefs would get the ball at midfield as Patrick Mahomes's 10-yard run brought the lead back and successfully converted 2 points, making it 29–22 Kansas City. The Bills would respond with a Curtis Samuel 4-yard pass, tying the game 29–29. The Chiefs would keep their momentum from the turnover on downs, but the Bills would successfully prevent the Chiefs from scoring a touchdown. With Harrison Butker's 35-yard field goal kick, Kansas City gained the lead again, at 32–29.

With 3:33 left on the clock, the Bills regained possession of the ball. After a couple of plays, the Bills reached a 4th and 5 with a two-minute warning. Following the warning, the Bills' offensive line was not able to contain the Chiefs defenders rushed to Josh Allen, pressuring him to throw the ball. The ball slightly landed in the hands of Dalton Kincaid, but dropped it, thus sealing the game in favor of Kansas City. The Chiefs would get a couple of first downs to further cement their win. The Bills' season ended with their fourth postseason loss to the Chiefs over the course of five postseasons.