Head coach Rex Ryan Home field Ralph Wilson Stadium Division place 3rd AFC East | General manager Doug Whaley Record 8–8 | |
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Owner Terrence Pegula and Kim Pegula | ||
The Buffalo Bills entered the 2015 season looking for a new head coach as Doug Marrone, who coached the two previous seasons, opted out of his contract on December 31, 2014, to take advantage of a contract loophole. On January 12, 2015, Rex Ryan, who previously spent the past six seasons coaching the division-rival New York Jets, leading them to two straight AFC Championship games in 2009 and 2010, signed a five-year, $27.5 million contract, being the franchise's 18th head coach and the fifth in the past seven years. Despite the bold prediction made by Ryan: "I'm not going to let our fans down. I am not going to do that. I know it's been 15 years since the Bills made the playoffs. Well, get ready, man, we're going. We are going." With a record of 8–8 in the regular season, the Bills were unable to make the playoffs in their first season with Ryan as head coach - making it the 16th straight season without a playoff appearance, which became the longest active in major professional sports after the Toronto Blue Jays broke their 22-year playoff drought on September 25, 2015. It was also the first full season under the ownership of Terrence Pegula and Kim Pegula (whom also own the Buffalo Sabres), having purchased the Bills partway through 2014 after the death of longtime owner Ralph Wilson in March at the age of 95. The Bills began their season with an open competition for the starting quarterback position after Kyle Orton, the starter for most of the 2014 campaign, retired during the off-season. Former back up quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens, Tyrod Taylor, a free agent acquisition, won the competition over incumbent second-string quarterback, E.J. Manuel and trade acquisition Matt Cassel - whom the team later traded along with a 7th-round pick in 2017 to the Dallas Cowboys, in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick in 2017.
Contents
- Draft
- Regular season
- Week 1 vs Indianapolis Colts
- Week 2 vs New England Patriots
- Week 3 at Miami Dolphins
- Week 4 vs New York Giants
- Week 5 at Tennessee Titans
- Week 6 vs Cincinnati Bengals
- Week 7 at Jacksonville Jaguars
- Week 9 vs Miami Dolphins
- Week 10 at New York Jets
- Week 11 at New England Patriots
- Week 12 at Kansas City Chiefs
- Week 13 vs Houston Texans
- Week 14 at Philadelphia Eagles
- Week 15 at Washington Redskins
- Week 16 vs Dallas Cowboys
- Week 17 vs New York Jets
- References
Draft
Notes
Regular season
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Week 1: vs. Indianapolis Colts
The Bills franchise reached the 400th career win in its history with a 27-14 win over the Colts. Karlos Williams, LeSean McCoy and Tyrod Taylor combined for 137 rushing yards and a touchdowns (Anthony Dixon added another on the ground) and Taylor completed fourteen of nineteen passes for 195 yards and a score. Andrew Luck had two touchdowns for the Colts but also two interceptions and was sacked twice.
Week 2: vs. New England Patriots
With the close loss, the Bills fell to 1-1.
Week 3: at Miami Dolphins
Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill would be intercepted 3 times in this game, one of them was a pick 6 returned by Preston Brown 43 yards for a TD.
With the win, Buffalo went to 2-1.
Week 4: vs. New York Giants
In a battle with their cross state rivals the Giants, the Bills fell to 2-2.
Week 5: at Tennessee Titans
With the win, the Bills went to 3-2.
Week 6: vs. Cincinnati Bengals
With their third straight loss to Cincinnati, the Bills fell to 3-3.
Week 7: at Jacksonville Jaguars
NFL International Series
This was Buffalo's first ever game in London. With the stunning loss, the Bills fell to 3-4. This was the first time they had been under .500 all season.
Week 9: vs. Miami Dolphins
With the win, Buffalo went to 4-4 and swept Miami for the first time since 2013.
Week 10: at New York Jets
Rex Ryan made his return to MetLife Stadium for the first time since leaving the Jets after the 2014 season. The Bills wore their red Nike "color rush" uniforms. Just 0:18 left in fourth quarter, Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick attempted a comeback, but a game-saving interception by the Bills sealed the 22-17 victory over the Jets. With the win, the Bills improved to 5-4.
Week 11: at New England Patriots
With yet another close loss to New England, Buffalo fell to 5-5.
Week 12: at Kansas City Chiefs
With the loss, the Bills fell to 5-6.
Week 13: vs. Houston Texans
With the win, Buffalo went to 6-6, and remain in the wild card race.
Week 14: at Philadelphia Eagles
LeSean McCoy made his return to Philadelphia for the first time since the Eagles traded him in the offseason. McCoy was seen kissing the Eagles logo, but did not stick around to interact with his former teammates or coach Chip Kelly.
Week 15: at Washington Redskins
With the loss, Buffalo fell to 6-8 and was mathematically eliminated from playoff contention for the 16th season in a row.
Week 16: vs. Dallas Cowboys
With the win over Dallas, Buffalo went to 7-8.
Week 17: vs. New York Jets
Prior to the game the team called for paid volunteers to help shovel snow out of Ralph Wilson Stadium. Former Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick made his first return to Buffalo since being cut after the 2012 season, hoping to clinch a playoff spot for his new team with a win. Despite the Jets setting various team records, the Bills ultimately pulled out a win, finishing the 2015 campaign at 8-8 and keeping the Jets out of the playoffs for a fifth straight year.