Buffalo Bills: Week by Week Box Scores and Analysis
By Ryan Brennan
Here’s a look at every box score this season, starting with Week 1 and ending with Week 15. How well have the Buffalo Bills done by the quarter?
As we prepare for our Week 16 battle against the Miami Dolphins, let’s take a look back at how the Buffalo Bills fared their 14 games so far. It’s crazy how close they’ve come in most of their losses, which goes to show how close this team was to the playoffs.
Sitting at 7-7, it’s safe to say that if we had just won two of the games that ended in a loss, we would have a very good chance at making the playoffs. Although that’s not the case, it’s hard to be completely disappointed in this season.
With some smart decisions this offseason, we could easily see the Bills in the playoffs next season.
Before we dive into the box scores, I want to throw some numbers at you:
- The Bills have played in 56 quarters this season. They’ve scored in 47 of them. (84%)
- The Bills have allowed opponents to score in 43/56 quarters. (77%)
- In 8 of our 14 games, the Bills scored in all four quarters of the game.
- The Bills have allowed teams to score in all four quarters in six of the 14 games.
- Just because I love saying this, the Buffalo Bills allowed the Patriots to score a total of 0 points in Week 4.
Let’s get started with the box scores, beginning with our two-game losing streak to start the year. This will give you a good idea of where the Bills went wrong this season.
Week 1 vs. Baltimore Ravens
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
| Ravens | 3 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| Bills | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
The Buffalo Bills only scored one touchdown in their season opener and went scoreless in three quarters. Terrible execution. However, the Bills wouldn’t see a game like that for the rest of the season.
Highlights, Stats and Reactions
Offensive and Defensive Grades
Week 2 vs. New York Jets
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
| Bills | 7 | 3 | 14 | 7 | 31 |
| All NFL | 6 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 37 |
If the Bills would’ve won their first two games of the season, they would be in the playoffs this season. They were two we definitely should’ve won and the fact that we lost by 6 points in each game made it even more heartbreaking.
Highlights, Stats and Reactions
Offensive and Defensive Grades
Week 3 vs. Arizona Cardinals
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
| Bills | 10 | 7 | 13 | 3 | 33 |
| Cardinals | 0 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 18 |
Big second half by the defense/special teams vs. the Cardinals helped seal a victory for Buffalo. In third quarter, Aaron Williams gets 53-yard touchdown off fumble and Carson Palmer throws 4 interceptions in the fourth quarter.
Highlights, Stats and Reactions
Week 4 vs. New England Patriots
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
| Patriots | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bills | 7 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 16 |
If the Buffalo Bills had scored in the fourth quarter, they would have scored in twelve straight quarters — three games. Instead, that number stopped at 11, which is still impressive. Especially considering they would go on an even longer run directly following it.
Offensive and Defensive Grades
Week 5 vs. Los Angeles Rams
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
| All NFL | 3 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 19 |
| Bills | 7 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 30 |
Another touchdown by the defense, two touchdown throws by Tyrod Taylor and 150 yards from McCoy are some of the highlights of this game. It was their third straight victory and gave them a winning record through five games.
Highlights, Stats and Reactions
Week 6 vs. San Francisco 49ers
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
| Bills | 7 | 10 | 7 | 21 | 45 |
| 49ers | 3 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 16 |
One thing was for certain before this game started, Buffalo fans hate Colin Kaepernick. A big fourth quarter helped the Bills seal the deal and avoid embarrassment for the fans. It was a nice win for the team’s fourth in a row. Unfortunately, the streak would end there.
Highlights, Stats and Reactions
Offensive and Defensive Grades
Week 7 vs. Miami Dolphins
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
| Dolphins | 3 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 28 |
| Bills | 3 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 25 |
Winning streak gets snapped in a game that was lost by three points. A better fourth quarter would’ve gave us a victory, but Kenny Stills had a 66-yard TD catch and the Dolphins also had a touchdown run in the fourth quarter. We scored with 14 seconds left, which wasn’t enough time to get the ball back and kick a field goal.
Highlights, Stats and Reactions
Offensive and Defensive Grades
Week 8 vs. New England Patriots
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
| Bills | 3 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 25 |
| Patriots | 14 | 10 | 14 | 3 | 41 |
We met the Patriots for the second time, this game at home. Tom Brady was hard to stop and threw three touchdowns on the Bills, helping the Patriots ease to a 16-point victory. This was also the most points the Bills allowed in a single game this year.
Offensive and Defensive Grades
Week 9 vs. Seattle Seahawks
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
| Seahawks | 7 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 31 |
| Bills | 14 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 25 |
Monday Night Football didn’t go that well for Buffalo. A lot of people credited the loss to bad refs, but the Bills had a chance to win it late in the game either way. If Buffalo had scored in the third quarter, they would’ve continued their streak of consecutive quarters with at least one score. That streak stopped at 19 consecutive quarters — they had a streak of 11 previous to this one.
Highlights, Stats and Reactions
Let’s move on to the second half of the season, starting with the bye week.