1966
Our first blast to the past on this list.
The 1966 season was the seventh season in franchise history and followed back-to-back years of AFL championships being won by the Bills.
The 1966 squad, led by quarterback Jack Kemp, made it back to the AFL Championship Game with a shot to make it to Super Bowl I. Oh how history works. If only the owners could have decided to hold this super event a year or two earlier.
This particular season ended with a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFL Championship Game after a 9-4-1 regular season that included two losses to the Boston Patriots. Alas, those losses weren’t enough to keep the Bills out of the postseason.
As with the 1995 season, this 1966 season marked the end of an era. Bills fans got used to winning, only for the team to not win another playoff game until 1981. The team didn’t pick up another division title until 1980.
This season marked Joe Collier’s first season coaching the Bills. He only managed a 13-16-1 record in just over two full seasons before being fired after an 0-2 start in 1968.
No one back in 1966 knew just how big the Super Bowl would become, but luckily the Bills found their way to the big game a few decades later.