The Buffalo Bills are a team with a history full of many ups and downs. While the franchise did have a dominant stretch in the 90s, being a perennial Super Bowl contender behind the arm of Jim Kelly, there was a time when Buffalo also had a long playoff drought, which lasted for seventeen years, fourth-longest in NFL history.
Some Bills teams in franchise history ranged from good to great, while other teams were pretty bad – almost to the point of being easily forgettable. There are a few Bills teams that while a good team overall, however, often go overlooked in the grand scheme of things. These four squads happen to fall under that umbrella.
4 most underrated teams in Buffalo Bills’ franchise history
1966 season
A year removed from their second championship victory, the Bills continued their dominance in the AFL in 1966. Finishing the season at 9-4-1, the 1966 Bills yielded the lowest point total in the league, with 18.2 points per game. Mike Stratton, John Tracey, and Harry Jacobs proved to be a formidable linebacking corps, with Stratton and Tracey both receiving AFL All-Star nods.
Stratton and Tracey weren’t the only stars on Buffalo’s stout defense, however. Defensive tackle Jim Dunaway recorded 3.5 sacks in 1966, en route to being named to the All-Pro team. Cornerback Butch Byrd and George Saimes held down the Bills secondary, while cornerback Tom Janik led the unit with eight interceptions.
On the offensive side of the ball, Buffalo was second in the AFL in points scored and third in total offense. The running back duo of Bobby Burnett and Wray Carlton combined for 2,161 yards of offense, while also scoring 15 touchdowns (four of them being receiving touchdowns from Burnett.) Burnett earned AFL Rookie of the Year honors, with his 1,185 yards from scrimmage being 5th in the league.
The Bills were unable to three-peat in the AFL title game, being blown out by the Kansas City Chiefs 31-7.
1988 season
The Buffalo Bills were obviously an AFC powerhouse in the early 90s, having made four straight Super Bowls (and sadly losing all of them). However, it’s important to know that their reign of dominance first started in 1988. That was the year in which they drafted Hall of Fame running back Thurman Thomas, in the second round of the draft.
For the most part, Thomas’s rookie season was solid, rushing for 881 yards on just 207 carries. But as for the team as a whole in 1988, it was a very successful year. Not only did the Bills achieve its first winning season since 1981, but it also won twelve games for the first time since its championship season in 1965. Buffalo finished 2nd in the AFC that year, falling to the Cincinnati Bengals in the conference title game.
The hallmark of the 1988 Bills was the defensive unit, which was the best in the conference that year. Buffalo’s defense surrendered the fewest points and total yards in the AFC, having only yielded 237 points and 4,578 yards. Four players on the defense – defensive end Bruce Smith, and linebackers Cornelius Bennett and Shane Conlan – were named to the All-Pro Team.
1999 season
Many football fans will best remember the 1999 Buffalo Bills as being on the losing end of one of the NFL’s most controversial finishes, the Music City Miracle. Tennessee Titans tight end Frank Wycheck throwing a lateral pass to Kevin Dyson for the game-winning touchdown is a play that still haunts Bills fans to this very day. Not only that, but the Music City Miracle also served as a catalyst for Buffalo’s enduring playoff drought, which would last until 2017.
But even before that infamous wild card game, the 1999 Bills were having a pretty great season. The team finished 11-5, second in the AFC East behind the Indianapolis Colts. The defense gave up 14.3 points per game – the lowest in Bills history in a 16-game season – while surrendering a league-low 2,675 passing yards and 4,045 total yards.
What’s also notable about this team is that it was the last time that Bills legends Smith, Thomas, and Andre Reed were on the team together. Had the end result of the Bills-Titans wild card game turned out differently, the trio of Bills greats could’ve possibly enjoyed one last Super Bowl run together.
2004 season
At first glance, it might be strange to see a team that finished 9-7 be included as an underrated Bills team. However, there is a reason why this squad deserves to be in the conversation. Statistically speaking, the 2004 Bills are the best team in NFL history to not make the playoffs, according to Football Outsiders.
Looking past the final record, the 2004 Bills did pretty well on both sides of the ball. The offense scored the seventh most points in the NFL, and the defense was ranked 2nd in terms of total yardage. Buffalo’s defense was first in takeaways, with 39, and only gave up 29 touchdowns – third in the league.
What’s even more, Pro Football Reference gave this team an expected W-L of 11.0-5.0, and an SRS (simple rating system) of 8.05. So essentially, Buffalo could’ve very well finished the season with more than just nine wins.
Well, that would’ve been the case if not for a fateful season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Needing to win against the Steelers to secure a playoff spot, the Bills inexplicably lost to Pittsburgh’s third-stringers as running back Willie Parker ran all over Buffalo’s defense.
2004 could’ve been the Bills’ biggest chance to make the playoffs, but a heartbreaking 29-24 loss to end the season crushed any playoff aspirations.
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