Breaking down the Buffalo Bills' overall record against each AFC East rival

History has not been so kind to the Buffalo Bills. There are a lot more downs than ups in franchise history, there is no denying that. At the same time, the Bills have also been on the right side of history at times as well. Depending on when you first started watching the Bills, you can point out the good times and the ugly times of this franchise. 

The Bills are the only team in the AFC East that has yet to win a Super Bowl and they have an overall losing record in the regular season (473-501-8) and the playoffs (19-21). While the playoff record should change in the next few years for the better, there is still plenty of work to do with the regular season record.

In their division alone, the Bills have not had much success overall but have had the pleasure of winning the AFC East the last four seasons. The last four years have been great compared to the 20 years Bills fans had to endure.

With that, we take a look at the record the Bills have against each AFC East rival using Pro Football Reference.

Bills vs. Jets

-Bills lead regular season series 68-58, along with one playoff win vs. New York

The Jets are the only team that the Bills have a winning record within the division at .540. At one point, the Bills defeated the Jets 10 games in a row from 1987-1992, winning by double digits in five of those games. These two teams always have tough matchups against each other, especially recently with splitting season series the last two seasons. For the first time in a long time, there are higher expectations for the Jets this season than the Bills. Either way, Buffalo will need to defeat the Jets to avoid losing the division to them.

Bills vs. Dolphins

Dolphins lead series 62-58-1

Bills lead playoff series 4-1

Back in the 1970s, the Bills lost every single game to the Dolphins from 1970-1979. That was the worst stretch for Buffalo football against the Dolphins, and things have luckily changed since then. The Bills are 10-2 against the Dolphins since drafting Josh Allen (also defeating them in the playoffs). In eight of those victories, the Bills have put up 30+ points which shows the offensive dominance that Miami has had to endure.

The Dolphins will be breathing down Buffalo’s neck this season and try to steal the AFC East this season. Miami had the chance to lock up the division last year but then they crumbled down the stretch and the Bills took it from them in Week 18.

Bills vs. Patriots

Patriots lead series 78-50-1

Playoff record is 1-1

From 2000-2019, the Bills defeated the Patriots just five times. Winning five games in 19 seasons is flat out embarrassing. It seemed like a guarantee that New England would sweep the Bills almost every year when Tom Brady was there. Everytime these two teams faced off, it was Buffalo’s Super Bowl. After Brady left in 2020, the series shifted in favor of Buffalo. The Bills have only lost to the Patriots twice. Buffalo has defeated New England six times (as well as in the playoffs in a perfect game where the offense scored a touchdown on every single drive).

The Patriots are going into a full rebuild with a new regime. Buffalo should be able to keep control of this series for many seasons to come.