In honor of this year's Buffalo Bills AFC East Championship, I decided to put together a list of the Bills' top five all-time division champion teams. Since the AFL/NFL merger in 1966, the Bills have won the division 12 times, 14 if you throw in the AFL eastern division titles before 1966. In case you're wondering or didn't know, the New England Patriots currently have the most division titles with 22.
With this most recent division, the Bills are second in the division with their 14th title, breaking a tie with the Dolphins, as both teams were sitting at 13 apiece before Sunday night's division-clinching win over Miami. The New York Jets have four division titles, and the Baltimore Colts also have four, dating back to the 70's. If we go back to the eastern division days of the AFL, the Houston Oilers also won four titles from 1960 - 1962 and again in 1970.
Since this is my list, I get to determine the criteria, lucky me. First of all, only Bills teams that won at least 11 games as the division champion were considered for this list. That narrowed the list down a bit. I also only ranked teams after the AFL/NFL merger of 1966, so that eliminated a few more. This list also includes only teams whose offense and defense were ranked in the top ten, further narrowing the list. So, with that, let's get into my top five all-time division championship Buffalo Bills teams.
5. 2023 Buffalo Bills (11 - 6)
I know, surprising right? This team is better than the media or even some Bills fans give them credit for being. I know they lost a few games this season that they probably shouldn't have, but they got it done in the end, and statistically, they were one of the all-time best teams. Their point differential was 140 points, the fifth highest in team history. They are one of only two teams in the league that did not lose a game by more than a score and their average margin of victory of 8.2 is the sixth largest in Bills' history.
This year's Buffalo Bills were sixth in scoring and fourth in total yards. On the defensive side, they ranked fourth in points allowed and ninth in yards. They probably would have been much higher in both defensive categories, but the team had to navigate some injuries to some of the best players. Heading into the playoffs, this defense is playing as well as any in the league. The final chapter of the Buffalo Bills 2023 season has not yet been written. Can this team bring the team's first-ever Lombardi Trophy to Buffalo?
4. 1990 Buffalo Bills (13 - 3)
This version of the Buffalo Bills is likely considered one of, if not the best team in Bills history. While they were outstanding and one of the best, let's also keep in mind that in those days, the AFC, particularly the AFC East wasn't that good. We as Bills fans, have used this very point against the Patriots two decades of dominance too, and the same can be said of the division in the late 80's and early 90's.
Even still, this Bills team was awesome! Their average margin of victory was 10.3, which ranked fourth highest all-time. Only four times in team history have they won 13 games in a season and 1990 was one of them. That team also sported a point differential of 165, third third-highest mark in team history and number one in the league that season. On offense, they ranked first in points and and sixth in yards. Defensively, they were sixth in points allowed and eighth in yards given up.
3. 1966 Buffalo Bills (9 - 4)
This was the one team that I made an exception for when it came to winning 11 games. I mean, they only played 13 anyway, so it would have been unfair and disrespectful to exclude them. The Bills in the 60's were dominant and who knows if they would have won a Super Bowl or two had the NFL and AFL merged just two years earlier. Buffalo won AFL titles in 1964 and 1965; however, after the merger in 1966, they lost in the AFL title game to the Kansas City Chiefs, who then earned the right to represent the AFL in the first-ever Super Bowl.
Anyway, this is about that 1966 team and how good they were. Despite losing in the AFL title game, they were one of the dominant teams in the AFL. They were ranked first in points allowed and second in points scored. Both their offense and defense were ranked third in terms of yards, with a point differential of 103 (9th in team history). Their average margin of victory was 7.4 (8th in team history).
2. 2021 Buffalo Bills (11 - 6)
I'm not sure fans look at the recent Bills teams as some of the best to have ever taken the field in team lore but when you look at the numbers, compared to the competitive level of the conference, you might come away solidly impressed. The 2021 Bills were outstanding, sporting a point differential of 194 and an average margin of victory of 11.4. Both are tops in the Bills' history.
This is the only team in history (post NFL/AFL merger) that was top five in scoring (3rd), points allowed (1st), offensive yards (5th) and yards allowed (1st). When you dig into the numbers and how impressive that team was, it just makes the 13-second game that much more frustrating. That could have, should have been our year.
1. 2022 Buffalo Bills (13 - 3)
And here we are with the Bills' number-one all-time division title team. Go ahead, rip me apart, and tell me how wrong I am. That's fine, the numbers are there to support it though but I'm more than understanding others might think differently and you may be right. But look, the 2022 team won 13 games, which I mentioned previously, only four Bills teams have ever won that many games. On top of that, they had a point differential of 169 points, second in team history.
Their margin of victory was also third all-time at 10.6 while having the number two-ranked offense in both yards and points. The defense was also number two in points allowed and sixth in yards allowed. It's unfortunate all the off-the-field situations that the Bills dealt with last season. I honestly think between that and the injuries, the Bills simply ran out of gas in the end.