The 2011 season was the Buffalo Bills' 42nd in the National Football League (NFL) and their 52nd overall. The Bills improved on their 4–12 record from the 2010 season, winning six games. They won their first three games of the year, which included a victory over New England for their first victory over the Patriots since 2003; however, the team sputtered down the stretch (with a seven-game losing streak proving costly), missing the playoffs for the 12th consecutive season; the team had not made the playoffs since 1999, the longest standing playoff drought in the NFL at the time, after the Detroit Lions made the playoffs for the first time since 1999 during this season.
Overview In week 3 of the season, the Bills broke a 15-game losing streak that the team had accrued against the New England Patriots that dated to opening day of the 2003 season; Buffalo defeated the Patriots, 34–31. In doing so, the 2011 Bills became the only team since before 1950 (when comprehensive statistical record keeping began) to win two consecutive games in which they trailed by at least 18 points; they overcame a 21–3 deficit to Oakland in Week 2 and a 21–0 deficit to New England in Week 3. Incidentally, Buffalo's loss to the Cincinnati Bengals the following week was the Bills' first loss to Cincinnati since the 1988 AFC Championship game; that streak had been the longest winning streak by one team over another after Buffalo snapped their losing streak to New England.
The Bills started the season with a 5–2 record, positioned to make the playoffs, before losing eight of their final nine games, eliminating them from the playoffs. Wide receiver Stevie Johnson set a franchise mark as the only receiver in Bills history to record two consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. No other Bills receiver – including Andre Reed, James Lofton, Eric Moulds or Lee Evans – had done so. Buffalo's offense only surrendered 23 sacks all season, the fewest in the NFL.
Strong start, weak finish The Bills were looking to make the playoffs for the first time since 1999, and enjoyed a 3–0 start, including a 21-point comeback against the New England Patriots in week 3. However, after a dominating Week Eight shutout win over Washington in Toronto (their only victory north of the border, as their Toronto Series was cancelled after the 2013 season), improving the team's record to 5-2, the remainder of the Bills' season was plagued by injuries to key starters. As a result, Buffalo suffered a seven-game losing streak to the New York Jets (twice), Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins (twice), Tennessee Titans and San Diego Chargers, with the Week 14 loss to San Diego eliminating the team from postseason contention. With the Detroit Lions earning a playoff spot in Week 16, and the Houston Texans winning the AFC South in 2011, the Bills took sole possession of the NFL's longest current playoff drought, at 12 and counting.
The 2011 losing streak was eventually broken by defeating the Denver Broncos on Christmas Eve, a game that was blacked out in Western New York due to poor ticket sales. In the first seven games of the season (of which the Bills won five), the Bills had a +9 turnover differential (18 takeaways, 9 giveaways); from Week 9 until the end of the season, the Bills gave the ball away 21 times, with only 12 takeaways. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick started the season strongly, posting a 97.8 passer rating and a 14/7 touchdown-interception ratio through the first seven games; in the final nine games, Fitzpatrick threw ten touchdowns and 16 interceptions, with a 66.5 quarterback rating in that span. His 23 total interceptions were the most thrown by any quarterback in the league in 2011. He threw only 5 interceptions total in the Bills' six wins and 18 in their ten losses. Bills wide receiver David Nelson stated that Fitzpatrick was injured by Redskins linebacker London Fletcher in Week 8, the last win before the losing streak began. Said Nelson, "A lot of people don't know, but Fitz during the Washington game actually cracked a couple of ribs. So after that, he was playing hurt."
Key injuries Notable injuries included linebacker Shawne Merriman, center Eric Wood, cornerback Terrence McGee, star nose tackle Kyle Williams (as well as backup Torell Troup) and star running back Fred Jackson, all of whom were placed on injured reserve to end their respective seasons.Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, in 2011, in the regular season, from 1st week to 10th week, sorted by descending Rushing Yds The Bills also lost two wide receivers that did not contribute significantly during the 2011 season, Marcus Easley and Roscoe Parrish, to IR (the former missing his second full season, the latter coming off a strong 2010 season) and two kickers, incumbent starter Rian Lindell and replacement Dave Rayner; the Bills were compelled to sign a third-string kicker, Brandon Coutu, for the final game of the 2011 season against New England.ESPN: Buffalo Bills Transactions – 2011 Rookie Marcell Dareus also admitted to playing much of the season with numerous injuries, but continued to stay on the field out of a personal obligation to the team.Sullivan, Jerry (December 29, 2011). Rookie year an education for Dareus. The Buffalo News. Retrieved December 29, 2011. Starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick also sustained an undisclosed injury as stated above, but was never listed on the injury report (nor was the injury ever specified) and Fitzpatrick continued to play the rest of the season.Cortez was the only logical choice to run the Ti-Cats. The Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
Offseason
Uniform change On February 9, 2011, the Bills announced that the team planned to introduce redesigned uniforms for the season. No details were given on what the uniforms would look like, but it was said that the charging buffalo logo would be kept. Later reports leaked by a Madden NFL 12 trailer, and said to be confirmed by the league, indicated the team would be adopting the uniforms the team wore between 1975 and 1983. It was also announced that an official unveiling of the new uniforms would be at a fan appreciation event later in the summer. The uniforms were unveiled on June 24, 2011. The team also announced that the U.S. military would also be involved in the unveiling.After the unveiling, there was a movie screening The Blind Side which was scheduled to round out the unveiling and fan appreciation event. Fans could vote for which film they want to see on the Bills' Facebook page.
Due to the 2011 NFL lockout that ran from March 11 – July 25, actual Bills' players were prohibited from attending the event. Instead, models from the New York National Guard, along with former Bills Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, and Steve Tasker, modeled the new uniforms. This was the first full redesign of the team’s uniforms since the season.
The Bills wore their white jerseys at home against the New York Jets in Week Nine.The Bills hadn't worn white at home since 1986 vs. Indianapolis
Draft
The Bills acquired this fourth-round selection and a 2012 conditional draft selection in an October 2010 trade that sent RB Marshawn Lynch to the Seattle Seahawks. Compensatory selection.
Staff Buffalo Bills 2011 staff Front office President – Ralph Wilson CEO – Russ Brandon Executive vice president/general manager – Buddy Nix Senior vice president of football administration – Jim Overdorf Director of Football Administration – Don Purdy Assistant general manager/director of player personnel – Doug Whaley Player Personnel Analyst – Kevin Meganck Director of pro personnel – Tom Gibbons Pro Personnel Coordinator – Rob Hanrahan Director of college scouting – Chuck Cook
Head coaches Head coach – Chan Gailey Assistant head coach/inside linebackers – Dave Wannstedt
Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator/running backs – Curtis Modkins Quarterbacks – George Cortez Wide receivers – Stan Hixon Tight ends – Bob Bicknell Offensive line – Joe D'Alessandris Assistant offensive line – Bobby Johnson Offensive quality control – Kevin Patullo Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – George Edwards Defensive line – Giff Smith Outside linebackers – Bob Sanders Defensive backs – George Catavolos Defensive quality control – Adrian White
Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Bruce DeHaven Assistant special teams – Stan Kwan
Strength and conditioning Head strength and conditioning – Eric Ciano Head strength and conditioning – John Gamble
Final roster
Schedule
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 at Chicago Bears L 3–10 0–1 Soldier Field Recap 2 at Denver Broncos L 10–24 0–2 Sports Authority Field at Mile High Recap 3 Jacksonville Jaguars W 35–32 1–2 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap 4 Detroit Lions L 6–16 1–3 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap
Regular season Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 11 at Kansas City Chiefs W 41–7 1–0 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 2 September 18 Oakland Raiders W 38–35 2–0 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap 3 September 25 New England Patriots W 34–31 3–0 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap 4 October 2 at Cincinnati Bengals L 20–233–1 Paul Brown Stadium Recap 5 October 9 Philadelphia Eagles W 31–24 4–1 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap 6 October 16 at New York Giants L 24–27 4–2 MetLife Stadium Recap 7Bye8 October 30 Washington Redskins W 23–0 5–2 Rogers Centre Recap 9 November 6New York Jets L 11–27 5–3 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap 10 November 13 at Dallas Cowboys L 7–44 5–4 Cowboys Stadium Recap 11 November 20 at Miami Dolphins L 8–35 5–5 Sun Life Stadium Recap 12 November 27 at New York Jets L 24–28 5–6 MetLife Stadium Recap 13 December 4 Tennessee Titans L 17–23 5–7 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap 14 December 11 at San Diego Chargers L 10–37 5–8 Qualcomm Stadium Recap 15 December 18 Miami Dolphins L 23–30 5–9 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap 16 Denver Broncos W 40–14 6–9 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap 17 January 1 at New England Patriots L 21–49 6–10 Gillette Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
# Indicates the game was part of the Bills Toronto Series.
Game summaries
Week 1
Game Book
With the win, the Bills start 1-0.
Week 2
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Week 3
With the stunning win, the Bills improved to 3-0.
Week 4
With the loss, the Bills snapped their 10-game winning streak against the Bengals.
Week 5
Week 6
Week 8
Week 9
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Week 10
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Week 11
Game Book
Trying to snap a two-game losing streak, the Bills flew to Sun Life Stadium for a Week 11 AFC East showdown with the Miami Dolphins. Buffalo delivered the game's opening punch in the first quarter with a 30-yard field goal from kicker Dave Rayner, but the Dolphins answered with quarterback Matt Moore completing a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Anthony Fasano, followed by running back Reggie Bush getting a 5-yard touchdown run. Miami added onto their lead in the second quarter with Moore completing a 12-yard touchdown pass to fullback Charles Clay and a 4-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Davone Bess. The Bills would close out the half with a 56-yard field goal from Rayner.
The Dolphins added onto Buffalo's misery in the third quarter with running back Lex Hilliard recovering a blocked punt in the endzone for a touchdown. The Bills tried to rally in the fourth quarter as rookie linebacker Kelvin Sheppard tackled running back Daniel Thomas in the endzone for a safety, but Miami's lead proved to be too much to overcome.
With the loss, Buffalo fell to 5–5.
Week 12
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Week 13
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Week 14
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Week 15
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Week 16
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Week 17
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