The 2015 season was the Buffalo Bills' 46th in the National Football League (NFL), their 56th overall, their third under the leadership of general manager Doug Whaley and their first under head coach Rex Ryan. It was also their first full season under the ownership of Terry and Kim Pegula (who also own the Buffalo Sabres), having purchased the Bills partway through 2014 after the death of longtime owner Ralph Wilson that March at the age of 95.
The Bills began their season with an open competition for the starting quarterback position after Kyle Orton, the starter for most of the 2014 campaign, retired during the offseason, so the team acquired free agent Tyrod Taylor, a former backup quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens, who won the competition over incumbent second-string quarterback EJ Manuel and trade acquisition Matt Cassel, the latter of whom the team later traded along with a seventh-round pick in 2017 to the Dallas Cowboys, in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick in 2017.
Despite Ryan's bold prediction of the Bills making the playoffs at his introductory press conference, the Bills were unable to do so in their first season with Ryan as head coach, finishing with a record of 8-8 (the team’s first since 2002), making it the 16th straight season without a playoff appearance, which became the longest active in major professional sports after Major League Baseball’s Toronto Blue Jays broke their 22-year playoff drought on September 25, 2015.
Offseason The Bills made headlines when they hired a new head coach in Rex Ryan, who signed a five-year, $27.5 million contract on January 12, 2015 after having previously spent the past six seasons coaching the division-rival New York Jets. Ryan had led the Jets to two straight AFC Championship games in 2009 and 2010 before his firing in 2014. He became the 18th head coach in Bills history and the fifth in the past seven years in the process. Ryan replaced Doug Marrone, who opted out of his contract on December 31, 2014 in order to take advantage of a contract loophole.
Roster changes
Signings
Position Player 2014 Team Date signed Notes and references OG Richie Incognito No Team February 8, 2015 1-year/$2.25 million DE Jerry Hughes Buffalo Bills March 9, 2015 5-years/$45 million FB Jerome Felton Minnesota Vikings March 11, 2015 4-years/$9.2 million WR Marcus Easley Buffalo Bills March 12, 2015 4-years/$7 million DE Jarius Wynn Buffalo Bills March 12, 2015 2-years/$2.2 million QB Tyrod Taylor Baltimore Ravens March 12, 2015 2-years/$7 million WR Percy Harvin New York Jets March 13, 2015 3-years/$24 million TE Charles Clay Miami Dolphins March 19, 2015 5-years/$38 million DE Alex Carrington St. Louis Rams May 4, 2015 1-year FB John Conner New York Jets May 13, 2015 1-year/$745,000 QB Matt Simms New York Jets May 29, 2015 1-year/$585,000
Free agents lost Position Player 2015 Team Date signed Notes and references CB Da’Norris Searcy Tennessee Titans March 10, 2015 4-years/$24 million TE Lee Smith Oakland Raiders March 10, 2015 3-years/$9.1 million RB C. J. Spiller New Orleans Saints March 13, 2015 4-years/$18 million TE Scott Chandler New England Patriots March 13, 2015 2-years/$5.3 million OT Erik Pears San Francisco 49ers March 14, 2015 2-years/$4.7 million LB Larry Dean Tampa Bay Buccaneers April 9, 2015 1-year/$745,000 OT Chris Hairston San Diego Chargers April 15, 2015 1-year LB Brandon Spikes New England Patriots May 18, 2015 1-year (Released June 8, 2015)
Trades Player/picks acquired From Date traded Player/picks traded LeSean McCoy Philadelphia Eagles March 10, 2015 Kiko Alonso Matt CasselMinnesota’s 2015 6th Round Pick Minnesota Vikings March 10, 2015 Tampa Bay's 2015 5th Round PickBuffalo’s 2016 7th Round Pick Dallas’ 2017 5th Round Pick Dallas Cowboys September 25, 2015 Matt CasselBuffalo’s 2017 7th Round Pick
Draft
Notes The Bills did not have a selection in the first-round or fourth-round as a result of a trade that sent their 2014 first-round selection (19th overall), later revealed to be Ja’Wuan James, to the Miami Dolphins, fourth-round selection (115th overall), later revealed to be Shaquelle Evans, to the New York Jets and their first-round selection (9th overall), later revealed to be Anthony Barr, to the Cleveland Browns in a three-team trade that sent the Browns’ 2014 first-round selection (4th overall), later revealed to be Sammy Watkins, to Buffalo. The Bills acquired a fourth-round selection (113th overall), later revealed to be Gabe Wright, in a trade that sent Stevie Johnson to the San Francisco 49ers. The Bills later traded this selection to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for Bryce Brown. The Bills acquired a fifth-round selection (137th overall), later revealed to be Grady Jarrett, as part of a trade that sent their 2014 seventh-round selection (221st overall), later revealed to be Randell Johnson, to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bills later traded this selection and their 2016 seventh-round selection (240th overall), later revealed to be Alex McCalister, to the Vikings in exchange for Matt Cassel and the Vikings’ 2015 sixth-round selection (188th overall), later revealed to be Tony Steward.
Staff
Final roster
Schedule
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 Carolina Panthers L 24–25 0–1 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap 2 at Cleveland Browns W 11–10 1–1 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap 3 Pittsburgh Steelers W 43–19 2–1 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap 4 at Detroit Lions L 10–17 2–2 Ford Field Recap
Regular season Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 13 Indianapolis Colts W 27–14 1–0 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap 2 September 20 New England Patriots L 32–40 1–1 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap 3 September 27 at Miami Dolphins W 41–14 2–1 Sun Life Stadium Recap 4 October 4 New York Giants L 10–24 2–2 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap 5 October 11 at Tennessee Titans W 14–13 3–2 Nissan Stadium Recap 6 October 18 Cincinnati Bengals L 21–34 3–3 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap 7 October 25 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 31–34 3–4 Wembley Stadium Recap 8 Bye 9 November 8 Miami Dolphins W 33–17 4–4 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap 10 at New York Jets W 22–17 5–4 MetLife Stadium Recap 11 at New England Patriots L 13–20 5–5 Gillette Stadium Recap 12 November 29 at Kansas City Chiefs L 22–30 5–6 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 13 December 6 Houston Texans W 30–21 6–6 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap 14 December 13 at Philadelphia Eagles L 20–23 6–7 Lincoln Financial Field Recap 15 December 20 at Washington Redskins L 25–35 6–8 FedExField Recap 16 December 27 Dallas Cowboys W 16–6 7–8 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap 17 January 3 New York Jets W 22–17 8–8 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: vs. Indianapolis Colts
The Bills franchise reached the 400th career win in its history with a 27-14 win over the Colts. Running backs Karlos Williams, LeSean McCoy and quarterback Tyrod Taylor combined for 137 rushing yards and a touchdown (Anthony Dixon added another on the ground) and Taylor completed 14/19 for 195 yards and a touchdown. Colts quarterback Andrew Luck had two touchdowns, but he was intercepted and sacked twice. In a statistical anomaly, back-up quarterback Matt Cassel was credited with the win, as the Bills lined up for their first offensive play in a novelty formation with Cassel under center and Tyrod Taylor split out as a receiver. This made Cassel the starting quarterback of record, although it was his only play of the game and he did not attempt either a pass or run.
Week 2: vs. New England Patriots
With the close loss, the Bills dropped to 1-1. As if the loss wasn't bad enough, the team also lost safety Aaron Williams for the season with a neck injury sustained trying to keep Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski from reaching the end zone.
Week 3: at Miami Dolphins
After leading 27-0, Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill finally threw two touchdowns, but his three interceptions, one of which a pick-six returned by linebacker Preston Brown 43 yards for a touchdown, proved to be too much as the Bills improved to 2-1.
Week 4: vs. New York Giants
With their third straight loss to the Giants dating back to 2007, the Bills dropped to 2-2.
Week 5: at Tennessee Titans
With the win, the Bills improved to 3-2.
Week 6: vs. Cincinnati Bengals
With their third straight loss to the Bengals dating back to 2011, the Bills dropped to 3-3.
Week 7: at Jacksonville Jaguars
NFL International Series
This was the Bills’ first game in London since a preseason game in 1991. Sadly, with the stunning loss, the Bills dropped to 3-4 heading into the bye week, marking the first time they had been under .500 all season.
Week 9: vs. Miami Dolphins
With the win, not only did the Bills improve to 4-4, but they swept Miami for the first time since 2013.
Week 10: at New York Jets
Rex Ryan made his return to MetLife Stadium for the first time since the Jets fired him after the 2014 season. The Bills wore their red Nike “color rush” uniforms. With 0:18 remaining, Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick attempted a comeback, but a game-saving interception by Bills safety Bacarri Rambo sealed the 22-17 victory over the Jets. With the win, the Bills improved to 5-4.
This was the debut for NFL Color Rush uniforms, with the Bills in all red and the Jets in all kelly green. The uniforms were indistinguishable to those with red-green color blindness, creating controversy.
Week 11: at New England Patriots
With yet another close loss, the Bills dropped to 5-5.
Week 12: at Kansas City Chiefs
With the loss, the Bills dropped to 5-6.
Week 13: vs. Houston Texans
With the win, not only did the Bills improve to 6-6 (3-1 against the AFC South), they remained in the wild card race. It's also the Bills first win against the Texans since 2006.
Week 14: at Philadelphia Eagles
LeSean McCoy made his return to Philadelphia for the first time since the Eagles traded him in the offseason. McCoy was seen kissing the Eagles logo, but did not stick around to interact with his former teammates or coach Chip Kelly.
Week 15: at Washington Redskins
With the loss, not only did the Bills drop to 6-8, but they were officially eliminated from playoff contention for the 16th consecutive season.
Week 16: vs. Dallas Cowboys
With the win, the Bills improved to 7-8 heading into the season finale. Buffalo finished 2-2 against the NFC East.
Week 17: vs. New York Jets
Prior to the game, the team called for paid volunteers to help shovel snow out of Ralph Wilson Stadium.http://www.wgrz.com/story/news/2016/01/18/stadium-shovelers-paid-week/78971332/ Former Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick made his first return to Buffalo since being cut after the 2012 season, hoping to clinch a playoff spot for his new team with a win. Despite the Jets setting various team records, the Bills ultimately pulled out a win to close the season at 8-8 for the first time since 2002 in their final regular season game before Ralph Wilson Stadium was renamed New Era Field the following summer, not only keeping the Jets out of the playoffs for a fifth straight year, but helping the Pittsburgh Steelers reach the playoffs. As a thank you gift of sorts, the Steelers sent the Bills a care package of Primanti Brothers sandwiches. With the win, the Bills finished 4-2 against the AFC East and 5-3 at home.
Standings
Division
Conference
References
External links