Every Buffalo Bills team to start 6-2 has made the playoffs

The Buffalo Bills have started a season with at least a 6-2 record for just the 14th time in franchise history. Given that the Bills have existed since 1960, that illustrates just how long some of the franchise's periods of ineptitude (to put it politely) lasted. While that 6-2 mark might not seem like a huge milestone, it turns out that, historically speaking, it's a good omen for Buffalo's playoff chances.

According to Rich Eisen, every Buffalo Bills team to begin a season with a 6-2 record has made the playoffs. Buffalo has been a perfect 13-for-13 so far, and while the team's playoff fortunes have varied wildly throughout those seasons, they've at least punched a ticket to the dance each time.

If you're a nerd like I am, you might have wondered which years the Bills started at least 6-2. If you're exceptionally nerdy, you may also have been able to guess most, if not all, of the seasons where they won their sixth game before taking on a third loss. Regardless of whether you tried to guess or not, we did the legwork for you.

Every Buffalo Team to Begin a Season at Least 6-2 The first team to qualify for this list actually started 9-0 before rampaging to a 12-2 regular season. The Bills led the AFL in points scored (400) and points against (242) en route to their first of two AFL Championships. Running back Cookie Gilchrist led the way, with a quarterback tandem of Jack Kemp and Daryle Lamonica finding Elbert Dubenion for 42 receptions, 1,139 yards, and 10 touchdowns.

Back-to-back AFL titles came with back-to-back hot starts. This time, Buffalo started 6-1 before losing 19-17 to the Houston Oilers. The Bills wouldn't lose again until the regular-season finale against the New York Jets . They defeated the Chargers again in the AFL title game, winning 23-0 to claim the crown in head coach Lou Saban's last game in his first stint with the team.

Oddly enough, the next time the Bills started at least 6-2 was with Saban as the head coach again. After Saban left the Bills, he coached the University of Maryland in 1966 and the Denver Broncos from 1967-1971. He returned to Buffalo and built a winner around an offense that featured O.J. Simpson leading a ground-and-pound attack.

Buffalo started the 1974 season with a 7-1 record before finishing at 9-5. They qualified for the playoffs as a wild card, but they were pummeled by the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 32-14 defeat at the hands of the eventual Super Bowl champs.

For the first time, a coach other than Lou Saban led the Bills to a 6-2 start. This time, it was Chuck Knox coaching the team that would eventually win its first AFC East Divisional title. Buffalo began the year 5-0, but then went 1-3 over the next four games. A three-game win streak righted the ship, and they eventually finished 11-5, clinching the division with an 18-13 win over the San Francisco 49ers in the final week of the season.

The Bills traveled out west to face the Chargers, and while they led 14-3 at halftime in their Wild Card playoff game, the Bills lost 20-14. Quarterback Joe Ferguson, dealing with a sprained ankle, threw three second-half interceptions, and future Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts found wideout Ron Smith, who caught just four regular-season passes, for a 50-yard touchdown with 2:08 remaining in the game to seal the game for San Diego.

The precursor to Buffalo's era of AFC dominance was the '88 squad, a team that started 11-1 before faltering down the stretch to finish 12-4. An ugly 10-5 loss at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers , a team that finished 5-11, and a 17-14 loss at the Indianapolis Colts in the season's final week meant that the Bills would not have home field advantage throughout the playoffs, as they finished tied with the Cincinnati Bengals .

Buffalo had lost to Cincinnati as well, dropping a 35-21 contest at Riverfront Stadium. After the Bills beat the Oilers in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, they had to travel to Cincinnati again, and the result was the same: Buffalo lost the AFC Championship Game by a 21-10 margin.

The "Bickering Bills" began the year 6-2, including three straight wins where backup quarterback Frank Reich was at the helm after starter Jim Kelly was injured in a 37-14 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Kelly separated his shoulder after right tackle Howard Ballard missed a block, and Kelly said to the press that "four out of our five positions (on the line) are very solid. I don't even need to tell you guys what position they might have to make a change in."

Kelly returned with the Bills at 6-2, and the team promptly lost 30-28 to the Atlanta Falcons after Buffalo had taken a 28-27 lead with just 29 seconds remaining. The Falcons drove into position for kicker Paul McFadden to nail a 50-yard field goal with two seconds left in regulation, so it's not a recent phenomenon that the Bills lose games in maddening ways.

This team ultimately won a weak AFC East at 9-7 before losing a shootout at the Cleveland Browns in the Wild Card Round, dropping a 34-31 contest that saw Ronnie Harmon literally drop what would likely have been the game-winning touchdown pass.

This vintage of the Bills started 13-2 before they rested all of their starters in the final week of the regular season. They finished 13-3 before rampaging through the AFC playoffs , beating the Miami Dolphins 44-34 and the Los Angeles Raiders 51-3. We all know what happened in the Super Bowl, as Scott Norwood's 47-yard field goal sailed wide right with four seconds remaining.

I've watched it a few times and, for the life of me, I can't figure out why the Bills didn't just hand the ball off to Thurman Thomas once more before trying the kick. They were at the line with 19 seconds left. The Giants' defense was gassed. Thomas averaged nine yards per carry that day. Just hand it off, gain a few yards, spike the ball. Instead, the Bills dilly-dallied, spiking the ball with seven seconds to go. The rest is history.

It was deja vu all over again, as the Bills once again burst out to a 13-2 start before resting their starters and losing in the final game of the regular season. After manhandling the Kansas City Chiefs , winning 37-14 in the Divisional Round, Buffalo nearly lost in the AFC Championship Game against the Denver Broncos.

However, Carlton Bailey intercepted John Elway off a tip from Jeff Wright, returning the pick 11 yards for Buffalo's only touchdown. The Bills were annihilated in the Super Bowl, losing 37-24 to Washington in a game that wasn't nearly as close as the score indicated.

Buffalo started 9-2, but they dropped a pair of divisional games that came back to bite them: One was at 16-13 loss in overtime on the road against the Colts (Buffalo really hated the old Hoosier Dome). The next loss was a 24-17 defeat at the hands of the New York Jets, who were playing inspired in the wake of teammate Dennis Byrd's severe injury, which led to paralysis, the week before.

Buffalo was blown out by the Houston Oilers in the final week of the season, Jim Kelly suffered a knee injury, and the Bills trailed those same Oilers 35-3 after the first possession of the second half in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. We all know what happened next. The Bills completed the greatest comeback in NFL history at that time (a record since surpassed by the Minnesota Vikings in 2022), winning 41-38 over Houston before traveling to Three Rivers Stadium and beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-3 in Bill Cowher's first playoff game as a head coach.

Buffalo then rolled through the Dolphins, winning the AFC Championship Game 29-10 in "Rich Stadium South." They were then destroyed by the Dallas Cowboys in the Super Bowl, committing nine turnovers en route to a 52-17 drubbing.

This Buffalo club was like the veteran pitcher who used to throw 97, but has aged and now can only hit 91 occasionally. Even though they were relying on their changeup and location, the Bills still charged out to an 8-2 start before finishing 12-4. They beat the Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs before their rematch with the Cowboys.

Buffalo took a 13-6 lead into the half, and they had a solid drive going to start the second half. Jim Kelly couldn't quite put the handoff into Thurman Thomas' arms, James Washington recovered the fumble and returned it 47 yards for a score, and the game was never the same. Dallas won 30-13, sending Buffalo to infamy in the process.

Yep, it sure was a long while before Buffalo went at least 6-2 again, as they kept stalling out at 5-2 before collapsing. The 2019 squad earned its sixth win with a 24-9 victory over Washington, dropped a 19-16 game to the Browns the following week, then rattled off three straight wins before finishing the year with a 1-3 skid.

Buffalo led the Houston Texans 16-0 in the Wild Card Round before dropping a 22-19 overtime heartbreaker in quarterback Josh Allen's first playoff game.

The Bills came out firing this year, starting 7-2 before losing 32-30 on the infamous "Hail Murray" play against the Arizona Cardinals . That would be the last game Buffalo would lose in the regular season, as they tied their franchise-best with a 13-3 record.

After beating the Indianapolis Colts 27-24 in the Wild Card and the Baltimore Ravens 17-10 in the Divisional Round, the Bills went to Arrowhead and were trounced by the Chiefs, losing 38-24 in a game that never felt close.

The Ken Dorsey era started well, as Buffalo began 6-1. They lost a game to the Jets that they shouldn't have lost, dropping a 20-17 decision at MetLife Stadium before dropping a ridiculous game the following week to the Minnesota Vikings, losing 33-30 in a game that Buffalo led 27-23 with 40 seconds remaining.

Buffalo did not lose another regular-season game, although they nearly lost a teammate in Damar Hamlin when he collapsed and needed to be resuscitated on the field in a Monday night game at Cincinnati.

Buffalo held on to beat Miami in the Wild Card Round before the Bengals came to Buffalo and blew the Bills out, winning 27-10 in their most recent playoff victory.

The future is uncertain, but the Bills are poised to make another playoff run. The earliest the team has even clinched the AFC East was in 1988, when they had the division wrapped up on November 20 after beating the Jets 9-6.

If Buffalo stays hot and the rest of the division continues to play poorly, we could see something similar this year. Buffalo hosts Miami this week with the chance to put even more distance between themselves and their nearest competitor.