The Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots, two original AFL teams and AFC East division rivals, are separated by less than 500 miles.
In terms of franchise success, they couldn’t be further apart.
One team, a perennial playoff contender and National Football League powerhouse, sits on the high end of the spectrum. The other, which cannot (or, will not) forget success from its distant glory days, is the on the low end. If you want answers, you need not look past 2001 to figure out why the Patriots are so superior to the Buffalo Bills. Whether you look at players, records or coaches, one franchise sits at the top of the mountain while the other stays locked in a vicious cycle of mediocrity.
For everything the Patriots represent on one side of the coin, the Bills wholeheartedly represent the other half. The Patriots are everything the Bills are not.
In 2001, Buffalo had not made the playoffs in two years and New England was coming off of a 5-11 campaign under new head coach Bill Belichick. The playing field was pretty even at this point. But 2001 marks the year New England would start its unbridled dominance over Buffalo. In the years since then, the Patriots have won 22 of 24 games against the Bills, outscoring them — are you ready for this? — 702-352.
Some of the games were close. But many were absurd blowouts, like something you might see in a Pop Warner football game. Losses like the 56-10 drubbing on NBC’s Sunday Night Football in 2007 at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Pats quarterback Tom Brady threw 4 touchdown passes to Randy Moss (JP Losman had one touchdown… total). Or look at the game this year, when New England scored six straight touchdowns en route to a 52-28 whitewashing.
The worst part is, Bills fans have come to accept this dominance. Anymore, asking a Bills fan if they’ll beat the Patriots is like asking if this is Lindsey Lohan’s last stint in rehab — probably not. Fans look back on the 34-31 win at the Ralph last season — the Bills first since 2003 — as a legitimate bright spot. Shouldn’t a ‘rivalry’ constitute both teams legitimately competing at a chance to win?
These last 12 seasons can be pretty much summed up in one game: Bills at Patriots in 2009 on Monday Night Football. Buffalo, led by Stanford product Trent Edwards, were beating the Patriots on national television. That is, until, Leodis McKelvin fumbled a kickoff return instead of making the smart play and taking a touchback. The Brady bunch got the ball in ridiculously good field position. You know the story. Brady throws a touchdown to tight end Benjamin Watson and New England wins, 25-24.
Continuity. New England has it. Buffalo does not. Since 2001, the Pats have had one coach. The Bills have had five. New England has had two quarterbacks (if not for Brady’s torn ACL, Matt Cassel would never have started). Buffalo has had eight (8!). New England has five Super Bowl appearances (three of them wins), five conference titles and nine (soon to be ten) division titles. Buffalo Bills — zero playoff appearances.
Belichick knows which players will fit best in his genius system. In his tenure, he’s had 26 players go to the Pro Bowl. If you combine the years those players have made it, it adds up to 51 Pro Bowl appearances. The Bills have had 14 players make it with a combined 18 appearances. The numbers don’t lie.
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