Since 2018, the Buffalo Bills have seemingly been reborn as a franchise.
That was the year the team drafted University of Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen with the seventh overall pick.
The Bills’ return on their investment has certainly paid off as Allen has helped the organization reach the playoffs nearly every season since.
Of course, besides Allen, the Bills have had other great quarterbacks that have led the team.
The criteria for the following list include major stats such as passing yards but also account for contributions to the franchise including postseason awards, playoff appearances, championships, and Super Bowl appearances.
Here are the top five quarterbacks in Buffalo Bills history.
5- Ryan Fitzpatrick
NFL fans are well aware that “Fitzmagic” was a long-time quarterback in the NFL who was primarily a backup in his last few years.
However, for four seasons (2009-2012), Fitzpatrick was entrusted with leading the Bills.
Happy 39th Birthday Ryan Fitzpatrick, Buffalo Bills quarterback 2009-2012. Fitzmagic was born #OTD in 1982! pic.twitter.com/XwFyXOGedM
— ThisDateInBuffaloSportsHistory (@BuffSportsHstry) November 24, 2021
Although he was never recognized for any awards or took Buffalo to the playoffs during his tenure, the signal-caller sure gave it his best effort.
After starting eight games in 2009 and passing for over 1,400 yards and nine touchdowns, Fitzpatrick embarked on three consecutive seasons of 3,000 yards passing.
His best year was 2011 when he threw for 3,832 yards and 24 touchdowns, while also leading the NFL in interceptions with 23.
Fitzpatrick reached what would be the second-highest passing yards total of his career while playing most of the ‘11 season with broken ribs.
Then, despite passing for 3,400 yards and 24 touchdowns (and decreasing his interceptions to 16) Fitzpatrick was not re-signed by the Bills following the 2012 season.
During his four years in northern New York, Fitzpatrick passed for 11,654 yards, 80 touchdowns, and 64 interceptions, and rushed for 822 yards and two more touchdowns.
4- Joe Ferguson
Beginning in 1973, when he was a third-round pick out of Arkansas, Ferguson was the Bills’ primary starter through the 1984 season.
His rookie year just happened to coincide with teammate O.J. Simpson rushing for over 2,000 yards, the first running back in NFL history to reach the mark in a single season.
With the emphasis clearly on the running game that year, Ferguson started all 14 games yet only passed for 939 yards and four touchdowns.
A season later, Buffalo reached the playoffs for the first time since 1966 with a 9-5 record.
Ferguson once again started every game while increasing his totals to 1,588 yards and a dozen touchdowns.
In 1975, he co-led the NFL with 25 passing scores, and in 1977, Ferguson led the league with 2,803 passing yards while also finishing at the top of the list with 24 picks.
Happy Birthday Joe Ferguson, Buffalo Bills quarterback 1973-1984. Born #OTD in 1950. pic.twitter.com/YmRq1RJnVT
— ThisDateInBuffaloSportsHistory (@BuffSportsHstry) April 23, 2022
For the next few seasons, Ferguson continued to play solid ball and helped the franchise return to the playoffs in 1980.
His 16 starts, 2,805 passing yards and 20 touchdowns took the team to an 11-5 record and a divisional-round loss to the San Diego Chargers.
The Bills returned to the postseason in 1981 with a 10-6 record as Ferguson reached a career-high 3,652 yards along with 24 touchdowns and 20 interceptions.
Buffalo beat the New York Jets in the wild-card round (its first playoff win since 1965) before losing to the Cincinnati Bengals in the divisional round.
Ferguson was still plugging away as the starter until getting replaced near the end of the 1984 season.
He then left for the Detroit Lions and bounced around the league for a few more years before retiring in 1990.
During his career in Buffalo, Ferguson tallied 27,590 yards, 181 touchdowns and 190 picks through the air and added 1,174 yards rushing and 10 scores.
3- Jack Kemp
Although Ferguson has more career passing yards in Buffalo than Jack Kemp, Kemp has the distinction of winning championships with the organization.
In 1957, he was a 17th-round draft choice by the Detroit Lions.
Kemp didn’t last long in the Motor City and spent the next two years on the rosters of the Steelers, 49ers, and New York Giants.
After a year in the CFL, and three more with the Chargers, Kemp finally landed in Buffalo in 1962.
A 7-6-1 record that year was repeated in 1963 when Kemp started 12 games and passed for 2,910 yards, 13 scores and 20 picks.
He also added eight more touchdowns rushing.
Despite his high interception mark, Kemp was voted to his third American Football League (AFL) All-Star Team and voted a first-team All-AFL member also for the third time.
That same season, the Bills advanced to its first-ever playoff appearance, losing to the then-Boston Patriots in the divisional round.
In 1964, Kemp once again threw a ton of interceptions (26 to just 13 touchdowns) but Buffalo led the AFL in several offensive categories and overachieved with a 12-2 record.
Kemp’s squad beat the San Diego Chargers in the AFL Championship game, 20-7, a contest where the quarterback didn’t pass for a touchdown but did have a one-yard rushing score in the fourth quarter and was named the MVP.
Quarterback Jack Kemp finishes telling the story of the 1964 AFL Championship game
(2/2) pic.twitter.com/C8nH5WxzVd
— BillsVHS📼 (@BillsVhs) June 17, 2022
One year later, the franchise repeated as AFL champs behind Kemp’s 2,368 yards and 10 touchdowns.
He was voted as the league’s MVP as the Bills defeated the Chargers in the title game for the second straight year, 23-0 (Kemp had one passing touchdown in the game and was again voted the game’s MVP).
Buffalo missed an opportunity to three-peat in 1966 with a 9-4-1 record, before losing in the AFL Championship to Kansas City, 31-7.
Meanwhile, Kemp garnered more postseason awards after 2,451 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 16 interception season.
He would play for the franchise for three more years, but the team’s run had clearly ended as the Bills mustered just nine victories from 1967 through 1969.
Kemp retired following the ‘69 season and pivoted to a long career in politics.
While playing in Buffalo, Kemp had 15,134 yards, 77 touchdowns, and 132 interceptions, and added 780 yards rushing and 25 scores.
He was a two-time AFL Champion, two-time AFL Championship game MVP, AFL MVP once, and three-time first-team All-AFL and six-time AFL All-Star with the Bills.
Kemp was later added to Buffalo’s Wall of Fame and to the organization’s Silver Anniversary Team.
2- Josh Allen
Before the 2018 NFL Draft, there were plenty of media pundits who questioned Allen’s ability to thrive in the NFL.
After all, he played at Wyoming, not exactly a school known for its pro quarterbacks.
The Bills didn’t listen to the negative talk and selected Allen anyway.
Thankfully, the quarterback has more than lived up to the promise.
BREAKING NEWS:
Josh Allen has officially been named the #Bills starting quarterback for week 1. pic.twitter.com/m6xYxV32L8— BisonGaming (@BisonGaming3334) August 23, 2023
Buffalo won just six games in Allen’s rookie year but has not missed the playoffs since then.
A wild-card appearance in 2019 paved the way for an AFC Championship game showdown against quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020.
Although the Bills lost that day, Allen established himself as one of the best young quarterbacks in the league with 4,544 yards, 37 touchdowns (and eight more rushing), 10 interceptions, and a minuscule 1.7 interception percentage.
Those numbers led to All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors.
The 2021 through 2023 seasons have all ended in the divisional round including two more losses to Mahomes and the Chiefs (‘21 and ‘23).
In 2022, Allen was again selected to the Pro Bowl after passing for 4,283 yards, 35 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions.
He wasn’t picked for the Pro Bowl in 2023 despite throwing for 29 touchdowns and adding an astounding 15 scores on the ground.
Allen’s rushing touchdowns tied current Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts for the most rushing touchdowns in a single season in NFL history.
Including the first six weeks of the 2024 season, Allen has 23,863 passing yards, 177 touchdowns and 78 interceptions, and 3,789 yards, and 56 touchdowns rushing in his Bills career.
Only 28 years old in 2024, he should provide Buffalo fans with many more years of exciting football.
1- Jim Kelly
This pick is a no-brainer.
Kelly was initially a first-round pick of the Bills in 1983, but the quarterback didn’t want to play in cold weather and elected to join the Houston Gamblers of the United States Football League (USFL).
When that league folded following the 1985 season, Kelly reluctantly joined the Bills in 1986.
An 11-20 combined record for ‘86 and 1987 didn’t give fans much hope, although Kelly was selected for the Pro Bowl in ‘87.
Then in 1988, Buffalo finally caught fire as the roster that team management had been building for years displayed its immense talent.
Kelly was a Pro Bowler again and the Bills advanced to the AFC Championship game before losing to Cincinnati.
Buffalo #Bills quarterback Jim Kelly,leading the offense circa-1994.#NFL #90s pic.twitter.com/Vh4ecRt2D0
— Sports-Cards-Photos (@SportsTradingC4) January 11, 2023
Beginning in 1990, Kelly and his teammates were one of the best teams in the NFL and played in four consecutive Super Bowls.
As the NFL and the Buffalo faithful are well aware, the team lost all four title games.
However, by then Kelly was firmly entrenched as the best quarterback in team history, passing for 3,000 yards or more from 1991 through the 1995 season.
After a wild-card round loss in 1996, he hung up his cleats for good.
During his career, Kelly had 35,467 passing yards, 237 touchdowns, 175 picks, 1,049 yards and seven touchdowns rushing.
He was a two-time All-Pro, five-time Pro Bowler, NFL passing touchdowns leader, passer rating leader and completion percentage leader all once.
Kelly’s number 12 has since been retired and he has been added to the Bills Wall of Fame and 50th Anniversary Team.
In 2002, Kelly was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Honorable Mention:
Drew Bledsoe– Career stats in Buffalo (2002-2004): 10,151 passing yards, 55 touchdowns, 43 interceptions, 133 yards and four touchdowns rushing.
One Pro Bowl as a Bill and no playoff appearances.
Doug Flutie– Buffalo stats (1998-2000): 7,582 yards, 47 touchdowns, 30 interceptions, 885 yards and three scores rushing.
NFL Comeback Player of the Year and one Pro Bowl, both in 1998.
Two playoff appearances, both losses in the wild-card round (‘98 and ‘99).
Tyrod Taylor– Buffalo stats (2015-2017): 8,857 yards, 51 touchdowns, 16 picks, 1,575 yards and 14 touchdowns rushing.
One Pro Bowl and one playoff appearance as a Bill.
Frank Reich– Buffalo stats (1985-1994): 2,540 yards, 18 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 45 rushing yards.
Primarily a backup to Kelly, Reich did not receive any postseason awards during his Buffalo career.
However, he led the Bills to several key wins (most notably in the postseason) filling in for his teammate.
Reich’s biggest claim to fame is helping Buffalo overcome a 35-3 deficit to the Houston Oilers in the 1992-93 playoffs.
In a wild second half, he led the team to an improbable 41-38 win in overtime.
NEXT: The Life And Career Of Ted Washington
