Bills–Jets rivalry

Bills–Jets rivalry

Buffalo Bills New York Jets
First meeting	September 11, 1960 Titans 27, Bills 3
Latest meeting	September 11, 2023 Jets 22, Bills 16 (OT)
Next meeting	November 19, 2023
Statistics
Meetings total	126
All-time series	Bills, 68–58
Postseason results	Bills, 1–0 (1981 AFC Wild Card) December 27, 1981 Bills 31, Jets 27
Largest victory	Jets: 42–3 (1985) Bills: 37–0 (1989)
Longest win streak	Bills: 10 (1987–92) Jets: 6 (2009–12)
Current win streak	Jets, 1 (2023–present)

100km
62miles

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Locations of the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets

The Bills–Jets rivalry is a rivalry between the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets in the National Football League. Both of these teams play in the same division (AFC East) and as a result, play two scheduled games each season. Both teams represent New York State, with the Bills having their primary fan base in Western New York, and the Jets in the New York City area.

This rivalry is fueled primarily by the differences between the greater New York City metropolitan area and the rest of New York State, but also by the Bills being the only team physically located in New York due to the Jets and their NFC counterparts the Giants playing their games in the New Jersey suburbs of New York City. However, the two teams have rarely been successful at the same time, and as such, their rivalry usually lacks the intensity that is present in other rivalries, such as the Bills' rivalry with the Dolphins and the Jets' with the Patriots. There have only been four seasons in which both the Bills and Jets finished with winning records. Regardless, the two teams share a bond due to this seeming inability to field winning teams simultaneously, having been the two NFL teams coached by Rex Ryan, and their long histories playing twice yearly against one another going back to the first days of the AFL.

The Bills lead the overall series, 68–58. The Bills also won the only postseason meeting, defeating the Jets 31–27 in the 1981 AFC Wild Card round.

Notable moments

1960–99: Early History

There were a handful of memorable games in the early history of this rivalry. During the Jets' Super Bowl winning year in 1968, the Bills defense intercepted Joe Namath five times, including three pick-sixes, as Buffalo upset the Jets 37–35 for its only win that year. In 1973, O. J. Simpson eclipsed Jim Brown's rushing yards record to surpass 2,000 yards in a 34–6 Bills win. Eight years later, the teams played their only playoff game together. In the 1981 AFC wild card game, the Bills had a 24–0 lead early in the game, but the Jets came back, cutting their deficit to 31–24. A late game interception of Richard Todd sealed the win for the Bills, however.

In the quarterback-rich 1983 NFL draft, the Bills selected quarterback Jim Kelly whereas the Jets famously passed on Dan Marino in favor of Ken O'Brien. This led to a period of dominance by the Kelly-led Bills over the Jets in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The Jets and Bills played two regular season games with playoff implications in the 1990s. The 1993 season saw the Jets failing to secure a playoff berth by losing a game to the Bills via three missed field goals. In 1998, the Jets secured their first ever AFC East division title by beating the Bills.

2000–17

As the 2000s approached, Buffalo collapsed from a perennial Super Bowl contender to one of the worst teams in the league, while the Jets maintained a level of success, making the playoffs 5 times despite a period of dominance by the Tom Brady-led New England Patriots. However, the Bills finally ended their league-leading playoff drought in 2017, while the Jets have yet to return to the playoffs since last qualifying in 2010.

In 2008, the Bills were coming off a 5–1 start, but lost 8 of their remaining ten games to finish 7–9 and out of the playoffs. Two of those losses came against the Jets; the latter included a J. P. Losman fumble returned for the Jets' game-winning touchdown as the Bills were trying to run out the clock.

2009–2016: the Rex Ryan era

Rex Ryan coached both the Jets (top) and the Bills (bottom).

In 2009, the first year of Rex Ryan's six-year tenure as the Jets' head coach, Mark Sanchez threw 5 interceptions to the Bills defense, losing a game in overtime for the Jets in which they rushed for 318 yards. Later that year, the Jets rematched the Bills in Toronto as part of the Bills Toronto Series, in which the Jets avenged their loss with a 19–13 win that kept their playoff hopes alive.

During the 2013 NFL draft, the Bills and Jets once again selected quarterbacks with their early picks. EJ Manuel was picked by Buffalo in the first round while Geno Smith was chosen in the second round by the Jets. Ultimately, neither quarterback panned out and both were gone from their teams after 2016.

In 2014, the second Bills–Jets game was played at Ford Field in Detroit due to a freak snowstorm in Buffalo. The Bills won 38–3.

The 2015 offseason saw some notable personnel swaps between the teams. On January 12, Rex Ryan was hired as the head coach of the Bills shortly after his dismissal by the Jets, serving as Buffalo's head coach for the next two years. In addition, the Jets hired former Bills head coach Chan Gailey as their offensive coordinator and traded for former Bills starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick who later became their own starter. The Bills also added former Jets Percy Harvin and IK Enemkpali, the latter one day after he was released for breaking Geno Smith's jaw in a locker room altercation. The Bills won both games in 2015, knocking the Jets out of playoff contention with their second win. Tensions arose during the first game on Thursday Night Football when both teams were still in the hunt for a playoff spot, especially after Ryan made Enemkpali a team captain for that game. Despite Ryan's short tenure as the Bills' coach and firing before the second Bills-Jets matchup of 2016, his presence on the Bills briefly re-energized the rivalry.

2018–present: the Josh Allen era

In the 2018 NFL Draft, the Bills and Jets each traded up in order to select a highly touted quarterback. This resulted in Sam Darnold landing with the Jets 3rd overall and Josh Allen being selected by the Bills 7th overall. Allen and Darnold met on the field for the first time as rivals on December 9, 2018, with both having missed the first Bills–Jets match-up that year due to injury. The Bills jumped to an early 14–3 lead under Allen, but the Jets fought back with good special teams play to set up short fields and tied the game at 20 by the fourth quarter. After the Bills scored a field goal to retake the lead with just over two minutes to go, Darnold led a game-winning drive for the Jets, including a 37-yard pass to Robby Anderson to set up the go-ahead touchdown run by Elijah McGuire.

On September 8, 2019, the Bills overcame a 16–0 third quarter deficit and four turnovers to beat the Jets 17–16 at MetLife Stadium on opening day of the season. The Jets unraveled after losing linebacker C. J. Mosley to injury and were also hampered by ineffective placekicking from Kaare Vedvik. The momentum would carry over as Buffalo wound up making the playoffs while New York was unable to overcome a 1–7 start, despite both teams being expected to be competitive that year. Having clinched a playoff spot by then, the Bills rested several starters during the week 17 rematch, which the Jets won 13–6.

The second Bills–Jets matchup of the 2020 season was noteworthy as the then-winless Jets held a potent Bills offense out of the endzone, but Buffalo still prevailed 18–10 thanks to six field goals by rookie kicker Tyler Bass. Not only did the Bills sweep the yearly series, but the franchises had nearly exact opposite years with the Bills finishing 13–3 but the Jets just 2–14 to begin the new decade, continuing a long general trend of the two teams being unable to be simultaneously successful. Allen had his best season thus far with a 107.2 passer rating and 37 touchdowns, while Darnold had his worst with a 72.7 rating and just 9 touchdowns in 12 games. The Jets traded Darnold to the Carolina Panthers following the season, drafting Zach Wilson to replace him.

After Allen and the Bills swept the Jets in 2021, the Wilson-led Jets won the first matchup in 2022, as a 6-minute-long drive that started at New York's 4-yard line set up the game winning field goal. With under 2 minutes left, the Bills were unable to respond, as a holding penalty against tackle Dion Dawkins and a strip sack of Allen that left him injured caused the Bills to turn the ball over on downs, allowing a 20–17 Jets upset win over the heavily-favored Bills. This game was the first time since 2011 that both teams met with winning records. By the time of the rematch, Wilson had been benched for Mike White, who had started one game against Buffalo the previous year, and the Jets were in the middle of what would become a six-game losing streak to end the year out of playoff contention while the Bills were in the middle of a seven-game winning streak to end the year. Just as in his previous start against Buffalo, White struggled and was injured during the 20–12 Bills win. During this game, he was knocked out of the game twice, suffering what was later revealed to be broken ribs, but decided to return to the game both times, earning the respect of fans and players from both teams.

The following season, New York traded for longtime Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, setting up what would become a highly anticipated opening week game between the Bills and Jets on Monday Night Football. Unfortunately, Rodgers ruptured his Achilles tendon on just his fourth play in the game, but the Jets forced Allen to turn the ball over four times, and ended up winning in overtime 22–16 on Xavier Gipson's punt return touchdown.

Gallery

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  Oil painting of Bills OG Billy Shaw blocking for Bobby Smith against Jets in 1964
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  Bills RB O. J. Simpson rushing against Jets in 1973
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  Bills RB Joe Cribbs runs against Jets in 1981 Wild Card game
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  Pre-snap activity between Bills and Jets in 2009
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  Jets RB Thomas Jones runs for a long touchdown against Bills in 2009
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  Players chatting following a game

Season-by-season results

Buffalo Bills vs. New York Jets Season-by-Season Results
1960s (Bills, 11–9) Season Season series at Buffalo Bills at New York Titans/Jets Overall series Notes 1960 Titans 2–0 Titans 17–13 Titans 27–3 Titans 2–0 Bills and then-Titans are two charter members of the AFL. First meetings between the two rivals. 1961 Tie, 1–1 Bills 41–31 Titans 21–14 Titans 3–1 1962 Tie, 1–1 Titans 17–6 Bills 20–3 Titans 4–2 1963 Bills 2–0 Bills 45–14 Bills 19–10 Tie 4–4 Titans change their name to "Jets." 1964 Bills 2–0 Bills 34–24 Bills 20–7 Bills 6–4 Jets move to Shea Stadium; Bills win 1964 AFL Championship. 1965 Tie, 1–1 Bills 33–21 Jets 14–12 Bills 7–5 Bills win 1965 AFL Championship. 1966 Bills 2–0 Bills 14–3 Bills 33–23 Bills 9–5 1967 Tie, 1–1 Bills 20–17 Jets 20–10 Bills 10–6 1968 Tie, 1–1 Bills 37–35 Jets 25–21 Bills 11–7 Jets win 1968 AFL championship, win Super Bowl III. Bills' only win of the year comes against Jets. 1969 Jets 2–0 Jets 33–19 Jets 16–6 Bills 11–9
1970s (Tie, 10–10) Season Season series at Buffalo Bills at New York Jets Overall series Notes 1970 Bills 2–0 Bills 34–31 Bills 10–6 Bills 13–9 AFL–NFL merger. Both teams placed in AFC East. 1971 Jets 2–0 Jets 20–7 Jets 28–17 Bills 13–11 1972 Jets 2–0 Jets 41–24 Jets 41–3 Tie 13–13 1973 Bills 2–0 Bills 9–7 Bills 34–14 Bills 15–13 Bills open Rich Stadium (now known as New Era Field). O. J. Simpson breaks NFL regular season rushing record against Jets in New York. Bills came into that game needing a win and Bengals loss to clinch playoff spot (the Bills won at the Jets; but the Bengals defeated the Oilers later that afternoon, costing Buffalo a playoff appearance) 1974 Tie 1–1 Bills 16–12 Jets 20–10 Bills 16–14 1975 Bills 2–0 Bills 42–14 Bills 42–14 Bills 18–14 Bills rush for 309 yards at Rich Stadium, most rushing yards given up by Jets at the time. 1976 Tie, 1–1 Jets 17–14 Bills 24–23 Bills 19–15 1977 Jets 2–0 Jets 19–14 Jets 24–19 Bills 19–17 1978 Tie 1–1 Bills 14–10 Jets 21–20 Bills 20–18 1979 Tie 1–1 Jets 45–14 Bills 46–31 Bills 21–19
1980s (Bills, 10–9) Season Season series at Buffalo Bills at New York Jets Overall series Notes 1980 Bills 2–0 Bills 14–12 Bills 20–10 Bills 23–19 1981 Tie 1–1 Bills 31–0 Jets 33–14 Bills 24–20 1981 Playoffs Bills 1–0 Bills 31–27 Bills 25–20 AFC Wild Card playoffs. Only playoff meeting to date. 1982 No games Bills 25–20 Both meetings cancelled due to 1982 NFL player strike. 1983 Tie 1–1 Jets 34–10 Bills 24–17 Bills 26–21 Jim Kelly and Ken O'Brien drafted as part of QB class of 1983. 1984 Jets 2–0 Jets 28–26 Jets 21–17 Bills 26–23 Jets move to Giants Stadium 1985 Jets 2–0 Jets 27–7 Jets 42–3 Bills 26–25 1986 Jets 2–0 Jets 28–24 Jets 14–13 Jets 27–26 The first game marked the debut of Jim Kelly as Bills quarterback (though drafted in 1983; Kelly had chosen to play for the United States Football League's Houston Gamblers). The second game was remembered for referee Ben Dreith's "giving him the business" call after Jets defensive end Marty Lyons repeatedly punched Kelly in the head. 1987 Tie 1–1 Jets 31–28 Bills 17–14 Jets 28–27 Jets win seventh straight meeting and fifth straight in Buffalo. 1988 Bills 2–0 Bills 9–6 (OT) Bills 37–14 Bills 29–28 The Week 7 game vs. the Bills was the last for Jets defensive end Mark Gastineau prior to abruptly retiring to tend to girlfriend Brigette Nielsen after Nielsen was diagnosed with uterine cancer. 1989 Bills 2–0 Bills 34–3 Bills 37–0 Bills 31–28 Bills clinch AFC East in final week of the regular season in the Meadowlands.
1990s (Bills, 14–6) Season Season series at Buffalo Bills at New York Jets Overall series Notes 1990 Bills 2–0 Bills 30–27 Bills 30–7 Bills 33–28 Bills lose Super Bowl XXV. 1991 Bills 2–0 Bills 24–13 Bills 23–20 Bills 35–28 Bills lose Super Bowl XXVI. 1992 Tie 1–1 Jets 24–17 Bills 24–20 Bills 36–29 Bills win tenth straight meeting immediately following Jets' seven game winning streak. The Jets snapped Buffalo's 10-game winning streak one week after defensive end Dennis Byrd suffered a neck injury that initially left him paralyzed. Bills lose Super Bowl XXVII. 1993 Bills 2–0 Bills 16–14 Bills 19–10 Bills 38–29 Bills win sixth straight away meeting. Bills lose Super Bowl XXVIII. 1994 Jets 2–0 Jets 23–13 Jets 22–17 Bills 38–31 Jets sweep the Bills for the first time since 1986. 1995 Bills 2–0 Bills 29–10 Bills 28–26 Bills 40–31 1996 Bills 2–0 Bills 35–10 Bills 25–22 Bills 42–31 1997 Bills 2–0 Bills 20–10 Bills 28–22 Bills 44–31 Bills have won 18 of 21 meetings dating back to 1987. 1998 Jets 2–0 Jets 17–10 Jets 34–12 Bills 44–33 Jets beat Bills to clinch their first AFC East title. 1999 Tie 1–1 Bills 17–3 Jets 17–7 Bills 45–34
2000s (Jets, 11–9) Season Season series at Buffalo Bills at New York Jets Overall series Notes 2000 Tie 1–1 Bills 23–20 Jets 27–14 Bills 46–35 2001 Tie 1–1 Jets 42–36 Bills 14–9 Bills 47–36 2002 Jets 2–0 Jets 37–31(OT) Jets 31–13 Bills 47–38 2003 Tie 1–1 Bills 17–6 Jets 30–3 Bills 48–39 2004 Tie 1–1 Bills 22–17 Jets 16–14 Bills 49–40 2005 Tie 1–1 Bills 27–17 Jets 30–26 Bills 50–41 Jets respond to Bills' go-ahead field goal with Justin Miller's game-winning kick return touchdown at the Meadowlands. 2006 Tie 1–1 Jets 28–20 Bills 31–13 Bills 51–42 2007 Bills 2–0 Bills 17–14 Bills 13–3 Bills 53–42 Bills WR Lee Evans boxes out Jets CB Darrelle Revis for Bills' game-clinching touchdown. 2008 Jets 2–0 Jets 26–17 Jets 31–27 Bills 53–44 In Jets home game, Bills QB J. P. Losman fumbles while trying to run out the clock, resulting in Jets' game-winning touchdown. 2009 Tie 1–1 Jets 19–13 Bills 16–13(OT) Bills 54–45 Jets QB Mark Sanchez throws five interceptions in Jets home game, team has six overall Bills home game played at the Rogers Centre in Toronto as part of the Bills Toronto Series.
2010s (Jets, 11–9) Season Season series at Buffalo Bills at New York Jets Overall series Notes 2010 Jets 2–0 Jets 38–14 Jets 38–7 Bills 54–47 Jets and Giants open MetLife Stadium (then known as New Meadowlands Stadium). 2011 Jets 2–0 Jets 27–11 Jets 28–24 Bills 54–49 2012 Tie 1–1 Bills 28–9 Jets 48–28 Bills 55–50 Jets win sixth straight meeting before losing season finale to Bills. 2013 Tie 1–1 Bills 37–14 Jets 27–20 Bills 56–51 2014 Bills 2–0 Bills 38–3 Bills 43–23 Bills 58–51 Bills home game moved to Ford Field in Detroit due to inclement weather. Bills' first sweep of the Jets since 2007. 2015 Bills 2–0 Bills 22–17 Bills 22–17 Bills 60–51 Bills hire Rex Ryan, eliminate Jets from playoff contention in week 17. 2016 Jets 2–0 Jets 37–31 Jets 30–10 Bills 60–53 2017 Tie 1–1 Bills 21–12 Jets 34–21 Bills 61–54 2018 Tie 1–1 Jets 27–23 Bills 41–10 Bills 62–55 First meeting between Sam Darnold and Josh Allen 2019 Tie 1–1 Jets 13–6 Bills 17–16 Bills 63–56 Bills overcome 16–0 deficit and four turnovers to win 17–16 at MetLife Stadium.
2020s (Bills, 5–2) Season Season series at Buffalo Bills at New York Jets Overall series Notes 2020 Bills 2–0 Bills 27–17 Bills 18–10 Bills 65–56 Bills overcome 10–0 deficit on the road despite never scoring a touchdown to win. Bills sweep division for the first time in franchise history. 2021 Bills 2–0 Bills 27–10 Bills 45–17 Bills 67–56 Bills clinch AFC East against the Jets in their week 18 meeting in Buffalo. 2022 Tie 1–1 Bills 20–12 Jets 20–17 Bills 68–57 2023 Jets 2–0 Jets 28–17 Jets 22–16 (OT) Bills 68–59 The game at MetLife Stadium was the first game for Aaron Rodgers as a New York Jet, only for Rodgers to suffer a torn Achilles four plays into the game.
Summary of Results Season Season series at Buffalo Bills at New York Jets Notes AFL regular season Bills 11–9 Bills 7–3 Jets 6–4 NFL regular season Bills 56–49 Bills 29–23 Bills 27–26 Jets won a game in Toronto, Bills won a game in Detroit (both were Bills home games) AFL and NFL regular season Bills 67–58 Bills 36–26 Jets 32–31 NFL postseason Bills 1–0 No games Bills 1–0 1981 AFC Wild Card playoffs Regular and postseason Bills 68–58 Bills 36–26 Tie 32–32

Connections between the teams

Coaches

The most notable connection between the Bills and Jets has been Rex Ryan, who carried over many of his staff from the Jets when he was hired as the Bills' head coach.

Name	Position(s)	Years on Bills	Years on Jets
Rex Ryan	Head coach	2015–16	2009–14
Mike Pettine	Defensive coordinator	2013	2009–2012
David Lee	Quarterbacks coach	2012, 2015–16	2013-14
Chan Gailey	Head coach/Offensive coordinator	2010–2012	2015–2016
Anthony Lynn	Running backs coach/Offensive coordinator	2015–16	2009–14
Dennis Thurman	Defensive backs coach/Defensive coordinator	2015–16	2008–14
Rick Dennison	Offensive coordinator/Offensive line coach	2017	2018
Gregg Williams	Head coach/Defensive coordinator	2001–2003	2019–2020

Players

Several players have been members of both teams during their careers, including:

Name	Position(s)	Years on Bills	Years on Jets
Brad Smith	Wide receiver/Kickoff returner	2011–13	2006–10
Aaron Maybin	Linebacker/Defensive end	2009–10	2011–12
Ryan Fitzpatrick	Quarterback	2009–12	2015–16
David Nelson	Wide receiver	2010–12	2013–14
Percy Harvin	Wide receiver	2015–16	2014
IK Enemkpali	Linebacker	2015–16	2014
Andre Roberts	Wide receiver/kick returner	2019–2020	2018
Brian Winters	Guard	2020	2013–2019
Shaq Lawson	Defensive end	2016–2019, 2022–present	2021