# 2021 Buffalo Bills season

| 2021 Buffalo Bills season |
| --- |
| Owner | Terry and Kim Pegula |
| Head coach | Sean McDermott |
| General manager | Brandon Beane |
| Home field | Highmark Stadium |
| Results |
| Record | 11–6 |
| Division place | 1st AFC East |
| Playoff finish | **Won Wild Card Playoffs** (vs. Patriots) 47–17 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Chiefs) 36–42 (OT) |
| Pro Bowlers | OT Dion Dawkins WR Stefon Diggs |
| AP All-Pros | FS Jordan Poyer *(1st team)* SS Micah Hyde *(2nd team)* |
| Uniform |
|  |
|

The 2021 season was the Buffalo Bills' 62nd in the National Football League, and their fifth under the head coach Sean McDermott.

## Draft

2021 Buffalo Bills Draft| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | 30 | Gregory Rousseau | DE | Miami (FL) | Opted out of the 2020 CFB season while at the University of Miami |
| 2 | 61 | Carlos Basham Jr. | DE | Wake Forest |  |
| 3 | 93 | Spencer Brown | OT | Northern Iowa |  |
| 5 | 161 | Tommy Doyle | OT | Miami (OH) | from Las Vegas |
| 6 | 203 | Marquez Stevenson | WR | Houston | from Washington via Las Vegas and Miami and Houston |
| 212 | Damar Hamlin | S | Pittsburgh | from New Orleans via Houston |
| 213 | Rachad Wildgoose | CB | Wisconsin |  |
| 7 | 236 | Jack Anderson | OG | Texas Tech | from Carolina |

## Regular season

### Schedule

The Bills 2021 schedule was announced on May 12.

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | September 12 | Pittsburgh Steelers | **L** 16–23 | 0–1 | Highmark Stadium | Recap |
| 2 | September 19 | at **Miami Dolphins** | **W** 35–0 | 1–1 | Hard Rock Stadium | Recap |
| 3 | September 26 | Washington Football Team | **W** 43–21 | 2–1 | Highmark Stadium | Recap |
| 4 | October 3 | Houston Texans | **W** 40–0 | 3–1 | Highmark Stadium | Recap |
| 5 | October 10 | at Kansas City Chiefs | **W** 38–20 | 4–1 | Arrowhead Stadium | Recap |
| 6 | October 18 | at Tennessee Titans | **L** 31–34 | 4–2 | Nissan Stadium | Recap |
| 7 | *Bye* |
| 8 | October 31 | **Miami Dolphins** | **W** 26–11 | 5–2 | Highmark Stadium | Recap |
| 9 | November 7 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | **L** 6–9 | 5–3 | TIAA Bank Field | Recap |
| 10 | November 14 | at **New York Jets** | **W** 45–17 | 6–3 | MetLife Stadium | Recap |
| 11 | November 21 | Indianapolis Colts | **L** 15–41 | 6–4 | Highmark Stadium | Recap |
| 12 | November 25 | at New Orleans Saints | **W** 31–6 | 7–4 | Caesars Superdome | Recap |
| 13 | December 6 | **New England Patriots** | **L** 10–14 | 7–5 | Highmark Stadium | Recap |
| 14 | December 12 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | **L** 27–33 (OT) | 7–6 | Raymond James Stadium | Recap |
| 15 | December 19 | Carolina Panthers | **W** 31–14 | 8–6 | Highmark Stadium | Recap |
| 16 | December 26 | at **New England Patriots** | **W** 33–21 | 9–6 | Gillette Stadium | Recap |
| 17 | January 2 | Atlanta Falcons | **W** 29–15 | 10–6 | Highmark Stadium | Recap |
| 18 | January 9 | **New York Jets** | **W** 27–10 | 11–6 | Highmark Stadium | Recap |

**Note:** Intra-division opponents are in **bold** text.

### Standings

#### Division

| AFC East |
| --- |
| * view
* talk
* edit
 | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| (3) Buffalo Bills | 11 | 6 | 0 | .647 | 5–1 | 7–5 | 483 | 289 | W4 |
| (6) New England Patriots | 10 | 7 | 0 | .588 | 3–3 | 8–4 | 462 | 303 | L1 |
| Miami Dolphins | 9 | 8 | 0 | .529 | 4–2 | 6–6 | 341 | 373 | W1 |
| New York Jets | 4 | 13 | 0 | .235 | 0–6 | 4–8 | 310 | 504 | L2 |

#### Conference

| AFC* v
* t
* e
 |
| --- |
| # | Team | Division | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | SOS | SOV | STK |
| **Division winners** |
| 1 | Tennessee Titans | South | 12 | 5 | 0 | .706 | 5–1 | 8–4 | .472 | .480 | W3 |
| 2 | Kansas City Chiefs | West | 12 | 5 | 0 | .706 | 5–1 | 7–5 | .538 | .517 | W1 |
| 3 | Buffalo Bills | East | 11 | 6 | 0 | .647 | 5–1 | 7–5 | .472 | .428 | W4 |
| 4 | Cincinnati Bengals | North | 10 | 7 | 0 | .588 | 4–2 | 8–4 | .472 | .462 | L1 |
| **Wild cards** |
| 5 | Las Vegas Raiders | West | 10 | 7 | 0 | .588 | 3–3 | 8–4 | .510 | .515 | W4 |
| 6 | New England Patriots | East | 10 | 7 | 0 | .588 | 3–3 | 8–4 | .481 | .394 | L1 |
| 7 | Pittsburgh Steelers | North | 9 | 7 | 1 | .559 | 4–2 | 7–5 | .521 | .490 | W2 |
| **Did not qualify for the postseason** |
| 8 | Indianapolis Colts | South | 9 | 8 | 0 | .529 | 3–3 | 7–5 | .495 | .431 | L2 |
| 9 | Miami Dolphins | East | 9 | 8 | 0 | .529 | 4–2 | 6–6 | .464 | .379 | W1 |
| 10 | Los Angeles Chargers | West | 9 | 8 | 0 | .529 | 3–3 | 6–6 | .510 | .500 | L1 |
| 11 | Cleveland Browns | North | 8 | 9 | 0 | .471 | 3–3 | 5–7 | .514 | .415 | W1 |
| 12 | Baltimore Ravens | North | 8 | 9 | 0 | .471 | 1–5 | 5–7 | .531 | .460 | L6 |
| 13 | Denver Broncos | West | 7 | 10 | 0 | .412 | 1–5 | 3–9 | .484 | .357 | L4 |
| 14 | New York Jets | East | 4 | 13 | 0 | .235 | 0–6 | 4–8 | .512 | .426 | L2 |
| 15 | Houston Texans | South | 4 | 13 | 0 | .235 | 3–3 | 4–8 | .498 | .397 | L2 |
| 16 | Jacksonville Jaguars | South | 3 | 14 | 0 | .176 | 1–5 | 3–9 | .512 | .569 | W1 |
| **Tiebreakers** |
|  |

## Postseason

### Schedule

| Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Wild Card | January 15 | New England Patriots (6) | **W** 47–17 | 1–0 | Highmark Stadium | Recap |
| Divisional | January 23 | at Kansas City Chiefs (2) | **L** 36–42 (OT) | 1–1 | Arrowhead Stadium | Recap |