2006 Buffalo Bills season The 2006 Buffalo Bills season began with the team trying to improve on their 5 – 11 record in 2005 . Offseason . General Manager Tom Donahoe was fired shortly after the end of the 2005 season . Marv Levy , who had coached the Bills from 1986 – 1997 , was named as his replacement , with hopes that he would improve a franchise that failed to make the playoffs during Donahoe ' s tenure . Shortly thereafter , Mike Mularkey resigned as the Bills ' head coach , citing family reasons along with disagreement over the direction of the organization . Dick Jauron , former coach of the Chicago Bears , was hired as his replacement . NFL Draft . The Bills acquired their second pick ( # 26 overall ) from a trade with Chicago . Schedule . The Bills season opener at New England marked the first time the Bills did not open at home since 1999 . The Bills played all of their games on Sunday afternoons this season , joining the Detroit Lions , Houston Texans , and Tennessee Titans as teams without an appearance on primetime in 2006 . Regular season . Week 1 : at New England Patriots . " at Gillette Stadium , Foxborough , Massachusetts The Bills opened the regular season on the road against the New England Patriots on September 10 . The Bills got off to a fast start , as on the very first play of the game , OLB Takeo Spikes sacked opposing QB Tom Brady , causing a fumble and allowing the Bills to score a 5 - yard TD , by MLB London Fletcher - Baker . The Pats would then tie the game up on a 9 - yard pass to opposing WR Troy Brown . The Bills would regain the lead on a 53 - yard FG by Rian Lindell . Afterwards , in the second quarter , RB Anthony Thomas would make the score 17 – 7 at halftime , with an 18 - yard TD run . However , The Bills continued their late - game struggles from 2005 , as they gave up 12 unanswered points ( a 17 - yard pass to Kevin Faulk , a 32 - yard Field Goal by Stephen Gostkowski , and a safety by Ty Warren ) in the final 30 minutes of the contest . With their first game a loss , the Bills start at 0 – 1 . Week 2 : at Miami Dolphins . " at Dolphin Stadium , Miami Gardens , Florida For Week 2 , the Bills traveled to Dolphin Stadium to take on the Miami Dolphins . The Bills managed to get the only score of the first half with a 33 - yard field goal by Kicker Rian Lindell in the first quarter . It wasn ' t until the third quarter that the Bills were to score again . QB J . P . Losman threw a 4 - yard pass to WR Josh Reed , while Lindell kicked a 45 and a 43 - yard field goal . Even though the Dolphins managed to score in the fourth quarter on a 23 - yard pass to WR Chris Chambers ( with a failed 2 - point conversion ) , the Bills defense dominated the game , as they sacked Dolphins QB Daunte Culpepper seven times ( along with two forced fumbles ) and blocking a punt , allowing Buffalo to win easily . With the win , the Bills moved to 1 – 1 . Week 3 : vs New York Jets . " at Ralph Wilson Stadium , Orchard Park , New York Dressed up in their 1960s throwback jerseys , the Bills played their Week 3 home - opener against their fellow division rival , the New York Jets . Buffalo started off with QB J . P . Losman throwing a 51 - yard TD pass to WR Roscoe Parrish for the only score in the first quarter . In the second quarter , the Jets tied the game up with a 3 - yard TD run by RB Kevan Barlow . The Bills managed to get a 36 - yard Field Goal by Kicker Rian Lindell , but the Jets managed to take the lead , as QB Chad Pennington completed a 1 - yard TD pass to TE Chris Baker within the closing seconds of the half . In the second half , the Bills fell behind as LB Victor Hobson returned a Buffalo fumble 32 yards for a touchdown , which would be the only score of the third quarter . In the fourth quarter , the Bills tried to close the gap , as Lindell kicked a 28 - yard field goal . However , the Jets increased their lead with RB Cedric Houston getting a 5 - yard TD run . The Bills would get another touchdown , as Losman ran 12 yards for a touchdown . Even though the Bills recovered their onside kick ; the Jets made the Bills go three - and - out for Buffalo ' s defeat . With the loss , the Bills dropped to 1 – 2 . Week 4 : vs Minnesota Vikings . " at Ralph Wilson Stadium , Orchard Park , New York Staying at home , the Bills took on the Minnesota Vikings . In the first quarter , Buffalo got a small deficit as Vikings kicker Ryan Longwell got a 37 - yard field goal for the only score of the quarter . In the second quarter , the Bills scored on an RB Willis McGahee 1 - yard TD run . Afterwards , Minnesota got a last - second field goal by Longwell , who kicked it from 49 yards out . In the third quarter , Buffalo pulled ahead as QB J . P . Losman completed an 8 - yard TD pass to WR Peerless Price for the only score of the period . In the fourth quarter , the Bills scored a 28 - yard field goal with kicker Rian Lindell . However , the Vikings QB Brad Johnson completed a 29 - yard TD pass to WR Marcus Robinson . Buffalo prevented the two - point conversion and ran the clock out . , giving the Bills to get their first home victory of the year . Week 5 : at Chicago Bears . " at Soldier Field , Chicago , Illinois The Bills traveled to Soldier Field to take on the Chicago Bears , where Head Coach Dick Jauron would go up against his former team . From the start , Buffalo was in trouble , as Bears kicker Robbie Gould kicked two field goals in the first quarter ( a 42 - yarder and a 43 - yarder ) . Then , in the second quarter , three straight touchdowns came from the Bears ( a 8 - yard pass to WR Bernard Berrian , RB Cedric Benson ' s 1 - yard run , and a 15 - yard pass to WR Rashied Davis ) put the Bills in a deep hole . In the third quarter , Gould put up another field goal for Chicago ( a 32 - yarder ) , while in the fourth quarter , Gould would kick a 41 - yard field goal and Benson would get another 1 - yard TD run . The Bills would get a late touchdown , as QB J . P . Losman completed a 5 - yard strike to WR Lee Evans , ending the Bears 11 - quarter streak of not allowing their opponents to score a TD . In the end , Buffalo ended up getting routed and it would drop them to 2 – 3 . Week 6 : at Detroit Lions . " at Ford Field , Detroit , Michigan The Bills flew to Ford Field to take on another NFC North team , the Detroit Lions . From the start , the winless Lions were dominated the first quarter , as kicker Jason Hanson kicked a 43 - yard field goal , while RB Kevin Jones got a 7 - yard TD run . In the second quarter , Buffalo got into the game , as QB J . P . Losman completed a 44 - yard TD pass to WR Roscoe Parrish . However , Detroit responded , as QB Jon Kitna completed a 28 - yard TD pass to WR Roy Williams . The Bills would get kicker Rian Lindell to get a 53 - yard field goal to end the half . After a scoreless third quarter , Lions kicker Hanson got a 29 - yard field goal , putting Detroit up 20 – 10 . The Bills tried to catch - up , as Losman completed a 4 - yard TD pass to TE Ryan Neufeld . The Lions ended up getting win # 1 as the Bills fell to 2 – 4 . Week 7 : vs New England Patriots . " at Ralph Wilson Stadium , Orchard Park , New York Coming off a road loss to the Lions , the Bills returned home for a rematch with their AFC East rival , the New England Patriots . Previously , Buffalo almost won and New England came back to win . This time , it wasn ' t even close . In the first quarter , the Patriots took an early lead with RB Corey Dillon running 8 yards for a TD . Kicker Rian Lindell would get a 40 - yard field goal , but the Patriots wouldn ' t allow Buffalo to score , as Dillon got a 12 - yard TD run . After a scoreless second quarter , the Pats continued to make the game difficult for the Bills as in the third quarter , QB Tom Brady threw a 35 - yard TD pass to rookie WR Chad Jackson for the only score of the period . In the fourth quarter , Lindell would get another field goal , as he kicked one from 46 yards out , but New England put the game away as Brady completed a 5 - yard TD pass to WR Doug Gabriel . After getting swept by the Patriots , the Bills had lost three - straight games and fallen to 2 – 5 . Week 9 : vs Green Bay Packers . " at Ralph Wilson Stadium , Orchard Park , New York Coming off their Bye Week , the Bills stayed at home for a Week 9 game with the Green Bay Packers . In the first quarter , even though RB Willis McGahee would leave the game with injured ribs , kicker Rian Lindell kicked a 28 - yard field goal , which gave the Bills the only score of the period . In the second quarter , Buffalo ' s defense scored as LB London Fletcher - Baker returned an interception 17 yards for a touchdown for the only score of the period . In the third quarter , QB Brett Favre hooked up with WR Donald Driver on a 1 - yard TD pass for the only score of the period . In the fourth quarter , Green Bay kicker Dave Rayner kicked a 49 - yard field goal to tie the game up . The Bills increased their margin as QB J . P . Losman completed a 43 - yard TD pass to WR Lee Evans . Afterwards , a 76 - yard interception return by rookie Free Safety Ko Simpson set up a 14 - yard TD run by RB Anthony Thomas , which finished the scoring in favor of Buffalo . With the win , the Bills improved to 3 – 5 . Week 10 : at Indianapolis Colts . " at the RCA Dome , Indianapolis , Indiana < br > Fresh off of their victory over the Packers , the Bills flew to the RCA Dome for a Week 10 match - up with the Indianapolis Colts . In the first quarter , Buffalo got off to a fast start with kicker Rian Lindell making a 22 - yard field goal for the only score of the period . In the second quarter , Indianapolis struck back with QB Peyton Manning completing a 1 - yard TD pass to WR Reggie Wayne . The Colts would follow - up with kicker Adam Vinatieri kicking a 31 - yard field goal . The Bills defense made a stand , as CB Terrence McGee returned a fumble 68 yards for a touchdown . In the third quarter , Indianapolis regained the lead with RB Joseph Addai completing a 5 - yard TD run . Buffalo would respond with Lindell making a 30 - yard field goal . In the fourth quarter , the Bills drew closer with Lindell ' s 43 - yard field goal and had a chance to take the lead late in the game , but a 41 - yard try went wide right , sealing the victory for the Colts . With the loss , the Bills fell to last place in the AFC East at 3 – 6 . Week 11 : at Houston Texans . " at Reliant Stadium , Houston , Texas The matchup at Houston was expected to be a boring affair , but it was anything but . The first quarter saw a dominating offensive performances by WR Lee Evans , who caught six passes for 205 yards and a pair of 83 - yard scores . Evans fell just five yards short of the NFL mark for most yards receiving in a quarter , set by Qadry Ismail in 1999 . However , Houston was not intimidated and kept the game close going into the half . In the second half , the Bills ' offense slowed down greatly , but Houston kept flying , mostly on the arm of QB David Carr , who tied the NFL record for most consecutive completions in a game with 22 . DB Dunta Robinson intercepted a Losman pass and ran it in for an easy score , giving the Texans a 21 – 17 edge that would hold until the waning seconds , when Losman led the Bills down the field and hit WR Peerless Price with a pass in the back of the end zone with nine seconds left ( the play was reviewed and upheld ) . In the 24 – 21 victory , Losman set his career high for passing yardage with 340 , and Evans set a new franchise record with 265 yards receiving . With the win , the Bills improved to 4 – 6 . Week 12 : vs Jacksonville Jaguars . " at Ralph Wilson Stadium , Orchard Park , New York With the momentum of a last second victory against Houston and the return of RB Willis McGahee , who had missed the previous three weeks with rib injuries , the Bills took an early lead and held off the Jaguars at the end . After Jacksonville scored with : 34 seconds remaining and after a questionable squib kick , J . P . Losman threw a pass down the sideline to WR Roscoe Parrish who just kept his toes in to set up a game winning Rian Lindell FG as time expired . Parrish had earlier made the game ' s biggest play of the game when he had an 82 yard punt return for a TD . With their second straight victory , the Bills moved up to 5 – 6 . Week 13 : vs San Diego Chargers . " at Ralph Wilson Stadium , Orchard Park , New York Keeping some slim playoff hopes alive , the Bills stayed at home , donned their throwback jerseys again , and faced a fierce Week 13 challenge against the San Diego Chargers . In the first quarter , the Chargers struck first with kicker Nate Kaeding getting a 42 - yard field goal , while RB LaDainian Tomlinson got a 51 - yard TD run . In the second quarter , Buffalo continued to struggle as QB Philip Rivers completed an 11 - yard TD pass to TE Antonio Gates for the only score of the period . In the third quarter , the Bills scored with QB J . P . Losman completing a 5 - yard TD pass to TE Robert Royal , while RB Willis McGahee got a 2 - yard TD run . However , in the fourth quarter , Tomlinson got a 2 - yard TD run . A 6 - yard TD pass from Losman to WR Peerless Price closed the gap , abut a failed onside kick sealed any chance of Buffalo ' s comeback victory . With the loss , the Bills fell to 5 – 7 . Week 14 : at New York Jets . " at Giants Stadium , East Rutherford , New Jersey Hoping to avoid being swept by their AFC East rival , the Bills met the Jets at The Meadowlands . Bills RB Willis McGahee extended his string of 100 - yard rushing games vs . the Jets to five with 125 yards on 16 carries . This included a 57 - yard TD in the first quarter . After allowing a 10 - yard TD pass from Jets QB Chad Pennington to WR Laveranues Coles and a Mike Nugent field goal , the Bills broke the game open with a 77 - yard J . P . Losman pass to WR Lee Evans and a 58 - yard interception return for a TD by CB Nate Clements . The Jets cut their deficit to 8 after a field goal on the ensuing possession , but would end up scoreless for the rest of the game . Meanwhile , the Bills defense held the Jets in check as a Pennington fumble in the third quarter set up another J . P . Losman TD pass ; this time to TE Robert Royal . The Bills would add a field goal of their own in the fourth quarter to extend their lead 31 – 13 . The Bills remained in playoff contention mathematically with a 6 – 7 record as they sat two games behind current wild card occupants Jacksonville and Cincinnati . Week 15 : vs Miami Dolphins . " at Ralph Wilson Stadium , Orchard Park , New York The Bills played at home against their rivals , the Miami Dolphins . In order to remain in contention for the playoffs , the Bills had to defeat Miami — which they did in convincing fashion . Bills ' quarterback J . P . Losman played well with 200 yards passing , 3 touchdown passes and no interceptions . However , Miami ' s quarterback , Joey Harrington was ineffective , throwing only 98 yards passing , with 2 interceptions and achieved a 0 . 0 passer rating . After a scoreless first quarter , Losman threw a 33 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Robert Royal , putting the Bills ahead 7 – 0 into halftime . In the third quarter , Losman threw a 27 - yard pass to wide receiver Josh Reed , putting the Bills up by two touchdowns 14 – 0 . In the final quarter , Losman threw another TD pass to wide receiver Lee Evans . Miami had the ball on Buffalo ' s 1 - yard line with 6 seconds left in the game . Looking for a touchdown , Miami ' s backup quarterback Cleo Lemon threw a pass intended for Chris Chambers but was batted down at the line of scrimmage by Ryan Denney , keeping the Dolphins scoreless . With this win , the Bills improved their record to 7 – 7 . Week 16 : vs Tennessee Titans . " at Ralph Wilson Stadium , Orchard Park , New York After the victory over Miami , the Bills stayed at home for a Week 16 intraconference game with the Tennessee Titans . The Titans ( like the Bills ) were 7 – 7 and also hunting for a wildcard berth . In the first quarter , Buffalo scored first with kicker Rian Lindell getting a 21 - yard field goal . Tennessee would respond with QB Vince Young completing a 22 - yard TD pass to WR Bobby Wade . The Bills came back with RB Willis McGahee ' s 1 - yard TD run . In the second quarter , the Titans regained the lead with kicker Rob Bironas getting a 42 - yard and a 20 - yard field goal . Afterwards , the Bills came back with Lindell kicking a 36 - yard and a 45 - yard field goal . Then , Tennessee went back into the lead with Young ' s 36 - yard TD run . Buffalo would kick a 21 - yard field goal from Lindell before halftime . In the third quarter , QB J . P . Losman completed a 37 - yard TD pass to WR Lee Evans and afterwards Lindell kicked a 24 - yard field goal . In the fourth quarter , the Titans won the game with Young completing a 29 - yard TD pass to WR Brandon Jones and Bironas ' 30 - yard field goal . J . P . Losman led the Bills on one final drive down to the Titans 28 , but driving against a wind that was gusting up to 20 mph , the Bills elected not to try a potential game - winning field goal . With the loss , not only did the Bills fall to 7 – 8 , but it also knocked them out of the playoff race . Week 17 : at Baltimore Ravens . " at M & T Bank Stadium , Baltimore , Maryland The Buffalo Bills ended their season with a loss to the Baltimore Ravens . Bills ' quarterback J . P . Losman . threw for 237 yards , 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions . Willis McGahee rushed for 23 yards on 11 carries . Wide receiver Lee Evans had 7 receptions and 145 yards with 1 touchdown . In the first quarter , Ravens ' kicker Matt Stover made a 26 - yard field goal , bringing the Ravens up 3 – 0 at the end of the first . Just before halftime , Stover made another field goal , this time from 37 yards out . Ravens were leading 6 – 0 at halftime . In the third quarter , Stover made his third field goal of the day , bringing the Ravens up 9 – 0 . But a few moments later , Losman threw a deep pass to Lee Evans for a 44 - yard touchdown . This brought the Bills in the game and down by only two points . A few minutes later , Losman threw a pass that was intercepted by Chris McAlister and returned for a touchdown . In the fourth quarter , Matt Stover made his fourth and final field goal that increased the Ravens ' lead . The Bills lost and their final record was 7 – 9 . However , this record was an improvement over last year ' s 5 – 11 record .