The Buffalo Bills are headed on the road for the playoffs for the first time since 2019. History shows just how difficult that path has been for Buffalo, and why this postseason may require something nearly unprecedented.
When the Buffalo Bills lost to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, it guaranteed the Bills would start the playoffs on the road for the first time since 2019 when they went to Houston. While there’s still a chance Buffalo could host a playoff game if they finish as the fifth or sixth seed in the AFC, it’s highly unlikely.
That means, in order to get to the team’s first Super Bowl in 31 years, Buffalo will have to do something they’ve historically struggled to do: win playoff games on the road.
Going back to 1974, the first year the Bills made the playoffs as a member of the NFL, Buffalo has played 16 games on the road. Of those 16 games, the Bills have won three of them.
Yeah, you read that right. In the 55 seasons as an NFL franchise, Buffalo has just three road playoff wins.
The first came in 1981 when the Bills, coached by Chuck Knox, went into Shea Stadium and beat the New York Jets 31-27. The next road wins wouldn’t come until 1993, when Buffalo beat both the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Divisional round and the Miami Dolphins in the AFC Championship to reach their third straight superbowl.
Since that year, Buffalo has gone 0-8 on the road. Of those eight losses since the last win, the Bills have lost by an average of, roughly, seven points. If you want to look at the current run by head coach Sean McDermott and quarterback Josh Allen, the Bills are 0-4 in their eight seasons together. During that time, Buffalo’s loss margin is only 6.5 points.
The one, maybe, sliver of hope that the Bills can go on a run is the fact that the Kansas City Chiefs won’t be in this year. Since 2020, all of Buffalo’s road playoff losses have come at the hands of the Chiefs.
Of course, there are other contenders to worry about in the form of the Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, and even the Jacksonville Jaguars. Just because the Chiefs aren’t there this year, it doesn’t make the path any easier. In fact, winning on the road at all in the playoffs isn’t easy, no matter what teams take the field. And doing it three times to get to the Super Bowl?
That’s nearly impossible. Only four teams have ever made it that far, with the last being the 2010 Green Bay Packers. That said, the last three to do it—2005 Steelers, 2007 Giants, and 2010 Packers—have all ended up raising the Lombardi Trophy.