2015 Buffalo Bills season
The 2015 season was the Buffalo Bills' 46th in the National Football League, their 56th overall, their third under the leadership of general manager Doug Whaley and their first under head coach Rex Ryan. It was also their first full season under the ownership of Terry and Kim Pegula, having purchased the Bills partway through 2014 after the death of longtime owner Ralph Wilson that March at the age of 95.
The Bills began their season with an open competition for the starting quarterback position after Kyle Orton, the starter for most of the 2014 campaign, retired during the offseason, so the team acquired free agent Tyrod Taylor, a former backup quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens, who won the competition over incumbent second-string quarterback EJ Manuel and trade acquisition Matt Cassel, the latter of whom the team later traded along with a seventh-round pick in 2017 to the Dallas Cowboys, in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick in 2017.
Despite Ryan's bold prediction of the Bills making the playoffs at his introductory press conference, the Bills were unable to do so in their first season with Ryan as head coach, finishing with a record of 8-8, making it the 16th straight season without a playoff appearance, which became the longest active in major professional sports after Major League Baseball’s Toronto Blue Jays broke their 22-year playoff drought on September 25, 2015.
Offseason
The Bills made headlines when they hired a new head coach in Rex Ryan, who signed a five-year, $27.5 million contract on January 12, 2015 after having previously spent the past six seasons coaching the division-rival New York Jets. Ryan had led the Jets to two straight AFC Championship games in 2009 [New York Jets season|2009] and 2010 before his firing in 2014. He became the 18th head coach in Bills history and the fifth in the past seven years in the process. Ryan replaced Doug Marrone, who opted out of his contract on December 31, 2014 in order to take advantage of a contract loophole.Roster changes
Signings
| Position | Player | 2014 Team | Date signed | Notes and references |
| OG | Richie Incognito | No Team | February 8, 2015 | 1-year/$2.25 million |
| DE | Jerry Hughes | Buffalo Bills | March 9, 2015 | 5-years/$45 million |
| FB | Jerome Felton | Minnesota Vikings | March 11, 2015 | 4-years/$9.2 million |
| WR | Marcus Easley | Buffalo Bills | March 12, 2015 | 4-years/$7 million |
| DE | Jarius Wynn | Buffalo Bills | March 12, 2015 | 2-years/$2.2 million |
| QB | Tyrod Taylor | Baltimore Ravens | March 12, 2015 | 2-years/$7 million |
| WR | Percy Harvin | New York Jets | March 13, 2015 | 3-years/$24 million |
| TE | Charles Clay | Miami Dolphins | March 19, 2015 | 5-years/$38 million |
| DE | Alex Carrington | St. Louis Rams | May 4, 2015 | 1-year |
| FB | John Conner | New York Jets | May 13, 2015 | 1-year/$745,000 |
| QB | Matt Simms | New York Jets | May 29, 2015 | 1-year/$585,000 |
Draft
Notes- The Bills did not have a selection in the first-round or fourth-round as a result of a trade that sent their 2014 first-round selection, later revealed to be Ja’Wuan James, to the Miami Dolphins, fourth-round selection, later revealed to be Shaquelle Evans, to the New York Jets and their first-round selection, later revealed to be Anthony Barr, to the Cleveland Browns in a three-team trade that sent the Browns’ 2014 first-round selection, later revealed to be Sammy Watkins, to Buffalo. The Bills acquired a fourth-round selection, later revealed to be Gabe Wright, in a trade that sent Stevie Johnson to the San Francisco 49ers. The Bills later traded this selection to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for Bryce Brown. The Bills acquired a fifth-round selection, later revealed to be Grady Jarrett, as part of a trade that sent their 2014 seventh-round selection, later revealed to be Randell Johnson, to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bills later traded this selection and their 2016 seventh-round selection, later revealed to be Alex McCalister, to the Vikings in exchange for Matt Cassel and the Vikings’ 2015 sixth-round selection, later revealed to be Tony Steward.
Schedule
Regular season
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.Game summaries
Week 1: vs. Indianapolis Colts
The Bills franchise reached the 400th career win in its history with a 27-14 win over the Colts. Running backs Karlos Williams, LeSean McCoy and quarterback Tyrod Taylor combined for 137 rushing yards and a touchdown and Taylor completed 14/19 for 195 yards and a touchdown. Colts quarterback Andrew Luck had two touchdowns, but he was intercepted and sacked twice.In a statistical anomaly, back-up quarterback Matt Cassel was credited with the win, as the Bills lined up for their first offensive play in a novelty formation with Cassel under center and Tyrod Taylor split out as a receiver. This made Cassel the starting quarterback of record, although it was his only play of the game and he did not attempt either a pass or run.
Week 2: vs. New England Patriots
With the close loss, the Bills dropped to 1-1. As if the loss wasn't bad enough, the team also lost safety Aaron Williams for the season with a neck injury sustained trying to keep Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski from reaching the end zone.Week 3: at Miami Dolphins
After leading 27-0, Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill finally threw two touchdowns, but his three interceptions, one of which a pick-six returned by linebacker Preston Brown 43 yards for a touchdown, proved to be too much as the Bills improved to 2-1.Week 4: vs. New York Giants
With their third straight loss to the Giants dating back to 2007, the Bills dropped to 2-2.Week 5: at Tennessee Titans
With the win, the Bills improved to 3-2.Week 6: vs. Cincinnati Bengals
With their third straight loss to the Bengals dating back to 2011, the Bills dropped to 3-3.Week 7: at Jacksonville Jaguars
NFL International SeriesThis was the Bills’ first game in London since 1991. Sadly, with the stunning loss, the Bills dropped to 3-4 heading into the bye week, marking the first time they had been under.500 all season.
Week 9: vs. Miami Dolphins
With the win, not only did the Bills improve to 4-4, but they swept Miami for the first time since 2013.Week 10: at New York Jets
Rex Ryan made his return to MetLife Stadium for the first time since the Jets fired him after the 2014 season. The Bills wore their red Nike “color rush” uniforms. With 0:18 remaining, Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick attempted a comeback, but a game-saving interception by Bills safety Bacarri Rambo sealed the 22-17 victory over the Jets. With the win, the Bills improved to 5-4.This was the debut for NFL Color Rush uniforms, with the Bills in all red and the Jets in all kelly green. The uniforms were indistinguishable to those with red-green color blindness, creating controversy.