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List of Buffalo Bills starting quarterbacks

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

These quarterbacks have started at least one game for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. The Bills are a professional American football franchise based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. . The quarterbacks are listed in order of the date of each player's first start for the team at that position.

Starting quarterbacks

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Prior to his political career, Jack Kemp won two AFL championships with the Bills
Under the "K-Gun" offense, Jim Kelly led Buffalo to a record four consecutive Super Bowls
Doug Flutie was the last quarterback to bring the Bills to the playoffs from 1999 to 2016
A member of nine NFL teams, Ryan Fitzpatrick had his longest stint with the Bills
Tyrod Taylor helped end Buffalo's 17-year playoff drought
Josh Allen holds the Bills' records for single-season passing yards and touchdowns

The number of games they started during the season is listed to the right:

Regular season

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Season(s) Quarterback(s)
1960 (AFL) Johnny Green (6) / Tommy O'Connell (5) / Richie Lucas (2) / Bob Brodhead (1)
1961 (AFL) Johnny Green (5) / Warren Rabb (3) / M.C. Reynolds (3) / Richie Lucas (2) / Tommy O'Connell (1)
1962 (AFL) Warren Rabb (7) / Al Dorow (4) / Jack Kemp (3)
1963 (AFL) Jack Kemp (12) / Daryle Lamonica (2)
1964 (AFL) Jack Kemp (13) / Daryle Lamonica (1)
1965 (AFL) Jack Kemp (13) / Daryle Lamonica (1)
1966 (AFL) Jack Kemp (14)
1967 (AFL) Jack Kemp (11) / Tom Flores (3)
1968 (AFL) Dan Darragh (7) / Ed Rutkowski (3) / Kay Stephenson (3) / Tom Flores (1)
1969 (AFL) Jack Kemp (11) / Dan Darragh (2) / James Harris (1)
1970 (NFL) Dennis Shaw (12) / Dan Darragh (2)
1971 Dennis Shaw (12) / James Harris (2)
1972 Dennis Shaw (13) / Leo Hart (1)
1973 Joe Ferguson (14)
1974 Joe Ferguson (14)
1975 Joe Ferguson (14)
1976 Joe Ferguson (7) / Gary Marangi (7)
1977 Joe Ferguson (14)
1978 Joe Ferguson (16)
1979 Joe Ferguson (16)
1980 Joe Ferguson (16)
1981 Joe Ferguson (16)
1982 Joe Ferguson (9)
1983 Joe Ferguson (16)
1984 Joe Ferguson (11) / Joe Dufek (5)
1985 Vince Ferragamo (9) / Bruce Mathison (7)
1986 Jim Kelly (16)
1987 Jim Kelly (12) / Brian McClure (1) / Willie Totten (1) / Dan Manucci (1)
1988 Jim Kelly (16)
1989 Jim Kelly (13) / Frank Reich (3)
1990 Jim Kelly (14) / Frank Reich (2)
1991 Jim Kelly (15) / Frank Reich (1)
1992 Jim Kelly (16)
1993 Jim Kelly (16)
1994 Jim Kelly (14) / Frank Reich (2)
1995 Jim Kelly (15) / Todd Collins (1)
1996 Jim Kelly (13) / Todd Collins (3)
1997 Todd Collins (13) / Alex Van Pelt (3)
1998 Doug Flutie (10) / Rob Johnson (6)
1999 Doug Flutie (15) / Rob Johnson (1)
2000 Rob Johnson (11) / Doug Flutie (5)
2001 Alex Van Pelt (8) / Rob Johnson (8)
2002 Drew Bledsoe (16)
2003 Drew Bledsoe (16)
2004 Drew Bledsoe (16)
2005 J. P. Losman (8) / Kelly Holcomb (8)
2006 J. P. Losman (16)
2007 Trent Edwards (9) / J. P. Losman (7)
2008 Trent Edwards (14) / J. P. Losman (2)
2009 Ryan Fitzpatrick (8) / Trent Edwards (7) / Brian Brohm (1)
2010 Ryan Fitzpatrick (13) / Trent Edwards (2) / Brian Brohm (1)
2011 Ryan Fitzpatrick (16)
2012 Ryan Fitzpatrick (16)
2013 EJ Manuel (10) / Thad Lewis (5) / Jeff Tuel (1)
2014 Kyle Orton (12) / EJ Manuel (4)
2015 Tyrod Taylor (13) / EJ Manuel (2) / Matt Cassel (1)
2016 Tyrod Taylor (15) / EJ Manuel (1)
2017 Tyrod Taylor (14) / Nathan Peterman (2)
2018 Josh Allen (11) / Nathan Peterman (2) / Derek Anderson (2) / Matt Barkley (1)
2019 Josh Allen (16)
2020 Josh Allen (16)
2021 Josh Allen (17)
2022 Josh Allen (16)[I]
2023 Josh Allen (17)
2024 Josh Allen (9)

Postseason

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Season(s) Quarterback(s)
1963 (AFL) Jack Kemp (0–1)
1964 (AFL) Jack Kemp (1–0)
1965 (AFL) Jack Kemp (1–0)
1966 (AFL) Jack Kemp (0–1)
1974 Joe Ferguson (0–1)
1980 Joe Ferguson (0–1)
1981 Joe Ferguson (1–1)
1988 Jim Kelly (1–1)
1989 Jim Kelly (0–1)
1990 Jim Kelly (2–1)
1991 Jim Kelly (2–1)
1992 Frank Reich (2–0)
Jim Kelly (1–1)
1993 Jim Kelly (2–1)
1995 Jim Kelly (1–1)
1996 Jim Kelly (0–1)
1998 Doug Flutie (0–1)
1999 Rob Johnson (0–1)
2017 Tyrod Taylor (0–1)
2019 Josh Allen (0–1)
2020 Josh Allen (2–1)
2021 Josh Allen (1–1)
2022 Josh Allen (1–1)
2023 Josh Allen (1–1)

Statistics

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Most games started

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These quarterbacks have the most starts for the Bills in regular season games (through the 2024 NFL season).

Name
GP Games played
GS Games started
W Number of wins as starting quarterback
L Number of losses as starting quarterback
T Number of ties as starting quarterback
% Winning percentage as starting quarterback
Name Period GP GS W L T %
Joe Ferguson 1973–1984 164 163 77 86 .472
Jim Kelly 1986–1996 160 160 101 59 .631
Josh Allen 2018–Present 103 102 70 32 .686
Jack Kemp 1962–1969 88 77 43 31 3 .578
Ryan Fitzpatrick 2009–2012 55 53 20 33 .377
Drew Bledsoe 2002–2004 48 48 23 25 .479
Tyrod Taylor 2015–2017 44 43 23 20 .535

Top ten passers in Bills history

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This table lists the quarterbacks with the most passing yards while with the Bills
(Stats updated through the 2024 NFL regular season)

Name
Comp Number of passes completed
Att Number of passes attempted
% Percentage of passes completed
Yds Total passing yards
TD Number of passing touchdowns
INT Number of interceptions thrown
Name Comp Att % Yds TD Int
Jim Kelly 2,8744,779 60.135,467 237 175
Joe Ferguson 2,1884,166 52.527,590 181 190
Josh Allen 2,1573,407 63.324,704 184 80
Ryan Fitzpatrick 1,0411,742 59.811,654 80 64
Jack Kemp 1,0392,240 46.415,134 77 132
Drew Bledsoe 9051,531 59.110,151 55 43
Tyrod Taylor 7741,236 62.68,857 51 16
Doug Flutie 5981,063 56.37,582 47 30
Dennis Shaw 485916 52.96,286 35 67
J. P. Losman 558941 59.36,211 33 34

Notes

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  1. ^ Due to an injury involving Damar Hamlin, the Bills Week 17 game against the Cincinnati Bengals was canceled.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Buffalo Bills Career Passing Leaders". Retrieved October 16, 2019.