The 10 Best Quarterbacks in Buffalo Bills History

The Buffalo Bills have had many legendary players in their franchise history, but the quarterback position has been a very unusual area for them. There have been a handful of stars, one of whom was inducted into the Hall of Fame, but the rest of the results have been rough.

Buffalo’s early years were marked by abysmal quarterback performances, as any season where the Bills quarterbacks threw more touchdown passes than interceptions was considered a resounding success. Josh Allen ended a decade of largely mediocre play.

The top 10 Bills quarterbacks in franchise history include players who played at an MVP level, underrated game managers who led the team to the playoffs and veterans who managed to put together solid seasons in Buffalo.

These quarterbacks were selected based on a combination of:

10. Rob Johnson

Choosing between a quarterback named “Robo-Sack” and a quarterback named “Captain Checkdown” in Trent Edwards was a tough one, but Johnson won. After just one good game as a backup with the Jaguars, Buffalo paid him an astronomical sum to be their quarterback of the future.

Any moments of success he may have had were immediately undone by Johnson’s inevitable injury. Doug Flutie eventually overtook him, and Johnson became a role model for general managers around the league. Not every backup who shows potential in limited action can become a starter, as Johnson proved.

9. JP Losman

Losman is one of many highly anticipated draft picks who failed to become a franchise quarterback. The Tulane draftee could throw a ball through a brick wall, but he struggled to hit a brick wall when he was in the pocket. His pocket-happy feet were the biggest issue that led to his downfall.

Losman went 10-23 in five seasons as a starter in Buffalo. While Dick Jauron’s offense was considered somewhat restrictive for a quarterback, Losman was able to rely on quality receivers like Eric Moulds and Lee Evans to throw the passes. Losman did not find success after leaving Buffalo, though he still coaches.

8. Ryan Fitzpatrick

Fitzpatrick is everyone’s favorite traveling companion, as more than a half-dozen teams have taken a ride on the Harvard man’s roller coaster. Fitzpatrick’s longest stretch of success and stability came in Buffalo, as that’s where he showed everyone he could be a top-tier NFL quarterback.

Fitzpatrick threw for 3,000 yards and 23 touchdowns in three straight seasons. The downside, as is often the case with Fitzpatrick, was turnovers. He was intercepted 64 times in four seasons with the Bills and never recorded a winning season as a starter.

7. Drew Bledsoe

Bledsoe may be the best quarterback in NFL history, but he has no chance of making the Hall of Fame. His cannon arm served him well in Buffalo.

After being fired by the Bills after the Patriots decided to part ways with Tom Brady, Buffalo got three quality seasons out of him. A Pro Bowl player in 2002 and a 23-25 ​​record, Bledsoe threw for over 10,000 yards and 55 touchdowns during his time with the Bills.

The Bills narrowly missed out on getting Bledsoe in his prime, but he provided them with a level of skill at quarterback that Buffalo hadn’t seen since the days of Jim Kelly.

6. Tyrod Taylor

Taylor’s arrival as the starting quarterback in Buffalo came as a shock to many, as the former sixth-round pick of the Ravens was never envisioned as a starting quarterback. By beating out Matt Cassel for the starting job, Taylor embarked on a perpetually underrated period as the Bills’ quarterback.

Taylor, who was infamously replaced by Nathan Peterman in one of the dumbest moves in recent Bills history, threw 51 touchdowns against just 16 interceptions while being an effective playmaker on the move.

Taylor never lost the ball, and that mindset helped him go 22-20 in starts despite having one of the worst receiving corps in the league at the time.

5. Doug Flutie

The 5’10” and 180 lbs college football legend returned to the NFL in his late 30s after a successful career in Canada. Not only did Flutie become a Pro Bowl quarterback, he was also one of the league’s star attractions after playing well enough to help the Bills reach the playoffs.

Flutie went 21-9 as a starter in Buffalo, throwing 47 touchdowns and captivating the nation. However, when Ralph Wilson ordered Wade Phillips to play Rob Johnson in the playoffs, the Flutie era came to an unceremonious end. When he was cooking, Flutie was the lifeblood of the Bills’ offense.

4. Jack Kemp

Kemp may be the least known seven-time Pro Bowler (or even AFL All-Star) in NFL history. Kemp, acquired from the Chargers just before their breakthrough under John Hadl, was the 1965 AFL Player of the Year and the starting quarterback for the AFL champion Bills under Lou Saban.

Kemp, who later became a politician and played a major role in the first Bush administration, threw for more than 15,000 yards in a conservative offense, scoring 77 touchdowns and winning 43 games as a starter in Buffalo. Perhaps San Diego regrets letting Kemp go.

3. Joe Ferguson

Ferguson began his career in 1973 and played well into the 1990s thanks to his incredible tenacity. His best years, 12 of them in fact, came with the Bills. Outside of Kemp, Buffalo was a black hole in terms of quarterbacks before Ferguson, who gave them a decade of relative stability.

Although O.J. Simpson in the backfield was the main driving force behind this offense, Ferguson led the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns on multiple occasions. Ferguson finished his stint in Buffalo with just under 28,000 passing yards and 181 of his 196 career passing touchdowns.

2. Josh Allen

Allen is on pace to break all of the Bills’ passing records once this is all said and done, but he currently sits second to the expected No. 1 pick. Allen has gone from a dart thrower from Wyoming to one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in NFL history.

Allen is slowly climbing the all-time rushing yards and rushing TDs charts by a quarterback, while consistently finishing in the top five in MVP voting thanks to having the strongest arm in the game. He and he alone is the reason the Bills remain championship contenders every year.

Time will tell if Allen can become the first Bills quarterback to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.

1. Jim Kelly

There will always be some jerks who try to devalue Kelly’s career due to his relatively short NFL career for an elite quarterback and his lack of championships. These haters fail to appreciate what Kelly was like in his prime, as his “K-Gun” offense was nearly unstoppable when everyone was on the same page.

Kelly is a five-time Pro Bowler and has narrowly missed out on Offensive Player of the Year honors a few times. His 35,467 career passing yards and 237 career touchdowns could eventually be surpassed by Allen, but the No. 17 pick still has a long way to go.

Kelly led the AFC for five years. Playing some of the greatest teams of all time in Super Bowls shouldn’t ruin his legacy.