Have the Bills ever won the Super Bowl? Revisiting Buffalo’s disappointing past

The Buffalo Bills have a rich history, and they are now a perennial contender with Josh Allen under center.

But has Buffalo ever won a Super Bowl in its entire franchise history?

Have the Buffalo Bills won a Super Bowl before?

The Bills were founded in 1960, which means they have had 64 seasons in the NFL. Since then, they have reached the playoffs 39 times with a 20-21 record. In those playoff runs, they’ve made four Super Bowl appearances, falling flat in all four.

Despite no Super Bowl wins, the Bills have two AFL Championship wins from 1964 and 1965. They joined the NFL as part of the NFL-AFL merger in 1970.

All four of the Bills’ Super Bowl appearances came in a row from 1990-1993. At the time, they were coached by Marv Levy and led by legendary quarterback Jim Kelly. In those four seasons, the Bills went a combined 49-15 and won the AFC East three times.

The Bills’ first Super Bowl loss came in 1990 when they faced the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXV, and it was arguably the most devastating of the bunch. They lost 20-19 when kicker Scott Norwood missed a potential game-winning 47-yard field goal wide right.

The second loss came in Super Bowl XXVI when they faced the then Washington Redskins. The Bills ended up losing that game 37-24. Washington took an early 24-0 lead and never let up, despite the Bills scoring some points late in the fourth quarter. Kelly threw four interceptions in this outing.

The third loss came against the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXVII and was another blowout. The Cowboys dominated the Bills 52-17 and scored most of their points in the second half. The Bills took the lead early in the fourth quarter, but would never lead the game again. Kelly was hurt early in the game after throwing two interceptions.

The fourth and final loss was in Super Bowl XXVIII again against the Cowboys. Similar to the previous year, the Cowboys dominated again, winning 30-13. The difference this time was the Bills led early with a 13-6 halftime lead. Despite the lead, the Bills did not score in the second half.

In recent times, however, the bills have been up and down. After missing the playoffs for 17 straight seasons, the Bills have made the playoffs for six straight years (including five straight division titles). But the furthest they’ve gone was the 2020 AFC Championship Game when they fell to the Kansas City Chiefs.

After three straight losses in the divisional round of the playoffs, the Bills defeated Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens to advance to the AFC Championship Game, where they will face the Chiefs in a rematch of their epic 2020 showdown.