Buffalo Bills Trivia
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This Buffalo Bills trivia quiz has 188 free questions with answers and runs from Ralph Wilson's 1959 telegram to Lamar Hunt through the new Highmark Stadium that opened in 2026. It covers the AFL championships with Jack Kemp and Cookie Gilchrist, O.J. Simpson's 2,003-yard season behind the Electric Company, and the Marv Levy era: Jim Kelly's K-Gun, Thurman Thomas, Bruce Smith, Andre Reed, four straight AFC titles and four straight Super Bowl losses, starting with Scott Norwood's 47-yarder that went wide right. Then come the modern chapters - Frank Reich's 32-point Comeback, the Music City Miracle, the 17-year playoff drought that Sean McDermott ended, Josh Allen from a Firebaugh cotton farm to NFL MVP, the 13-seconds heartbreak in Kansas City, Damar Hamlin's recovery, the Pegulas, Bills Mafia and its tables. Roughly a third of the questions are easy warm-ups for casual fans; the rest are for people who still cannot talk about the Home Run Throwback. Every answer has been checked against Wikipedia and the primary sources it cites, and each explanation adds one more thing worth knowing.
30 of 188 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01The Bills began play in 1960 as a charter member of which upstart rival to the NFL?
The AFL
The Bills were a charter member of the American Football League (AFL) in 1960 and joined the NFL in the 1970 merger; the name honored an earlier AAFC Buffalo Bills team named for Buffalo Bill Cody.
Q 02The Bills are the only NFL team that plays its home games in which state?
New York
The Giants and Jets play in New Jersey; the Bills draw much of their fanbase from western New York and southern Ontario.
Q 03In which two consecutive years did the Bills win the AFL Championship?
1964 and 1965
The Bills won the AFL Championship in 1964 and 1965 under coach Lou Saban, with quarterback Jack Kemp, later a congressman, at the helm; the 1965 title came via a 23-0 shutout.
Q 04In 1959, Ralph Wilson sent Lamar Hunt a telegram reading what?
'Count me in with Buffalo'
Wilson's telegram read 'Count me in with Buffalo'; Miami had been his first choice, but local officials were wary after the AAFC's Miami Seahawks lasted only the 1946 season.
Q 05Ralph Wilson was a minority owner of which NFL team when he decided to join the AFL?
Detroit Lions
He was one of only three AFL owners on solid financial footing and lent the struggling Raiders $400,000.
Q 06Which ex-CFL running back did the Bills 'fire' mid-game in the 1960s before Jack Kemp brokered a reconciliation?
Cookie Gilchrist
Cookie Gilchrist, a former CFL star, refused to re-enter a 1964 game against the Boston Patriots; coach Lou Saban cut him, and Jack Kemp persuaded Saban to take him back.
Q 07How many rushing yards did O.J. Simpson finish with in his record 1973 season?
2,003
Simpson ran for 2,003 yards in 1973, the first 2,000-yard season in NFL history, done in just 14 games; he averaged 143 yards per game.
Q 08O.J. Simpson won the Heisman Trophy in 1968 playing for which college?
USC
Simpson starred for the USC Trojans in 1967 and 1968, winning the 1968 Heisman Trophy; the Bills then drafted him first overall in 1969, and he was first-team All-Pro five straight years (1972-76).
Q 09How many straight Super Bowls did the Bills lose from the 1990 through 1993 seasons?
Four
The Bills lost four straight Super Bowls, XXV through XXVIII, after winning four consecutive AFC championships from the 1990 through 1993 seasons; Scott Norwood's wide-right miss ended the first.
Q 10How long was Scott Norwood's missed field goal at the end of Super Bowl XXV?
47 yards
ABC's Al Michaels called it 'wide right'; the Giants won 20-19, still the only Super Bowl decided by a single point.
Q 11Who was named MVP of Super Bowl XXV for the Giants against the Bills?
Ottis Anderson
Ottis Anderson carried 21 times for 102 yards and a touchdown as the Giants held the ball for over 40 minutes; neither team committed a turnover, a Super Bowl first.
Q 12Which jersey number did the Bills retire in honor of Jim Kelly?
12
Jim Kelly wore No. 12 throughout his Bills career, 1986 to 1996; the team retired the number in 2001.
Q 13What deficit did the Bills overcome to beat the Oilers 41-38 in 'The Comeback' of January 1993?
35-3
Buffalo trailed 35-3 early in the third quarter, then scored 35 unanswered points and won 41-38 in overtime on a Steve Christie field goal, a 32-point rally.
Q 21Andre Reed, a fourth-round pick in 1985, played college football at which small Pennsylvania school?
Kutztown
Reed played at Kutztown State, a Division II school in Pennsylvania; he caught 941 passes in 15 Bills seasons and entered the Hall of Fame in 2014.
Q 22Steve Tasker earned seven Pro Bowl selections primarily in what role?
Special teams
Tasker was a special-teams gunner, covering kicks and punts, and made the Pro Bowl seven times in that role; he later became a CBS Sports broadcaster.
Q 23In the 2000 'Music City Miracle', who threw the lateral and who ran it 75 yards for the Titans' touchdown?
Frank Wycheck to Kevin Dyson
Q 14Which backup quarterback led The Comeback after Jim Kelly was hurt?
Frank Reich
Frank Reich replaced the injured Jim Kelly and threw four touchdown passes in the second half, including three to Andre Reed, to rally Buffalo past Houston 41-38; he later coached the Colts.
Q 15Jim Kelly was drafted by the Bills in 1983 but instead spent two seasons with which USFL team?
Houston Gamblers
Kelly signed with the USFL's Houston Gamblers, throwing 83 touchdown passes in the run-and-shoot over 1984 and 1985; he joined Buffalo in August 1986 after the USFL collapsed.
Q 16Jim Kelly was one of how many quarterbacks taken in the first round of the famous 1983 draft?
Six
Six quarterbacks went in the 1983 first round: John Elway, Todd Blackledge, Jim Kelly (14th overall), Tony Eason, Ken O'Brien, and Dan Marino; Kelly, Elway, and Marino all reached the Hall of Fame.
Q 17Before Buffalo, Marv Levy won two Grey Cups as head coach of which CFL team?
Montreal Alouettes
Levy coached the Montreal Alouettes from 1973 to 1977, winning Grey Cups in 1974 and 1977; he took the Bills job midway through the 1986 season and stayed through 1997.
Q 18Thurman Thomas won the NFL MVP award in which year?
1991
Thomas was the NFL's MVP in 1991 after leading the league with 2,038 yards from scrimmage, the third of four straight seasons he topped that category.
Q 19Where did Thurman Thomas normally leave the helmet he could not find at the start of Super Bowl XXVI?
On the 34-yard line
Thomas habitually left his helmet on the 34-yard line, matching his jersey number; it was moved for Harry Connick Jr.'s pregame stage, and he missed the game's first two plays.
Q 20Bruce Smith retired as the NFL's all-time leader in sacks with how many?
200
Smith finished with 200 career sacks, 171 with Buffalo and 29 with Washington, when he retired after the 2003 season; sacks became an official statistic in 1982.
Frank Wycheck took Lorenzo Neal's handoff and threw across the field to Kevin Dyson, who ran 75 yards for the touchdown moments after Buffalo's go-ahead field goal; the Titans won 22-16.
Q 24Which quarterback did Wade Phillips controversially start over Doug Flutie in the Music City Miracle game?
Rob Johnson
Phillips benched Doug Flutie, 10-5 as the 1999 starter, for Rob Johnson in the wild-card game at Tennessee after Johnson had won the meaningless regular-season finale.
Q 25How many straight seasons did the Bills' playoff drought last before it ended in 2017?
17
Buffalo missed the postseason 17 straight seasons, 2000 through 2016, then the longest active drought in the four major North American leagues, until Sean McDermott's first team ended it in 2017.
Q 26Sean McDermott came to Buffalo in 2017 after six seasons as defensive coordinator of which team?
Carolina Panthers
McDermott ran the Carolina Panthers' defense from 2011 to 2016 under Ron Rivera, including the Super Bowl 50 season, before the Bills hired him in January 2017.
Q 27Where did Josh Allen play college football before the Bills drafted him seventh overall in 2018?
Wyoming
Allen started for Wyoming in 2016 and 2017, throwing 44 touchdown passes over those two seasons after transferring from a California junior college; the Bills traded up to take him seventh in 2018.
Q 28In which season was Josh Allen named NFL Most Valuable Player?
2024
Allen won the 2024 AP MVP, edging Lamar Jackson 27 first-place votes to 23, after throwing 28 touchdown passes against six interceptions and rushing for 12 more scores.
Q 29What was the final score of the '13 seconds' playoff loss to Kansas City after the 2021 season?
42-36
Kansas City won 42-36 in overtime after Patrick Mahomes moved the Chiefs 44 yards in the final 13 seconds to set up a tying field goal; Buffalo never touched the ball in overtime, prompting a playoff rule change.
Q 30Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest during a January 2023 Monday Night game against whom?
Cincinnati Bengals
Hamlin collapsed after tackling the Bengals' Tee Higgins in Cincinnati on January 2, 2023; medics restored his heartbeat on the field, the game was cancelled, and he returned to play in 2023.