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The Bills were a founding member of the American
Football League in 1960. In the AFL, a predominantly offensive
league, the Buffalo Bills were a great defensive team. With
a linebacking corps of Harry Jacobs, Mike Stratton, and John
Tracey; and defensive line stalwarts like Tom Day, Tom Sestak,
Jim Dunaway, and Ron McDole.
New coach Gregg Williams took over for the 2001 season, which
proved to be the worst in recent memory for the Bills. Rob
Johnson went down in mid-season with an injury and Alex Van
Pelt took over. Buffalo finished 3-13. After the season they
traded for quarterback Drew Bledsoe, deemed expendable by
the Patriots after Tom Brady led them to a Super Bowl victory.
Bledsoe
revived the Bills for the 2002 season, leading them to an
8-8 record. However in a tough division with all other teams
finishing 9-7, they were still in last place. Another Patriot
castoff, safety Lawyer Milloy, joined the Bills days before
the 2003 season began and gave the team a boost on defense.
After beating eventual champions New England 31-0 in the first
game, the Bills stumbled through the rest of the season, finishing
6-10. Gregg Williams was fired as head coach after the 2003
season and replaced with Mike Mularkey. The Bills also drafted
another quarterback, J.P. Losman, to be used if Bledsoe continued
to stumble in 2004.
And
indeed, Bledsoe did continue to stumble in 2004. The Bills
started the 2004 season 0-4, with Bledsoe and his offense
struggling, averaging only 13 points per game. The team finally
managed to turn things around with a victory at home against
the similarly struggling Miami Dolphins. This, along with
the emergence of Willis McGahee taking over the starting running
back role from the injured Travis Henry, sparked the Bills
to go 7-2 in their next nine games. This string of victories
allowed the Bills to be in the hunt for a final AFC wildcard
playoff spot. Though they would eventually lose to the Pittsburgh
Steelers in the last game of the season, declining them a
playoff spot, the late season surge gave the team a positive
direction to approach 2005.
Founded: 1960 (charter member of the American
Football League; joined NFL in 1970 merger)
Home stadium: 1960 - 1972: War Memorial Stadium;
1973 - Present: Ralph Wilson Stadium (formerly Rich Stadium)
Uniform colors: 1960 - 1961: Light blue and
white; 1962 - Present: Red, white and blue
Helmet design: 1960 - 1961 : Silver with
blue side numerals; 1962 - 1964 White with red center stripe
and red standing bison; 1965 - 1973 : White with red and blue
center stripes and red standing bison; 1975 - 1983: White
with red and blue center stripes and blue charging bison with
a red slanting stripe streaming from its horn; 1984 - Present:
Red with blue center stripes and blue charging bison as before.
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Arizona
Cardinals 
