USA TODAY Sports
There have been numerous exceptional players to dawn a Bills uniform in the franchise’s 65 years in Buffalo.
From their inaugural AFL days, to the Electric Company of the 1970’s, to the Super Bowl years, all the way to the Josh Allen era; we all have our favorite Bills players that we remember excelling on the gridiron.
There are, however, a select few all-time Bills players that achieved legendary NFL status while playing with the Bills by displaying exemplary single-season efforts.
Here are the all-time greatest single seasons by a Bills player:
1. OJ Simpson, 1975
In 1975, OJ Simpson put together one of the most complete seasons for a running back ever. On top of his league-leading 1,817 rushing yards (129.8 per game) and 16 rushing touchdowns, Simpson also had 426 receiving yards and 7 receiving touchdowns.
His 2,243 combined scrimmage yards were not only a career high for the Hall of Famer but topped the league by 482 yards that year.
Simpson’s 1973 season will get all the glory because of him being the first running back to reach 2,000 rushing yards. However, Simpson’s 1975 season was his most complete and one of the top performances in league history.
Overshadowed by his 2000 rushing yard season in 1973, OJ Simpson’s 1975 MVP season was his most complete and one of the greatest individual single-seasons in NFL history.
— Put Steve Tasker in the Hall of Fame (@HOFSteveTasker) May 2, 2025
In only 14 games, The Juice had 2243 yards from scrimmage (160.2 per game) and 23 touchdowns.#BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/H02RGEWTmZ
2. Bruce Smith, 1990
Bruce Smith’s 1990 campaign was the most dominant ever for a Buffalo Bills defensive player.
The Pro Football Hall of Famer recorded a Bills-record 19 sacks in the regular season and would go on to sack Giants quarterback Jeff Hostetler in the endzone in the first half of Super Bowl XXV.
Smith would go on to receive the following honors in 1990: First-Team All-Pro, Defensive Player of the Year, Pro Bowl, and was fourth in the MVP race.
It's a Bills #RecordsMonday and in 1990, Bruce Smith set the team record for with 19 sacks
— BillsVHS📼 (@BillsVhs) April 18, 2022
This was the second of four sacks he had on the day at the RCA Dome
He would finish his career with an #NFLRecord 200 sacks#GoBills | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/NA91yEt9Rq
3. Josh Allen, 2024
Although Josh Allen had an average year by his statistical standards, it was his intangibles that made him he 2024 MVP.
After losing main receiving weapons Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis in the offseason, Allen embraced the “Everybody Eats” offensive approach during the 2024 season, throwing touchdown passes to 13 different receivers, throwing a career-low six interceptions, and creating timely plays to lead his team to their fifth-consecutive AFC East title and to his second AFC Championship game.
Allen was only the third Bills player to receive MVP honors and would finish second in All-Pro voting.
Josh Allen.
— Dan Fetes (@danfetes) February 7, 2025
The 2024 NFL MVP.#BillsMafia @BuffaloPlus pic.twitter.com/u6Jj2WPPmX
4. Thurman Thomas, 1991
Thurman Thomas was the best offensive player on the 1990’s Bills teams and he reached his pinnacle in 1991.
In only 15 games, Thomas accumulated 2,038 yards from scrimmage, leading the league and setting his personal best for yards from scrimmage per game with 135.9.
Thomas would also lead the league in yards per rush (4.9) and set his own personal rush yards per game mark with 93.8.
Thurman Thomas would be rewarded at the end of the regular season with MVP, First-Team All-Pro and Offensive Player of the Year honors.
#OTD in 1991 Thurman Thomas becomes the first Buffalo Bill to go over 100 rushing and receiving in the same game as the Bills drop the Miami Dolphins 35-31 pic.twitter.com/C98l9fIoRz
— ThisDateInBuffaloSportsHistory (@BuffSportsHstry) September 1, 2024
5. Josh Allen, 2020
The Buffalo Bills as we know them today all started with the transformation of Josh Allen in 2020.
Statistically, 2020 has been Allen’s best season, setting franchise all-time marks in passing yards, passing touchdowns and quarterback rating.
Josh Allen would lead the Bills to the AFC Championship in 2020, their first in 27 years, and finish second in MVP voting, second in All-Pro voting, and fourth in Offensive Player of the Year voting.
Josh Allen year over year progression 📈
— Bills QB Watch (@BillsQBwatch) July 1, 2021
INT%
2018: 3.8%
2019: 2.0%
2020: 1.7%
Pass yards
2018: 2074
2019: 3089
2020: 4544
Pass rtg
2018: 67.9
2019: 85.3
2020: 107.2
TD%
2018: 3.1%
2019: 4.3%
2020: 6.5%
AY/A
2018: 5.4
2019: 6.7
2020: 8.5
Pass TDs
2018: 10
2019: 20
2020: 37 pic.twitter.com/0xgeDfWFm0
6. OJ Simpson, 1973
The sports world was focused on OJ Simpson and the Buffalo Bills late in the 1973 season as Simpson sought to become the first player in NFL history with 2,000 rushing yards in a single season.
The offense ran through “The Juice” in 1973 as Simpson accounted for nearly 51% of his teams’ offensive yards and scored 12 of the Bills’ 24 total touchdowns.
Simpson would be awarded with his only MVP for the 1973 season along with First-Team All-Pro and Offensive Player of the Year honors.
More footage from the game
— BillsVHS📼 (@BillsVhs) November 30, 2021
The 1973 Bills season was really about one player: OJ Simpson
Yes, he would break 2,000 yards the next week at Shea pic.twitter.com/fEMHWU9W1R
7. Bruce Smith, 1996
In his twelfth year in the NFL, Bruce Smith had perhaps his second-best season.
With 13.5 sacks, 90 tackles and 5 forced fumbles, no other defensive player was more valuable to his team than Smith was to his in 1996.
Bruce Smith would receive his seventh First-Team All-Pro nod and his second Defensive Player of the Year award.
8. Stefon Diggs, 2020
One of the most important moves that has led to the Bills’ recent success was trading for Stefon Diggs before the 2020 season.
The Allen to Diggs connection catapulted the career of both players, and in 2020 they springboarded the Buffalo Bills to an elite level.
Diggs’s first year with the Bills was his most productive, leading the NFL in receptions and receiving yards and setting single-season Bills records in both as well.
Diggs would go on to receive his first and only First-Team All-Pro nod in 2020 along with a Pro Bowl.
Stefon Diggs COOKED against the Steelers in 2020🔥
— Buffalo Sports Talk (@BUFSportsTalk) January 10, 2024
10 Catches.
130 Yards.
1 Touchdown. #BillsMafia | #NFL pic.twitter.com/RF76so6mYc
9. Jim Kelly, 1991
Jim Kelly’s 1991 season was the best season for a quarterback statistically for the Buffalo Bills from the team’s inception in 1960 through 2002.
In only 15 games, Kelly would lead the league with 33 touchdown passes and be ranked top-four in the NFL in passing yards (3844), QB Rating (97.6), and completion percentage (64.1%).
In perhaps their best season during the Bills early-’90s Super Bowl run, Jim Kelly would be awarded with First-Team All-Pro honors in 1991, finish second in MVP voting and second in Offensive Player of the Year voting.
October 21, 1991
— Kevin Gallagher (@KevG163) October 21, 2024
Jim Kelly throws for a then-career high 392 yards and fires five touchdown strikes as the #Bills' K-Gun offense shreds the Bengals on Monday night in Orchard Park, 35-16.
Wideout James Lofton snares 8 passes for a career-high 220 yards and two scores in the win pic.twitter.com/eQMtkb1qBe
10. Tom Sestak, 1964
Tom Sestak recorded 15.5 sacks in 14 regular season games in 1964, leading a defense that was number one in the AFL in points and yardage allowed.
Although he isn’t a “household name” Bills player, the Bills Wall of Famer, Sestak, was a dominate force behind the team’s AFL Championships in 1964 and 1965.
It's a #WaybackWednesday and we're looking at a pick-six from Bills Wall of Famer Tom Sestak
— BillsVHS📼 (@BillsVhs) May 11, 2022
This clip is of Sestak returning the Len Dawson screen pass for a TD at the Rockpile in 1964#GoBills | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/XcaNTCYDtt
About The Author
Matt Homan
Buffalo Bills history geek living in Kansas City area. Operator of @HOFSteveTasker on Twitter.
