Who’s the best quarterback in Buffalo Bills history? If you ask any member of Bills Mafia, they’ll tell you it’s either Jim Kelly or Josh Allen and the conversation ends there.
This question has popped in my head quite a bit after the emergence of Josh Allen, so I finally decided to sit down and settle the debate. The top four quarterbacks weren’t surprising, but once you get past that, it’s apparent that the Bills haven’t had a rich quarterback group in their history.
After a few hours of research, I analyzed fifty Bills quarterbacks and assigned them points based on their Bills passer stats rankings, Championship appearances, All-Pro and MVP nominations and league season leading statistics.
Each category is weighted based on importance:
First-Team All-Pro 20 points
League MVP 20 points
2-5th Place MVP Voting 15 points
Super Bowl Wins 10 points
Super Bowl Appearances 7 points
Pro Bowls 5 points
Seasons Leading Team to Playoffs 5 points
Playoff Wins 5 points
AFL Championships 5 points
AFL Champ. Appearances 3.5 points
Seasons Leading Pass Yards 5 points
Seasons Leading Pass TD’s 5 points
Seasons Leading Int’s -5 points
Please note that this list is an accumulation of a quarterback’s achievements and statistics over their career—a quarterback with a long career with a large number of accolades is more likely to make the list over a quarterback with multiple accolades and a shorter career.
Also note that in 64 years, the Bills have had a small handful of good quarterbacks and then a giant heaping pile of mediocrity. The bottom half of this list will reflect that.
1. Jim Kelly 236 points
As it stands today, Jim Kelly is the greatest of all Bills quarterbacks. His resume is just more impressive than that of Josh Allen right now. Kelly was first-team All-Pro in 1991, went to five Pro Bowls, took the Bills to the playoffs eight times, winning nine playoff games and went to four consecutive Super Bowls. Oh yeah, he’s also the Bills leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns.
2. Josh Allen 171 points
We all know Josh Allen is special. In only six seasons, he’s taken the Bills to the playoffs five times, winning five playoff games. He’s also been top-5 in MVP voting three different seasons, been selected to the Pro Bowl twice, is top-3 in most significant Bills passing marks and is EIGHTH PLACE ON THE ALL-TIME BILLS RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS LIST!
3. Jack Kemp 168 points
It’s tough comparing AFL players to NFL players. The league was much different in the 1960’s. The AFL only had nine teams and winning an AFL championship meant you won only one playoff game—there wasn’t the gauntlet of playoff wins you had to undertake like in today’s NFL.
Nevertheless, Jack Kemp brought home two AFL Championships in only six seasons with the Bills. He also won AFL Player of the Year and was selected to five Pro Bowls.
In a limited amount of time and with the old AFL passing rules, Jack Kemp put up great numbers for the Bills and currently is still top-10 in many all-time Bills passing marks.
4. Joe Ferguson 67 points
Joe Ferguson is on this list because he was the primary starter for the Bills in twelve seasons and put up solid passing numbers for the time.
The longest tenured quarterback in Bills history, Ferguson led the Bills to the playoffs only three times—winning one game.
5. Tyrod Taylor 52 points
Although he wasn’t the main reason the Bills breaking the drought in 2017, the Bills valued Tyrod Taylor’s ability to manage a football game. He brought the team modest success in his three seasons in Buffalo and was the stepping stool to Josh Allen
Tyrod went to a Pro Bowl in 2015 and went 22-20 as a starter.
6. Doug Flutie 49 points
Say what you will about Doug Flutie—the guy was fun to watch and came off the bench in 1998 to lead the Bills to the playoffs and led them back in 1999.
1998 also so Flutie get Pro Bowl honors after going 7-3 in ten starts for the Bills
7. Drew Bledsoe 43 points
Drew Bledsoe came out swinging in his first year with the Bills in 2002. He set single season marks for passing yards and touchdowns that season and went to a Pro Bowl.
Unfortunately, Bledsoe couldn’t get the Bills to the playoffs in his three-season tenure in Buffalo and after 2002, his numbers were pedestrian at best.
8. Ryan Fitzpatrick 36 points
Ryan Fitzpatrick is on this list because he put up big passing numbers in his time in Buffalo.
Although he was fun to watch, Fitzpatrick couldn’t take care of the football–leading the league in interceptions in 2011.
He also had a career record of 20-33 for the Bills and didn’t sniff the playoffs once in four seasons in Buffalo.
9. JP Losman 30 points
In his five seasons with the Bills, JP Losman went 10-23. The fact that he and some of the other quarterbacks are on this list is a testament to the poor quarterback play in the Bills history.
10. Rob Johnson 27 points
We’d all like to forget about Rob Johnson’s time in Buffalo. However, his passing yardage in four seasons with the Bills were enough to sneak him onto this list.
