The 2012 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 43rd season in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

, the 53rd overall and the third under head coach

Chan Gailey Thomas Chandler Gailey Jr. (born January 5, 1952) is a former American football coach. Most recently in 2020, he was the offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). Gailey has previously served as the head ...

. The team had hoped to make the playoffs for the first time since

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

, but failed and continue to own the NFL's longest playoff drought. 2012 was the final year on the Bills' current lease with

Ralph Wilson Stadium Highmark Stadium is a stadium in Orchard Park, New York, in the Southtowns of the Buffalo metropolitan area. The stadium opened in 1973 as Rich Stadium and is the home venue of the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). It was kn ...

as well as the final year on the current

Bills Toronto Series The Bills Toronto Series was a series of National Football League (NFL) games featuring the Buffalo Bills played at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The original series began in the 2008 season and ran through 2012. The Bills were orig ...

agreement. The league had approved an additional five-year extension of the Toronto series, extending through 2017, on the condition that the Bills and

Rogers Communications Rogers Communications Inc. is a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian communications and media company operating primarily in the fields of mobile phone operator, wireless communications, cable television, telephony and Internet access, Intern ...

come to an agreement extending the series, a condition that both sides have indicated willingness to do. The Bills and the league are demanding significant and expensive renovations to Ralph Wilson Stadium as a condition of renewing the stadium lease. ''

The Buffalo News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It recently sold its headquarters to Uniland Development Corp. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by W ...

'' reported renovations could top 200 million dollars. The Bills and Erie County (the owners of Ralph Wilson Stadium) missed the deadline for a long-term agreement in September 2012. However, on December 21, the Bills agreed with Erie County to a 10-year lease on

, extending it through for at least another 7 years.

Personnel changes

On January 2, 2012, one day after the conclusion of the season, George Edwards was fired from his position as defensive coordinator. Edwards had been the defensive coordinator for the

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

and

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

seasons. Former NFL and college head coach

Dave Wannstedt David Wannstedt (born May 21, 1952) is a former American football coach. He has been the head coach of the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He was also the head coach of the University of Pittsburgh footbal ...

was promoted to defensive coordinator. (Bills head coach

had been the offensive coordinator under Wannstedt in 2000 and 2001, when Wannstedt was

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

's head coach.)

Roster changes

Buffalo Bills defensive linemen at 2012 training camp

In his annual season-ending press conference, general manager

Buddy Nix Charles Kenneth "Buddy" Nix (born December 6, 1939) is a former American football coach and executive. He was the general manager of the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL) from 2009 to 2013. Nix was a scout for the Bills from 199 ...

laid out his priorities for the offseason. Nix stated that the team was eager to re-sign wide receiver

Stevie Johnson Steven John Johnson Jr. (born July 22, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). Johnson was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Dra ...

kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (sports magazine), in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the word used i ...

Rian Lindell Rian David Lindell (born January 20, 1977) is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League for the Seattle Seahawks, Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played college football at Washington State. Early years ...

and offensive tackle

Demetress Bell Demetress Carte Bell (born May 3, 1984), formerly known as Demetrius Bell, is a former American football offensive tackle. After playing college football for Northwestern State, he was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the seventh round of the 2008 ...

. Johnson and Lindell were successfully re-signed; Bell was signed by

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. He also stated that he wanted to re-sign

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

Fred Jackson and have him retire as a Bill. Jackson whose contract ran through the end of the 2012 season was having a career season before a mid season 2011 injury. Johnson renewed his contract with the Bills for five years and $36.2 million on March 5, 2012. On March 15, 2012, the Bills made the biggest free agent acquisition in team history, signing all-pro defensive end

Mario Williams Mario Jerrel Williams (born January 31, 1985) is a former American football defensive end. He played college football for North Carolina State University, and was selected first overall by the Houston Texans in the 2006 NFL Draft. A four-time ...

to a contract worth $100 million over six years, with $50 million guaranteed, the largest contract for a defensive player in NFL history. The recruiting of Williams took place over three days, starting with general manager Buddy Nix and defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt escorting Williams to Buffalo in a private jet. Bills

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

quarterback

Jim Kelly James Edward Kelly (born February 14, 1960) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Buffalo Bills. He also spent two seasons with the Houston Gamblers of the United State ...

was also part of the recruiting. On March 21, 2012 Mark Anderson, who had 12.5 sacks with the Patriots over the 2011 regular season and playoffs, signed a four-year deal with Buffalo. With announced plans to switch to the

4–3 defense In American football, a 4–3 defense is a defensive alignment consisting of four down linemen and three linebackers. It is called a "base defense" because it is the default defensive alignment used on "base downs" (1st and 2nd downs). However, ...

the Bills could field Mario Williams at left end and Anderson on the opposite side in passing situations. Kyle Williams and

Marcell Dareus Marcell Dareus (born March 13, 1990) is an American football defensive tackle who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills third overall in the 2011 NFL Draft. Dareus has also played for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He played college fo ...

will anchor the middle of the defensive line. On May 11, 2012 the Bills made yet another high-profile signing by signing QB

Vince Young Vincent Paul Young Jr. (born May 18, 1983) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons. Young was drafted by the Tennessee Titans as the third overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, and ...

to a one-year contract to back up Ryan Fitzpatrick. Young was the 3rd overall pick in the

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with ad ...

. He was nonetheless released in the middle of the preseason, with Gailey citing inconsistency as the reason, and replaced by

Tarvaris Jackson Tarvaris D'Andre Jackson (April 21, 1983 – April 12, 2020) was an American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). Jackson played college football for both Alabama State and Arkansas. He played professionally for the ...

, whom the Bills acquired in a trade with the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

. Because Jackson was not ready for the start of the regular season, the Bills will go with four quarterbacks on its roster for the first several weeks of the season.

Kickoff specialist A kickoff specialist is a special teams position in gridiron football. They are responsible for kicking the ball in the kickoff. These players tend to have a strong leg, often capable of making touchbacks, and capable of keeping a ball in the boun ...

John Potter, a rookie, made the 53-man roster. He will specialize in kickoffs to ease pressure on the team's aging kickers, placekicker

and punter

Brian Moorman Brian Donald Moorman (born February 5, 1976) is an American former football punter in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Pittsburg State University, and was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free age ...

, who handled the duties in the past. (Moorman would be released from the roster three weeks into the regular season.)

2012 Draft

Notes : The team acquired an additional fourth-round selection (#124 overall) in a trade that sent wide receiver Lee Evans to the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

. : The team acquired an additional fifth-round selection (#147 overall) as part of a trade that sent

Marshawn Lynch Marshawn Terrell Lynch (born April 22, 1986) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. Nicknamed "Beast Mode", he spent the majority of his career with the Seattle Seahawks. Lync ...

to the

. :

Compensatory selection The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

Undrafted free agents

Stanford safety Delano Howell, Missouri State running back Chris Douglas, Virginia Tech cornerback Cris Hill, Colorado State offensive lineman Paul Madsen, Florida State punter Shawn Powell, Texas offensive lineman David Snow, Penn State safety Nick Sukay, Mercyhurst safety/long snapper Ian Wild, Texas A&M linebacker Garrick Williams and Richmond quarterback

Aaron Corp Aaron Corp (born March 6, 1989) is a former American football quarterback and current high school football coach. He was signed as undrafted free agent by the Buffalo Bills in 2012 and was briefly with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college footba ...

. Corp was later released.

Staff

Final roster

Schedule

Preseason

Regular season

:Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. : # Indicates the game was part of the

Game summaries

Week 1: at New York Jets

Week 2: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Week 3: at Cleveland Browns

Week 4: vs. New England Patriots

Week 5: at San Francisco 49ers

Week 6: at Arizona Cardinals

Week 7: vs. Tennessee Titans

Week 9: at Houston Texans

Week 10: at New England Patriots

With the loss, the Bills dropped to 3–6 and 0–11 against the Patriots at Gillette Stadium.

Week 11: vs. Miami Dolphins

By beating the Dolphins on a Thursday Night Football showdown, Buffalo improved to 4–6 and snapped an 8-game losing skid against division rivals.

Week 12: at Indianapolis Colts

Week 13: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 14: vs. St. Louis Rams

Week 15: vs. Seattle Seahawks

With the loss, the Bills fall to 5–9 and are officially eliminated from postseason contention.

Week 16: at Miami Dolphins

Week 17: vs. New York Jets

Standings

Statistics

Team leaders

stats values are correct through Week 14. '

League rankings

*Total Offense (YPG): 346.4 (17th) *Passing (YPG): 199 (26th) *Rushing (YPG): 147.9 (4th) *Total Defense (YPG): 368.5 (24th) *Passing (YPG): 229 (13th) *Rushing (YPG): 139.2 (30th) Stats correct through week 14.

References

External links

* {{2012 NFL season by team Buffalo Buffalo Bills seasons

Buff Buff or BUFF may refer to: People * Buff (surname), a list of people * Buff (nickname), a list of people * Johnny Buff, ring name of American world champion boxer John Lisky (1888–1955) * Buff Bagwell, a ring name of American professional ...