The 2005 Buffalo Bills season was their 46th in the National Football League. The team was unable to improve upon their previous season's output of 9–7, instead finishing 5–11.[1] This was the sixth consecutive season in which the team missed the playoffs.
| 2005 Buffalo Bills season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Ralph Wilson |
| General manager | Tom Donahoe |
| Head coach | Mike Mularkey |
| Home field | Ralph Wilson Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 5–11 |
| Division place | 3rd AFC East |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | P Brian Moorman LS Mike Schneck |
Mike Mularkey coached the Bills for his second year.[note 1]
Offseason
editDrew Bledsoe, who had been the team's quarterback from 2002 to 2004, was released by the Bills after the 2004 season to make way for backup quarterback J. P. Losman. It was the second time that Bledsoe's team had let him go for a younger quarterback. When Bledsoe was later signed by the Dallas Cowboys, he expressed bitterness with the Bills for the move, stating "I can't wait to go home and dress my kids in little stars and get rid of the other team’s [Buffalo’s] stuff."[2]
The Bills failed to re-sign defensive tackle Pat Williams, who would sign with the Minnesota Vikings for the 2005 season. The Bills also lost starting offensive tackle Jonas Jennings to the San Francisco 49ers.
Draft
editBuffalo had six draft picks in the 2005 draft. The Bills traded their only first round pick in 2005 to the Dallas Cowboys to move up in the previous draft, a pick they used to draft J. P. Losman.
| 2005 Buffalo Bills draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 55 | Roscoe Parrish | WR | Miami (FL) | |
| 3 | 86 | Kevin Everett | TE | Miami (FL) | |
| 4 | 122 | Duke Preston | C | Illinois | |
| 5 | 156 | Eric King | CB | Wake Forest | |
| 6 | 197 | Justin Geisinger | OG | Vanderbilt | |
| 7 | 236 | Lionel Gates | RB | Louisville | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Undrafted free agents
edit| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Brad Cieslak | Tight end | Northern Illinois |
| Liam Ezekiel | Linebacker | Northeastern |
| Jim Leonhard | Safety | Wisconsin |
Personnel
editStaff
edit|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
Roster
editSchedule
editIn addition to their regular games with AFC East rivals, the Bills played teams from the AFC West and NFC South as per the schedule rotation, and also played intraconference games against the Bengals and the Texans based on divisional positions from 2004.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 11 | Houston Texans | W 22–7 | 1–0 | 71,781 |
| 2 | September 18 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 3–19 | 1–1 | 64,777 |
| 3 | September 25 | Atlanta Falcons | L 16–24 | 1–2 | 72,032 |
| 4 | October 2 | at New Orleans Saints (San Antonio) | L 7–19 | 1–3 | 58,688 |
| 5 | October 9 | Miami Dolphins | W 20–14 | 2–3 | 72,160 |
| 6 | October 16 | New York Jets | W 27–17 | 3–3 | 72,045 |
| 7 | October 23 | at Oakland Raiders | L 17–38 | 3–4 | 42,779 |
| 8 | October 30 | at New England Patriots | L 16–21 | 3–5 | 68,756 |
| 9 | Bye | ||||
| 10 | November 13 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 14–3 | 4–5 | 72,093 |
| 11 | November 20 | at San Diego Chargers | L 10–48 | 4–6 | 65,602 |
| 12 | November 27 | Carolina Panthers | L 9–13 | 4–7 | 71,440 |
| 13 | December 4 | at Miami Dolphins | L 23–24 | 4–8 | 72,051 |
| 14 | December 11 | New England Patriots | L 7–35 | 4–9 | 71,810 |
| 15 | December 17 | Denver Broncos | L 17–28 | 4–10 | 71,887 |
| 16 | December 24 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 37–27 | 5–10 | 65,485 |
| 17 | January 1 | at New York Jets | L 26–30 | 5–11 | 76,822 |
| Note: Intra-divisional games are in bold text. | |||||
Standings
edit| AFC East | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| (4) New England Patriots | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 5–1 | 7–5 | 379 | 338 | L1 |
| Miami Dolphins | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–3 | 7–5 | 318 | 317 | W6 |
| Buffalo Bills | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 2–4 | 5–7 | 271 | 367 | L1 |
| New York Jets | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 2–4 | 3–9 | 240 | 355 | W1 |
Season summary
editWeek 1 vs Texans
edit| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texans | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Bills | 6 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 22 |
at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
- Date: September 11, 2005
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: Sunny, 75 °F or 23.9 °C
- Game attendance: 71,781
- Referee: Ron Winter
- TV announcers (CBS): Gus Johnson, Brent Jones
- Box Score
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
- The Bills wore throwback AFL "standing buffalo" helmets
- J.P. Losman 1st career start
Notes
edit- ^ Second of two total years; Mularkey would resign from the Bills after the 2005 season
References
edit- ^ "2005 Buffalo Bills". Pro Football Reference.
- ^ "Bledsoe Rejoins Parcells and Plans to Start for Cowboys". The New York Times. Associated Press. February 24, 2005. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
- ^ "2005 Buffalo Bills Draft". The Football Database. Retrieved January 1, 2017.