The 1966 Buffalo Bills season was the team’s seventh season in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

. It was the first season for head coach

Joe Collier Joel Dale Collier (June 7, 1932 – May 6, 2024) was an American professional football coach who was the head coach of the Buffalo Bills of the American Football League (AFL) from 1966 through part of 1968, compiling a 13–16–1 record. He l ...

, who had been the Bills' defensive coordinator for the previous four seasons.It ended with a 31–7 loss in the AFL Championship Game to the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

, ending the team's two-year reign as league champions. The Bills allowed the fewest points in the AFL for the third consecutive year. Although

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

Tom Sestak hampered by a bad knee, defensive linemen Jim Dunaway and

Ron McDole Roland Owen (Ron) McDole (born September 9, 1939) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Nebraska ...

took a leadership position. Linebackers Mike Stratton, Harry Jacobs and

John Tracey John Joseph Tracey (June 27, 1933 – September 21, 1978) was an American football linebacker. At Texas A&M University, Tracey held school records for most receptions and most yards receiving. Another " NFL Reject", when he joined the Amer ...

, and defensive backs George Saimes, Butch Byrd, Hagood Clarke and Tom Janik provided a strong defensive foundation. Halfback Bobby Burnett and split end Bobby Crockett joined long-time Bills running back

Wray Carlton Linwood Wray Carlton (born June 18, 1937) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in both Canada and the United States. He played college football for the Duke Blue Devils. Unable to come to terms with the Ph ...

and quarterback

Jack Kemp Jack French Kemp (July 13, 1935 – May 2, 2009) was an American politician, professional Gridiron football, football player, and U.S. Army veteran. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party from New York, he served a ...

, leading Buffalo's offense to scoring 358 points, second-most in the AFL in 1966. Burnett's 1,185 total yards from scrimmage were 5th in the AFL, and garnered AFL Rookie of the Year honors for Burnett.

Personnel

Staff

Final roster

Offseason

Lou Saban, who had coached the Bills to consecutive AFL Championships, left the team after the 1965 season to coach at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

AFL draft

Regular season

Season schedule

Note: * Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

Game summaries

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 10

Pro-Football-Reference.com
Retrieved 2014-Jan-24.

Roster

Postseason

AFL Championship Game

31, Buffalo Bills 7 :''January 1, 1967, at War Memorial Stadium,

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

''
Attendance: 42,080 The Bills entered the AFL championship game seeking their third consecutive title. Though the game was played in Buffalo, the visiting Kansas City Chiefs were three-point favorites, mainly because of their explosive and innovative offense led by head coach Hank Stram. The Bills were a more conventional team with a solid defensive line and a running mindset on offense. Buffalo found no offensive rhythm in the second half, and the Chiefs closed the game out in the fourth quarter with Dawson found Chris Burford for a 45-yard gain, setting up a one-foot touchdown run by rookie Mike Garrett. Less than two minutes later, Garrett scored a second touchdown following another Bills fumble. Scoring * KC – Arbanas 29 pass from Dawson (Mercer kick) 7-0 * BUF – Dubenion 69 pass from Kemp (Lusteg kick) 7-7 * KC – Taylor 29 pass from Dawson (Mercer kick) 14-7 * KC – Field goal Mercer 32 17-7 * KC – Garrett 1 run (Mercer kick) 24-7 * KC – Garrett 18 run (Mercer kick) 31-7 Bills lost and missed the playoffs in 1967

Awards and records

* Bobby Burnett, Rookie of the Year

References

Buffalo Bills on Pro Football Reference

Buffalo Bills on jt-sw.com
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Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

Buffalo Bills seasons 1966 in sports in New York (state)