Buffalo Bills · Franchise era 1 of 5
The AFL champions: the Buffalo Bills story
Franchise era
1960—1965
The AFL champions
Buffalo Bills
The story in one sentence
Lou Saban's Bills won consecutive AFL championships and established Buffalo as one of the young league's strongest organizations.
A defense-led back-to-back champion
Jack Kemp, Cookie Gilchrist and Tom Sestak gave the era its recognizable core.
Its ending created the conditions for the electric company and ground chuck.
Timeline
How it unfolded
The foundation
The franchise context
Buffalo's story spans AFL championships, O.J. Simpson's rushing brilliance, the unprecedented four straight Super Bowls and Josh Allen's revival of a football-mad region.
1963-12-28
Divisional Round: New England Patriots vs Buffalo Bills
1964-12-26
Conference Championship: San Diego Chargers vs Buffalo Bills
1965-12-26
Conference Championship: Buffalo Bills vs San Diego Chargers
After 1965
What came next
An elite line powered Simpson's 2,003-yard season before Chuck Knox later returned Buffalo to the playoffs with a tougher, balanced roster.
The core