The Buffalo Bills (10-4) travel to Cleveland, OH looking for their third-straight win when the Bills face the Cleveland Browns (3-11) at 1 p.m. EST Sunday afternoon.

Before this Week 16 clash, let’s revisit the series history, relive some of the more memorable matchups, break down those common connections, and go through the list of players who played for both teams. Hint: there are 77 players who saw action for both the Bills and Browns.

Bills vs. Browns series history

Sunday’s game will mark the 23rd meeting all time, with Cleveland holding a 13-10 lead in the series. The Browns won the first-ever matchup, 27-10 on November 26, 1972, but Buffalo picked up its first win in the rivalry two years later, knocking off Cleveland 15-10 on November 24, 1974 to improve to 8-3. That Bills team would go on to secure the franchise’s first playoff berth since joining the NFL in 1970 as part of the AFL-NFL merger.

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Cleveland won seven of the next eight games, including a heartbreaker in the divisional round of the 1989 season. Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly passed for 405 yards with four touchdowns, but was picked off with the Bills driving for the go-ahead score late in the game as Buffalo fell 34-30.

The two teams split the next six games in the series, and the Bills have won five of the last seven matchups, including a 31-23 triumph on November 20, 2022, a game that was relocated to Detroit, MI after several feet of snow fell in Western New York.

In that matchup, quarterback Josh Allen and the Bills scored on all five second-half possessions, running backs James Cook III and Devin Singletary each ran for 86 yards (with Singletary scoring on a five-yard run), and kicker Tyler Bass made six field goals in the win. Linebackers Tyrell Dodson and Matt Milano combined for 25 total tackles, Milano added a sack, the Bills’ special teams blocked a field goal and the defense came up with a key stop on Jacoby Brissett’s quarterback sneak on 4th & 1 in the third quarter.

The Bills, who enjoyed leads of 28-10 and 31-16, allowed the Browns to pull within eight on Brissett’s two-yard touchdown toss to wides receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones with 19 seconds remaining, but running back Taiwan Jones knocked the ensuing onside kick out of bounds and Allen took a knee to seal the win.

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It would be the first of back-to-back games in Detroit. Four days later, on Thanksgiving, the Bills defeated the Detroit Lions by a score of 28-25.

Fun fact, Part 1: Don’t worry, Bills fans, I’m not going to torment you here with a recap of the worst football game I’ve ever seen in person, Buffalo’s 6-3 home loss to Cleveland on October 11, 2009. The Browns won despite starting quarterback Derek Anderson completing only 2-of-17 passes for 23 yards with an interception, becoming the first team to win a game when its quarterback completed two or fewer passes.

It was the end of a bizarre three-year stretch that saw the Bills drop three painful losses to the Browns from 2007-2009, and the pain all began back when the Bills traveled to Cleveland with their playoff chances still alive during the 2007 season.

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That year, the Bills overcame an 0-3 start to enter Week 15 with a 7-6 record, earning “in the hunt” status as Buffalo searched for its first playoff berth since the 1999 season. The Bills and Browns (8-5) met at Cleveland Browns Stadium on a day where the wind was gusting at up to 40 miles per hour, and a blinding snowstorm settled over the area.

Buffalo saw its playoff chances crushed in the snow, as kicker Phil Dawson booted a pair of first-half field goals and the Browns tacked on a safety when punter Brian Moorman kicked an overthrown snap on a punt out of the end zone. The Bills lost 8-0, the first game in the NFL to end with that score since the 1929 NFL season.

Fun fact, Part 2: Bills fans will like this one. Buffalo pounded Cleveland 37-7 on December 12, 2004, in a game where Buffalo’s defense enjoyed a historic performance, limiting the Browns to only 26 total yards of offense, and minus-3 passing yards. Those are franchise records for fewest total yards of offense and passing yards allowed in a game, marks that may never be broken.

This was actually a game for the first quarter. Following a fumble by cornerback Nate Clements on a punt return, Cleveland took over at the Bills’ 18-yard line and took a 7-3 lead on quarterback Luke McCown’s three-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Dennis Northcutt, but it was all Buffalo from there.

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The Bills scored 34 unanswered points, fueled by a ground game that amassed 215 rushing yards, with running back Willis McGahee accounting for 105 yards and scoring on a pair of touchdown runs to fuel the offense. Buffalo won despite quarterback Drew Bledsoe completing only 12-of-27 passes for 100 yards, including a seven-yard touchdown to wide receiver Lee Evans in the second quarter that gave the Bills the lead for good.

Quarterbacks McCown and Jeff Garcia combined to complete nine of their 21 pass attempts for 67 yards with two interceptions, but Buffalo’s defense registered seven sacks for 70 yards in losses, leading to the minus-3 passing yard figure. Sam Adams led the way on the sack brigade with a pair of takedowns, while Chris Kelsay, Aaron Schobel, Lawyer Milloy, Jeff Posey, and Troy Vincent each added sacks in the blowout. Vincent and Clements each added interceptions as part of an impressive showing for the Bills.

Buffalo’s run defense was equally impressive, limiting the Browns to 29 yards on 18 attempts as Cleveland had only six first downs.

The win was Buffalo’s fourth in a row during a run where the Bills would rattle off six straight wins before seeing their playoff chances dashed in a 29-24 home loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the regular-season finale.

Franchise Comparison

Bills

Browns

Year Formed

1960

1946

Overall Record

496-509-8

565-559-14

Playoff Record

21-22

17-22

Super Bowls Won (Appearances)

0 (4)

0 (0)

Championships

2 AFL titles

8

Hall of Famers

12

23

Who has played for both the Bills and Browns?

There are a total of 77 players who appeared in a game for both the Bills and Browns, including offensive guard Joe DeLamielleure (1973-85 with the Bills, 1980-84 with the Browns), safety Jordan Poyer (2013-16 with the Browns, 2017-25 with the Bills), defensive tackle Ted Washington (1995-2000 with the Bills, 2006-07 with the Browns), and defensive back Donte Whitner (2006-10 with the Bills, 2014-15 with the Browns).

Among the other notable players with ties to both the Bills and Browns:

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Punter Corey Bojorquez (2018-20 with the Bills, 2022-25 with the Browns)

Tight end Mark Campbell (1999-2002 with the Browns, 2003-05 with the Bills)

Wide receiver Amari Cooper (2022-24 with the Browns, 2024 with the Bills)

Linebacker Bo Cornell (1971-72 with the Browns, 1973-77 with the Bills)

Guard Joe DeLamielleure (1973-85 with the Bills, 1980-84 with the Browns)

Defensive lineman Earl Edwards (1973-75 with the Bills, 1976-78 with the Browns)

Quarterback Kelly Holcomb (2001-04 with the Browns, 2005 with the Bills)

Defensive back Lawrence Johnson (1979-84 with the Browns, 1985-87 with the Bills)

Defensive back Ernie Kellermann (1966-71 with the Browns, 1973 with the Bills)

Running back Willis McGahee (2004-06 with the Bills, 2013 with the Browns)

Quarterback Tommy O’Connell (1956-57 with the Browns, 1960-61 with the Bills)

Defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi (2017-20 with the Browns, 2025 with the Bills)

Defensive back John Pitts (1967-73 with the Bills, 1975 with the Browns)

Safety Jordan Poyer (2013-16 with the Browns, 2017-2025 with the Bills)

Linebacker Lucius Sanford (1978-86 with the Bills, 1987 with the Browns)

Quarterback Tyrod Taylor (2015-17 with the Bills, 2018 with the Browns)

Guard Wyatt Teller (2018 with the Bills, 2019-25 with the Browns)

Defensive tackle Ted Washington (1995-2000 with the Bills, 2006-07 with the Browns)

Defensive back Donte Whitner (2006-10 with the Bills, 2014-15 with the Browns)

Fun fact: There have been seven players to throw a pass in both a Bills and Browns uniform:

Derek Anderson
Kelly Holcomb
Case Keenum
Thad Lewis
Dave Mays
Tommy O’Connell
Tyrod Taylor