Drew McQueen Bledsoe is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football at Washington State University, where he won Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year as a junior, and was selected by the Patriots first overall in the 1993 NFL draft. Considered the face of the Patriots franchise during his nine seasons with the team, Bledsoe helped improve New England's fortunes from 1993 to 2001. Under Bledsoe, the Patriots ended a seven-year postseason drought, qualified for the playoffs four times, clinched their division twice, and made a Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl XXXI. He was also named to three Pro Bowls and became the youngest quarterback to play in the NFL's Pro Bowl game in 1995.
The 1988 Chicago Bears season was their 69th regular season and 19th postseason completed in the National Football League. This season marked the first time since 1974 that Walter Payton was not on the Bears' opening day roster. The Bears looked to improve on an 11–4 finish that won them the NFC Central Division but ended abruptly when they were eliminated for the second consecutive year by the Washington Redskins.
The 1989 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 40th season with the National Football League.
The 1971 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 22nd season with the National Football League.
The 1992 Buffalo Bills season was the 33rd season for the team in the National Football League (NFL). The Buffalo Bills entered the season as defending back to back AFC champions and finished the National Football League's 1992 season with a record of 11 wins and 5 losses, and finished second in the AFC East division. The Bills qualified for their third straight Super Bowl appearance, but lost to the Dallas Cowboys 52–17. This would be the only time the Bills did not finish first in the AFC Eastern Division from 1988 to 1993.
The 1993 Buffalo Bills season was the 34th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL). The Buffalo Bills finished the National Football League's 1993 season with a record of 12 wins and 4 losses, and finished first in the AFC East division.
The 1995 Miami Dolphins season was the franchise's 30th season, 26th in the National Football League, and 26th and final under head coach Don Shula. The Dolphins finished 9–7 before losing to the Bills in the playoffs.
The 1988 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 29th overall season as a football team and the 19th in the National Football League. The Bills ended a streak of four consecutive losing seasons by winning the AFC East; they finished the NFL's 1988 season with a record of twelve wins and four losses; it was the club's first winning season since 1981, its first 12-win season since the 1964 AFL championship season, and only the fifth double-digit win season in team history. The Bills were 8–0 at home for the first time in their franchise history. On the road, the Bills were 4–4. From an attendance standpoint, the franchise set a record for attendance with 631,818 fans.
The 1969 Buffalo Bills season was the team’s tenth season, and was the final season of the American Football League before the 1970 AFL-NFL Merger. The Bills played an AFL-record seven games against opponents that went on to reach the postseason; Buffalo lost all seven of these games.
The 1974 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 5th season in the National Football League, and the 15th overall. Buffalo made the NFL playoffs for the first time and reached the postseason for the first time in eight seasons. In the playoffs, they lost to the eventual champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers, 32-14 in Pittsburgh.
The 1980 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 11th season in the National Football League, and the 21st overall. Their 11–5 record was tied for best in the AFC.
The 1998 Buffalo Bills season was the team's 39th season, and 29th in the National Football League (NFL). The season marked an important development in the Bills’ history as a quarterback controversy would consume the whole season between Rob Johnson and Doug Flutie. It would also mark the beginning of the Wade Phillips era. The Bills improved on the previous season's output of 6–10, and finished second in the AFC East with a 10–6 record, and would qualify for the playoffs only to lose in the wild card round to the Miami Dolphins.
The 1975 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's sixth season in the NFL, and its 16th overall. The Bills failed to improve on their 9–5 record from last year and finished 8–6. They enjoyed their third consecutive winning season, but they still failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 1973.
The 1970 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's first season in the National Football League, and eleventh overall. The team looked to improve on its 4–10 record from 1969 and make the playoffs for the first time since 1966. However, the Bills started out on the wrong foot, losing four of their first five games. After winning two consecutive road games against the Patriots and Jets and suffering a blowout loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the Bills and Colts played to a 17–17 draw in week 9, Buffalo's first tie since 1968. The Bills would then lose five straight to end the season and finished 3–10–1, for fourth place in the AFC East. Their Week 5 game against the Miami Dolphins would start an era of futility during which the Bills would lose twenty consecutive games against the Dolphins. The Bills would not defeat the Dolphins at any point during the 1970s and next beat Miami in 1980. This would become known as "The Streak".
The 1972 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise’s third season in the National Football League, and thirteenth overall. It was also their last season at War Memorial Stadium which had been their home field since the franchise started in 1960.
The 1995 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 26th season in the National Football League and the 36th overall. This was the last time the Bills won the division or won a playoff game until 2020.
The 1982 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 13th season in the National Football League, and the 23rd overall. Due to the 1982 NFL strike, the season was shortened to only nine games; the Bills' 4–5 record left them in the 9th spot in the AFC, therefore eliminating the Bills from the playoffs in the 16-team tournament format.
The 2011 Buffalo Bills season was the team's 42nd season in the National Football League (NFL) and its 52nd overall. The Bills improved on their 4–12 record from the 2010 season, winning six games. They won their first three games of the year, which included a victory over New England for their first victory over the Patriots since 2003. However, the team sputtered down the stretch, missing the playoffs for the twelfth consecutive season; the team had not made the playoffs since 1999, the longest standing playoff drought in the NFL at the time after the Detroit Lions made the playoffs for the first time since 1999 during this season.