Dawgs By Nature
Cleveland and Buffalo have had some interesting games, including a playoff classic. Here are 5 memorable games in the series.
The Cleveland Browns will host the Buffalo Bills in Week 16 of the 2025 NFL season.
The Browns hold the edge in the all-time series against the Bills, as Cleveland is 13-10, which includes a playoff win. Cleveland is also 8-4 at home against Buffalo, including wins in three of the last four meetings in Cleveland.
Related: Browns 2025 Schedule Primer: Week 16, Buffalo Bills
This is a series that has been full of streaks, as the Browns won five in a row in the 1980s, while the Bills have won five of the past seven meetings overall.
Here are five of the most memorable games between the Browns and the Bills.
Cleveland and Buffalo have only met once in the playoffs, but it was a game filled with big plays in what they refer to nowadays as an “instant classic.”
Buffalo’s Jim Kelly worked over Cleveland’s secondary in the first half with touchdown passes to Andre Reed for 72 yards and James Lofton for 33 yards. But the Browns kept answering back with their own big plays, including a 52-yard touchdown pass from Bernie Kosar to Webster Slaughter and a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Eric Metcalf.
The Browns had a 10-point lead as the teams opened the fourth quarter, and it remained that way after Buffalo’s Scott Norwood and Cleveland’s Matt Bahr traded field goals. Kelly’s fourth touchdown pass of the game, a three-yarder to Thurman Thomas, pulled the Bills closer, but Norwood missed the extra point, and Cleveland’s lead remained at four.
Cleveland went three-and-out, and Kelly moved the Bills into scoring territory, eventually reaching Cleveland’s 11-yard line with 14 seconds remaining. Thanks to Norwood’s missed extra point, the Bills needed a touchdown, but Clay Matthews intercepted Kelly’s pass at the one-yard line, and the Browns had finally pulled out the victory.
Kosar had three touchdown passes on the day, Slaughter had 114 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and the defense forced three turnovers. The Browns advanced to their third AFC Championship Game in four seasons, where they lost to the Denver Broncos, signaling the official end of playoff runs under Kosar.
The Browns and Bills met at Cleveland Browns Stadium on a day that featured blinding snow and 40 mph wind gusts.
But what other kickers would call hell, Cleveland’s Phil Dawson called home as he converted a pair of field goals in the first half that, combined with a safety, ensured the Browns came out on the correct side of the first 8-0 game in the NFL since 1929.
Even with the windy conditions, Cleveland’s Derek Anderson and Buffalo’s Trent Edwards combined for 57 pass attempts, but only completed 22 of them for a combined 261 passing yards. The Browns were able to roll up 174 rushing...
