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In case you're not constantly and painfully aware of the Buffalo Bills' struggles in the AFC East, here's an unfriendly reminder: during the team's 12-year streak without a playoff appearance, they're 23-53 in divisional games (20-40 since division realignment in 2002 - yes, it's been that long). They've had a winning division record in one of those 12 seasons; they've gone winless in the division as many times.
So yeah, we know the Bills annually stink against their bitterest rivals. We don't often talk about particular players on those teams that eat Buffalo alive - and since we're gluttons for punishment, why not head down that road? (Warning: for those with weak stomachs, if you're getting off the road, now is the time.)
We'll limit this exercise to current players in a last-ditch effort to minimize the nausea and keep the focus on the upcoming season as much as possible. The gore lies after the jump.
Miami Dolphins: It's actually not particularly easy to find two Dolphins players that have been dominant against the Bills - but alas, it can be done. We'll start with star pass rusher Cameron Wake, who in six career games against Buffalo has accumulated 4.5 sacks - his highest total against any one team - as well as 20 tackles, a forced fumble and three batted passes.
Then there's quarterback Matt Moore, who has only played the Bills twice - both of them wins during the 2011 season. In those two games, Moore completed 24 of 40 passes for 377 yards, with five touchdowns, no interceptions and a quarterback rating of 130.9. Say what you will about Moore and his future prospects, but the guy torched Buffalo last year.
New York Jets: The Jets have owned the Bills of late, but have largely done so with a spread-the-wealth running game and a complex, difficult-to-solve defense. The centerpiece of that defense, Darrelle Revis, has typically been excellent against the Bills; in eight career games against Buffalo, he's picked off four passes (tied for the most for Revis against any one opponent), and also accumulated 45 tackles, a sack and two forced fumbles. He's also defended 18 passes against the Bills, which doubles his total against any other team.
And yes, mentioning Aaron Maybin here may be a bit tongue-in-cheek, but the former No. 11 overall pick of the Bills recorded the only multi-sack game of his career against the team that drafted him last season. His best performances came against Buffalo - to the surprise of no one - and it's possible that he'll continue to give the Bills problems moving forward.
New England Patriots: Goodness. Where do we begin? Tom Brady would seem the logical place. In 20 career games against Buffalo, he's completed 65.5 percent of his passes, averaged 242 passing yards per game, and has a 46-to-17 touchdown-to-interception ratio. For the sake of comparison, Brady has also played 20 games each against the Jets and Dolphins; he's thrown just 26 touchdowns against the Jets, and 36 against the Dolphins. Clearly, Brady feasts on Buffalo.
Though he's only been in the league for two seasons, it's tough to imagine the Bills struggling with anyone more than they've struggled to defend tight end Rob Gronkowski. In four career games against his home-town team, Gronkowski has 22 receptions for 314 yards and a whopping seven touchdowns. Think about that for a second: Gronkowski has played in 32 regular season games, four (12.5 percent) of them against the Bills. In those games, he's grabbed more than a quarter (25.9 percent) of his career touchdowns. He's got 20 touchdowns in 28 regular season games, and then seven touchdowns in four games against Buffalo.
Which AFC East players do you recall the Bills having the most trouble with, folks?