The 2016 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 57th overall season as a football team, 47th in the National Football League, fourth under leadership of general manager Doug Whaley and second under head coach Rex Ryan. The Bills hoped to improve on their 8–8 record from 2015, the team's first since 2002, but a 34–31 overtime loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 16 eliminated the Bills from playoff contention for a 17th season in a row, extending the longest active drought among all four North American major professional sports leagues. It would be Ryan's final season as head coach of the team, as he and his brother, Rob, were fired with one game remaining in the regular season.