1999 Buffalo Bills season

Offseason

1999 expansion draft

Main article: 1999 NFL expansion draft

NFL draft

Main article: 1999 NFL draft

Undrafted free agents

Personnel

Staff

• President – Ralph Wilson

• Executive vice-president/general manager – John Butler

• Vice-president of football operations – Wade Phillips

• Director of pro personnel – A. J. Smith

• Director of player personnel – Dwight Adams

• Head coach – Wade Phillips

• Assistant to the head coach – Max Bowman

• Offensive coordinator – Joe Pendry

• Quarterbacks – Turk Schonert

• Running backs – Bishop Harris

• Receivers – Charlie Joiner

• Tight ends – Max Bowman

• Offensive line – Carl Mauck

• Offensive quality control – Chris Dickson

• Defensive coordinator – Ted Cottrell

• Defensive line – John Levra

• Linebackers – Chuck Lester

• Defensive backs – Bill Bradley

• Special teams – Bruce DeHaven

• Strength and conditioning coordinator – Rusty Jones

Roster

53 active, 4 inactive, 1 practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12

Week 14

Week 15

Week 16

Week 17

Standings

Playoffs

AFC Wild Card

Main article: Music City Miracle

The Music City Miracle is a famous play in the NFL Wild Card Playoffs involving the Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills that took place on January 8, 2000 (following the 1999 regular season) at Adelphia Coliseum in Nashville, Tennessee.

Going into the game, Bills coach Wade Phillips created a stir by starting quarterback Rob Johnson, rather than Doug Flutie, who had started 15 games and led the team to the playoffs. Late in the fourth quarter, the stage was set for an exciting finish. Tennessee received the ball with 6:15 remaining. Titans receiver Isaac Byrd's 16-yard punt return and five carries from Eddie George for 17 yards set up a wobbly 36-yard field goal by Del Greco. The Titans took a 15–13 lead with 1:48 to go. On the ensuing drive, with no timeouts remaining, Bills quarterback Johnson led the Bills on a five-play, 37-yard drive to the Titans' 24-yard line. On the last two plays from scrimmage, Johnson played with only one shoe on, as he had lost one and had no time to put it back on, with the clock running out. With only 16 seconds remaining in the game, Steve Christie, the Bills' kicker, made a 41-yard field goal to put Buffalo in the lead, 16–15.

Moments later, Christie kicked off, and Titans player Lorenzo Neal received. Neal handed the ball off to Titans tight end Frank Wycheck, who then passed the ball laterally, as ruled by the on field officials, across the field to another Titans player, Kevin Dyson, who then ran down the sidelines for a 75-yard touchdown. The play was named Home Run Throwback by the Titans and was developed by Special Teams Coordinator Alan Lowry.

Official review

Per the instant replay rules, the play was reviewed by referee Phil Luckett since it was uncertain if the ball had been a forward pass, which is illegal on a kickoff return. However, the call on the field was upheld as a touchdown, and the Titans won the game 22–16.

Aftermath

The victory, in front of a franchise-record crowd at Adelphia Coliseum, allowed the Tennessee franchise to advance to the divisional round of the AFC playoffs for the first time since 1993. Subsequent victories over the Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars sent the Titans to Super Bowl XXXIV to face the St. Louis Rams, where they lost by one yard.

It could be said that the game served as revenge for the Titans/Oilers franchise for The Comeback, where the Bills came back from a 32-point deficit to defeat the Houston Oilers, 41–38, in overtime. For the Bills, it led to the firing after 13 seasons of special teams coach Bruce DeHaven. One year later, Phillips was fired (partly due to his failure to lead the Bills past the first round of the playoffs during his tenure) and replaced by Titans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. It was added to the list of infamous moments in Buffalo sports history, joining Wide Right and No Goal.

Buffalo would go on to miss the playoffs for seventeen seasons following the Music City Miracle, finally snapping its drought in 2017. Then the Bill lost in the Wild Card round to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and again to the Houston Texans in 2019, before finally ending the streak of playoff losses to AFC South opponents against yet another AFC South opponent, the Indianapolis Colts, in 2020.

Notes

References

References

1. "Buffalo Bills at Indianapolis Colts — September 12th, 1999".
2. "New York Jets at Buffalo Bills — September 19th, 1999".
3. "Philadelphia Eagles at Buffalo Bills — September 26th, 1999".
4. "Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins — October 4th, 1999".
5. "Pittsburgh Steelers at Buffalo Bills — October 10th, 1999".
6. "Oakland Raiders at Buffalo Bills — October 17th, 1999".
7. "Buffalo Bills at Seattle Seahawks — October 24th, 1999".
8. "Buffalo Bills at Baltimore Ravens — October 31st, 1999".
9. "Buffalo Bills at Washington Redskins — November 7th, 1999".
10. "Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills — November 14th, 1999".
11. "Buffalo Bills at New York Jets — November 21st, 1999".
12. "New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills — November 28th, 1999".
13. "New York Giants at Buffalo Bills — December 12th, 1999".
14. "Buffalo Bills at Arizona Cardinals — December 19th, 1999".
15. "Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots — December 26th, 1999".
16. "Indianapolis Colts at Buffalo Bills — January 2nd, 2000".