Eric Moulds (ESPN)

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Yeah, we know.  Buffalo Bills training camp is ongoing.  We'll have an open thread up for today's two practices - as well as a recap - but for now, enjoy reminiscing about Buffalo's last playoff appearance (and not necessarily the way that particular game ended).

1999 - Home Run Throwback
11-5 record, 2 of 5 in AFC East, 4 of 16 in AFC, 5 of 31 in NFL
The Cleveland Browns rejoined the league in 1999 and were added to the AFC Central.  The Bills lost linebacker Chris Spielman, wideout Quinn Early, tight end Lonnie Johnson, and running back Darick Holmes in free agency.  Buffalo selected Ohio State cornerback Antoine Winfield in the first round and in the second added wide receiver Peerless Price.  The other major change to take place in 1999 was the expiration of the Rich Stadium naming rights deal.  The Bills' home stadium had been named after Rich Foods for 25 years - ever since the move from The Rockpile.  The stadium was renamed Ralph Wilson Stadium in honor of team founder and President Ralph Wilson, Jr.

1999 was a season that will live on in infamy as long as the Buffalo Bills remain an NFL franchise, and forever in the city.  Right now, it's the last time the Bills made a trip to the playoffs, and the way in which their season ended remains one of the most famous and controversial plays in NFL history.

On the first play of the year Thurman Thomas suffered an internal injury and was lost for the first ten games of the year.  After losing the opening game to the division rival Colts and Peyton Manning, the Bills won three straight games on the back of the defense.  17-3 over the Jets, 26-0 over the Eagles, and forcing three turnovers in a 23-18 win in Miami.  The offense stepped up the following week gaining 365 yards in a win over the Steelers to push the record to 4-1.  Doug Flutie enjoyed an outstanding day completing 21 of 32 passes for 261 yards and 3 TDs while adding another 39 yards on 7 rushes.  The next two weeks saw Buffalo's offense sputter.  Flutie threw an interception on the first play of week 6 en route to three on the day in a loss to the Raiders.  The next week was not any better with WR Eric Moulds, TE Jay Riemersma, OG Ruben Brown, LB John Holecek, and DE Phil Hansen all out with injuries.  Flutie threw two more picks, lost a fumble, and completed only 24 of his 50 passes in the Bills second straight loss, dropping them to 4-3.  Buffalo's defense turned the tide the next week in another difficult week for Flutie.  It was the quarterback's third straight week with three turnovers but the defense held the Ravens in check and the Bills squeaked out a win.  The next week the offense played mistake-free football and the defense was dominant and the Bills beat the Redskins holding the team to 19 minutes of possession.  The next week the Bills beat Miami 23-3 to improve to 7-3, only a half game behind the Dolphins (whose only two losses had come to the Bills) and Colts for the division lead.  But a loss to the 3-6 Jets knocked the Bills back down to 7-4 before a win before the bye brought them back up to 8-4, a full two games behind the streaking Colts.  After the late bye, desperately needed for Buffalo with their top three running backs ailing, the Bills gave the Giants everything they could handle before a defensive stand and last-minute field goal gave the Giants a 19-17 win.  The 8-5 Bills were now three games behind Indianapolis with three to play and tied with the Dolphins a Wild Card berth.  After a victory in Arizona the Bills were 9-5 with New England coming to town.  The Colts had also won, thus clinching the AFC East crown.  Buffalo was playing for a wild card spot.  In a dramatic but low-scoring game, the Patriots and Bills slugged it out to a 10-10 tie with six seconds remaining.  The Bills knew their playoff chances were good win or lose but a win would lock it up.  Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri pushed the kick wide right but had another chance in overtime to win with a 44-yard attempt.  This one fell short and Buffalo marched down the field for the winning Steve Christie kick.  It clinched a wild card spot for Buffalo and in the final game of the season Buffalo's backups beat Indianapolis in a meaningless game for the Bills to run Buffalo's record to 11-5 and drop Indy to 13-3.  Indianapolis had clinched the AFC East but was still fighting with Jacksonville who won in week 17 and gained home field advantage with a 14-2 record.  In the final game, quarterback Rob Johnson got his only start of the year.  Andre Reed passed Art Monk that day to rank second in career receptions, passed Steve Largent to rank fourth in career receiving yardage, and recorded his 50th catch of the year to give him his 13th career season with 50+ catches tying Jerry Rice for the NFL record.

After leading the Bills to a 10-5 record and resting in the final game of the season, Wade Phillips stunned the football world when he named Rob Johnson the team's starter for the playoff game against the Tennessee Titans (formerly the Houston Oilers franchise).  Johnson's first mistake was a Jevon Kearse strip/sack in the end zone which resulted in a safety.  After the kick the Titans marched down the field and scored on a Steve McNair touchdown run giving them a 9-0 lead.  After a controversial replay moved a ball spot giving the Titans a first down, Tennessee advanced into Buffalo territory at the end of the first half but mercifully missed a field goal and leaving the halftime score 12-0 in favor of the Titans.  Buffalo's offense responded in the second half scoring a touchdown on the first drive to make it a 12-7 Titan lead and another Buffalo score gave Buffalo a 13-12 lead after the two-point conversion failed.  An Al Del Greco field goal put Tennessee back on top 15-13 with only 1:48 to play.  With no timeouts and little time Buffalo's offense executed a two-minute offense to near-perfection and Johnson threw a 19-yard completion to Peerless Price without his shoe on to put Buffalo into field goal range.  Steve Christie knocked home the field goal with 16 seconds left.  On the ensuing kickoff Titans tight end Frank Wycheck was given the ball by the fielder and ran to his left before turning and firing the ball across the field to wide receiver Kevin Dyson.  Dyson returned the kick 75 yards for the game-winning TD. The play was reviewed by replay where it was confirmed to be a lateral and not a forward pass.  The homerun throwback, later dubbed the "Music City Miracle", handed Buffalo it's last playoff loss to date.  Longtime special teams coach Bruce DeHaven was made the scapegoat and fired after coaching the Bills since 1986.

Buffalo's rushing offense was very good in 1999.  They ranked 8 in rushing yards behind 695 from Jonathan Linton who played in several games for an injured Antowain Smith who was second on the team with 614 yards.  Doug Flutie added 476 and Thurman Thomas contributed 152 in only three starts and five games in his last year as a Bill.  Flutie also threw for the most yards by a Bills QB (3171) since Jim Kelly in 1993 and ranked in the top ten in completions, attempts, yards, and passing touchdowns.  Eric Moulds led the team in receiving for the second time catching 65 passes for 994 yards,   The Bills defense finished first in the league allowing only 4045 yards and second in points with 229 points allowed, an average of less than 14 points a game.  Fullback Sam Gash (with no rushes on the year) and guard Ruben Brown were the only two Bills selected to the Pro Bowl.  The Bills did not add a player to the Wall of Fame in 1999 but added longtime trainer Ed Abramoski.  Abramoski was head trainer for Buffalo from 1960 (when he accompanied Ralph WIlson from Detroit) until 1995.  In 1999 the second Bills player was selected to the Hall of Fame as AFL era guard BIlly Shaw joined O.J. Simpson in Canton.  Shaw is the only player inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame without ever playing for the NFL.  He was named to eight AFL All-Star teams and was a member of the all-time AFL team.

2000 - End of an Era
8-8 record, 4 of 5 in AFC East, 9 of 16 in AFC, 17 of 31 in NFL
The Bills had severally mortgaged their future salary cap space for one last go in 1999.  On a sad day in Buffalo history, the Bills released Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, and Bruce Smith two days after the Music City Miracle.  Thomas hadn't been the leading rushing since 1996, Reed hadn't been the leading receiver in two seasons, and Smith had his lowest single-season sack total since his rookie year (outside of his injury-filled five-game 1991 season).  Other salary cap cuts were fullback Sam Gash, and a host of defensive players including Kurt Schulz.  The Bills hoped to restock via the draft but were disappointed by the haul.  Defensive end Eric Flowers was supposed to replace Smith but had only four sacks in his two years in Buffalo.  Travares Tillman was brought in to replace Schultz and played only two years in Buffalo as well.  LB Corey Moore, WR Avion Black, RB Sammy Morris, DE Leif Larsen, and WR Drew Haddad and LB DaShon Polk all failed to make large impacts in Buffalo.  Both quarterbacks, Doug Flutie and Rob Johnson, entered training camp with legitimate shots at being the starting QB in 2000.  Ultimately Flutie would tear his groin in the preseason and Johnson won the job.

To open the 2000 season the Bills played host to the same Tennessee Titans that had knocked them out of the playoffs the year before on a questionable call.  This time, the Bills would avoid a late-game charge by the Titans and back-up quarterback Alex Van Pelt, in for an injured Rob Johnson, led the Bills to a 16-13 win.  In week 2 Johnson bounced back and led the Bills to a victory over the Green Bay Packers.  In week three the Bills turned it over four times in a loss to the division-rival Jets.  After the bye the team lost two straight games to the Colts and Dolphins before a last-second field goal in regulation and a Doug Flutie-led field goal drive in overtime beat the Chargers.  It was Flutie's first appearance of the year due to his injury.  The next week Flutie started for Buffalo but they ran into the juggernaut Vikings offense and lost a high-scoring affair 31-27.  The Bills then beat the Jets at home on a last-second Christie field goal, 23-20.  The following week Christie tied it again on the final play of regulation and in overtime booted through the game-winner.  The following week Flutie once again started for the Bills against Chicago.  The Bills knocked the Bears' QB from the game and third-string Shane Matthews came in and turned the ball over four times.  Just before the end of the first half Johnson was inserted under center to test his injured shoulder.  He led the team on a field goal drive and took the lead before going back to the bench to start the second half.  Flutie came back in at the start of the second half and led the team to a touchdown in the second half and the defense thoroughly dominated the Bears' offense in a big win for Buffalo to move them to 6-4 on the year.  Rob Johnson started the next week and scored a diving touchdown with under three minutes left to lift the Bills to a victory and a 7-4 record.  They were one game behind the Dolphins and tied with the Jets and Colts in the AFC East but lost to the Buccaneers in a game where they outgained Tampa Bay 433 to 180 but still lost by two touchdowns.  The Dolphins could now clinch the division by beating the Bills and a 24-0 halftime lead all but ensured it.  After two straight losses to Bills were now 7-6 and in danger of missing the playoffs.  At 16-6 late in the third quarter of the next game against the Colts, Rob Johnson was sacked by former Bill Jeff Burris.  Johnson fumbled and Indianapolis ran it in to go up 23-6 and held on to win 44-20 in a wild second half.  The loss eliminated the Bills from the playoff chase with their third straight defeat.  An Adam Vinetiari kick in overtime handed the Bills their fourth straight loss in a game where Rob Johnson was once again knocked out due to injury.  After the game Ralph Wilson fired G.M. John Butler.   A season-ending rout of the Seahawks led by Flutie evened the Bills' record at 8-8.  After the season, Wade Phillips refused to make changes to his coaching staff and was fired.

The Bills offense clicked under Johnson, who threw for 177 yards a game and 12 touchdowns in his 12 games but the team was only 4-7 in games he started.  He was sacked 49 times (third-most in the league) in only 11 starts, a rate of 4.5 a start.   Flutie went 4-1 as a starter but averaged only 154 yards a game.  Together the two combined for over 3800 passing yards and 20 touchdowns, both would have been top ten in the league.  While they were a top ten offense, the scoring didn't mesh with the yardage and the Bills fell to 20 in points scored.  The defense under coach Phillips was once again remarkable, allowing the third-fewest yards.  But like the offense the defense numbers didn't mesh.  The defense ranked 18 in points allowed despite the low yardage totals.  Once again no Bill rushed for more than 600 rushing yards with Shawn Bryson leading the way toting the rock for 591 yards.  One very bright spot on the offense was Eric Moulds who caught a then-team record 94 receptions for 1326 yards (second-most in team history) and five scores.  Defensive end Marcellus Wiley led the defense with 10.5 sacks and linebacker Sam Cowart had 88 tackles to go with his 5.5 sacks, two interceptions, and two fumble recoveries.

Wide receiver Eric Moulds, guard Ruben Brown, nose tackle Ted Washington, and linebacker Sam Cowart were selected to the Pro Bowl and Cowart and Brown were second team All-Pro selections.  Two AFL names joined the Bills Wall of Fame in 2000 as offensive lineman Bob Kalsu and safety Geroge Saimes were added.  Kalsu was honored for holding down the fort at right guard in his rookie campaign before leaving the team to serve and die for his country in Vietnam.  Saimes was a standout in the Bills' defensive backfield on both AFL Championship squads and was selected to the All-time AFL defensive team.

2001 - Salary Cap Prison
3-13 record, 5 of 5 in AFC East, 16 of 16 in AFC, 29 of 31 in NFL
After firing John Butler and Wade Phillips, Ralph Wilson needed to find a new general manager and coach.  First he selected Tom Donahoe to fill the GM spot.  Donahoe had led the Steelers to perennial appearances in the playoffs as general manager and was greeted with open arms by Buffalo fans.  Donahoe's first act was to hire Titans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams as head coach.  Donahoe inherited a team $5M over the salary cap and major changes were needed.  After a substantial evaluation of the roster by Williams and Donahoe they parted ways with Doug Flutie to save $5M. Linebacker John Holecek, defensive end Marcellus Wiley, and kicker Steve Christie all joined Flutie in San Diego where Butler was hired following his release from Buffalo.  Other cap casualties were RB Antowain Smith, RB Jonathan Linton, OL Jamie Nails, DT Ted Washington, P Chris Mohr, and safety Henry Jones.  The Bills' draft was better than the previous year.  After the Bills traded their top pick to the Bucs and moving down in the process they selected cornerback Nate Clements. (Tampa Bay selected Kenyatta Walker - not exactly an all-world tackle.)  In the second round Buffalo used their pick on defensive end Aaron Schobel and the pick from Tampa to select running back Travis Henry.  All eleven draft picks made the final roster after the salary purge and the complete overhaul of the roster.  The only major free agent addition was fullback Larry Centers and the Bills signed a punter from NFL Europe named Brian Moorman.

Buffalo began the year with four straight losses of two touchdowns or more.  It was obviously a rebuilding year with a new coach and several new players.  To make matters worse the Bills lost Pro Bowl linebacker Sam Cowart in the season opener with an Achilles tear.  He would be gone for the season.  Rob Johnson also could not stay healthy and left both the week 3 game against Pittsburgh and the week 4 game against the Jets giving way to Alex Van Pelt.  After the bye week Buffalo won their first game 13-10 over the Jaguars.  The next week Buffalo would travel to San DIego to play several former mates.  Doug Flutie scrambled on a broken play and scored the winning touchdown in a 27-24 loss for Buffalo that included a blocked field goal at the end of regulation.  The next week saw  Payton Manning run a 33-yard naked bootleg for a score in a loss to the Colts and continued Buffalo's losing streak.  The streak went a total of six games mostly without the services of quarterback Rob Johnson.  Three were one score games and the final was a 35-0 shutout at the hands of San Francisco in a game where the team committed five turnovers.   A one point win against the 1-11 Panthers gave Buffalo an ugly 2-10 record.  Following two three-point losses the Bills got their final win of the season defeating the New York Jets 14-9 capitalizing on the Jets' three turnovers.  A week 17 loss in Miami with third string quarterback Travis Brown at the helm dropped the Bills to a miserable 3-13 record. 

Alex Van Pelt and Rob Johnson both started 8 games for the Bills in 2001.  Van Pelt threw more passes, had more passing yards, and threw far more touchdowns than Johnson.  Van Pelt also had a better winning percentage (2-6 to 1-7) as starter.  Both the offense and defense were in the bottom five in scoring.  Ultimately it was a forgettable year for Bills players.  Some moral victories could be had in Travis Henry's rookie performance gaining 729 yards in 12 starts and Eric Moulds and Peerless Price both gaining close to 900 yards through the air.  Rookie corner Nate Clements started 11 games and had three interceptions and fellow rookie Aaron Schobel tallied 6.5 sacks.  The future was looking all right but the present was pretty awful. Offensive coordinator Mike Sheppard was fired after a single season on the job, replaced by Kevin Gilbride.  Fullback Larry Centers and guard Ruben Brown were named to the Pro Bowl.  (preseason cuts DT Ted Washington and DE Marcellus Wiley also made the squad.)  During the season, Jim Kelly and Fred Smerlas were added to the Bills Wall of Fame.  Kelly ranks number one in every major passing category in Bills history and at the time held every major single-season record as well.  Smerlas was a great defensive tackle for Buffalo in the 1980s and played 155 straight games, the second-longest streak in team history.  On a completely different tone from the season, former Bills coach Marv Levy was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame prior to the 2001 season.  Levy is the winningest coach in team history (123 wins), led the Bills to 8 playoff appearances in 11 years, and currently ranks 17 on the list of all-time wins.  He became the third Bill to earn enshrinement joining players O.J. Simpson and Billy Shaw.

2002 - Escape from Salary Cap Prison
8-8 record, 4 of 4 in AFC East, 10 of 16 in AFC, 17 of 32 in NFL
For coach Williams' second season the Bills made several key changes.  Kevin Gilbride came in as the new offensive coordinator.  DE Phil Hansen retired and the Bills cut some dead weight from the roster by releasing injury-prone QB Rob Johnson and former top pick DE Erik Flowers.  LB Sam Cowart also did not re-sign after missing 2001 with an Achilles injury.  Now that they had some salary cap space, the team also brought in some free agents signing Rams linebacker London Fletcher and Broncos OL Trey Teague.  On draft day Buffalo selected massive Texas tackle Mike Williams fourth overall.  In the second they picked WR Josh Reed and traded up to pick DE Ryan Denney before selecting Coy Wire in the third.  Prior to day two of the draft Buffalo sent the Bills 2003 first round pick to New England in exchange for QB Drew Bledsoe. Bledsoe had become expendable with the emergence of Tom Brady the year before. The NFL also had a notable addition with the arrival of the Houston Texans.  A division was added in each conference and both conferences were re-aligned.  The Seahawks moved to the NFC.  The Colts moved from the AFC East to the newly created AFC South leaving Buffalo, New York, Miami, and New England as the four teams in the division.

In the season opener, the Bills special teams could not compete giving up two kickoff return touchdowns including the game-winner in overtime to the Jets.  Week 2 saw overtime as well but this time a Bledsoe to Price 48-yard bomb won it for Buffalo in the extra session.  After a loss to the Broncos in week 3 the Bills found themselves in overtime again vs. Chicago.  This one would end favorably and Drew Bledsoe's dump off to Travis Henry turned into a 28-yard touchdown reception.  After a shootout loss to eventual AFC Champion Oakland the Bills got back on the winning track beating the expansion Texans and followed that with wins against Miami and Detroit.  The 5-3 Bills then took on the defending champion Patriots in a highly anticipated game featuring Drew Bledsoe facing his old mates.  Unfortunately Brady had four touchdown passes inlcuding two to former Bill Antowain Smith in a Patriot rout.  Following the bye the once-hot Bills lost by one to Kansas City to even their record at 5-5.  After a loss to the Jets the Bills were in real danger of completely collapsing but Bledsoe would have none of it.  The next week against Miami he threw for 306 yards and three touchdowns as the Bills knocked out quarterback Ray Lucas to get a win over visitng Miami.  Buffalo won despite a huge game from Ricky Williams, who carried 27 times for 228 yards and two scores.  The following week Bledsoe threw four INTs against his old club and New England beat Buffalo 24-17 in a game that was never really that close.  At 6-7 heading into week 15 the Bills needed to win out to have any chance at the playoffs.  With Doug Flutie and the Chargers coming to town the Bills had to be ready.  After Flutie tied the score in the fourth quarter Travis Henry ran in the winning score and Buffalo at 7-7 was still on playoff life support.  That is until Vonnie Holliday sacked Bledsoe five times, forcing three fumbles in a 10-0 loss to Green Bay that eliminated Buffalo from the playoffs.  The final week saw the Bills hand the Bengals their 14th loss of the year and even Buffalo's record at 8-8.  

Bledsoe had a monster year throwing for the most yards in team history (4,359, second in the NFL) on the most completions (375) and attempts (610).  He also endured the most sacks in team history (54).  The Bills' passing offense ranked fifth in the league and overall the Bills offense was 11.  Travis Henry rushed for 1438 yards, the most by a Bills running back since Thurman Thomas in 1992.  Eric Moulds set a team record that still stand with 100 receptions and Peerless Price matched the previous team record with 94 receptions.  Both also exceeded 1250 yards; Moulds with 1292 and 10 touchdowns, Price with 1252 and 9 TDs.  The defense, Williams specialty in Tennessee, was still giving up too many points ranking 27 of 32 in scoring defense.  With the potent offense if the defense had been more capable this team could have gone places.  Drew Bledsoe, Travis Henry, Eric Moulds, and Ruben Brown were named to the Pro Bowl.  Moulds and Brown were second team All-Pros.   In 2002 the Bills added Super Bowl center Kent Hull to the Wall of Fame.  Hull retired after the 1996 season.  Also prior to 2002 the Hall of Fame welcomed QB Jim Kelly as a first-ballot Hall of Famer.  Kelly joined O.J. Simpson and Billy Shaw as the only Bills players to gain enshrinement.  Coach Marv Levy is also enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

2003 - Regression
6-10 record, 4 of 4 in AFC East, 9 of 16 in AFC, 20 of 32 in NFL
After winning five more games in 2002 than 2001 and featuring one of the most potent offenses in the league, you'd think the Bills would continue improving in 2003.  The biggest weakness in 2002 was the defense and to aide in improving that weakness Buffalo brought in fired Bengals coach Dick LeBeau as a defensive consultant and assistant head coach.  They also added players to their linebacker corps signing Jeff Posey when free agency opened and later inking LeBeau's former defensive terror in Cincinnati, Takeo Spikes.  To help the run stopping ability of the defense the Bills signed massive defensive tackle Sam Adams.  On offense, Peerless Price was a free agent but Tom Donahoe franchised the wideout before trading him to Atlanta for a first round pick to replace the one dealt for Bledsoe.  Donahoe also traded for tight end Mark Campbell (to replace Jay Remiersma) and signed fullback Sam Gash (to replace the departed Larry Centers).  To finally solve the revolving door that had existed at kicker since the release of Steve Christie in 2000, Buffalo signed kicker Rian Lindell.  With the first-round pick they acquired from Atlanta, Buffalo selected injured Miami running back Willis McGahee.  McGahee had been injured in the national championship game and wouldn't even be able to play in 2003.  To add to the question marks, Buffalo had a top-flight running back in Travis Henry.  In later rounds the Bills added DE Chris Kelsay, LB Angelo Crowell, and DB Terrence McGee.  Just prior to the start of the season the Patriots cut safety Lawyer Milloy and the Bills swooped in and signed the Pro Bowler.

In the opening week Milloy would get a chance to stick it to his former team.  He recorded a sack and an interception to go along with five tackles in a 31-0 blowout win.  Sam Adams also had a memorable play.  Adams dropped into pass coverage on a zone blitz, one of LeBeau's favorites, and picked off a Tom Brady pass.  Adams rumbled, and I mean rumbled, in for the 37-yard interception return touchdown.  Brady threw four picks on the day.  In Week 2 the Bills kept rolling, running over Jacksonville with three Henry TD runs and two Bledsoe touchdown passes.  The offense was great in the first two games but in week 3 Miami shut down Gilbride with a running game on Ricky Williams' back.  Williams carried 42 times for 153 yards and Miami held the ball for 41 minutes.  Buffalo's only points came on a Nate Clements INT return.  With their two top running backs out with injuries, Buffalo fell to Philadelphia the next week and evened their record at 2-2.  Henry returned the next week, playing through pain, and scored the winning touchdown in overtime against the Bengals.  The following week Buffalo was manhandled by the winless Jets, scoring only 3 points and committing four turnovers.  But Henry and the Bills would bounce back the next week beating Washington before falling to Kansas City the next week.  Buffalo quarterbacks were picked off five times and the team committed seven turnovers in the loss and entered the bye 4-4.  Drew Bledsoe's woes continued and in the game following the bye his longest pass was 18 yards and he was sacked three times in another Bills loss.  The Bills offense was a no-show again the next week, failing to score a TD for the third straight week in a 12-10 loss to Houston.  Buffalo scored a touchdown against the Colts but still lost 17-14, falling to 4-7 on the year.  The cries for Williams' job that had already begun grew louder.  A seventeen-point second quarter and three Schobel sacks in week 13 helped the Bills rout the Giants 24-7.  At home against the Jets the Bills won again, raising their record to 6-7 on the back of another stellar performance by the dinged Travis Henry.  A failed two point conversion at the end of the fourth quarter helped Tennessee hand Buffalo their eighth loss on the year and the Bills lost two more to finish the year 6-10.  The Bills mustered only 3 points in Week 16 and in a rematch with the Patriots, New England returned the season-opening favor and beat Buffalo by the same score, 31-0, that the Bills had earlier in the year.  Following the season the entire Bills coaching staff was dismissed, despite Buffalo climbing to the second ranked defense.

On the year Drew Bledsoe led the NFL with 49 sacks which led to Alex Van Pelt and Travis Brown appearing in 8 games total.  The offense that was great the year before fell to 30 in points and yards.Bledsoe threw for only 2860 yards and threw more interceptions (12) than touchdowns (10).  Travis Henry was once again solid on the ground going for 1356 yards and ten touchdowns.  On defense, Aaron Schobel compiled 11.5 sacks to help the defense ranked second in yards and fifth in points. Guard Ruben Brown and linebacker Takeo Spikes represented Buffalo in the Pro Bowl.  Bills linebacker Darryl Talley was added to the Wall of Fame in 2003.  Talley never missed a game in his twelve years in Buffalo and played on all four Super Bowl teams.  He is the Bills' all-time leading tackler with 1,137 and averaged 120 tackles a season.  His 188 games for Buffalo ranks fifth in team history.  Prior to the 2003 campaign two former Bills were slected for enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  Joining fellow lineman Billy Shaw was Electric Company guard Joe Delamielleure.  Joe D. opened some huge holes for O.J. Simpson (another Bills Hall of Famer) and was a six-time All-Pro.  Joe D. was also a member of the 1970s All-Decade team.  The other Bill to be elected was wide receiver James Lofton.  Lofton played in Buffalo for four years and while in town became the all-time leading receiver in NFL history.  

Next week we finish up our look back at the first fifty years of the Bills with a look at the recent past under coaches Mike Mularkey and Dick Jauron.  The Bills begin playing games in Toronto but struggle to make the playoffs.