The Music City Miracle was an American football play that took place on January 8, 2000, during the National Football League's (NFL) 1999–2000 playoffs. It occurred at the end of the American Football Conference (AFC) Wild Card playoff game between the Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills at Adelphia Coliseum (now Nissan Stadium) in Nashville, Tennessee. After the Bills had taken a 16–15 lead on a field goal with 16 seconds remaining in the game, on the ensuing kickoff return, Titans tight end Frank Wycheck threw a lateral pass across the field to Kevin Dyson, who then ran 75 yards to score the winning touchdown to earn a 22–16 victory.
Background
The 1999 Tennessee Titans season was the 40th in franchise history and the first in which they used the name Titans, having previously played as the Oilers. Steve McNair began the year as the team's starting quarterback. However, after an opening week victory, he was diagnosed with a ruptured disc, and Neil O'Donnell assumed the starting role. O'Donnell led the team to a 4–1 record before McNair returned to finish the season. The team's rushing attack was led by Eddie George, who ran for 1,304 yards and nine touchdowns en route to a Pro Bowl appearance. The team leader in targets and receptions was tight end Frank Wycheck, while Kevin Dyson led the team in receiving yards. The Titans finished 13–3; however, the Jacksonville Jaguars won the AFC Central with a 14–2 record. Both of the Jaguars' losses came against the Titans. Given a Wild Card berth in the 1999–2000 playoffs, the Titans had the best record of any team in NFL history to not win its division. Running backs Jonathan Linton and Antowain Smith shared carries out of the backfield, while wide receiver Eric Moulds led the team with 994 receiving yards. Several veteran players who had been a part of the Bills' four straight Super Bowl appearances in the early 1990s played minor roles, including Andre Reed, Bruce Smith, and Thurman Thomas. The Bills finished 11–5, qualifying for the postseason for the eighth time in the decade.
Prior to the teams' Wild Card game, some fans and media members believed that the winner could be a serious contender to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.
Rob Johnson–Doug Flutie controversy
Going into the game, Bills head coach Wade Phillips created a stir by starting quarterback Rob Johnson, rather than Doug Flutie. Johnson and Flutie had competed for the starting job since the 1998 season, with Flutie compiling a better record in regular season competition during 1998 and 1999.
Flutie started the first 15 games of the 1999 season, winning 10. With the Bills' playoff seed assured, Phillips rested Flutie in the final regular season contest. Johnson performed well in Flutie's absence, completing 75% of his passes and throwing for 287 yards and two touchdowns in a dominant victory over the Indianapolis Colts, who had won their previous 11 games. Phillips subsequently named Johnson the starter for the Bills' first round playoff game. Titans head coach Jeff Fisher said that the decision left him "a little surprised" given that Flutie had been the Bills' starter for the majority of the season. Years later, Phillips wrote that the decision to start Johnson came at the urging of Bills owner Ralph Wilson.
Previous playoff meeting
The previous playoff game between the two teams had occurred in 1993, when the Titans were known as the Houston Oilers. Held at Rich Stadium in Buffalo, the game became known as The Comeback after the Bills rallied from a 35–3 deficit to win 41–38 in overtime. At the time, this was the largest comeback in NFL history. Johnson struggled against the Titans' defense throughout the game, completing just 10 of 22 passes while being sacked six times, twice by Kearse. Tennessee wide receiver Derrick Mason returned the free kick after the safety 42 yards to the Bills' 28-yard line; Titans quarterback Steve McNair scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to culminate the drive. The Titans had practiced the play once a week during the regular season. The second option for the play, Anthony Dorsett, was also unavailable for the play due to cramps.
The play was reviewed by replay officials in order to determine whether Wycheck's throw had been a lateral, as had been called by referee Phil Luckett's crew. known as "One Yard Short" or "The Tackle".
The Bills fired special teams coordinator Bruce DeHaven, who had been with the team for 13 seasons. DeHaven was subsequently hired by the San Francisco 49ers and was eventually rehired by the Bills for three seasons beginning in 2010. DeHaven's replacement in 2000, Ronnie Jones, was criticized for his performance by team owner Ralph Wilson. Despite the ninth best offense and third best defense in the league, the 2000 Bills finished 8–8 and missed the playoffs. Wilson demanded that Jones be fired as a result. When head coach Wade Phillips refused to do so, Wilson fired both Jones and Phillips.
Long-term effect on the Bills
The Music City Miracle was the last game in a Bills uniform for the remaining key members of the team's 1990s Super Bowl runs. Andre Reed, Bruce Smith, and Thurman Thomas were all released by the team in the offseason; The streak eventually came to be known as "the Curse of Doug Flutie" under the assumption that Wade Phillips had cursed the Bills by benching Flutie before the Music City Miracle game. The Curse of Flutie moniker was also applied to subsequent failures, particularly at the quarterback position, of teams that employed Phillips. Ralph Wilson died on March 25, 2014, and the team was subsequently sold by his estate to Terry and Kim Pegula. Buffalo's playoff drought ended during the 2017 season, three years after the Pegulas assumed ownership of the franchise. Notably, the Bills, needing and receiving additional help to clinch their playoff spot, won their final game of the season 22-16 over the Miami Dolphins, which was coincidentally the same final score as the Music City Miracle.
Legacy
In 2004, NFL Films hired a computer analyst to determine whether or not the call on the field of a backward lateral was correct. The analyst determined that the ball indeed had not travelled forward and that the referee's call was correct.
During the NFL's centennial season in 2019, the Bills–Titans matchup in Week 5 was designated as one of 16 weekly games commemorating notable events in NFL history, namely the Music City Miracle. In that game, the Titans were denied a go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter after it was determined that quarterback Marcus Mariota had crossed the line of scrimmage prior to making a forward pass to the end zone. The Bills went on to win 14–7.
During their win over the Bills in , the Titans attempted a lateral play during a first quarter punt return. After corralling the punt, Titans returner Chester Rogers threw the ball to teammate Chris Jackson, who advanced the ball 22 yards before being tackled. However, the play was nullified by an illegal forward pass penalty, as Rogers' lateral had advanced five yards downfield.
See also
- The Play (American football)
- 2007 Trinity vs. Millsaps football game
- River City Relay
- Miracle in Miami
- List of nicknamed NFL games and plays