1998 Buffalo Bills season

Buffalo Bills
1998 Buffalo Bills season
Owner	Ralph Wilson
Head coach	Wade Phillips
General manager	John Butler
Home field	Ralph Wilson Stadium
Results
Record	10–6
Division place	3rd AFC East
Playoff finish	Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Dolphins) 17–24

The 1998 Buffalo Bills season was the team's 39th season, and 29th in the National Football League.[1] The season marked an important development in the Bills’ history as a quarterback controversy would consume the whole season between Rob Johnson and Doug Flutie. It would also mark the beginning of the Wade Phillips era. The Bills improved on the previous season's output of 6–10, and finished second in the AFC East with a 10–6 record,[2] and would qualify for the playoffs only to lose in the wild card round to the Miami Dolphins.

The Bills lost their first three games of the season, all by six points or less, and looked to be headed for a losing season. After a bye in Week Four, quarterback Rob Johnson finally won his first game with Buffalo, holding on for a 26–21 win over San Francisco in Week Five. Flutie started the next eleven games, winning nine of them. The Bills had a playoff spot locked up by the final game of the season, which Johnson started and won.

The Bills played the Dolphins in the Wild Card round of the 1998 AFC Playoffs, where wide receiver Eric Moulds would set the NFL playoff record for receiving yards, with 240. The Bills would end up losing the game 24–17, as Dolphins lineman Trace Armstrong sacked Flutie on Buffalo's last drive, forcing him to fumble, and icing the game for Miami.

Offseason

The Bills, looking to upgrade the quarterback position, signed Rob Johnson, who had played for Jacksonville in 1997, and improved his stock with a win in relief of Jaguars quarterback Mark Brunell. Bills general manager John Butler traded away the Bills' first- and fourth-round picks to Jacksonville for the rights to Johnson.

The Bills also signed long-time CFL quarterback Doug Flutie to back up Johnson; Flutie would end the 1998 season with the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award.

NFL Draft

= Pro Bowler [3]

1998 Buffalo Bills Draft
Round	Selection	Player	Position	College
2	39	Sam Cowart[4]	MLB	Florida State
3	68	Robert Hicks	OT	Mississippi State
5	131	Jonathan Linton	FB	North Carolina
6	160	Fred Coleman	WR	Washington
7	198	Victor Allotey	OG	Indiana
7	238	Kamil Loud	WR	Cal-Poly SLO

Personnel

Staff

**1998 Buffalo Bills staff**

	Front office 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 coaches Head Coach – Wade Phillips Assistant to the Head Coach – Max Bowman Offensive coaches 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 coaches Defensive Coordinator – Ted Cottrell Defensive Line – John Levra Linebackers – Chuck Lester Defensive Backs – Bill Bradley Special teams coaches Special Teams – Bruce DeHaven Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning Coordinator – Rusty Jones

[5]

Roster

**1998 Buffalo Bills roster**

	Quarterbacks 7 Doug Flutie 11 Rob Johnson 10 Alex Van Pelt Running backs 33 Sam Gash FB 34 Thurman Thomas 23 Antowain Smith 39 Pooh Bear Williams Wide receivers 88 Quinn Early 89 Kamil Loud 80 Eric Moulds 83 Andre Reed 82 Kevin Williams Tight ends 84 Lonnie Johnson 85 Jay Riemersma 87 Duane Young		Offensive linemen 66 Victor Allotey G 79 Ruben Brown G 63 Bill Conaty C 70 John Fina T 77 Robert Hicks T 74 Jamie Nails G 60 Jerry Ostroski T 72 Joe Panos G 70 Marcus Spriggs T 61 Dusty Zeigler C Defensive linemen 90 Phil Hansen DE 98 Sean Moran DT 94 Mark Pike DE 91 Shawn Price DE 78 Bruce Smith DE 92 Ted Washington DT 75 Marcellus Wiley DE 93 Pat Williams DT		Linebackers 96 Dan Brandenburg OLB 51 Joe Cummings ILB 56 Sam Cowart ILB 52 John Holecek ILB 99 Gabe Northern OLB 58 Marlo Perry OLB 59 Sam Rogers OLB 55 Wayne Simmons OLB Defensive backs 25 Donovan Greer CB 38 Ray Hill CB 27 Ken Irvin CB 31 Raymond Jackson CB/S 20 Henry Jones SS 21 Manny Martin CB 22 Daryl Porter FS 24 Kurt Schulz FS 40 Eric Smedley SS 28 Thomas Smith CB Special teams 76 Ethan Albright LS 2 Steve Christie K 9 Chris Mohr P		Reserve lists 13 Jim Ballard QB (IR) Practice squad -- Fred Coleman WR Rookies in italics

Regular season

The opening game for 1998 constituted the first time since 1985 that the Bills played the San Diego Chargers.[6] The reason for this is that before the admission of the Texans in 2002, NFL scheduling formulas for games outside a team's division were much more influenced by table position during the previous season.[7]

Schedule

Week	Date	TV Time(ET)	TV Announcers	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 6, 1998	CBS 4:15pm	Gus Johnson & Steve Tasker	at San Diego Chargers	L 16–14	64,037
2	September 13, 1998	CBS 1:00pm	Ian Eagle & Mark May	at Miami Dolphins	L 13–7	73,097
3	September 20, 1998	FOX 1:00pm	Kenny Albert & Tim Green	St. Louis Rams	L 34–33	65,199
4	Bye
5	October 4, 1998	FOX 1:00pm	Ray Bentley & Ron Pitts	San Francisco 49ers	W 26–21	76,615
6	October 11, 1998	CBS 1:00pm	Bill Macatee & John Dockery	at Indianapolis Colts	W 31–24	52,938
7	October 18, 1998	CBS 1:00pm	Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms, and Armen Keteyian	Jacksonville Jaguars	W 17–16	77,635
8	October 25, 1998	ESPN 8:15pm	Mike Patrick, Joe Theismann & Paul Maguire, and Solomon Wilcots	at Carolina Panthers	W 30–14	64,050
9	November 1, 1998	CBS 1:00pm	Kevin Harlan & Sam Wyche	Miami Dolphins	W 30–24	79,011
10	November 8, 1998	CBS 4:15pm	Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms, and Armen Keteyian	at New York Jets	L 34–12	75,403
11	November 15, 1998	CBS 1:00pm	Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms, and Armen Keteyian	New England Patriots	W 13–10	72,020
12	November 22, 1998	CBS 1:00pm	Gus Johnson & Steve Tasker	Indianapolis Colts	W 34–11	49,032
13	November 29, 1998	CBS 4:05pm	Verne Lundquist, Randy Cross, and Michele Tafoya	at New England Patriots	L 25–21*	58,304
14	December 6, 1998	CBS 1:00pm	Gus Johnson & Steve Tasker	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 33–20	54,359
15	December 13, 1998	CBS 1:00pm	Ian Eagle & Mark May	Oakland Raiders	W 44–21	62,002
16	December 19, 1998	CBS 12:30pm	Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms, and Armen Keteyian	New York Jets	L 17–10	79,056
17	December 27, 1998	CBS 1:00pm	Gus Johnson & Steve Tasker	at New Orleans Saints	W 45–33	39,707

Week 1

Starting QBs: Buffalo: Rob Johnson (American football) ** Johnson left with a concussion with the Bills trailing 10-0. **

San Diego Chargers: Ryan Leaf ** 1st NFL Start **

Vegas Line: San Diego Chargers -1.5

Over/Under:41.0 (under)

[8]

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	BUF	SD
1	1:06	9	45	5:19	Chargers	48-yard field goal by John Carney (American football)	0	3
3	13:16	3	72	1:44	Chargers	Bryan Still 6-yard touchdown reception from Ryan Leaf, John Carney (American football) kick good	0	10
3	8:50	1	66	0:12	Bills	Andre Reed 43-yard touchdown reception from Doug Flutie, Steve Christie kick good	7	10
3	3:00	12	61	5:50	Chargers	47-yard field goal by John Carney (American football)	7	13
4	9:05	8	31	4:52	Bills	Andre Reed 5-yard touchdown reception from Doug Flutie, Steve Christie kick good	14	13
4	4:30	9	28	4:35	Chargers	54-yard field goal by John Carney (American football)	14	16
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							14	16

[9]

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Bills	Passing	Doug Flutie	12/20, 158 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Antowain Smith	20 carries, 54 yards
	Receiving	Andre Reed	7 receptions, 94 yards, 2 TD
Chargers	Passing	Ryan Leaf	16/31, 192 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Natrone Means	15 carries, 57 yards
	Receiving	Bryan Still	6 receptions, 128 yards, 1 TD

[10]

Statistics	Bills	Chargers
First downs	20	14
Plays–yards	62-297	51-254
Rushes–yards	28-90	20-67
Passing yards	207	187
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	20-34-2	16-31-2
Time of possession	33:08	26:52

[11]

Week 2

Week 2 at Miami Dolphins

Score: L 13-7
Date: September 13, 1998
Stadium: Pro Player Stadium, Miami FL
Start Time: 1PM ET/10AM PT
Attendance: 73,097
Weather: 82 degrees, 10% chance of rain
TV: CBS
Announcers: Ian Eagle and Mark May

Week 3 vs St Louis Rams

Score: L 33-34
Date: September 20, 1998
Stadium: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, NY
Start Time: 1PM ET/10AM PT
Attendance: 65,199
Weather: 72 degrees, sunny, wind 10 mph
TV: Fox
Announcers: Kenny Albert and Tim Green

Week 4 Bye

Week 5 vs San Francisco 49ers

Score: W 26-21
Date: October 4, 1998
Stadium: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, NY
Start Time: 1PM ET/10AM PT
Attendance: 76,615
Weather: 50 degrees, cloudy
TV: Fox
Announcers: Ray Bentley and Ron Pitts

Week 6 at Indianapolis Colts

Score: W 31-24
Date: October 11, 1998
Stadium: RCA Dome, Indianapolis IN
Start Time: 1PM ET/10AM PT
Attendance: 52,938
Weather: Dome
TV: CBS
Announcers: Bill Macatee and John Dockery

Week 7 vs Jacksonville Jaguars

Score: W 17-16
Date: October 18, 1998
Stadium: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, NY
Start Time: 1PM ET/10AM PT
Attendance: 77,635
Weather: 68 degrees, sunny
TV: CBS
Announcers: Greg Gumbel and Phil Simms

Week 8

[12]

Week 14

First meeting of the two clubs in Cincinnati since the 1988 AFC Championship Game.

Starting QBs: Buffalo: Doug Flutie

Cincinnati: Neil O'Donnell

Vegas Line: Buffalo Bills -4.5

Over/Under: 43.0 (over)

On the first play from scrimmage, Eric Moulds became the 20th Player in Bills History With 50+ Receptions In A Season, as he caught a 55 yard reception from Doug Flutie. [13]

Buffalo Bills (7-5) at Cincinnati Bengals (2-10)

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Bills	10	10	6	7	33
Bengals	0	13	0	7	20

Date: Sunday Dec 6, 1998
Location: Cinergy Field Cincinnati
Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 54,359
Game weather: 66 °F (19 °C) • 14 miles per hour (23 km/h; 12 kn)
Referee: Ron Blum
TV announcers (NFL on CBS): Gus Johnson (sportscaster) and Steve Tasker

[14]

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	BUF	CIN
1	12:44	4	66	2:16	Bills	Antowain Smith 1-yard touchdown run, Steve Christie kick good	7	0
1	6:12	9	69	1:52	Bills	20-yard field goal by Steve Christie	10	0
2	14:10	1	3	0:06	Bengals	Darnay Scott 8-yard touchdown reception from Neil O'Donnell, kick no good (snap fumbled)	10	6
2	9:13	5	57	2:26	Bengals	Carl Pickens 3-yard touchdown reception from Neil O'Donnell, Doug Pelfrey kick good	10	13
2	1:41	1	65	0:13	Bills	Eric Moulds 70-yard touchdown reception from Doug Flutie, Steve Christie kick good	17	13
2	0:04	6	22	0:45	Bills	52-yard field goal by Steve Christie	20	13
3	10:38	8	38	3:13	Buffalo	46-yard field goal by Steve Christie	23	13
3	3:22	10	39	4:25	Bills	34-yard field goal by Steve Christie	26	13
4	12:12	4	59	2:00	Bills	Eric Moulds 30-yard touchdown reception from Doug Flutie, Steve Christie kick good	33	13
4	1:42	6	24	1:41	Bengals	Corey Dillon 3-yard touchdown run, Doug Pelfrey kick good	33	20
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							33	20

[15]

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Bills	Passing	Doug Flutie	18/30, 319 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT
	Rushing	Antowain Smith	18 carries, 77 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Eric Moulds	9 receptions, 196 yards, 2 TD
Bengals	Passing	Neil O'Donnell	19/31, 168 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Corey Dillon	11 carries, 43 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Carl Pickens	8 receptions, 97 yards, 1 TD

[16]

Statistics	Bills	Bengals
First downs	21	15
Plays–yards	64-448	53-234
Rushes–yards	34-139	17-58
Passing yards	309	176
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	18-30-3	22-36-1
Time of possession	34:23	25:37

[17]

Week 15

Wade Wilson (American football) gets his 2nd start at QB since 1993 by head coach John Gruden. Buffalo clinches playoff berth with the win. Wade Phillips also gets his first head coaching win vs the Raiders.

Raiders (7-6) at Bills (8-5)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Raiders	0	7	7	7	21
• Bills	3	17	17	7	44

Date: December 13
Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 62,002
Game weather: 38 °F (3 °C) • 11 miles per hour (18 km/h; 9.6 kn)
Referee: Bill Carollo
TV announcers (NFL on CBS): Ian Eagle and Mark May

Standings

AFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
⁽²⁾ New York Jets	12	4	0	.750	416	266	W6
⁽⁴⁾ Miami Dolphins	10	6	0	.625	321	265	L1
⁽⁵⁾ Buffalo Bills	10	6	0	.625	400	333	W1
⁽⁶⁾ New England Patriots	9	7	0	.563	337	329	L1
Indianapolis Colts	3	13	0	.188	310	444	L2

Playoffs

AFC: Miami Dolphins 24, Buffalo Bills 17

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bills	0	7	7	3	17
Dolphins	3	3	8	10	24

at Pro Player Stadium, Miami, Florida

Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST
Game weather: 80 °F (27 °C), partly cloudy
Game attendance: 72,698
Referee: Mike Carey
TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels (play-by-play), Dan Dierdorf, Boomer Esiason (color commentators), and Lesley Visser (sideline reporter)

Awards and honors

Doug Flutie, AFC Pro Bowl Selection
Doug Flutie, NFL Comeback Player of the Year

References

"1998 Buffalo Bills Starters, Roster, & Players - Pro-Football-Reference.com". www.pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved April 16, 2008.
"Buffalo Bills". www.buffalobills.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2004. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro Bowl at any time in their career.
elected to Pro Bowl in 2000
1998 Buffalo Bills Media Guide.
Buffalo Bills v San Diego Chargers
History of the NFL's Structure and Formats
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Pro-Football-Reference.com

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] "1998 Buffalo Bills Starters, Roster, & Players - Pro-Football-Reference.com". www.pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved April 16, 2008.

[2] "Buffalo Bills". www.buffalobills.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2004. Retrieved December 8, 2015.

[Pro_Bowler_note-3] Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro Bowl at any time in their career.

[4] ted to Pro Bowl in 2000

[5] 1998 Buffalo Bills Media Guide.

[6] Buffalo Bills v San Diego Chargers

[7] History of the NFL's Structure and Formats

[8] Pro-Football-Reference.com

[9] Pro-Football-Reference.com

[10] Pro-Football-Reference.com

[11] Pro-Football-Reference.com

[12] Pro-Football-Reference.com

[13] Pro-Football-Reference.com

[14] Pro-Football-Reference.com

[15] Pro-Football-Reference.com

[16] Pro-Football-Reference.com

[17] Pro-Football-Reference.com

Buffalo Bills
Founded in 1960 Based and headquartered in Orchard Park, New York
Franchise	Franchise History Players Seasons Pro Bowl selections First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks Coaches Logos and uniforms NFL in Toronto
Stadiums	War Memorial Stadium Bills Stadium Rogers Centre (Bills Toronto Series) Future Buffalo Bills stadium (proposed)
Culture	Ralph Wilson Billy Buffalo Buffalo Jills Ken "Pinto Ron" Johnson Buffalo '66 Second String Flutie Flakes "Shout" song "3 Acts of God" Four Falls of Buffalo Zubaz
Lore	AAFC Buffalo Bills Electric Company Wide Right No Punt Game The Comeback Immaculate Deception Snow Bowl Hail Murray
Rivalries	Miami Dolphins New England Patriots New York Jets
Division championships (11)	1964 1965 1966 1980 1988 1989 1990 1991 1993 1995 2020
Conference championships (4)	1990 1991 1992 1993
League championships (2)	1964 1965
Wall of Fame	Simpson Kemp McGroder Sestak Shaw Wilson 12th Man Dubenion Stratton Ferguson Levy DeLamielleure James Abramoski Kalsu Saimes Kelly Smerlas Hull Talley Ritcher Thomas Reed Tasker Smith Edgerson Hansen Polian Miller Saban Gilchrist
Media	Broadcasters Radio Radio Network WGR 550 Television MSG Western New York Personalities: John Murphy Van Miller Eric Wood Steve Tasker
Owners	Wilson Pegula family Terry Kim
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1970–present) Conference: American Football Conference Division: East Division
Former league affiliation	League: American Football League (1960–1969)
Seasons (60)	1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Championship seasons in bold Category Commons

Buffalo Bills seasons
1960s	1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970s	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s	1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s	1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s	2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020s	2020 2021
Bold indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl victory Italics indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl appearance