The Music City Miracle remains the last playoff appearance by the Buffalo Bills. You know, the one where the Titans scored on a kick-off return lateral in the final seconds to steal the game.
But the controversial finish to the game overshadowed the story leading up to the game. The Bills, having gone 10-5 under the guidance of Doug Flutie, had nothing to play for in the final week of the regular season, and decided to give back-up quarterback Rob Johnson some reps against the Colts.
Johnson was impressive, going 24 for 32, 287 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, as the Bills won 31-6. After the game, coach Wade Phillips stunned the media and fans by announcing that Johnson would start against the Titans in the playoffs.
There’s losing your job to injury after the back-up comes in and performs well over a sustained period1. And there’s this: foregoing a player’s performance for the entire season for the sake of one game. Flutie had led his team to the playoffs, and now had to sit on the bench and watch his back-up try to finish the job.
Although he was one improbably play away from winning the game, Johnson’s numbers against the Titans were pedestrian. Nevertheless, the Bills named him as the starter in the off-season with Flutie returning in a back-up role. Because of injuries, Flutie appeared in several games, going 4-1 compared to Johnson’s 4-7 in 2000.2
Of course, the Bills carefully studied the body of work of their two quarterbacks and waived Flutie after the season.
Footnotes:
1Kurt Warner-Trent Green in St. Louis. Tom Brady-Drew Bledsoe in New England. Michael Vick-Kevin Kolb in Philadelphia.
2Via Cold Hard Football Facts: In Flutie’s last game in a Bills uniform in 2000, he pitched the proverbial perfect game, completing 20 of 25 passes (80%) for 366 yards, 14.6 YPA, 3 TD, 0 INT, and a perfect 158.3 passer rating.
