By BRANDON FAZZOLARI / @spot_bills / Facebook – Brandon Fazzolari

Yes, it has been 18 years since the Bills last made the playoffs. And like they say in the car insurance commercials, “Everybody Knows That!” But, perhaps what is not remembered is what it was like to ride with the Buffalo Bills in 1999.

I was a Journalism major in my senior year at Buffalo State College and after enduring a decade+ of playoff and Super Bowl losses, I, for one, was a Buffalonian ready to see the Bills finally win the big one.

Buffalo had a good season in 1998 in large part due to the excellence of Doug Flutie. Flutie was brilliant, almost magical in ’98 leading the Bills all the way back from 0-3 to the AFC Wild Card game. His major issue was he could not defeat Bill Parcells and the Jets. Thus, the Jets and not the Bills won the division.

In the second to last game of the season, Buffalo clinched a playoff spot. Therefore, in the season finale, Flutie rested. Expensive free agent signee Rob Johnson played instead and he played spectacularly in a 45-33 meaningless victory at New Orleans. Head coach Wade Phillips may have stored that performance in his circular head.

Unfortunately, the Bills’ season ended the next week at Miami when they beat themselves with a slew of turnovers. Eric Moulds played an amazing game in defeat.

Buffalo had a good draft in ’99 bringing in Antoine Winfield and Peerless Price to join a stacked roster. Andre Reed, Thurman Thomas, Steve Christie and Bruce Smith would all be back.

There was no clear-cut favorite in the AFC going into the season. Denver had won the previous two Super Bowls. But, John Elway retired and Terrell Davis ruined his knee in week 4. The Jets, likewise, lost their starting QB, Vinny Testaverde to a torn ACL in week 1.

That left Jacksonville as seemingly the best team in the AFC. The Jacksonville Jaguars! If you don’t remember this, they were a powerful team in the late 1990’s. In 1996, they lost in the AFC championship game at New England. And in 1997 and 1998, they made the playoffs out of the old AFC Central division. However, Buffalo would not be facing the Jags in ’99 so the Bills were well-positioned to make the run.

As the season began, a funny thing happened when the Bills opened in Indianapolis. The Bills were bludgeoned. Second year QB Peyton Manning was as good as any second year QB as I have ever seen in 1999. The Colts turned out to be almost unbeatable that season (until the playoffs). That would be a theme for much of Manning’s career. A near perfect regular season player and for whatever reason, a very average player in the postseason. Even in the 4 Super Bowls he played in, he performed below his tremendously lofty standards.

But, in 1999, he was just a kid and that kid plus rookie sensation Edgerrin James were way too much for the Bills in week one. The surprising Colts went on to easily win the division. The 1999 Bills would have to make the playoffs as a wild card.

The road to that spot was bolstered by their early season four game winning streak. Flutie was good, but the strength of the 1999 Bills was defense. In week 2, the Bills beat the Jets on Sunday night 17-3. Flutie scored on a great running play when the game was still in doubt. With Rick Mirer quarterbacking the Jets that evening, New York never had a chance.

In week 3, Buffalo crushed the Eagles, 26-0. Doug Pederson (now their head coach) was the starting quarterback and Donovan McNabb made his first ever appearance that day.

After starting the season at 4-1, the Bills played two consecutive poor games. It was obvious that Flutie was not an upper tier thrower. He flopped at home in week 6 against the Raiders and their 36-year old head coach Jon Gruden. The following week, Flutie was even worse and this time, Buffalo’s defense struggled in a surprising 26-16 loss at Seattle.

You well remember the legendary 2000 Ravens. The 1999 Ravens were not legendary but they almost upset the Bills in week eight. Buffalo survived, but again their offense was lethargic in a 13-10 win. Kurt Schulz and the Bills’ defense saved the day and Jonathan Linton scored with less than 2 minutes to go to secure the win.

The Bills played their best game of the season as a team the following week at Washington. The Redskins were very good in ’99, but Flutie was on. He was 16 of 22 passing and along with Jonathan Linton and Antowain Smith, Doug was part of a three-prong 200-yard rushing attack.

The good stretch continued in the tenth game with Buffalo squishing the Fins, 23-3. Miami came into the game with a 7-1 record, but without Dan Marino. They left embarrassed and overwhelmed finishing with 101 total yards of offense. By the way, Miami ended their ’99 season by losing to Jacksonville by the unreal score of 62-7. That was Marino’s final game.

Down the stretch, Buffalo’s defense carried them to a 10-5 record. Bruce Smith, Marcellus Wiley, John Holecek, Sam Cowart, Henry Jones, Pat Williams, Phil Hansen, etc. I mean this defense was great. And it looked like they could go a long way in the playoffs riding their defense.

But, what concerned me as a 24-year old fan was the play of Flutie. They averaged only 15 points per game on offense the second half of the 1999 season. Yet, it seemed like they had the weapons. Eric Moulds was in his prime. He is the most underrated player in team history in my useless opinion. Jay Riemersma was a fine tight end and Sam Gash made the Pro Bowl at fullback. Thurman, Andre, Price, Linton and Antowain made for a formidable group of offensive talent, but it was not clicking.

And, please don’t get me wrong. I loved Flutie. I cheered for him when he was at Boston College, with the Bears, with the Patriots and in the CFL, especially when he played for the Argos. He was a super-exciting player and one of the best scramblers of all-time, but would be no match in the playoffs against the likes of Manning, Marino, Jacksonville’s Mark Brunell or Tennessee’s Steve McNair.

In the 15th game, Buffalo eked out a 13-10 overtime victory over the Patriots (Would you believe the game was not a sell out so it was not on local TV?) Drew Bledsoe was virtually shut out in this game as the Bills clinched a playoff spot.

So, the Bills came into the last game of the 1999 season the same way they had in ’98. There were to play a meaningless game to close out the campaign. And, once again, coach Phillips sat Flutie and played Rob Johnson. The Colts, likewise, had everything clinched and they rested a lot of guys as well (not Manning). This would be nothing more than a December exhibition game. But, it would be Johnson that would put on a show.

He looked like a varsity player against JV guys. The half-filled stadium was in a frenzy as Johnson made all these great plays and throws. His passing and rushing statistics were staggering. This did not look like any of the other Bills’ games of 1999. But, again, it was a meaningless scrimmage and it ended uneventfully with Buffalo on top, 31-6.

It was now on to the playoffs. But, perhaps coach Phillips could not get Johnson’s scintillating performance against the Colts out of his head. Sure enough, Buffalo went into absolute hysteria when Wade announced later in the week that Johnson and not Doug “Magic Man” Flutie would start the playoff game vs. Tennessee.

I was quietly elated. But, most of Buffalo was mad and the national media was perplexed. I could not believe that Phillips had the stones to make this move, but I felt like this move to Johnson actually would give the Bills a chance to make the Super Bowl. I was realistic, though. I knew this game in Tennessee would be their most difficult matchup. The Titans were 13-3. They finished behind the 14-2 Jaguars in the old central division, but were responsible for those 2 losses. And, despite Jacksonville’s impressive record, I felt Tennessee was a tougher beat for the Bills.

For, in addition to the outstanding Steve McNair at quarterback, they featured a bull at running back out of Ohio State named Eddie George. And, on defense, they had this freak named Jevon Kearse.

In the first half of the Saturday afternoon playoff game, that freak dominated the game. The Bills had all kinds of injuries on their offensive line and Johnson was hit, harassed and dumped for the first two quarters. The Titans led 9-0 late in the second quarter when Gabe Northern got called for a stupid penalty that gave them another shot at kicking a field goal. Al Del Greco knocked that one through giving Tennessee a 12-0 halftime lead.

The Bills were a different team in the second half. They moved the ball well on the ground and through the air. Antowain Smith had a pair of long runs and Johnson hit Moulds on a bomb that set up Smith’s 2nd TD giving them a 13-12 lead in the 4th quarter.

Del Greco kicked another field goal with less than 2 minutes to go. Tennessee 15, Buffalo 13. Could the Bills come back and steal one on the road against the 13-3 Titans? Could Rob Johnson put this team on his back and drive them to this improbable win? Would the Bills get another chance to play a Colts’ team they had just crushed in the regular season finale?

Buffalo got the ball with 1 minute and 40 seconds left and moved the ball 40 yards in just over a minute. The Bills had no timeouts left and Thurman Thomas was injured. On a first down from Tennessee’s thirty-six, Johnson scrambled for a short gain. On the play, he lost one of his sneakers.

The Bills lined up in the shot gun and Johnson, with one shoe on, rolled to his right and hit Peerless Price. Price was hit immediately but somehow escaped a tackle and dove out of bounds at the 24 with 20 seconds left. What happens next is historic.

Coach Phillips decided to, rather than risk any more plays that could end inbounds with 0 timeouts, kick the field goal on first down. This would ensure that Tennessee would at least have an opportunity of a kickoff return. Christie subsequently nailed the 41-yarder and I called my mom screaming with joy. “We are gonna win, we are gonna win!” I was so happy! I knew Buffalo could beat the Colts and Jags and get to the Super Bowl! Those teams didn’t have Eddie George and Jevon Kearse.

Well, the Bills’ season ended one play later as Tennessee scored on the “music city miracle.” I was truly heartbroken. The Norwood missed field goal was one thing, the Sabres’ losing the Stanley Cup was another, but this loss was the worst of all. The miraculous play looked like it was a forward pass, but after the review, it was correctly ruled a lateral and here we are in 2017, and the Bills still have not made the playoffs and I’m almost 42 years old!

Andre, Bruce and Thurman departed and a new era was underway. The 2000 season was a circus. After that season, Flutie left and Wade was fired. Johnson turned out to be a horrendous pro football player. And the Bills fielded the worst special teams unit in NFL history.

In 2001, Buffalo missed the playoffs and the New England Patriots went on to win the Super Bowl led by a gangly statue named Tom Brady.

In 2016, Buffalo missed the playoffs and the New England Patriots went on to win the Super Bowl led by an icon married to a model named Tom Brady.

This is life as a 21st century Bills’ fan. But, what a wild ride the 1999 Bills took us on!

By BRANDON FAZZOLARI / @spot_bills / Facebook – Brandon Fazzolari