On This Date in Sports January 8, 2000: Music City Miracle
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
The Tennessee Titans stun the Buffalo Bills 22-16 in the Wild Card Round at the Adelphia Coliseum in Nashville. The game the first playoff game of the 21st Century had a thrilling fourth quarter, with the lead changing four times. After the Bills took the lead with 16 seconds left, the Titans won on a kickoff return lateral play called “Home Run Throwback.” The play was set up by Frank Wycheck throwing across the field to Kevin Dyson, who went 75 yards to win the game in what would be called the “Music City Miracle.”
It was the first playoff game in Tennessee and the first playoff game of the 21st Century. It was a big year in Nashville, as Adelphia Coliseum opened. The team that had been the Houston Oilers had played the previous two seasons as the Tennessee Oilers, spending one season at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis and one and Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville. With the new stadium came a new logo and new name, as the name Tennessee Titans were created to give them a name more in line with their new home. In their first season with the new name, the Tennessee Titans led by Jeff Fisher posted a record of 13-3 in the regular season, finishing second in the AFC Central.
It was the close of a decade of thrills for the Buffalo Bills, who led by Wade Phillips posted a record of 11-5 and finished second in the AFC East. However, going into the game, the Bills had a quarterback controversy as Doug Flutie, who started 15 games, was benched in favor of Rob Johnson.
The first quarter saw no scoring as the Titans saw a scoring opportunity go by the board when Al Del Greco missed a 43-yard field goal. The first score would come on defense, as Javon Kearse took down Rob Johnson in the end zone for a safety. On the ensuing possession, the Titans made it 9-0 as Steve McNair completed a 72-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run. The Titans were in command the entire first half but only had a 12-0 lead as Del Greco was good from 40 yards.
In the third quarter, the game began to swing in favor of Buffalo, as Antowain Smith had a 44-yard on the first play from scrimmage after the half. Smith would complete the drive with a four-yard run into the end zone. Smith would score a second touchdown early in the fourth quarter to give Buffalo a 13-12 lead, as the two-point attempt failed. Steve McNair, other than his touchdown run, struggled most of the afternoon, as he completed just 13-of-24 passes for 76 yards. Meanwhile, Eddie George had 106 yards on the ground to lead the Titans offense, an offense that had been shut down in the second half until Al Del Greco hit a 36-yard field goal to put Tennessee back in front with 1:53 to play.
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Down 15-13, the Bills quickly moved down the field. With 20 seconds left, the Bills decided not to take any chances and sent Steve Christie out on first down to attempt a 41-yard field goal, as Rob Johnson had lost his shoe on a previous play, and Wade Phillips did not want to take a chance with no timeouts. The kick was excellent, as gloom set over Nashville, with the Titans now needing a miracle with 16 seconds left and trailing 16-13.
The kickoff by Steve Christie was to the 25 and caught by Lorenzo Neal, who hands it back to Frank Wycheck. This was a designed play called “Home Run Throwback,” Wycheck would toss the ball across the field to Kevin Dyson, who had a clear path down the sideline and went 75 yards for a touchdown. The play was reviewed and determined that the lateral did not go forward and was determined to be good, allowing the play to stand, with the Titans taking a 22-16 lead, with the Bills having no time to answer as the game ended with a squib quick.
Following their dramatic 22-16 win, the Titans went on to stun the Indianapolis Colts 19-16 in the Divisional Round. They would also upset the Jacksonville Jaguars 33-14 to advance to Super Bowl XXIV. The Titans would run out of miracles in the Super Bowl as Dyson was tackled at the one to end the game in a 23-16 loss to the St. Louis Rams.