The 1998 Buffalo Bills season was the team's 39th season, and 29th in the National Football League (NFL).[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 receiverEric 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.
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 opening game for 1998 constituted the first time since 1985 that the Bills played the San Diego Chargers.[4] 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.[5]
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. [8]
Wade Wilson 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.
^ abcd"1998 Buffalo Bills Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
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January 01, 1970
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The 1998 Buffalo Bills season was the team s 39th season and 29th in the National Football League NFL 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 1998 Buffalo Bills seasonOwnerRalph WilsonGeneral managerJohn ButlerHead coachWade PhillipsHome fieldRalph Wilson StadiumResultsRecord10 6Division place3rd AFC EastPlayoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs at Dolphins 17 24Pro BowlersQB Doug FlutieFB Sam GashWR Eric MouldsG Ruben BrownDE Bruce SmithDT Ted Washington 1997 Bills seasons 1999 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 Contents 1 Offseason 1 1 NFL draft 1 2 Undrafted free agents 2 Personnel 2 1 Staff 2 2 Roster 3 Regular season 3 1 Schedule 3 2 Week 1 3 3 Week 2 3 3 1 Week 8 3 3 2 Week 10 3 3 3 Week 14 3 3 4 Week 15 4 Standings 5 Playoffs 5 1 AFC Miami Dolphins 24 Buffalo Bills 17 6 Awards and honors 7 Notes 8 ReferencesOffseason editThe 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 edit Main article 1998 NFL Draft Pro Bowler note 1 1998 Buffalo Bills Draft Round Selection Player Position College Notes 2 39 Sam Cowart note 2 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 238 Kamil Loud WR Cal Poly SLO Undrafted free agents edit 1998 Undrafted Free Agents of note Player Position College Jason Crebo Linebacker Montana Shane Doyle Defensive end Washington State James Grier Defensive tackle Mississippi State Raymond Hill Defensive back Michigan State Herb Howard Defensive tackle Virginia State Todd Kollar Offensive tackle Youngstown State Carl McCullough Running back Wisconsin Hardy Mitchell Defensive tackle Buffalo David Mudge Offensive tackle Michigan State Mark Nohra Running back British Columbia Willie Rodgers Linebacker Florida Jerry Ross Tight end Pittsburg State Hassan Shamsid Deen Defensive back NC State Adrion Smith Defensive back Southwest Missouri State Duane Stewart Defensive back Washington State Paul Turner Wide receiver Colorado State Clarence Pooh Bear Williams Running back Florida State Dan Williams Center Wofford Undre Williams Wide receiver Florida A amp MPersonnel editStaff edit 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 3 Roster edit 1998 Buffalo Bills roster Quarterbacks 7 Doug Flutie 11 Rob Johnson 10 Alex Van Pelt Running backs 33 Sam Gash FB 35 Jonathan Linton FB 23 Antowain Smith 34 Thurman Thomas 39 Pooh Bear Williams FB Wide receivers 88 Quinn Early 89 Kamil Loud 80 Eric Moulds 83 Andre Reed 82 Kevin Williams KR PR Tight ends 84 Lonnie Johnson 85 Jay Riemersma 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 94 Mark Pike DE 91 Shawn Price DE 78 Bruce Smith DE 92 Ted Washington NT 75 Marcellus Wiley DE 93 Pat Williams NT Linebackers 96 Dan Brandenburg OLB 51 Joe Cummings ILB 56 Sam Cowart ILB 52 John Holecek ILB 98 Sean Moran ILB 99 Gabe Northern OLB 58 Marlo Perry ILB 59 Sam Rogers OLB 55 Wayne Simmons OLB Defensive backs 25 Donovan Greer CB 27 Ken Irvin CB 31 Raymond Jackson CB 20 Henry Jones SS 21 Manny Martin FS 22 Daryl Porter CB 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 IRTooltip Injured reserve nbsp 46 Marlon Kerner CB IRTooltip Injured reserve nbsp 73 Mike Rockwood T IRTooltip Injured reserve nbsp Practice squad 81 Fred Coleman WR 71 Dave Mudge T 86 Jerry Ross TE 14 Undre Williams WR 53 active 3 inactive 4 practice squadRookies in italicsRegular season editThe opening game for 1998 constituted the first time since 1985 that the Bills played the San Diego Chargers 4 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 5 Schedule edit Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 6 at San Diego Chargers L 14 16 0 1 Qualcomm Stadium 64 037 2 September 13 at Miami Dolphins L 7 13 0 2 Pro Player Stadium 73 097 3 September 20 St Louis Rams L 33 34 0 3 Ralph Wilson Stadium 65 199 4 Bye 5 October 4 San Francisco 49ers W 26 21 1 3 Ralph Wilson Stadium 76 615 6 October 11 at Indianapolis Colts W 31 24 2 3 RCA Dome 52 938 7 October 18 Jacksonville Jaguars W 17 16 3 3 Ralph Wilson Stadium 77 635 8 October 25 at Carolina Panthers W 30 14 4 3 Ericcson Stadium 64 050 9 November 1 Miami Dolphins W 30 24 5 3 Ralph Wilson Stadium 79 011 10 November 8 at New York Jets L 12 34 5 4 Giants Stadium 75 403 11 November 15 New England Patriots W 13 10 6 4 Ralph Wilson Stadium 72 020 12 November 22 Indianapolis Colts W 34 11 7 4 Ralph Wilson Stadium 49 032 13 November 29 at New England Patriots L 21 25 7 5 Foxboro Stadium 58 304 14 December 6 at Cincinnati Bengals W 33 20 8 5 Cinergy Field 54 359 15 December 13 Oakland Raiders W 44 21 9 5 Ralph Wilson Stadium 62 002 16 December 19 New York Jets L 10 17 9 6 Ralph Wilson Stadium 79 056 17 December 27 at New Orleans Saints W 45 33 10 6 Louisiana Superdome 39 707 Note Intra division opponents are in bold text Week 1 edit Starting QBs Buffalo Rob Johnson 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 Buffalo Bills 0 0 at San Diego Chargers 0 0 1 234TotalBills 0 077 14 Chargers 3 0103 16 Date Sep 6 1998Location QUALCOMM Stadium San Diego CaliforniaGame start 4 15pm ESTGame attendance 64 037Game weather 73 F 23 C 9 miles per hour 14 km h 7 8 kn Referee Ron BlumTV announcers NFL on CBS Gus Johnson sportscaster and Steve Tasker 6 Scoring summary Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP 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 6 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 6 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 6 Week 2 edit 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 F 28 C 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 F 22 C sunny wind 10 mph 16 km h TV Fox Announcers Kenny Albert and Tim Green Week 4 ByeWeek 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 F 10 C 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 F 20 C sunny TV CBS Announcers Greg Gumbel and Phil Simms Week 8 edit 1 234Total Bills 10 7103 30Panthers 0 707 14 Date October 25Location Ericsson Stadium Charlotte North CarolinaGame start 8 20 p m Game weather 55 F 13 C wind 2 mph 3 2 km h Referee Gerry AustinTV announcers ESPN Mike Patrick Joe Theismann Paul Maguire and Solomon WilcotsScoring summary1BUFEric Moulds 20 yard pass from Doug Flutie Steve Christie kick Bills 7 0 1BUFSteve Christie 42 yard field goalBills 10 0 2CARWilliam Floyd 1 yard run John Kasay kick Bills 10 7 2BUFEric Moulds 82 yard pass from Doug Flutie Steve Christie kick Bills 17 7 3BUFSteve Christie 47 yard field goalBills 20 7 3BUFThurman Thomas 17 yard run Steve Christie kick Bills 27 7 4BUFSteve Christie 44 yard field goalBills 30 7 4CARMark Carrier 8 yard pass from Steve Beuerlein John Kasay kick Bills 30 14 7 Week 10 edit 1 234TotalBills 3 630 12 Jets 7 6714 34 Date Nov 8 1998Location Giants Stadium East Rutherford New JerseyGame start 4 15 PM ESTGame attendance 75 403Game weather 38 F 3 C 11 miles per hour 18 km h 9 6 kn Referee Bernie KukarTV announcers NFL on CBS Greg Gumbel and Phil Simms Week 14 edit First meeting of the two teams 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 8 Buffalo Bills 7 5 at Cincinnati Bengals 2 10 1 234Total Bills 10 1067 33Bengals 0 1307 20 Date Sunday Dec 6 1998Location Cinergy Field CincinnatiGame start 1 00 p m ESTGame attendance 54 359Game weather 66 F 18 9 C 14 miles per hour 23 km h 12 kn Referee Ron BlumTV announcers NFL on CBS Gus Johnson sportscaster and Steve Tasker 9 Scoring summary Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP 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 9 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 9 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 9 Week 15 edit Wade Wilson 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 234TotalRaiders 0 777 21 Bills 3 17177 44 Date December 13Location Rich Stadium Orchard Park New YorkGame start 1 00 p m ESTGame attendance 62 002Game weather 38 F 3 C 11 miles per hour 18 km h 9 6 kn Referee Bill CarolloTV announcers NFL on CBS Ian Eagle and Mark MayStandings editAFC East viewtalkedit 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 L2Playoffs editAFC Miami Dolphins 24 Buffalo Bills 17 edit Period 1 2 34TotalBills 0 7 7317Dolphins 3 3 81024 at Pro Player Stadium Miami Florida Game time 12 30 p m ESTGame weather 80 F 27 C partly cloudyGame attendance 72 698Referee Mike CareyTV announcers ABC Al Michaels play by play Dan Dierdorf Boomer Esiason color commentators and Lesley Visser sideline reporter Awards and honors editDoug Flutie AFC Pro Bowl Selection Doug Flutie NFL Comeback Player of the YearNotes edit 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 2000References edit 1998 Buffalo Bills Starters Roster amp 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 1998 Buffalo Bills Media Guide Buffalo Bills v San Diego Chargers Pro Football Reference com History of the NFL s Structure and Formats Pro Football Reference com a b c d Buffalo Bills at San Diego Chargers September 6th 1998 Pro Football Reference com Buffalo Bills at Carolina Panthers October 25th 1998 Pro Football Reference com Buffalo Bills Single Season Receiving Leaders Pro Football Reference com a b c d 1998 Buffalo Bills Rosters Stats Schedule Team Draftees Pro Football Reference com Bills on Pro Football Reference Bills on jt sw com Bills Stats on jt sw com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1998 Buffalo Bills season amp oldid 1223867780, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
