1998 Buffalo Bills season: Difference between revisions

1998 Buffalo Bills season
1998 Buffalo Bills season
Owner	Ralph Wilson
General manager	John Butler
Head coach	Wade Phillips
Home field	Ralph Wilson Stadium
Results
Record	10–6
Division place	3rd AFC East
Playoff finish	Lost Wild Card Playoffs; (at Dolphins) 17–24
Pro Bowlers	QB Doug Flutie; FB Sam Gash; WR Eric Moulds; G Ruben Brown; DE Bruce Smith; DT Ted Washington
	← 1997; Bills seasons; 1999 →;

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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.

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.

Additions	Subtractions
QB Rob Johnson (Jaguars)	WR Steve Tasker (retirement)
QB Doug Flutie (CFL)	QB Todd Collins (Chiefs)
G Joe Panos (Eagles)	LB Bryce Paup (Jaguars)
	G Corbin Lacina (Panthers)

NFL draft

= Pro Bowler ^{[note 1]}

1998 Buffalo Bills Draft
Round	Selection	Player	Position	College
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
7	238	Kamil Loud	WR	Cal-Poly SLO

Undrafted free agents

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&M

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

^[3]

Roster

**1998 Buffalo Bills roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 7 Doug Flutie 11 Rob Johnson 10 Alex Van Pelt Running backs (RB) 33 Sam Gash FB 35 Jonathan Linton FB 23 Antowain Smith 34 Thurman Thomas 39 Pooh Bear Williams FB Wide receivers (WR) 88 Quinn Early 89 Kamil Loud 80 Eric Moulds 83 Andre Reed 82 Kevin Williams Tight ends (TE) 84 Lonnie Johnson 85 Jay Riemersma		Offensive linemen (OL) 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 (DL) 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 (LB) 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 (DB) 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		Practice squad 81 Fred Coleman WR 71 Dave Mudge T 86 Jerry Ross TE 14 Undre Williams WR 53 active, 3 inactive, 4 practice squad Reserve 13 Jim Ballard QB (IR) 46 Marlon Kerner CB (IR) 73 Mike Rockwood T (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

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]

Schedule

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

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	2	3	4	Total
Bills	0	0	7	7	14
• Chargers	3	0	10	3	16

Date: Sep 6, 1998
Location: QUALCOMM Stadium, San Diego, California
Game start: 4:15pm EST
Game attendance: 64,037
Game weather: 73 °F (23 °C) • 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn)
Referee: Ron Blum
TV announcers (NFL on CBS): Gus Johnson (sportscaster) and Steve Tasker

^[6]

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

^[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

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 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 °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

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Bills	10	7	10	3	30
Panthers	0	7	0	7	14

Date: October 25
Location: Ericsson Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
Game start: 8:20 p.m.
Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C), wind 2 mph (3.2 km/h)
Referee: Gerry Austin
TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Patrick, Joe Theismann, Paul Maguire and Solomon Wilcots

^[7]

Week 10

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bills	3	6	3	0	12
• Jets	7	6	7	14	34

Date: Nov 8, 1998
Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Game start: 4:15 PM EST
Game attendance: 75,403
Game weather: 38 °F (3 °C) • 11 miles per hour (18 km/h; 9.6 kn)
Referee: Bernie Kukar
TV announcers (NFL on CBS): Greg Gumbel and Phil Simms

Week 14

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	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 (18.9 °C) • 14 miles per hour (23 km/h; 12 kn)
Referee: Ron Blum
TV announcers (NFL on CBS): Gus Johnson (sportscaster) and Steve Tasker

^[9]

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

^[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

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	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
view talk edit	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

Quarter	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

Notes

^ 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

References

^ "1998 Buffalo Bills Roster & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
^ "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.

[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] Elected to Pro Bowl in 2000

[1] "1998 Buffalo Bills Roster & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 2, 2024.

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

[5] 1998 Buffalo Bills Media Guide.

[6] "Buffalo Bills v San Diego Chargers". Pro-Football-Reference.com.

[7] "History of the NFL's Structure and Formats". Pro-Football-Reference.com.

[vchargers-8] "Buffalo Bills at San Diego Chargers — September 6th, 1998". Pro-Football-Reference.com.

[9] "Buffalo Bills at Carolina Panthers — October 25th, 1998". Pro-Football-Reference.com.

[10] "Buffalo Bills Single-Season Receiving Leaders". Pro-Football-Reference.com.

[Rosters-11] "1998 Buffalo Bills Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com.

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v t e Buffalo Bills
Founded in 1960 Based and headquartered in Orchard Park, New York
Franchise	Franchise History All-time roster Seasons Pro Bowl selections First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks Coaches NFL in Toronto
Stadiums	War Memorial Stadium Highmark Stadium Rogers Centre (Bills Toronto Series) New Highmark Stadium (set to open in 2026)
Culture	Ralph Wilson Billy Buffalo Buffalo Jills Bills Mafia Ken "Pinto Ron" Johnson Tim Russert Buffalo '66 Second String Flutie Flakes "Shout" song "Mr. Brightside" "3 Acts of God" Elway to Marino Four Falls of Buffalo Zubaz "No one circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills!"
Lore	Electric Company Wide Right No Punt Game The Comeback Music City Miracle Snowvertime Hail Murray 13 Seconds
Rivalries	Kansas City Chiefs Miami Dolphins New England Patriots New York Jets Tennessee Titans
Division championships (15)	1964 1965 1966 1980 1988 1989 1990 1991 1993 1995 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
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: Chris Brown Van Miller Eric Wood Steve Tasker
Owners	Ralph 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)
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