Music City Miracle

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Music City Miracle
The 2009 stadium
1 2 3 4th total
Tennessee Titans 0 10 0 12 22nd
Buffalo Bills 0 0 7th 9 16
date January 8, 2000
Stadion Adelphia Coliseum
city Nashville , Tennessee
Number of visitors 66,782
Television broadcast
Network ABC Sports
Commentators Mike Patrick , Joe Theismann and Paul Maguire

As Music City Miracle ( English for miracles of Music City is) the launch winning play of the wildcard round playoff game of the 1999 season in the US American football -Liga NFL between the Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills referred, with the name is often used for the entire game.

The game of the American Football Conference took place on January 8, 2000 in front of 66,782 spectators at the Adelphia Coliseum in Nashville . 16 seconds before the end of the game, the Bills took the lead at 16:15. During the subsequent kickoff return, a Titans player threw a lateral pass to wide receiver Kevin Dyson , who brought the ball untouched into the end zone for the winning touchdown . Above all, the question of whether the pass really wasn't an illegal forward pass caused a lot of controversy and made the game famous.

background

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills were able to secure qualification for the play-offs in 1999, led by quarterback Doug Flutie , after 15 games. So it was decided to spare some starters on the last day of play and instead give their backups playing time. Among them was Flutie, who was replaced by Rob Johnson . He had a phenomenal day against the Indianapolis Colts as he made over 75% of his passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns, setting up the Bills' eleventh win of the season at 31-7. After the game, head coach Wade Phillips announced that the Bills would also go into the play-offs with Johnson starting quarterback and Flutie was pushed to the bench. This decision was discussed very controversially. Phillips later stated that he was forced to do so by owner Ralph Wilson .

Tennessee Titans

Three years before the game, the former Houston Oilers moved to Tennessee to become the Titans. In the first two seasons in the new state, however, they only achieved 8-8 seasons and missed the play-offs . In the 1999 season , the team under Head Coach Jeff Fisher managed to achieve 13 wins in sixteen games and thus move into the play-offs. Among other things, they did not lose any of their games in their own stadium. Important supports were running back Eddie George , who ran for 1,304 yards , and defensive end Jevon Kearse , who scored 14.5 sacks .

Course of the game

Before the miracle

After a pointless first quarter, the Titans Defense was able to score the first points in the second quarter when they achieved a safety . It was followed by a touchdown and a field goal to go 12-0 into halftime. In the second half, the Bills began their comeback, scoring 13 points. Running back Antowain Smith scored twelve of them with two touchdown runs. With 1:48 left to play, Al Del Greco brought the Titans back into the lead after a 36-yard field goal with 15:13. After a 33 yard kickoff return from Kevin Williams , Johnson marched down the field with the Bills. Kicker Stevie Christie brought the Bills 16 seconds before the end after a 41-yard field goal with 16:15.

The Music City Miracle

This was followed by the kickoff . Titan's Special Teams coordinator called a kickoff-return play called the home run throwback . This move was trained by the Titans every week, but has never been used. Christie kicked off relatively short to the 25-yard line of the Titans, where the ball was caught by fullback Lorenzo Neal . He took a few steps to the right, then passed the ball to tight end Frank Wycheck . He too ran to the right, pulling the Bill players to this side of the field. Then he stopped and threw the ball to wide receiver Kevin Dyson . He ran down the field untouched on the left side with some blockers and scored the touchdown.

The referees then withdrew to check the video evidence, as there was a possibility that the pass from Wycheck to Dyson went forward, but only a lateral pass , i.e. a pass to the side or back, is allowed during kickoffs . After several minutes of discussion, referee Phil Luckett finally gave the touchdown.

Reactions

Years after the game, the Music City Miracle is still the subject of debate as to whether or not the pass from Wycheck to Dyson was a forward pass. Among supporters of the Bills, the event was also referred to as Home Run Throw Forward and Immaculate Deception (eng. For immaculate deception). The Bills' head coach during the game, Wade Phillips , also described the decision as a mistake. At the beginning of the following season , a referee crew came to the Bills to explain to the coaching staff new rule changes and decisions made during the last season. The first video they showed the coaching staff was from the Music City Miracle and cited the decision as an example of good refereeing. Phillips then expelled her from the Bills' compound.

One reason for the debate is that the move was not carried out correctly. Actually, Dyson should be five yards behind the ball carrier and not at the same height. Dyson wasn't the originally intended player either. Derrick Mason always took his part in training . It was only in the game that the decision was made to replace Mason with Dyson. Mason was battered and his backup, Anthony Dorsett , had cramps. Dyson had never carried a kick back in the NFL before.

In 2016, Sports Illustrated voted the Music City Miracle 93rd out of the hundred greatest sports moments.

Aftermath

The Titans also won the games against the Indianapolis Colts and the Jacksonville Jaguars after the game . As a result, they moved into the Super Bowl for the first time in their history . In Super Bowl XXXIV they lost 16:23 against the St. Louis Rams . This game, the last move of which became known as One Yard Short , also ended spectacularly to the disadvantage of the Titans.

After this defeat, a long dry spell began for the Buffalo Bills. Only after 18 years, in the 2017 season , could they qualify for the play-offs again.

statistics

The game was very defensive. The Titans were only able to score an average of 2.9 yards per play. In total, they only achieved 194 yards. Running back Eddie George scored 106 of them in 29 runs, with the longest running over nine yards.

BUF TEN
First downs 13 16
Runs Yds TDs 27-123-2 39-139-1
Cmp-Att-Yd-TD-INT 10-22-131-0-0 13-24-76-0-1
Sacks yards 6-35 3-21
Net Pass Yards 96 55
Total yards 219 194
Fumbles -Lost 2-2 2-1
Turnovers 2 2
Penalties yards 10-59 2-12
Third Down Conv. 5-13 4-16
Time of Possession 24:54 35:06

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Wild Card - Buffalo Bills at Tennessee Titans - January 8th, 2000. Retrieved June 16, 2019 .
  2. ^ Worst Moments In Bills History, No. 20: Rob Johnson Over Doug Flutie. Retrieved June 17, 2019 .
  3. ↑ David Aretha: Top 10 Craziest Plays in Football . Enslow Publishing, LLC, 2016, ISBN 978-0-7660-8304-2 , pp. 18 .
  4. ↑ a b c George had no faith Titans would pull off Music City Miracle. Retrieved June 17, 2019 .
  5. ↑ a b c d David Aretha: Top 10 Craziest Plays in Football . Enslow Publishing, LLC, 2016, ISBN 978-0-7660-8304-2 , pp. 19 .
  6. ↑ a b Music City Miracle. Retrieved June 17, 2019 .
  7. ↑ TITANS 'MIRACLE - CONTROVERSIAL KICKOFF RETURN AT 0:03 STUNS BILLS. Retrieved June 17, 2019 .
  8. ↑ a b David Aretha: Top 10 Craziest Plays in Football . Enslow Publishing, LLC, 2016, ISBN 978-0-7660-8304-2 , pp. 20 .
  9. ^ A b Frank Wycheck on Buffalo Bills bandwagon 18 years after Music City Miracle. Retrieved June 17, 2019 .
  10. ^ Still not buying Music City Miracle. Retrieved June 16, 2019 .
  11. ^ Wade Phillips still believes Music City Miracle was a forward lateral. Retrieved June 17, 2019 .
  12. ^ Wade Phillips kicked officiating crew out of Bills' facility over Music City Miracle. Retrieved June 17, 2019 .
  13. ↑ Jeff Fisher Tells An All Time Story About How The Music City Miracle Almost Didn't Happen Because Kevin Dyson Wasn't Paying Attention In Practice. Retrieved June 17, 2019 .
  14. ↑ I Was ALMOST the Music City Miracle Hero. Retrieved June 17, 2019 .
  15. ^ The Music City Miracle needs a deep rewind. Retrieved June 17, 2019 .
  16. ^ The Music City Miracle. Retrieved June 16, 2019 .
  17. ↑ Tom Robinson: Tennessee Titans . Inside the NFL. ABDO, 2010, ISBN 978-1-61758-665-1 , pp. 10 .
  18. ↑ Buffalo Bills make playoffs 18 years after 'Music City Miracle'. Retrieved June 16, 2019 .