The Set-up: I know when people talk about the Bills in the 2000s, it’s mostly just a bunch of crappy memories. However, there are some, well, not awful moments that can be thrown into the conversation. The 2002 team with Bledose was a lot of fun. The 6-game winning streak in 2004 was cool. How about that great 5-1 start in 2008? 31-0 against New England (The good one, not the reverse one). T.O. in Buffalo? Those suggestions seem to come up the most. However, no one really mentions the 2000 Bills. To me, that was the best team of the decade. They had a top tier defense with the likes of Sam Cowart, Marcellus Wiley, Ted Washington, Pat Williams and Henry Jones. It was a mix of young players and a couple of old vets. Cowart, was the key to that defense, as he played at an all-pro level. He was that fricken good!
The Bills entered 2000 with bigger questions than expectations. You have to understand, this was after the Bills lost starters Bruce Smith, Andre Reed, Thurman Thomas, Kurt Schultz, Gabe Northern and Thomas Smith. However, unknown guys like Keion Carpenter and 2nd year man, Antoine Winfield, stepped in and the defense didn’t miss a beat. No one thought the defense would play this well. For the season, the team ranked 3rd in total defense.
The one game that sits with me for the season was the home opener against the Titans. Why? Because I was there! The schedule gods decided that it would behoove both franchises to have a rematch after “The Music City Miracle.” To me, this was the greatest football game I had ever been to. Mind you, I’ve been to like 3 playoff games in the early 90s and probably 10 games or so during that era. The game was just anger. I mean, everyone was pissed. I was pissed, the fans were pissed, the players were pissed.
REVENGE!
Can you imagine what it would be like if we played the Giants right after Super Bowl XXV in Buffalo? This was probably the closest we ever get to that sort of encounter. Fans always talk about the 31-0 win over the Pats, but this game should be up there when you talk about the greatest moments of the 2000s. The Titans were no joke, as they finished the season with 13-3 record. That night, we beat them 16-13.
Because of the defense and Eric Moulds, the Bills had a 7-4 record and proved that they could beat great teams. Along with the Titans, they beat the Packers and they even kept it close against the Colts and Vikings, who were teams that went 10-6 and 11-5. The Bills seemed to be on the verge to make the playoffs for the 5th time in six years.
What happened: It was week 13 and the Bills were going up against the Bucs. Tampa Bay was no pushover, as they had just come off a season in which they made it to the NFC Title game. The Bills ended up losing the game 31-17, but that wasn’t the only disappointing outcome of the day. The Bills lost Keion Carpenter, Sam Rogers and Sam Cowart for the season because of high ankle sprains. Yes, all three guys suffered the same type of injury. Weird, right?
Cowart was the biggest loss. He played exceptionally well for the season, as he had 5.5 sacks and 88 tackles. Honestly, it’s a toss up for me as to who was better in his prime for the Bills, Takeo Spikes or Cowart? Sam was that good. Carpenter was also a big loss, as he was leading the team in interceptions with five and really seemed to be developing into a decent safety. Sam Rogers was also having a nice season, as he chipped in with 5 sacks. So, what was response from the Bills after these losses?
Total collapse.
The Bills next opponent was Miami, and Wade Phillips decided to scrap the 3-4 defense for a 4-3. It made sense on paper, because with two of their starting linebackers out, the Bills could play Pat Williams and Ted Washington inside. However, to scrape a defensive alignment and implement a new one in just 6 days, was asking for trouble. Miami smoked the Bills 33-6 at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Now, this wasn’t Dan Marino smoking the Bills, this was Jay Fiedler and Lamar fricken Smith! Fiedler threw for three touchdowns and Smith had over 100 yards rushing (BTW, guess who the OC was for Miami? Chan Gailey).
At 7-6, the Bills had a showdown on Monday Night Football with the Colts, who were also 7-6. The craziest thing about this game was before hand, when Wade Phillips told a national audience that he didn’t think the Bills or the Colts were going to make the playoffs. Huh?! Way to go, Wade. Way to motivate the troops, jackass! For the 2nd week in a row, the Bills 4-3 defense was torn to shreds. Indianapolis killed us, 44-20. Edgerrin James had 3 touchdowns and over a 100-yards rushing. At 7-7, the Bills were in trouble. BTW, the Colts would end up making the playoffs. Again, way to motivate the troops!!
The next week, the Bills defense played better, but would end up losing a 3rd straight game against the Patriots by a score of 13-10. The loss pretty much ended the Bills playoff hopes. The team did win their final game against Seatle to finish 8-8. After the season, Doug Flutie, Wade Phillips and John Butler were given their walking papers.
What if the Bills defense didn’t get snakebitten by injuries? To give you an example of how badly the Bills missed Cowart, Carpenter and Rogers, realize that the points they gave up against the Colts and Dolphins were season highs. Also, when the Bills faced the Colts in Buffalo and Miami on the road earlier in the year, the defense only allowed 18 points and just two offensive touchdowns respectively. If those guys are starting, I don’t think the Bills give up 76 points in two games. What made matters worse were the Bills replacements. Do the names Jay Foreman, Kenyatta Wright and Travares Tillman make your skin crawl? Well, they were the replacements and two of them were rookies. The trio did absolutely nothing. No sacks, no interceptions, no nothing.
Now, if the Bills stayed the course without any of these injuries, they would have had to go 10-6 to make the playoffs. New England finished the 2000 season with a 5-11 record and the Bills loss was by only three points. Maybe, with Cowart in the line-up, things turn out differently. As for Miami, the Bills never would have gotten that killed in Buffalo. They have always played Miami tough in Buffalo. Plus, you have to consider that Buffalo swept Miami the year before.
Now, if the Bills made the playoffs, they would have played Miami or the Colts on the road. As I alluded to earlier, the Bills did play tough against them during the year when healthy. They also would have had Doug Flutie at the helm, because Rob Johnson suffered his 200th injury of the season. That actually could have been a “What if?” What if Doug Flutie started over Johson during that year? Flutie was 4-1 as the starter, while Johnson was 4-7.
Yes, so I am changing it up, if Flutie had started the whole year and the Bills weren’t decimated by injuries, they make the playoffs. You see, the whole 2000 season was all about “What ifs?”. Now, if the Bills make the playoffs, does Wade Phillips get canned? Does Doug Flutie get cut? What about John Butler? Maybe they beat the Colts or Miami in the first round. If they win those games, the would have played against the Titans. A rematch against a team that beat them the year before. The same team they had beaten earlier in the season.
I think when you compare the 1999 and the 2000 Bills, there were contrasts that made the 2000 team better. I think Marcellus Wiley (10.5 sacks) was an upgrade over an aging Bruce Smith. Keith Newman had 8.5 sacks on the season, which was may more than Gabe Northern ever had. Keion Carpenter was getting interceptions. Hate to say it, but Peerless Price was better at that stage of his career than Andre Reed. The reason why that team failed to make the playoffs had to do with injuries and the QB carousel.
John Boutet’s POV: Absolutely they make the playoffs. I will always remember the last game of that season at Seattle where Flutie just lit up the place. He knew he was gone and it was his way of saying “you guys blew it”. I just don’t know what the Bills fascination with Johnson was. Should have never given up on Flutie IMO.
John Boutet is a Buffalo sports historian on the Greater Buffalo HOF Board and also a web editor for Buffalosportsmuseum.com. Make sure you check John’s site out, as it’s like going down memory lane for Buffalo Sports.
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