1999 Buffalo Bills season The 1999 Buffalo Bills season was the 40th season for the team in the National Football League . It would be the final season that long time Bills members Bruce Smith , Andre Reed and Thurman Thomas were on the same team together . All three were released at the end of the season due to salary cap reasons . The Buffalo Bills finished in second place in the AFC East and finished the National Football League ' s 1999 season with a record of 11 wins and 5 losses . The Bills qualified for the postseason for the seventh time in the decade . As of the 2010 season , this was the last season that Buffalo qualified for the playoffs . Playoffs . AFC Wild Card . Music City Miracle . The Music City Miracle is a famous play in the NFL Wild Card Playoffs involving the Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills that took place on January 8 , 2000 ( following the 1999 regular season ) at Adelphia Coliseum in Nashville , Tennessee . Going into the game , Bills coach Wade Phillips created a stir by starting quarterback Rob Johnson , rather than Doug Flutie , who had started 15 games , and who had led the team to the playoffs . Late in the fourth quarter , the stage was set for an exciting finish . Tennessee received the ball with 6 : 15 remaining . Titans receiver Isaac Byrd ' s 16 - yard punt return and five carries from Eddie George for 17 yards set up a wobbly 36 - yard field goal by Del Greco . The Titans took a 15 – 13 lead with 1 : 48 to go . On the ensuing drive , with no timeouts remaining , Bills quarterback Johnson led the Bills on a five - play , 37 - yard drive to the Titans ' 24 yard line . On the last two plays from scrimmage , Johnson played with only one shoe on , as he had lost one and had no time to put it back on , with the clock running out . With only 16 seconds remaining in the game , Steve Christie , the Bills ' kicker , made a 41 - yard field goal to put Buffalo in the lead , 16 – 15 . Moments later , Christie kicked off , and Titans player Lorenzo Neal received . Neal handed the ball off to Titans tight end Frank Wycheck , who then lateraled the ball across the field to another Titans player , Kevin Dyson , who then ran down the sidelines for a 75 - yard touchdown . The play was named Home Run Throwback by the Titans and was developed by Special Teams Coordinator Alan Lowry . Per the instant replay rules , the play was reviewed by referee Phil Luckett since it was uncertain if the ball had been a forward pass , which is illegal on a kickoff return . However , the call on the field was upheld as a touchdown , and the Titans won the game 22 – 16 . After the game , however , many Bills players and fans continued to insist that it was indeed an illegal forward pass . The victory , in front of a franchise - record crowd at Adelphia Coliseum , allowed the Tennessee franchise to advance to the divisional round of the AFC playoffs for the first time since 1993 . Subsequent victories over the Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars sent the Titans to Super Bowl XXXIV to face the St . Louis Rams , where they lost by a touchdown . It could be said that the game served as revenge for the Titans / Oilers franchise for The Comeback , where the Bills came back from a 32 - point deficit to defeat the Houston Oilers , 41 – 38 , in overtime . For the Bills , it led to the firing after 13 seasons of special teams coach Bruce DeHaven . One year later , Phillips was fired ( partly due to his failure to lead the Bills past the first round of the playoffs during his tenure ) and replaced by Titans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams . It was added to the list of infamous moments in Buffalo sports history , joining Wide Right and No Goal .