One
of the most memorable finishes in NFL playoff history gave the Tennessee
Titans the franchise’s first playoff win since 1991, a 22-16 stunner over the visiting Buffalo Bills. After Steve Christie kicked a 51-yard field goal to give Buffalo a 16-15 lead with 16 second remaining, the Titans’ Kevin Dyson returned a Frank Wycheck lateral on the ensuing kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown, scoring with three seconds left in the game. The play termed by many as the “Music City Miracle,” gave Tennessee a 22-16 lead that turned into a victory after Buffalo’s
last-ditch hopes for a matching return touchdown were thwarted.
The
Titans took a 12-0 lead into intermission, but
the Bills stormed back with a five-play drive caped off by the first
of two Antowain Smith touchdown runs. Smith’s second score gave the Bills a 13-12 lead with 11:08 remaining, a one-point advantage that stood until late in the game. Tennessee quarterback Steve McNair led a 10-play drive which culminated with an Al Del Greco field goal with 1:48 remaining, a 36-yard boot that gave the Titans a short-lived 15-13 advantage, taken away shortly thereafter by Christie’s
field goal. The Titans managed only 76 yards passing,
but running back Eddie George paced the offense with a 29-carry,
106-yard performance. The victory, in front of a franchise-record
crowd at the Coliseum, allowed the Tennessee franchise to advance
to the AFC Division Playoffs for the first time since 1993.
