The 1998 Buffalo Bills season was the team's 39th season, and 29th in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. 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 Douglas Richard Flutie (born October 23, 1962) is an American former football quarterback whose professional career spanned 21 seasons. He played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), eight seasons in the Canadian Football League (CF ...

. It would also mark the beginning of the

Wade Phillips Harold Wade Phillips (born June 21, 1947) is an American football coach who is currently the head coach of the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL. He has served as head coach of the Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, and Dallas Cowboys. He has also serve ...

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, and would qualify for the playoffs only to lose in the wild card round to the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

. 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 San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

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 The Dolphins were an American fusion band founded 1987 in New York. The band consisted of Mike DeMicco (guitar), Vinnie Martucci (keyboard), Rob Leon (bass guitar), and Dan Brubeck (drums and percussion), a son of the jazz pianist Dave Brubeck ...

in the Wild Card round of the 1998 AFC Playoffs, where wide receiver

Eric Moulds Eric Shannon Moulds (born July 17, 1973) is a former American football wide receiver who played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Mississippi State University and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills 24 ...

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 Raymond Lester "Trace" Armstrong III (born October 5, 1965), is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for fifteen seasons from the late 1980s to the early 2000s. He played ...

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 Mark Allen Brunell (born September 17, 1970) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the quarterbacks coach for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played in the NFL for nineteen seasons and is best ...

. 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 The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

quarterback

to back up Johnson; Flutie would end the 1998 season with the

NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award The National Football League Comeback Player of the Year Award refers to a number of awards that are given to a National Football League (NFL) player who has shown perseverance in overcoming adversity, in the form of not being in the NFL the previo ...

NFL Draft

Personnel

Staff

Roster

Regular season

The opening game for 1998 constituted the first time since

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

that the Bills played the San Diego Chargers. The reason for this is that before the admission of

the Texans ''The Texans'' is a 1938 American Western film directed by James P. Hogan and starring Joan Bennett and Randolph Scott. The screenplay was written by Bertram Millhauser, Paul Sloane and William Wister Haines and is based on the novel ''North of ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, NFL scheduling formulas for games outside a team's division were much more influenced by table position during the previous season.

Schedule

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Week 1

Starting QBs: Buffalo:

Rob Johnson (American football) Robert Garland Johnson (born March 18, 1973) is a former professional American football quarterback and current assistant football coach at Mission Viejo High School. Johnson, a native of Orange County, California, played college football at th ...

** Johnson left with a concussion with the Bills trailing 10-0. ** San Diego Chargers:

Ryan Leaf Ryan David Leaf (born May 15, 1976) is a former American football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons. He played for the San Diego Chargers and the Dallas Cowboys between 1998 and 2001, and also p ...

** 1st NFL Start ** Vegas Line: San Diego Chargers -1.5 Over/Under:41.0 (under)

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 degrees, 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 degrees, sunny, wind 10 mph * 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 degrees, 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 degrees, sunny * TV: CBS * Announcers:

Greg Gumbel Greg Gumbel (born May 3, 1946) is an American television sportscaster. He is best known for his various assignments for CBS Sports (most notably, the National Football League and NCAA basketball). The older brother of news and sportscaster Bryan ...

and

Phil Simms Phillip Martin Simms (born November 3, 1955) is an American former football quarterback who spent his entire 15-year professional career playing for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He is currently a television sport ...

Week 8

Week 10

Week 14

First meeting of the two clubs in Cincinnati since the 1988

AFC Championship Game The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...

. Starting QBs: Buffalo:

Cincinnati:

Neil O'Donnell Neil Kennedy O'Donnell (born July 3, 1966) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League for 14 seasons. He played college football at Maryland and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third ro ...

Vegas Line: Buffalo Bills -4.5 Over/Under: 43.0 (over) On the first play from scrimmage,

became the 20th Player in Bills History With 50+ Receptions In A Season, as he caught a 55 yard reception from

. Pro-Football-Reference.com
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Week 15

Wade Wilson gets his 2nd start at QB since 1993 by head coach

John Gruden John Daniel Gruden (born June 4, 1970) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He currently serves as an assistant coach for the Boston Bruins. Prior to Boston, he most served as an assistant coach for the New York Islanders of ...

. Buffalo clinches playoff berth with the win.

also gets his first head coaching win vs the Raiders.

Standings

Playoffs

AFC: Miami Dolphins 24, Buffalo Bills 17

Awards and honors

, AFC Pro Bowl Selection * Doug Flutie,

NFL Comeback Player of the Year The National Football League Comeback Player of the Year Award refers to a number of awards that are given to a National Football League (NFL) player who has shown perseverance in overcoming adversity, in the form of not being in the NFL the previo ...

References

Bills on Pro Football Reference

Bills on jt-sw.com

Bills Stats on jt-sw.com
{{1998 NFL season by team Buffalo Bills seasons

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

Buff Buff or BUFF may refer to: People * Buff (surname), a list of people * Buff (nickname), a list of people * Johnny Buff, ring name of American world champion boxer John Lisky (1888–1955) * Buff Bagwell, a ring name of American professional wr ...