dave mcbride Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Who was the opposing coach and OC in the Bills most disappointing loss since the Super Bowls? Coughlin and Gilbride in '96. The Bills lost at home to the Jags in the playoffs, surrendering the lead three times in a game that they simply blew. It was Kelly's last game. They had no business losing that game, and failed to take advantage of one of their best defensive units ever. Bruce Smith had the season of his life in '96 (he was defensive player of the year), and had a sick number of pressures (an unrecorded stat, but he had 47 that season) to go along with 14.5 sacks. The hatred against Gilbride on this board when he was here was interesting. In retrospect, he had a bad offensive line and a QB who never could deliver in games against good opponents. When he was in Jax and NY, the opposite applied (and still applies). Sometimes it's the players. He has also been ahead of the curve when it came to recognizing that the NFL was becoming a passing league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills44 Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 IMO, Home Run Throwback was far more disappointing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted February 6, 2012 Author Share Posted February 6, 2012 IMO, Home Run Throwback was far more disappointing. The Titans were probably the better team (they were 13-3, after all, and beat the 14-2 Jags three times before reaching the Super Bowl). While the Bills shouldn't have lost that game, it wasn't as if they were playing at home against an inferior opponent. Moreover, they stupidly started an inferior QB. The 96 loss was the last gasp of a great era, and they were built to win the Super Bowl that year. A lot of prognosticators picked them to go all the way. It was a disappointing season, and the loss at home the Jags was like a punch in the gut. At least that's how I remembered it. After that, there has never been a seaon where I thought they could compete for a Super Bowl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpberr Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Music City Miracle was a shotgun blast to the chest. I don't even remember that Jacksonville game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted February 6, 2012 Author Share Posted February 6, 2012 (edited) Music City Miracle was a shotgun blast to the chest. I don't even remember that Jacksonville game. Wow. I remember it as clear as day. I couldn't believe they lost. I thought they had it in the bag after Jeff Burris returned an INT for a TD in the fourth to make it 27-20. I also thought that Kelly probably didn't fumble on his final play (I thought his knee was down). If that doesn't get ruled a fumble, the Bills have a better than even chance at winning. Edited February 6, 2012 by dave mcbride Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 (edited) Kelly's knee was down. It wasn't a fumble. But there was no review at that time. Edited February 6, 2012 by Doc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted February 6, 2012 Author Share Posted February 6, 2012 (edited) Kelly's knee was down. It wasn't a fumble. But there was no review at that time. Thank you. I remember being very, very pissed. In fact, I'm still pissed. Edited February 6, 2012 by dave mcbride Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob's House Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 That Monday night loss to the Pats a few years ago when McLovin fumbled away a sure win still stings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justice Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 There's so many to choose from. The Music City Miracle, the week 17 loss to the Steelers' back-ups that prevented us from going to the playoffs, the MNF debacle against New England and the playoff loss at Miami come to mind. If I had to choose one it would be the Music City Miracle, because I thought we had a realistic chance to go to the Super Bowl that year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted February 6, 2012 Author Share Posted February 6, 2012 That Monday night loss to the Pats a few years ago when McLovin fumbled away a sure win still stings. But that was just a run-of-the mill regular season game. It sucked, but it was hardly as wrenching as a brutal playoff loss in a season that saw probably the greatest single season performance by a Bill in team history (apologies to OJ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmsmystic Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 The loss to Pittsburgs backups at home to knock the Bills out of the playoff chase a few yearsback. An unknown named "Fast" Willie Parker shredded our defense. Painful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpberr Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 The Bills had their shots in the 4th quarter of that Jacksonville game. The MSM was just a sudden, devastating ending to a football game post SB years like I hadn't seen before or since that fateful day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metal Man Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 I was at that game and it definitely was a tough loss. The Kelly fumble was BS, but IIRC it was Natrone Means running wild all over the D that did the Bills in that day. Seemed like for a couple years there the Bills D just did not have an answer for those big punishing backs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Kelly's knee was down. It wasn't a fumble. But there was no review at that time. But I recall they showed the replay on the big screen and froze the shot right when Kelly's knee was down and he still had the ball. That was a disappointing game, but silly to blame Gilbride when the defense got run over all day long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted February 6, 2012 Author Share Posted February 6, 2012 But I recall they showed the replay on the big screen and froze the shot right when Kelly's knee was down and he still had the ball. That was a disappointing game, but silly to blame Gilbride when the defense got run over all day long. I'm not blaming Gilbride - just pointing out that he was the coordinator. He did call a good game. I also remember a game tying TD reception on 4th down by Jimmy Smith ... Ugh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills44 Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 I was at that game and it definitely was a tough loss. The Kelly fumble was BS, but IIRC it was Natrone Means running wild all over the D that did the Bills in that day. Seemed like for a couple years there the Bills D just did not have an answer for those big punishing backs. Means had to have had over 150 yards that day. That team was on its last legs. Also, Kelly's "fumble" was the result of a blow to the head (Chris Hudson, maybe?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordio Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 (edited) But that was just a run-of-the mill regular season game. It sucked, but it was hardly as wrenching as a brutal playoff loss in a season that saw probably the greatest single season performance by a Bill in team history (apologies to OJ). I was at that playoff game. Only 24 at the time. Went with about 10 guys. Remember the weather was pretty warm that day(maybe around 50). One of my friends brought this kid up from DC & him & his dad were season ticket holders to the Redskins. The blackout was not lifted that game if memory serves me correct but pretty packed house from what I remember. We were sitting in the tunnel endzones & the kid from DC could not believe how into it the fans were. We were banging on the seats making a ton of noise. I remember being pretty sad after that game because I had a feeling that was Kelly's last game. The Bills were hardly a super bowl contender that year though. They had to beat KC the week before just to get into the playoff. I attended every home game that year & you could really see from the stands that Kelly was done. I think he put up decent numbers that year but honestly from the stands you could clearly see he lost his fastball. Smith may have had a great year that year but Boselli ate his lunch that day. Bitchslapped him around the entire game, the one big run by Means after the play Smith was on the ground & Boselli about 20 yards ahead of Smith going to the huddle turn around waiving to Smith as to say "come Bruce you want some more." To this day, the Titans game hurts the most. That Bills team was a true super bowl contender with a top flight defense. Not even close comparing that defense to the one that lost to the Jags. Tenn & the Bills were the 2 best teams in the AFC that year imo. Bills were banged up by I think that defense could of carried the bills to the super bowl. Edited February 6, 2012 by Gordio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rico Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Who was the opposing coach and OC in the Bills most disappointing loss since the Super Bowls? Coughlin and Gilbride in '96. The Bills lost at home to the Jags in the playoffs, surrendering the lead three times in a game that they simply blew. It was Kelly's last game. They had no business losing that game, and failed to take advantage of one of their best defensive units ever. Bruce Smith had the season of his life in '96 (he was defensive player of the year), and had a sick number of pressures (an unrecorded stat, but he had 47 that season) to go along with 14.5 sacks. The hatred against Gilbride on this board when he was here was interesting. In retrospect, he had a bad offensive line and a QB who never could deliver in games against good opponents. When he was in Jax and NY, the opposite applied (and still applies). Sometimes it's the players. He has also been ahead of the curve when it came to recognizing that the NFL was becoming a passing league. Great point, especially about the QB. Bledsoe was a coach-killer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted February 6, 2012 Author Share Posted February 6, 2012 Great point, especially about the QB. Bledsoe was a coach-killer. Bledsoe was NOT a good QB. He had a horrible record against winning teams his entire career. Plus it's not like he played well in the postseason the year they did make it to the SB in 96. They scored 13 points against Jax in the title game, and his one big pass was a pop fly/wounded duck to Terry Glenn in the first quarter. Willie Clay saved them in that game. They force fed the Steelers Curtis Martin in the first round, and the defense again controlled the affair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuSeYiN1978 Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 (edited) Music city miracle has gotta be the most disappointing but one that I remember that really upset me was a regular season game a few years back against the fins where we surely were winning and then an unknown QB named sage rosenfels rallied up and scored 3 unanswered touchdowns to win the game... N also mnf against the boys and mnf against the brownies with no time left were also stingers... Edited February 6, 2012 by HuSeYiN1978 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
South Jersey Bills Fan Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Wow. I remember it as clear as day. I couldn't believe they lost. I thought they had it in the bag after Jeff Burris returned an INT for a TD in the fourth to make it 27-20. I also thought that Kelly probably didn't fumble on his final play (I thought his knee was down). If that doesn't get ruled a fumble, the Bills have a better than even chance at winning. I remember the Jacksonville game...my brother and I went at the last minute...we drove my dad's old Chevy S10 pickup and brought a hibachi. We set it up right in front of the truck between the bumper and the guard rail. My brother was lighting it and at the same time suggested I turn on the radio on the cab. It was my 2 or 3rd time driving a stick, so I jumped in, started the engine and turned the radio on. Then I let out the clutch, forgetting to put it in neutral. Man, I never saw my brother move so quick! His head was this close to being popped like a grape. It was a bad start to a bad day. I can't stand Tony Baselli... There's so many to choose from. The Music City Miracle, the week 17 loss to the Steelers' back-ups that prevented us from going to the playoffs, the MNF debacle against New England and the playoff loss at Miami come to mind. If I had to choose one it would be the Music City Miracle, because I thought we had a realistic chance to go to the Super Bowl that year. How about that ALMOST glorious evening against the Cowpoles at home. Man we should have won that game, but to top it all off, we got to watch that jerkoff JJ jump up and down in our stadium. I hate Jerry Jones... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted February 6, 2012 Author Share Posted February 6, 2012 I guess I don't count regular season games, especially for seasons in which the Bills are a sub .500 team. They're expected to lose those games (and they do). No one expected that they'd lose to Jax at home, especially since they had never lost a home playoff game before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills44 Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 I guess I don't count regular season games, especially for seasons in which the Bills are a sub .500 team. They're expected to lose those games (and they do). No one expected that they'd lose to Jax at home, especially since they had never lost a home playoff game before. or since... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordio Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Music city miracle has gotta be the most disappointing but one that I remember that really upset me was a regular season game a few years back against the fins where we surely were winning and then an unknown QB named sage rosenfels rallied up and scored 3 unanswered touchdowns to win the game... N also mnf against the boys and mnf against the brownies with no time left were also stingers... I was at that game too. Annual Bills trip with the boys. We were partying down in South Beach that Saturday night & get home around 4 in the morning loaded off our asses. Get up a few hours later & head to the stadium. I just remember being really hung over & it was really hot. We get to our seats(6 of us). We are sitting in the 2nd to last row in the upper decks. Just miserable with the sun beating down on us. 5 minutes into the game my one friends speaks up. He says "I think everybody is thinking this but I am going to be the one to have the guts to say it; Want to leave & watch the rest of the game at Hooters?" None of us said a word, we all just nodded our heeads, walked out of the stadium & went to Hooters. Best decision we made all weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuSeYiN1978 Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 I was at that game too. Annual Bills trip with the boys. We were partying down in South Beach that Saturday night & get home around 4 in the morning loaded off our asses. Get up a few hours later & head to the stadium. I just remember being really hung over & it was really hot. We get to our seats(6 of us). We are sitting in the 2nd to last row in the upper decks. Just miserable with the sun beating down on us. 5 minutes into the game my one friends speaks up. He says "I think everybody is thinking this but I am going to be the one to have the guts to say it; Want to leave & watch the rest of the game at Hooters?" None of us said a word, we all just nodded our heeads, walked out of the stadium & went to Hooters. Best decision we made all weekend. Lol good decision... I on the other hand flung a glass on the wall and almost cried from anger... That game made me evolve into a more calm fan... I'll never let myself get THAT upset over a Bills game again unless if It's another loss in the SB... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 But I recall they showed the replay on the big screen and froze the shot right when Kelly's knee was down and he still had the ball. Yep. As I said, not a fumble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meathead Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 easiest question ever top three most disappointing games in bills history 1. wide right 2. illegal lateral 3. choking to deep scrubs to lose playoff spot questions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills44 Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 I was at that game too. Annual Bills trip with the boys. We were partying down in South Beach that Saturday night & get home around 4 in the morning loaded off our asses. Get up a few hours later & head to the stadium. I just remember being really hung over & it was really hot. We get to our seats(6 of us). We are sitting in the 2nd to last row in the upper decks. Just miserable with the sun beating down on us. 5 minutes into the game my one friends speaks up. He says "I think everybody is thinking this but I am going to be the one to have the guts to say it; Want to leave & watch the rest of the game at Hooters?" None of us said a word, we all just nodded our heeads, walked out of the stadium & went to Hooters. Best decision we made all weekend. Ha, nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted February 6, 2012 Author Share Posted February 6, 2012 easiest question ever top three most disappointing games in bills history 1. wide right 2. illegal lateral 3. choking to deep scrubs to lose playoff spot questions? I don't agree about #3. The Bills weren't that good and wouldn't have done anything in the playoffs that year. They feasted on bad teams that season, and went 1-6 against teams with winning records. Typical Bledsoe. Moreover, it wasn't even a playoff game, and it was a lousy game to boot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBD Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Music City Miracle was a shotgun blast to the chest. I don't even remember that Jacksonville game. I remember it not being televised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st pete gogolak Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 This isn't even close to being close. It's the Music City Miracle. That team had a Super Bowl caliber defense and it may have gotten us to the game. I tend to doubt it would have happened because our O-Line was totally beaten up and subpar even when healthy. At the beginning of the season, I thought that the 1996 team could be a Super Bowl team but the reality was that team was OK but far from great. Kelly was on his last legs, the O-Line wasn't very good (sound familiar?) and other veterans were slowing down. As good as Bruce Smith was that year, Tony Boselli absolutely owned him in that playoff game. As also pointed out by other posters, Natrone Means ran all over us. Even if that team had squeaked out a win against JAX, it wasn't going anywhere. The 1999 team was a different story. It lost on a fluke play on the road to a team that came up one yard short of sending the Super Bowl into overtime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1B4IDie Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 (edited) The Titans were probably the better team (they were 13-3, after all, and beat the 14-2 Jags three times before reaching the Super Bowl). While the Bills shouldn't have lost that game, it wasn't as if they were playing at home against an inferior opponent. Moreover, they stupidly started an inferior QB. The 96 loss was the last gasp of a great era, and they were built to win the Super Bowl that year. A lot of prognosticators picked them to go all the way. It was a disappointing season, and the loss at home the Jags was like a punch in the gut. At least that's how I remembered it. After that, there has never been a seaon where I thought they could compete for a Super Bowl. The loss to the Jags was disappointing but the team lost its passion. It played too many games and it was clear that they didn't have the fire anymore. It was the end of an era. The Music City Forward Lateral was by far more disappointing, and I clearly remember looking at the AFC field in the moments before the kickoff and thinking, there is a real shot to make it to the Super Bowl (And lose to the Rams' greatest show on turf) Not to mention that it was clearly a forward lateral, and the Bills should not have lost the game. One player is in front of the yard maker, one player is behind and you can give me whatever garbage you want about the angle of the throw and where his hands were when he made the catch. It looks like a forward lateral in real time, slow motion and any angle you want to bring up. Music City Forward Lateral is the most disappointing because it could have been the start of new era of relevance and winning. It took almost a decade to crawl out of the mess of the Forward Lateral and Ron (spit) Johnson. However the point is still relevant that OC and HC combo have proven to be strong and Gilbride owns two more super bowl rings than the Bills franchise owns. Edited February 6, 2012 by Why So Serious? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob's House Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 But that was just a run-of-the mill regular season game. It sucked, but it was hardly as wrenching as a brutal playoff loss in a season that saw probably the greatest single season performance by a Bill in team history (apologies to OJ). To me it was the most gut wrenching regular season game ever. We hadn't beaten the Pats in years, just got TO, it was the can TE be the guy season, & we start the season dominating the Pats just to piss it all away at the end. And the guy that sat next to me at work was a Pats fan. It's the only time in the last 10 years I let a football game negatively affect my mood for more than 20 minutes after the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted February 6, 2012 Author Share Posted February 6, 2012 (edited) This isn't even close to being close. It's the Music City Miracle. That team had a Super Bowl caliber defense and it may have gotten us to the game. I tend to doubt it would have happened because our O-Line was totally beaten up and subpar even when healthy. At the beginning of the season, I thought that the 1996 team could be a Super Bowl team but the reality was that team was OK but far from great. Kelly was on his last legs, the O-Line wasn't very good (sound familiar?) and other veterans were slowing down. As good as Bruce Smith was that year, Tony Boselli absolutely owned him in that playoff game. As also pointed out by other posters, Natrone Means ran all over us. Even if that team had squeaked out a win against JAX, it wasn't going anywhere. The 1999 team was a different story. It lost on a fluke play on the road to a team that came up one yard short of sending the Super Bowl into overtime. There was no way that a QB as bad as Rob Johnson would have gotten the Bills to the SB. I think that they would have been soundly beaten the next week in Indy. Failing that, the Jags would have killed them. The notion that the Bills were a SB caliber team in 1999 is a pervasive myth that fails to account for the central problem on that team: the starting QB. Edited February 6, 2012 by dave mcbride Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 (edited) easiest question ever top three most disappointing games in bills history 1. wide right 2. illegal lateral 3. choking to deep scrubs to lose playoff spot questions? You have got to be joking. I've never understood why people here overrate that game so badly. They were a mediocre team who lost to a playoff team and it cost the Bills what, a chance to squeak in and get waxed the following week? Big deal. There are probably 20 more heartbreaking games than that one in Bills history. The Ronnie Harmon game? San Diego playoff game (Fergy's ankle)? The AFC Championship @ Cincy (delay of game)? The other 3 SBs? Good grief, I could go on all day. Edited February 6, 2012 by KD in CT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills44 Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 There was no way that a QB as bad as Rob Johnson would have gotten the Bills to the SB. I think that they would have been soundly beaten the next week in Indy. Failing that, the Jags would have killed them. The notion that the Bills were a SB caliber team in 1999 is a pervasive myth that fails to account for the central problem on that team: the starting QB. The '99 team was better than the '96 team and had a better chance to make a post-season run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
first_and_ten Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 You have got to be joking. I've never understood why people here overrate that game so badly. They were a mediocre team who lost to a playoff team and it cost the Bills what, a chance to squeak in and get waxed the following week? Big deal. There are probably 20 more heartbreaking games than that one in Bills history. The Ronnie Harmon game? San Diego playoff game (Fergy's ankle)? The AFC Championship @ Cincy (delay of game)? The other 3 SBs? Good grief, I could go on all day. yes, plenty of heartbreak to choose from Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornerville Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 (edited) easiest question ever top three most disappointing games in bills history 1. wide right 2. illegal lateral 3. choking to deep scrubs to lose playoff spot questions? And I give you the easiest 'F' ever on your answer, because the question is SINCE the Super Bowls!! Most underrated hurtful game since the Super Bowls: The 'Just give it to em' Game at New England in 1998, when you couple that WITH the Vinny Tesaverde 'phantom' TD the Jets got against Seattle (2 obvious calls that a novice ref can make) that cost the Bills a 2 seed in the AFC. Edited February 6, 2012 by Cornerville Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homey D. Clown Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Music City Mistake, absolutely no contest, everything else is an argument for 2nd worst. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennesseeboy Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 The Music City Miracle, which brought about the never ending curse of Doug Flutie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts