That Game! A New Thread Series: 2000 Bills Bucs

[corta765]

I am starting a new thread series inspired by @Chandler#81 Throwback Thursday Thread on the 1980 season. This will not be specific to a certain day as much when I have time, but I am starting by picking a random but important game from the year 2000 and moving year by year to 2025... which I will either then restart in 2000 or we will be at preseason. 

 

The Matchup

Today is the Bills Bucs matchup from week 13 in the 2000 series. Heading into the game the Bills were 7-4 and just one game behind the Dolphins for first in the AFC, while tied with the Colts & Jets for second place in division. Additionally Buffalo had won four in a row up to this point and coming off the 99' playoff season hopes were high another playoff berth could happen. This was the height of the Bills QB controversy as Rob Johnson was named starter and finished the year starting 11 games to Flutie's 5. But Flutie played in many games due to Johnsons injuries. In the 6 games Flutie started or played more or less the entire game he went 4-2. Conversely Rob Johnson went 4-7 in his starts that year, but he actually had some solid games passing for over 300 yards once vs San Diego and four games with 2 TDs passing or more which for the time was pretty solid. The Bills offense though was middling (typical drought offense) at just 20th overall at seasons end. The defense though up until this game was a different story as it was holding teams to 18.7 ppg at the time and still the stout unit it had been the prior years, LB Sam Cowart & DT Ted Washington anchored the team.

 

Conversely the Bucs had fully established themselves as one of the best defensive teams in football led by head coach Tony Dungy and a regular playoff fixture that just hadn't broken through. The Bucs had nine pro bowl players including Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp, & John Lynch (yes that Lynch the GM of the 49ers). The Bucs were 6-5 at that point and looking to build a streak themselves to help solidify another playoff berth. The Bucs defense was the name everyone knew, but the offense finished 6th in points scored and were no slouches themselves with Warrick Dunn & Mike Alstott bludgeoning opponents on the ground.

 

The Game

The game itself was a mixture of a defensive slugfest and the Bills inability to score with bad turnovers & special teams miscues. The Bills actually outgained the Bucs 433 yards to 188 yards, dominated time of position 36 mins to 23 mins, & had 25 first downs to the Bucs 13. In the first half TB got an early lead with a Gramatica FG to put the Bucs up 3-0 in the 1st quarter. In the early 2nd quarter the Bills offense mounted a drive and Rob Johnson found RB Jonathan Linton for a TD and 7-3 lead. The Bucs got a TD drive of their own late in the 2nd quarter Bucs QB Shaun King running in a TD from 2 yards out. The first special teams miscue happened on the Bills final drive of the 1st half. The Bills got to the Bucs 15 within the final 3 minutes but the drive stalled there with Warren Sapp sacking Johnson on 3rd down for a 13 yard loss. Bills kicker Steve Christie missed the FG to tie the game right after and the Bucs entered the 2nd half up 10-7. In the mid 2nd quarter Bills stud LB Sam Cowart had his ankle sprained on a controversial block which caused him to miss the remaining 4 games of the season. At the time Cowart led the NFL in tackles with 181 and his loss would be felt by the Bills.

 

The 2nd half saw both teams trade punts before the Bills went on another drive and got into the Bucs territory. On 3rd and 9 from the Bucs 30 Johnson hit WR Peerless Price for 8 yards before Bucs LB Derrick Brooks forced a fumble stopping another Bills scoring drive. After again trading punts the Bucs mounted a drive late in the 3rd quarter and the Bills defense started relenting which led to a Warrick Dunn TD from 6 yards out and a Bucs lead of 17-7. The Bills did answer with Rob Johnson leading a 69 yard TD drive capped by a 19 yard Eric Moulds TD in just 2:42 leaving the Bills down 17-14 with 9:04 remaining.

 

The Bills defense stiffened and got the ball back to the Bills offense with 6:48 to go courtesy of a Bucs punt. The Bills offense couldn't do anything going 3 and out from their own 16 with Johnson being sacked and then throwing back to back incompletions. The game broke on the punt as the Bucs Karl Williams returned a 73 yard touchdown putting the Bucs up 24-14.

 

The Bills did get a FG on the next drive although Johnson himself was knocked out for the game on a huge unnecessary roughness penalty by Bucs LB Derrick Brooks. Johnson actually got his pass to Bills RB Shawn Bryson for a 19 yard completion and first down on play. Flutie was unable to get a TD and the Bills settled for a FG to get it back to a 24-17 one score deficit.

 

No comeback would happen for the Bills or Flutie. Warrick Dunn broke a 39 yard TD run on the last Bucs drive after the Bills failed onside kick and the Bills fumbled trying to move the ball at the last minute to get any points.

 

Aftermath

The game sent both teams two very different directions. The Bills season imploded as the Dolphins destroyed the Bills in Buffalo 33-6 the following week and the defense was a shell of itself with Cowart out for the remainder. The impact of Cowart out was especially hard as the defense went from allowing just 18.7 ppg to 28.8 from his loss in TB on. The Bills lost the following three games before winning in Seattle week 17 to finish 8-8 on the season. Wholesale changes came as head coach Wade Phillips was fired, Johnson named full starter with Flutie traded away, and GM John Butler was not resigned to his position.

 

The Bucs on the other hand parlayed the win into a four game winning streak that got them to 10-5 and into the playoffs. They missed out on the division crown though due to an OT loss in Green Bay week 17, Gramatica missed the game winning FG at the end of the 4th to win the game and they lost in overtime. They fell to the 5th seed and meekly lost to the Eagles on the road 21-3 with the offense unable to do much and the defense keeping it 14-3 until the fourth quarter. Head coach Tony Dungy was allowed to return for one more season with the team in 2001 before being fired after being unable to break through again in the playoffs with another loss to the Eagles.

 

Here is the NFL primetime highlight from that week:

 

[buffblue]

Sam Cowart was an absolute beast and on his way to stardom until this game. He then tore his Achilles in week 1 of 2001 and never played again for the Bills. A shame 

[corta765]

7 minutes ago, buffblue said:

Sam Cowart was an absolute beast and on his way to stardom until this game. He then tore his Achilles in week 1 of 2001 and never played again for the Bills. A shame 

Yep. I remember the Bucs game my dad being like "we are toast he was the glue to this defense and he is soo good". Was such a shame his career got derailed by injury he could've been an all timer. He was ok for the Jets and ironically he played four different years in the post season between Buffalo and NY, but never was the same.

[Bills!Win!]

I think there was a drive where Cowart had 3 sacks. It was ridiculous 

[Bermuda Triangle]

Pretty sure that Cowart was hurt by a cheap, low block by Frank Middleton.

 

And Warren Sapp intentionally flipped over a table full of Gatorade cups on the Bills sideline.

[Livinginthepast]

Despite the Johnson/Flutie controversy, that Bills team should have made the playoffs. The first year of the drought but that never should have been the case. Then Ralph blew it all up with a new coach, players and uniforms the next year.

[eball]

Great thread. I think a legitimate argument can be made that this game almost single handedly sent the Bills into the drought. Cowart had three sacks in the first half and was never the same again, and Johnson just couldn’t get over the injury thing. Wade was fired after they limped through the rest of the season and we all know what happened after that. 
 

[Kelly to Allen]

The bills were just coming off a great win in KC. Rob Johnson came back from injury and played really clutch. 

 

This game was extremely physical and I believe was extremely close until the 4th quarter. 

 

I believe the Bills lost four or five defensive starters in this game and their season went downhill....

 

As previously stated this was Sam cowarts coming out party and he was incredible. 

 

In this era Ray Lewis was viewed as the top linebacker in the NFL and I can tell you 100% that Sam cowart was just as good at this point.

 

Sam Cowart was going to be a Hof level player before his Achilles injury 

 

One of the truly great buffalo bills 

[PonyBoy]

6 hours ago, eball said:

Great thread. I think a legitimate argument can be made that this game almost single handedly sent the Bills into the drought. Cowart had three sacks in the first half and was never the same again, and Johnson just couldn’t get over the injury thing. Wade was fired after they limped through the rest of the season and we all know what happened after that. 
 

 

"Great thread." 👍

[corta765]

16 hours ago, Livinginthepast said:

Despite the Johnson/Flutie controversy, that Bills team should have made the playoffs. The first year of the drought but that never should have been the case. Then Ralph blew it all up with a new coach, players and uniforms the next year.

I am a big believer that in sports and especially football given the limited number of games that there are specific games for teams that either make or break their season. Andddd depending on where that franchise is it also can change the entire trajectory of where they had moving forward.

 

That Bucs game was that way for the Bills. The injuries wrecked a defense that had been stellar and stole a potential building block player long term. The game itself was major in the standings and for a coach that needed to earn another playoff year. Johnson himself was in the cross hairs and had been putting together a decent stretch that could have been viewed as building into a long term starter. The front office from Butler down was trying to keep moving the team forward from that 90s group also. In many ways so much that season hinged on the Bills being a playoff team and the futures of so many individuals. Following the Tampa loss the Bills lost back to back important divisional playoff games which effectively eliminated them from the race also. The combine score between those two games 77-26. 

 

The drought has long been chronicled on here on how it all went down and there are numerous moments where a loss like this spiraled a season and the ramifications altered so much afterward. This was the first of many unfortunately.

[gomper]

Yes, Frank Middleton was the cheap shot artist who went after Cowart's leg. A true shame that injuries ruined Cowart's career as it was starting to blossom. 

 

I also remember in this game, Chris Watson was pressed into service at CB because of injury. I was listening to Van and Murphy on the broadcast. After a series, TB went right after Watson. I'll never forget Murph saying: "Well, they found him." Lol.

[Ned Flanders]

The thing I remember most about this game is that I just got DirecTV a few days before and I was able to watch it on Sunday Ticket.  My days going to Grevey's in Falls Church hence were sporadic. 

[NastyNateSoldiers]

On 3/5/2026 at 2:53 PM, corta765 said:

I am starting a new thread series inspired by @Chandler#81 Throwback Thursday Thread on the 1980 season. This will not be specific to a certain day as much when I have time, but I am starting by picking a random but important game from the year 2000 and moving year by year to 2025... which I will either then restart in 2000 or we will be at preseason. 

 

The Matchup

Today is the Bills Bucs matchup from week 13 in the 2000 series. Heading into the game the Bills were 7-4 and just one game behind the Dolphins for first in the AFC, while tied with the Colts & Jets for second place in division. Additionally Buffalo had won four in a row up to this point and coming off the 99' playoff season hopes were high another playoff berth could happen. This was the height of the Bills QB controversy as Rob Johnson was named starter and finished the year starting 11 games to Flutie's 5. But Flutie played in many games due to Johnsons injuries. In the 6 games Flutie started or played more or less the entire game he went 4-2. Conversely Rob Johnson went 4-7 in his starts that year, but he actually had some solid games passing for over 300 yards once vs San Diego and four games with 2 TDs passing or more which for the time was pretty solid. The Bills offense though was middling (typical drought offense) at just 20th overall at seasons end. The defense though up until this game was a different story as it was holding teams to 18.7 ppg at the time and still the stout unit it had been the prior years, LB Sam Cowart & DT Ted Washington anchored the team.

 

Conversely the Bucs had fully established themselves as one of the best defensive teams in football led by head coach Tony Dungy and a regular playoff fixture that just hadn't broken through. The Bucs had nine pro bowl players including Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp, & John Lynch (yes that Lynch the GM of the 49ers). The Bucs were 6-5 at that point and looking to build a streak themselves to help solidify another playoff berth. The Bucs defense was the name everyone knew, but the offense finished 6th in points scored and were no slouches themselves with Warrick Dunn & Mike Alstott bludgeoning opponents on the ground.

 

The Game

The game itself was a mixture of a defensive slugfest and the Bills inability to score with bad turnovers & special teams miscues. The Bills actually outgained the Bucs 433 yards to 188 yards, dominated time of position 36 mins to 23 mins, & had 25 first downs to the Bucs 13. In the first half TB got an early lead with a Gramatica FG to put the Bucs up 3-0 in the 1st quarter. In the early 2nd quarter the Bills offense mounted a drive and Rob Johnson found RB Jonathan Linton for a TD and 7-3 lead. The Bucs got a TD drive of their own late in the 2nd quarter Bucs QB Shaun King running in a TD from 2 yards out. The first special teams miscue happened on the Bills final drive of the 1st half. The Bills got to the Bucs 15 within the final 3 minutes but the drive stalled there with Warren Sapp sacking Johnson on 3rd down for a 13 yard loss. Bills kicker Steve Christie missed the FG to tie the game right after and the Bucs entered the 2nd half up 10-7. In the mid 2nd quarter Bills stud LB Sam Cowart had his ankle sprained on a controversial block which caused him to miss the remaining 4 games of the season. At the time Cowart led the NFL in tackles with 181 and his loss would be felt by the Bills.

 

The 2nd half saw both teams trade punts before the Bills went on another drive and got into the Bucs territory. On 3rd and 9 from the Bucs 30 Johnson hit WR Peerless Price for 8 yards before Bucs LB Derrick Brooks forced a fumble stopping another Bills scoring drive. After again trading punts the Bucs mounted a drive late in the 3rd quarter and the Bills defense started relenting which led to a Warrick Dunn TD from 6 yards out and a Bucs lead of 17-7. The Bills did answer with Rob Johnson leading a 69 yard TD drive capped by a 19 yard Eric Moulds TD in just 2:42 leaving the Bills down 17-14 with 9:04 remaining.

 

The Bills defense stiffened and got the ball back to the Bills offense with 6:48 to go courtesy of a Bucs punt. The Bills offense couldn't do anything going 3 and out from their own 16 with Johnson being sacked and then throwing back to back incompletions. The game broke on the punt as the Bucs Karl Williams returned a 73 yard touchdown putting the Bucs up 24-14.

 

The Bills did get a FG on the next drive although Johnson himself was knocked out for the game on a huge unnecessary roughness penalty by Bucs LB Derrick Brooks. Johnson actually got his pass to Bills RB Shawn Bryson for a 19 yard completion and first down on play. Flutie was unable to get a TD and the Bills settled for a FG to get it back to a 24-17 one score deficit.

 

No comeback would happen for the Bills or Flutie. Warrick Dunn broke a 39 yard TD run on the last Bucs drive after the Bills failed onside kick and the Bills fumbled trying to move the ball at the last minute to get any points.

 

Aftermath

The game sent both teams two very different directions. The Bills season imploded as the Dolphins destroyed the Bills in Buffalo 33-6 the following week and the defense was a shell of itself with Cowart out for the remainder. The impact of Cowart out was especially hard as the defense went from allowing just 18.7 ppg to 28.8 from his loss in TB on. The Bills lost the following three games before winning in Seattle week 17 to finish 8-8 on the season. Wholesale changes came as head coach Wade Phillips was fired, Johnson named full starter with Flutie traded away, and GM John Butler was not resigned to his position.

 

The Bucs on the other hand parlayed the win into a four game winning streak that got them to 10-5 and into the playoffs. They missed out on the division crown though due to an OT loss in Green Bay week 17, Gramatica missed the game winning FG at the end of the 4th to win the game and they lost in overtime. They fell to the 5th seed and meekly lost to the Eagles on the road 21-3 with the offense unable to do much and the defense keeping it 14-3 until the fourth quarter. Head coach Tony Dungy was allowed to return for one more season with the team in 2001 before being fired after being unable to break through again in the playoffs with another loss to the Eagles.

 

Here is the NFL primetime highlight from that week:

 

I was at this game never left a game afterwards feeling so down as this one. 

[Bookie Man]

Cowart was playing at a Ray Lewis level. Insane. Wonder what he's up to these days.

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

I have been on a kick lately of going back and watching a bunch of early random drought year stuff on YouTube. I have no idea why I have wanted to. It gives you an appreciation for what we have now and it’s funny. You can sort of make connections and feel an association with the 90s team to what we are now. The 2006ish bills don’t even resonate as being the same franchise. Like it’s a surreal disconnection where they don’t even seem like it’s us. Maybe it’s just me.

[Mikie2times]

This game was so depressing. Cowart could have been one of the better LB's to ever play the last 35 years for us if he didn't get hurt. I was so bummed after this one. 

[WotAGuy]

7 hours ago, Mikie2times said:

This game was so depressing. Cowart could have been one of the better LB's to ever play the last 35 years for us if he didn't get hurt. I was so bummed after this one. 

This thread is so depressing. LOL

[T.E.]

The drought started on the play Cowart was injured. Brutal Bills luck, as always.