2002 Buffalo Bills season | |
---|---|
Owner | Ralph Wilson |
General manager | Tom Donahoe |
Head coach | Gregg Williams |
Home stadium | Ralph Wilson Stadium |
Results | |
Record | 8–8 |
Division place | 4th AFC East |
Playoffs | Did not qualify |
Pro Bowlers | QB Drew Bledsoe RB Travis Henry WR Eric Moulds G Ruben Brown |
All-Pros | WR Eric Moulds (2nd team) G Ruben Brown (2nd team) |
The 2002 season was the Buffalo Bills' 43rd as a franchise and 33rd in the National Football League.
The Bills acquired veteran quarterback Drew Bledsoe from the New England Patriots on draft weekend in exchange for Buffalo's first-round pick in the 2003 draft, [1] (the Bills later gained a first-round pick via a sign-and-trade of receiver Peerless Price, coming off a breakout season, to the Atlanta Falcons for their first-round pick in the 2003 draft). Bledsoe brought instant credibility to Buffalo's inept passing game; the Bills' offense scored the sixth most points in the AFC in 2002, after having scored the fifth fewest in the entire league the previous season.
The season saw the Bills change their uniform, which lasted until 2011. [2] [3]
Additions | Subtractions |
---|---|
QB Drew Bledsoe (Patriots) | QB Rob Johnson (Buccaneers) |
LB London Fletcher (Rams) | LB Jay Foreman (Texans) |
K Mike Hollis (Jaguars) | LB Sam Cowart (Jets) |
TE Dave Moore (Buccaneers) | T John Fina (Cardinals) |
DE Chidi Ahanotu (Rams) | CB Ken Irvin (Saints) |
LB Eddie Robinson (Titans) | |
T Marcus Price (Saints) | |
C Trey Teague (Broncos) |
The Bills infamously drafted Mike Williams, an offensive tackle from Texas with the #4 overall pick of the draft, with University of Miami offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie still available. [4] Williams spent only four seasons with the team. Sporting News named Williams as the #4 biggest NFL draft bust from 1989–2008. [5]
2002 Buffalo Bills draft | |||||
Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 4 | Mike Williams | OT | Texas | |
2 | 36 | Josh Reed | WR | LSU | |
2 | 61 | Ryan Denney | DE | BYU | |
3 | 97 | Coy Wire | S | Stanford | |
5 | 139 | Justin Bannan | DT | Colorado | |
6 | 179 | Kevin Thomas | CB | UNLV | |
7 | 215 | Mike Pucillo | C | Auburn | |
7 | 249 | Rodney Wright | WR | Fresno State | |
7 | 251 | Jarrett Ferguson | RB | Virginia Tech | |
7 | 260 | Dominique Stevenson | LB | Tennessee | |
Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career |
Player | Position | College |
---|---|---|
Ahmad Brooks | Cornerback | Texas |
Joe Burns | Running back | Georgia Tech |
David Priestley | Quarterback | Pittsburgh |
Marc Samuel | Kicker | Georgetown |
Greg Zolman | Quarterback | Vanderbilt |
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
Due to the Bills' 3–13 record the previous season, the NFL did not schedule any of their games in prime time (Sunday night or Monday night), and all but two of the Bills' games had 1:00 start times. However, due to the attention the Bills' free-agent acquisitions brought to the team, as well as the team being in the thick of the competitive AFC East race, several division games were aired nationally on CBS.
After a one-year absence, the NFL Primetime theme "Powersurge" returned as the Bills' theme song on the ESPN program. It was used for the show's Bills highlights for each game during the season except for the Bengals/Bills game in Week 17.
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 8 | New York Jets | L 31–37 (OT) | 0–1 | 72,751 |
2 | September 15 | at Minnesota Vikings | W 45–39 (OT) | 1–1 | 64,047 |
3 | September 22 | at Denver Broncos | L 23–28 | 1–2 | 75,359 |
4 | September 29 | Chicago Bears | W 33–27 (OT) | 2–2 | 72,780 |
5 | October 6 | Oakland Raiders | L 31–49 | 2–3 | 73,038 |
6 | October 13 | at Houston Texans | W 31–24 | 3–3 | 70,120 |
7 | October 20 | at Miami Dolphins | W 23–10 | 4–3 | 73,180 |
8 | October 27 | Detroit Lions | W 24–17 | 5–3 | 72,710 |
9 | November 3 | New England Patriots | L 7–38 | 5–4 | 73,448 |
10 | Bye | ||||
11 | November 17 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 16–17 | 5–5 | 77,951 |
12 | November 24 | at New York Jets | L 13–31 | 5–6 | 78,745 |
13 | December 1 | Miami Dolphins | W 38–21 | 6–6 | 73,287 |
14 | December 8 | at New England Patriots | L 17–27 | 6–7 | 68,436 |
15 | December 15 | San Diego Chargers | W 20–13 | 7–7 | 61,838 |
16 | December 22 | at Green Bay Packers | L 0–10 | 7–8 | 64,106 |
17 | December 29 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 27–9 | 8–8 | 47,850 |
Note: Intra-divisional games are in bold text. |
AFC East | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
(4) New York Jets | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 4–2 | 6–6 | 359 | 336 | W2 |
New England Patriots | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 4–2 | 6–6 | 381 | 346 | W1 |
Miami Dolphins | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 2–4 | 7–5 | 378 | 301 | L2 |
Buffalo Bills | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 2–4 | 5–7 | 379 | 397 | W1 |
Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jets | 0 | 17 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 37 |
Bills | 3 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 31 |
at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
Game information | ||
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|
Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bills | 6 | 7 | 10 | 16 | 6 | 45 |
Vikings | 3 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 39 |
at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Game information | ||
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|
Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bills | 0 | 7 | 3 | 13 | 23 |
Broncos | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
at Invesco Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado
Game information | ||
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|
Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bears | 7 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 27 |
Bills | 7 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 33 |
at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
Game information | ||
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|
Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Raiders | 7 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 49 |
Bills | 0 | 21 | 10 | 0 | 31 |
at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
Game information | ||
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|
Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bills | 3 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 31 |
Texans | 3 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
at Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bills | 3 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 23 |
Dolphins | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
at Pro Player Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
Game information | ||
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|
Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lions | 0 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
Bills | 7 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 24 |
at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
Game information | ||
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|
Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Patriots | 7 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 38 |
Bills | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
Game information | ||
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|
Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bills | 0 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 16 |
Chiefs | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
Game information | ||
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|
Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bills | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 13 |
Jets | 3 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Game information | ||
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|
Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dolphins | 14 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
Bills | 3 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 38 |
at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bills | 0 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 17 |
Patriots | 17 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 27 |
Game information | ||
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|
Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chargers | 3 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
Bills | 7 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
Game information | ||
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|
Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bills | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Packers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
Game information | ||
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|
Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bengals | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 9 |
Bills | 6 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 27 |
at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
Game information | ||
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