2002 Buffalo Bills season

Last updated

2002 Buffalo Bills season
Owner Ralph Wilson
General manager Tom Donahoe
Head coach Gregg Williams
Home field Ralph Wilson Stadium
Results
Record8–8
Division place4th AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers QB Drew Bledsoe
RB Travis Henry
WR Eric Moulds
G Ruben Brown
AP 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.

Contents

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]

Offseason

AdditionsSubtractions
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)

Draft

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. Williams spent only four seasons with the team. Sporting News named Williams as the #4 biggest NFL draft bust from 1989–2008. [4]

2002 Buffalo Bills draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
14 Mike Williams   OT Texas
236 Josh Reed   WR LSU
261 Ryan Denney   DE BYU
397 Coy Wire   S Stanford
5139 Justin Bannan   DT Colorado
6179 Kevin Thomas   CB UNLV
7215 Mike Pucillo   C Auburn
7249 Rodney Wright  WR Fresno State
7251Jarrett Ferguson  RB Virginia Tech
7260 Dominique Stevenson   LB Tennessee
      Made roster        Pro Football Hall of Fame     *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

2002 undrafted free agents of note
PlayerPositionCollege
Ahmad Brooks Cornerback Texas
Joe Burns Running back Georgia Tech
David Priestley Quarterback Pittsburgh
Marc Samuel Kicker Georgetown
Greg Zolman Quarterback Vanderbilt

Personnel

2002 Buffalo Bills staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches
  • Defensive coordinator – Jerry Gray
  • Defensive line – John Levra
  • Assistant defensive line – O’Neill Gilbert
  • Linebackers – Miles Aldridge
  • Defensive Backs (Cornerbacks) – Pat Thomas
  • Third Down Specialist (Safeties) – Steve Jackson
  • Defensive assistant – Chuck Lester

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams coordinator – Danny Smith
  • Special teams assistant – Tommy Kaiser

Strength and conditioning

Roster

2002 Buffalo Bills final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
52 active, 6 inactive, 5 practice squad

Regular season

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.

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordAttendance
1September 8 New York Jets L 31–37 (OT)0–172,751
2September 15at Minnesota Vikings W 45–39 (OT)1–164,047
3September 22at Denver Broncos L 23–281–275,359
4September 29 Chicago Bears W 33–27 (OT)2–272,780
5October 6 Oakland Raiders L 31–492–373,038
6October 13at Houston Texans W 31–243–370,120
7October 20at Miami Dolphins W 23–104–373,180
8October 27 Detroit Lions W 24–175–372,710
9November 3 New England Patriots L 7–385–473,448
10Bye
11November 17at Kansas City Chiefs L 16–175–577,951
12November 24at New York JetsL 13–315–678,745
13December 1Miami DolphinsW 38–216–673,287
14December 8at New England PatriotsL 17–276–768,436
15December 15 San Diego Chargers W 20–137–761,838
16December 22at Green Bay Packers L 0–107–864,106
17December 29 Cincinnati Bengals W 27–98–847,850
Note: Intra-divisional games are in bold text.

Standings

AFC East
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
(4) New York Jets 970.5634–26–6359336W2
New England Patriots 970.5634–26–6381346W1
Miami Dolphins 970.5632–47–5378301L2
Buffalo Bills 880.5002–45–7379397W1

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. New York Jets

Week 1: New York Jets at Buffalo Bills
Period1234OTTotal
Jets017311637
Bills31477031

at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

Game information

Week 2: at Minnesota Vikings

Week 2: Buffalo Bills at Minnesota Vikings
Period1234OTTotal
Bills671016645
Vikings3101313039

at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Game information

Week 3: at Denver Broncos

Week 3: Buffalo Bills at Denver Broncos
Period1234Total
Bills0731323
Broncos777728

at Invesco Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado

Game information

Week 4: vs. Chicago Bears

Week 4: Chicago Bears at Buffalo Bills
Period1234OTTotal
Bears77310027
Bills71037633

at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

Game information

Week 5: vs. Oakland Raiders

Week 5: Oakland Raiders at Buffalo Bills
Period1234Total
Raiders71472149
Bills02110031

at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

  • Date: October 6, 2002
  • Game time: 1:00 pm
  • Game weather: Sunny, 64 °F or 17.8 °C
  • Game attendance: 73,038
  • Referee: Bernie Kukar (86)
  • TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan, Randy Cross and Beasley Reece
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 6: at Houston Texans

Week 6: Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans
Period1234Total
Bills3771431
Texans3140724

at Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas

Game information

Week 7: at Miami Dolphins

Week 7: Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins
Period1234Total
Bills3143323
Dolphins730010

at Pro Player Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

Game information

Week 8: vs. Detroit Lions

Week 8: Detroit Lions at Buffalo Bills
Period1234Total
Lions0140317
Bills7710024

at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

  • Date: October 27, 2002
  • Game time: 1:00 pm
  • Game weather: Cloudy, 47 °F or 8.3 °C
  • Game attendance: 72,710
  • Referee: Jeff Triplette (42)
  • TV announcers (FOX): Ron Pitts, Tim Green and Bob Trimble
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 9: vs. New England Patriots

Week 9: New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills
Period1234Total
Patriots71014738
Bills07007

at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

  • Date: November 3, 2002
  • Game time: 1:00 pm
  • Game weather: Cloudy, 40 °F or 4.4 °C
  • Game attendance: 73,448
  • Referee: Dick Hantak (105)
  • TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms and Armen Keteyian
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 11: at Kansas City Chiefs

Week 11: Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs
Period1234Total
Bills0133016
Chiefs730717

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: November 17, 2002
  • Game time: 1:00 pm
  • Game weather: Sunny, 48 °F or 8.9 °C
  • Game attendance: 77,951
  • Referee: Terry McAulay (77)
  • TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms and Armen Keteyian
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 12: at New York Jets

Week 12: Buffalo Bills at New York Jets
Period1234Total
Bills3010013
Jets3147731

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

  • Date: November 24, 2002
  • Game time: 1:00 pm
  • Game weather: Sunny, 50 °F or 10 °C
  • Game attendance: 78,745
  • Referee: Ron Blum (7)
  • TV announcers (CBS): Dick Enberg, Dan Dierdorf and Bonnie Bernstein
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 13: vs. Miami Dolphins

Week 13: Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills
Period1234Total
Dolphins1407021
Bills31414738

at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

Game information

Week 14: at New England Patriots

Week 14: Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots
Period1234Total
Bills0010717
Patriots1730727

at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

  • Date: December 8, 2002
  • Game time: 1:00 pm
  • Game weather: Partly cloudy, 44 °F or 6.7 °C
  • Game attendance: 68,436
  • Referee: Jeff Triplette (42)
  • TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms and Armen Keteyian
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 15: vs. San Diego Chargers

Week 15: San Diego Chargers at Buffalo Bills
Period1234Total
Chargers370313
Bills760720

at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

Game information

Week 16: at Green Bay Packers

Week 16: Buffalo Bills at Green Bay Packers
Period1234Total
Bills00000
Packers030710

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

  • Date: December 22, 2002
  • Game time: 1:00 pm
  • Game weather: Snow flurries, 27 °F or −2.8 °C
  • Game attendance: 64,106
  • Referee: Tom White (123)
  • TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan, Randy Cross and Beasley Reece
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 17: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Week 17: Cincinnati Bengals at Buffalo Bills
Period1234Total
Bengals03069
Bills6147027

at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

  • Date: December 29, 2002
  • Game time: 1:00 pm
  • Game weather: Cloudy, 35 °F or 1.7 °C
  • Game attendance: 47,850
  • Referee: Mike Carey (94)
  • TV announcers (CBS (Blacked out locally)): Don Criqui and Steve Tasker
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

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References

  1. "Bledsoe shuffles off to Buffalo". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. April 22, 2002. p. C1.
  2. "A look back at Bills uniform changes". BuffaloBills.com. NFL Enterprises. November 11, 2015. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  3. "Bills Unveil New Uniforms". BuffaloBills.com (Press release). NFL Enterprises. June 8, 2002. Archived from the original on August 15, 2002. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  4. 10-Pack: 10 biggest first-round draft busts of the last 20 years