Rob Johnson threw for 287 yards and two touchdown passes to lead the Bills to a 31-6 rout of the Colts. The win ended any hopes the Colts had for homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. The Bills had less to play for in this game but you wouldn't know it from the intensity. Johnson played like a man determined to be the starter next season and Andre Reed reached his two important milestones, in an emotional scene, in what most likely was his last game at Ralph Wilson Stadium. The league's number one ranked defense put tremendous pressure all day on Peyton Manning and his backup Steve Walsh. That pressure and the containment of rookie of the year Edgerrin James held the offensive powerhouse in check all day. MORE

Sunday, January 2, 2000

Gameday Weather: Cloudy high of 50°. Winds about 10mph with windchills in the mid 30's.

Saturday, January 1, 2000

Early Inactives: Some different names on the Bills inactive list as some banged up players get the day off to rest for the playoffs. Sam Gash is on that list, if the game meant something he would be playing. Also, on the list is Jerry Ostroski, Dan Brandenberg, and Joe Panos. Ostroski's spot in the lineup will be taken by Bill Conaty who will make his first career start. Expect the Bills to play mostly single back sets since their is no active fullback on the roster. For more on all the bumps and bruises check out our injury notes section.

Wednesday, December 29, 1999

Injury Report Released: The Bills have a few new names on the injury report. Expect many starters with some bumps and bruises to be rested in the second half of this game.

Since the game isn't that important in the playoff picture, the Bills have decided to give Rob Johnson his first start of the season against the Colts. This is similar to what Phillips did last year starting Johnson in the season finale in New Orleans when it didn't matter since the Bills were already locked into a road playoff game.
It looks like Jerry Ostroski will probably not play this week. In a bit of a surprise his place will be taken by Bill Conaty in the starting lineup. Phillips doesn't want to shakeup the whole line by moving Dusty Ziegler to center.
There still seems to be a controversy over whether or not Reed was too banged up to play much last week or not. Expect Reed to play a lot in what will probably be his last game at the Ralph in a Bills uniform. They will try to get him to reach the milestones in his sights.

Tuesday, December 28, 1999

2000 Bills Schedule: The schedule for next season is almost complete a couple of things will depend on what happens this week. It is shaping up to be an especially tough away non-division schedule. Here is the preliminary schedule of non-division games. Obviously they will play home and home with the rest of the AFC East:

Home

Tennessee or Jacksonville
San Diego or Oakland
Chicago
Green Bay

Away

Seattle
Kansas City
Minnesota
Tampa Bay

Lameduck Matchup? It appears that the game may be more important for Indianapolis than Buffalo. There is a good chance the Bills will get the 5th seed even if they lose. There also isn't much of a difference between the 5th and the 6th seed. The Colts meanwhile are playing for a chance at homefield throughout the playoffs. If they win and either Jacksonville loses or they gain 15 points in the differential with the Jaguars they will be get the all important #1 seed.

Off Day Bits:

The Colts will be traveling to Buffalo on Friday instead of Saturday because of the NFL's Y2k concerns.
The 10th win gives the Bills there 8th double digit win season this decade.
Wade Phillips became only the 14th coach in the modern era to get 10 wins in his first two seasons with a team.
There is a chance that this will be the last chance for the 12th man to see some or all of the "Big Three". Do to salary cap concerns there is the possibility that Andre Reed, Thurman Thomas, & Bruce Smith may be playing their last home game as a Bill. Thomas and Smith most likely will be back but Reed's future is very cloudy now, and the growing feeling is he won't be back.
That possibility alone should send the fans into the Ralph on Sunday but right now they are 14,000 shy of a sellout. With a playoff spot wrapped up and cold weather coming in, expect this game to be the lone non-sellout of the year. They would need to sell the seats by 1:00pm Thursday to avoid their first blackout of the season.

Monday, December 27, 1999

Injury Update: Jerry Ostroski was the only significant new injury for the Bills. An MRI today showed that he sprained his knee and is day to day. There is a chance he will miss this Sunday's game.

Notes from the Coach's Press Conference:

The coach was obviously happy with the win. He stressed that it is the most road wins by the Bills since 1993 and the stats showed a big edge for the Bills.
He praised the defense, which is still #1 in the league. Mentioned that Drew Bledsoe was held to a career low passing game of 101 yards.
On the running back situation, he praised the play of Thurman Thomas had said he would look at the possibility of using him as the feature back in a big game if he has to like he did yesterday down the stretch. He stressed he would like to get Antowain Smith back so he could rotate him with Jonathan Linton and leave Thomas for his third down back role. He felt Linton was a little careless with the football but said the fumbles were caused by good hits and it happens. He re-stated his confidence in Linton.
The one knock on the defense was too many missed tackles on Terry Allen.
On the playoff picture; he mentioned how the club controls their own destiny and expects a game between two teams who will play their best next week. He also mentioned how after 15 games the club won 9 games and were in, this year they have 10 wins and are still waiting to get in.
The coach got defensive when he was questioned about the play of Ted Washington. He says he's played very well and also praised his understudy Pat Williams
Antoine Winfield graded out well in his first start and held Shawn Jefferson to no catches. The coach also mentioned that Donovan Greer had a solid game.

Game Tidbits:

A Miami loss tonight gives the Bills a playoff spot. If Miami wins, the Bills better beat the Colts next week, since wins by all the other contenders next week is very possible leaving the Bills on the outside looking in. For all the playoff possibilities regarding the Bills.
Thurman Thomas definitely had a throwback game. His 31 yard run in the first quarter was his longest in over three years and his 84 yards for the game was his longest in over two years.
Terry Allen had 126 yards to become only the second back to get over 100 yards all year against the Bills.
Doug Flutie finished the game with 12 straight completions which tied a club record for consecutive completions in one game.
Flutie wore specially equipped gloves for the first time in his NFL career. He wore them four times in the CFL including in two Grey Cup games.
Flutie went over the 3,000 yard passing mark for the first time as an NFL player. He needs 26 yards rushing in the finale to reach 500 yards for the season. His consecutive game TD pass streak was snapped at 12.
The six sacks by the Bills defense matches the number they got in the first meeting against New England, that is the season high.
It seems like Flutie lives in a fantasy world sometime. He said: "Nothing is lucky. We created so many opportunitites to keep ourselves in the game." Excuse me Doug, but a good kicker missing three field goals is lucky. These things do even out. This win could be payback from last year's debacle in New England or for Steve Christie's two misses against the Giants.