Music City Miracle

The Music City Miracle is the final play of the 1999 playoff between Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills at Adelphia Coliseum. It ended with the 75-yard touchdown, summarizing the Titan’s 22-16 win.

This game started with a scoreless first quarter. Both teams didn’t reach the first down line or the defense prevented scoring. Titans gained 6 points after their opponent quarterback’s sack. Tennessee’s wide receiver Derrick Mason returned the free kick for 42 yards to the Bills’ 28-yard line. Their quarterback Steve McNair scored the TD from the 1-yard distance. Al Greco missed the 45-yard field goal attempt for the first time but after a defensive penalty from Bills, he scored the second 40-yard attempt in the last play of the half. Bills were trailing 12-0, gaining only 64 points.

The away team rallied in the second half. Buffalo started their first offense when Anthowian Smith broke off the 44-yard run. It transformed into a62-yard drive. The episode’s peak was a 4-yard touchdown 4 plays later. Another touchdown happened as the result of Smith’s 4-yard drive. His second extra point was successful, so the Bills gained the first lead in match 13-12.

The Tennessee Titans initiated the ensuing play at 6:15 clock. Its culmination was the field goal by AL Greco. The home team led again, thanking efforts of John Holecek, Frank Wycheck and Eddie George, who made this attempt possible.

Bills initiated the ensuing 5-play ensuing drive. Kevin Williams returned the kickoff from the Titans and occupied a good position for his team. The quarterback Rob Johnson released a couple of pass plays. Peerless Price didn’t catch the ball at all, RB Jonathan Linton gained 12 yards for the next first down. Johnson lost one shoe and had no time to fix it. The player hit Price as is, then broke a tackle and came out of bounds at the 24-yard line. The remaining 20 seconds and the fourth down pressured Buffalo guys to release the field goal. Bills coordinator wanted to run another play, but Steve Christie decided to kick the game-winning field goal. He scored it 16 seconds prior to the finish.

The field goal was enough for the Titans’ win. But they tended to use the remaining 16 seconds for scoring the touchdown. Tight end Frank Wycheck threw the lateral pass to his teammate Kevin Dyson who ran 75 yards for the game-winning touchdown and an extra point.

The Music City Miracle play is a type of Home Run Throwback play. Alan Lowry, the offensive coordinator of the Titans, watched it while working with Dallas Cowboys. Southern Methodist University players executed a similar kickoff return to score the winning touchdown in the 1982 game at Texas Tech University. He took the maximal attention to this skill. Lowry’s method helped the Titans in the decisive moment.