The 1998 Buffalo Bills season was the team's 39th season, and 29th in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). The season marked an important development in the Bills’ history as a quarterback controversy would consume the whole season between Rob Johnson and

Doug Flutie Douglas Richard Flutie (born October 23, 1962) is an American former professional Gridiron football, football quarterback who played for 21 seasons. He played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), eight seasons in the Canadian Footb ...

. It would also mark the beginning of the Wade Phillips era. The Bills improved on the previous season's output of 6–10, and finished third in the AFC East with a 10–6 record, and would qualify for the playoffs only to lose in the wild card round to the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

. The Bills lost their first three games of the season, all by six points or less, and looked to be headed for a losing season. After a bye in Week Four, quarterback Rob Johnson finally won his first game with Buffalo, holding on for a 26–21 win over

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

in Week Five. Flutie started the next eleven games, winning nine of them. The Bills had a playoff spot locked up by the final game of the season, which Johnson started and won. The Bills played the Dolphins in the Wild Card round of the 1998 AFC Playoffs, where

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

Eric Moulds would set the NFL playoff record for receiving yards, with 240. The Bills would end up losing the game 24–17, as Dolphins lineman Trace Armstrong sacked Flutie on Buffalo's last drive, forcing him to fumble, and icing the game for Miami.

Offseason

The Bills, looking to upgrade the quarterback position, signed Rob Johnson, who had played for Jacksonville in 1997, and improved his stock with a win in relief of Jaguars quarterback

Mark Brunell Mark Allen Brunell (born September 17, 1970) is an American professional American football, football coach and former quarterback who is the quarterbacks coach for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played in ...

. Bills general manager John Butler traded away the Bills' first- and fourth-round picks to Jacksonville for the rights to Johnson. The Bills also signed long-time

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division and five in the West Division. The CFL is the highest pr ...

quarterback

to back up Johnson; Flutie would end the 1998 season with the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award.

NFL draft

Undrafted free agents

Personnel

Staff

Roster

Regular season

The opening game for 1998 constituted the first time since

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

that the Bills played the San Diego Chargers. The reason for this is that before the admission of the Texans in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, NFL scheduling formulas for games outside a team's division were much more influenced by table position during the previous season.

Schedule

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Week 1

Starting QBs: Buffalo: Rob Johnson ** Johnson left with a concussion with the Bills trailing 10-0. ** San Diego Chargers: Ryan Leaf ** 1st NFL Start ** Vegas Line: San Diego Chargers -1.5 Over/Under:41.0 (under)

Week 2

Week 2 at Miami Dolphins * Score: L 13-7 * Date: September 13, 1998 * Stadium: Pro Player Stadium, Miami FL * Start Time: 1PM ET/10AM PT * Attendance: 73,097 * Weather: , 10% chance of rain * TV: CBS * Announcers: Ian Eagle and Mark May Week 3 vs St Louis Rams * Score: L 33-34 * Date: September 20, 1998 * Stadium: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, NY * Start Time: 1PM ET/10AM PT * Attendance: 65,199 * Weather: , sunny, wind * TV: Fox * Announcers: Kenny Albert and Tim Green Week 4 Bye Week 5 vs San Francisco 49ers * Score: W 26-21 * Date: October 4, 1998 * Stadium: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, NY * Start Time: 1PM ET/10AM PT * Attendance: 76,615 * Weather: , cloudy * TV: Fox * Announcers: Ray Bentley and Ron Pitts Week 6 at Indianapolis Colts * Score: W 31-24 * Date: October 11, 1998 * Stadium: RCA Dome, Indianapolis IN * Start Time: 1PM ET/10AM PT * Attendance: 52,938 * Weather: Dome * TV: CBS * Announcers: Bill Macatee and John Dockery Week 7 vs Jacksonville Jaguars * Score: W 17-16 * Date: October 18, 1998 * Stadium: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, NY * Start Time: 1PM ET/10AM PT * Attendance: 77,635 * Weather: , sunny * TV: CBS * Announcers:

Greg Gumbel Gregory Girard Gumbel (May 3, 1946 – December 27, 2024) was an American television sportscaster. He was best known for his various assignments for CBS Sports (most notably, the National Football League and NCAA basketball). He became the firs ...

and

Phil Simms Phillip Martin Simms (born November 3, 1955) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the New York Giants. After playing college football for the Morehead Sta ...

Week 8

Week 10

Week 14

First meeting of the two teams in Cincinnati since the 1988

AFC Championship Game The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semifinal NFL playoffs, playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football lea ...

. Starting QBs: Buffalo:

Cincinnati: Neil O'Donnell Vegas Line: Buffalo Bills -4.5 Over/Under: 43.0 (over) On the first play from scrimmage, Eric Moulds became the 20th Player in Bills History With 50+ Receptions In A Season, as he caught a 55 yard reception from

Week 15

Wade Wilson gets his 2nd start at QB since 1993 by head coach John Gruden. Buffalo clinches playoff berth with the win. Wade Phillips also gets his first head coaching win vs the Raiders.

Standings

Playoffs

AFC: Miami Dolphins 24, Buffalo Bills 17

Awards and honors

, AFC Pro Bowl Selection * Doug Flutie,

NFL Comeback Player of the Year A number of NFL Comeback Player of the Year awards are given to National Football League (NFL) players who have demonstrated resilience in the face of adversity by overcoming illness, physical injury or other circumstances that led them to miss p ...

Notes

References

Bills on Pro Football Reference

Bills on jt-sw.com

Bills Stats on jt-sw.com
{{1998 NFL season by team Buffalo Bills seasons

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

Buff