2002 Buffalo Bills Season

The 2002 season was the Buffalo Bills' 43rd as a franchise and 33rd in the National Football League.

2002 Buffalo Bills season
OwnerRalph Wilson
General managerTom Donahoe
Head coachGregg Williams
Home fieldRalph Wilson Stadium
Results
Record8–8
Division place4th AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersQB Drew Bledsoe
RB Travis Henry
WR Eric Moulds
G Ruben Brown
AP All-ProsWR Eric Moulds (2nd team)
G Ruben Brown (2nd team)

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, (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.

Offseason

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)

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.

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

Undrafted free agents

2002 undrafted free agents of note
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

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

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.

Standings

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

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. New York Jets

Week 1: New York Jets at Buffalo Bills
Period 1 2 34OTTotal
Jets 0 17 311637
Bills 3 14 77031

at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

Game information

Week 2: at Minnesota Vikings

Week 2: Buffalo Bills at Minnesota Vikings
Period 1 2 34OTTotal
Bills 6 7 1016645
Vikings 3 10 1313039

at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Game information

Week 3: at Denver Broncos

Week 3: Buffalo Bills at Denver Broncos
Period 1 2 34Total
Bills 0 7 31323
Broncos 7 7 7728

at Invesco Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado

Game information

Week 4: vs. Chicago Bears

Week 4: Chicago Bears at Buffalo Bills
Period 1 2 34OTTotal
Bears 7 7 310027
Bills 7 10 37633

at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

Game information

Week 5: vs. Oakland Raiders

Week 5: Oakland Raiders at Buffalo Bills
Period 1 2 34Total
Raiders 7 14 72149
Bills 0 21 10031

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
Period 1 2 34Total
Bills 3 7 71431
Texans 3 14 0724

at Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas

Game information

Week 7: at Miami Dolphins

Week 7: Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins
Period 1 2 34Total
Bills 3 14 3323
Dolphins 7 3 0010

at Pro Player Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

Game information

Week 8: vs. Detroit Lions

Week 8: Detroit Lions at Buffalo Bills
Period 1 2 34Total
Lions 0 14 0317
Bills 7 7 10024

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
Period 1 2 34Total
Patriots 7 10 14738
Bills 0 7 007

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
Period 1 2 34Total
Bills 0 13 3016
Chiefs 7 3 0717

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
Period 1 2 34Total
Bills 3 0 10013
Jets 3 14 7731

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
Period 1 2 34Total
Dolphins 14 0 7021
Bills 3 14 14738

at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

Game information

Week 14: at New England Patriots

Week 14: Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots
Period 1 2 34Total
Bills 0 0 10717
Patriots 17 3 0727

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
Period 1 2 34Total
Chargers 3 7 0313
Bills 7 6 0720

at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

Game information

Week 16: at Green Bay Packers

Week 16: Buffalo Bills at Green Bay Packers
Period 1 2 34Total
Bills 0 0 000
Packers 0 3 0710

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
Period 1 2 34Total
Bengals 0 3 069
Bills 6 14 7027

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

References

Tags:

2002 Buffalo Bills Season Offseason2002 Buffalo Bills Season Personnel2002 Buffalo Bills Season Roster2002 Buffalo Bills Season Regular season2002 Buffalo Bills Season

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