2003 Buffalo Bills season

2003 Buffalo Bills season
OwnerRalph Wilson
General managerTom Donahoe
Head coachGregg Williams
Home stadiumRalph Wilson Stadium
Results
Record6–10
Division place3rd AFC East
PlayoffsDid not qualify
Pro BowlersG Ruben Brown
OLB Takeo Spikes

The 2003 Buffalo Bills season was their 44th in the league. The team failed to improve upon their previous season's output of 8–8, and finished at 6–10.[1] The team missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.

The Bills started the season strong, opening the season with a dominating 31–0 blowout of the New England Patriots.[note 1] This was a revenge game for newly signed safety Lawyer Milloy, who had been cut by New England a few days earlier. It was their largest margin of victory in a season opener since 1992, and their first regular-season shutout in four years.[2] The Bills' second game was a convincing three-touchdown win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. But Buffalo lost seven of their next nine games and finished the season with three consecutive losses. The Bills' final game of the season was a 31–0 shutout loss to the Patriots – the complete reverse of the score by which the Bills beat New England in Week One.

Head coach Gregg Williams' contract was not renewed after the 2003 season.[note 2]

Van Miller, the team's longtime play-by-play announcer, announced his retirement after week 2 of the season; his retirement took effect at the end of the season.

Offseason

Free agency

The Bills bolstered their defense by signing former Oakland Raiders defensive tackle Sam Adams, former Denver Broncos safety Izell Reese, former Houston Texans linebacker Jeff Posey and former Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Takeo Spikes during the offseason.

The Bills also traded for tight end Mark Campbell and signed kicker Rian Lindell during the offseason.

During the preseason, the Bills signed Lawyer Milloy after he was released by the New England Patriots.

NFL draft

Main article: 2003 NFL draft

The Bills traded away their first pick in the 2003 draft (#14 overall) to the New England Patriots for Drew Bledsoe in the previous draft. They obtained their first pick (#23 overall) from the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for Peerless Price.

2003 Buffalo Bills draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 23 Willis McGahee *  RB Miami (FL) Pick from ATL
2 48 Chris Kelsay  DE Nebraska
3 94 Angelo Crowell  LB Virginia
4 111 Terrence McGee *  CB Northwestern State
4 127 Sam Aiken  WR North Carolina
5 151 Ben Sobieski  OG Iowa
6 187 Lauvale Sape  DT Utah
7 228 Mario Haggan  LB Mississippi State
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Roster

2003 Buffalo Bills roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams (ST)

Practice squad

Reserve

Rookies in italics
53 active, 5 reserve, 5 practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 7 New England Patriots W 31–0 1–0 Ralph Wilson Stadium 73,262 Recap
2 September 14 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 38–17 2–0 Alltel Stadium 58,613 Recap
3 September 21 at Miami Dolphins L 7–17 2–1 Pro Player Stadium 73,458 Recap
4 September 28 Philadelphia Eagles L 13–23 2–2 Ralph Wilson Stadium 73,305 Recap
5 October 5 Cincinnati Bengals W 22–16 (OT) 3–2 Ralph Wilson Stadium 72,615 Recap
6 October 12 at New York Jets L 3–30 3–3 Giants Stadium 77,740 Recap
7 October 19 Washington Redskins W 24–7 4–3 Ralph Wilson Stadium 73,149 Recap
8 October 26 at Kansas City Chiefs L 5–38 4–4 Arrowhead Stadium 78,689 Recap
9 Bye
10 November 9 at Dallas Cowboys L 6–10 4–5 Texas Stadium 63,770 Recap
11 November 16 Houston Texans L 10–12 4–6 Ralph Wilson Stadium 72,677 Recap
12 November 23 Indianapolis Colts L 14–17 4–7 Ralph Wilson Stadium 73,004 Recap
13 November 30 at New York Giants W 24–7 5–7 Giants Stadium 78,481 Recap
14 December 7 New York Jets W 17–6 6–7 Ralph Wilson Stadium 72,791 Recap
15 December 14 at Tennessee Titans L 26–28 6–8 The Coliseum 68,809 Recap
16 December 21 Miami Dolphins L 3–20 6–9 Ralph Wilson Stadium 73,319 Recap
17 December 27 at New England Patriots L 0–31 6–10 Gillette Stadium 68,436 Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. New England Patriots

Team 1 234Total
Patriots 0 000 0
• Bills 7 14010 31
Scoring summary
1BillsTravis Henry 1 yard run (Rian Lindell kick)Bills 7–0
2BillsDave Moore 7 yard pass from Drew Bledsoe (Rian Lindell kick)Bills 14–0
2BillsSam Adams 37 yard interception return (Rian Lindell kick)Bills 21–0
4BillsTravis Henry 9 yard run (Rian Lindell kick)Bills 28–0
4BillsRian Lindell 44 yard field goalBills 31–0

Week 2: at Jacksonville Jaguars

Team 1 234Total
• Bills 14 7143 38
Jaguars 0 737 17
  • Date: September 14
  • Location: Alltel Stadium
  • Game start: 1:03 p.m. EST
  • Elapsed time: 3:06
  • Game attendance: 58,613
  • Game weather: 86 °F or 30 °C; Humidity 62%; wind 6 mph (9.7 km/h; 5.2 kn) Heat Index 92 °F or 33.3 °C
  • Referee: Terry McAulay
  • TV announcers (CBS): Don Criqui, Steve Tasker
Scoring summary
Q111:17BUFHenry 1 yard run (Lindell kick)BUF 7–0
Q14:50BUFHenry 6 yard run (Lindell kick)BUF 14–0
Q29:29JAXBrunell 1 yard run (Marler kick)BUF 14–7
Q21:37BUFShaw 54 yard pass from Bledsoe (Lindell kick)BUF 21–7
Q312:54JAXMarler 44 yard field goalBUF 21–10
Q38:03BUFMoulds 36 yard pass from Bledsoe (Lindell kick)BUF 28–10
Q30:59BUFHenry 4 yard run (Lindell kick)BUF 35–10
Q45:11BUFLindell 27 yard field goalBUF 38–10
Q41:53JAXWrighster 5 yard pass from Leftwich (Marler kick)BUF 38–17

[3]

Standings

AFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(1) New England Patriots 14 2 0 .875 5–1 11–1 348 238 W12
Miami Dolphins 10 6 0 .625 4–2 7–5 311 261 W2
6 10 0 .375 2–4 4–8 243 279 L3
New York Jets 6 10 0 .375 1–5 6–6 283 299 L2

Notes

  1. ^ They would not win another game against the Patriots until 2011.
  2. ^ Williams was replaced by Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey in 2004.

References

  1. ^ "2003 Buffalo Bills Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  2. ^ "Sweet revenge – Bills' Milloy, Bledsoe revel in 31–0 rout of Patriots". SI.com. Archived from the original on September 9, 2003.
  3. ^ "Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars — September 14th, 2003". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
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