2003 Buffalo Bills season

2003 Buffalo Bills season
Head coach Gregg Williams
General manager Tom Donahoe
Owner Ralph Wilson
Home field Ralph Wilson Stadium
Results
Record 6–10
Division place 3rd AFC East
Playoff finish did not qualify
Quarterback Drew Bledsoe meets families of deceased soldiers, September 7, 2003

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, instead finishing 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 (They would not win another game against the Patriots until 2011). 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. Ironically, the Bills' final game of the season was a 31–0 shutout loss to the New England Patriots – the reverse of the score by which the Bills beat New England in Week One.

Head coach Gregg Williams's contract was not renewed after the 2003 season.[3]

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

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

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result TV Time Attendance
1 September 7, 2003 New England Patriots W 31–0 CBS 1:00et
73,262
2 September 14, 2003 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 38–17 CBS 1:00et
58,613
3 September 21, 2003 at Miami Dolphins L 17–7 ESPN 8:30et
73,458
4 September 28, 2003 Philadelphia Eagles L 23–13 FOX 1:00et
73,305
5 October 5, 2003 Cincinnati Bengals W 22–16 CBS 1:00et
72,615
6 October 12, 2003 at New York Jets L 30–3 CBS 4:15et
77,740
7 October 19, 2003 Washington Redskins W 24–7 FOX 4:15et
73,149
8 October 26, 2003 at Kansas City Chiefs L 38–5 ESPN 8:30et
78,689
9 Bye
10 November 9, 2003 at Dallas Cowboys L 10–6 CBS 4:15et
63,770
11 November 16, 2003 Houston Texans L 12–10 CBS 1:00et
72,677
12 November 23, 2003 Indianapolis Colts L 17–14 CBS 1:00et
73,004
13 November 30, 2003 at New York Giants W 24–7 CBS 1:00et
78,481
14 December 7, 2003 New York Jets W 17–6 CBS 4:15et
72,791
15 December 14, 2003 at Tennessee Titans L 28–26 CBS 1:00et
68,809
16 December 21, 2003 Miami Dolphins L 20–3 CBS 1:00et
73,319
17 December 27, 2003 at New England Patriots L 31–0 CBS 1:30et
68,436

Season summary

Week 1

1 234Total
Patriots 0 000 0
• Bills 7 14010 31

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
Buffalo Bills 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

References

  1. ↑ 2003 Buffalo Bills
  2. ↑ SI.com: Sweet revenge – Bills' Milloy, Bledsoe revel in 31–0 rout of Patriots
  3. ↑ Williams was replaced by Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey in 2004.
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