2003 Buffalo Bills season

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.

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 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. 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

Roster

2003 Buffalo Bills final roster

	Quarterbacks 11 Drew Bledsoe  5 Travis Brown 10 Alex Van Pelt Running backs 35 Joe Burns 41 Phil Crosby 33 Sam Gash FB 20 Travis Henry 21 Willis McGahee 30 Ken Simonton Wide receivers 86 Antonio Brown 85 Clarence Coleman 80 Eric Moulds 82 Josh Reed 81 Bobby Shaw Tight ends 84 Mark Campbell 83 Dave Moore 88 Ryan Neufeld		Offensive linemen 79 Ruben Brown G 73 Marcus Price T 61 Mike Pucillo G 60 Bernard Robertson T 64 Ben Sobieski T 74 Marques Sullivan G 70 Trey Teague C 65 Ross Tucker G 68 Mike Williams T Defensive linemen 95 Sam Adams DT 97 Justin Bannan DT 92 Ryan Denney DE 90 Chris Kelsay DE 91 Keith McKenzie DE 66 Lauvale Sape DT 94 Aaron Schobel DE 93 Pat Williams DT		Linebackers 55 Angelo Crowell OLB 59 London Fletcher MLB 53 Mario Haggan MLB 52 DaShon Polk OLB 96 Jeff Posey OLB 51 Takeo Spikes OLB 57 Josh Stamer OLB 50 Dominique Stevenson MLB Defensive backs 22 Nate Clements CB 24 Terrence McGee CB 36 Lawyer Milloy SS 23 Pierson Prioleau FS 37 Dainon Sidney CB 28 Kevin Thomas CB 26 Antoine Winfield CB 27 Coy Wire SS Special teams 54 Jon Dorenbos LS  9 Rian Lindell K  8 Brian Moorman P		Reserve lists 89 Sam Aiken WR (IR) 60 Gary Byrd T (IR) 98 Ron Edwards DT (IR) 75 Jonas Jennings T (IR) 31 Sammy Morris RB (IR) 43 Izell Reese FS (IR) Practice squad 16 Cedric Bonner WR 15 Jerel Myers WR 71 David Porter T 76 Richard Seals OL 49 Rod Trafford TE 19 Rodney Wright WR Rookies in italics 53 active, 6 inactive, 6 practice squad

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 2 3 4 Total Patriots 0 0 0 0 0 • Bills 7 14 0 10 31 Date: September 7 Location: Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 64°F, wind 11 mph Referee: Jeff Triplette TV announcers (CBS): Verne Lundquist, Dan Dierdorf, and Bonnie Bernstein Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

Scoring summary 1 Bills Travis Henry 1 yard run (Rian Lindell kick) Bills 7–0 2 Bills Dave Moore 7 yard pass from Drew Bledsoe (Rian Lindell kick) Bills 14–0 2 Bills Sam Adams 37 yard interception return (Rian Lindell kick) Bills 21–0 4 Bills Travis Henry 9 yard run (Rian Lindell kick) Bills 28–0 4 Bills Rian Lindell 44 yard field goal Bills 31–0

Week 2

1 2 3 4 Total • Bills 14 7 14 3 38 Jaguars 0 7 3 7 17 Date: September 14 Location: Alltel Stadium Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 3:06 Game attendance: 58,613 Game weather: 86°F; wind 6 Referee: Terry McAulay TV announcers (CBS): Don Criqui, Steve Tasker

Scoring summary Q1 11:17 BUF Henry 1 yard run (Lindell kick) BUF 7–0 Q1 4:50 BUF Henry 6 yard run (Lindell kick) BUF 14–0 Q2 9:29 JAX Brunell 1 yard run (Marler kick) BUF 14–7 Q2 1:37 BUF Shaw 54 yard pass from Bledsoe (Lindell kick) BUF 21–7 Q3 12:54 JAX Marler 44 yard field goal BUF 21–10 Q3 8:03 BUF Moulds 36 yard pass from Bledsoe (Lindell kick) BUF 28–10 Q3 0:59 BUF Henry 4 yard run (Lindell kick) BUF 35–10 Q4 5:11 BUF Lindell 27 yard field goal BUF 38–10 Q4 1:53 JAX Wrighster 5 yard pass from Leftwich (Marler kick) BUF 38–17

• Drew Bledsoe 19/25, 314 Yds
• Eric Moulds 7 Rec, 133 Yds

[4]

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.
4. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-Nov-04.