The team's rushing attack was led by Eddie George, who ran for 1,304 yards and nine touchdowns en route to a Pro Bowl appearance.

[7] Several veteran players who had been a part of the Bills' four straight Super Bowl appearances in the early 1990s played minor roles, including Andre Reed, Bruce Smith, and Thurman Thomas.

Prior to the teams' Wild Card game, some fans and media members believed that the winner could be a serious contender to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.

[8] Going into the game, Bills coach Wade Phillips created a stir by starting quarterback Rob Johnson, rather than Doug Flutie.

Johnson performed well in Flutie's absence, completing 75% of his passes and throwing for 287 yards and two touchdowns in a dominant victory over the Indianapolis Colts, who had won their previous 11 games.

Titans coach Jeff Fisher said that the decision left him "a little surprised" given that Flutie had been the Bills' starter for the majority of the season.

[11] Years later, Phillips wrote that the decision to start Johnson came at the urging of Bills owner Ralph Wilson.

The Titans opened the scoring in the second quarter when Jevon Kearse sacked Buffalo quarterback Rob Johnson in the end zone for a safety.

[14][15] Tennessee wide receiver Derrick Mason returned the free kick after the safety 42 yards to the Bills' 28-yard line; Titans quarterback Steve McNair scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to culminate the drive.

[14][15] Later in the quarter, Antoine Winfield Sr. intercepted a pass near midfield, but the Bills were unable to capitalize on the good field position, their subsequent drive resulting in a three-and-out.

[15] They drove 65 yards, including a 37-yard completion from Johnson to Eric Moulds and aided by a red zone roughing the passer penalty on Kearse.

[14][15] Smith finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, giving the Bills a 13–12 lead after a failed two-point conversion attempt.

[14] On the second play of the drive, the Titans got a break when a McNair pass bounced off of linebacker John Holecek's elbow and into the hands of Frank Wycheck for a completion.

[14][15] The kickoff return play was named "Home Run Throwback" by the Titans and was developed by special teams coordinator Alan Lowry.

He had learned the play in 1982 as a member of the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff, watching SMU execute a similar kickoff return to score the winning touchdown in the final seconds of its game at Texas Tech.

[16] The practices usually involved starting kick returner Derrick Mason, however, he had suffered an injury earlier in the playoff game and was unavailable for the final seconds.

[16][17] As a result, the Titans put in Isaac Byrd as their main option to retrieve the lateral pass, with Kevin Dyson trailing behind him.

As Dyson caught the ball, the momentum of the play abruptly shifted to the left, catching every Bills defender except Christie out of position.

Dyson thus had an open path in front of him and ran 75 yards into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown with three seconds remaining.

The play was reviewed by replay officials in order to determine whether Wycheck's throw had been a lateral, as had been called by referee Phil Luckett's crew.

Subsequent victories over the Indianapolis Colts and the Jacksonville Jaguars sent the Titans to Super Bowl XXXIV to face the St. Louis Rams.

[25] The Music City Miracle was the last game in a Bills uniform for the remaining key members of the team's 1990s Super Bowl runs.

Andre Reed, Bruce Smith, and Thurman Thomas were all released by the team in the offseason;[21] all three would eventually be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

[26][b] The Music City Miracle became one of a series of infamous moments in Buffalo sports history, including "Wide Right", No Goal", and "13 Seconds".

[35] In that game, the Titans were denied a go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter after it was determined that quarterback Marcus Mariota had crossed the line of scrimmage prior to making a forward pass to the end zone.