Tennessee Titans: 30 greatest players in franchise history

• 3x Pro Bowl (1998-00)
• Second-Team All-Pro (2000)
• 482 career catches for 4,958 yards and 27 touchdowns w/Oilers/Titans
• Threw the lateral pass in the “Music City Miracle” to Kevin Dyson

Frank Wycheck will be best remembered in Titans lore as the guy who threw the lateral to secure a Tennessee victory over the Buffalo Bills in the 1999 AFC Wild Card Round in stunning fashion as time expired. Simply put, without Wycheck, there would be no “Music City Miracle”. So what exactly happened on Jan. 8, 2000 in Nashville?

Well, the Titans were hosting the Bills in the wild card round. Buffalo would take a slim 16-15 lead over Tennessee with 16 seconds left in the game on a 41-yard made field goal by Steve Christie. The Bills would kick off. Then, the Titans ran something called “Home Run Throwback” to shock Bills Mafia.

Fullback Lorenzo Neal would receive the kick and then proceeded to hand the ball off to Wycheck, who then threw a lateral across the field to wide receiver Kevin Dyson. Wycheck’s lateral was indeed behind the line of scrimmage, as Dyson sprinted past an unsuspecting Bills return coverage for most glorious pay dirt.

Buffalo was at this time, the preeminent franchise in the AFC. The Bills made it to four Super Bowls in 1990s. Even though they lost franchise quarterback Jim Kelly to retirement after the 1996 NFL season, the Bills were still playoff viable to close out the decade. Interestingly, this would be the Bills’ last playoff appearance before ending the streak last year in 2017.

Tennessee would go all the way to the Super Bowl in this magical postseason run. The Titans had to beat their arch rival Jacksonville Jaguars for a third time that season to reach the Super Bowl. Jacksonville had only lost to the Titans that season, falling short at home in the AFC Championship Game.

Sure, Wycheck is synonymous with the “Music City Miracle”. While that play alone has him worthy of making the top-30, let’s not forget that he was at the peak of his powers during this stretch of Titans football.

Wycheck made three straight trips to the Pro Bowl with Tennessee from 1998 to 2000. 2000 saw him make the All-Pro Second Team. Overall, Wycheck accumulated 482 catches for 4,958 yards and 27 receiving touchdowns in his Oilers/Titans career.

However, it will be impossible for him to escape the lore as “Mr. Music City Miracle”. Odds are that Wycheck has absolutely no problem with that. For that reason, he is a Titans legend. Neal to Wycheck to Dyson remains the greatest moment in Titans football history. Until they win a Lombardi Trophy, what else will top that?