late in the fourth quarter, the stage was set for an exciting finish. tennessee received the ball with 6:15 remaining. titans receiver isaac byrd's 16-yard punt return gave the titans good field position at the bills' 45-yard line. on the second play of the drive, the titans got a break when a steve mcnair pass bounced off linebacker john holecek's arm and into the hands of frank wycheck for a completion. five carries from eddie george for 17 yards set up a wobbly 36-yard field goal by al del greco, giving the titans a 15–13 lead with 1:48 to go. throughout the game, the bills' defense faced myriad injuries. as a result, by this point in the game they were exhausted and losing composure on the field. the situation became so dire that holecek burned a timeout without his coaches' approval. as a result of this timeout and another one called before del greco's field goal attempt, the bills would get the ball back with no timeouts.