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Despite losing to the Raiders at Rich Stadium earlier that season, the Bills were still favored by seven points. The wild-card Raiders had qualified for the playoffs only by edging out Denver 33-30 in overtime on the final Sunday of the regular season. A Raiders’ victory amid huge obstacles—sub-zero temperatures and a raucous Buffalo crowd—was a tall order.

Fortunately for Los Angeles, under center that day was a gutsy, battle-hardened veteran who had once quarterbacked a touchdown underdog to a postseason victory over the favored Buffalo Bills: Jeff Hostetler.

Dan Reeves needed roughly a month to decide Phil Simms, not Hostetler, was the right choice for the job of starting Giants quarterback. Both men were free agents during the spring of 1993, and the Giants chose to sign Simms to a two-year $5.05 million deal in March. They did not re-sign Hostetler.

“It’s an end to one stage of my life and the beginning of something else,” he said. “I want a team that I think wants me, that respects the abilities I have, a team that wants to win. There are a lot of them out there.”

One such team actually shared the exact same address as the Giants. The New York Jets showed a great deal of interest in signing Hostetler. Instead of jumping at that opportunity to remain in town and show the Giants the mistake they made, Hostetler inked a blockbuster deal with the Los Angeles Raiders: three years, $8 million. The day he was introduced as member of the Raiders, Hostetler heard words never uttered during his nine-year tenure in New York.

“This was the guy we wanted,” said Steve Ortmayer, the Raiders’ director of operations. “This was our first choice, the guy we went after.”

Changing out a flat tire on the car that drove him from the airport to his workout for team officials showcased his versatility. But the Raiders courted Hostetler for his proven record as quarterback.

“He runs very well, takes few sacks and has a 70 percent winning percentage as a starter,” owner Al Davis said.

The cross-country move liberated Hostetler. His multimillion-dollar salary proved they had faith in him, and he didn’t have to worry about being promised playing time only to sit on the sidelines, waiting, begging for a chance to perform. In the Raiders’ pass-oriented offense, Hostetler had considerable input and impact on the team’s destiny, far more than he ever had in New York.

His first pass as a Raider, in Week One against Minnesota, went for a seventeen-yard touchdown to Tim Brown. Hostetler completed thirteen of his next fourteen attempts as the Raiders cruised to victory over the defending NFC East Champion Vikings.

“It is still a team game, I am only one part,” he said. “They played back, so we could not go long. We just took what they gave us. I felt I was able to see the whole field today. Our offensive line did a great job of giving me time.”

Hostetler’s Raiders finished the 1993 season 10-6. Playing through a slew of injuries (swelling of both knees, sprained right ankle, bruised throwing shoulder and ribs), he racked up 3,242 yards passing. Seven days after a concussion knocked him out in a loss at Green Bay, Hostetler returned to start the regular season finale against Denver. The finest passing day of his career—twenty-five of forty-one, 310 yards, three touchdowns—sparked a seventeen-point second-half comeback. Los Angeles’ 33-30 overtime victory clinched a home playoff game for the Raiders.

A week later, again versus the Broncos on a Wild Card Sunday, Hostetler threw three more touchdowns in the Raiders’ 42-24 victory. Hostetler benefited that season from a tremendous corps of wide receivers—along with Tim Brown, the Raiders sported two of the league’s fastest players, Raghib “Rocket” Ismail and the aptly named former Olympic sprinter, James Jett. But the addition of Hostetler turned Los Angeles into a winner.

“People can talk all they want about the receivers, but to me, Jeff’s the reason for the Raiders’ success,