By Matthew Lippe
The NFL has seen some great comebacks over the years. In fact in the AFC Divisional Round, we saw a great comeback by the Chiefs. Down 24-0, they came back to beat the Texans 51-31. Now this a very impressive comeback, but the 1993 Bills would have something to say to that. During the Wild Card game, the Bills hosted the Oilers. The Bills were 2 point favorites in the game, but the Oilers were not going to be a pushover, as they had veteran QB Warren Moon leading the charge.
The game began competitive, with the Oilers striking first, scoring a touchdown to go up 7-0. The Bills would respond kicking a field goal. The first quarter would end with a score of 7-3. However, after the first quarter, the game would get out of hands.
The Oilers would score 28 unanswered points from the beginning of the second quarter to into the third quarter, causing the Oilers to take a commanding 35-3 lead. This onslaught of scoring was led by Warren Moon. Moon passed for 3 touchdowns during the streak and the Bills could not find an answer to the attack. However, after Bill’s QB Frank Reich threw a pick-six, pushing the Oiler’s to a 32 point lead, the Bills found a spark.
The Bills would begin their rally by scoring a 1 yard touchdown run courtsey of Kenneth Davis, cutting the Oilers lead to 35-10. The defense would come up with a key stop and then Frank Reich led the way with a 38 yard touchdown pass to Don Beebe, cutting the lead 7 more, 35-17. Frank Reich and the Bills would score twice more in the quarter (28 points in the quarter, similar to the Chiefs) and cut the Oiler’s lead to only 4, 35-31. And they would not slow down.
They would take the lead in the 4th quarter, thanks in part to a 17 yard touchdown pass from Frank Reich to Andre Reed (Reed’s 3rd touchdown reception of the day). However, this is where things get interesting. The Oilers would come back and kick a field to tie the game as time expired. Then regulation ended without either team scoring again, so the game would move in to overtime! The Oilers would be given a chance but as they were looking to score, Warren Moon threw a crucial pick to give the Bills the ball. Frank Reich would move the ball down the flied and set up kicker Steve Christie for the game winning field goal. The Oilers would call a last second timeout in hopes of “icing” Christie, but he would come out and drill the 32 yarder.
The game ended 41-38. They had just completed a 32 point comeback. However, “The Comeback” is much more than just another come from behind win.
As Frank Reich later said “There’s one aspect of the comeback, the victory and all the statistics of it, but the real value is how it transcends football and gives us strength and hope and confidence to live that kind of life in everything we do, not just on the football field”
So, sure you can take the Patriots or the Chiefs, but the Bills comeback in 1993 will always be to me the greatest comeback ever. Legendary stuff.
