29-Year Anniversary Of The Most Famous Buffalo Bills Game Ever
The current Buffalo Bills team is gearing up for another playoff run, after a 29-15 win over the Atlanta Falcons at Highmark Stadium yesterday. The win, along with a loss by the Baltimore Ravens, clinched a playoff spot for the Bills. They have a chance to clinch the AFC East next week against the Jets with a victory, or a loss by the New England Patriots against the Miami Dolphins.
The Bills have now made the playoffs for three consecutive seasons and four of the past five. This all on the heels of a 17-year playoff drought.
The Bills are having the most success they've had since the early '90s, when the went to four straight Super Bowls.
Even though the Bills played in four straight Super Bowls, the most famous game in team history was in a Wild Card round game. Today, January 3rd, is the anniversary of that game -- aka, "The Comeback."
On January 3rd, 1993, the Bills hosted the Houston Oilers at Rich Stadium. It was a first half to forget as the Bills trailed 28-3. Then, the Oilers scored on an interception return for a touchdown and took a 35-3 lead at the start of the second half.
It looked insurmountable for the Bills but behind backup quarterback Frank Reich (filling in for an injured Jim Kelly), he led the greatest comeback in NFL history, which still stands to this day (32 points).
Reich threw for nearly 300 yards and four touchdowns, all of the touchdowns coming in the second half to help beat the Oilers.
What's amazing is Reich filled in for the Maryland Terrapins in a 31-0 nothing deficit and led the greatest comeback in college football history in 1984 over the Miami Hurricanes, until the college record was broken in 2006.
There are famous stories of fans leaving at halftime or early in the third quarter, after it was 35-3, but coming back into the stadium to watch the comeback unfold.
You ask anyone old enough to drive in Buffalo in 1993 and they will tell you, they were at that game that day. I think 500,000 people were at that game.
The loss, ironically, sealed the fate of the Oilers franchise, as they moved just under four years later to Tennessee to become the Tennessee Oilers, and later, the Tennessee Titans in 1999.
I wasn't old enough to remember "The Comeback" but my dad talked about it often growing up, and I've seen so many highlights of the game, it feels like I've watched it live.
Reich is now the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, and it's cool for Bills fans to see their former beloved backup quarterback finding success once again in the NFL.