How the Bills Figured It Out — The Story Behind the Greatest Comeback in NFL History

JASON CVANCARA
Jul 15
2 min read

When everything collapsed, they figured it out.

January 3, 1993. The Buffalo Bills were getting annihilated—down 35–3 to the Houston Oilers in the third quarter of an AFC Wild Card playoff game. The stadium was half-empty. Viewers turned their TVs off. Buffalo’s season was over.

But instead of folding, they got to work.

1. They Didn’t Panic

Head coach Marv Levy didn’t scream or throw headsets. He simply told Frank Reich, the backup QB starting in place of the injured Jim Kelly, “Let’s go play football.”

That calm leadership kept the locker room grounded. The team figured it out by refusing to let the scoreboard define their focus.

2. Reich Stepped Up

Reich wasn’t just any backup. He had already engineered a historic 31-point comeback in college against Miami in 1984. He’d been here before. He wasn’t rattled.

He started taking shots. He read the defense. He trusted Andre Reed. And he didn’t try to win it all on one throw. He took it one possession at a time—exactly what high-pressure leadership looks like.

3. They Shifted the Momentum

The real turning point? An onside kick early in the third quarter—and they recovered it. That was the spark. The defense, reeling for most of the game, suddenly found life. Defensive backs tightened up. The pass rush got home. Nate Odomes’ overtime interception sealed it.

When the game flipped, it wasn’t magic—it was momentum they created by refusing to give up.

4. They Played for Each Other

Frank Reich wasn’t trying to become a hero. Steve Tasker wasn’t trying to go viral. They were fighting for the guy next to them. Every block, every route, every tackle—it all started to stack.

They figured it out by trusting each other and staying locked in—even when the odds looked impossible.

Final Score: Bills 41, Oilers 38.

This wasn’t luck. It was execution, grit, and refusing to accept the narrative. That’s what “figure it out” looks like—under pressure, under fire, and with the whole country watching.