The Comeback or The Choke was a National Football League (NFL) game held on January 3, 1993, as part of the 1992–93 NFL playoffs. The Buffalo Bills overcame a 35–3 deficit to defeat the visiting Houston Oilers 41–38 in overtime and set a record for largest comeback in NFL history, until surpassed by the Minnesota Vikings in 2022. The Bills' 32-point comeback remains the largest comeback in postseason history and the second largest overall. It was also the first time an NFL team with a lead of at least 30 points lost the game.
Background Before this game, the only time in NFL history that a team failed to win a game that they led by 30 or more points in was a 38–38 tie in a 1960 game between the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos, in which the Broncos rallied from a 38–7 deficit to tie the game at 38, which would end up being the final score.
Both teams qualified for the playoffs as wild card teams, with Buffalo as the fourth seed and Houston as the fifth seed.
The Buffalo Bills, the American Football Conference (AFC) champions for the previous two seasons, recorded an 11–5 record during the 1992 regular season and finished in second place in the AFC Eastern Division. Buffalo's no-huddle offense led the league in rushing yards (2,436) and ranked second in the league in total offensive yards (6,114 yards). The main keys to their success were their four future Hall of Fame players on offense: Quarterback Jim Kelly, running back Thurman Thomas, and receivers Andre Reed and James Lofton. Buffalo also had a Hall of Fame defensive end, Bruce Smith, who went on to become the NFL's all-time leader in sacks.
Meanwhile, the Houston Oilers finished in second place in the AFC Central Division with a 10–6 record. Houston's run and shoot offense led the league in passing (4,231 yards) and its defense ranked third in the league, allowing only 4,532 total yards. Overall, the team boasted nine Pro Bowl selections, including their quarterback Warren Moon (selected despite missing six games with injuries) and three wide receivers, Curtis Duncan, Haywood Jeffires, and Ernest Givins. The Oilers also had a powerful running attack with Lorenzo White, who rushed for 1,226 yards and caught 57 passes.
The Bills and Oilers had faced each other for the final game of the regular season, with Houston defeating Buffalo, 27–3 in Houston. During that game, Kelly suffered strained ligaments in his knee, leaving backup quarterback Frank Reich to finish the game in his place. Reich completed a mere 11-of-23 passes for 99 yards, with two interceptions and a passer rating of 23.6. With Kelly out, Reich took the reins starting in place of Kelly the following week in the wild card game, which Buffalo hosted. Reich also started the following divisional playoff game in Pittsburgh in which Buffalo also won 24–3 to advance to the AFC Championship game the following week versus the Miami Dolphins.
In addition to losing Kelly, injuries also robbed Buffalo of one of their best defensive players for the upcoming wildcard game: linebacker Cornelius Bennett.
Reich and the biggest comeback in college football history As the backup quarterback for the Maryland Terrapins, Reich replaced starter Stan Gelbaugh on November 10, 1984, and led the Terrapins back from a first-half deficit of 31–0 to a 42–40 victory over the Miami Hurricanes under Bernie Kosar. This college record stood until being broken by the 2006 Michigan State vs. Northwestern game.
Game summary
First half
Houston dominated the game early, as quarterback Warren Moon completed 19 of 22 passes for 218 yards and 4 touchdowns in the first half; Moon had only played in the second quarter of the previous game against the Bills after missing five straight games due to injury. The Oilers held the ball for 21:12, keeping the Bills' high-powered offense off the field for most of the first two quarters. On the opening drive of the first quarter, Moon completed 6 of 7 passes on an 80-yard scoring drive that took over 9 minutes off the clock and ended it with his first touchdown throw to wide receiver Haywood Jeffires for 3 yards to give the Oilers a 7–0 lead. Buffalo responded on their ensuing drive, as Kenneth Davis returned the kickoff 33 yards to the 44-yard line. Reich subsequently led the Bills to the Oilers 18-yard line where Steve Christie made a 36-yard field goal, to cut the score to 7–3. But Moon struck right back, leading the Oilers on a second quarter scoring drive that was nearly identical to their first one, completing 6 of 7 passes on another 80-yard drive and finishing it with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Webster Slaughter. Then after forcing the Bills to a three-and-out, Moon threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Duncan. Later on, with 1:15 left in the half, the Oilers drove for another touchdown, aided by an encroachment call against the Bills on fourth down and 1. Moon completed the drive with his second touchdown pass to Jeffires, this one a 27-yarder, and the Oilers went into their locker room with a 28–3 halftime lead.
Second half In the Bills' locker room, Defensive Coordinator Walt Corey angrily chided the defense. "I was hollering the same things the fans were hollering at me when we left the field", Corey says. "I can't repeat the words, but the more I talked, the louder I got. The thing that bothered me was their approach. To me, they looked timid. They looked like they were going to get in the right spots, but they weren't going to make anything happen afterward. This is an attitude game. Sometimes you start playing and you're afraid to make things happen or afraid to make a mistake." Nose Tackle Jeff Wright recalled "With every word that came out of Walt's mouth, he reached a new temperature level, until he finally just exploded. He had every right to say the things that he said. We were embarrassing him, we were embarrassing ourselves, we were embarrassing Buffalo Bills fans."
Meanwhile, head coach Marv Levy told his team, "You've got thirty more minutes. Maybe it's the last thirty minutes of your season. When your season's over, you're going to have to live with yourselves and look yourselves in the eyes. You'd well better have reason to feel good about yourselves, regardless of how this game turns out." Steve Tasker praised the "brilliance in his simplicity ... We had been in two Super Bowls, and he appealed to our pride. It wound up working".
Reminding Reich about his comeback while at Maryland, Kelly said "maybe lightning will strike twice" as the team began the second half. The Bills started the 2nd half on their own 36 yard line, and apparently, the words of Corey and Levy did not have any immediate effect, because 1:41 into the third quarter, and on a 3rd and 9, Reich threw a pass that bounced off the hands of tight end Keith McKeller and went into the arms of defensive back Bubba McDowell, who returned the interception 58 yards for a touchdown. Houston now had a 32-point lead, 35–3; it was only the second time all season the Oilers had broken 30 points scored in a game. The Bills' misfortunes were compounded with the loss of Thurman Thomas, who had to leave the game due to a hip injury on the drive, forcing Buffalo to attempt a comeback with a second-string backfield of Reich and Davis.
A Houston radio announcer was immortalized on NFL Films with the statement "The lights are on here at Rich Stadium, they've been on since this morning, you could pretty much turn them out on the Bills right now."
The Bills got a huge assist to start their comeback on the ensuing kickoff. The wind shifted the ball just before it was kicked by Al Del Greco. As a result, it became an unintentional squib kick that the Bills line backer Mark Maddox recovered with great field position at midfield. Buffalo then drove 50 yards in 10 plays, including a pass to Pete Metzelaars that went right through the hands of linebacker Eddie Robinson, and scored with a 1-yard touchdown run by Davis, cutting the deficit to 35–10 when the extra point was added. On the drive, Reich completed a 24-yard pass to tight end Metzelaars and a 16-yard strike to Andre Reed, while Davis kept the drive going with a 5-yard run on fourth down and 2 before finishing it off with a touchdown run with 8:52 left in the 3rd quarter.
The Bills were still behind by 25 points. Steve Christie, Buffalo's kicker, recovered his own kickoff; Levy said that the play was an error, and not a planned onside kick. The Bills scored on the fourth play of their ensuing drive with Reich's 38-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Don Beebe. On the play, Beebe's left foot went partially out of bounds due to momentum caused by a shove by cornerback Jerry Gray prior to Beebe then getting open for the catch. Had the officials noted the foot on the line, this would have been grounds for a penalty as illegal touching of the football. At the time, the NFL did not have any replay challenge system to challenge the call. The extra point made the score 35–17 with 7:46 left in the third quarter.
Houston was then forced to punt for the first time in the game on their next drive, and Greg Montgomery's 25-yard kick gave Buffalo the ball at their own 41-yard line. Reich started out the ensuing drive with an 18-yard completion to James Lofton. Davis gained 20 yards on a screen pass and then Reich threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Reed, trimming the lead (after making the extra point) to 35–24. In a span of 10 minutes in the third quarter, the Bills had run 18 plays, gained 176 yards, and scored 21 points, while holding the Oilers' offense to 3 plays for 3 yards.
The situation did not get any better for Houston. On the first play of the Oilers' ensuing possession, Moon's pass was tipped off the hands of Slaughter; Bills' safety Henry Jones intercepted the pass from Moon and returned it 15 yards to the Houston 23-yard line. Three plays later, Buffalo faced fourth down and five on the 18-yard line. Rather than attempt a field goal, Reich connected with Reed for the touchdown. With the score (including the extra point), the Bills had cut their deficit from 32 points to four in a span of just 6:52. On the Oilers' next drive, linebacker Darryl Talley forced a fumble from Moon while sacking him. Houston recovered the fumble, but they were forced to punt, and Montgomery's 24-yard kick gave Buffalo the ball at its 48-yard line. In the third quarter, Buffalo had outscored Houston 28–7 while holding Moon to 2 of 7 completions for 19 yards.