(EDITOR’S NOTE

: This is the second in a series of articles by Times News writer Rich Strack. After writing about his “Greatest Games” in sports history in the opening series, he will now offer his thoughts on the “Greatest Comebacks.” Throughout the upcoming weeks, Strack will give his list of the top comebacks in different sports. Today’s topic is the NFL.

By Rich Strack

tnsports@tnonline.com

In this difficult time of a health crisis, the matter of sports competition that brings so much recreational joy to millions of Americans has been rightfully postponed.

Every level from the professional and college ranks down to high school spring sports will have empty stadiums, ball fields, and tracks for the foreseeable future.

But if you’re a fan like me, with many years of devotion to athletic competition, some of the greatest events from the past are still being played in your memory rewind.

So sit back and let me distract you from public concerns for just a moment with Part 2 of a series on the “Greatest Comebacks” that will remain forever in my personal Hall of Fame

Today I give you three of the best NFL come-from-behind games of my lifetime.

1993 AFC Wild Card game

Oilers vs. Bills

Houston dominated the game early. Quarterback, Warren Moon completed 19 of 22 passes for 218 yards and four touchdowns in the first half and the Oilers held the ball for over 21 minutes keeping Buffalo’s high-powered offense off the field for most of the first two quarters.

Down 35-3 early in the third quarter with backup QB Frank Reich filling in for injured All-Pro Jim Kelly, and without injured star running back Thurman Thomas in the lineup, things looked bleak for the Bills. A Houston radio announcer actually said, “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.”

Then the comeback began. Kenneth Davis scored from one yard out for Buffalo with 8:52 left in the third quarter to make the score 35-10.

After recovering an onside kick, the Bills capped a four-play drive on a Reich 38-yard TD pass. A three-and-out by Houston was followed by another Bills’ score. While scoring 21 points in a row, the Bills defense held the Oilers to three yards on three plays.

At 35-24, Buffalo intercepted a Moon pass. On a fourth-and-five from the Houston 18, Coach Marv Levy waved off a field-goal attempt and Reich found Andre Reed for a touchdown. The score was now 35-31. Reich would lead the Bills to another TD for a 38-35 lead, but the Oilers kicked a field goal to send the game into overtime.

On his 50th pass of the game, Moon threw a pick. The Bills won 41-38 on a 32-yard field goal.

Frank Reich just might have been the right QB for a big comeback. In college, he led Maryland back from a 31-0 deficit to beat Miami 42-40.

2017 Super Bowl

Patriots vs Falcons

NFL fans were used to the Patriots winning the AFC and now Bill Belichick and Tom Brady were coming into their seventh Super Bowl. Fans certainly were not used to New England falling far behind in any game, but at the half in the league’s biggest event of the year, the Pats trailed the Falcons, 21-3. That deficit grew to 28-3 with just the fourth quarter left to play.

Brady started to work his magic even though the score and the clock were against him.

In the fourth, the Pats scored on a Brady to James White pass. A missed extra point left the score at 28-9. The Falcons went three and out. New England needed only three minutes to move from its own 13-yard line into the Falcons’ red zone. The drive stalled and a field goal cut the Falcon lead to 16 points.

On the third play of the Falcons’ next possession, Atlanta QB Matt Ryan was strip sacked and the Pats recovered and took over on the Falcon 25 with 8:24 left to play.

Five plays later, a Brady to Danny Amendola TD pass, and a two-point conversion made the score 28-20 with 5:53 to go.

The Falcons drove to NE’s 22-yard line, but a sack and a holding penalty forced a punt. With 3:30 left in the game and two timeouts in his pocket, Brady went to work. An incredible 23-yard catch by Julian Edelman off a deflection was followed by three more completions, and the Pats were on the 1-yard line with 60 seconds left to play.

White again found the end zone to bring New England within two points of erasing what once was a 25-point deficit. On the conversion, Brady hit Amendola in the flat and he crossed the goal line to tie the game 28-28.

In OT, Brady and company took only six plays to reach the red zone. A pass interference call put New England on the 2-yard line. Following an incomplete pass, White was trusted with the football and was able to find the end zone on a run to the right to cap what is still the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history.

2014 AFC Wild Card Game

Chiefs vs Colts

At the 13:39 mark of the third quarter, the Colts trailed 38-10. The sellout crowd was angry and booed the home team after every failed possession.

But Indy QB Andrew Luck, who already had a history of leading late-game comebacks, spearheaded two touchdowns with a balance of precision passes and effective run plays. In seven minutes, the Colts closed to 38-24 as mounting injuries were forcing the Chiefs to throw bench players into the fire.

KC managed a field goal, but Luck hit tight end Coby Fleener for a 12-yard TD, and after three quarters the score was 41-31.

The football gods were squarely behind Indy in the fourth. A Colt fumble on the KC 2-yard line bounced up to Luck, who ran it in. With 11 minutes left, the home team trailed, 41-38. The Chiefs knocked five minutes off the clock with a long drive that ended with a field goal.

But Luck, who had thrown three picks in the game, would have the last say, connecting with T.Y. Hilton on a 64-yard pass and run touchdown. The extra point completed the Colts 28-point rally for a 45-44 victory.

Final thoughts

No one can say for certain how a team that’s faltered for most of the game suddenly begins a rally that overcomes a huge deficit to win.

For that matter, the team comfortably ahead at the time the momentum is building is oddly incapable of stopping the comeback despite everything coaches and players do to try to stem the tide.

The rally features play-after-play that ultimately scores points. Sometimes, the team trying to hold on will even add points to its advantage, but the relentless comeback continues, often aided by a turnover, a penalty, or a desperate fourth-down conversion.

As fans, we feel the mojo rising. We’re already moving the chains before the team snaps the ball. We watch and say, “They’re going to score again” and we’re right. And once they get inside the red zone with the game on the line, our minds have already put the points on the board before our team crosses the goal line.

Depending on what side of the line of scrimmage our team is on, we prepare ourselves for the rush of our team’s incredible comeback, or the brutal disappointment of their losing what appeared to be an insurmountable lead.