Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings made history after mounting the biggest comeback in NFL history over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15. The Vikings rallied from a 33-0 halftime deficit to win in overtime, 39-36, which beat the previous 32-point comeback record set in January 1993.
After the game, Cousins received a text message from the man who not only led that comeback almost 30 years ago, but also the man recently fired as the head coach of the team Cousins had just beaten — Frank Reich.
“Frank texted me to say, ‘Kirk, for 30 years, that moment has given me an opportunity to share many things about football and life, tell people about my faith, and now the torch has been passed to you.'” Cousins told NBC Sports’ Peter King. “So it was a powerful text. I already had a great deal of respect for Frank but after that text it went through the roof. I took what he said seriously.”
Reich confirmed the text to King and reiterated what he hoped Cousins would do with the story he can now share with others. He added that it was a little strange to watch his record be broken against the team that fired him a little over a month ago.
“Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to encourage lots of people because of that game –some with football lessons, some with lessons of spirituality,” Reich told King. “Maybe Kirk will be like me – maybe he’ll have 30 years of being able to use this as inspiration the way I was able to.
“… It’s just a weird dynamic,” Reich said about seeing Cousins beat the Colts that way. “And it was weird to see the record go away. It’s strange – I thought I was going to be clinging to the record, and it’s sort of an honor to have the record. But I am happy it’s Kirk.”
Cousins’ comeback was similar to Reich’s
Reich orchestrated that come-from-behind victory during the wild-card round of the 1992 playoffs as the backup quarterback for the Buffalo Bills after Jim Kelly suffered a knee injury in the previous game. Reich led the Bills back from a 35-3 deficit to beat the Houston Oilers, 41-38, in overtime. The Bills beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the divisional round with Reich under center before Kelly returned for the AFC title game and eventual Super Bowl XXVII loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
Similarly to Cousins’ comeback, Reich and the Bills trailed big at halftime. The Oilers built a 28-3 lead after two quarters and went up 35-3 in the third. But the Bills then unleashed a 28-point third quarter that featured three touchdown passes from Reich to receiver Andre Reed, which helped them cut the deficit to one score heading into the fourth. Another Reed touchdown gave the Bills their first lead of the game before the Oilers forced overtime with a field goal. The Bills got the ball first during the extra period, though, and won.
The Vikings, meanwhile, outscored the Colts 36-3 in the second half before they also won on a field goal in overtime. Cousins threw three of his four second-half touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including the game-tying 64-yard pass to running back Dalvin Cook with 2:28 remaining in regulation. Neither the Vikings nor the Colts scored on their first overtime possessions before the Vikings nailed a last-minute field goal for the win.
Not Cousins’ first big comeback
Oddly enough, this isn’t Cousins’ first time leading a team back from a huge deficit. The last team to win a game after a deficit of at least 24 points was Cousins’ 2015 Washington squad that beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 7. Yes, it was the “You like that!” game.
Cousins received a similar message after that comeback win, too. He recently told Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer that then-Washington head coach Jay Gruden told him in 2015 that a performance like that “doesn’t happen to average people.”
“That always stuck with me, that you gotta be uncommon to be able to do something like that,” Cousins said. “And so I have the same thought going through my mind, that Jay texted seven years ago, after we won today.
Now, Cousins and Reich will forever be bonded by something few players accomplish in their NFL careers. Colts quarterback Matt Ryan, meanwhile, will forever remain the punchline of historic NFL collapses.
