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| Todd Collins(right) and Antowain Smith would lead the Buffalo Bills back from a 26-point deficit to beat the Indianapolis Colts in 1997. |
But just under five years later, the Bills would again pull off one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history in Week 4 of the 1997 season.
The Bills entered the 1997 season as a time in transition as quarterback Jim Kelly, who had lead the Bills to four straight Super Bowls in the early '90s had retired in the offseason.
Kelly's heir apparent was Todd Collins, a third-year quarterback out of Michigan, who had been given the difficult task of filling Kelly's shoes.
Even though Kelly was gone, the Bills still had running back Thurman Thomas, wide receiver Andre Reed, and head coach Marv Levy from to help Collins, but Buffalo stumbled a 1-2 record as they prepared to host the Indianapolis Colts in the fourth game of the season.
Indianapolis entered the game with a 0-3 record and having scored only 19 points in their first three games, with their only touchdown being a interception return for by Elijah Alexander in the first game of the season.
It seemed that the Colts were in a downward spiral under second-year head coach Lindy Infante and quarterback Jim Harbaugh, who just 20 months earlier had lead Indianapolis to within an eyelash of the Super Bowl.
So both teams entered this game needing a win to turn around and perhaps save their season.
What they got was one of the most historic games in NFL history.
The Colts got the ball to start the game and drove 16 yards before they were forced to punt, only to get the ball back when Bills punt returner Mitchell Galloway muffed the punt, resulting in a fumble that was recovered by the Colts' Lamont Warren at the Buffalo 16-yard-line.
After two runs by Marshall Faulk picked up six yards, Harbaugh found Aaron Bailey for a 10-yard touchdown giving the Colts their first offensive touchdown of the season and a 7-0 lead with 10:53 to go in the first quarter.
The Colts would get their second offensive touchdown of the season later in the opening quarter when Faulk ran for a 10-yard touchdown, to cap off a five-play, 53-yard drive to extend Indy's lead to 14-0 with 2:35 left in the first quarter.
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| Marshall Faulk would run for 77 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. |
After forcing the Bills to go three-and-out for the third straight time in the game, the Colts were in great position to get more points as they took over at the Buffalo 39-yard-line and immediately were in the red zone as Harbaugh connected with Marvin Harrison for a 25-yard pass to put Indy at the Buffalo' 14-yard-line.
However, an holding penalty on tight end Ken Dilger and two straight incomplete passes forced the Colts to settle for a 39-yard field goal by Cary Blanchard which extended their lead to 17-0 just 16 seconds into the second quarter.
Following Blanchard's field goal, the Bills would give the ball right back to the Colts as Collins was intercepted by Colts defensive tackle Ellis Johnson, whose 18-yard return put the Indy offense at the Buffalo' 25-yard-line.
However, the Bills defense would not permit a 1st down and the Colts had to settle for another Blanchard field goal, this one from 36 yards out, which increased their lead to 20-0 with 10:47 left o play in the second quarter.
The Bills got the ball back at their 28-yard-line but turned it over again when Collins was hit by Colts defensive lineman Steve Martin, leading to a fumble that was recovered by Colts linebacker Stephen Grant at the Bills' 35-yard-line.
But once again, the Colts could not get a 1st down and had to settle for another field goal as Blanchard's 49-yard kick increased the Indy lead to 23-0 with 8:46 left in the first half.
It only got worse for the Bills on their next drive as Collins fumbled the ball following a sack by Indy linebacker Elijah Alexander, which was recovered by defensive end Albert Fontenot at the Buffalo 20-yard-line.
This time, the Colts would get a 1st down and seemed to poised to get in the end zone as they had 2nd-and-goal at the three-yard-line.
However, the Colts could not punch it in to the end zone as Faulk was stopped for a two-yard loss on 2nd down and Harbaugh fired an incomplete pass on 3rd down, forcing the Colts to settle for their fourth straight field goal, which Blanchard made from 22 yards out, making it 26-0 in favor of Indianapolis with under six minutes left before halftime.
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| Colts kicker Cary Blanchard would kick four field goals in the second quarter and added another one in the fourth quarter. |
Little did anyone know at the time but this whole sequence of the Bills turning the ball over and the Colts only kicking field goals would come back to haunt Indianapolis while giving Buffalo a glimmer of hope that they could come back.
Following Blanchard's fourth field goal, the Bills offense finally got on track as they took over at their 28-yard-line only to be at the Colts' 42-yard-line in just two plays, thanks to Smith who caught a 15-yard pass from Collins to begin the drive, and then ran for 15 more on the very next play.
Two plays later, Collins found Reed for a 23-yard completion that put Buffalo at the Indy 16-yard-line where on the very next play, Collins hit tight end Lonnie Johnson for a 16-yard touchdown that put Buffalo on the scoreboard and making it 26-7 with 2:12 to go in the first half.
After the Bills defense forced a three-and-out, Buffalo got the ball back at their 21-yard-line in hopes of driving down and picking up more points before halftime.
The drive started with Collins hitting Thomas for a 30-yard pass play that put the Bills in Colts territory at the Indianapolis 49-yard-line.
Following a six-yard pass to Thomas and an incomplete pass, Collins connected with Reed for 22 yards on 3rd-and-4 at the Colts' 43-yard-line, which was followed by a eight-yard pass to Reed to put Buffalo at the Colts' 13-yard-line.
After an incomplete pass, Collins found Johnson for four yards to set up 1st-and-goal at the nine-yard-line, where the Bills had time for just one shot to get a touchdown.
However, Collins could not connect with Reed and the Bills had to settle for a 27-yard field goal by Steve Christie as time expired in the first half, with Buffalo trailing 26-10.
The Bills hoped to keep the momentum they gained at the end of the first half going as they received the ball to start the second half.
Buffalo was able to drive from its 28-yard-line to the Colts' 40-yard-line, but three straight incomplete passes lead to a Bills punt, which resulted in a touchback allowing the Colts to start their next possession at their 20-yard-line.
On the first play from scrimmage, Faulk galloped for 37 yards, putting the Colts in Buffalo territory at the Bills' 43-yard-line where after the next three plays picked up nine yards, the Colts were faced with a 4th-and-1 at the Buffalo 34-yard-line.
Infante decided not to call on Blanchard to attempt a field goal and instead go for the first down, but the gamble backfired as Zach Crockett was stopped by Bills nose tackle Ted Washington for no gain, giving Buffalo the ball back at their 34-yard-line.
From there, the Bills put together a 11-play, 66-yard drive that was capped off with a 15-yard touchdown run by Smith to cut the deficit to 10 points at 26-16 with 3:26 left in the third quarter.
The Bills tried to make it a one-possession game by going for the two-point conversion, but Thomas was stopped short of the end zone, keeping it 26-16 and meaning the Bills needing at least a touchdown and a field goal just to tie the game.
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| Bills quarterback Todd Collins would finish the day with 275 yards and two touchdown passes on 23-of-38-passing. |
The score remained 26-16 in the fourth quarter when the Colts punted the ball back to the Bills, only to have Buffalo muff their second punt of the day, with Henry Jones being the culprit this time and the Colts' Scott Slutzker recovering the fumble to give Indianapolis a 1st-and-goal at the Buffalo eight-yard-line and a chance to squash the Bills' attempt at a comeback.
But like they did three times in the second quarter, the Bills defense rose up and did not permit a 1st down, forcing the Colts to call on Blanchard again, whose 25-yard field goal made it a 29-16 game with 11:19 left in the fourth quarter but keeping the Bills in striking distance as two touchdowns and two extra points would give Buffalo the lead.
That is when Collins got hot as he completed six of eight passes for 49 yards on a 11-play, 69-yard drive that was capped off with Collins' four-yard touchdown pass to Quinn Early to bring the Bills to within a touchdown at 29-23 with 6:25 remaining in the game.
The Bills defense were force another three-and-out and would begin their next possession at the Colts' 44-yard-line after Indianapolis was called for a 15-yard late hit penalty on Scott Von der Ahe after he hit Galloway after the Bills punt returner called for a fair catch.
After an incomplete pass on 1st down, Collins found Early at the 30-yard-line, who made the catch and then proceeded to outran the Indy defense until he was dragged out of bounds at the one-yard-line.
On the very next play, Smith bursted through the middle for the touchdown and after Steve Christie hit the extra point, the Bills had their first lead of the game, 30-29 with 4:43 left in the fourth quarter.
Now behind for the first time in the game, the Colts took over at their 12-yard-line and proceeded to drive to the Bills' 48-yard-line as Harbaugh completed four passes in a row.
However, an penalty dropped the Colts backed to their 46-yard-line and after two incomplete passes and eight-yard-run by Harbaugh, Indy was faced with a 4th-and-8 at the Buffalo' 46-yard-line with just about a minute and a half to go.
With no choice but to go for it, Harbaugh's pass for Bailey fell incomplete, giving Buffalo the ball at their 46-yard-line with a chance to run out the clock.
The Bills got more than that as Smith ran for his third touchdown of the game, a 54-yard scamper that increased the Buffalo lead to 37-29 with 74 seconds to go.
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| Buffalo running back Antowain Smith's 122 yards on 15 carries and three touchdowns were the key in the Bills' comeback over the Colts. |
While Smith's touchdown pushed the lead to where the Colts had to get a touchdown and a two-point conversion just to force overtime, it still gave the Colts a chance to tie the game as they had two timeouts left in their pocket.
The Colts took over at their 20-yard-line but were in Bills territory after just one play as Harbaugh connected with Bailey for a 22-yard completion that become a 37-yard-play as Bills linebacker Bryce Paup was called for roughing the passer, giving Indy a 1st down at the Buffalo' 43-yard-line.
However, Paup's hit on Harbaugh knocked him out of the game and the Colts were forced to call on backup Paul Justin for the rest of the drive.
All Justin did was complete his first pass to Bailey for 17 yards to put the Colts at the Bills' 26-yard-line.
Then after spiking the ball, Justin threw a pass intended for Harrison that fell incomplte but drew a pass interference penalty on Buffalo defensive back Marlon Kerner, giving the Colts a 1st-and-goal at the six-yard-line.
Following an incomplete pass on 1st down and a four-yard pass to Brian Stablien, the Colts were faced with a 3rd-and-goal from the two-yard-line with 19 seconds left.
That is when Justin rolled to his right and fired a pass for Harrison, who made the catch for the two-yard touchdown to make it 37-35 with 14 seconds left.
Now it was time for the two-point conversion which the Colts needed to tie the game and force overtime.
On the two-point play, Justin took the snap, dropped back, and fired a pass for Harrison, who was being mugged by Bills free safety Kurt Schulz, making it unable for Harrison to catch Justin's pass.
But the referees did not call pass interference and the score remained 37-35 as the Colts now had to attempt an onside kick in order to keep their chances of winning alive.
Shockingly, the Colts would recover the onside kick as Indianapolis' Dedric Mathis recovered the kick at the Bills' 48-yard-line with nine seconds to go.
Justin attempted a Hail Mary which was knocked down by Bills cornerback Ken Irvin leaving the Colts four seconds and one last chance to pull out a miracle.
But Justin's second Hail Mary attempt was intercepted by Irvin, ending the game as the Bills came away with a 37-35 win and the third greatest comeback win in NFL history.
It took several weeks for the Colts to recover from their meltdown as they lost their next six games and finished the season with a 3-13 record, which was worst in the league and resulted in Infante's firing.
However, it allowed for the Colts to pick first in the 1998 NFL Draft, which they used to select Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning, who would lead the Colts to 11 playoff appearances, nine division titles, seven straight seasons of at least 12 wins, two AFC championships, and one Super Bowl title.
As for the Bills, their comeback win against the Colts would be the highlight of the 1997 season as they finished with a 6-10 record and out of the playoffs for only the second time in 10 seasons.
In the offseason, Levy would retire and be replaced defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, who went with Doug Flutie at quarterback, Smith at running back, and Eric Moulds as the top receiver, would make the playoffs in 1998 and 1999 with Thomas and Reed in reduced roles.
(To see the highlights of the Colts-Bills game, just click below).
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