When Kirk Cousins finished the greatest comeback in NFL history Saturday—the Vikings were down to the Colts 33-0 with 24 minutes to play, then won 39-36—he noticed a post-game text from Frank Reich. Interesting. Cousins and Reich are friendly, but not close, and Reich was the coach fired by the Colts mid-season. But Reich was also the backup quarterback who, 30 years ago, playing because Buffalo QB Jim Kelly was hurt, led the Bills back from a 35-3 deficit to win 41-38. And that’s what this text was about, sort of—Cousins bettering Reich by one point to set the league record.
“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.’ 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.”
“True,” Reich said when we talked Sunday afternoon. “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. 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.” Reich seemed especially pleased that the quarterback who now holds the record for biggest comeback is also a religious person.
Asked if it felt strange to be watching the team that fired him blow that huge lead, Reich said it was. At one point during the second half Saturday, his wife Linda asked him how he was feeling. “I don’t know,” Reich said. And he said he still roots for the players and coaches he worked with. “It’s just a weird dynamic,” he said. “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.”
Read more in Peter King’s full Football Morning in America column
