(FOX 9) – In his 8 years in the National Football League, Rick Graf experienced his fair share of memorable moments.
But thanks to the Minnesota Vikings, one of them no longer holds an NFL record.
“I guess I can’t tell people I’m the fuse that lit the biggest comeback in NFL history anymore,” said Graf.
Graf was a linebacker for the Houston Oilers when they were up 35-to-3 against the Buffalo Bills in the Wildcard round of the playoffs in 1993.
After the Bills scored their first touchdown, Graf, who was wearing casts on both hands, fell on a Bills onside kick, but he couldn’t come up with the ball and the Bills would go on to win 41 to 38, which was the the biggest comeback in NFL history for nearly 30 years.
“I just remember the flight home. It was super shock. We fired our defensive coordinator, defensive backs coach the next day. It was bad,” said Graf.
Just like the Colts versus the Vikings, Graff says the Oilers only scored 3 points after jumping out to a huge lead and lost on a field goal in overtime.
Graf says he didn’t start watching the Vikings/Colts game until the second half, but when he did, he knew what the Indianapolis players were going through.
“The first half everything went right, the second half nothing went right,” said Graf.
“I think during the broadcast, they referenced back to our Houston game when we were in Buffalo and I was like this is unbelievable.”
Graf, who is from Madison, Wisconsin and has lived in Minnesota for the last 25 years, says Vikings fans should enjoy the win because it’s not every day your team makes history, and it could be decades before their record is broken.
“This is a great momentum builder for the Vikings because it shows them what they can do. They seem to be on a little destiny right now. Everything is rolling for them. Everything is great,” said Graf.
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