The year was 2013 when former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly was diagnosed with oral cancer. Kelly has faced some of the biggest challenges imaginable, but his battle with cancer tested him in ways football never could. And that is when one of his former teammates came in and played a crucial role in his fight for survival.

“Frank Reich. As soon as you said that, I thought about when I was in the hospital, and the doctors gave me less than 5% chance to live. And everybody was coming because they thought that was the last time they were ever going to see me. Oh, I got a prayer from Frank every day,” said Kelly on The Immeasurably More Podcast.

“To me, and how much that helped me seek the Lord. It really did. Even though at that time I was little, of course, you know, mentally thinking, why would God put me through all these things? And I know we’re going to talk probably a little bit more about that, but when Frank did that, it was amazing how much it drew me closer to the Lord, not knowing that I will ever get that close.”

Jim Kelly and Frank Reich were part of the Buffalo Bills for nine seasons (1986-1994). The Bills drafted Reich in 1985, one year before Kelly joined the team in 1986. Following that move, Reich primarily served as a backup QB to Kelly.

While they shared a competitive locker room, both Kelly and Reich did not harbor any bad blood against each other. In fact, Reich supported Kelly during all four of the Bills’ consecutive Super Bowl appearances (Super Bowls XXV through XXVIII). Not just that, in one instance during the AFC Wild Card game against the Houston Oilers in the 1992-93 season, Reich replaced injured Kelly to spearhead a legendary comeback.

Reich threw for 289 yards while posting touchdowns to pull the Bills back from a 32-point deficit to defeat the Oilers 41-38 after OT. Such performances in crucial games only strengthened Reich and Kelly’s bond as two of the standout QB duos. And much of their strong camaraderie was visible when the life-threatening cancer made its way into Kelly’s life.

In 2014, the cancer returned and aggressively spread toward Jim Kelly’s maxillary sinus and brain. Following that, Doctors gave Kelly a 5%-10% chance of survival. That is when Frank Reich came into the picture. Following a 14-year career as an NFL quarterback, he completely stepped away from professional football (in 1998) for eight years to serve as a seminary student and a church pastor.

After graduating from the Charlotte campus of the Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) with a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree, Reich moved directly into pastoral ministry. He was ordained and served as the pastor of Ballantyne Presbyterian Church just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina.

During these years, Reich immersed himself in a quiet, non-football lifestyle, preaching weekly sermons. And those learnings very well served and helped Jim Kelly during his battle with life-threatening cancer.