Nathaniel Bernard Odomes (born August 25, 1965) is a former professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create turno ...

who played for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. T ...

(1987–1993),

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West, which they rejoined ...

(1994–1995), and the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

(1996). Before his NFL career, he played for the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, returning 36 punts for 359 yards and intercepting 9 passes. His 7 interceptions in the 1986 season led the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representat ...

. He was selected by the Bills in the second round of the

1987 NFL Draft The 1987 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1987, at the Marriot Mar ...

. Odomes was one of the top defensive backs in the NFL during the early 1990s, assisting the Bills to four consecutive Super Bowl appearances, and making the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

twice (1992 and 1993). One of his more memorable plays was in a 1992 playoff game known as The Comeback, where he intercepted a pass from future Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon to set up Buffalo's game-winning field goal. In the following season, Odomes led the NFL with 9 interceptions, and made a key interception in the second quarter of

Super Bowl XXVIII Super Bowl XXVIII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for th ...

to help his team build a 13–6 halftime lead. However, his team still lost the game 30–13. After the 1993 season, Odomes signed with Seattle and spent two injury-plagued years with the Seahawks. He never suited up for Seattle. Before concluding his NFL career, he played one final season with the Atlanta Falcons in 1996. In his eight NFL seasons, Odomes intercepted 26 passes, which he returned for 224 yards and a touchdown. He also recorded 3 sacks and recovered 8 fumbles, returning them for 86 yards and 2 touchdowns.

References

American football cornerbacks Buffalo Bills players Players of American football from Columbus, Georgia Seattle Seahawks players Atlanta Falcons players American Conference Pro Bowl players Wisconsin Badgers football players 1965 births Living people {{defensiveback-1960s-stub