Top 5 biggest comebacks in NFL history
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The Week 15 of the 2022 regular season of the NFL had a blast of a Saturday game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Indianapolis Colts. A game that had a poor abysmal performance by the Vikings in the first half saw an unbelievable comeback by the team. Now officially the biggest comeback in the NFL chronicles, the Minnesota-based team covered a record 33-point deficit to register their name in the history books.
Although the Vikings of 2022 now own the title for the biggest comeback, who are the other teams near the record? Let’s have a look at the top five comebacks in the league’s history.
Also Read: Top 10 teams with the most wins in NFL history
Minnesota Vikings 39-36 Indianapolis Colts, Week 15 of the 2022 regular season (33 points deficit)
The most recent addition and the current leader of this list. The Vikings were lagging behind a mammoth 33 points after the first half. The Kirk Cousins-led team completely changed the gears and delivered a performance for the ages. The QB in the process threw the most pass yards (417 yards) in the second half and OT in NFL’s history. The team was also able to clinch the NFC North title with this win.
The game also had some interesting coincidences involving the two starting QBs (Cousins and Matt Ryan). Prior to this, Washington had defeated the Buccaneers in Week 7 of the 2015 season, in the Kirk Cousins “You Like That?” game, becoming the last team to come back from a deficit of more than 24 points to win a regular-season game.
And as for Matt Ryan, the veteran now has blown two games where his team had a 25+ points lead. The unfortunate QB had suffered a similar fate at Super Bowl LI, blowing off a 28-3 lead while being the Falcons’ main man.
Buffalo Bills 41-38 Houston Oilers, 1993 AFC Wild Card game (32 points deficit)
The original comeback, this game, is infamously known as “the choke” with good reason. The Buffalo Bills team was trailing 28-3 by half-time. It was Frank Reich who rose to the occasion instead of the injured Jim Kelly, who made sure of the comeback.
Even though the Houston Oilers (now Tennessee Titans) managed to take the game into overtime, the flow of the game was already in the Bills’ favor. Steve Christie’s 32-yard connection was the final nail in the coffin for the Oilers’ hope for a win.
Ironic that it was the team that Reich will coach after three decades who will be on the losing side and be involved in breaking this record.
San Francisco 49ers 38-35 New Orleans Saints, Week 14 of the 1980 regular season (28 points deficit)
The San Francisco 49ers staged the greatest regular-season comeback of their team on December 7, 1980. In front of a jubilant crowd at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, they overcame a 35-7 halftime deficit to defeat the New Orleans Saints in an incredible 38-35 overtime victory.
To sum up his coaching career many years later, 49ers coach Bill Walsh just had this to say: “There were only two games that produced absolute euphoria—this one and the 1987 game at Cincinnati, when we scored on the very last play.”
Indianapolis Colts 45-44 Kansas City Chiefs, 2014 AFC Wild Card game (28 points deficit)
The Colts may be the one on the unfavorable side on more than one occasion on this list, but for this one, they can smile. The Colts were behind by a massive 28 points difference. The second quarter alone saw the Chiefs score 21 points. Andrew Luck, Colts QB, then carried the team to see through for an inspiring comeback. His decisive 64-yard pass to T. Y. Hilton sealed a single-point difference win.
Buffalo Bills 37-35 Indianapolis Colts, Week 4 of the 1997 regular season (26 points deficit)
A poor first quarter from the Bills (0-14) was just the beginning of an epic game. The second quarter further added misery for the Bills fans when they saw the team was 26-0. Buffalo then scored 10 points to end the first 30 minutes, added 6 more in the third, and then outscored Indianapolis 21-9 in the fourth to win 37-35.
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Nikhil Sonmali
(1112 Articles Published)