The 5 Greatest Comebacks in NFL Playoff History
The 5 Most Iconic NFL Playoff Comebacks
In elite-level sports, winning is everything. Still, sometimes you get more pleasure out of a certain type of win and a fightback from behind is one of the most enjoyable.
With that in mind, we're going to look at five of the best comebacks in NFL postseason history.
An iconic comeback in the Bay!
5. San Francisco 49ers 39 - New York Giants 38, 2003
It's hard to remember a game that took on so many different forms.
It started off with the sides exchanging points out to 14-14. The Giants then grabbed the tie by the scruff of the neck as Kerry Collins found Amani Toomer twice in quick succession to open up a 14-point lead. That advantage soon became 24 in the third quarter.
The Giants looked set to be marching on. The 49ers never quit though, and 25 unanswered scores gave them a narrow advantage heading into the dying seconds.
Despite haemorrhaging their lead, the Giants had the chance to snatch victory in the final moments but Trey Junkin wasted the opportunity to attempt a field goal. It was to be his last action in the NFL. The 49ers scraped through.
4. Kansas City Chiefs 51 - Houston Texans 31, 2020
Talk about the Kansas City Chiefs side of last season and what you'll remember is Patrick Mahomes and the Super Bowl Champions. They had to come from behind in that game, but it had nothing on their divisional play-off against the Houston Texans.
That game started disastrously as they fell to a 21-point deficit in quarter one. A further three points were added early in the second.
The Chiefs were on the brink. Mahomes had different ideas. He orchestrated one of the best comebacks you'll ever see. By halftime, the Chiefs were back in front after putting 28 points on the board without reply.
A short while later, at 41-24, it was suddenly the Texans facing an uphill battle. They couldn't handle the fight back and the Chiefs ran out 51-31 winners.
3. Houston Oilers 38 - Buffalo Bills 41, 1993
It's more bad news for Houston at number three on our list. Let's take you back to January 1993 and the wildcard game between the Houston Oilers and the Buffalo Bills.
The first quarter was a fairly even affair with the Oilers holding a 7-3 advantage heading into the second. Four touchdowns without reply stretched the advantage to 32 points with the Oilers looking safe to progress but the game was far from over.
Kenneth Davis, Don Beebe and a double from Andre Reed cut the advantage to just four points with the final quarter to come. Frank Reich threw his fourth touchdown pass of the game for Reed to grab his hat trick.
The comeback was complete with the Bills leading 38-35. There was, however, still more drama to come as Houston forced overtime. Steve Christie kicked the winner in OT to send the Oilers packing.
2. Indianapolis Colts 45 - Kansas City Chiefs 44, 2014
We've already touched on one Chiefs turnaround. They were involved in another dramatic comeback in 2014 but this time they were on the wrong side of it against the Indianapolis Colts.
Dwayne Bowe and TY Hilton scored touchdowns early on in the first game of the 2013 postseason to fool fans into thinking the game would be an end to end affair. It wasn't. Instead, it turned out to be an absolute onslaught from the Kansas City Chiefs.
They got their noses in front and turned the screw on their opponents opening up a seemingly insurmountable 28-point lead with the clock ticking away in the third quarter. The game was as good as won.
That's what everyone thought. Everyone except Andrew Luck that is. He was like a man possessed. Three touchdown throws and a fumble recovery touchdown of his own saw the Colts nick the game 45-44.
1. New England Patriots 34 - Atlanta Falcons 28, 2017
Sitting in the number one spot on our list is the only NFL Super Bowl to get a mention. Of course, it would be the New England Patriots who served up the goods. After a scoreless first quarter, the Falcons burst into life and three touchdowns had the Patriots on the ropes.
Stephen Gostkowski kicked late on in the half to get Bill Belichick’s men off the mark but another Falcons touchdown at the beginning of the third should have been enough for Atlanta to cling on to
They were up against the best team in the league though and when they turned it on, they were almost unstoppable. Guess what? At 28-3 down, they turned it on.
Bowl MVP Brady threw 446 yards and two touchdowns as he led the fightback. 19 points without reply in the fourth forced overtime and James White went over to secure the Vince Lombardi trophy.
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