The Jacksonville Jaguars Pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history, Coming back from a 27 point deficit to be stunned Los Angeles Chargers 31-30 in the AFC wild card playoffs. Overcame five turnovers in the first half, including four interceptions by Trevor Lawrence, the third largest comeback in NFL playoff history.
Where is the Jaguars’ historic comeback at an all-time high? Here are six of the biggest in NFL history:
The greatest comeback in NFL history belonged to the Vikings, who overcame a 33-0 halftime deficit to pull off an improbable comeback and win the NFC North title. Cousins threw four touchdown passes in the second half as the Vikings overcame a 36-7 deficit with 4:53 left in the third quarter to score the final 32 points.
Minnesota scored 22 points in the fourth quarter, tying the game on Cousins’ Dalvin Cook 64-yard touchdown reception with 2:15 to play. The Vikings got the ball in overtime — after their first overtime possession — and with 1:41 to play, Cousins drove the Vikings 60 yards downfield, resulting in a 40-yard field goal by Greg Joseph. Seconds remaining in overtime.
Cousins had two interceptions to throw for 460 yards and four touchdowns in the win. Colts quarterback Matt Ryan finished as the starting quarterback with two 25-point throws, the only quarterback in league history to hold the distinction.
2. Buffalo Bills 41, Houston Oilers 38 (OT) — 32 points (1992 AFC wild-card playoffs)
The greatest comeback in NFL history was one of the most improbable victories the league has ever seen. Bills backup quarterback Frank Reich engineered a play known as “The Comeback” as Buffalo overcame a 35–3 third quarter deficit to earn the victory.
Reich threw four touchdown passes in the second half, three to Andre Reed and one to Dan Beebe to give the Bills a 38–35 lead with 3:08 to play (Reich threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Reed). The Oilers rallied to tie it as Warren Moon led them on a 63-yard drive that resulted in an Al Del Greco field goal to send the game into overtime.
Houston got the ball first in overtime, but Moon threw an interception to Nate Odoms that gave the Bills the ball at the Oilers’ 20-yard line. Ernest Givins’ goal was handled by Darryl Daly, but review showed no flag was thrown. Steve Christie hit a 32-yard field goal to complete an improbable comeback and send the Bills to their third straight Super Bowl a few weeks later.
3. Indianapolis Colts 45, Kansas City Chiefs 44 — 28 points (2013 AFC wild-card playoffs)
In his first season with the Chiefs, Andy Reid appeared headed for a playoff victory after Knile Davis caught a 10-yard pass from Alex Smith to take a 38-10 lead early in the third quarter. The Colts outscored the Chiefs 21-3 the rest of the quarter, cutting the deficit to 41-31 entering the fourth.
Indianapolis was actually trying to get the ball down to three when Andrew Luck recovered the fumble and ran the ball in for a touchdown in one of the weirdest plays in NFL history. Luck caught Ty Hilton for a 64-yard touchdown pass with 4:21 left to give Indianapolis a 45-44 lead, and the Colts were able to stave off a comeback as the Colts again held the Chiefs in their possession.
Luck threw for 443 yards with four touchdowns, throwing three interceptions in the process. Hilton caught 13 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns.
The legend of Joe Montana in San Francisco was launched in this game. San Francisco was outscored 324-21 in the first half and trailed 35-7 at halftime, with the 49ers’ only touchdown coming on a 57-yard punt return by Freddie Solomon.
Montana threw two touchdown passes in the second half, 71-yard passes to Dwight Clark and then a 14-yard pass to Solomon to make it 35–28. Lenville Elliott tied the game late in the fourth quarter with a 7-yard touchdown run to force overtime.
Montana touched off a comeback in overtime as the 49ers nailed a Ray Wersching 36-yard kick to seal the win. Montana threw two touchdown passes and finished 24 of 36 for 285 yards in the second half. The Saints fell to 0-14 with the loss, the worst loss for the infamous “Aints”.
5. Jacksonville Jaguars 31, Los Angeles Chargers 30 — 27 points (2022 AFC wild-card playoffs)
The Jaguars overcame four Trevor Lawrence interceptions and five turnovers in the first half to pull off one of the most improbable comebacks in NFL history. Jacksonville overcame a 27-0 deficit on its final five possessions (four consecutive touchdown passes by Lawrence) — and mixed in a two-point conversion — to rally for the win.
Since the two-minute mark in the first half, Lawrence is 23-of-29 for 253 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions for a 142.9 passer rating — all to four different receivers. Jacksonville set up the game-winner with a 36-yard field goal to Riley Patterson, thanks to a fourth-and-1 conversion and Travis Etienne’s 25-yard run with 1:27 left.
The Chargers went scoreless on three of their four second-half possessions before Cameron Dicker missed a 40-yard field goal to make it 30-20 with 8:27 left. Jacksonville scored the final 11 points to rally for the victory, the third-largest comeback in NFL playoff history.
6. Buffalo Bills 37, Indianapolis Colts 35 — 26 points (Week 4, 1997 regular season)
Buffalo trailed by 26 points in the second quarter before Todd Collins overcame the deficit to lead the Bills to 10 unanswered points before halftime. Antoine Smith rushed for three touchdowns in the second half, including a 54-yard run with 5:21 to play, giving Buffalo a 37–29 lead.
The game was not over when Colts backup quarterback Paul Justin hit Marvin Harrison on a 14-yard touchdown pass with 14 seconds left. The Colts went for a two-point conversion and tied it to force overtime, but Kurt Schulz broke up Justin’s pass to Harrison for a 37-35 lead.
Indianapolis recovered the onside kick and attempted two desperation passes, but the final one toward the end zone was picked off by Ken Irvin. Buffalo won despite five turnovers and two muffed punts.
