The Best Football Comebacks
The Buffalo Bills were down 27-10 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 4th quarter on Dec. 12, 2021. Midway through the 4th, Bills quarterback Josh Allen took off like a rocket to make a 23-yard gain. Then, limping with a sore ankle after Bucs linebacker Devin White fell on his leg, Allen threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dawson Knox. Buffalo would score another 10 points in less than 10 minutes than to tie the game and force an overtime. Unfortunately for the Bills, the team lost in OT to Tampa 33-27
The Bills have been no stranger to comebacks in the franchise’s more than 60-year history. Two of the most well-known are backup quarterback Frank Reich’s stunning OT win during the 1993 AFC Championship game, and a regular season win on Sept. 21,1997 against the Indianapolis Colts.
During the AFC Championship game, the two-time Super Bowl appearance Bills were looking for a third Lombardi Trophy try. The only problem was, the Houston Oilers led the score 35-3 early in the 3rd quarter. Reich and the team’s offense went to work, and the 2nd string QB threw four touchdown passes in the second half. The Bills forced an overtime and won with a field goal. The final score was 41-38. Reich had experience doing this. As a backup college quarterback at the University of Maryland, he came off the bench at halftime to close a 31-point deficit and beat the Univ. of Miami, 42-40.
Four years later, the Bills were trailing the Colts 26-0 in the second quarter. Buffalo scored 10 points before halftime to get some momentum back. Running back Antowain Smith ran for two TDs and QB Todd Collins threw two touchdown passes to make it 37-29. Indianapolis got a touchdown with 14 seconds left, but failed to make a two-point conversion and suffered two incomplete passes. The final score was 37-35.
The Bills are not the only team to win in the second half. Three years later, Buffalo was playing the Tennessee Titans for the AFC Wild Card spot. The Titans were behind by one point with 16 seconds left when Tennessee WR Kevin Dyson caught a second lateral pass and ran 75 yards to win the game 22-16. Dyson wasn’t supposed to play, but wide receiver Derrick Mason and safety Anthony Dorsett, Jr. were out. Dubbed the “Music City Miracle” this stunning victory took the Titans to the Super Bowl.
On Dec. 7, 1980, the New Orleans Saints were leading 35-7 at halftime. San Francisco 49ers QB Joe Montana scored on a 1-yard run, and threw two TD passes. 49ers running back Lenvil Eliott tied the game with a rushing TD, and San Francisco got a field goal in OT to win it 38-35. Montana would lead 31 fourth-quarter comebacks in his 16-year career.
Oh, yeah, Tom Terrific also led the Pats to a 25-point come from behind victory to win Super Bowl LI (as much as it pains this Bills fan to say).
-Jeff Dahlberg
Twitter: @JeffDahlberg3