The Six Biggest Comebacks in Super Bowl History
The Kansas City Chiefs have pulled off some memorable comebacks with Patrick Mahomes under center. As their deficit against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV increased, many wondered if they could pull off a comeback for the ages to rival Brady's epic 25-point comeback in Super Bowl LI, when the New England Patriots stormed back to beat the Atlanta Falcons.
In the spirit of Super Bowl comebacks, let's take a look at the biggest ones in history:
6. Super Bowl XLVI: Giants come back from eight-point deficit against Patriots
In a rematch of Super Bowl XLII, the Giants once again found themselves as underdogs facing Tom Brady's Patriots and once again it came down to the wire. The Giants, down 17–9, were able to close the gap to 17–15 in the fourth quarter after a pair of field goals. The defense stopped Brady and company to set up an Eli Manning-led touchdown drive in the closing minutes. The Patriots weren't able to answer with a little over a minute to go and lost 21-17.
5. Super Bowl XXV: Giants come back from nine points down to beat the Bills
In another Giants comeback story, the G-Men found themselves down 12-3 right before halftime against the Bills. New York was able to force a three-and-out and find the end zone to cut it to 12–10 at the half. Giants gave themselves the 20-19 lead in the fourth quarter but Jim Kelly was able to give his kicker, Scott Norwood, a chance to nail a 47-yarder with nine seconds to go. It went wide right.
4. Super Bowl XXII: Washington overcomes 10-point deficit to beat Broncos
The Broncos were up 10–0 over Washington after just one quarter and it was all smooth sailing. Then future Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway threw two interceptions in the second quarter that set in motion a cataclysmic meltdown. Denver didn't score another point and Washington won 42-10.
3. Super Bowl XLIV: Saints come back from down 10 points against Colts
The Colts started off strong and were up 10–0 against Drew Brees and the Saints, but New Orleans's potent offense answered with 13 straight points to take the lead in the third quarter. After trading a pair of touchdowns, the Colts were down 24–17 and Peyton Manning had a chance to lead his team down the field for a potentially game-winning drive. Instead, he threw a pick-six to make the final score 31–17.
2. Super Bowl XLIX: Patriots overcome 10-point deficit to beat Seahawks
The Seahawks were up 24–14 after a Doug Baldwin touchdown and Tom Brady was able to answer with two clutch touchdowns in the fourth quarter against the fabled Legion of Boom defense. The Seahawks had a chance to win on a go-ahead touchdown at the one-yard line, but Russell Wilson threw an interception to Malcolm Butler in one of the most infamous play calls of all time. Patriots won 28–24.
1. Super Bowl LI: Patriots come back from down 25 points against Falcons.
The most miraculous comeback in Super Bowl history. The Patriots were down 28–3 with 8:31 to go in the third quarter after a Tevin Coleman touchdown. Brady and company went on to score on five straight drives—including two touchdown drives with two successful two-point conversions—to send the game to overtime with the game tied at 28. The Patriots would go on to win the coin toss, elected to receive the ball, and James White scored on a 2-yard touchdown to give the Patriots the unbelievable win.
