For the most part, the Super Bowl has been a story of clear victories for one team, with comebacks being a most rare event in the NFL’s biggest event of the season.
That said, comebacks of significance have been more frequent in recent years, with the biggest of all time taking place less than a decade ago.
Could another great Super Bowl comeback be on the cards if the betting favourites, the 49ers and Ravens, meet in Nevada, or will another 60 minutes of dominance come to the fore?
In the meantime, these are the greatest Super Bowl comebacks of all time.
What is the Greatest Super Bowl Comeback Ever?
The greatest Super Bowl comeback ever took place on February 5, 2017, seeing the New England Patriots bounce back from a 25-point deficit to win the Lombardi Trophy.
At half-time, the Tom Brady-led Patriots and favourites coming into the game in Houston, Texas, were 21-3 down and conceded yet another touchdown pass from the arm of Matt Ryan in the third to trail by a mountainous 28-3 scoreline.
Then, with 2:06 left in the third, Brady and Bill Belichick woke up. Brady connected with back James White in the third, and Stephen Gostkowski made up for a failed PAT to kick off the fourth by putting away a 33-yard field goal to make it 28-12.
Following a fumble, Brady was given the ball back, and he found Danny Amendola on a six-yard pass. White punched in the two-pointer to bring it to 28-20.
The Falcons were forced to punt on their next possession, giving the hot hands of Brady and White 91 yards to make up eight points.
Courtesy of one of the all-time great Super Bowl catches from Julian Edelman, the Patriots made it to the end zone, with White scoring the touchdown and then following up with a two-point conversion.
Regulation ended 57 seconds later at 28-28, and Super Bowl LI went to the event’s first and, to date, only overtime. The Patriots won the first possession and flew down the field to score a touchdown and win.
White, again, secured the points.
It’s the biggest Super Bowl comeback ever and rightly ranks among the very best NFL games ever witnessed.
Are Comebacks Common in the Super Bowl?
Comebacks are not common in the Super Bowl, or at least, significant point deficit comebacks aren’t commonplace in the Super Bowl.
After the 34-28 overtime win for the Patriots over the Falcons in 2017, the next-highest comeback sees a team only overcome a ten-point deficit.
Blowouts were much more commonly sighted in the NFL’s big finale through much of the 80s and 90s, and while final score lines have become much closer and small comebacks are more common in recent years, Super Bowl LI was incredibly unique.
Still, we do have an active comeback artist vying for yet another Super Bowl, having pulled off two of the second-most impressive comebacks in the game’s history to claim a couple of rings already.
Biggest Comebacks in Super Bowl History List
These are the biggest comebacks in Super Bowl history as of the end of the 2023/24 NFL regular season:
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New England Patriots 34-28 (OT) Atlanta Falcons (25 Points, 2017)
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Washington Redskins 42-10 Denver Broncos (10 Points, 1988)
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New Orleans Saints 31-17 Indianapolis Colts (10 Points, 2010)
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New England Patriots 28-24 Seattle Seahawks (10 Points, 2015)
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Kansas City Chiefs 31-20 San Francisco 49ers (10 Points, 2020)
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Kansas City Chiefs 38-35 Philadelphia Eagles (10 Points, 2023)
Trailing 24-14 after a Jake Elliott field goal at 0:00, the Kansas City Chiefs craved a comeback masterclass from Patrick Mahomes last year, and that’s exactly what they got.
Even though the Chiefs have to climb over the menacing Miami Dolphins just to make it out of the Wild Card Round this year, Mahomes’ capacity for a comeback keeps them right in the NFL odds at +900 to retain the crown.
Should the Chiefs sink the Dolphins, the task arguably gets even tougher, facing the superb Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional Round. After that, perhaps the Buffalo Bills, and that’s all before a potential spot at Super Bowl LVIII.
As rare as they are, fans love a Super Bowl comeback story, so hopefully, February 11 in Paradise, Nevada, creates another entrant for this list.
*Credit for all images in this article belongs to Alamy*
