Comeback (sports)

• 1. Introduction

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  A comeback, or a come-from-behind win, happens when an athlete or a team overcomes a serious disadvantage in points, position or a series score. One description calls it the single greatest aspect of competition that most embodies the spirit of what makes sport extraordinary. Researchers studying spectator sports have found that dramatic play stirs up both sides of a crowd. Cheering escalates as one competitor gains momentum, only to surge again when the other suddenly turns the tables. Fans feel better watching a team lose a close comeback attempt than watching the same final score unfold in a match played evenly throughout. In sports bound by a game clock, a comeback becomes mathematically impossible once too little time remains to close the gap. Tennis and baseball work differently. A comeback stays possible until the very last point, no matter the size of the deficit. One study found that across basketball, football and ice hockey, the team ahead at the start of the final period wins 80 percent of the time. The trailing side completes the comeback the other 20 percent of the time. Home crowds seem to matter too. Professional basketball's home team is more than three times as likely to pull off a fourth-quarter comeback than the visiting team, at a rate of 33.3 percent against 10.5 percent. The same word can double as an insult aimed the other way. A comeback for one side is often described as a choke by the other. The term reaches beyond the scoreboard too. It also describes performers returning to their old level after retirement, injury or some other disruption, a usage that shows up in politics and entertainment as well as sports. Across a dozen different sports, what actually turns a hopeless deficit into a win?

• 2. Gridiron Comebacks

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  On the 3rd of January, 1993, the Buffalo Bills trailed the Houston Oilers by 32 points shortly after halftime in an NFL playoff game. The game became known simply as The Comeback. Buffalo fought back to win in overtime, 41-38, the largest comeback in NFL history at the time, in either the playoffs or the regular season. That record stood until the 2022-23 Minnesota Vikings erased a 33-point halftime deficit in a Week 15 game. The Vikings scored 32 unanswered points to beat the Indianapolis Colts 39-3, breaking Buffalo's mark.

  Super Bowl LI, played on the 5th of February, 2017, produced a different collapse and recovery. The New England Patriots trailed the Atlanta Falcons 28-3 in the third quarter, a 25-point deficit. New England won in overtime, 34-28, for its second championship in three years. It remains the largest comeback in Super Bowl history.

  The 2006 Michigan State vs. Northwestern game turned a 38-3 deficit with 9:54 left in the third quarter into a win. Michigan State scored 38 unanswered points to win 41-38, the largest comeback in NCAA Division I-A history. In the 2006 Insight Bowl, Minnesota led Texas Tech 38-7 with 7:47 left in the third quarter. Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell threw two touchdown passes and running back Shannon Woods scored twice. Kicker Alex Trlica then hit a 52-yard field goal as time expired to force overtime. Woods capped the comeback with a 3-yard touchdown run, completing the largest comeback in NCAA Division I-A bowl history.

  In the 2016 Valero Alamo Bowl, Oregon led TCU 31-0 at halftime. After starting quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. left with an injury, TCU backup Bram Kohlhausen led a 31-point second-half comeback. TCU won 47-41 in triple overtime, tying Texas Tech's record for the largest comeback in an NCAA Division I-A bowl game. In 1994, the Choke at Doak between Florida and Florida State tied the NCAA record for the biggest fourth-quarter comeback, at 28 points.

  The largest fourth-quarter comeback in NFL history came in Week 9 of the 1987 season. The St. Louis Cardinals trailed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 28-3 with 12:42 left in the fourth quarter. The Cardinals scored 28 straight points to lead 31-28 with 2:01 remaining. A Buccaneers field goal attempt then struck the crossbar as the clock expired, sealing a 25-point comeback. Whether it starts at halftime or with just one quarter left, an American football comeback always races against the same clock.

• 3. The Beautiful Game's Reversals

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  Association football limits a comeback to the 90 minutes of a single match, unless a tie is settled over two legs. On the 21st of December, 1957, Charlton Athletic trailed Huddersfield Town 5-1 with 27 minutes left and were down to ten men. Charlton scored six more goals to win 7-6.

  Liverpool's 2005 UEFA Champions League final against AC Milan produced an even steeper deficit. Liverpool trailed 3-0 at halftime, then scored three goals in seven minutes to tie the match 3-3. Liverpool went on to win 3-2 on penalties, in a match later dubbed The Miracle of Istanbul.

  On the 8th of March, 2017, at Camp Nou, FC Barcelona beat Paris Saint-Germain 6-1, winning the tie 6-5 on aggregate. It was the first time in UEFA Champions League history that a team had overcome a four-goal deficit to reach the quarterfinals. Barcelona had done something similar on the 18th of April, 2000, also at Camp Nou, trailing Chelsea 3-1 on aggregate before Rivaldo and Luís Figo tied the score. Tore André Flo restored Chelsea's lead in the 60th minute, and Dani García equalized in the 83rd. Rivaldo and Patrick Kluivert then scored in extra time to win the tie 6-4.

  In the 2018-19 Champions League semifinals, Liverpool trailed FC Barcelona 3-0 after the first leg. Divock Origi and Georginio Wijnaldum each scored twice, and a corner from Trent Alexander-Arnold gave Liverpool a 4-3 aggregate lead. Liverpool advanced to the 2019 final and won it. In the other semifinal, Tottenham Hotspur trailed Ajax 3-0 on aggregate at halftime of the second leg. Lucas Moura scored a hat-trick, with the winning goal arriving in the 96th minute, sending Spurs through on away goals.

  Real Madrid completed three separate comebacks in the 2021-22 Champions League knockout rounds. Karim Benzema scored a hat-trick in 17 minutes to overturn a 2-0 aggregate deficit against Paris Saint-Germain in the Round of 16. Against Chelsea in the quarterfinals, Madrid fell behind 4-3 on aggregate before Rodrygo equalized in the 80th minute and Benzema scored again in extra time. Against Manchester City in the semifinals, Rodrygo scored twice in the 90th and 91st minutes to level the tie 5-5. Benzema then converted a penalty in extra time to send Madrid to the final, which Real Madrid went on to win.

  The biggest comeback in World Cup history is considered to be Portugal's 5-3 win over North Korea in the 1966 quarterfinal. North Korea had gone up 3-0 in the first half before Eusébio led Portugal back with four goals. Baseball keeps no clock. There, a trailing team's outs, not the minutes on a scoreboard, decide when its chance for a comeback runs out.

• 4. Diamond Comebacks

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  In 2004, the Boston Red Sox became the only team in Major League Baseball history to win a best-of-seven series after trailing three games to none. Boston did it against the rival New York Yankees, who had eliminated the Red Sox 4-3 in the previous year's American League Championship Series. The Red Sox then swept the 2004 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, ending an 86-year championship drought known as the Curse of the Bambino. Many call it the greatest comeback in sports history.

  Only three times in Major League history has a team come back from twelve runs down to win a game. On the 18th of June, 1911, the Detroit Tigers overcame a 12-run deficit against the Chicago White Sox. On the 15th of June, 1925, the Philadelphia Athletics did the same against the Cleveland Indians. On the 5th of August, 2001, the Cleveland Indians overcame a 12-run deficit to beat the Seattle Mariners 15-14 in the 11th inning.

  Basketball trades baseball's open-ended innings for four quarters, where every second left in the game counts against the trailing team.

• 5. Basketball's Vanishing Leads

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  On the 22nd of February, 2018, Drexel overcame a 34-point deficit to beat Delaware, the largest comeback in NCAA Division I history. The previous record belonged to a game on the 15th of February, 1994, when Kentucky trailed Louisiana State by 31 points before winning 99-95. In the Philippines, the San Miguel Beermen became the first team to win a best-of-seven title series after trailing 0-3. They beat the Alaska Aces in Game 7 of the 2015-16 PBA Philippine Cup Finals.

  On the 27th of November, 1996, the Utah Jazz trailed the Denver Nuggets 70-36 at halftime in front of their home crowd at the Delta Center. Karl Malone scored 31 points and Jeff Hornacek added 29 as Utah completed the largest comeback in NBA history, winning 107-103.

  On the 25th of January, 2022, the Los Angeles Clippers trailed the Washington Wizards by 35 points at the Capital One Arena. Luke Kennard scored the Clippers' final seven points in nine seconds, including a four-point play with 1.9 seconds left, to win 116-115. It tied a 2009 Sacramento Kings comeback over the Chicago Bulls as the second largest in NBA history.

  In that game, on the 21st of December, 2009, the Kings trailed the Bulls by 35 points, 44-79, with 8:49 left in the third quarter at Chicago's United Center. Tyreke Evans scored 23 points as Sacramento rallied to win 102-98. On the 30th of April, 2021, the Boston Celtics trailed the San Antonio Spurs by 32 points, including an 84-53 deficit in the third quarter. Jayson Tatum scored 60 points as Boston forced overtime and won 143-140.

  In the 2019 NBA playoffs, on the 15th of April, the Los Angeles Clippers trailed the Golden State Warriors 94-63 with 7:31 left in the third quarter. Landry Shamet hit a game-winning three-pointer with 15.9 seconds left, backed by 36 points from Lou Williams and 25 from Montrezl Harrell, to win 135-131.

  Both games played on the 13th of March, 2012, set NCAA postseason records in the same tournament. One set the record for the largest deficit overcome within the final five minutes, 16 points. The other set the record for the largest deficit overcome at any point in a game, 25 points. The next sport to attempt a comeback plays by an entirely different rulebook, with no running clock at all.

• 6. Cricket's Different Math

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  In the 1996 Cricket World Cup semifinal, Australia scored 207 runs against the West Indies over 50 overs. A cricket comeback is bound by the wickets and innings a team has left to use. Limited-overs matches add a fixed number of legal deliveries; first-class matches add a five-day time limit instead. The West Indies reached 165 runs with nine overs left, having lost only two wickets. Australia took eight of the West Indies' last wickets, restricting them to 202 runs total and winning by 5 runs.

  In first-class cricket, a trailing team can salvage a draw by keeping its batsmen from getting out until time runs out. Pakistan's Hanif Mohammad once batted for 16 hours against the West Indies to help stall a match this way. A rarer comeback happens when a team wins after being forced to follow on, trailing by 200 runs or more after one innings each. This has happened only four times in international cricket. Ice hockey adds its own version of a hard stop: three periods and a clock that keeps running no matter who is ahead.

• 7. Ice Hockey's Five-Goal Club

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  On the 26th of January, 1987, the Calgary Flames erased a 5-0 deficit against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The comeback started with a Steve Bozek goal with just 13:58 left in the third period, the fastest five-goal comeback in NHL history.

  On the 29th of November, 2000, the Toronto Maple Leafs led the St. Louis Blues 5-0 with 15:09 left in the third period. The Blues completed their comeback in the least total time of any in NHL history, winning 6-5 in overtime.

  On the 10th of April, 1982, the Los Angeles Kings trailed the heavily favored Edmonton Oilers 5-0 entering the third period of a playoff game. The Kings scored five unanswered goals and won 6-5 in overtime on a goal by Daryl Evans. The game became known as the Miracle on Manchester, named for the Kings' arena, the Forum, on Manchester Boulevard. It remains the largest single-game comeback in NHL playoff history.

  Only four teams in NHL history have won a series after trailing three games to none. The 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs were first, and remain the only team to win a Stanley Cup Final after trailing 3-0. The 1975 New York Islanders, the 2010 Philadelphia Flyers and the 2014 Los Angeles Kings each did it too. The Kings' comeback against the San Jose Sharks carried them all the way to a Stanley Cup title. Not every comeback needs an entire roster. Sometimes it comes down to a single driver, a single racket, or a single competitor chasing back alone.

• 8. Beyond The Team Sports

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  In the 2015-16 EHF Champions League final, MVM Veszprem led Vive Targi Kielce 28-19 after 45 minutes of play. Kielce answered with nine unanswered goals to force a shootout, which they won 39-38.

  Sergio Pérez entered the final race of the 2020 season without a contract for the following year. He had gone 190 races without a single win, the longest such streak in Formula One history. After a first-lap collision dropped him to last place, Pérez fought through the field to take the win. He soon after signed with Red Bull Racing for the 2021 season.

  At the 2021 São Paulo Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from qualifying and sent to the back of the grid. During the sprint race, he fought back to 5th place, but a five-place grid penalty dropped him to tenth for the main race. Over the next 71 laps, Hamilton caught race leader Max Verstappen and passed him on lap 57 to take his 101st career win. It was his third victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

  At the 2022 Australian Open final, Daniil Medvedev won the first two sets against Rafael Nadal. Nadal came back to win the next three sets, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5, over five hours and 24 minutes. The win completed a career double Grand Slam, gave Nadal his second Australian Open title, and a then-record 21st major singles title. At the 2025 French Open final, Jannik Sinner led Carlos Alcaraz two sets to none and held three championship points in the fourth set. Alcaraz won the final three sets, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6, in five hours and 29 minutes, the longest final in Roland Garros history. The win gave him his second French Open title and his fifth major singles title.

  At the 1972 Munich Olympics, Lasse Virén fell in the twelfth lap of the 10,000 metres after tangling with Emiel Puttemans. Despite losing about 20 metres, Virén caught up with the field, then outpaced it, breaking Ron Clarke's seven-year-old world record with a time of 27:38.40.

  In the 2013 America's Cup, Oracle Team USA trailed Emirates Team New Zealand eight races to one. Oracle won the next eight consecutive races to take the Cup, a run described as possibly the greatest comeback in sports history. A similarly steep comeback occurred in the 2019 Roma per tutti yacht race. The yacht O' Guerriero fell more than 140 miles behind the leader before rallying to win the overall IRC title. It was the boat's second consecutive overall win, making it only the third boat in the race's history to complete a back-to-back title.