There were three big comebacks in the NFL during Week 2 of the 2022 season. Two of those comebacks were from 20 points or more. That reminded me of Week 4 of the 1979 season, when two teams came back to win after trailing by 24 on the same day! Week 5 of the 1992 also had three crazy comebacks, which I’ll discuss on this week’s radio show.
2022 NFL Come From Behind Wins
Week 2 of the 2022 NFL season saw three teams rescue victory from the jaws of defeat. The Dolphins defeated the Ravens after trailing by 21 points. The Cardinals topped the Raiders in OT after being down 20. The Jets surprised the Browns with a 31-30 victory after trailing by 13 points in the fourth quarter.
The Dolphins come-from-behind win powered by a 28-point fourth quarter tied the franchise record for the second largest comeback in Dolphins history. The Cardinals impressive comeback ended in overtime with a fumble returned for a touchdown by Byron Murphy. Although the 20-point comeback was impressive, it is not near the franchise record of a 25-point comeback. The Jets 13-point fourth-quarter comeback, led by Joe Flacco, was the 19th fourth-quarter comeback of his career (according to Pro Football Reference).
1979 NFL Comebacks
Week 4 of 1979 also saw major comebacks. The Houston Oilers trailed the Cincinnati Bengals at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati 24-0. Quarterback Dan Pastorini led the Oilers to a comeback win in overtime. The win still stands as the largest comeback in Oilers/Titans franchise history. Pastorini also led the Oilers to the franchise’s second-biggest comeback (23 points) the previous season.
The Denver Broncos rallied from a 34-10 third quarter deficit to beat the Seattle Seahawks in Week 4 of the 1979 season. That tied a franchise record set in 1960 for the largest comeback in team history (since tied again in 2012).
You can learn more about the 1979 Houston Oilers in this book and in this documentary film that aired on cable in 2017.
