The Greatest Comebacks in NFL History

One of the NFL's favorite national pastimes is declaring "game over" before the final whistle. After seeing dozens of remarkable comebacks through the years, though, it's smart to be careful when making the statement.

Many leads aren't safe. And we're remembering the ones that weren't.

While it would be reasonable to identify the largest comebacks specifically by point differential, we've taken some creative liberty. These are the best comebacks rather than simply the biggest, so other factors are taken into consideration.

One definite rule: the comeback must've been 20-plus points and in the Super Bowl era. The list becomes subjective from there.

Playoff games matter most, so that's a bonus. Context―whether there was little time remaining or the result helped a team reach the postseason―also played a role.

Cleveland Browns 29, Tennessee Titans 28 (2014): Tennessee roared out to a 28-3 lead in the first half, but it wouldn't last. Brian Hoyer threw three touchdowns the rest of the way, including two to Travis Benjamin in the closing seven minutes for Cleveland's shocker in Nashville.

Denver Broncos 37, Seattle Seahawks 34 (1979): Seattle scored two touchdowns in the third quarter for a 34-10 advantage before Denver came roaring back. Craig Morton replaced starter Norris Weese and tossed three touchdowns in the 37-34 win. The Broncos ended the season 10-6 and edged 9-7 Seattle for the AFC wild-card spot.

Minnesota Vikings 28, San Francisco 49ers 27 (1977): A rookie rescued the Vikings. San Francisco put up 24 straight points, but then Tommy Kramer replaced Bob Lee while down 24-7 in the closing frame. Kramer's three touchdowns propelled the Vikings to a 28-27 triumph and moved them closer to the NFC Central crown.

Despite holding an 0-13 record in 1980, the New Orleans Saints headed to the San Francisco 49ers undaunted. Archie Manning tossed three touchdowns to help New Orleans build a 35-7 halftime lead.

But then, the Saints went marching the wrong way.

Joe Montana passed for two scores and ran for another, and Lenvil Elliott's game-tying touchdown run forced overtime. Ray Wersching kicked a 36-yard field goal for an improbable 49ers win―one that head coach Bill Walsh later said produced "absolute euphoria."

Fortunately for the Saints, they picked up a victory the following week against the New York Jets and avoided the dreaded winless season.

Early in the second half of this October 2011 matchup, Tony Romo hit Jason Witten for a touchdown that handed the Dallas Cowboys a 27-3 lead. The Detroit Lions followed with a three-and-out, and it seemed the margin would only get uglier.

However, consecutive pick-sixes from Bobby Carpenter and Chris Houston provided Detroit some life.

Dan Bailey's field goal pushed Dallas to a 30-17 advantage, but Matthew Stafford found Calvin Johnson for two scores―including the game-winner with 1:39 left―in the fourth quarter either side of a Jason Hanson field goal to give the Lions a 34-30 win.

Had the result been flipped, the Cowboys would've made the playoffs over Detroit on a head-to-head tiebreaker.

As the third quarter wound down, Miami Dolphins running back Lamar Smith scored to put the New York Jets in a 30-7 hole.

But as the contest looked decided, the Monday night matchup quickly became the Vinny Testaverde show.

New York's veteran quarterback threw four touchdowns in the fourth quarter, highlighted by the famed tackle-eligible catch from offensive lineman Jumbo Elliott. The Jets won 40-37 in overtime thanks to John Hall's 40-yard field goal.

Although the Dolphins still made the 2000 season's playoffs, the inexcusable loss prevented them from earning a first-round bye. Miami would lose to the Oakland Raiders in the divisional round.

Midway through the 1987 season, the St. Louis Cardinals had little hope. They were 2-5 and set to host the 4-3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

And after falling behind 28-3 entering the fourth quarter, it's safe to suggest nobody expected much. Instead, the Cardinals pieced together a dramatic 15 minutes, scoring four touchdowns, with three passing scores from quarterback Neil Lomax.

"We should just play the second half," he said after the win.

Tampa missed a potential game-tying field goal as time expired, but it gets worse: The Bucs didn't win another game all year.

This Week 15 clash in the 2010 season was a battle for the NFC East title.

Both the Philadelphia Eagles and host New York Giants arrived at 9-4. Whichever team emerged with a victory would move ahead in the division race, and the Giants controlled the game en route to taking a 31-10 lead in the fourth quarter.

The final eight minutes and 17 seconds―and so, the NFC East―belonged to Philly. Michael Vick threw two scores and ran for another, but DeSean Jackson's punt-return touchdown owned the highlight reel.

With the game tied, the Giants were forced to punt from their own 29-yard line with 14 seconds remaining. Despite initially mishandling the kick, D-Jax picked it up, split New York's coverage team and raced 65 yards as time expired.

"I've never been around anything like this in my life," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said after the loss. "It's about as empty as you get to feel in this business, right there."

In the 2002 season's wild-card round, the Giants surged ahead of the 49ers after Kerry Collins tossed four touchdown before halftime. They ultimately had a 38-14 edge in the third quarter.

Jeff Garcia and Terrell Owens had enough of that.

During the final 18 minutes of regulation, the duo connected for a touchdown and a pair of two-point conversions. Garcia also scampered 14 yards to the house and found Tai Streets for the game-winning score to cap a 25-point surge and 39-38 win.

Collins put New York in position for a 41-yard field goal as time expired, but a botched hold ended the Giants' hopes.

Though the game ended with a controversial non-call on that play, a good rule of thumb is to not squander a 24-point lead.

Fourteen years later, then-Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy revealed that he considered removing Peyton Manning and the first-string unit when Indy trailed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 35-14 in 2003.

Good thing he didn't.

Sparked by a 90-yard kick return from Brad Pyatt, the Colts came roaring back. Four plays later on fourth down, James Mungro scored a three-yard touchdown, then Manning followed a recovered onside kick with a 28-yard scoring pass to Marvin Harrison.

Indy forced a three-and-out, and Manning led a five-play touchdown drive to even the score and head to overtime. Mike Vanderjagt knocked home a 29-yard field goal for the Colts win with three minutes and 50 seconds remaining in the extra period.

Andrew Luck's first career home playoff game was a mess.

The Kansas City Chiefs zoomed to a 31-10 halftime lead in the 2013 season's wild-card round, and an early touchdown in the third quarter made it 38-10. Indianapolis already had three turnovers, including a pair of interceptions from Luck.

But the second-year quarterback found a groove. Over the next 28-plus minutes of football, Luck and the Indianapolis shredded Kansas City with 35 points in a six-drive span. He accounted for four of those touchdowns, throwing three and even picking up a fumble near the goal line to score.

While the Colts lost to the New England Patriots the next week, this 45-44 triumph announced Luck's arrival as a star.

Following a scoreless first quarter in Super Bowl LI, the Atlanta Falcons took control. They ripped off a 21-point second frame and added an early touchdown in the third quarter. During that time, the New England Patriots mustered only a field goal.

What seemed a mere formality for a Falcons win became the greatest moment in Tom Brady's career.

The future Hall of Famer racked up 466 passing yards in total and put together a 25-point comeback over the last 18 minutes of regulation. James White's touchdown run on the opening drive of overtime gave New England its fifth title of the Brady/Bill Belichick era.

"When you fall behind by a lot in a game like this, you have to make a lot of great plays and have a lot of things go right," offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said after the win.

It helps to have the Greatest of All Time throwing the passes too.

Frank Reich authored the largest comeback (31 points) in college football history with Maryland in 1984 as a backup quarterback. Just over eight years later, he filled in for injured Buffalo Bills star Jim Kelly and stunned the Houston Oilers.

During the 1992 regular-season finale, Buffalo fell 27-3 to Houston on the road. During the clash, a knee injury forced Kelly out of the game and also the two teams' wild-card rematch. The visiting Oilers surged ahead 35-3 on the back of four touchdowns from Warren Moon, and history seemed to be repeating itself.

However, the Bills scored 35 straight points, highlighted by Reich's four touchdown passes―three of which went to Andre Reed.

Oilers kicker Al Del Greco hit a 26-yard field goal to force overtime, but Buffalo's Steve Christie nailed a 32-yard try in overtime to complete the greatest, and largest, comeback in NFL history.

Buffalo lost to the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXVII, dropping the third of what would be four straight unsuccessful Super Bowl appearances.