The Most Unbelievable Comebacks in Sports History

West Germany won its first World Cup final in Bern, Switzerland, by overcoming a two-goal deficit to beat Hungary. The Hungarian side entered the tournament as one of the best teams in the world. It had not lost a match in four years, and had taken home its second Olympic gold medal during that time. In the World Cup match, Hungary scored twice within the first eight minutes of play. West Germany stormed back to tie the match before the end of the first half. Six minutes into the second half, Helmut Rahn scored the difference-maker, winning the first of four World Cups for German soccer.

Ivan Lendl derailed the John McEnroe juggernaut in 1984 to win the French Open, the first of his eight Grand Slam singles titles. McEnroe had won 39 consecutive matches and took the first two sets of the French Open. Then Lendl rallied, and gutted out a victory over McEnroe, 3-6, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5, 7-5.

The Buffalo Bills claimed the greatest comeback in NFL history on Jan. 3, 1993, enabling them to eventually reach the Super Bowl. Playing in wintry conditions in Buffalo, the visiting Houston Oilers had built a 35-3 lead by the third quarter of the AFC wild card playoff game behind four touchdown passes from future Hall of Famer Warren Moon. Back-up Bills quarterback Frank Reich engineered the comeback. The Bills scored 35 unanswered points before the Oilers tied the game on a field goal in the final seconds of regulation. In overtime, Buffalo intercepted a Moon pass. The Bills got within field-goal range and kicker Steve Christie booted a 32-yard field goal to complete the record comeback victory.

John Tyler and Plano East were two undefeated Texas high school teams known for their defense. So when the two powerhouses collided in a third-round playoff game at Texas Stadium in 1994, few expected offensive fireworks. Plano East rallied from a 41-17 deficit with just over three minutes remaining to take a 44-41 lead after three straight onside kicks were recovered. But John Tyler fired the last arrow in its quiver when it scored on a kickoff return for a touchdown with 11 seconds left to win 48-44.

Scotland’s Paul Lawrie made his nation proud by winning the 128th British Open Championship at Carnoustie, Scotland, in stirring fashion. Lawrie rallied from 10 strokes behind French golfer Jean Van De Velde to force a playoff, which Lawrie won by three shots. It was the first time in PGA history a golfer had ever come back from such a large deficit. The tournament also is remembered for Van De Velde’s epic collapse, as he carded a triple bogey on the 18th hole.

Before a national television audience on Sunday night, Aug. 5, 2001, at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, the Cleveland Indians staged one of baseball’s greatest comebacks. Down 14-2 through the sixth inning, Cleveland rallied for 13 unanswered runs to defeat the Seattle Mariners. The Indians scored five runs in the last of the ninth to force a tie and won it in the bottom of the 11th. It was the third time in Major League Baseball history that a team had dug out of such a huge hole.

Helmed by quarterback Peyton Manning, the Indianapolis Colts scored 28 points in the fourth quarter to tie the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in regulation and won the game on a field goal in overtime. Indianapolis became the first NFL team ever to win after trailing by 21 or more points with less than four minutes to go in regulation.

Reggie Miller was a target of New York Knicks fans’ animus in the 1990s. And the smooth-shooting forward for the Indiana Pacers became a nightmare for the Knicks in the first game of the 1995 Eastern Conference semifinals, scoring eight points in 11 seconds to lead Indiana to victory. With New York leading by six with 18.7 seconds left, Miller hit a three-point shot, stole the inbounds pass, and stepped back beyond the three-point line to hit another three to tie the game. After the Knicks missed two free throws and a shot to win it, Miller grabbed a rebound, was fouled, and sank both free throws to deliver the victory to Indiana.

The Boston Red Sox became the first team in MLB history to overcome a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven playoff series to defeat the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series. The Red Sox were on the cusp of getting sweeped when they faced Yankee closer Mariano Rivera in the last of the ninth and trailing by a run. They tied the game after Dave Roberts stole second and scored on Bill Mueller’s single and won it in the 12th inning. The Red Sox never lost in the postseason after that, sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals in four to win their first World Series since 1918.

In his first season with the Houston Rockets, Tracy McGrady poured in 13 points in 33 seconds to lift Houston to a comeback victory over the San Antonio Spurs. McGrady hit four contested three-point shots and a free throw over that span and his heroics erased an eight-point deficit with 49 seconds remaining.

Liverpool won its fifth European Cup in the most unlikely fashion, rallying from three goals down to beat AC Milan in a match played in Istanbul. Italy was a strong favorite to win the cup, and raced out to a 3-0 in the first half. Liverpool evened the game with three goals in the first six minutes of the second half before winning the match in the penalty shootout. Afterward, an awed Diego Maradona said “The English club proved that miracles really do exist.”

A week after coughing up a big lead to Notre Dame, Michigan State basked in the glory of the greatest comeback in major college football history on Oct. 21, 2006, scoring 38 unanswered points to stun Northwestern, 41-38. The Spartans scored 24 of their points in the fourth quarter to erase the deficit. Prior to Michigan State’s feat, the biggest rallies in college football history belonged to Maryland and Ohio State, which each wiped out 31-point deficits to win.

The Philadelphia Flyers picked themselves up off the mat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals to stage a rally that wiped out a 3-0 deficit to the Boston Bruins to win the game and advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Flyers had been down 3-0 in the series but became the third team to erase that deficit and win an NHL series.

Down 8-1 to New Zealand in the best-of-17 races for the America’s Cup, Oracle Team USA won eight consecutive races at San Francisco Bay to capture sailing’s most prestigious trophy. The American team faced adversity, overcoming one of the stiffest penalties in sailing history because the team had illegally modified its vessel. The team was penalized two points, and a sailor and two offshore crew members were expelled.

Trailing by three goals halfway through the third period, the Boston Bruins staged a frenetic rally to tie the Toronto Maple Leafs in regulation and then won in overtime to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals. Patrice Bergeron was the Bruins’ hero, scoring a tying goal in regular time and the winner in overtime. Boston had avoided a repeat of a collapse from three years prior when the Bruins fell to the Philadelphia Flyers after holding a 3-0 series lead.

The Chicago Cubs had had the longest championship dry spell among teams in the major sports. With the weight of a 108-year-old drought weighing on the franchise, the team surmounted a 3-1 disadvantage in the World Series to force a dramatic seventh game and won that contest in equally dramatic fashion, 8-7, to win the world championship.

Texas A&M was trailing upset-minded Northern Iowa by 12 points with 34 seconds left in the second round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament when the Aggies rallied to tie the game in regulation. Northern Iowa repeatedly turned the ball over while trying to inbound the ball and the Panthers were out of timeouts. The Aggies would go on to win the game, 92-88, in double overtime.

By defeating the Golden State Warriors in the seventh game, the Cleveland Cavaliers became the first team ever to overcome a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals. The championship was their first NBA title and the first title won by a Cleveland professional sports team in 52 years. Golden State, which had won an NBA record 73 games in the regular season, had reached the finals by surmounting a 3-1 series disadvantage to beat Oklahoma City in the Western Conference Finals.

In a career studded with memorable moments, quarterback Tom Brady had one of his greatest in 2017, rallying the New England Patriots from a 25-point deficit midway through the third quarter of Super Bowl LI to tie the Atlanta Falcons in regulation – and then captured the Lombardi Trophy in overtime. Brady completed 43 of 62 passes for 466 yards and two touchdowns and was named the Super Bowl MVP.

Many believe Tiger Woods’ improbable victory at the 2019 Masters was the greatest comeback story ever in sports. Given what preceded his emotional triumph at Augusta, it might be. After being the face of golf for years and boosting the sport to unprecedented popularity, Woods’ life fell apart because of a painful and public divorce; an arrest for driving under the influence; automobile accidents; and a series of injuries. In a story of redemption and perseverance, he won his first PGA Major in 11 years in 2019.