Biggest comebacks in Super Bowl history, from Chiefs' rally against 49ers to Patriots' legendary "28-3"

Sam Jarden

Biggest comebacks in Super Bowl history, from Chiefs' rally against 49ers to Patriots' legendary "28-3" image

Watching your hopes of a Super Bowl title begin to slip away on the biggest stage is a sickening feeling. But when you've worked your entire life to get to there, giving up simply isn't an option. 

Completing a comeback with your season on the line and your back against the wall has to be one of the most jubilant feelings in any NFL player's career. But not every player is capable of pulling off the improbable — or in some cases, the borderline impossible.

Coming from behind in a Super Bowl is the ultimate example of refusing to lose and fighting until the bitter end. That fighting spirit can be seen in so many of the legendary careers we've witnessed through the years — from Manning to Mahomes, from Brees to Brady. And as you might expect, you'll see each of those names on this list.

The Sporting News takes a look back at the six greatest comebacks in Super Bowl history: 

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Biggest Super Bowl comebacks

8 points: Giants vs. Patriots in Super Bowl 46

Eli Manning had a knack for getting the best of Tom Brady on the biggest stage. First, he ruined the Patriots' hopes of a perfect season with a stunning upset win in Super Bowl 42. Then, four years later, he took him down again.

The underdog Giants got out to a 9-0 lead in the first quarter, but Brady and the Patriots ripped off 17 unanswered points to take a 17-9 lead in the third quarter. Then, New York's defense clamped down, stifling Brady's high-powered offense while Manning's offense kept chipping away at the lead with field goal drives.

Ahmad Bradshaw capped off a clutch late drive with a touchdown run with just over a minute remaining, and the defense held up to give the Giants their second Super Bowl win over the Patriots in the span of four years. 

9 points: Giants vs. Bills in Super Bowl 25

The Giants appear once again on this list, but this game is remembered less for their comeback and more for what happened in the final moments. A play that will forever be known as "wide right."

Buffalo's explosive "K-Gun" offense, led by Jim Kelly under center, helped the Bills jump out to a 12-3 lead in the second quarter. But the Giants didn't quit, and two touchdowns on either side of halftime turned Buffalo's comfortable lead into a 17-12 deficit. 

Thurman Thomas restored the Bills' lead on the first play of the first quarter, a 31-yard touchdown scamper that made it 19-17. But the Giants' offense, led by quarterback Jeff Hostetler, marched back down the field and kicked a field goal to make it 20-19. In the dying moments, Kelly and Thomas combined to drag the Bills just inside field goal range, giving Kicker Scott Norwood the chance to win the Super Bowl from 47 yards. His kick missed wide right, and the rest is history. 

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10 points: Washington vs. Broncos in Super Bowl 22

This is a strange one. Even though it was technically a comeback, it was also one of the biggest blowouts in Super bowl history.

It was the second straight Super Bowl appearance for the Broncos, thanks in large part to the play of star quarterback John Elway. They got off to a fantastic start, too, scoring a touchdown on their first play from scrimmage (a 56-yard house call for Ricky Nattiel) and building a 10-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. At the time, no team had ever come back from a 10 point deficit in a Super Bowl. 

Then, the wheels fell off.

Ricky Williams got Washington on the board with an 80-yard touchdown reception, then Gary Clark made a diving catch in the end zone to take a 14-10 lead. On the team's next possession, rookie Timmy Smith turned on the jets for a 58-yard touchdown run in his first career NFL start. Williams got his second touchdown of the quarter on the following drive with a 50-yard catch and run, and finally, Doug Williams tossed a touchdown to Clint Didier. 

In barely 13 minutes of game time, the Broncos went from holding a double-digit lead to getting obliterated 35-10 at halftime. The second half was a dull affair, and Denver never really threatened to cut into the massive lead. Washington would go on to win, 42-10. 

MORE SUPER BOWL: Highest scoring games | Lowest scoring games

10 points: Saints vs. Colts in Super Bowl 44

Heading into Super Bowl 44, the Colts looked primed for their second Lombardi trophy in the span of four years. Peyton Manning had lit it up in the regular season en route to his fourth MVP award, and the team was unbeaten throughout the entire season in games played by their starters (they lost twice while resting their starters at the end of the regular season). 

After one quarter against Drew Brees and the Saints, the Colts were in great shape, holding a 10-0 lead thanks to a Matt Stover field goal and a touchdown catch by Pierre Garçon. The Saints got a pair of field goals in the second quarter to trim the lead to 10-6, but Indianapolis was still in the driver's seat heading into halftime up 10-6. 

Then, New Orleans head coach Sean Payton made one of the gutsiest calls in Super Bowl history.

With the Saints kicking off to start the second half, Payton opted to try an onside kick. It caught the Colts' special teams unit totally off-guard, and the Saints recovered to steal a possession from Manning and the high-octane Colts' offense. Brees capitalized by leading a 58-yard touchdown drive to give his team its first lead of the game. 

The Colts re-took the lead on the following drive after a Joseph Addai touchdown run, but the Saints wrestled it back with just over five minutes to play when Brees found Jeremy Shockey in the end zone for a touchdown. Tracy Porter's pick-six on Manning on the ensuing drive sealed an emotional win for New Orleans less than five years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city.

(Getty Images)

10 points: Patriots vs. Seahawks in Super Bowl 49

Pete Carroll's Seahawks were at the height of their powers in the 2015 postseason. With star quarterback Russell Wilson at the helm of the offense and the vaunted "Legion of Boom" holding things down on defense, Seattle looked poised to repeat as world champions after obliterating the Broncos in Super Bowl 48 one year earlier. 

But Tom Brady and the Patriots had other ideas. 

With the Seahawks holding a 24-14 lead heading into the fourth quarter, Brady needed to come up big yet again for his team to have any chance. He did just that, mounting a 68-yard touchdown drive that was capped by a 4-yard pass to Danny Amendola in the end zone. After the Seahawks went three-and-out, he followed it up with another clutch drive and gave New England a 28-24 lead with just over two minutes left on the clock with a touchdown pass to Julian Edelman. 

But the game is mainly remembered for what came next.

Wilson and the Seattle offense put together a stunning drive, marching all the way down to the 1-yard line in large part thanks to a miraculous catch by Jermaine Kearse. With Marshawn Lynch at Carroll's disposal, everyone watching was already preparing for the inevitable game-winning touchdown run. But on 2nd and goal with 26 seconds left on the clock, Wilson instead threw a slant pass intended for Ricardo Lockette. Unheralded rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler jumped the route perfectly in one of the most shocking plays in NFL history. 

Brady and the Patriots escaped with the win and secured their fourth Lombardi trophy. 

MORE SUPER BOWL: Most wins by team | Most wins by player

10 points: Chiefs vs. Eagles in Super Bowl 54

For decades, the Kansas City Chiefs had a reputation as perennial playoff underachievers. That all changed in early 2020.

Fresh off an MVP award in the previous season, Patrick Mahomes was already well on his way to superstardom. But he needed a Super Bowl title to prove he and his team could get it done on the biggest stage.

Things weren't looking great in the second half of Super Bowl 54 against the 49ers, with San Francisco holding a 20-10 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Then, Mahomes did what stars do. He engineered three straight touchdown drives in the final seven minutes of the fourth quarter, finding Travis Kelce and Damien Harris for a pair of scores before Williams ripped off a 38-yard TD run to put the game out of reach. 

It was Kansas City's first championship since Super Bowl 4 all the way back in 1970, 50 years earlier, and it set Mahomes and the Chiefs on the path to continued success. They'll have a chance to get another ring this Sunday against the Eagles in Super Bowl 57.  

Matt Ryan and Tom Brady
Getty Images

25 points: Patriots vs. Falcons in Super Bowl 51

It is, quite simply, the ultimate sports comeback. Ever since Super Bowl 51, just two simple numbers are enough to send shivers down the spine of any Atlanta sports fan. "28-3."

On February 5, 2017, Matt Ryan, Dan Quinn and the Atlanta Falcons had one hand and four fingers on the first Lombardi trophy in franchise history. What happened next was incredible, unthinkable and downright impossible.

In front of more than 70,000 fans at NRG Stadium in Houston, the Falcons stormed to a commanding lead over Tom Brady and the Patriots. After a scoreless first quarter, Devonta Freeman opened the scoring with a 5-yard touchdown run before Austin Hooper caught a 19-yard pass from Ryan in the end zone to make it 14-0. When Brady's red zone pass was picked off by Robert Alford and returned 82 yards for a touchdown, it looked like all hope was lost for New England. 

A Tevin Coleman touchdown catch stretched the lead to 28-3 with 8:31 remaining in the third quarter. Rings were being fitted, headlines were being written and trophies were being engraved in preparation for Atlanta's dominant win. Then, what can only be described as a complete and total collapse. 

Brady got his team into the end zone for the first time on a short pass to James White with 2:06 left in the third quarter. After Stephen Gostkowski missed the extra point, the score was 28-9 heading into the final 15 minutes.

Gostkowski redeemed himself with a field goal to cut the lead to 16 points with 9:44 left in the game, making it a two-possession game. And the Falcons' offense which had been so explosive all season suddenly fell apart. Ryan was sacked and fumbled the ball on the ensuing drive, and Alan Branch's recovery allowed the Patriots to get another quick score, a Danny Amendola touchdown. After a two-point conversion was successful, it was suddenly a one-possession game with almost 6 minutes left on the clock.

The Falcons got to the edge of the red zone on the following drive, but negative plays and a costly holding penalty pushed them out of field goal range. They were forced to punt the ball back, and with 3:30 left on the clock, what happened next seemed almost inevitable. Julian Edelman's insane catch on a deflection helped the Patriots drive all the way down the length of the field and punch it in once again thanks to another White touchdown. With the season hanging in the balance, Brady's pass to Amendola on the two-point conversion. tied the game.

When the Patriots won the coin toss in overtime, it gave them the chance to win the game with another touchdown. The Falcons' defense looked helpless to stop them. White's third touchdown of the night on a run to the right side from near the goal line completed the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history, and gave Brady his fifth Super Bowl ring.

Sam Jarden

Sam Jarden Photo

Sam Jarden joined Sporting News as an intern in 2020 and returned as a content producer in 2022. In between, he spent a year and a half at Turner Sports, managing the social media accounts for Bleacher Report, NBA on TNT, NBA TV and others. A proud UNC alumnus, he spends his free time following the Tar Heels, Buffalo Bills and Newcastle United FC, and has been known to occasionally hit the links.