The Six Greatest Comebacks in Sports History

Sports have no shortage of comeback stories. 

But a large deficit alone does not make a comeback great. The truly unforgettable ones happen with a championship on the line, almost no margin for error, and a moment when the losing side’s odds have effectively vanished.

This list weighs the size of the hole, time or opportunity remaining, championship stakes and historical consequence.

A 32-point rally in a playoff game matters. So does a team overcoming a 3–0 series deficit that had never been conquered. 

And sometimes the most dramatic comeback isn't on any scoreboard at all.

Note: Win probabilities reflect available contemporary or retrospective model reporting. For older events and series, reliable archived live probabilities are unavailable.

6. Buffalo Bills over Houston Oilers, 1993 AFC Wild Card Game

The purest single-game deficit on this list came in Buffalo. The Bills trailed Houston 35–3 early in the third quarter of an AFC Wild Card game, were without injured quarterback Jim Kelly, and looked finished.

Backup QB Frank Reich entered and led four touchdown drives in roughly six minutes. Buffalo eventually tied the game, then won 41–38 on a Steve Christie field goal in overtime.

It remains the largest comeback in NFL playoff history. The Minnesota Vikings’ 33-point rally against the Indianapolis Colts in 2022 is one point higher, but it came in the regular season. Buffalo did it with its season on the line.

5. Cleveland Cavaliers over Golden State Warriors, 2016 NBA Finals

Cleveland did not just rally from a 3–1 NBA Finals deficit. It did so against a Warriors team that had gone on a historic 73–9 run, the best regular-season record in NBA history, and had already beaten the Cavaliers for the 2015 championship.

No NBA team had ever come back from 3–1 in the Finals. Cleveland won Game 5 in Oakland, Game 6 at home and Game 7 back at the Warriors’ Oracle Arena. 

A LeBron James chase-down block, Kyrie Irving’s go-ahead three over Stephen Curry, and Kevin Love’s final defensive possession made it a title-clinching masterpiece.

The comeback also ended Cleveland’s 52-year championship drought in major North American sports.

4. Liverpool over AC Milan, 2005 Champions League Final

AC Milan led Liverpool 3–0 at halftime in the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul. 

AC Milan’s Paolo Maldini scored in the first minute, then Hernán Crespo scored twice to round out the first half. Milan was already favored before the match, priced around 6/5 compared with Liverpool at 11/4.

But in the second half, Liverpool scored three times in a six-minute span through Steven Gerrard, Vladimír Šmicer and Xabi Alonso. It still needed to survive extra time, including Jerzy Dudek’s iconic double save against Andriy Shevchenko, before winning on penalties.

Istanbul is the rare comeback where erasing the deficit was only half the miracle: Liverpool had to erase the score, then hold off one of Europe’s best soccer teams long enough to finish the job.

3. Boston Red Sox over New York Yankees, 2004 American League Championship Series

Boston trailed New York 3–0 in the ALCS after a 19–8 loss in Game 3. No MLB team had ever recovered from a 0–3 deficit in a best-of-seven series.

The Red Sox were down to an 18% chance to win Game 4 with Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera on the mound in the ninth. Then the Red Sox came alive as Dave Roberts stole second, Bill Mueller tied the game, and David Ortiz delivered the walk-off hit.

Boston won Game 5 in 14 innings, then took Games 6 and 7 in New York. It went on to sweep the Cardinals and end an 86-year World Series drought.

The 2016 Chicago Cubs deserve mention here, too. Chicago came back from a 3–1 World Series deficit against the Cleveland Indians and won a rain-delayed, extra-inning Game 7 to end a 108-year drought. But Boston stays ahead because the Red Sox were the only team to overcome a 3–0 hole in MLB postseason history, and did so against their arch rivals, the Yankees.

2. New England Patriots over Atlanta Falcons, 2017 Super Bowl LI

“28–3” has become its own sports shorthand and meme.

Atlanta led 28–3 late in the third quarter of Super Bowl LI, when ESPN’s model gave the Falcons a 99.7% chance to win. Other estimates put New England’s low-point win probability around 0.3%.

The Patriots needed a touchdown, two successful two-point conversions, a strip-sack, a field goal, Julian Edelman’s absurd catch and an overtime touchdown drive. They got all of it.

New England’s 34–28 win remains the largest comeback in Super Bowl history. The deficit was huge, the stakes were maximum, and Atlanta had repeated chances to seal the game. That combination puts it near the top.

1. Tiger Woods wins the 2019 Masters

Tiger Woods did not overcome a one-game deficit. He overcame the sense that his career was over.

Woods went 11 years without winning a major after the 2008 U.S. Open. He endured personal scandal, repeated injuries and multiple back surgeries. At different points, merely returning to competitive golf seemed uncertain.

At the 2019 Masters, Woods entered Sunday in contention, took advantage of Francesco Molinari’s collapse at No. 12, and won by one stroke. It was his fifth green jacket and 15th major title.

The Patriots produced the most mathematically improbable championship rally. Tiger produced the most emotionally improbable return. That is why he is No. 1.

Comebacks that just missed

• Barcelona over PSG, 2017: Overcame a 4–0 first-leg Champions League deficit with a 6–1 second-leg win.
• Oracle Team USA, 2013 America’s Cup: Trailed 8–1 in a first-to-nine series and won eight straight races.
• Europe, 2012 Ryder Cup: Overturned a 10–6 deficit entering singles play at Medinah.
• Reggie Miller, 1995: Eight points in nine seconds against the Knicks remains the most compressed burst of playoff chaos in NBA history.

The common thread is not simply the score. 

Every one of these comebacks required a favorite to unravel and the trailing side to take advantage of every small opening. 

That is what makes them feel impossible, until suddenly, they aren’t.