Was the Patriots Super Bowl Win the Greatest Comeback in Sports History?

By Djack

Boy oh boy, last night was a roller coaster ride of emotion regardless of which team you were rooting for. At first it looked like this would go down as one of the biggest Super Bowl blowouts in history, luckily it turned out to be one of the greatest games in Super Bowl history. Not very often do you see a turn of events like that in sports. With 23 minutes left in the game, the Patriots were down by 25 points, and New England's quest for a 5th Super Bowl Championship seemed all but impossible. Brady and Belichick are to never be doubted again, when they really should've never been doubted to begin with, because once again they showed just why they're the best this game has ever seen. Through acts of God and just pure resiliency the Patriots were able to march back from 25 down to tie up the game by the end of regulation. All would be for nothing if they didn't seal the deal in overtime, but Brady got the ball first, and he did what everyone knew he was going to do. Lead his team down the field to win the game as we've seen him do countless times before. Brady, Belichick, and the New England Patriots organization won their 5th Super Bowl in dramatic fashion, leaving every football fan on the planet speechless. Coming back from 25 down with under 25 minutes to play has to be the greatest comeback in sports history, right? Well, let's take a look back at some other great comebacks throughout the history of sports, and see how they stack up to the miracle that was Super Bowl LI.

2004 ALCS: Boston Red Sox comeback from down 3-0 to beat the Yankees

The worst day of my life, the worst day of any true Yankees fan life was October 20, 2004. This was the day the Red Sox completed the greatest comeback in MLB history. Down 3-0 against a stacked Yankees roster, the Red Sox clawed their way back to tie the series up at 3 games a piece thanks to David Ortiz becoming the most clutch hitter on the planet. Game 7 rolled around and the Yankees never stood a chance, the game was over before it started, and the Red Sox were able to complete the first and only 3-0 comeback in MLB history. As legendary of a comeback as this was, it wasn't as impressive as what we saw last night with the Patriots. There was no clock running down against them, they had all the time in the world, it was just a matter of winning 4 straight baseball games. Impressive without a doubt, easily the greatest comeback in MLB history, but it wasn't quite as improbable as overcoming a 25 point deficit in 25 minutes on the biggest stage in sports. Very close, I'll have to say the Patriots was a just a little bit more impressive though.

2016 NBA Finals: Cleveland Cavaliers comeback from 3-1 to win NBA Finals

As much as I enjoyed every second of it, the Warriors blowing a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals doesn't stack up to the Patriots comeback either. Draymond Green got suspended game 5 opening up the floodgates for the Cavaliers comeback. Game 6 the Cavs got to play at home in game they were expected to win since they had the home court advantage, and than game 7 all momentum was on their side. What Lebron and Kyrie did to take down the Warriors will forever be remembered as the greatest comeback in basketball history, but it's not like the Cavs were down 25 points in game 7 mid-way through the 3rd, and came back to win the game. If that was the case I'd say without a doubt it's more impressive, but that is not the case. Patriots comeback triumphs any NBA comparison, I'm sure there's some irrelevant regular season or early rounds of the postseason without outrageous comebacks, but magnitude of the game has to matchup as well for it to be known as the greatest.

2010 NHL Eastern Conference Semi Finals: Philadelphia Flyers came back from 3-0 to beat the Boston Bruins

This is in the same boat as the Red Sox comeback, except the Red Sox comeback was in what would be Hockey's conference championship, not the Semi's. Very impressive comeback to say the least, but to call it the greatest in sports history would just be a lie, and I don't even think a Flyers fan would say that it was.

1993 NFL WildCard Playoff Round: Buffalo Bills comeback from 32 point deficit to beat the Houston Oilers in OT

This is definitely the more impressive feat, down 32 points in the 3rd quarter the Buffalo Bills led by backup QB Frank Reich, completed the largest comeback in NFL history. Is it harder to comeback from down 32 than 25, obviously, but did the Bills go onto win the Super Bowl? No. As a matter of fact they went onto to lose their fourth straight just a couple weeks later. So no, I will not give Bills credit for the greatest comeback ever. They might've won that battle, but they didn't win the war. The Patriots have the ring to go along with the comeback, the Bills have an ESPN 30 for 30 to go along with their comeback. You be the judge of which one you'd rather have.