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7 Worst Collapses in Sports History

Matt McEwan

by Matt McEwan in Soccer News

Updated Jan 17, 2018 · 9:39 AM PST

Barcelona celebrates their improbable victory
By Hugo Perez Marsol (flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/]

Are you wondering where Barcelona’s improbable victory in the Champions League’s Round of 16 ranks in the list of greatest comebacks in sports history? Well, keep searching. I want to take more of a glass half-empty approach here and focus on the collapses.

Considering the significance of the game, the size of the lead, and the blunders that occurred, where does PSG’s implosion sit on the list of worst collapses in sports history? Find out, below, in my list of the seven worst collapses ever.

Contrary to most online lists, I’ll start with the climax.

1. Houston Oilers, 1992 AFC Wild-Card Game

In the final week of the 1992 NFL regular season, the Houston Oilers defeated the Buffalo Bills 27-3 in Houston, and injured Jim Kelly in the process. The teams would meet again a week later in the AFC Wild Card Game, this time in Buffalo.

With Frank Reich under center for the Bills, the change in location didn’t seem to make any difference. The Oilers went to the locker room at halftime with a 28-3 lead. It only got worse for Buffalo in the second half as Oiler DB Bubba McDowell picked off Reich and took it 58 yards to the house. Making matters worse, Thurman Thomas had to leave the game with a hip injury. At 35-3, and Thomas out, the game was over.

But then Oiler kicker Al Del Greco had the ball shift on him while attempting to kickoff following the score. The result was a squib kick recovered by the Bills at midfield. Continuing the bad luck, Eddie Robinson should have intercepted a Reich pass on the ensuing drive, but watched the ball go right through his hands and into the arms of a Bills receiver. Buffalo would convert the drive into seven points. Houston then allowed the Bills kicker, Steve Christie, to recover his own onside kick. Buffalo would score another quick touchdown, making the score 35-17 with 7:46 left in the third quarter.

Oilers punter Greg Montgomery then shanked a punt, setting the Bills up with great field position again. Houston had given up 21 points in just ten minutes and the lead was down to 11.

Warren Moon then had a pass intercepted deep in his own territory, resulting in another seven for Buffalo and a four-point game.

After finally getting their offense moving again, Houston had an opportunity to kick a field goal and extend their lead. But Montgomery botched the hold. The Bills would eventually take the lead 38-35, but needed overtime to complete the biggest comeback in NFL history. Such a meltdown has never been matched on the tundra.

2. Paris Saint-Germain, Champions League Round of 16

After a 4-0 humiliation of Barcelona in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16, Paris Saint-Germain basically just needed to show up for the second leg. No team had ever come back from such a deficit in the competition’s history.

Barcelona would come out with a serious sense of urgency, opening the scoring just three minutes into the game. Their lead was up to 3-0 just 50 minutes in, meaning they trailed on aggregate by just one goal. The early heroics looked to be for naught when PSG answered with a crucial away goal 12 minutes later. This put the aggregate score at 5-3, and PSG now held the tiebreaker as well (away goals), since Barcelona failed to score in Paris. As the 88-minute mark approached, the game appeared to be over. There was no way three goals could be scored in nine minutes (seven minutes of penalty time added) in a soccer match, right?

Wrong. Neymar found the back of the net on a beautiful free kick, and followed by converting a penalty three minutes later. Continuing with their bend-but-don’t-break mentality, PSG surrendered a sixth goal five minutes into penalty time, completing one of the most improbable collapses ever.

3. New York Yankees, 2004 ALCS

The Curse of the Bambino was set to live-on as the Yankees took a commanding 3-0 lead in the 2004 ALCS. The Boston Red Sox faced a series deficit that no MLB team had ever come back from. Then the most reliable man in baseball, Mariano Rivera, gave the Red Sox a shot of life.

Derek Jeter with a blank stare
By Keith Allison (flickr)

Rivera entered the game in the eighth inning with a one-run lead, attempting a two-inning save. After making it through the eighth, the star closer walked the first batter he faced in the ninth. Dave Roberts entered the game as a pinch-runner, and was able to steal second on Rivera’s next pitch. A single drove Roberts in from second, sending the game to extras. Boston would win in the 12th, and then pulled off a thrilling 14-inning victory in Game 5 to avoid elimination.

After the Yankee offense was shutdown by Curt Schilling in Game 6, everything was on the line in Game 7. The pressure clearly got to New York, and Boston jumped out to a 6-0 lead after two innings. The game ended 10-3, resulting in the Yankees being the first team to ever blow a 3-0 series lead.

4. Golden State Warriors, 2016 NBA Finals

The Golden State Warriors won 73 games in the 2015-16 regular season, breaking the Chicago Bulls’ all-time record by one game. Steph Curry and co. were taken to the brink of elimination in the Western Conference Finals, before prevailing in seven games over the Thunder. Golden State held a 2-1 series lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2016 NBA Finals, and had Game 4 in the bag, as well. Then came the infamous swipe at LeBron James’ groin, delivered by none other than Draymond Green. Golden State would still earn a third victory, but they would have to enter Game 5 without Green, who was suspended one game for picking up his fourth technical foul in the playoffs.

With three opportunities to win one more game, it didn’t seem like a big deal to be without the versatile defender for a night. Game 5 ended in a 25-point victory for Cleveland, but that was the least of the Warriors’ concerns. Center Andrew Bogut, whose strong screens were an integral part of Golden State’s offense, went down in the second half with a season-ending knee injury. Cleveland was now taking a lot of momentum home for Game 6.

After another disappointing performance from the Warriors, they were staring down the possibility of becoming the first team to blow a 3-1 series lead in the NBA Finals. Golden State held it together for about 43 minutes and had an 87-83 lead with 5:37 remaining. Then Cleveland pulled at the thread again, and Golden State continued the unraveling they’d started in Game 5. After Klay Thompson tied the game at 89, the Warriors would go 0/9 from the field the rest of the way. The Cavs went onto win the game 93-89, pulling off the incredible comeback. Curry and Thompson only combined for 31 points in Game 7, and will always be remembered for their roles in this epic collapse.

5. Northern Iowa Panthers, 2016 March Madness: Round of 32

Panthers players huddled on the court
By Rikster2 (Wikimedia Commons)

In the opening round of the 2016 March Madness tournament, no. 11 Northern Iowa upset no. 6 Texas with a half-court buzzer-beater. Playing with house money, the Panthers looked good in the second-round against no. 3 Texas A&M.

Northern Iowa led by 12 with 35 seconds to play. A date with no. 2 Oklahoma in the Sweet 16 was inevitable. Even after a couple major errors, the Panthers still led 69-61 with 25 seconds to play. The lead was trimmed to six on the next in-bounds play when Northern Iowa guard Paul Jesperson (unsuccessfully) tried to throw the ball off a defender while he was falling out of bounds, leading to an easy A&M layup.

The wheels continued to come off and the Panthers held just a 71-69 lead with 11.8 seconds to play. After in-bounding the ball into the Aggies trap, Wes Washpun panicked and made the exact same mistake Jesperson did less than 30 seconds prior. Another easy layup for A&M tied the game.

UNI would eventually lose in overtime, completing the worst collapse the NCAA has ever seen.

6. Atlanta Falcons, Super Bowl LI

NRG Stadium before Super Bowl LI
By Brian Allen/Voice of America (Wikimedia Commons)

This one is so fresh I don’t have to re-tell the story. The Falcons had a 25-point lead with less than nine minutes to play in the third quarter of Super Bowl LI.

The toughest part of this for Kyle Shanahan and the Falcons to swallow is that they had a 1st-and-10 at New England’s 22-yard line, up eight points with less than five minutes to play. A field-goal would have made it a two-possession game, effectively ending it. Thanks to a sack and a holding call, Atlanta was pushed out of field-goal range and forced to punt. Just take three knees, kick the field goal, and win the bloody Super Bowl.

7. Jean van de Velde, 1999 British Open

This scene is the closest thing to Roy McAvoy’s wild meltdown at the US Open in the movie Tin Cup. Jean van de Velde entered the final hole of the 1999 British Open only needing to double-bogey the par 4. The Frenchman shanked one shot off the bleachers, put another in the water, and found himself in a bunker before recording a triple-bogey.

This put van de Velde in a three-man playoff, where he would finish second. In this case, we will always remember who finished second.

Honorable Mentions

Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox, 2011 MLB season

The Braves held a 10.5-game lead over the field for the Wild Card spot in the NL as of August 25. The Red Sox had a nine-game lead for the AL Wild Card on September 3. Neither made the playoffs.

Toronto Maple Leafs, 2012-13 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals

The Leafs were up 4-1 with less than 11 minutes to play in Game 7. They still led 4-2 with less than 90 seconds to go. You know how the rest goes.

Minnesota Gophers, 2006 Insight Bowl

Minnesota led 38-7 with 7:47 remaining in the third quarter. Texas Tech won 44-41.


What do you think of the rankings? Do you feel I have overlooked any of the major collapses in sports history? Let me know in the comments. 

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