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The Greatest NFL Come-backs Trivia Quiz

Here is a quiz on some of the greatest turnarounds in the history of the National Football League.

A multiple-choice quiz by Dizart. Estimated time: 7 mins.

Author
Dizart

Time
7 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
357,915

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
475

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. In December 1980 the San Francisco 49ers overcame a 28 pt deficit to establish a NFL record for the greatest comeback. This record was broken in January 1993, when the Buffalo Bills oveturned a 32-point deficit to defeat the Houston Oilers in an AFC wild card game. Which quarterback sparked this turnaround by throwing for four second half touchdowns? Hint

Jim Kelly

Doug Flutie

Todd Collins

Frank Reich

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Question 2 of 10

2. On December 7th, 1980, the San Francisco 49ers trailed 35-7 at half-time against an NFC West rival and seemed to have liitle chance of winning, but turned things around in the second half to level the scores, then go on and win in OT. Who were their opponents? Hint

Los Angeles Rams

Atlanta Falcons

Seattle Seahawks

New Orleans Saints

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Question 3 of 10

3. On October 27th, 1946, the Washington Redskins probably thought they had the game sewn up when they led their opponents 24-0 at the half, but quarterback Tommy Thompson had other ideas and led his team to 28 unanswered second half points. Which team overcame the deficit to win? Hint

Green Bay Packers

Chicago Bears

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

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Question 4 of 10

4. September 23rd, 1979, at Mile High Stadium, and the Denver Broncos trail the Seattle Seahawks 34-10 early in the third quarter. Which quarterback threw three touchdown passes to lead the Broncos to a 37-34 comeback win? Hint

John Elway

Norris Weese

Steve Deberg

Craig Morton

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Question 5 of 10

5. Don Shula's Miami Dolphin teams of the early 1970s were used to winning, but found themselves in a hole on December 15th 1974, before mounting an amazing comeback. Which team led the Dolphins 24-0 at the Orange Bowl before seeing it snatched away from them in a 34-27 defeat? Hint

New York Jets

New England Patriots

Baltimore Colts

Oakland Raiders

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Question 6 of 10

6. It looked like a routine home win for the Dallas Cowboys on October 2nd, 2011, when they led their NFC North opponents by 24 points early in the third quarter. Which team came back to win the game 34-30? Hint

Detroit Lions

Minnesota Vikings

Green Bay Packers

Chicago Bears

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Question 7 of 10

7. The Los Angeles Raiders recovered from a 0-24 deficit late in the second quarter to defeat which AFC West rival on November 22nd, 1982? Hint

Denver Broncos

Seattle Seahawks

Kansas City Chiefs

San Diego Chargers

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Question 8 of 10

8. On September 21st, 1997, the Indianapolis Colt thought they must have been on a sure thing when they led the Buffalo Bills 26-0 late in the second quarter. They Bills came back to win the game. Who was the running-back for the Bills, who rushed for three touchdowns? Hint

Thurman Thomas

Billy Joe Hobert

Darick Holmes

Antowain Smith

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Question 9 of 10

9. The Tampa Bay Buccaneer teams of the late 1980s didn't win a lot of games, but they looked to be on a certainty on November 8th, 1987, when they led the St Louis Cardinals 28-3 with just one quarter remaining. Which quarterback pulled it out of the fire for the Cards with three fourth quarter touchdown passes? Hint

Shawn Halloran

Jim Hart

Gary Hogeboom

Neil Lomax

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Question 10 of 10

10. In their final season as the Chicago Cardinals (before their move to St Louis in 1960)-- on October 25th, 1959, the cardinals led the Philadelphia Eagles 24-0 in the third quarter, before contriving to lose the game 28-24. In which city did this game take place? Hint

Minneapolis

Philadelphia

Chicago

Green Bay

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

Answer: Frank Reich

Reich was standing in for the injured Kelly, and things didn't look good for the Bills as the Oilers raced to a 35-3 lead early in the 3rd quarter, behind the arm of Warren Moon. Reich then proceeded to throw three TD passes to Andre Reed and one to Don Beebe to give the Bills an improbable lead. Even then, a late Oilers field goal took the game to OT, where a Steve Christie field goal sent the Rich Stadium crowd home in stunned ecstasy.

Answer: New Orleans Saints

Neither team was in play-off conntntion when this game took place, but they served up a thriller at Candlestick Park. Archie Manning threw three first-half touchdown passes to help the Saints to a massive 35-7 lead at the break, but a young quarterback called Joe Montana ran for a TD and passed for two more as the 49ers came back to tie it. Ray Wersching kicked the winning field goal in overtime.

Answer: Philadelphia Eagles

Thompson was blind in one eye, but that didn't stop him leading the Eagles to two NFL championships in the late 1940s. In this particular game in Washington, he threw three second half touchdown passes to help his team come back to win 28-24.

Answer: Craig Morton

Although John Elway was renowned for his fourth quarter comebacks, he didn't join the Broncos until 1983. Craig Morton was a former Superbowl winner with the Dallas Cowboys, who joined the Broncos in 1977. He threw three touchdown passes to give Denver a vital comeback win - they would finish one game ahead of the Seahawks at the season's conclusion and earn a wild card spot.

Answer: New England Patriots

The Patriots were underdogs coming into this game aginst the reigning Superbowl champions, but jumped out to a 24-0 lead early in the second quarter. The Dolphins came back to win it, with back-up quarterback Earl Morral throwing two touchdown passes to Melvin Baker.

Answer: Detroit Lions

The Lions hadn't been a contender for years, but had started the 2011 season well with three straight wins. It looked like things were back to normal as the Cowboys surged ahead behind the arm of Tony Romo, but Matthew Stafford passed for two touchdowns as Detroit stunned the Cowboys faithful.

7. The Los Angeles Raiders recovered from a 0-24 deficit late in the second quarter to defeat which AFC West rival on November 22nd, 1982?

Answer: San Diego Chargers

The Raiders were playing their first season in Los Angeles after relocating from Oakland in 1982, and were pushing hard for the play-offs during the strike-shortened season. The Chargers looked to have put a spoke in their wheel as quarterback Dan Fouts helped them to a 24-0 lead.

The Raiders had a certain Marcus Allen at running back, however, and he rushed for two touchdowns as they came back to win 28-24.

Answer: Antowain Smith

Smith was a rookie running back for the Bills, and he rushed for 129 yards and three touchdowns in just 12 attempts as the Bills recovered to win 37-35. Even then, the Colts had a chance to take the game into OT, but a two-point conversion that would have tied the game failed.

Answer: Neil Lomax

Lomax was playing in his seventh NFL season, and was one of the few stars of the Cardinal teams of the 1980s. He threw two TD passes to J.T. Smith and one to Robert Aswalt as the Cardinals scored 28 unanswered fourth quarter points to win 31-28.

Answer: Minneapolis

The Cardinals moved two of their home games in 1959 to Metropolitan Stadium in Minneapolis. In this particular game, they looked like picking up a rare win as they led 24-0, thanks mainly to two defensive touchdowns. The Eagles woke up in the third quarter, and two passing touchdowns from Norm Van Brocklin helped them to a 28-24 comeback win.

Source: Author Dizart

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
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