Comebacks In American Football - What's The Big Deal?

By Dr. Footballstein:

Hey football dude!

Let's talk about comebacks in American Football OK?

I know the football pundits scream about teams collapsing and

everything but...

What's really the big deal if a teams gives up a big lead and allows another team to come back?

I know it doesn't happen often and that's part of the fasination.

The Key Question:

The key question to determine if a team callapsed or not is how much time remains in the game and how many possessions does the losing team have left.

As long as there's plenty of time, no one can blame a team for allowing a comeback.

Last season...

In the AFC Championship Game...

The Pats were up on the Colts by a score of 20-6 at the half.

I never lost fath in the Colts because there was plenty of time remaining in the game.

I've been with the Colts since I was a young lad in 1966 and witnessed the reason the up-rights are as high as they are now.

A Tale Of Two Halfs?

If the Pats outscored the Colts 20-6 in one half, what's there to stop the Colts from doing the same to the Pats in the entire second half?

Absolutely Nothing.

As long as the losing team is patient and doesn't force the ball downfield anything can happen - if there is enough time.

- The offense can run and they can pass the ball upfield so the defense can't sit back waiting for only pass plays.

- If the defense plays too loose they will give up smaller but steadier chunks of yardage too fast.

- If the defense plays too tight, they may give up the big play.

- One thing though, it's not a great idea to give up a lot of points when you're trying to make a come back. Every touchdown you give up just gives you another mountain to climb to get ahead.

The Raiders from the 1970's never said they lost a game, they claimed they ran out of clock.

That's a great attitude.

Oilers Vs. Bills In The Late 1980's Or Early 1990's:

Look what happened between Warren Moons' Oilers and the Buffalo Bills in a 1980's or early 1990's AFC Championship game.

The Oilers were up something like 28-3 at the half.

Warren Moon couldn't move his team in the 2nd half and the Bills scored a lot of 2nd half points to win and go on to another Super Bowl.

There was just too much time, the Oilers couldn't do anything right in the 2nd half and the Bills ( lead by their backup QB - Frank Riecht ) scored on almost every 2nd half possession.

Final Stats:

Most teams ( 75% ) do not lose games in which they are leading by at least 10 points at the start of the 4th quarter.

The better coaches such as Tony Dungy and Bill Cower and others win 95% of those games.

So the next time a team is down by a couple TD's at the half, late into the 3rd quarter - or even at the start of the 4th, don't be surprised by the comeback.

Enough Said!

The Dr.

For more wild and insightful American Football fun stuff including polls, FREE games, puzzles and more, check out the Dr. @ http://footballpokergame.com

Stop by and spice up your football season - guaranteed!