5 biggest regular-season upsets in NFL history
Upsets have dominated the 2021 NFL landscape, and Week 11's Sunday action carried on that in exhilarating ways.
The defending AFC finalists from Buffalo were embarrassed in front of their home crowd to the tune of a 26-point loss to Indianapolis. The Washington Football Team rained on Cam Newton's return parade. Sunday's biggest upset saw the woebegone Houston Texans provide major turbulence to the Tennessee Titans' AFC penthouse as they earned a shocking 22-13 win.
However, the biggest shock — at only 9.5-point underdogs, the Texans' triumph —was nowhere near the biggest upset in NFL history.
We look back on the NFL teams that overcame three-possession lines to pull off a win.
Which NFL underdogs overcame the greatest odds?
12/6/92: Kill Bills
The New York Jets were reeling as they entered the final stages of the 1992 season: the team had already lost fan favorites Jeff Lageman and Al Toon to injuries. A week prior, another defensive star, Dennis Byrd, was paralyzed after colliding with a teammate during a game in Kansas City.
To top it all off, the Jets had to square off against two-time defending (and future) AFC champions Buffalo Bills on a freezing day at Orchard Park. Buffalo were 17-point favorites at 9-3 and seemed to have the game well in hand despite a simple 10-3 lead at halftime.
But the Jets took the lead in the third quarter thanks to two scoring runs by Brad Baxter, who paced Gang Green with 98 yards on 19 carries. Buffalo tied the game in the fourth on Pete Metzelaars' one-yard scoring reception, but the Jets took the lead for good when Brian Washington took a Jim Kelly interception back 23 yards for a victorious pick-six to secure what would become the Jets' final win of the 1992 NFL season.
12/6/95: Revenge of the Norv
Norv Turner is often seen as the catalyst behind the Dallas Cowboys' offensive revolution in the early-to-mid 1990s. Troy Aikman certainly thought so, choosing Turner to introduce him prior to his Hall of Fame induction in 2006.
Turner, however, aligned with the ultimate Dallas opponent for parts of seven seasons: the Washington Redskins. In his second season at the helm, he guided Washington to their first season sweep of the Cowboys since 1987. The latter, held at Texas Stadium, saw the Redskins enter as 17-point underdogs as the 10-2 Cowboys were on their way to their third and final Super Bowl of the decade.
On that December afternoon, however, Washington took control thanks to two forced turnovers (including a Stanley Richard interception of Aikman) and a stretch of 17 straight points in the second half that erased a 10-7 Dallas lead. Washington would eventually prevail by a 24-17 final scoreline in a win that would kickstart a 3-1 stretch to end the season.
Also Read: How much is Troy Aikman’s Net Worth in 2021?