The Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Minnesota Vikings combined to make NFL history in Week 15.
The first of the trio of stunners took place on Saturday when the Vikings erased a 33-0 halftime hole and defeated the Indianapolis Colts in overtime, 39-36. Minnesota’s epic victory set a new NFL record for the largest comeback in league history, breaking the Buffalo Bills’ previous mark of 32 points during a 1993 playoff contest against the Houston Oilers.
The Vikings moved to 11-3 and clinched the NFC North with the comeback, while the Colts fell to 4-9-1 and are on the brink of elimination from the AFC playoff picture.
In the early slate of Sunday afternoon games, the Jaguars stormed back from a 27-10 second-half deficit at home against the Dallas Cowboys to capture a 40-34 overtime upset. Jacksonville second-year quarterback Trevor Lawrence had one of the best games of his career, finishing 27-for-42 for 318 passing yards, a career-high four passing touchdowns, and one interception.
With the win, the Jaguars (6-8) move to just one game back of the Tennessee Titans in the AFC South (7-7), while the Cowboys drop to 10-4 and fall further behind the Philadelphia Eagles (13-1) in the NFC East.
The Bengals had their monster comeback on the road against Tom Brady and the Buccaneers, as they trailed 17-0 late in the first half and 17-3 at intermission. Costly turnovers hurt Tampa Bay and Cincinnati racked up 34 unanswered points before a late Brady touchdown pass accounted for the 34-23 final.
Similar to Tennessee, the Bucs (6-8) still lead their pitiful NFC South division with a sub-.500 record, while the Bengals have won six in a row and are now in first place in the AFC North at 10-4.