NFL: You Can Call It a Comeback

As we know, the game of professional football is very cyclical. It is also a game where players and teams have shown us sustained excellence.

The key to success in this and any sport or endeavor is consistency. And these days in the NFL there seems to be a constant that may actually be driving coaches, players and even fans a little crazy – depending on which side of this trend you wind up on.

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Yes, we know that the late and great Yogi Berra explained to us all that “it ain’t over until it’s over.” And as of late, the National Football League has taken this to new heights.

Let’s got back to the start of the 2014 season. In Week 1, we saw four teams rally from 10-plus point deficits to win games. The Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals overcame 13, 17, 10 and 11-point deficits, respectively, to come out victorious. It certainly seemed unusual to see that all in one week, but the league was just getting warmed up.

Oct 11, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert (85) makes a catch while being defended by Seattle Seahawks strong safety Kam Chancellor (31) in the second half at Paul Brown Stadium. The Bengals won 27-24. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Beginning with the opening stanza of the ’14 campaign, through the postseason and five weeks into the 2015 season, we have seen a total of 59 games in which a team has rallied from a double-digit hole to win a game. And over the course of 26 weeks of meaningful football, regular-season and playoffs, it has happened at least once each of those weeks.

As the New Orleans Saints prepare to host the undefeated Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night, there have been 77 games played this season and in 13 of them, a team pulled off one of those aforementioned comebacks.

In Week 5, there were four more escape acts by a bunch of the “B” teams (who all wound up getting an A-plus: The Bills were down to the Tennessee Titans, 10-0, in the third quarter and won 14-13. The Browns rallied from a 14-3 first-quarter deficit to win at Baltimore in overtime, 33-30. The Bears went to Arrowhead Stadium and came back from a 17-3 hole to beat the Chiefs, 18-17. And finally, the Bengals trailed the defending NFC champion Seattle Seahawks 24-7 in the fourth quarter and scored the final 20 points in a 27-24 overtime victory.

By the way, looking for a trend to last week’s heroics? It wasn’t the support of the home fans as Buffalo, Cleveland and Chicago all won on the road.

“In past years, if we were down 17, we would have rolled over,” said Bengals defensive tackle Domata Peko to Todd Jones of The Columbus Dispatch. “We would have flopped and given the game up.”

“It’s a huge win for us,” added Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton after the game. “It showed the character of this team, and showed the fight of this team.”

These days, it doesn’t seem to matter who the opposition is. The fact is that teams all over the league have had trouble closing out games, not something we are used to seeing on this steady of a basis. Is it the rules that restrict defenses these days? Is the caliber of quarterbacks in the league? Is it the fact that the game is more about passing and less about running, which would enable teams to kill the clock late in games with a lead?

The reasons are many. What it has meant for the last year or so is that no lead is truly safe in this game and you have to learn to close the deal.

Anyone for Mariano Rivera to be the next NFL commissioner?

Next: NFL: Defensive Player of the Year Candidates (After Week 5)

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