BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Bills pulled off one of the most unlikely comebacks that the NFL has seen in several years on Sunday night, coming back to beat the Baltimore Ravens 41-40.
But just how unlikely was the comeback?
The statistics show that the Bills made history in Sunday night’s instant classic.
According to CBS Sports research, dating back to 2017, NFL teams were 0-717 when trailing by 15 or more points with five minutes remaining in the game. That’s now 1-717.
The Bills became the first team in league history to win a game that they were trailing by at least 15 points with four minutes to go. At the four minute mark, the Bills trailed 40-25 before Josh Allen found Keon Coleman in the end zone with 3:56 to play to start the comeback.
Allen threw for 251 of his 394 total yards in the fourth quarter, making him the only quarterback with 250 or more yards and three touchdowns in the fourth quarter of a victory.
“Inspiring,” Bills receiver Joshua Palmer said of watching Allen operate the comeback. “He’s calm, he’s throwing the ball, he’s saying we’ll get it back, the coaches are saying we’ll get it back, it’s OK, we’ve been here before, I’m like, ‘OK, I’ve been here before too and I’m usually on the losing side.’ It’s great to be around the guys, they’re so positive and it rubs off on you. Josh is a great leader and he rubs off on everybody so you just want to be there and make plays for your guys.”
On the Ravens side of things, teams were 277-0 all time when they scored at least 40 points and ran for 235 yards. Baltimore rushed for 238 total yards. That’s now 277-1.
NFL Next Gen Stats indicated that the Bills had a win probability as low as 1.1%, which happened with 8:37 remaining in the game, shortly after Allen was sacked by Baltimore tackle Nnamdi Madubuike, forcing the Bills to punt while trailing 40-25. Next Gen Stats has the game as the 13th-most improbable comeback by any team over the past decade.
“Winning a close game early in the year, coming back from down 15 or what have you is important,” coach Sean McDermott said Monday. “Building resiliency, never quitting, staying connected as a team throughout, staying connected, being able to figure it out together, I think those are great early signs.”
Not a bad way to start the season.
Aidan Joly was named News 4’s Digital Executive Producer in 2025. He has been on staff since 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. You can see more of his work here.