Biggest comebacks in NFL playoff history: Revisiting Chargers' epic collapse vs. Jaguars in 2023 wild-card game

The Chargers hired Jim Harbaugh not conscionable to crook the squad astir aft a unsmooth season, but to lavation distant a civilization of atrocious luck and playoff failure.

This is simply a franchise that erstwhile missed the playoffs aft finishing archetypal successful some full discourtesy and full defense. It's besides a franchise that is lone 2 years removed from an all-time playoff illness against the Jaguars, 1 that accelerated the extremity of Brandon Staley's tenure arsenic caput coach.

The results nether Harbaugh are pugnacious to question. The Chargers saw a six-win betterment from 2023, winning 11 games and earning the apical wild-card slot successful the AFC. Winning successful the playoffs has proven to beryllium an wholly antithetic situation for the Chargers, but the beingness of Harbaugh gives immoderate anticipation to fans that those days are successful the past.

Here's a look backmost astatine the Chargers' infamous playoff illness against the Jaguars and wherever it ranks among the biggest comebacks successful NFL playoff history.

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Chargers playoff illness vs. Jaguars

The Chargers went into Jacksonville to look a red-hot Jaguars squad successful the wild-card circular successful 2023, but it looked similar momentum didn't substance each that overmuch erstwhile they jumped retired to a 27-0 pb by the precocious 2nd quarter.

L.A. really got the shot backmost adjacent the extremity of the archetypal fractional with the 27-0 pb successful hand, but an contented with the drawback turned a 3rd-and-1 into a punt. The Jaguars took vantage of those last 2 minutes and scored a touchdown, gathering immoderate affirmative vigor up of the break. 

Jacksonville scored 2 touchdowns successful the 3rd quarter, including a 39-yard people for Zay Jones, and the Jaguars would marque it a one-possession crippled with 5:25 remaining successful regularisation connected a touchdown by Christian Kirk.

The Chargers' adjacent possession went by rapidly. Justin Herbert was sacked connected the archetypal play, and the discourtesy couldn't marque up the yardage. That gave Trevor Lawrence much than 3 minutes conscionable to get into tract extremity range, and the Jaguars moved methodically down the tract against a worn-down Chargers defense.

Riley Patterson won the crippled for Jacksonville connected a 36-yard tract goal, sending the Chargers location with a sickening feeling successful their stomachs. 

THE @JAGUARS WIN. SIMPLY UNBELIEVABLE.#SuperWildCard #LACvsJAX pic.twitter.com/OQGu34T6QI

Most comebacks of this caliber necessitate an unbelievable crook of events, but the Chargers didn't marque excessively galore glaring mistakes. In fact, they won the turnover conflict 5-0. Instead, Lawrence seemed to find his footing successful his playoff debut, and the Chargers conscionable unraveled connected some sides of the shot arsenic the crippled pressed on.

The Chargers resisted calls to occurrence Staley, but they would disregard him with 3 games remaining successful the 2023 play — caller disconnected a 63-21 nonaccomplishment to the Raiders.

As the Chargers look for amended luck successful Houston, here's a look astatine wherever their illness stands among the worst successful playoff history.

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Biggest comebacks successful NFL playoff history

The Jaguars' 27-point is the third-largest successful playoff history, trailing the Bills' 32-point rally against the Oilers successful 1992 and the Colts' 28-point comeback to stun the Chiefs successful 2013.

Frank Reich and the Bills scored 4 touchdowns successful the 3rd 4th to writer the largest comeback successful playoff past 32 seasons ago, a crippled that besides held the all-time NFL grounds until the Vikings overcame a 33-point shortage against the Colts successful Week 15 of 2022.

Andy Reid's estimation for playoff disappointment lone worsened erstwhile his fantabulous archetypal play successful Kansas City ended with embarrassment successful the wild-card circular against Andrew Luck and the Colts successful 2013, blowing a 28-point lead.

The astir celebrated playoff comeback is apt the Patriots' Super Bowl 51 rally, which saw Tom Brady and co. flooded a 28-3 shortage against the Falcons. While it's lone the fourth-largest successful playoff history, it's the lone comeback greater than 10 points successful Super Bowl history.