Not even three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes was immune to the colossal comebacks that defined Week 5 in the NFL.
Trevor Lawrence rallied Jacksonville from a 14-0 deficit and scored the winning
touchdown after getting stepped on by his right guard, falling back down, getting back up, slipping a tackle and diving into the end zone to give the Jaguars a wild 31-28 win over the mistake-prone Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night.
“It (stinks) when you get a lead like that and you're not able to hold it throughout the rest of the game,” Mahomes said after the Chiefs, who went 11-0 in one-score games last season, fell to 0-3 in such games this season.
The Eagles, Cardinals, Dolphins, Giants and Chargers knew exactly how Mahomes felt.
They also let double-digit leads slip away in Week 5 when a record-tying six teams lost after leading by double digits.
The six-pack of double-digit comebacks — or pratfalls, if you prefer — marked the sixth week in NFL history in which a half dozen teams had comeback wins after trailing by double digits.
It also happened in 1984, 1999, 2002, 2011 and 2013.
The Chiefs hd been 62-4 in games with Mahomes at QB after leading by 14-plus points and their loss at Jacksonville snapped a 23-game winning streak in which they led by 14 or more points, dating to the 2021 AFC championship.
The Jaguars joined the Broncos, Commanders, Panthers, Titans and Saints in roaring back after falling behind big.
The Broncos handed the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles their first loss by overcoming a 17-3 deficit with 18 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. Denver improved to 2-112 on the road when entering the fourth quarter trailing by 14-plus points.
Cam Ward got his first career win by rallying the Titans back from a 18-point deficit to beat Arizona 22-21.
The Panthers overcome a 17-point deficit to beat Miami 27-24; the Saints overcome an 11-point deficit to beat the New York Giants 26-14 and the Commanders clawed back from a 10-point hole by scoring 27 unanswered points against the Chargers.
Another defining moment in the Jaguars' comeback aside from Lawrence's eventful game-winning touchdown run was linebacker Devin Lloyd's 99-yard pick-six that broke a 14-14 tie.
Lloyd jumped the route at the 1 and eluded a diving Mahomes at the Jacksonville 12 on his way down the sideline to the end zone for the longest play in the NFL so far this season.
The Chiefs fell to 2-3. They didn't suffer their third loss last year until they were walloped 40-22 by the Eagles in the Super Bowl.
The wacky weekend began with San Francisco's 26-23 overtime win against the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night — which featured an early 14-0 lead for the 49ers before the Rams made a game of it.
The NHL's Colorado Avalanche were in town and donned Rams jerseys for a group picture before the game, which didn't sit well with sports fans in Denver.
The photo op might make business sense — Stan Kroenke owns the Rams and Avalanche along with the NBA's Denver Nuggets — but it was a public relations landmine considering the social media backlash it engendered.
“To be honest, I understand it,” Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog said Monday. "Colorado fans are passionate. To me, I didn't watch the NFL until I came here in 2011. The Broncos are my team. That'll never change.
“But when the big boss invites you to come watch the Rams game and the way he took care of us there, you know it is a special bond for us to be a part of not just of the Avs and the Nuggets and the Mammoth but to be a part of the broader Kroenke Sports family, you know, the Rams and (soccer club) Arsenal overseas, it's special,” Landeskog added.
“It was really a cool experience. Who would turn that down?" Landeskog said, adding, “for one night I think you can cheer on a team and it doesn't change how you feel about whoever your primary team is.”
This NFL-NHL fashion faux pas brought to mind Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, who caught flack last summer for wearing a Seattle Seahawks cap before and after a preseason game against Carolina.
“I love hats,” Stroud explained back in August. “I probably have every team. But I support the Astros and the Dodgers — because I'm from L.A. ... but it's all about the swag, baby!”
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With contributions from AP Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow.
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Behind the Call analyzes the biggest topics in the NFL during the season.
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