20 Most Shocking Sports Collapses
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VOICE OVER: Tom Aglio
These sports collapses should be studied and never repeated. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most infamous defeats and breakdowns in the sporting world. Our countdown of the worst collapses in sports history includes Barcelona Implodes Against PSG, Tony Romo Botches the Snap, 2016 Golden State Warriors, 2013 Toronto Maple Leafs, 2004 New York Yankees, and more!
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most infamous defeats and breakdowns in the sporting world.
In April of 2024, Barcelona had the final four in their grasp, looking to make the semifinals for the first time in five years. They were playing at home and were up 4-2 on aggregate over Paris Saint-Germain[a]. The game was theirs to lose. And, well, they did. First, they lost their star defender Ronald Araujo in a needless red card when he collided with Bradley Barcola. It was a sign of bad things to come. Barcelona later lost both their head coach and goalkeepers coach to red cards and gave up three consecutive goals, losing 4-1 on the night and 6-4 on aggregate. And with that, Barcelona’s dreams of a semifinal were dashed yet again.
They’ll be talking about the 2007 Patriots for decades to come. Both for good and bad reasons. The good is that the team was 16-0 in the regular season, and Tom Brady won his first NFL MVP with a record fifty passing touchdowns. They were the first team in football history to go undefeated in the sixteen-game era. If they had won the Super Bowl, this would have been a mythical season. Yes, if they had won. However, they completely collapsed at Super Bowl XLII[b], losing 17-14 to the New York Giants, a wild card team who finished 10-6 in the regular season. It was a Cinderella story for the Giants, a collapse of unbelievable proportions for the Patriots. Ah, the magic of sports.
It’s always tough seeing golf players suffer, all alone on the course, their faces growing ever more despondent as the crowd “ahhhs” and pity claps. Unfortunately, we had to witness just that at the 2016 Masters. The previous year’s winner Jordan Spieth was heading into the back nine of the final round with a commanding five stroke lead. His second consecutive green jacket was waiting patiently for its wearer. But a comedy of errors then occurred, with Spieth bogeying the 10th and 11th and quadruple-bogeying the 13th - a mess that included two balls hit into the water. In just three holes, Spieth went from five strokes up to three strokes back. He ultimately lost by these three strokes, finishing in second to Danny Willett.
Sports can be a fickle beast. One minute you’re celebrating a field goal. The next, you’re writhing on the ground in pain, your professional career in dire jeopardy. Bill Gramatica was playing for the Arizona Cardinals in the 2001 season, and on December 15, they were facing the New York Giants. Gramatica kicked a 43-yard field goal to put his team up 3-0, causing him to do a little celebratory jump. But he landed awkwardly and tore the ACL in his right knee, collapsing to the ground and holding his leg in pain. Oops. To be fair, Grammatica finished the game. But tearing your ACL on a first quarter kick? To put your team up a whole 3-0? Fail.
Making the finals of Wimbledon is any tennis player’s dream, so it’s no surprise when nerves start to take over. In 1993, Jana Novotná was seeded eighth, so even making the final was quite the accomplishment. She played the top-seeded Steffi Graf, and they went into the third set evenly matched at 1-1. And in the third set, Novotná was up four games to one. It was the type of underdog Cinderella story that sports movies are made of. But this isn’t a feel-good movie. Novotná completely unraveled as the nerves got to her, double faulting her serve and making it 4-2. Graf then won four consecutive games, ending the set 6-4 and taking both the match and the women’s singles title.
A Dallas Cowboys legend, Tony Romo holds several team records as quarterback, including passing touchdowns and passing yards. Maybe it was to make up for that disastrous performance in the 2007 wild card game. The Cowboys were playing the Seattle Seahawks and were down 21-20. They went for a 19-yard field goal on fourth-and-one, which, if successful, would have put them up 23-21 with just 1:19 left to go. It was a very undemanding field goal, and one the kicker should accomplish 99 out of 100 times. Unfortunately, he didn’t get the chance, as Romo fumbled the snap and was tackled short of the marker, turning the ball over and giving Seattle the victory. So not a great playoff debut…
Considered one of the greatest goalies ever, Patrick Roy had an incredible career. But he was also known for his arrogance. Roy was playing for the Colorado Avalanche in the 2002 Western Conference Finals. His team was up three games to two, so if the Avalanche won game six, they would proceed to the Stanley Cup Finals. With the score tied 0-0 in the first period, Steve Yzerman took a shot that was caught by Roy. It was a great save, so Roy decided to raise his glove for a bit of showboating. And then he dropped it. Right into the net. The goal counted, and the Avalanche lost both this game and the next, ruining all chances of touching that famous silver trophy.
History was made on February 5, 2017, when the New England Patriots made the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history. It came at the expense of the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons were seeking their very first Super Bowl win, and that dream was seemingly coming true. They were demolishing the Patriots and were up 28-3 midway through the third quarter. But you know what they say about getting complacent. The Falcons’ defense failed to take flight, allowing the Patriots 25 unbroken points to tie the game. It went to overtime, the Patriots won the coin toss, and the drive of the century was accomplished. The Super Bowl is now nicknamed 28-3 to honor the legendary collapse of the Falcons.
Back in 1951, players on the Brooklyn Dodgers probably thought, “That’s OK, no one will remember this in seventy years.” Sorry guys. The Dodgers dominated much of the 1951 season and were thirteen games ahead in August. But they fell apart just as the New York Giants were heating up, and both teams finished the season 96–58. They entered a three-game playoff to decide the National League winner, and the Dodgers were leading game three 4-1 in the bottom of the ninth. A double made it 4-2. And that’s when Bobby Thomson stepped to the plate. With two men on base, Thomson made The Shot Heard ‘Round the World off of a pitch from Ralph Branca[h], hitting a three-run home run and giving the Giants the win.
The 2015-16 Golden State Warriors entered the 2015-16 season as the defending champions and went on to have the best season in NBA history, finishing with a record of 73-9 and breaking the 1995-96 Bulls record for most wins in the regular season. They returned to the Finals to face the Cleveland Cavaliers for a second straight year, and appeared set to complete one of the greatest seasons in the history of sports when they jumped out to a 3-1 series lead. The Cavaliers recovered, however, and forced a Game 7, where LeBron James made a huge block in the final two minutes to help Cleveland complete the comeback and thoroughly embarrass Golden State.
Roberto Baggio had a pretty remarkable World Cup tournament in 1994, scoring 5 goals, 4 of which came during Italy’s quarterfinal and semi-final matches. However, he’s remembered most for his worst moment of the tournament. Italy and Brazil remained scoreless after regular and extra time, sending the match to a penalty shoot-out. With Brazil leading 3-2, Italy sent Baggio up to keep his team alive. Unlike the earlier games, however, Baggio failed to deliver, sending the ball flying over the net and sealing Brazil’s 4th World Cup victory.
In the largest comeback in league history, the Oilers managed to blow a 32-point lead over the Buffalo Bills in the wildcard round of the 1993 NFL playoffs. The Bills entered the second half down by 25, and the game appeared to be over when Bubba McDowell returned an interception 58 yards to increase Houston’s lead to 32 early in the 3rd. The Bills managed to score another 35 points, and would eventually win the game in overtime 41-38, all without star quarterback Jim Kelly who missed the game due to injury. In Houston, this infamous game is known as “The Choke;” everywhere else, it’s called “The Comeback.” But in 2022, the Bills collapsed, losing the Divisional Playoffs with just thirteen seconds left on the clock.
Things couldn’t have been better for John McEnroe when he entered the French Open final in 1984. He hadn’t lost a match all year and looked nearly unbeatable as he jumped out to a quick 2 sets to 0 lead over Ivan Lendl[j]. However, an ill-advised outburst directed at a cameraman marked the beginning of the end for McEnroe, as Lendl came storming back and won the next three sets to take home the trophy. While Lendl’s resolve played a large role in the comeback, most people credit McEnroe’s ridiculous outburst as the catalyst for his collapse.
Leafs fans flooded the streets of Toronto as their team jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the third period of Game 7 against the Bruins in the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Leafs had been down in the series 3-1 but rallied and only needed to survive 10 minutes to clinch the victory. The Bruins scored three straight goals, however, including two in the final two minutes of the game to send it into overtime. Boston then scored 6 minutes into overtime to win the game and the series. As a result, Toronto became the first team to lose a Game Seven after leading by three goals in the third period.
As surprising as it may seem to fans of the team today, the Red Sox went a very, very long time without winning a World Series. Back in 1986, they were looking to break a 68-year drought, and appeared set to do so as they led the New York Mets 5-3 and needed only one out to clinch the victory. The Mets remarkably were able to tie the game at 5 when Mookie Wilson hit a slow grounder up the first base line. Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner somehow let the ball roll through his legs, allowing the Mets to score the winning run. The Mets would win Game 7 and take home the series, and Buckner’s name became synonymous with sports fails.
The name Steven Gerrard is like poison to any supporter of Liverpool F.C. In 2014, the team was on a huge winning streak and had the Premier League title in the sights. Liverpool was leading the League and had just three games to go when they faced off against Chelsea. It was during the game that Steven Gerrard received a routine pass from Mamadou Sakho, but he slipped on the pitch and allowed the ball to pass to Demba Ba. Ba scored, making the game 1-0. Chelsea would go on to win 2-0, utterly demoralizing Liverpool and making them lose control of the League. The loss ultimately allowed Manchester City to win, and most agree that Liverpool’s season slipped away with Gerrard.
The sport of golf has seen its fair share of epic collapses over the years, like that time Greg Norman blew a 6-shot lead in the final round of the 1996 Masters. But that was nothing compared to Jean Van de Velde at the British Open in 1999. Van de Velde held a three-stroke lead going into the final hole of the tournament. He made a series of bad shots and decisions, however, and wound up taking a triple-bogey on the hole. He eventually lost in a playoff, completing perhaps the worst choke in golf history. In fact, some have even coined the term “pulling a Van de Velde” when a golfer chokes away a lead.
Sometimes it’s a good thing to be the first team to ever do something. In this case, it’s the exact opposite, as the Yankees became the first team in MLB history to lose a series after leading 3 games to 0. The Bronx Bombers certainly lived up to their name in the first 3 games of the series, pounding their rivals, the Boston Red Sox, with a total of 32 runs scored. The Red Sox remarkably escaped elimination in game four after trailing in the bottom of the 9th, and reeled off three more wins to complete their epic comeback – and the Yankees’ epic fail.
A first-round pick by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 1999 NHL Entry draft, Patrik Stefan never quite lived up to the hype and is regarded by many as one of the biggest draft busts in NHL history. And this moment may in fact sum up his career. With just seconds remaining in the game, Stefan skated toward the empty net with the puck but somehow mishandled it, failing to score. Even worse, while falling, he knocked the puck back to the Edmonton player, who was able to move down the ice and ultimately set up a tying goal. Following this iconic fail, Stefan played in just 13 more games, scoring only two points.
The Cubs appeared poised to return to the World Series for the first time since 1945, as they led the Florida Marlins 3-2 in the series and 3-0 in the game heading into the 8th inning. Then, in an instant, everything changed. A fan named Steve Bartman[o] reached for a foul ball and prevented the Cubs left fielder from making a play on it. The Cubs then suffered a meltdown of epic proportions. The Marlins proceeded to score 8 runs in the inning, and would come from behind again in Game 7 to win 9-6, knocking Chicago out of the playoffs.
Did you happen to see any of these live? Let us know in the comments below!
#20: Barcelona Implodes Against PSG
In April of 2024, Barcelona had the final four in their grasp, looking to make the semifinals for the first time in five years. They were playing at home and were up 4-2 on aggregate over Paris Saint-Germain[a]. The game was theirs to lose. And, well, they did. First, they lost their star defender Ronald Araujo in a needless red card when he collided with Bradley Barcola. It was a sign of bad things to come. Barcelona later lost both their head coach and goalkeepers coach to red cards and gave up three consecutive goals, losing 4-1 on the night and 6-4 on aggregate. And with that, Barcelona’s dreams of a semifinal were dashed yet again.
#19: 2007 New England Patriots
They’ll be talking about the 2007 Patriots for decades to come. Both for good and bad reasons. The good is that the team was 16-0 in the regular season, and Tom Brady won his first NFL MVP with a record fifty passing touchdowns. They were the first team in football history to go undefeated in the sixteen-game era. If they had won the Super Bowl, this would have been a mythical season. Yes, if they had won. However, they completely collapsed at Super Bowl XLII[b], losing 17-14 to the New York Giants, a wild card team who finished 10-6 in the regular season. It was a Cinderella story for the Giants, a collapse of unbelievable proportions for the Patriots. Ah, the magic of sports.
#18: Jordan Spieth[c]’s Back Nine
It’s always tough seeing golf players suffer, all alone on the course, their faces growing ever more despondent as the crowd “ahhhs” and pity claps. Unfortunately, we had to witness just that at the 2016 Masters. The previous year’s winner Jordan Spieth was heading into the back nine of the final round with a commanding five stroke lead. His second consecutive green jacket was waiting patiently for its wearer. But a comedy of errors then occurred, with Spieth bogeying the 10th and 11th and quadruple-bogeying the 13th - a mess that included two balls hit into the water. In just three holes, Spieth went from five strokes up to three strokes back. He ultimately lost by these three strokes, finishing in second to Danny Willett.
#17: Bill Gramatica[d] Tears His ACL
Sports can be a fickle beast. One minute you’re celebrating a field goal. The next, you’re writhing on the ground in pain, your professional career in dire jeopardy. Bill Gramatica was playing for the Arizona Cardinals in the 2001 season, and on December 15, they were facing the New York Giants. Gramatica kicked a 43-yard field goal to put his team up 3-0, causing him to do a little celebratory jump. But he landed awkwardly and tore the ACL in his right knee, collapsing to the ground and holding his leg in pain. Oops. To be fair, Grammatica finished the game. But tearing your ACL on a first quarter kick? To put your team up a whole 3-0? Fail.
#16: Jana Novotná[e]
Making the finals of Wimbledon is any tennis player’s dream, so it’s no surprise when nerves start to take over. In 1993, Jana Novotná was seeded eighth, so even making the final was quite the accomplishment. She played the top-seeded Steffi Graf, and they went into the third set evenly matched at 1-1. And in the third set, Novotná was up four games to one. It was the type of underdog Cinderella story that sports movies are made of. But this isn’t a feel-good movie. Novotná completely unraveled as the nerves got to her, double faulting her serve and making it 4-2. Graf then won four consecutive games, ending the set 6-4 and taking both the match and the women’s singles title.
#15: Tony Romo Botches the Snap
A Dallas Cowboys legend, Tony Romo holds several team records as quarterback, including passing touchdowns and passing yards. Maybe it was to make up for that disastrous performance in the 2007 wild card game. The Cowboys were playing the Seattle Seahawks and were down 21-20. They went for a 19-yard field goal on fourth-and-one, which, if successful, would have put them up 23-21 with just 1:19 left to go. It was a very undemanding field goal, and one the kicker should accomplish 99 out of 100 times. Unfortunately, he didn’t get the chance, as Romo fumbled the snap and was tackled short of the marker, turning the ball over and giving Seattle the victory. So not a great playoff debut…
#14: Patrick Roy[f]’s Statue of Liberty Goof
Considered one of the greatest goalies ever, Patrick Roy had an incredible career. But he was also known for his arrogance. Roy was playing for the Colorado Avalanche in the 2002 Western Conference Finals. His team was up three games to two, so if the Avalanche won game six, they would proceed to the Stanley Cup Finals. With the score tied 0-0 in the first period, Steve Yzerman took a shot that was caught by Roy. It was a great save, so Roy decided to raise his glove for a bit of showboating. And then he dropped it. Right into the net. The goal counted, and the Avalanche lost both this game and the next, ruining all chances of touching that famous silver trophy.
#13: The Falcons Implode at Super Bowl LI[g]
History was made on February 5, 2017, when the New England Patriots made the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history. It came at the expense of the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons were seeking their very first Super Bowl win, and that dream was seemingly coming true. They were demolishing the Patriots and were up 28-3 midway through the third quarter. But you know what they say about getting complacent. The Falcons’ defense failed to take flight, allowing the Patriots 25 unbroken points to tie the game. It went to overtime, the Patriots won the coin toss, and the drive of the century was accomplished. The Super Bowl is now nicknamed 28-3 to honor the legendary collapse of the Falcons.
#12: 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers
Back in 1951, players on the Brooklyn Dodgers probably thought, “That’s OK, no one will remember this in seventy years.” Sorry guys. The Dodgers dominated much of the 1951 season and were thirteen games ahead in August. But they fell apart just as the New York Giants were heating up, and both teams finished the season 96–58. They entered a three-game playoff to decide the National League winner, and the Dodgers were leading game three 4-1 in the bottom of the ninth. A double made it 4-2. And that’s when Bobby Thomson stepped to the plate. With two men on base, Thomson made The Shot Heard ‘Round the World off of a pitch from Ralph Branca[h], hitting a three-run home run and giving the Giants the win.
#11: 2016 Golden State Warriors
The 2015-16 Golden State Warriors entered the 2015-16 season as the defending champions and went on to have the best season in NBA history, finishing with a record of 73-9 and breaking the 1995-96 Bulls record for most wins in the regular season. They returned to the Finals to face the Cleveland Cavaliers for a second straight year, and appeared set to complete one of the greatest seasons in the history of sports when they jumped out to a 3-1 series lead. The Cavaliers recovered, however, and forced a Game 7, where LeBron James made a huge block in the final two minutes to help Cleveland complete the comeback and thoroughly embarrass Golden State.
#10: Roberto Baggio[i]’s Missed Penalty at the 1994 FIFA World Cup
Roberto Baggio had a pretty remarkable World Cup tournament in 1994, scoring 5 goals, 4 of which came during Italy’s quarterfinal and semi-final matches. However, he’s remembered most for his worst moment of the tournament. Italy and Brazil remained scoreless after regular and extra time, sending the match to a penalty shoot-out. With Brazil leading 3-2, Italy sent Baggio up to keep his team alive. Unlike the earlier games, however, Baggio failed to deliver, sending the ball flying over the net and sealing Brazil’s 4th World Cup victory.
#9: 1993 Houston Oilers
In the largest comeback in league history, the Oilers managed to blow a 32-point lead over the Buffalo Bills in the wildcard round of the 1993 NFL playoffs. The Bills entered the second half down by 25, and the game appeared to be over when Bubba McDowell returned an interception 58 yards to increase Houston’s lead to 32 early in the 3rd. The Bills managed to score another 35 points, and would eventually win the game in overtime 41-38, all without star quarterback Jim Kelly who missed the game due to injury. In Houston, this infamous game is known as “The Choke;” everywhere else, it’s called “The Comeback.” But in 2022, the Bills collapsed, losing the Divisional Playoffs with just thirteen seconds left on the clock.
#8: John McEnroe at the 1984 French Open
Things couldn’t have been better for John McEnroe when he entered the French Open final in 1984. He hadn’t lost a match all year and looked nearly unbeatable as he jumped out to a quick 2 sets to 0 lead over Ivan Lendl[j]. However, an ill-advised outburst directed at a cameraman marked the beginning of the end for McEnroe, as Lendl came storming back and won the next three sets to take home the trophy. While Lendl’s resolve played a large role in the comeback, most people credit McEnroe’s ridiculous outburst as the catalyst for his collapse.
#7: 2013 Toronto[k] Maple Leafs
Leafs fans flooded the streets of Toronto as their team jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the third period of Game 7 against the Bruins in the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Leafs had been down in the series 3-1 but rallied and only needed to survive 10 minutes to clinch the victory. The Bruins scored three straight goals, however, including two in the final two minutes of the game to send it into overtime. Boston then scored 6 minutes into overtime to win the game and the series. As a result, Toronto became the first team to lose a Game Seven after leading by three goals in the third period.
#6: 1986 Boston Red Sox
As surprising as it may seem to fans of the team today, the Red Sox went a very, very long time without winning a World Series. Back in 1986, they were looking to break a 68-year drought, and appeared set to do so as they led the New York Mets 5-3 and needed only one out to clinch the victory. The Mets remarkably were able to tie the game at 5 when Mookie Wilson hit a slow grounder up the first base line. Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner somehow let the ball roll through his legs, allowing the Mets to score the winning run. The Mets would win Game 7 and take home the series, and Buckner’s name became synonymous with sports fails.
#5: Steven Gerrard[l] Slips
The name Steven Gerrard is like poison to any supporter of Liverpool F.C. In 2014, the team was on a huge winning streak and had the Premier League title in the sights. Liverpool was leading the League and had just three games to go when they faced off against Chelsea. It was during the game that Steven Gerrard received a routine pass from Mamadou Sakho, but he slipped on the pitch and allowed the ball to pass to Demba Ba. Ba scored, making the game 1-0. Chelsea would go on to win 2-0, utterly demoralizing Liverpool and making them lose control of the League. The loss ultimately allowed Manchester City to win, and most agree that Liverpool’s season slipped away with Gerrard.
#4: Jean Van de Velde[m] at the 1999 British Open
The sport of golf has seen its fair share of epic collapses over the years, like that time Greg Norman blew a 6-shot lead in the final round of the 1996 Masters. But that was nothing compared to Jean Van de Velde at the British Open in 1999. Van de Velde held a three-stroke lead going into the final hole of the tournament. He made a series of bad shots and decisions, however, and wound up taking a triple-bogey on the hole. He eventually lost in a playoff, completing perhaps the worst choke in golf history. In fact, some have even coined the term “pulling a Van de Velde” when a golfer chokes away a lead.
#3: 2004 New York Yankees
Sometimes it’s a good thing to be the first team to ever do something. In this case, it’s the exact opposite, as the Yankees became the first team in MLB history to lose a series after leading 3 games to 0. The Bronx Bombers certainly lived up to their name in the first 3 games of the series, pounding their rivals, the Boston Red Sox, with a total of 32 runs scored. The Red Sox remarkably escaped elimination in game four after trailing in the bottom of the 9th, and reeled off three more wins to complete their epic comeback – and the Yankees’ epic fail.
#2: Patrik Štefan[n]’s Failed Breakaway
A first-round pick by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 1999 NHL Entry draft, Patrik Stefan never quite lived up to the hype and is regarded by many as one of the biggest draft busts in NHL history. And this moment may in fact sum up his career. With just seconds remaining in the game, Stefan skated toward the empty net with the puck but somehow mishandled it, failing to score. Even worse, while falling, he knocked the puck back to the Edmonton player, who was able to move down the ice and ultimately set up a tying goal. Following this iconic fail, Stefan played in just 13 more games, scoring only two points.
#1: 2003 Chicago Cubs
The Cubs appeared poised to return to the World Series for the first time since 1945, as they led the Florida Marlins 3-2 in the series and 3-0 in the game heading into the 8th inning. Then, in an instant, everything changed. A fan named Steve Bartman[o] reached for a foul ball and prevented the Cubs left fielder from making a play on it. The Cubs then suffered a meltdown of epic proportions. The Marlins proceeded to score 8 runs in the inning, and would come from behind again in Game 7 to win 9-6, knocking Chicago out of the playoffs.
Did you happen to see any of these live? Let us know in the comments below!
