What makes Stathead such a powerful research tool is the depth and breadth of our databases, combined with the endless combinations of filters and search criteria at your fingertips. While some searches are straightforward, there's also many "hidden" tricks you can use to get the answer to questions that might seem unanswerable at first glance. Here's a few of our favorites to get you started. Check back frequently as we continue to add to this page.
Search for comebacks/blown leads based on time remaining and relative score
In case you didn't know, you can find the largest overall comebacks and blown leads by franchise on each franchise index page on Pro-Football-Reference. However, if you want to query more specific comebacks -- such as down by 10 points with 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter -- there is no specific "Finder" tool on Stathead for that. Instead, you can use the Game Play Finder to get the answers to questions like that (data going back to the 1994 season).
Let's demonstrate using an example: Who was the last team to win a game after trailing by double-digits in the last 2 minutes of the fourth quarter?
1. Go to Game Play Finder
2. Choose "Search for All Plays matching criteria at the top of the page"
3. Sort By "Descending Game Date"
4. Set Game Type to "Either"
5. Set Game Result to "Win"
6. In Play Filters, set Quarter to "4th" and Time Remaining to "From 2:00 To 0:00"
7. In Play Filters, set Scoring Margin to "Between -99 and -10"
8. Click Get Results
Then scroll to the section labeled "Individual Plays" and at the top of the table you see a game from Dec. 8, 2013 won by the Patriots over the Browns. Click on the date, and that will bring you to the boxscore for the game and you can verify that the Patriots were down by 12 points with less than 2 minutes left in the 4th quarter before rallying to win.
Let's do a second example to search for multiple blown leads by a team. In 2020, which team lost the most games after leading at any point in the 4th quarter?
1. Go to Game Play Finder
2. Choose "Search for All Plays matching criteria at the top of the page"
3. Sort By "Descending Game Date"
4. Set Season to 2020
5. Set Game Result to "Win"
6. In Play Filters, set Quarter to "4th"
7. In Play Filters, set Scoring Margin to "Between -99 and -1"
8. Click Get Results
Then scroll to the "Team Defense" table and sort by the second column, labeled "G" (games). The team at the top of the list, the Falcons, is the answer: they lost 5 games when leading at any point in the 4th quarter.
Alternately, if you want to look at teams with the most comeback WINS when trailing at any point in the 4th quarter, you perform the same search, but instead you want to scroll to the "Team Offense" table and sort by games. The team at the top of the list, the Titans, is the answer: they won 5 games when trailing at any point in the 4th quarter.