The Bills were in good shape to improve to 7-5 midway through the 3rd quarter in Oakland on Sunday, leading the Raiders 24-9.
Until the Raiders responded with 29 unanswered points and won, 38-24.
It was a record-heavy day in Oakland, namely for linebacker Khalil Mack. His sack on QB Tyrod Taylor, forced fumble and fumble recovery all on one play made it a NFL-leading seven straight games with a sack and franchise-record fourth forced fumble this season.
However, the most mind-boggling statistic came as a result of the team’s victory, not one player’s performance.
Six times this season, the Raiders have had to overcome a fourth-quarter deficit of some kind to achieve victory. However, at no point during any of those of those instances were they losing by at least 15 points. In fact, by overcoming the Bills’ 24-9 lead in the third quarter, it was the first time Oakland has come back to win a game during which they were down by 15 points at any time of the game in the last 15 years, going 0-72 over that time period.
#Raiders were 0-72(!) when trailing by 15+ points over the last 15 years entering today, per @ESPNStatsInfo. Now 1-72.
— Chris Sprow (@Sprow) December 5, 2016
The last time the Raiders completed a comeback of Sunday’s magnitude came on Sep. 10, 2000 against the Indianapolis Colts. Running back Tyrone Wheatley used two late touchdown runs to seal the 38-31 victory for Rich Gannon and the Silver and Black.
5,930 days later, the Raiders finally managed to recreate an eerily similar performance.
The Bills’ collapse as a team beginning in the middle of the third quarter also made for an interesting statistic.
Buffalo’s inability to close out Sunday’s game, a game they led by 15 points at one time, was just the third time the Bills failed to win such a contest since 2000.
At 6-6, the Bills’ AFC Playoffs hopes are fast-dwindling.
