Adelaide's Josh Rachele has snapped a brilliant goal with 50 seconds left to pinch a thrilling two-point win, leaving Essendon's finals hopes hanging by a thread.
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The Crows trailed by 15 points with seven minutes remaining but kicked the final three goals of Friday night's captivating shootout at Marvel Stadium to end a seven-game losing run against the Bombers.
After Rachele's heroics, Essendon surged out of the middle through captain Zach Merrett and had multiple opportunities to snatch the lead back.
But the Crows rushed two behinds through, hanging on to win 17.13 (115) to 17.11 (113) for their seventh victory of 2024.
It was a fitting finish to a rollercoaster match, after the Crows piled on 9.1 in the second term - the best quarter by any team this season.
But Essendon powered back from late in the second term, slamming through seven straight goals of their own to lead by 10 points at the final break.
After blowing a golden opportunity last week to solidify their spot in the top four, the Bombers could end this round outside of the top eight.
"We did a lot right, but we're just not where we want to be because we're not executing for 125 minutes, we're doing it in patches," Bombers coach Brad Scott
"That's why we are where we, we're showing some improvements, some good signs, but we're not executing consistently enough for long enough."
Adelaide forward Ben Keays, who was outstanding with a career-high five goals, could face disciplinary action for a tackle on Jye Caldwell, which resulted in the Bombers midfielder being subbed out with concussion.
Essendon forward Matt Guelfi will also face a nervous wait to learn if he is cited by the match review officer over a tackle on Sam Berry, with the Crows midfielder's head appearing to hit the ground.
Guelfi was awarded a free kick for holding the ball, but the league-wide confusion over what constitutes a dangerous tackle means this will be a talking point.
Essendon young gun Nate Caddy could also be in trouble after colliding front-on with Adelaide captain Jordan Dawson in the third quarter.
After conceding eight-straight goals in a defensive capitulation, Essendon found themselves 36 points adrift late in the second term.
But the Bombers slammed through seven straight of their own in one of the more attacking matches of the season to lead by 10 points at three-quarter time.
Keays was ably supported up forward by Darcy Fogarty (four goals) and Rachele, who finished with three.
Adelaide will be sweating on scans to defender Nick Murray, who was subbed out of the game after injuring his knee in the first quarter.
It was only Murray's fifth match back after injuring his ACL in July last year.
Fellow defender Jordan Butts also failed to finish the match, adding to the gravity of the win for the Crows.
"We're incredibly proud," Crows coach Matthew Nicks said.
"Anyone over the age of 21 seemed to be going down pretty sore, which challenged us, but it gave an opportunity for some of our younger guys to step up.
"We sat there post-game and said 'we can't measure grit, there's no stat for it, but I reckon we won it tonight'."
Australian Associated Press
