Wayne Rooney's Plymouth led three times but will find themselves bottom of the table at Christmas after having to settle for a 3-3 draw against Michael Carrick's high-flying Middlesbrough in a championship thriller at Home Park.
Argyle, who slipped to the bottom before the match following Hull's earlier win, belied their low position by scoring through skipper Lewis Gibson, Darko Gyabi and Mustapha Bundu, but Boro replied through skipper Jonny Howson, Hayden Hackney and Emmanuel Latte Lath .
The point wasn't enough to see the Pilgrims climb off the bottom as they are level with Cardiff and Oxford on 18 points but have a lesser goal difference.
Hackney had the first attempt on target in the 15th minute, but his shot from 20 yards flew over the crossbar.
The best early attacking move of the match, orchestrated by home playmaker Adam Randell, resulted in Bundu crossing from the right after 20 minutes and Gyabi firing just over the bar, with the ball falling slightly behind the on-loan Leeds attacking midfielder.
Bundu's next cross from the right was headed away from danger as Argyle grew in confidence.
Scotland forward Ryan Hardie came closest to opening the scoring on 28 minutes with a near-post strike to greet Bali Mumba's sharp cross from the right after a silky one-two with Bundu.
Mumba's next cross flew over the goal, just out of the reach of incoming striker Hardie and Freddie Issaka.
Randell took the sting out of Riley McGree's shot on target with a fantastic block in the 33rd minute, the ball ending up in the arms of keeper Dan Grimshaw.
Plymouth's pressure was finally rewarded in the 38th minute when captain Gibson slid in and converted Brendan Galloway's cross from the left, which was tapped in by Hardie at the near post.
In first-half stoppage time, George Edmundson failed to clear, Hardie nipped inside to capture Bundu, whose first-time diagonal strike was brilliantly saved low at his near post by full-length Sol Brynn.
In heavy rain, Argyle started the second half as they ended the first, on the attack with Gyabi's scissor kick attempt flying just wide.
Boro leveled through their skipper on 50 minutes when the Argyle defense failed to clear Ben Doak's cutback cross from the right and Howson hammered home, with Grimshaw wrong-footed by a deflection off Hardie.
Hackney shot wide after being punched in by Tommy Conway on 65 minutes, just before Argyle took the lead again on 72 minutes when Mumba sent Bundu clear down the right.
His quick cross was acrobatically converted by Gyabi into the roof of the net.
The Pilgrims' lead was short-lived as Hackney followed up his saved shot and scored on the rebound from six yards after 77 minutes.
Bundu restored Argyle's lead in the 81st minute by turning in substitute Nathanael Ogbeta's cross, allowing Boro to get back on level terms in the 84th minute through substitute Latte Lathe, who headed home when the ball invited his way after a corner. fell.
Argyle came close to a winner in stoppage time when Mumba's cross was deflected around his own post by Boro defender Rav Van Den Berg.
The administrators
Wayne Rooney from Plymouth:
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