I just can't get that damn game off my mind
Top five NFL playoff games of all time
Chargers-Dolphins in 1982 tops our rankingTHE LIST
By Joe Concha
NBCSports.com contributor
Updated: 9:36 p.m. ET Jan. 10, 2004The Carolina Pathers' 29-23 double-overtime victory over the St. Louis Rams automatically goes down as one of the greatest playoff games in NFL history. The fact that the Rams rallied from 11 points down with less than three minutes remaining already made this playoff game special. But when two kickers that combined for eight field goals in regulation both miss with a chance to win the game in overtime ... only to see Jake Delhomme hit Steve Smith for a 69-yard game winner on the first play of a second overtime, puts this game into the instant classic department.
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There are four basic criteria for a playoff classic:
Comebacks late in the fourth quarter
Unexpected great performances
Controversy
A simple name to describe its defining moment
As you will see, The List’s five greatest playoff games below meet most or all of these prerequisites.
No. 5: Patriots 16, Raiders 13 (The Tuck)
The Patriots were down 13-3 against the favored Raiders at home, but a rookie seventh-round draft pick named Tom Brady, making his first playoff start, scored his first NFL touchdown to cut the lead to three points midway through the fourth quarter.
After New England stopped Oakland short yard specialist Zack Crockett on a third-and-1 with a 2 minutes, 42 seconds remaining, Brady, 22, brought the Pats to the Raiders 42-yard line with less than two minutes remaining. Needing at least 15 more yards to give Pats’ kicker Adam Vinatieri even a prayer in the harsh conditions, Brady looked to throw downfield, but decided instead to tuck the ball back in after a pump fake. Raiders safety Charles Woodson hit Brady, the ball came loose, and the Raiders recovered and began celebrating. But the play was reviewed and the officials determined that the Patriots retained possession due to the “tuck rule” that turned Brady’s apparent fumble into an attempted forward pass.
From there Brady completed a pass to the Oakland 27-yard line, but the outcome still looked bleak because Vinatieri was still forced to attempt a 45-yard field goal into a driving snowstorm while standing on five inches of snow. With no snowplow in sight, Vinatieri successfully booted the second-most clutch kick in NFL playoff history (a close second to the one he converted to win the Super Bowl two weeks later) that forced an overtime in which the Raiders never saw the ball. Vinatieri kicked the game-winner from 22 yards away to send the Raiders home.
The Patriots would go on to upset the Steelers and Rams as double-digit underdogs to win their first-and-only Super Bowl title, one which some in Raider Nation feel should have a large asterisk next to it.
No. 4: 49ers 28, Cowboys 27 (The Catch)
Once again, this is the story of a young quarterback leading a comeback against a favored opponent at home.
With less than five minutes remaining, the 49ers' Joe Montana faced a six-point deficit and was backed up to his own 11-yard line. Coach Bill Walsh deployed an eclectic offensive strategy that featured a mix of running by seldom used Lenvil Elliot (four carries for 40 yards on the drive after he carried the ball seven times the entire season) and short passing (Montana was 4-of-6 for 49 yards on the drive).
The creative combination landed San Francisco on the Dallas 6-yard-line with 52 seconds left. On third down, Walsh called for a sprint rollout designed for Montana to find Freddie Solomon on a crossing pattern. Solomon was covered, so Montana was forced to keep rolling and drifting backward to avoid monstrous Ed “Too Tall’ Jones. Like Brady, Montana pump-faked, got Jones in the air and floated a pass that has been seen at least 9,000 times. Dwight Clark, a 10th-round draft pick, snatched the ball seemingly out of the upper deck of Candlestick Park, and the 49ers had the lead.
Dallas had a chance to win, but quarterback Danny White fumbled at the 49ers' 46-yard line with 27 seconds left, and San Francisco was off to its first of four Montana-led Super Bowl championships.
No. 3: Broncos 23, Browns 20 (The Drive)
Although Brady and Montana led their respective teams back in the friendly confines of home, John Elway was forced to do so in the most hostile of conditions at old Cleveland Municipal Stadium in the 1987 AFC championship game.
Trailing by a touchdown, Elway began what would later be simply known as “The Drive” at his own 2-yard line, needing to overcome a 5-degree wind chill and a deafening crowd.
Elway completed 5 of 8 passes for 73 yards. The Broncos had to convert three third-down situations along the way, including a third-and-18 that nearly resulted in disaster.
In what was the most crucial play of the possession, Elway lined up in shotgun formation when wideout Steve Watson came in motion. The ball was snapped as Watson was passing in front of Elway, grazing Watson’s left thigh, but Elway was able to control it and complete a 20-yard pass to Mark Jackson.
Three plays later, like Montana, Elway faced a third-down at the 6-yard-line with under a minute remaining. Calmly, Elway threw between two defenders to find a diving Jackson in the end zone for the tying touchdown.
In overtime, with all life sucked out of Cleveland and its fans, Elway drove the Broncos another 65 yards to set up the game-winning field goal.
Elway won two Super Bowls a decade later, but it was those 98 yards that will always be his legacy.
No. 2: Bills 41, Oilers 38 (The Comeback)
With Bills stars Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas on the sidelines for this 1993 AFC wild-card game because of injuries, and a good portion of the crowd heading for the exits, the Oilers padded their 28-3 lead by returning an interception for a touchdown two minutes into the second half. The 32-point lead was one that no team had ever relinquished in NFL history.
But Buffalo backup Frank Reich, who once led a Maryland comeback over the Miami Hurricanes after trailing by 31 points in the Orange Bowl, got the Bills back into the game with a 10-play drive to cut the Houston lead to 35-10. Marv Levy then called for an onside kick, which worked, and four plays later Reich found Don Beebe for a 38-yard touchdown to get within 18 points (there were no two-point conversions in the NFL at that time).
After hearing of the momentum shift on their radios in the parking lot, Bills fans that had left were turned away by ticket takers as they tried to get back in.
Reich tossed two touchdowns to Andre Reed to finish out the third quarter, including one on a fourth-and-5 to make it 35-31.
After a botched Houston field-goal attempt (see: choke), Reich put the Bills ahead with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Reed. But the Oilers, stunned but not out, drove for the game-tying field goal on the final play of regulation to send the contest into overtime 38-38.
Houston quarterback Warren Moon threw an interception on the extra session’s third play, setting up a chip shot by Steve Christie for the game winner.
Buffalo lost its third of four consecutive Super Bowls three weeks later.
No. 1: Chargers 41, Dolphins 38 (The greatest game ever)
The Chargers, behind quarterback Dan Fouts and one of the most lethal passing offenses ever, jumped out to a 24-0 lead in a hot and humid Orange Bowl in the 1982 AFC divisional playoff.
Miami coach Don Shula benched starter David Woodley for backup Don Strock. The career backup orchestrated a furious 17-point second-quarter surge, highlighted by a perfectly executed hook-and-ladder from Strock to Duriel Harris to Tony Nathan for a touchdown on the final play of the half.
Miami tied the game 24-24 early in the third quarter. Both teams traded scores for the rest of the second half as both defenses became fatigued in the swampy conditions. After Fouts tied the game 38-38 with 12-yard touchdown pass to James Brooks with 52 seconds left, the Dolphins had a chance to win the game in regulation. But Kellen Winslow -- despite being treated several times on the San Diego bench for heat exhaustion -- blocked Uwe von Schamann’s kick at the end of regulation.
Both teams had chances to win in overtime, but Chargers kicker Rolf Benirschke missed an easy 29-yarder on San Diego’s first possession. On the ensuing Miami’s possession, Von Schamann incredibly had another attempt blocked. Fouts then got Benirschke in position for another 29-yard opportunity, and he finally ended it 13:52 into overtime.
The offensive numbers from this game are staggering. Fouts completed 33-of-53 passes for 433 yards and three touchdowns. Strock was 29-of-43 for 403 yards and four touchdowns. It marked the first time in NFL history that two quarterbacks passed for more than 400 yards in a game. Five players had more than 100 yards in receptions.
But the most enduring image was of Winslow—who in addition to his field goal block had 13 catches for 166 yards—being carried off the field by his teammates.
Not every Miami player was in awe of Winslow, however. Linebacker Kim Bokamper later commented, "Every time I see it you wonder whether he should have gotten an Academy Award for the performance. It gnaws at some people, and it certainly gnaws at me."
Joe Concha writes regularly for NBCSports.com and is a freelance writer based in New York. E-mail him at joeconcha@yahoo.com. |
