Four Greatest Playoff Games In The Last 10 Years

The NFL have match-ups throughout the season that are always full of excitement, debates, trash-talking, and unpredictable plays. Some match-ups are team rivalries for the ages (i.e., Baltimore vs. Pittsburgh, New York Jets vs. New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Redskins, etc), great player match-ups, revenge from previous seasons, and so forth.

Most of the greatest games come from the perspective of being competitive, last-minute wins, comebacks, and upsets. A great game can be classified differently by many people. Each fan will have their way of classifying great games. There are no right or wrong picks, but they are fun to debate.

This list of the top five games of the last decade are those games that left a lasting impression, good or bad, but also made a mark as a game that was hard to turn away from. There was a lot to choose from. These five games all came from the playoffs. Three of the games were from the Super Bowl and the other two were regular playoff games. These five games have unbelievable play calling, defensive stances, quarterback battles, and miraculous catches.

With the new season approaching, there will be more excitement and maybe more great games that can be added to this list.

#4 – 2009 NFC Wild Card Game

Green Bay Packers 45 – Arizona Cardinals 51

Returning to the playoffs, the Arizona Cardinals wanted to redeem themselves from the heartbreak suffered at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl the season before. But they had a tough match-up for the Wild Card game. The Green Bay Packers were not going to be an easy team for the Cardinals who were 10 – 6 in the regular season. The Packers ranked third in offense and seventh in defense. They also had the Defensive Player of the Year in Charles Woodson. It was no secret that Aaron Rodgers and the Packers were the clear favorites in this match-up. The game, from beginning to end, couldn't have been predicted.

The first quarter would've had all Packers fans thinking the game was over. With the first play of the game after the Cardinals kicked off, Rodgers took the field and threw his first and only interception of the game. The turnover led to the Cardinals driving for a touchdown. The Cardinals caused a fumble on the Packers second drive, which led to a touchdown for the Cardinals after a few plays. The Cardinals led 14 – 0. They marched downfield and scored a field goal to shut out the Packers in the first quarter 17 – 0. This was not expected of Rodgers and the Packers.

The Packers seemed to find a rhythm and were able to end the first half with a field goal to trail 10 – 24 going into the third quarter. But after halftime, the Cardinals scored again with Kurt Warner connecting with Larry Fitzgerald for a touchdown. Warner was on a roll and seemed to be hitting all targets at this point. The Packers responded by scoring two consecutive touchdowns, and cut the lead to a touchdown before Warner found Fitzgerald again to take the lead back to 14 to end the third quarter with a score of 38 – 24.

Rodgers and the Packers defense showed up at the start of the fourth quarter. Rodgers scored one touchdown, the defense made a stop, and Rodgers completed another touchdown to tie the game at 38. Warner continued to find the open man as he threw his fifth touchdown of the day to Steve Breaston. The touchdown and extra point took the lead to 38-45 Cardinals. Approximately three minutes later, Rodgers responded with a touchdown to Spencer Havner and the game was tied again on the made field goal with a little over a minute left. The game went into overtime.

Overtime was a fresh start for both teams to lay it all on the line. The Packers won the coin toss and had the momentum on their side as the last touchdown under two minutes in the fourth quarter was completed by the Packers. With the fourth play of the Packers drive, on third down with six yards needed for a first down, Rodgers, of course, looked to throw. He was sacked by Michael Adams, who also forced the fumble that was recovered by Karlos Dansby who ran in for the touchdown and the Cardinals win.

This was one of the highest scoring games in the NFL's post-season history. The newcomer Aaron Rodgers showed that he was one of the up and coming elite players at his position and Kurt Warner was able to still throw with accuracy.

#3 – Super Bowl XLIX

Seattle Seahawks 24 – New England Patriots 28

The Seattle Seahawks were the defending Super Bowl Champions. The New England Patriots were the New England Patriots. Both teams finished the season with a 12 – 4 record and first in their conferences. Seattle ranked number one in rushing and defense, and number 10 in offense during the regular season. New England ranked number four in offense, nine in passing and eight in defense.

According to the numbers, the game should have favored the Seahawks. However, no one really goes against Tom Brady in the playoffs.

Both teams presented a good defensive presence to start the game. The first quarter ended with both teams scoreless. The Patriots offense was able to wear down the Seahawks defense first and scored off a touchdown pass from Brady to Brandon LaFell. Seahawks responded with an on the ground touchdown run by Marshawn Lynch to tie the game.

The next two plays had both quarterbacks playing at a very rapid pace. The Patriots took the lead once Brady threw a touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski. The drive leading to the touchdown took 1:45 time off the clock, leaving Russell Wilson and the Seahawks offense with 31 seconds remaining in the second quarter after the made field goal by Stephen Gostkowski. Wilson responded with a drive up the field leading to a touchdown pass to Chris Matthews. The extra point by Steven Hauschka tied the game at 14 going into halftime.

The Seahawks took the field and scored 10 points. The Patriots did not respond and were shutout in the third quarter as Seattle's defense played like a number one ranked defense should. If only they could've carried that defensive stance into the fourth quarter. In turn, the Patriots defense gave the Seahawks a taste of their own medicine and held them scoreless in the fourth quarter. The Patriots offense scored 14 points, taking their lead to 28 – 24. With 2:02 remaining in the game, Seattle were given the chance to score. They needed a touchdown to win the game.

The Seahawks were able to drive down to the Patriots' one-yard line. With 26 seconds left in the game, it was second down with the ball on the one-yard line for the Seahawks, who also had a timeout left. The Seahawks though called a passing play to Ricardo Lockett. The pass was intercepted by undrafted rookie Malcolm Butler. After a few penalties and a kneel by Brady, the game was over and the Patriots were able to overcome a 10-point lead in the third quarter to win Super Bowl XLIX.

The last play of the game is what made this one of the best games of the last decade. The play calling by the Seahawks caused great debate and buzz around the league as one of the most talked about play calls ever. The Seahawks had one of the most powerful running backs, and nearly unstoppable on the goal line, in Lynch and decided to perform a pass play on second down with a timeout left.

Why not complete a run play, call a timeout if unable to get the touchdown and then call another run play or quarterback sneak in order to win the game? This is a question all sports fans, players and former players were asking at the end of the game. Yes, a loss is a loss, however, one would more than likely be more comfortable with losing it all on run plays at the one-yard line versus a passing play that was intercepted at the one-yard line.

#2 – 2011 NFC Divisional Game

New Orleans Saints 32 – San Francisco 49ers 36

The New Orleans Saints finished the season as the number one passing team and number two team in overall offense. The San Francisco 49ers finished the season as the number two defensive team in the league. A great divisional match-up with both teams having a 13-3 record. Drew Brees was the season's passing leader with 5,476 yards. On the other hand, Alex Smith was trying to make his case as one of the quarterbacks that deserved a discussion as one of the best at the time.

The first quarter did not witness any scoring until the 2:08 mark. Vernon Davis and Smith connected on a 49 yard and made field goal. With 41 seconds left in the first quarter, Smith threw his second touchdown to Michael Crabtree for a 14 – 0 lead over the Saints. The 49ers' defense continued their tough play and held the Saints scoreless until Brees was able to connect with Jimmy Graham in the second quarter and Marques Colston on the following drive to cut the lead to three at the end of the first half.

San Francisco's defense came out of the break and were all over the Saints. The only score of the third quarter was a field goal from the 49ers' David Akers. Akers' field goal put the 49ers up by six, 14 – 20. Then Brees began to connect with his teammates as the two teams started exchanging scoring drives.

The fourth quarter started with a field goal by each team's kicker, taking the score to 17 – 23, 49ers on top. Darren Sproles came up with a 44-yard catch thrown by Brees, followed by a rushing touchdown by Smith and a failed two-point conversion. The lead became 24 – 29 with 49ers still leading. The next Saints possession, Jimmy Graham caught a 66-yard pass from Brees for a touchdown. Brees connected with Sproles on a two-point conversion to take a 32 – 29 lead, hoping that at the most, the 49ers would only be able to attempt a field goal.

With only a minute and a half left, Smith completed four of his next passes, three to Frank Gore and one to Davis, to lead 49ers down to the Saints' 14-yard line before spiking the ball to save time on the clock. The next play couldn't have been drawn up any better. Smith threw the ball up the middle to Davis for the game-winning touchdown. Smith played a great game and was able to outlast one of the greatest quarterbacks in the last minute and a half in the game.

#1 – Super Bowl XLVI

New York Giants 21 – New England Patriots 17

Super Bowl XLVI - New York Giants Victory Parade

The Giants were not expected to be in the Super Bowl. They finished the regular season 9 – 7, and won the conference championship game against the San Francisco 49ers on a fumble recovery in overtime that led to the game-winning field goal by Lawrence Tynes. New England Patriots finished 13 – 3 for the season and were the clear favorites in this match-up. No one expected the Giants to come close in this game. Well, the Giants do have one of the Mannings as their quarterback.

The Giants came out fearless. There was a very rare penalty of intentional grounding on Tom Brady, while in his team's own endzone, which caused a rare safety, giving the Giants two points to began the game with. Victor Cruz then received a pass from Eli Manning for a touchdown, giving the Giants a 9 – 0 lead. The Patriots did not score in the first quarter. The roles switched in the second quarter. The Giants looked more like the Patriots, minus the safety, on the offensive side. The Patriots scored off a field goal by Stephen Gostkowski and a touchdown by Danny Woodhead to take a 10 – 9 lead.

Patriots took the field after halftime and scored another passing touchdown as Brady found Aaron Hernandez. The score became 17 – 9 with Giants trailing after an extra point by Gostkowski. Little did the Patriots know this would be their last time scoring in this game. Manning began to attack the defenders who were guarding Hakeem Nicks, Jake Ballard and Mario Manningham on the next drive while throwing the ball.

He threw the ball in some of the smallest windows where only his receivers were able to catch it. Their first drive led to a field goal. Giants were able to stop Patriots on the next play and forced them to punt. Manning and the Giants stuck with the previous drive's blueprint. More of a run option was tried with Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs, and two in the air plays to Bear Pascoe and Nicks before kicking another field goal. The made field goal decreased the Patriots' lead to 15 – 17.

The fourth quarter was all about defense until 3:46 was left remaining in the game. At that time, Manning received the ball and had the opportunity to have a game-winning play. Manning used his judgment and experience to turn the last three minutes into a game-winning drive. His clutch players were Manningham and Nicks in the air. But the most important play of the game came from running back Bradshaw.

Bradshaw was able to run up the middle for a touchdown without being touched with 1:04 left in the game. Bradshaw tried to stop himself within the one-yard line as he did not want to give Brady an opportunity to drive and win the game. They failed the two-point conversion for the opportunity to go up by six points leaving the score at 21 – 17 to the Giants. The last play of the game came down to a desperation hail mary attempt by Brady. The ball was batted away in the end zone by a Giants defenders and Gronkowski was not in position to catch the deflection. The Giants pulled off the upset to win the Super Bowl.