It’s often been referred to as the NFL’s best weekend. Whittling down the NFL’s Divisional Playoffs to a Top 10 is easier said than done.
The first NFL playoffs game came in 1933, when the Chicago Bears defeated the New York Giants, 23-21, for the league championship. The first divisional playoff contest came in 1941. The Bears defeated the Green Bay Packers, 33-14, and later knocked off the Giants in capturing another NFL title.
There are those who may be surprised that games such as the 1972 AFC Divisional Playoffs (the “Immaculate Reception“), the 1975 NFC Divisional Playoffs (the “Hail Mary”) and the 2017 NFC Divisional Playoffs (the “Minneapolis Miracle”) didn’t make this list. You could argue that the Steelers’ and Vikings’ wins on those days are more known for their amazing plays and not the overall contest itself.
Following a look at the NFL’s Top 10 Wild Card Games, here are the top 10 divisional games.
Best divisional round games in NFL history: 10. Steelers 31, Ravens 24 (AFC: 2010)
It was the third of what would eventually be four playoff meetings between the Ravens and Steelers over a 14-year period. Pittsburgh had eliminated Baltimore in the 2011 Divisional Round and beat John Harbaugh’s club in the 2008 AFC title.
Both teams boasted 12-4 records in 2010 but Mike Tomlin’s squad won the AFC North via a better divisional record. On this Saturday afternoon in the Steel City, however, the Black and Gold found themselves down 21-7 in the third quarter. Three Baltimore turnovers would turn into 17 points and the Steelers took a 24-21 lead in the fourth quarter.
Tied at 24-all with less than three minutes to play and with third-and-19 from their own 38-yard-line, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger found then-rookie wide receiver Antonio Brown for a 58-yard gain. It set up a two-yard TD run by Rashard Mendenhall with 1:33 to play and the Steelers were headed to the AFC title game for the second time in three years.
Best divisional round games in NFL history: 9. 49ers 36, Saints 32 (NFC: 2011)
The San Francisco 49ers were under the guidance of Jim Harbaugh, who in his first season as the team’s head coach had guided the club to a 13-3 record and an NFC West title.
It would prove to be an important afternoon for quarterback Alex Smith. The first overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft had gone through his share of head coaches, offensive coordinators and injuries before Harbaugh’s arrival in 2011. However, he came up big against the visiting Saints.
San Francisco owned a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter, but New Orleans would rally in a big way. The teams would combine for 34 points in the fourth quarter. Drew Brees connected with versatile Darren Sproles for a 44-yard touchdown and the PAT gave Sean Payton’s club a 24-23 lead with 4:02 to play.
It took the Niners six plays and 80 yards to regain the lead as Smith outfoxed everyone and ran around left end for a 28-yard TD with 2:11 left on the clock.
Back came the Saints as Brees found tight end Jimmy Graham for a 66-yard score and Payton’s club was ahead, 32-29, after a successful two-point conversion. However, Smith would cap a seven-play, 85-yard march with a 14-yard scoring strike to Vernon Davis with nine seconds left on the clock.
Best divisional round games in NFL history: 8. Colts 38, Chiefs 31 (AFC: 2003)
It remains the only game in NFL postseason history in which neither team punted. Led by quarterback Peyton Manning and head coach Tony Dungy, the Indianapolis Colts went to Arrowhead Stadium and surprised the Kans City Chiefs.
Manning’s first three NFL postseason appearances had not only all resulted in losses, but the most recent was also an ugly 41-0 setback to the New York Jets in the AFC Wild Card Playoffs. However, the Colts would have few problems putting points on the board for the second straight week. Indianapolis was coming off a resounding 41-10 win over the visiting Broncos in the wild card round and picked up where they left off against Dick Vermeil’s club.
Manning connected on 22-of-20 throws for 304 yards and three scores. Dungy’s team rolled up 434 total yards and played turnover-free football. Chiefs’ quarterback Trent Green threw for 212 yards and one touchdown. Neither team had any issues running the ball as Indianapolis’ Edgerrin James (125 yards) and Kansas City’s Priest Holmes (176 yards) each scored twice on the ground.
The Colts and Chiefs both managed to score points in all four quarters. Manning’s 29-yard TD pass to Brandon Stokley with less than six minutes elapsed in the first quarter were the first points of the game and Dungy’s team never trailed.
Best divisional round games in NFL history: 7. Dolphins 27, Chiefs 24 (2 OT) (AFC: 1971)
In the final game at Municipal Stadium, both the visiting Miami Dolphins and host Kansas City Chiefs were stretched to the limits.
Hank Stram’s club would take a 10-0 first-quarter lead thanks to a 24-yard field goal by Jan Stenerud and Len Dawson’s seven-yard TD toss to versatile Ed Podolak. However, the Dolphins responded with 10 unanswered points and evened the game by an intermission.
Twice, Stram’s team took seven-point leads, both in the third and fourth quarter, and each time Don Shula’s club responded to tie the score. After Stenerud missed a 31-yard field goal with just 35 seconds to play, the teams headed to overtime tied at 24-all.
Stenerud’s issues continued in the extra session as he had a 42-yard boot blocked. In the second overtime, Dolphins’ kicker Garo Yepremian connected on a 37-yard field goal to end the NFL’s longest game at 82 minutes and 40 seconds. Both Dawson and Miami quarterback Bob Griese threw for one score and each was picked off twice. All told, the Chiefs finished the game with four turnovers.
Meanwhile, Podolak touched the ball 30 times on offense and special teams. He totaled 350 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, but that performance wasn’t enough to secure a Kansas City victory.
Best divisional round games in NFL history: 6. Packers 34, Cowboys 31 (NFC: 2016)
This time the site was AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Two years earlier, it was Lambeau Field when the Green Bay Packers edged the Dallas Cowboys, 26-21, in the 2014 NFC Divisional Playoffs. To this day, the question continues to be asked: Did Dez catch it?
This time around, the teams engaged in a back-and-forth affair that was highlighted by one of the great passes and receptions in postseason annals.
Both Aaron Rodgers (355) and Dak Prescott (302) threw for 300-plus yards. The former threw for two scores and the latter three touchdowns and each served up an interception. Rodgers and the Packers owned a 21-3 second-quarter lead before the Cowboys rallied in the fourth quarter to tie the score on two occasions. The latter saw Dallas’ Dan Bailey connect on a 52-yard field goal with 31-all with 35 seconds to play.
Taking over at their own 25-yard-line, Green Bay would come up big in the closing seconds. On third-and-20 from their own 32-yard-line, Rodgers rolled to his left and found tight end Jared Cook for an amazing 35-yard gain with three seconds left on the clock. On the final play of the game, Packers’ kicker Mason Crosby nailed a 51-yard field goal and Mike McCarthy’s club had a walk-off victory.
Best divisional round games in NFL history: 5. Raiders 37, Colts 31 (2 OT) (AFC: 1977)
John Madden’s team won Super Bowl XI in 1976 with a 13-1 record. One year later, the Silver and Black finished 11-3 and was limited to wild card status behind the upstart Denver Broncos. That meant the Oakland Raiders would travel to Baltimore to take on the AFC East champion Colts.
Madden’s club got on the board first via a 30-yard touchdown run by Clarence Davis. However, Ted Marchibroda’s Colts scored the next 10 points, the first of those when Bruce Laird returned a Ken Stabler interception 61 yards for a touchdown. Toni Linhart’s 36-yard field goal gave Baltimore a 10-7 halftime advantage.
Stabler and tight end Dave Casper connected for an eight-yard score after intermission and Oakland took a short-lived 14-10 lead. That’s because Marshall Johnson returned the ensuing kickoff 87 yards for a TD. The teams continued to trade scores and the Colts owned a 31-28 fourth-quarter edge. However, a Stabler-to-Casper connection for 42 yards (aka the “Ghost to the Post”) set up the game-tying 22-yard field goal and the clubs headed to overtime.
One extra 15-minute quarter decided nothing. Stabler and Casper would eventually get the job done via a 10-yard touchdown strike just 43 seconds into the second overtime gave Oakland the win.
Best divisional round games in NFL history: 4. Cowboys 30, 49ers 28 (NFC: 1972)
This weekend in San Francisco, the NFC West champion 49ers and wild card Dallas Cowboys will collide in the postseason for the ninth time. However, the clubs’ postseason rivalry began at the start of the merger.
Tom Landry’s team had defeated the Niners in both the 1970 and ‘71 NFC Championship Games. Now the then-defending Super Bowl VI champions were in the Bay Area beginning their quest to reach the “Big Game” for the third straight year.
Craig Morton was Dallas’ starting quarterback that afternoon but he had a miserable outing. He finished the game completing just eight of his 21 throws for 96 yards and a score with two interceptions. Late in the third quarter and with the team down 28-13, Landry turned to Roger Staubach, the MVP of Super Bowl VI. He also had his issues early on against the San Francisco defense. For the game, the Cowboys gained 402 total yards but turned over the ball five times.
Regardless, Dallas scored the final 17 points of the contest, throwing a pair of touchdown passes within the final two minutes. He connected with Billy Parks for a 20-yard score and the Cowboys got the ball back after a successful onside kick. The future Hall of Fame signal-caller threw a 10-yard TD pass to wide receiver Ron Sellers with just 52 seconds to play to complete the comeback.
Best divisional round games in NFL history: 3. Raiders 28, Dolphins 26 (AFC: 1974)
The Oakland Raiders were handily defeated by the Miami Dolphins, 27-10 in 1973 AFC title game as Don Shula’s club was on its way to a second straight Super Bowl title. One year later, John Madden’s club finished 12-2 and won the AFC West.
Back then, teams in the same division could not face each other in the playoffs until the title conference game. So the wild card Buffalo Bills went to Pittsburgh and the defending Super Bowl champion Dolphins made their way to the Bay Area.
This battle of powers in Oakland got off to a fast start as Dolphins’ wide receiver Nat Moore returned the opening kickoff 89 yards for a score. A see-saw affair saw Raiders’ quarterback Ken Stabler answer the two-time defending Super Bowl champions at every turn, and his thread-the-needle TD pass (while falling down) to running back Clarence Davis in a crowd with only 26 seconds to play capped an amazing afternoon.
Davis’ eight-yard touchdown reception, the difference in the club’s 28-26 victory, was a play that’s been dubbed the “Sea of Hands.”
Stabler threw for 293 yards and four touchdowns (1 interception). That included a 72-yard scoring connection in the fourth quarter to Cliff Branch. The Hall of Fame speedster made a diving reception, went untouched as raced to the end zone.
Best divisional round games in NFL history: 2. Chargers 41, Dolphins 38 (OT) (AFC: 1981)
Called by some the best game in NFL history, it’s worth mentioning that the Chargers actually owned a 24-0 first-quarter lead before their shaky defense let Miami get back in the game (sound familiar?). Don Coryell’s club got a Rolf Benirschke 32-yard field goal, a 58-yard punt return for a score by Wes Chandler, a Chuck Muncie one-yard TD run and a Dan Fouts eight-yard touchdown pass to running back James Brooks to build their early advantage.
Dolphins’ head coach Don Shula would replace starting quarterback David Woodley with veteran Don Strock. He led the team to a couple of scores to narrow the gap to 14 points. Down 24-10 with six seconds to go before halftime, Strock completed a short pass to wide receiver Duriel Harris. He quickly lateraled the ball to running back Tony Nathan, who ran into the end zone untouched for a 25-yard score.
The Dolphins would tie the score in the third quarter and the teams traded touchdowns moments later. Miami took a 38-31 lead on a Nathan 12-yard touchdown run but the teams wound up in overtime thanks to another Fouts-to-Brooks TD connection, this time with 58 seconds to play.
Both clubs had numerous chances to win in the extra session, but Benirschke’s 29-yard boot with 1:08 remaining in the first OT was the game-winner. Fouts (433) and Strock (403) each threw for 400-plus yards, and Kellen Winslow (166), Charlie Joiner (108) and Chandler (106) all finished with 100-plus receiving yards.
Best divisional round games in NFL history: 1. Chiefs 42, Bills 36 (OT) (AFC: 2021)
While last year’s Wild Card Round featured plenty of blowouts, the final seven games of the 2021 NFL postseason featured six games decided by three points and one decided by six points in overtime. That latter contest was highlighted by numerous standout offensive performances, most notably by two of the league’s top quarterbacks.
The Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs were meeting in the playoffs for the second straight year. In 2020, Andy Reid’s team came away with a 38-24 triumph in the AFC title game. This time around, it was one round earlier and both clubs piled up the yards and the points. The Bills rolled up 422 yards but were substantially outgained by Reid’s club (552).
Late in the third quarter, the Chiefs owned a 23-14 advantage. After the kickoff, Bills’ quarterback Josh Allen found Gabe Davis for a 75-yard scoring strike. Following a field goal by Harrison Butker, Buffalo took a 29-26 lead with 1:54 to play thanks to the third Allen-to-Davis scoring toss.
It took the Chiefs less than a minute to regain the lead thanks to an electrifying 64-yard TD connection from Patrick Mahomes to Tyreek Hill. Buffalo owned a 36-33 edge with 13 seconds to play as Davis came up with his fourth TD grab – an NFL postseason record. But Mahomes was able to get his team into field goal position and Butker nailed a 49-yarder at the gun to send the game into overtime.
In the extra session, Mahomes drove his team 75 yards in eight plays and capped off the march with an eight-yard touchdown pass to tight end Travis Kelce for the win in a game in which neither team turned over the football.