4.) Jets 28 Patriots 21, 2010 AFC Divisional
45-3. Forty-Five to Three. That was the reason no one gave the Jets a chance. And why would they? The Jets did beat the Patriots 28-14 in Week 2, but that seemed like a decade ago, back when Randy Moss was still doing things in New England and Danny Woodhead was an unknown player. The Patriots were on a roll that not even their 2007 undefeated counterparts could match. They had entered the playoffs winning their last 8 games, five of them by more than 20 points, and four by at least 29. They had scored 30+ points in eight straight games. Tom Brady had gone since Week 6 without an interception. They were the most efficient offense in the NFL. The Jets entered the playoffs with a 2-3 finish, and squeaked by Indianapolis in the Wild Card round. No one gave the Jets a chance (although, ironically, they were larger underdogs the previous year against San Diego - 9 points to 8.5). No one but the Jets.The Patriots started out strong, but could only muster a field goal in the first quarter. The Jets then took flight, scoring a TD early in the second, and following a stupid fake punt by the Patriots scored a TD to make it 14-3 right before halftime. The Gillette Stadium crowd was stunned, but the worst was still to come. Tom Brady and his offense simply looked lost. Brady felt the pressure of a fierce pass rush that was doing its best Giants in Super Bowl XLII impression. When he got time, the Jets secondary did not give anything up in one of the most inspired performances ever by a coverage unit. The Jets finally gave up a TD, and the Pats cut it to 14-11 late in the third quarter. Six plays later, and one spectacular catch later, it was 21-11 and the game was all but over. Mark Sanchez was great, and his receivers were better, but the heroes were the defense. The proud Jets defense was the butt of a million jokes after the 45-3 laugher, and Rex Ryan was personally embarrassed. He later said he watched the film of that game 20 times, and the Jets played with that similar preparation. It was an astounding performance, as the Jets were the ones embarrassing the Patriots in their home stadium (where Tom Brady hasn't lost a regular season since 2006, but has oddly lost two playoff games there since). The Jets were haunted by the memory of 45-3, but that won't comfort Patriots fans, who saw their team score less than half that.
3.) Steelers 21 Colts 18, 2005 AFC Divisional
The 2005 Indianapolis Colts were the Colts team that should have won the Super Bowl. They were the best Colts team of the decade, better than the 2009 unit that went 14-0 before resting their players. Better than the 2006 team that won the Super Bowl. They were 14-2, sure, but they were so much more than that. They scored the second most points in the NFL and gave up the second fewest, and this was AFTER they sat their starters the last two games. They set an NFL record, winning their first 13 games each by at least a touchdown. After twelve weeks they had outscored their opponents 366-162, which was a better differential than the 16-0 Pats. The Steelers were 11-5, and better yet, they were 10-3 with Ben Roethlisberger as their starting QB, but in a loaded AFC, that was good enough only for the #6 seed. The Steelers might not have even gotten by the Bengals had Kimo von Ollhoffen not have torn Carson Palmer's ACL. But here they were, in the same stadium that seven weeks earlier they had been dominated 26-7, in a game that they had put up less than 200 yards of offense and had given up an 80 yard TD on the very first play. The Steelers were 10 point underdogs, and understandably so. They were playing the best team of the decade to date. But just like the best regular team of the decade that was yet to come (we'll get to them - and you know who they are), it wasn't meant to be.The Colts have always taken flak for losing after resting their starters, but usually even if they do lose, they start out the game good (like in 2007 where Manning hit his first 14 throws), but they were flat at the start. The Steelers took advantage of the Colts slothy start, and a surprising game plan that called for Roethlisberger to air it out, and took a 14-0 lead in the 1st quarter. The Colts were stunned, and more importantly, were flawed. The Colts did not have a great o-line, and it was never more apparent than in this game. The Steelers used a relentless pass rush to dominate the Colts o-line and pound Manning time and time again. The Colts put together a drive late in the first half to make it 14-3, but the Steelers answered with a touchdown to make it 21-3 to start the third. After a historic season, the Colts were basically done. That's when it got crazy.
Manning started his comeback by waving the punt team off the field in the third quarter, and hit Dallas Clark for a 50-yard touchdown to start the 4th. On the next drive, aided by a nice overturn of an apparent interception, Manning led another TD drive to cut it to 21-18. It was now a game, but that black spot of the Colts cropped up again as Manning was sacked on back-to-back plays to effectively end the game. That was until Gary Brackett put his hat on the ball, forced a fumble, and Nick Harper scooped it up with green ahead of him. Slowed by a bad knee (due to his wife attacking him with a knife mid-week), Harper was tackled by Ben Roethlisberger. Manning drove the Colts into field goal range, especially for the most accurate kicker in NFL history in a dome, but Mike Vanderjagt missed by about twenty yards. The Colts comeback ended short and the Steelers continued their trip to get one for the thumb. The Steelers became the first six seed to win the Super Bowl, and the Colts had to endure another offseason of what-if? The Steelers were huge underdogs because they weren't as good as the Colts. But for that one day they were.
2.) Giants 17 Patriots 14, Super Bowl XLII
What hasn't been said about this game. The Giants, despite playing the Patriots really close in Week 17 (so close that they had a rightfully earned 28-16 lead in the third quarter), were 14 point underdogs heading into Super Bowl XLII, which was more of a coronation than anything else. The Patriots, 18-0, were set to be crowned "The Greatest Team of All Time", and join the annoying 1972 Dolphins in "Perfectville". Tom Brady had just finished arguably the greatest statistical season for a QB ever, and the Patriots offense was finally back playing indoors, on perfect conditions, with a newfound running game to boot (Maroney had 112 yards in each of the first two playoff games). The Giants entered having already scored two major upsets, beating 7 point favorites Dallas (above) and 7.5 favorites Green Bay in an epic in -27 degree weather. The Giants were confident. They thought they would win (with Plaxico even predicting a score that would be eerily close to the actual one - 23-17). Sports Illustrated's Dr. Z even predicted the Giants victory in SI's Super Bowl preview, stating he had a similar feeling before Super Bowl III. That said, no one really thought the Giants had much of a chance. The Patriots, known for their ruthless efficiency, were not going to let history slip away.Instead of the Patriots letting history slip away, the Giants took it from them. Battering Tom Brady with the most ferocious pass rush seen in Super Bowl history (set an unofficial record for QB hits in a Super Bowl), Brady and the Patriots offense were limited to 81 first half yards (for a team that got over 400 a game). The Patriots did have the hafltime lead - 7-3 - but that was more because of unfortunate ends to back-to-back Giants drives. First the Patriots got a tipped interception, then a fumble coupled with an illegal batting of the ball ended another promising drive. The Patriots, the 18-0 favorite, were even getting the breaks. The third quarter featured another sack of Tom Brady and a curious decision to go for it on 4th and 13 from their 35, but at the start of the 4th quarter, the Patriots were still ahead 7-3, and set for perfection.
The only perfection attained that night was the 4th quarter. First the Giants struck a TD with a nifty 50-yard catch and run by Kevin Boss. Then the teams traded punts before Tom Brady finally played like the Tom Brady that was supposed to own the Giants, directing a cool TD drive to take the lead 14-10 with three minutes to go. It was all there. Despite the Giants playing their hearts out on defense and holding a team that averaged 36 points to 14, they were all but done. At that moment, truly no one thought the Giants had a prayer or re-taking the lead. There had never been three lead changes in the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl before, but this was no ordinary Super Bowl. What followed is known now to all. Eli Manning escaped the clutches of various Patriots players, heaved a throw to unknown Special Teamer David Tyree, who snagged the ball with the aid of his helmet. Five plays later, Plaxico Burress caught a perfect pass from Eli Manning to take the lead with :35 left in the game. One sack later, the Giants had toppled the Pats, and surprised, shock and amazed everyone aside from Dr. Z.
1.) Patriots 20 Rams 17, Super Bowl XXXVI
There was no bigger cindarella story in the decade, or maybe since Super Bowl III. The Patriots were a team that needed a ridiculous referreeing decision plus two special teams touchdowns just to get to the Super Bowl. The Rams were a dynasty in the making. The Rams were 16-2, with a top-5 defense and, for the 3rd consecutive year, the top offense in the NFL. They set a record with their 3rd straight 500=point season (no other team has even done it twice in a row), while Kurt Warner racked up 36tds. The Rams were truly unstoppable, gaining more yards than they did in the 1999 season when they won the Super Bowl. The Patriots were a team that was outgained for the season, and had a second-year QB who was still being babied through most games. The only advantage the Patriots had was at head coach, and even then, Bill Belichick did not think the Patriots could pull it off (he was quoted as saying "Can you believe this team won the Super Bowl?" to Scott Pioli afterward). The Pats were the real David.
The Patriots won the game 3-0. The score might have said 20-17, but in all reality, it was the Rams three turnovers to the Patriots zero that won the game. The Patriots turned those turnovers into 17 points, and two of them happened when the Rams were near midfield. The Rams outgained the Pats by 160 yards. Kurt Warner went 28-44 for 365 yards. The key to the game, apart from the turnovers, was Mike Martz's insistence to not run the ball. Marshall Faulk was underutilized, and he was the player the Patriots keyed on. That said, despite playing the perfect game, the Rams tied the game in what seemed like 5 seconds to make it 17-17 with 1:21 to play. That's where a dynasty was born, but it was not the Rams, like Torry Holt was caught saying before the game started. Tom Brady, to the behest of John Madden, took the ball and dinked his way into field goal range, where Adam Vinatieri hit the first walk-off field goal in Super Bowl history. It was one of the best finishes in the Super Bowl, and it was the perfect way to cap the Super Bowl that was used as a tribute to America: with the Patriots winning.
There are many reasons for this not to be a bigger upset than Super Bowl XLII. That game featured a 10-6 Wild Card team beating an 18-0 juggernaut. This game featured an 11-5 #2 seed beating a 14-2 team that had flaws (had a lot of turnovers in the regular season). The specter of an 18-0 was huge, but it isn't enough to make it a bigger upset. No one did believe in the Giants chances to beat the Patriots (except for Dr. Z). However, the Giants totally believed that they could win. They believed they let the Pats off the hook in Week 17. Coincidentally, the Patriots and Rams played in the regular season in 2001 also, with the Rams winning 24-17. Unlike the Giants-Pats Week 17 game, that one was nowhere near as close as the score. The Rams outgained the Pats 482-230. Warner was amazing (except for a pick-6). The Rams led 24-10 before a garbage TD by New England, and the game ended with the Rams on the Pats 10 yard line, kneeling the ball instead of a late score. Unlike the Giants in 2007, the Patriots were truly lucky to even make the Super Bowl, needing a angelic overturn of a call and, again, two special teams touchdowns. Finally, the biggest reason that the Pats upset over the Rams was bigger (other than the fact that the line actually was higher for the Rams - 14.5 vs 14), was that it isn't obvious that even the Pats thought they could win the game. Bill Belichick certainly didn't think of the 2001 Patriots as a champion team, and neither did anyone. That game should not have been close, and even after Adam Vinatieri split the uprights, it was hard to fathom the Rams lost. The Rams were unbeatable. The Patriots were so beatable. But "No One Believed In" the Pats, including the Pats.
Next up in the Top-10 are the opposite games. The Top-10 "Not In Our House!!!" Games of the 2000s.
