A Decade (and a year) of NFL Playoffs: Ranking the Divisional Games, Pt. 2

Tier IV – Good Teams, Good Games, but Something Missing

25.) 2011 AFC Divisional – (A3) Texans 13 @ (A2) Ravens 20

Review: For three straight years, the Ravens were a Wild-Card team, having to go at it the hard way on the road. Finally, they won the division again, and even earned a 1^st round bye and were able to get the TJ Yates Experience to come into M&T Bank. The game really did just come down to Yates (and Jacoby Jones muffing a punt). The Texans defense was great, sacking Flacco five times and limiting the Ravens to just 227 yards. On offense, Arian Foster had 132 yards on 27 carries, and Andre Johnson had 111 yards on 8 catches. The only problem was Yates. He threw up way too many balls for grabs, and despite dropping three potential interceptions, the Ravens picked him off three times. Ed Reed, as he always does, provided the capper, picking Yates off on a deep throw to the End-Zone with two minutes left. For all the talk about the Texans playing better, the Ravens held the Texans scoreless in the 2^nd Half, winning with defense… again.

Interesting/Memorable Fact: This was just the Ravens 2^nd home playoff win in their franchise history. Despite the Ravens winning 10 playoff games since 2000 (T-4^th in the NFL with the Giants behind the Patriots (16), Steelers (12) & Eagles (11) ), they’ve won only two at home. The other win was their Wild Card Round win in 2000, and in between they lost as Division Winners in 2003 and 2006.

Interesting/Memorable Fact 2: Kris Wilson caught a one-yard TD catch to make the game 17-3, and that marked Wilson’s 4^th career catch in a playoff game. Two have gone for TDs (2009 Chargers against). Wilson has also caught a 2-point conversion. So, his catches have led to points 60% of the time he’s been involved on a play.

24.) 2007 AFC Divisional – (A5) Jaguars 20 @ (A1) Patriots31

Review: The Jaguars played about as well as they could on offense and about as strangely as they could on defense. For one half, it worked, as the game was tied 14-14. In the 2^nd half, the Jaguars stopped scoring TDs, while the Patriots continued, and that was the game. The game was notable for Tom Brady’s 26-28 day (for 266 yards and 3 tds), where one of the incompletions was a drop by Welker. The Jags gave Brady all day and he cut them up in surgical fashion. The strangest part was Randy Moss, fresh off his 23-TD season, had just one catch. In the end, the Jags gave their best shot, taking the necessary risks on offense (Throwing deep on 4^th and 4 on the first drive), but taking no risks on defense. Because of Brady’s insane accuracy, as well as Garrard’s good day, the game flew by, with each team staging long drive after long drive. Before you knew it, the game was over, and the Patriots went to 17-0.

Interesting/Memorable Play: The best TD came on Brady’s 2^nd TD to Wes Welker. He took the shotgun, but faked a direct snap to Kevin Faulk and turned his back to the field with his arms raised. After keeping his back to the field for at least a full second, he turned around, fired a laser to Welker, and the game was mostly over. It was a sweet, sweet play.

23.) 2011 NFC Divisional – (N4) Giants 37 @ (N1) Packers 20

Review: A year after the Packers gave the Falcons the biggest home loss for a #1 seed, the Giants gave the Packers a loss nearly as surprising in its ease. The Giants absolutely destroyed the 15-1 Packers in nearly every category imaginable. Their only failing was with their coverage scheme Rodgers ran for six first downs. On the day, Eli Manning threw for 300 yards before the 1^st half was over, including two long TDs to Hakeem Nicks. The Giants sacked Rodgers four times, and forced four fumbles and recovered three of them. The Packers were just out of sync all day on offense, as Rodgers, fresh off the most efficient QB season possibly ever (a record 122.4 passer rating), went just 24-45 on the day. The Giants played arguably their best offensive game of the year, and their defense dominated the 2^nd half. Before halftime, Tom Coughlin told Pam Oliver that the to-that-point average pass rush “was coming” and it sure was. By the end, the Giants were dancing in Lambeau, celebrating a playoff win there, again.

Interesting/Memorable Fact: The game could have easily been a lot more one-sided. The Giants had two drives in their dominant 1^st half end in Green Bay territory, with Eli Manning throwing a pick and the Packers blocking a makeable field goal. Plus, the Packers two TD drives both were aided by questionable decisions. First was Bill Leavy’s ridiculous overturn of a Greg Jennings’s fumble on the 1^st TD drive, and then was a soft roughing-the-passer call on Osi on the 2^nd.

Interesting/Memorable Fact 2: This was the 1^st time that two Super Bowl MVP Quarterbacks met in a playoff game, with Eli Manning winning his in Super Bowl XLII and Rodgers in XLV. Of course, the 2^nd would happen three weeks later, with Manning and Brady. With Brady, Manning and Roethlisberger in the AFC and Manning, Rodgers and Brees in the NFC, it is hard to imagine it not happening more.

22.) 2012 NFC Divisional - (N3) Packers 31 @ (N2) 49ers 45

Review: Well, the Packers do know how to lose with their defense looking as bad as possible. Unlike in 2009 and 2011 when they were hopeless against the pass, this time they decided to be hopeless against both. The 49ers ran it 43 times for 323 yards, with Kaepernick setting an NFL record for most rushing yards by a QB (this is a record for the playoffs AND the regular season). Kaepernick was the star, but it was his ability to overcome a terrible pick-six on the first possession of the game that made it all work. On the other side, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers were only able to put up 17 points on offense when the game was in the balance, but really it was that they never got time. It is hard to when you allow your opponent to run it 43 times.

Interesting/Memorable Play: The play of the game was Kaepernick's read-option 56 yard TD to break a 24-24 tie midway through the 3rd quarter. He just made Erik Walden look so, so bad that it will be his "God Dammit Donald" moment, the one that defines his career no matter what he does.

Interesting/Memorable Plays: With a 31-24 lead, and backed up at their own 7, the 49ers went on one of the great power-football runs I have ever seen. Two drives, 19 plays, 186 yards, two TDs to make it 45-24 and end it. Those back to back 90-yard TD drives should be engraved on Jim Harbaugh's coaching gravestone.



21.) 2005 AFC Divisional – (A4) Patriots 13 @ (A2) Broncos27

Review: In front of a jacked-up crowd in the first playoff game at Invesco Field, the Broncos had the most deceiving zero-sack game, repeatedly pummeling Brady into mistakes and into his first playoff loss of his career. The game originally started out in Patriots-style, with the Broncos dominating statistically but not taking advantage with a failed 4^th & Goal and a pick in the red zone by Samuel. But it all changed right after the two-minute warning, with Kevin Faulk fumbling. One controversial pass interference on Samuel later, it was 7-3 Broncos. They would add another field goal off a fumble by New England and take a 10-3 lead into the half. The game was finally shut when on 3^rd and Goal for the Patriots trailing just 10-6, Tom Brady threw a pick in the end zone to Champ Bailey, who of course returned it controversially to the one yard line. The Patriots ended up with a lot more yards, but that is what happens when one team scores 14 points in just two yards of offense. In the end, the Patriots did everything wrong for the first time, with Troy Brown muffing a punt and Adam Vinatieri missing a field goal. It was all so new for the Pats, and all so fun for the Broncos and Pat-Haters.

Interesting/Memorable Play: The Broncos utilized what was called the “punt-rush defense” where they put corners off-man on the receivers and had everyone else line up at the line in a punt-rush formation. The Broncos used it enough that it didn’t work all the time, but led to Brady getting rocked often, and the pick by Bailey.

Interesting/Memorable Play 2: On the pick, it was Brady’s 3^rd career playoff interception thrown into the end zone (’03 AFC Title, ’03 SB) and he has done it twice more since (’07 AFC Title, ’11 AFC Title). What is fun about the play is noting the sudden disappointment in Jim Nantz’s voice when Bailey first makes the interception. To his credit, he gets excited when Bailey seemingly gets a clear path for a touchdown. Now, I must admit. That probably was a touchback, but if there is any merit to the idea of “conclusive evidence” no way can that be overturned with the camera angles given.

Interesting/Memorable Fact: This game marked the 1^st playoff game where both coaches had won multiple Super Bowls. In fact, from 2002-2011 (the timeframe for this countdown) the only other playoff game that had two coaches that had won any amount was the Giants and Packers divisional with McCarthy and Coughlin.

20.) 2008 AFC Divisional – (A6) Ravens 13 @ (A1) Titans 10

Review: In a game that was eerily similar to the 2000 Divisional meeting between these two teams, the Ravens won despite being outgained by 180 yards, the fourth largest margin since the 16-game schedule. The 3^rd largest margin? The Ravens over the Titans in 2000, who were outgained by 183. The Titans, off their almost unbelievable 13-3 season led by Kerry Collins, rolled up 391 yards of offense but were just 2-for-5 in the red zone, turning it over three times in the area. The Ravens really did nothing other than hang around and force those turnovers, with Flacco hitting just one big throw – an admittedly pretty 48-yard throw to Derrick Mason. The game also ended controversially, with the Ravens converting a 3^rd and 10 for 23 yards after snapping the ball a good two seconds after the play clock expired. There was never any good explanation given. Either way, in a game that featured a scary sense of déjà-vu, the most underrated playoff rivalry of the 2000s had its most memorable finish. With Matt Stover’s game winning field goal ushering the top-seed Titans out of the playoffs, again.

Interesting/Memorable Play: A key for the game was Chris Johnson leaving in the 2^nd quarter with an injury. He had rushed 11 times for 72 yards and caught a pass for 28 yards before he left, and he just seemed to be operating at a different speed than most of the Ravens defense. It might not have changed anything,, but the Titans were never really the same in the game after.

Interesting/Memorable Fact: This loss made some infamous history for Jeff Fisher, making him the 2^nd coach ever to go one-and-done with the top-seed multiple times (did it in 2000). The other was Marty Schottenheimer, who’s done it three times (’95, ’97, ’06).

19.) 2006 AFC Divisional – (A3) Colts 15 @ (A2) Ravens 6

Review: In a fascinating chess match between the league’s best offense (and probably most forgotten great offense of the 2000s) and the league’s best defense (and probably most forgotten great defense of the 2000s), the Colts won the 2^nd playoff game ever that featured no TDs. Peyton Manning, facing an epic defense, played the most highly praised bad game I have ever seen. He was just 15-30 for 170 yards and two picks (to Ed Reed, of course), but was only sacked once, confused the Ravens dominant pass rush and anchored four 50+ yard drives. McNair was worse, considering he wasn’t playing the Ravens defense, going 18-29 with two picks of his own. The story of the game, other than the kickers, was the Colts run game rushing for 100 yards against the league’s best run defense and the ultra-conservative nature of the Ravens attack. In the end, the Colts won a fun, if slightly defensive and offensively inept, game by out Raven-ing the Ravens.

Interesting/Memorable Play: What might have been the two biggest plays of the game were defined by each quarterback throwing to covered receivers. Down just 3-0, the Ravens had 3^rd and Goal from the 3, when McNair threw to Todd Heap who was double-covered at the goal line. Antoine Bethea picked it off, and the Ravens never got that close again. Then, on 3^rd and 5 with four minutes to go up 12-6, Manning iced the game with a ridiculously tight throw to Dallas Clark, who was draped by Corey Ivy. One guy made his throw, the other did not.

Interesting/Memorable Player: Ed Reed had what might have been his greatest game. He had two interceptions (the 2^nd one he lateralled to Chris McAlister right before going out of bounds, but the refs thought he was already out), a huge hit on Dallas Clark, another sure interception tipped away early by Ray Lewis, and a play where he ran from deep centerfield to the left sideline and leaped and took the ball away from Marvin (he came down out of bounds). Ed Reed was by far the best player that day on that field.

Tier V – The Good Games

18.) 2003 AFC Divisional – (A3) Colts 38 @ (A2) Chiefs 31

Review: In the 1^st playoff game ever to have no punts, the Colts played ‘Catch Me If You Can’ with the Chiefs, by outgunning them in Arrowhead. The only reason that this isn’t higher is other than the Chiefs first drive of the game, they never had the ball with a chance to tie the game. The Colts were that good, scoring on each of their six real possessions in the game (they ran out the clock in the other). The Colts didn’t play perfectly, as the Chiefs rolled up 408 yards on 60 plays, with a 176 yard day for Priest Holmes. The Chiefs even got a Kick-Off Return TD from DeAngelo Hall (remember him?). But Manning never wavered. He was flawless, going 22-30 for 304 yards and 3 tds, and Edgerrin James had his best playoff game of his career, with 125 yards on 26 carries and two TDs. The Colts made it look easy, and even though the Chiefs made it look almost as easy, the one turnover, a fumble by Priest Holmes in the beginning of the 2^nd quarter, was the only break the Colts needed.

Interesting/Memorable Fact: Manning entered the game off of his perfect passer rating day in Denver, and was nearly as good. For the two combined games, he was 44-56 (78.6%) for 681 yards (12.2 ypa!!) with 8 TDs and no picks. That’s a passer rating of 156.9, the highest ever by any QB ever in a two-game stretch.

17.) 2003 AFC Divisional – (A5) Titans 14 @ (A1) Patriots 17

Review: On a bitterly cold night, with wind chill at -10, the Patriots outlasted a game Titans team on Adam Vinatieri’s most forgotten clutch kick. The game started out fast, with the Patriots taking a 14-7 lead two minutes into the 3^rd quarter, but became a struggle after as the wind picked up. Brady had an odd day. On the good side, he didn’t turn the ball over and threw a gorgeous 41-yards TD to Bethel Johnson, but he also completed just 21 out of 41 passes. McNair was efficient, going 18-26 against the league’s best defense, but made two crucial mistakes. The 1^st was an interception. The 2^nd was a lot more harmful. After the Titans tied the game on a nifty TD catch-and-run by Derrick Mason, the Patriots ran a 33 yard drive leading to Vinatieri’s game winning field goal. However, that was still with 4:11 left on the clock. The game finished hauntingly. At the 2:00, the Titans had 2^nd and 3 at the Patriots 33 yard line, about ten yards out of reasonable field goal position. McNair then took an intentional grounding, which was followed up holding penalty. 2^nd and 3 became 3^rd and 23. After a nice gain, on 4^th an 11, McNair launched a pass that Drew Bennett dropped around the Patriots 10. End of game, and end of classic in the bitter, bitter cold.

Interesting/Memorable Play: The game ended strangely, with the Patriots, with 0:03 left, on 4^th and 15 actually running a play. Instead of risking  a punt return (a pretty minimal risk), Belichick instructed Brady to run backwards, run out the clock and launch a pass out-of-bounds. It worked perfectly, and the Patriots securely finished the game.

16.) 2010 AFC Divisional – (A5) Ravens 24 @ (A2) Steelers 31

Review: The two teams combined for 389 yards. That’s combined. They also combined for 55 points. This was the most defensive high-scoring game ever, and that weird dichotomy probably ruined it from being as memorable as it was. In many ways, this game was seeing both teams play defense as well as they could, but the Steelers did it just a little bit better. They both forced and recovered two fumbles, but the Steelers got the game’s only interception. The Ravens had five sacks, and the Steelers had six. Terrell Suggs had three sacks, and James Harrison answered him with three of his own. In the end, what is memorable is the Steelers not even flinching when falling down 21-7, and missing a field goal going into the half. The Steelers scored 17 points around two Ravens turnovers to take the lead, but credit the Ravens for coming back and tying it up. The final nail in the coffin, though, was a 58-yard bomb to Antonio Brown on 3^rd and 19 to set up the game winning TD run by Mendenhall. At the end, it was a far more entertaining game than one that features 11 punts, five turnovers and 389 yards of offense.

Interesting/Memorable Play: The Game essentially ended when TJ Houshmandzadeh dropped a 4^th and 18 pass that would have been a 1^st down on the final drive, but it really went bad for the Ravens when Anquan Boldin dropped a TD on 3^rd and Goal on the drive that tied it at 24.

Interesting/Memorable Fact: Here are the lengths of the TD drives in this game: Steelers: 80 (26 via penalty), 23, 25, 65; Ravens: 68 (28 via penalty), 0 (fumble return), 16. That’s how you get a 31-24 game. Have the seven TD drives combined be just 223 yards of offense.

15.) 2009 AFC Divisional – (A5) Jets 17 @ (A4) Chargers 14

Review: The 1^st of two great Jets upsets, Rex and Co. beat the Chargers, who entered the game on an 11-game winning streak. In reality, it was more the Chargers buying the sword that the Jets used to do the slaughtering. In perfect Chargers fashion, they did everything wrong. Nate Kaeding missed three field goals (two from inside 45 yards). They committed two 15-yard penalties that stifled late drives. They didn’t take advantage of a 1^st half where the Jets offense could do nothing. Philip Rivers threw two interceptions, the 2^nd of which was a horrible pass out of his own end zone. The Chargers did almost everything right besides these self-destructive plays, and the Jets took full advantage. Mark Sanchez did enough with what Philip Rivers gave him, and Shonn Greene continued his breakout posteason with 128 yards, including a dramatic, game-clinching 53 yard TD run to make it 17-7. Rex Ryan’s schemes didn’t work perfectly (Rivers threw for 298 yards), but they confused Philip just enough. It wasn’t the brilliant defensive performance that came a year later, but it was maybe more stunning. In a weekend where the three previous bye teams all won at a combined 99-20, the Chargers fell flat.

Interesting/Memorable Play: Rivers’ first interception was just a ridiculous play by Darrelle Revis, where he jostled the ball out of Jackson’s hands, and when they both fell to the ground, had it bounce of V-Jax’s ass, where Revis scooped it up. Almost as shocking as the play was the fact that the officials got it right on the field.

14.) 2012 NFC Divisional - (N5) Seahawks 28 @ (N1) Falcons 30

Review: The game was defined by what has made the Matt Ryan era so fascinating. First, was the 0-3 playoff record staring them in the face, included getting beaten by the collective score of 72-23 the previous two seasons. They finally broke that playoff barrier in the most Matt Ryan way possible, with a FG to win on a drive that started with less than 30 seconds to go, as he's done more in his career than anyone else. The game before that was a testament to how to come back in games: keep calm and play your game. The Seahawks fell behind 20-0 because they were partly unlucky and partly run over. They came back by not abandoning their offense, and Russell Wilson, who never had to lead such a comeback, did so with ease. His 385 yards passing on 36 attempts is unbelievable. He and the Seahawks played admirably in defeat, but this was Matt (B)Ryan(T)'s day, as the QB led the drive, and the old kicker banged it true from 47. The other story of the game was a resurgent Falcons run game. After being a weakness all year, the run game picked up for an average Matt Ryan game, with both Michael Turner and Jacquizz Rodgers getting over 6 yards a carry. In the end though, it was that 30 second drive. Two passes, to Harry Douglas and Tony Gonzalez. Matt Ryan needed just two passes to undo years of playoff failures and to avoid his most embarrassing potential failure yet.

Interesting/Memorable Player: Zach Miller was underused in the regular season, but the Seahawks quickly realized the Falcons were apparently unaware of the position of TE, and hit him repeatedly, as Miller finished with 8 catches for 145 yards and a TD. I hope for the Falcons sake they learned how to cover TEs over the offseason. 


13.) 2010 AFC Divisional – (A6) Jets 28 @ (A1) Patriots 21

Review: One year after beating the 13-3 Chargers who entered on a 11-game win streak, the Jets beat the 14-2 Patriots who entered on an 8-game win streak. Not only were the Patriots the best team in the NFL, but they had beaten the Jets 45-3 in that same stadium. Rex Ryan said he had to be better than Bill Belichick for one day, and he was. His defense masterfully confused Brady, dropping back into coverage and flooding the middle zones. Even when the Jets didn’t get pressure, Brady had nowhere to throw. It was scintillating defensive football. Mark Sanchez was confident, throwing for three TDs, including one on a ridiculous catch by Santonio Holmes. Rex Ryan called it the “2^nd biggest game in the Jets’ franchise history.” That could be debated, but it was a giant game that the Jets showed up for. I have never seen Brady that rattled without being pressured that much, and I have never seen or enjoyed, Gillette being that stunned in silence.

Interesting/Memorable Play: Brady entered the game having not thrown an interception since Week 6 against Baltimore. On the first drive of the game, Brady floated a screen pass that David Harris picked off. The audible gasp by the crowd was a harbinger of the awful day it would be for the Patriots.

Interesting/Memorable Fact: There was controversy as the game started, as Bill Belichick benched Wes Welker for the 1^st series after Welker playfully alluded to the alleged foot-fetish videos created by Rex Ryan and his wife. It was very clever, but probably out-of-bounds (don’t go after someone’s private sex life), and most certainly put the Patriots in a weird funk at the start.

11.) 2004 AFC Divisional – (A5) Jets 17 @ (A1) Steelers 20(OT)

Review: The 3^rd straight Jets game brings us to their most harrowing loss. In Ben Roethlisberger’s first playoff game following his astounding 14-0 rookie season, he looked very much like a rookie, throwing two interceptions including a key pick-6. The Steelers did lead the game 10-0, and had a lot of success on the ground, running for 193 yards (101 from Bettis), but the Jets led late 17-10 after returning a punt and pick for scores. After a nice drive was capped off with a Roethlisberger TD to Ward with 6 minutes to go, the Jets staged two drives into Steelers territory, but two missed kicks by Doug Brien, from 47 and 43 yards, and his life was never the same. Unlike Giants’ kicker Lawrence Tynes in the 2007 NFC Championship, Brien never got a 3^rd chance in OT. The Steelers won in OT on a kick by Jeff Reed, keeping their dream 15-1 season alive.

Interesting/Memorable Fact: Doug Brien attempted both his field goals into the open end of Heinz Field, which is historically incredibly tough to kick into. Of course, the next week, Adam Vinatieri would nail a 48-yarder into that same end, setting the record for the longest field goal into the open end (at the time).