By the end of this weekend the NFL season will be down to the final four. The “Best of the Best”. With all of the top seeds still remaining in the playoffs it’s setting up to be a great weekend of playoff action. Last week’s final game was one for the ages, and let’s hope we have more of that coming up for all of us.
Historically this is the greatest weekend for the playoffs, at least in my view. The Divisional Round always gives us the best match-ups with desperate teams fighting to the bitter end. So with that said, here are the top Divisional Round playoff games in NFL history. Again, the years listed here are the seasons in which the games were played, not the actual year they were played.
1971 Miami at Kansas City – The longest game in NFL history. Statistically the game was about as even as it gets. The duo of Larry Csonka and Jim Kiick paced Miami, while Kansas City relied on the efforts of Ed Podolak, who had over 350 total yards for the game. Played on Christmas night, the Dolphins and the Chiefs went toe-to-toe into the sixth quarter before Garo Yepremian finally won the game for Miami on a 37 yard field goal. The Dolphins used the game to propel themselves to what would be the first of three consecutive Super Bowl appearances. For Kansas City however, the loss would mark the end of a remarkably competitive run for the team that began with the inception of the American Football League over a decade earlier. The Chiefs wouldn’t see the playoffs again for another 15 years.
1974 Miami at Oakland
– The “Sea of Hands” game. As Miami’s win in Kansas City ended the Chiefs era of dominance in 1971, this game would result in the end of the mighty Dolphin Dynasty. It began with an opening kickoff return by Miami’s Nat Moore that went the distance for an early touchdown, and never let up. For the remainder of the game the teams would trade scores, with the lead changing hands over and over until Miami’s Benny Malone scored on a great run with just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter. Showing no fear, and demonstrating the innate two-minute ability that would become his trademark, Oakland quarterback Ken Stabler led the Raiders down the field on a drive that would stop deep in Dolphin territory. With seconds remaining Stabler dropped back, and as he was falling to the ground from the Miami pass rush, shot-putted the ball into the corner of the end zone where a swarm of Dolphin defenders waited to intercept the pass. Instead, Raiders running back Clarence Davis, who wasn’t known as a good pass receiver, reached the ball first, and fighting off the Dolphins, held onto the ball to give the Raiders a classic 28-26 victory.
1977 Oakland at Baltimore – “Ghost to the Post”. Another Oakland playoff game, another classic Stabler performance, only this time tight end Dave Casper would be on the receiving end. As the defending Super Bowl champions the Raiders had a good regular season, losing only three games. They didn’t win their division however, and would have to face the Colts in Baltimore. A relatively low-scoring first half would give way to an all-out offensive explosion by both teams after half-time. In another double-overtime thriller, both teams exchanged the lead throughout the second half when it appeared by all accounts that the Colts had finally put away the visitors. In the waning moments Stabler once again drove the Raiders down the field for the tying field goal. The game would eventually reach two overtimes before Stabler connected for a third touchdown pass to Casper that ended one of the longest games ever played, 37-31.
1981 San Diego at Miami – The Epic in Miami. Of all the games on any list, this is the one I consider to be the greatest of all time. Unfortunately, the heat and humidity of the Miami night would take a huge toll on both teams, which only added to the drama. After the Chargers raced to a 24-0 lead in the second quarter, Miami coach Don Shula replaced his young and ineffective quarterback David Woodley with veteran Don Strock. Behind Strock the Dolphins mounted a comeback that included the famous “hook and ladder” play and near the end of the game Miami held a touchdown lead. San Diego quarterback Dan Fouts, aided by a Hall of Fame performance by tight end Kellen Winslow, kept the Chargers alive with a touchdown pass in the dying moments of regulation and the game moved into overtime. Players on both teams gave literally everything they had as they struggled with heat exhaustion, cramps and dehydration for the entire night. In a game that “nobody should have lost”, a game that had everything you would want finally ended late in overtime on a field goal made by San Diego kicker Rolf Bernirschke with a score of 41-38.
1986 NY Jets at Cleveland – In another double-overtime nail-biter, the Cleveland Browns advanced their first AFC Championship, ready to erase the painful memory of “Red Right 88”. After a Freeman McNeil touchdown run put the Jets up by 10 in the fourth quarter, Bernie Kosar and the Browns stormed back to tie the game with a late field goal by kicker Mark Moseley. Through one overtime and missed opportunities to win by both teams, the game moved to a second extra period. There, Moseley would again score the deciding points, ending a game that appeared to be all but over in the fourth quarter. Ironically, the next week the Browns would lose the AFC Championship in another overtime game by the identical score, 23-20.
Divisional playoff games never seem to disappoint. At least one or two approach “classic” status every year, and hopefully, this year will be no different. The upcoming games we have scheduled for our enjoyment this week have all the potential to end up on a list like this one. Let’s see if they will. Next week: a look at the greatest conference championship games in NFL history.
