Top 10 NFL wild-card games of all time
Honorable mention
1993: Green Bay Packers 28, Detroit Lions 24
The 9-7 Packers finished third in the NFC Central and traveled to take on the division champion Lions in their first playoff game since 1982. The battle featured a tremendous ending at the Silverdome as the legend of Brett Favre began. The future Hall of Famer hit Sterling Sharpe down the right sideline for a 40-yard touchdown with under a minute left, leading the Packers to a 28-24 victory.
1993: Kansas City Chiefs 27, Pittsburgh Steelers 24
The AFC West champion Chiefs took on the 9-7 Steelers in what was another classic during the 1993 wild-card round. The game was highly contested throughout, with Pittsburgh taking a 10-point lead into the half, and maintaining a touchdown advantage in the fourth quarter. However, Joe Montana would throw a touchdown to Tim Barnett late in regulation to tie the game, and the Chiefs would complete the rally with a game-winning field goal by Nick Lowery in overtime.
1997: Minnesota Vikings 23, New York Giants 22
The Giants went from worst to first in the NFC East to host this game against a Vikings team that started hot at 8-2, but stumbled to a 9-7 finish. While the game saw primarily field goals early, New York looked like the better team, leading Minnesota 19-3 at halftime. The Vikings closed the gap a bit, but a Giants field goal made it 22-13 halfway through the fourth. That’s when magic struck, as Randall Cunningham threw a 30-yard touchdown to Jake Reed, the Vikings recovered an onside kick and Eddie Murray kicked a game-winning field goal to stun the Giants and give Minnesota its first playoff win in nine years.
2000: New Orleans Saints 31, St. Louis Rams 28
The defending Super Bowl champion Rams finished 10-6 in 2000, but were second in the NFC West, leading to an opening-round playoff game at the NFC South champion Saints. Led by three touchdown connections from Aaron Brooks to Willie Jackson, the Saints looked like the surprisingly better offense for most of the day, leading 31-7 early in the fourth quarter. However, Kurt Warner rallied the Rams with three consecutive touchdowns to cut the deficit to 31-28. With the Rams set to get the ball back with under two minutes remaining, Az-Zakir Hakim muffed the ensuing punt, preserving the close win for the Saints.
2011: Denver Broncos 29, Pittsburgh Steelers 23
At the height of Tebow mania came one of the more memorable wild-card games of the past 15 years. The Broncos just snuck into the playoffs at 8-8 to win the AFC West, as Tim Tebow and Denver won some truly miraculous games down the stretch. While the 12-4 Steelers were a heavy favorite, the Broncos took a 20-6 lead, a deficit Pittsburgh would eventually rally from to take the game to overtime. On the first play of the period, Tebow hit a streaking Demaryius Thomas for an 80-yard score, giving the Broncos yet another improbable win.
11 years ago today, the late Demaryius Thomas caught a pass over the middle from Tim Tebow and raced 80 yards for a touchdown in overtime to help the underdog #Broncos beat the #Steelers in the playoffs. pic.twitter.com/6VSXBAjxSc
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 8, 2023
