Elway drive

The divisional playoffs are the most fun weekend in the NFL. Unlike wild-card weekend, all the best teams are in action and usually at least 5-6 teams playing have realistic Super Bowl hopes. I’ve compiled eight memories from this round of competition. The selections are based on the history of the teams playing, and aren’t necessarily the best games (for example, the epic 2001 “Tuck Rule” game where New England beat Oakland in the snow isn’t here). But all have their own special place in history. Included with each recollection is a YouTube selection related to the game…

1985: New England 27 LA Raiders 20: Back in the days when the Raiders were still in Los Angeles, and Hollywood had two teams rather than none, the Patriots were a lightly regarded #5 seed who had upset the Jets in the first game, but seen as unlikely to do further damage. What the NFL world wanted to see was Marcus Allen’s Raiders play Dan Marino’s Dolphins for the AFC Championship. But the Raiders turned it over six times, including three interceptions from mediocre quarterback Marc Wilson. The game was still tied 20-20 in the third quarter, when LA’s Sam Seale fumbled a kickoff. The ball bounced back towards the end zone where New England’s Jim Bowman recovered it for the game’s final points. One week later the ’85 Pats became the first team to win three straight road playoff games when they beat Miami. Check out the video tribute to that historic playoff run…

1989: Denver 24 Pittsburgh 23: Denver was after its third AFC title in four years and held the top seed in this year’s playoffs. Pittsburgh had scraped its way into the playoffs and then upset the Houston Oilers in overtime in the wild-card round. Current ESPN analyst Merril Hoge was brilliant in this postseason for Pittsburgh and had compiled 180 all-purpose yards today. Pittsburgh led 17-10 and after a John Elway TD pass tied it, Pittsburgh launched consecutive drives into the red zone, but had to settle for field goals both times. That would prove to be the difference as Elway drove his team 71 yards for the winning score. The Denver quarterback and current team president was the hottest star in the Rocky Mountains then and one of the hottest in the nation. Which is why it disturbs me that this commercial was actually seen as cutting-edge. Were we that much in the Dark Ages back then…

1991: Denver 26 Houston 24: Elway is remembered for his epic drive to win the 1986 AFC Championship Game, but his performance in this game is right up there with it. The Oilers jumped out to a 14-0 lead behind two quick touchdown passes from Warren Moon and still led 21-6 in the first half and 24-16 in the fourth quarter. There was no two-point conversion in the NFL at this time, so this was a two-possession game. An 80-yard drive led by Elway cut the lead to a point. He then got the ball back on his own two, converted a pair of fourth downs and set up a game-winning field goal. The entire drive is preserved on YouTube…

1992: San Francisco 20 Washington 13: I remember watching this game at the bar where a friend was having her college graduation party. It was a sloppy affair throughout, as both teams turned it over four times and the ‘Skins were unable to cash in the opportunities top-seeded Frisco kept handing them. Mark Rypien fumbled a snap when driving a potential lead touchdown in the fourth quarter, and when San Fran led 20-13 late, Ricky Sanders dropped a 3^rd-and-17 pass around midfield. Since I made you read the perspective of a Redskins fan, the video is compiled as a 49er highlight. Listen to at least the first couple minutes and you’ll hear John Madden in rare form…

2006: New Orleans 27 Philadelphia 24: The Saints were looking for their first-ever trip to an NFC Championship Game. The game was back-and-forth throughout and New Orleans was looking to put the game away on a drive down to the Philly 35. A high pitch from Drew Brees to Reggie Bush resulted in a fumble and the Eagles recovered. They couldn’t do anything with their new life though and punted it away, and New Orleans killed the last 1:57 on the clock. The signature player in this game wasn’t Brees, Bush or Donovan McNabb. It was NOR running back Deuce McAllister, who rushed for 143 yards on 21 carries. The video below is taken at the game from a fan with good seats that lets you soak up the post-game celebration in the Big Easy…

2007: Green Bay 42 Seattle 20: The Packers were the #2 seed and hosting the Seattle Seahawks. It had been  nine years since Mike Holmgren left Green Bay to run his own operation in Seattle, but there was still something special about having Brett Favre’s first mentor in the house for a game of this magnitude. The field was covered in snow and it didn’t start well for the Packers. Running back Ryan Grant fumbled the first play from scrimmage, resulting in a Seahawk touchdown. He fumbled the ensuing kickoff and suddenly it was 14-0. But Grant, Favre and the rest of the Packers got into gear quickly. Grant rushed for over 200 yards. Favre threw three touchdown passes, and it was 28-17 by halftime and the Pack was never challenged in the second half. The video below shows a Green Bay fan from California longing to be in the snow-covered Midwest…

2007: NY Giants 21 Dallas 17: Dallas was the top seed and looking to reach the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1995. They did a good job containing the Giant running game, and Tony Romo led two touchdown drives of 90-plus yards in the first half. Those drives were sandwiched between a pair of Eli Manning scoring strikes and it was 14-14 at half. Dallas got a 17-14 lead, but New York got in the end zone with 2:27 left and then held off Romo’s last drive, as R.W. McQuarters intercepted him in the end zone. The biggest difference in the game though, was 11 Dallas penalties. In the video below, a Cowboy fan gives a post-game speech that makes you wonder what’s become of his life since…

2008: Baltimore 13 Tennessee 10: The #1 seed Titans controlled the line of scrimmage, rushing for 116 yards and holding the Ravens to 50. Kerry Collins outpassed rookie Joe Flacco 275-161. But it was the veteran Collins, not the rookie Flacco, who kept making the big mistakes. Collins fumbled a snap and threw an interception to stop drives deep into Baltimore territory and that was the difference in the game, as Raven kicker Matt Stover hit a 43-yard field goal with less than a minute to play. See the enthusiastic fans greet the team as they arrive in their complex at Owings Mills, the town on the northwest side of the city where I used to work…