Best Sport Playoff Games of the 21st Century

In the NFL, there is one game that rules them all: the Super Bowl.

Only a handful of teams even make it to the big game, because they have to navigate through the shark-infested waters known as the playoffs. This century has contained some of the greatest playoff games where Davids have beaten Goliaths and Rocky Balboas have upset Apollo Creeds.

Included in this list are Super Bowls, Conference Championships, and Divisional Round games, resulting in some of the best entertainment on television. These are the Top 5 Best NFL Playoff Games of the 21st Century prior to the already legendary Super Bowl LI.

Number 5: Cowboys – Green Bay, 2017

No one thought that the Dallas Cowboys would win the NFC East, let alone make it into the playoffs this year. After losing Tony Romo in the preseason games, the recently drafted Dak Prescott was called upon to man the helm. With help from fellow rookie Ezekiel Elliott, Prescott led his team to a 13-3 record and the top seed in the NFC.

The Packers had a much different story as they began the season with a 4-6 record. With a promise to run the table, Aaron Rodgers led Green Bay to another NFC North Title, and the Divisional Round against Dallas.

The Packers came bursting through the gate and led the Cowboys 21-3 with 7 minutes left in the first half. But with a couple of clutch plays, Prescott put his team back in the game, and by the 4th quarter Dallas was within 8 points of Green Bay. #4 engineered yet another comeback tying the game, which put the heat back on Rodgers.

With one more shot to take the lead, America’s Team fell short, as the Green and Gold advanced to the NFC Championship. It was still a great season for the Cowboys, and their hopes and dreams are alive because they now have two star rookies in Dak and Zeke.

Number 4: Rams – Titans, 2000

After playing a horrible season of football ending with a 4-12 season, the Rams were hopeful the last year of the 20th century would be better for them. Unfortunately, their starting QB, Trent Green, went down with an ACL tear and the meteoric rise of Kurt Warner began. The former Northern Iowa QB had a historically good season, and with running back Marshall Faulk at his side they were dubbed “The greatest show on turf.” Ultimately, the two led their team to a Super Bowl berth against the AFC Champions, The Tennessee Titans.

Both teams had little success offensively in the first half, but things started to change quickly in the second half. Kurt Warner took his team down the field, leading to a Rams touchdown and just like that a 16-0 lead on the Titans. But just when everyone thought it was over, McNair rallied his teammates all the way back to tie the game 16-16. Immediately after the play, Warner threw a touchdown putting his team back on top.

As the Titans scrambled to score on the last play of the game, their dreams were shattered as Mike Jones tackled Kevin Dyson inches away from the goal line. This play has gone down in history as “the tackle,” and it ultimately allowed St. Louis to bring home all the chips.

Number 3: Colts – Patriots, 2006

Peyton Manning had an incredibly successful career at the University of Tennessee. He did not disappoint in Indianapolis, and he led his team to the postseason on a yearly basis. However, his continual failure to get the Colts to the big game left question marks everywhere. Enter the 2006 NFL season: The Indy QB cruised through the playoffs on to the AFC championship against the Patriots.

Things looked ugly from the very beginning. The Pats scored on a fumble recovery and a pick-six, taking a monster lead of 21-6 at the half. Indianapolis rallied and began making a furious comeback as they scored 32 points in the second half, knocking off Brady and Co., and bringing Indianapolis its first ever Super Bowl berth. Manning ultimately brought home the Lombardi and began setting records on a seasonal basis.

Number 2: Patriots – Rams, 2001

The 2001 season brought with it another Cinderella-esque story with the New England Patriots attempting to finally win their first Super Bowl after losing their previous three. Led by second-year quarterback, Tom Brady, the Pats successfully made it through the playoffs and on to the Granddaddy of NFL games. The only thing standing in their way was the heavily favored, 1999 Super Bowl champion Rams team.

With their offense clicking on all cylinders, the Rams got off to a hot start and began moving the chains. However, due to a strong opposing defense, Warner and his team found themselves in an 11 point hole at the end of the first half. The former Super Bowl champion led a staunch comeback and tying the game at 17-17. But with the final play of the game, Adam Viniateri scored a field goal ending any chances of returning a second Lombardi back to St. Louis. After four Super Bowls, New England had finally won the big game, and two shining stars were born in Brady and Belichick.

Number 1: Giants – Patriots, 2008

David meets Goliath, this was a historic moment for the New England Patriots who had just come off of an impressive 18-0 season on pace to set an NFL record by being the only team in NFL history to win 19 games in a season. Little did Brady know that Eli Manning and the boys in blue had other plans to crush TB12’s dreams in Super Bowl XLII.

New England held the G-men to 3 points for 3 quarters and panic was in the air among Giants fans. During the 4th quarter, Manning scored a TD gaining the lead over the Pats. But Brady was too fast and led a scoring drive shortly after.

With 2 minutes left in the game Eli managed to escape several defenders and threw a bomb down to David Tyree who caught the ball right against his helmet, becoming known as “the helmet catch.” This led to a Plaxico Burress score and a NYC Super Bowl victory. Just like that a shot at history for New England went down in flames, and the party that could have been theirs was being was hijacked by NYC.