Welcome to the MMQB’s Quarter-Century Week. All week we’ll be publishing lists, rankings and columns looking back at the past 25 NFL seasons. You can find all those stories here.
Earlier this week, Gilberto Manzano shared his ranking of the 25 best games of the past 25 years. But best and favorite are not always the same. So we asked our MMQB writers and editors to pick one favorite game of the 2000s.
There was one caveat: Everyone asked not to pick a game that was on Gilberto’s list. Instead of sticking to the classics, here we strayed a little bit from the beaten path to come up with games that were either personally meaningful or perhaps just underrated.
Out of nearly 7,000 regular-season and playoff games over the past 25 seasons, here are six that stand out.
Albert Breer
Date: Jan. 24, 2016 | AFC championship game
Final score: Broncos 20, Patriots 18
This was the 17th and final Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady game, and one that, I thought, highlighted the brilliance of both guys in a way that their shootouts didn’t—this one was hard on both of them.
For Manning, Father Time wasn’t just looming. He seemed to be leaning on the physical gifts that once made the Hall of Famer the first pick in the 1998 draft. The aftereffects of Manning’s neck surgeries of 2011, added to his age (39), finally caught the Broncos’ quarterback in ’15, to the point where the biggest question going into the playoffs was how much Manning’s limitations would hold a loaded Denver roster back—or even if Brock Osweiler was the team’s better option. After 17 picks in the Broncos’ first nine games, Gary Kubiak shut Manning down, in hopes they could bring him back at the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Brady’s Patriots were faced with a Denver defense among the best since 2000, loaded at every level with grizzled coordinator Wade Phillips at the controls. New England came in with a makeshift offensive line that lost left tackle Nate Solder in October, and now would have to deal with Von Miller at the absolute height of his powers.
This was two old prizefighters slugging it out.
Mentally, Manning had to be way ahead of the defense to write checks his arm would be able to cash, and early in the game, he was (relative) money. The Broncos’ first drive, aided by some iffy officiating, covered 83 yards in 11 plays, required a couple of third-and-long conversions, and ended on a Manning dime to Owen Daniels on a seam route. A few possessions later, Manning cashed in on a Miller interception with another touchdown throw to Daniels. Just as important was what Manning didn’t do. He had one unfortunate turnover (on an errant swing pass that was proved to be a lateral through a replay review), but otherwise, managed the game and the team, adjusting deftly to his new reality while playing to his defense.
Meanwhile, Brady’s repeated comeback attempts kept getting thwarted. Twice in the fourth quarter, the Patriots were stopped, down 20–12, on fourth downs in the red zone. Battered by Miller (2.5 sacks) and a relentless rush, the champion only had one swing left. On the game’s final drive, Brady converted a fourth-and-10 from midfield with about as pretty a throw-and-catch as you’ll ever see—hitting Rob Gronkowski in double coverage down the field. Four plays later, on fourth-and-goal from the 4, Brady and Gronk did it again, with the quarterback throwing the tight end open in heavy traffic, and the tight end willing himself to the ball to close the deficit to 20–18. The two-point conversion bounced off the tips of Julian Edelman’s fingers and into Bradley Roby’s belly to clinch it for Denver.
The Broncos bludgeoned the Panthers two weeks later to capture their third Lombardi Trophy.
Aesthetically, the game wasn’t how most fans, or the league office for that matter, would draw up a game of that magnitude. But for the final installment of the greatest quarterback rivalry ever, it was an awesome show of both guys having to dig deep to find a way out of the AFC bracket, as it should’ve been.
Conor Orr
Date: Dec. 24, 2011 | Week 16
Final score: Giants 29, Jets 14
As a former Jets beat reporter, having been steeped in both the accelerated pace of the Rex Ryan rebuild and the Giants’ cautious, plodding success during the best of the Eli Manning era, nothing was better than having these two teams play one another in a massive spot with gigantic implications on the line.
Even though, at the time, both of these teams looked like dying comets leading up to that particular week (both of them were blown out the week before) the reality was that, for the first time since 1988, the Jets and Giants were playing one another with playoff berths on the line. The team that won the game was not only going to receive the lift of local bragging rights but the lift provided by continued relevance.
I loathe you-have-to-be-there people, but you really had to be in that Jets locker room that week. Every second felt like at any moment someone would accidentally knock over a barrel of lit fireworks. Our entire newspaper staff was there, and we were writing like eight stories a day on this game (I remember being really sick but resolving myself to make it through locker room period before speeding home, throwing up, passing out and being woken by a call from our lead Jets beat writer, Jenny Vrentas, to talk about what I was writing that day). You just knew that losing this game, after Rex Ryan had spent his first three years on the job casually insulting the Giants and belittling their success, was going to pop the balloon in such a fantastic way.
I remember looking forward to filing a story then driving through the night to meet up with my family at my grandmother’s house for Christmas Eve dinner. Who the hell gets to do that for a living? I was young and had hair. Anything was possible.
And I’ll never forget the moment at 2:12 in the second quarter when Victor Cruz caught a short pass from Eli Manning and somehow Matrix-ed his way through a pair of Jets defenders, bursting 99 yards for a touchdown. The cacophony of noise in that stadium was earth shattering. The Jets had gotten out to an early 7–0 lead and held the Giants scoreless through the first quarter. I’ve never seen a more singularly gutting moment in a game, and the Giants raced out to a 20–7 lead before a minor Jets comeback in the fourth quarter.
The win powered the Giants into the playoffs and to one of the most unexpected Super Bowl runs in NFL history. Which, thanks to Cruz, I also got to cover.
Gilberto Manzano
Date: Dec. 8, 2022 | Week 14
Final score: Rams 17, Raiders 16
Baker Mayfield might never have had his career resurgence with the Buccaneers if it weren’t for his chaotic Week 14 back in 2022. On that Monday, Mayfield was waived by the Panthers, the second team in less than a year to tell the 2018 No. 1 pick of the Browns that he wasn’t good enough.
I remember the news breaking, because I rolled my eyes and unleashed a groan. I probably mumbled something like, Why the hell are the Rams making this move? At the time, I was covering the team for the Orange County Register and I was ready to coast for the rest of the season because the Rams were 3–9, on a six-game losing streak, and nearly all of their star players were on injured reserve, including Matthew Stafford, Aaron Donald and Cooper Kupp. That was the same season when the Rams had like a thousand different offensive line combinations.
Still, that didn’t stop Sean McVay from claiming Mayfield, and I’m glad the team wanted to see what it had in the talented quarterback because what Mayfield did three days later was one of the funniest and wildest games I’ve ever covered. Mayfield arrived in Los Angeles on Tuesday and his only practice of the week occurred Wednesday, before he was thrust into a prime-time game against the Raiders the following day. John Wolford ran the opening series, but was quickly pulled for Mayfield, who had a rough game until his fourth-quarter magic.
Trailing 16–10, it appeared Mayfield’s Rams were going to fall short with their late rally when the final drive started on their own 2-yard line. Then, a pair of Raiders penalties that negated an interception and a sack ignited the improbable game-winning drive. Mayfield had a 32-yard dime for Ben Skowronek and two more short completions before connecting with Van Jefferson on a 23-yard touchdown that gave L.A. a 17–16 advantage with 10 seconds left in regulation.
Mayfield started the final four games, going 1–3, and then signed with Tampa Bay in the offseason.
Matt Verderame
Date: Jan. 20, 2008 | NFC championship game
Final score: Giants 23, Packers 20 (OT)
The 2007 NFC title game had a little bit of everything.
The Packers were the NFC's second seed and trying to reach the Super Bowl for the first time in 10 seasons, with Brett Favre playing what turned out to be his final home game at Lambeau Field. Meanwhile, the fifth-seeded Giants had beaten the Buccaneers in the wild-card round before dispatching the No. 1 seed Cowboys one week later, bringing them to the precipice of a Super Bowl berth.
On this Sunday, the weather was minus-1 degrees, making it the third-coldest game in NFL history at the time, behind only the 1967 Ice Bowl and the ’81 Freezer Bowl. In those frigid conditions, the heavily-favored Packers fell behind 6–0 before rallying to take a 10–6 halftime lead, partially thanks to a 90-yard touchdown reception by Donald Driver.
In the second half, New York came back with a pair of rushing touchdowns from Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw before Green Bay sent the game to overtime on a 37-yard Mason Crosby field goal in the fourth quarter. In overtime, the Packers got the ball first, but Favre was intercepted in his own territory by cornerback Corey Webster.
After three plays and five yards gained, the Giants advanced to Super Bowl XLII on a 47-yard field goal by Lawrence Tynes.
The action was great, but the game will be forever remembered for Giants coach Tom Coughlin’s frozen red face, and Favre playing his final game as a member of the Packers. SI put together an oral history of the game 10 years after the fact.
John Pluym
Date: Jan. 9, 2005 | NFC wild-card round
Final score: Vikings 31, Packers 17
There was no doubt that I was going to pick a game between the Vikings and Packers. I’ve been a Vikings fan for most of my life and have witnessed many great games between the two teams. But no game over the past 25 years was better than the 2004 NFC wild-card game at Lambeau Field.
The Vikings had dropped both games to the Packers during the regular season by the exact score of 34–31, including the Week 15 game at the Metrodome in which Green Bay beat Minnesota for the division title.
I was not optimistic about the Vikings’ chances of winning on the road in the playoffs against the Packers. However, that’s precisely what they did, behind Daunte Culpepper & Co. and what receiver Kelly Campbell dubbed the team’s group of receivers: the AFROS (America’s Finest Receivers on Saturday or Sunday).
Culpepper had an unbelievable game, throwing four touchdown passes. Brett Favre had one of his worst playoff games ever, throwing four picks.
This game belonged to Minnesota’s receivers, who dominated the Packers’ secondary. And once again, it was Randy Moss who torched the Packers for a pair of touchdowns. One score, in particular, is still talked about today.
Leading 24–17 early in the fourth quarter and with a first down at Green Bay’s 34-yard line, Culpepper dropped back, rolled right, and found Moss streaking down the right side for a touchdown. Moss’s score is forever etched in Packers history for what he did after scoring and for the TV call by Fox’s Joe Buck.
This iconic moment, where he “shot the moon,” was met with criticism from some, including Buck, who called it a “disgusting act.” Moss was fined $10,000 for the celebration by the NFL. Later that week, he was asked by a local Twin Cities reporter how he planned to pay the fine. His response: “Straight cash, homie!”
And, yes, the Packers have won more Super Bowls than the Vikings. So if you’re a Packers fan, save it!
Mitch Goldich
Date: Nov. 15, 2010 | Week 10
Final score: Eagles 59, Washington 28
I was tempted to write about the Week 18 Sunday-night game between the Chargers and Raiders to cap the 2021 regular season that nearly wrecked havoc on the playoff bracket by ending in a tie, but everyone else is being sincere so I guess I will, too.
I’m fortunate to have covered some great games in my 10-plus years with SI, but a game I attended as a fan a few years before my time here still holds a special place in my football fan heart. It also happens to be one of the best games an NFL quarterback has ever played.
It was Monday night in Week 10 of the 2010 season and the Eagles were in Washington. This was longtime Eagle Donovan McNabb’s first season after he was traded out of town to a division rival. McNabb had won the initial revenge game in Philly in Week 4, and earlier the day of the second game, reports had come out that Washington signed him to a five-year, $78 million extension. (Initial contract reports never tell the whole truth; he played four more games for Washington.)
Anyway, this was the night Michael Vick exploded. The first play from scrimmage was an 88-yard touchdown bomb to DeSean Jackson, and the team kept pouring it on. The first play of the second quarter was a 48-yard touchdown to Jeremy Maclin that put the Eagles up 35–0. I was sitting in the upper deck with a friend and I saw something I have never seen in another game: Fans who had paid hard-earned money for tickets were heading for the exits in the first quarter. It was over that early. Vick finished with six touchdowns (four passing, two rushing), and I’m convinced the Eagles could have scored 75 points if they wanted to.
I remember driving home and the national postgame radio show was discussing whether it was the greatest game a quarterback had ever played. That offseason, ESPN unveiled QBR as a new all-in-one quarterback metric, and the accompanying explanation said Vick’s game was a 99.8 out of 100, as if to say, “So trust us.”
I have since seen the Eagles play in three Super Bowls and win two of them (though I only saw LVII and LIX in person), but that game, from a different period of my life when it wasn’t my job to write or edit afterward, will always stick with me.
More From MMQB Quarter-Century Week
This article was originally published on www.si.com as MMQB Staff Shares Their Favorite Games of the Past 25 Years.
