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.
It’s hard to believe that two years after John Elway retired, the Broncos had the No. 2 total offense in the league despite a quarterback tandem of Brian Griese and Gus Frerotte.
I found that nugget while reading Albert Breer’s piece on how strange the 2000 season was, one of many stories at The MMQB this week highlighting the past 25 years in the NFL. The 2000 Broncos were already on my mind because I pitched this story on random breakout games and I quickly thought about Mike Anderson’s rookie year in Denver.
At the time, before running backs were viewed as plug-and-play pieces, the Broncos were lauded for their run-blocking scheme that helped Terrell Davis win MVP in 1998 with 2,008 rushing yards and Olandis Gary amass 1,159 on the ground while filling in for the injured Davis in ’99. Still, there was no way that a third-stringer could be just as productive as those two running backs. That was before Anderson got his first start in Week 2 due to injuries to Davis and Gary, as the Broncos rode the sixth-round rookie for 31 carries, 131 yards and two touchdowns to defeat the Falcons on Sept. 10, 2000.
Anderson finished with 1,487 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns, and was named Offensive Rookie of the Year. Strangely, Anderson struggled the following four seasons before resurfacing with another 1,000-yard season in 2005.
After Anderson’s rookie year, the Broncos had plenty of success with Clinton Portis, but the team traded him to Washington in 2004 for Hall of Fame cornerback Champ Bailey (and a second-round pick!). Denver went on to churn out more 1,000-yard rushers in Reuben Droughns (’04) and Tatum Bell (’06). After the one-sided trade, more and more teams decided to copy the Shanahan system and the value of the running back declined over the next 20 years.
The Broncos alone have produced some of the most notable breakout performances of this century. But this entire story can’t be all about the Broncos’ running backs. For the sake of not typing 10,000-plus words (here are 4,000 words on my top 25 games this century), I decided to narrow my list to my 12 favorite breakout games in the past 25 years—and five other performances in my honorable mention section because I couldn’t help myself.
Maddox vs. Holcomb playoff game
Steelers 36, Browns 33 | Jan. 5, 2003
I’m kicking myself a bit for not including this AFC wild-card battle in my top 25 games. This playoff classic featured Steelers quarterback Tommy Maddox, fresh off winning an XFL title (and MVP) with the Los Angeles Xtreme, outlasting Browns quarterback Kelly Holcomb, the undrafted free agent who replaced 1999 No. 1 pick Tim Couch. Maddox, the Comeback Player of the Year, threw for 367 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Holcomb recorded 429 passing yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
It was Cleveland’s first playoff game in eight years, and its first since the franchise was brought back after the old Browns left for Baltimore in 1996. Couch was tasked with igniting the new franchise, but the jolt didn’t occur until Holcomb unseated Couch for the starting job. Holcomb had chemistry with then offensive coordinator Bruce Arians and flashed in the epic playoff battle. But it wasn’t enough after Maddox’s Steelers erased a 24–7 deficit in the second half and produced a game-winning drive in the final minute.
Maddox was the Steelers’ starter in 2003, before an injury in ’04 opened the door for rookie Ben Roethlisberger to take over. Maddox was a backup on the Pittsburgh team that won Super Bowl XL. Holcomb started eight more games the season after the playoff thriller before ending up on the infamous Browns jersey with all the names of the team’s failed quarterbacks.
Epic Volek, Bennett run of ’04
Chiefs 49, Titans 38 | Dec. 13, 2004
Quarterback Billy Volek and wide receiver Drew Bennett had an unreal three-game December run that somehow ended with the Titans losing all three games.
First, Volek was thrust back into the lineup for the injured Steve McNair in Week 13 vs. the Colts, recording 269 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. All three touchdowns passes went to Bennett, who had three catches for 124 yards in the 51–24 loss to the Colts. The following week, on Monday Night Football, Bennett erupted for 12 receptions, 233 yards and three touchdowns in the 49–38 loss to the Chiefs, who allowed Volek to torch them for 426 yards and four touchdowns.
In the third game, Volek lit up the Raiders for 492 yards, five total touchdowns (one rushing) and one interception. Bennett had 13 catches for 160 yards and two touchdowns. The Titans went on to finish 5–11, with Volek starting only one more game in the final six seasons of his career. Bennett finished that season with 80 catches for 1,247 yards and 11 touchdowns and never came close to those statistics again in his final four seasons.
Brown, Williams help Dolphins unleash ‘Wildcat’
Dolphins 38, Patriots 13 | Sept. 21, 2008
The Dolphins, who went 1–15 in 2007, baffled the Patriots, then winners of 21 consecutive regular-season games, when they had running back Ronnie Brown in the shotgun as quarterback and running back Ricky Williams going back and forth in motion.
After a three-and-out opening drive, the Dolphins scored three touchdowns on three consecutive drives and began the Wildcat craze in the NFL, a popular play in the high school and college games that few outside the Miami offense expected to work in the pro game. Even the Miami defensive players pleaded with the offense to not try the Wildcat in an actual game as it often failed in practices.
But the confusing play led to Brown and Williams combining for 211 rushing yards. Brown even logged a passing attempt, a 19-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Fasano for a 28–6 advantage in the third quarter. Miami’s creativity paid off with an 11–5 record and an AFC East title (in the season when Matt Cassel filled in for an injured Tom Brady).
Random shootout between Quinn, Stafford
Lions 38, Browns 37 | Nov. 22, 2009
One of the most unexpected shootouts to take place this century occurred between the Lions and Browns, two teams at the bottom of the standings with identical 1–8 records.
Matthew Stafford, the rookie No. 1 pick, evaded multiple team doctors who were concerned about his shoulder before making his way back on the field to throw the game-winning pass to Brandon Pettigrew as time expired. Stafford threw for 422 yards and five touchdowns, becoming the first rookie to throw that many touchdowns in a game since 1937. Brady Quinn, the struggling 2007 first-round pick of the Browns, had career highs in touchdowns (four), passing yards (304) and passer rating (133.1).
Speaking of breakout games, Browns wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi had five catches for 115 yards and one touchdown. Calvin Johnson had a game-high seven catches for 161 yards and one touchdown.
McFadden finally flashes in 4-TD performance
Raiders 59, Broncos 14 | Oct. 24, 2010
Darren McFadden had plenty of hype heading into the NFL as one of the most versatile running backs the college game had seen since Reggie Bush. But the Raiders’ coaching staff struggled to utilize McFadden’s vast skill set, leading to a quiet rookie year for the 2008 No. 4 pick. It got worse the following year, with McFadden limited to 357 rushing yards in 12 games.
In Year 3, it finally clicked. McFadden had a strong start to the season, but at one point, it appeared his breakout season was going to be short-lived because of a nagging hamstring injury. In Week 7, however, McFadden torched the Broncos for 165 rushing yards and four total touchdowns. The Silver and Black set a franchise record for most points scored in a single game.
McFadden finished the season with 1,157 rushing yards, only one of two times in his career that he reached 1,000 rushing yards (the second coming in 2015 with the Cowboys).
Hillis runs all over Patriots
Browns 34, Patriots 14 | Nov. 7, 2010
Peyton Hillis, a 2008 seventh-round pick of the Broncos, was a nice surprise in the first month of the 2010 season, his first with Cleveland. But his production had drastically declined in the three games before the 2–5 Browns hosted the 6–1 Patriots, who were winners of five consecutive games.
But Hillis hit another gear and his career performance had the Patriots kneeling in the final minute to call it quits. Hillis rushed 29 times for 184 yards and two touchdowns, including a 35-yard run to put the game away in the final three minutes of regulation. Hillis finished the season with 1,177 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns, and was named the cover player for Madden ’12 before slowly disappearing the following four seasons.
Cruz surprises Eagles, debuts salsa celebration
Giants 29, Eagles 16 | Sept. 25, 2011
Victor Cruz made a name for himself as an undrafted rookie, finishing the 2010 preseason as the leading receiver with 297 yards, including 145 yards and three touchdowns against the Jets. But Cruz only played in three games in the regular season due to a hamstring injury and began his second season buried on the team’s depth chart as the No. 4 wideout for Eli Manning.
Everything changed after Cruz caught the Eagles by surprise in Week 3 and debuted his salsa dance moves after his first career touchdown. Cruz made Eagles defenders collide, running up the left sideline during his memorable 74-yard touchdown to give the Giants a 14–0 advantage in the first quarter. Cruz finished the game with three catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns, and showed off his salsa moves often throughout the 2011 season (82 catches, 1,536 yards, nine touchdowns).
Muscle Hamster rushes for 251 yards in homecoming game
Buccaneers 42, Raiders 32 | Nov. 4, 2012
Doug Martin, a 2012 first-round pick, was in the midst of a productive rookie season and coming off a stellar performance against the Vikings (214 yards from scrimmage) before proving in Week 9 that he was capable of doing a whole lot more.
The Muscle Hamster’s actual breakout game occurred in front of his friends and family in Oakland, where he was born. Martin delivered a whopping 251 rushing yards against the Raiders to set a Buccaneers single-game franchise record. He had touchdowns, including runs of 45, 67 and 70 yards.
The Boise State product went on to finish his memorable rookie season with 1,454 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns, his best season of his seven-year career. However, he did rush for 1,402 yards and was named an All-Pro in 2015.
Mullens comes out of nowhere to beat Raiders
49ers 34, Raiders 3 | Nov. 1, 2018
Not many people had heard of Nick Mullens when he made his starting debut for the 49ers as C.J. Beathard’s replacement during a Thursday Night Football game against the Raiders. By the end of the night, Mullens received a phone call from Brett Favre and his Twitter account was verified.
Mullens, the 2017 undrafted free agent out of Southern Miss, threw for 262 yards and three touchdowns, and had a passer rating of 151.9, the highest for a quarterback with at least 15 passing attempts in an NFL debut since the 1970 merger, according to the Associated Press.
Mullens went on to be a quality backup and a quarterback who can get hot in a hurry. He had three games with at least 300 passing yards starting for the Vikings late in the 2023 season, including a random back-and-forth Saturday game against Jake Browning’s Bengals in Week 15.
Gabe Davis’s 4 TDs lost in 13 seconds
Chiefs 42, Bills 36 (OT) | Jan. 23, 2022
Gabe Davis probably would have been remembered as a Bills legend had his 201 receiving yards and four touchdowns been enough to beat the Chiefs in the divisional round of the 2021 season.
Josh Allen threw two go-ahead touchdowns to Davis in the final two minutes of regulation during the wild back-and-forth playoff classic, including one with 13 seconds left. But that was too much time for Patrick Mahomes, who produced the game-tying drive before the Chiefs won it in overtime, never allowing Allen and Davis back on the field for a potential fifth touchdown because the coin flip went Kansas City’s way.
Davis went back to being a role player after his magical performance. He’s never had a 1,000-yard season and had only 239 yards last season in Jacksonville.
Honorable mention
Lloyd’s rollercoaster career (Sept. 25, 2005)
After minimal flashes in his first two seasons with the 49ers, Lloyd dominated the Cowboys in Week 3 of his third season, recording four catches for 142 yards and two touchdowns. It took until his eighth year in the league to finally have a breakout season with the Broncos in 2010, when he recorded a league-high 1,448 receiving yards.
Foster builds off starting debut (Jan. 3, 2010)
Running back Arian Foster, a 2009 undrafted free agent, made the most of his first career start, rushing 20 times for 119 yards and two touchdowns in Week 17 against the Patriots. Foster rushed for a league-leading 1,616 yards and 16 touchdowns the following season.
Matt Flynn earns a payday (Jan. 1, 2012)
Sitting pretty with a 14–1 record, the Packers gave backup Matt Flynn one start in Week 17. He threw for 480 yards and six touchdowns in a 45–41 win over the Lions. The Seahawks then gave him a three-year, $26 million contract that offseason, though he was beaten out for the starting job by a rookie Russell Wilson.
Jonas Gray’s SI cover week (Nov. 16, 2014)
Jonas Gray played 16 career regular-season games for three teams in two seasons. In the fourth of those games, he ran 37 times for 201 yards and four touchdowns in a Patriots win over the Colts—making him an unlikely SI cover man.
Who needs Bell? (Sept. 9, 2018)
Running back James Conner rushed 31 times for 135 yards and two touchdowns in Week 1 vs. the Browns in the Steelers’ first game without Le’Veon Bell, who missed the entire season due to a contract dispute.
Dobbs delivers on short notice with new team (Nov. 5, 2023)
Joshua Dobbs had two breakout games with two different teams in 2023. He helped the Cardinals beat the Cowboys in Week 3 as Kyler Murray’s injury replacement. But his Vikings debut in Week 9 was even better. A few days after the Vikings executed a trade with the Cardinals in the aftermath of Kirk Cousins’s Achilles injury, Dobbs delivered the game-winning drive on the road against the Falcons. Dobbs threw for 158 yards, rushed for 66 yards and had three total touchdowns.
More From MMQB Quarter-Century Week
This article was originally published on www.si.com as The Most Memorable Random Breakout Games of the Past 25 Years.
