The 1978 NFL season was marked by dramatic changes. The schedule was expanded to 16 games and significant rule changes were implemented to make it easier for the passing game to function. The postseason format itself was not exempt from the prevailing winds. The NFL, which then used a three-division-per-conference format made an addition to […]
In the wake of Stefon Diggs’ stunning walkoff touchdown that enabled the Minnesota Vikings to beat the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, the question immediately arose from a friend of mine—is this the craziest ending to an NFL playoff game we’ve ever seen? GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTS Start reading today. I went to the archives and […]
The 1989 NFL playoffs marked the definitive statement that the San Francisco 49ers were the team of the 1980s. The 49ers won their fourth Super Bowl and did it with the great playoff runs in the history of any sport. Here are the key highlights from that postseason. GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTS Start reading today. *San […]
The NFL playoffs were on an ugly trajectory coming into last Sunday. That’s a polite of saying that, prior to the Green Bay-Dallas epic and the taut Pittsburgh-Kansas City battle, the postseason had positively stunk. The first weekend in particular was bad enough, that it’s worth asking if this was the worst round of wild-card […]
Here’s a look at the nine best games in the second round of the NFL playoffs since 1978. That year is chosen as the benchmark because it’s the first year when the league expanded to a 10-team postseason, thereby marking the first year that the divisional playoffs marked the second round, rather than the first. […]
The New England Patriots had won a Super Bowl in 2001 when they were seen as a miracle team on a magical ride. When the Pats missed the playoffs in 2002 there were fair questions as to whether this duo of head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady were really going to have long-term success. The 2003 New England Patriots obliterated those questions with another Super Bowl trophy that said Belichick and Brady were here to stay
Young had a big year in 1994 and again won the MVP award. The 49ers and the Cowboys were seen as far and above not just the NFC, but the league in general
The NFL playoffs expanded to five teams per conference in 1978 and then six in time for the 1990 season. No team seeded below #4—the demarcation point for having to play three straight road games—had ever won the Super Bowl. The 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers made history and were the first.
The 1986 NFL playoffs were ultimately marked by the dominance of the New York Giants, but the greatest drama took place on the AFC side of the bracket. The divisional round provided excitement and an improbable comeback and the AFC Championship Game would see one of the great postseason drives of all time.
The 1981 AFC playoffs produced two games that deserve to be on the short list in any discussion of great NFL playoff games.
This post is part of a series of sports history articles commemorating under-the-radar teams and moments in a given year. This article focuses on the 1998 Minnesota Vikings and the ecstasy that was their dominating regular season, along with the agony that was their NFC Championship Game loss.
You can make the argument that this was the most stunning play in the history of the NFL postseason. I’ve done a brief run through the annals of NFL playoff history to try and see if there’s anything even remotely comparable. As a disclaimer, my research consisted of clicking through the playoff scores of the past 35 years on Pro Football Reference and relying on my own memory triggers from there, so I won’t claim this is an exhaustive review, but there are very few plays which even get in the same ballpark as The Baltimore Bomb.