Written by Mike Batista at Guru QB
It’s wild-card weekend.
Perhaps the 2015 playoffs will provide games that can be added to lists of the greatest ever. Before the ball is kicked off at 4:35 p.m. Saturday in Houston, let’s take a look at the greatest wild-card games in NFL history up to this point.
Comebacks, lead changes and plays so memorable that they have their own name are common elements throughout this list.
Some teams make multiple appearances on this list. Some for good reasons, some for bad reasons and some for both.
No. 10: Vikings 23, Giants 22 (1997)
Considering the many ways they lose important games, no list of the greatest wild-card playoff games would be complete without a game (or two) involving the Giants.
The Giants led the Vikings 19-3 at halftime, but it was a lead built on four Brad Daluiso field goals. So the Vikings hung around.
Daluiso kicked another one midway through the fourth quarter to increase the Giants’ lead to 22-13. The game seemed over when the Vikings punted with 3:51 left, but the Vikings got the ball back and Randall Cunningham threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Jake Reed with 1:30 left.
The Vikings then recovered an onside kick. Against Giants defenders who were bickering among themselves at that point, Cunningham moved the Vikings into position for Eddie Murray to kick the game-winning, 24-yard field goal with 1o seconds left.
No. 9: Jaguars 31, Steelers 29 (2007)
Josh Scobee broke the Steelers’ hearts in this game, and in a Steelers uniform eight years later he nearly broke their hearts again.
Signed this season to replace an injured Shaun Suisham, Scobee missed two field goals in the Steelers’ season-opening 28-21 loss at New England and he missed two field goals in the final 2:29 of regulation in a 23-20 overtime loss to the Ravens in Week 4. That loss would have come back to haunt the Steelers had the Bills not bailed them out with a win over the Jets on Sunday.
Although the Steelers are in the playoffs, they have to end a three-game wild-card losing streak that began with this game.
The Steelers trailed 28-10 after three quarters but roared back and took a 29-28 lead with 6:28 left. However, a two-point conversion that was nullified by a penalty and two subsequent missed two-point tries would loom large.
The visiting Jaguars faced a fourth-and-2 from the Steelers’ 43 with 1:56 left, but David Garrard scrambled 32 yards to set up Scobee’s game-winning 25-yard field goal with 40 seconds left.
Eight years later, Scobee is looking for work and the Steelers have a chance to bury this bitter wild-card a loss a little bit deeper in the closet.
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