Five greatest AFC championship games The Drive Peytons revenge among all-time classics

Wiki Article

No single-game elimination round in sports has had more cla sic games than the AFC Darron Lee Jersey championship. When the NFL constructed its list of the top-100 games in 2019, eight of those games were played in the AFC championship. Cla sic AFC title games that did not make the list included Pittsburgh's win over Oakland in the 1975 "Ice Bowl II," the ' nail-biting win over the in 2011, the ' two-point win over the Patriots in 2015, and comeback win over the in 2017.Those cla sic games (and others) have been lost in the shuffle of great AFC championship games. A common theme in these games has been elevated quarterback play from some of the greatest pa sers in NFL history. Specifically, Brady, , and John Elway contributed to their legacies as all-time greats by what they did in AFC championship games. This trio played in a combined 24 AFC title games, with four of those games earning a spot on the list of the five greatest AFC championship games ever played.1995: Trailing 16-13, the favored took the lead after Ernie Mills' 37-yard catch set up Bam Morris' one-yard touchdown run. Pittsburgh's defense then had to withstand a last-second Hail Mary by Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh's pa s was nearly corralled by , who cradled the ball in his chest before it touched the turf. The win made 38-year-old Bill Cowher the youngest coach to take his team to a Super Bowl.This wasn't nece sarily a great game, but how well the Bengals played -- specifically quarterback Ken Anderson -- in sub-freezing temperatures is what made this AFC title game memorable. In a game that was tabbed as "The Freezer Bowl," Anderson threw two touchdowns while leading the Bengals to their first Super Bowl. Anderson's pa ser rating was more than twice the amount of his counterpart, Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts, who a week earlier helped lead the Chargers to an epic double-overtime win over the in balmy Miami. "Kenny's advantage was that he threw tight spirals," said Fouts, who said that throwing that day was like "throwing a shoebox in the wind.""I didn't always throw spirals," . "In my mind, that was the biggest part of us losing the game." No. 67: 1981 AFC Championship Game - Chargers vs. Bengals "The Freezer Bowl" (Jan. 10, 1982) : NFL 100 Greatest Games on NFL (@NFL) Brady's ninth AFC championship game win came at the expense of , who this Sunday will look to lead the Chiefs to their second consecutive conference title. The Chiefs' AFC championship tally would already be at two if not for Brady, who led the Patriots' offense on a 13-play, 75-yard drive in overtime that was capped off by two-yard touchdown run. Moments earlier, Brady had been bailed out by , who was ruled offsides on the play that saw Brady throw an interception to . On the ensuing play, Brady found his longtime partner in crime, , open for a 25-yard gain. The completion set up the Patriots' go-ahead touchdown, which was countered by game-tying field goal with 11 seconds left in regulation.Brady eschewed his running game for most of the Patriots' game-winning overtime drive. He threw eight consecutive pa ses, the final one a 15-yard completion to Gronkowski. The completion set up Burkhead's second touchdown of the night, as the Patriots left Arrowhead Stadium with their fourth AFC title over a five-year span. Brady's performance overshadowed Mahomes, who threw three touchdown pa ses in his AFC championship game debut. No. 36: 2018 AFC Championship - Chiefs vs. Patriots (Jan. 20, 2019) : NFL 100 Greatest Games on NFL (@NFL) After a heartbreaking AFC title game lo s to the Broncos the previous year (more on that later), the Browns were trying to play the role of spoiler late in the rematch. Cleveland's comeback was spearheaded by quarterback Bernie Kosar and running back Earnest Byner. On their final drive, the Browns appeared to be on the verge of tying the game after driving inside the Broncos' 10-yard-line. With their season on the line, Cleveland ran a draw for Byner, who found space on the right side of the defense. While Byner initially appeared to score the game-winning touchdown, Browns fans were immediately sucker punched after realizing that Byner had fumbled the ball two yards short of the end zone. The Broncos recovered Jeremiah Castille's forced fumble, and were on their way to Super Bowl XXII.The fumble overshadowed an epic performance from Byner, who scored two touchdowns and gained 187 all-purpose yards. Byner would end up winning a ring with Washington in 1991. The Browns, however, Reggie Ragland Jersey are still waiting for their first trip to the Super Bowl. No. 22: The Fumble - Browns vs. Broncos 1987 AFC Championship Game (Jan. 17, 1988) : NFL 100 Greatest Games on NFL (@NFL) After recent playoff lo ses to the Patriots, the Colts found themselves staring at a 21-3 deficit midway through the second quarter of the 2006 AFC Championship Game. But following Asante Samuel's 39-yard pick-six of Peyton Manning, the Colts scored the game's next 18 points that included a touchdown pa s from Manning to lineman Dan Klecko. The Patriots went back ahead before another Colts lineman, center Jeff Saturday, tied the score after pouncing on a fumble in the end zone. Trailing 34-31 with 3:49 left, two completions from Manning to Reggie Wayne sandwiched Manning's 32-yard completion to Bryan Fletcher. Fletcher, a seldom-used tight end, had lobbied for Manning to look his way earlier in the game. After reaching the Patriots' 11-yard-line, Manning called three straight runs for rookie running back . Addai's third carry resulted in the go-ahead touchdown with 1:02 left.Brady, whose late-game prowe s was already legend by this point, pa sed his team beyond midfield before throwing a game-ending interception to cornerback (and fellow Michigan Man) Marlin Jackson. The Colts would go onto win their lone Super Bowl with Manning under center. In Denver, Manning would win two more AFC title games against the Patriots while retiring with a 3-1 record against the Brady/Belichick Patriots in conference championship games. No. 21: Peytons Revenge - 2006 Patriots vs. Colts AFC Championship Game (Jan. 21, 2007) : NFL 100 Greatest Games on NFL (@NFL) The 1980s Browns lost three AFC title games in a four-year span to the Browns. While each lo s was painful, the first one was undoubtedly the hardest to swallow. With the score tied at 13, Bernie Kosar's 48-yard pa s to Brian Brennan gave the home team a 20-13 lead. After watching its defense surrender the big play, Broncos fans watched in agony as their special teams botched the ensuing kickoff before jumping on the ball at their own 2-yard-line. John Elway, displaying the savvy that would eventually put him in the Hall of Fame, meticulously moved the ball against the Browns' stingy defense.After a short throw and two runs gave the Broncos a first down, an 11-yard run by Elway and a 22-yard completion to Steve Sewell got Denver near midfield. On third-and-18 on the Browns' 48-yard-line, Elway stood tall before firing a 20-yard dart to Mark Jackson. The Broncos avoided a disaster on the play, as Elway was about to catch the shotgun snap after it incidentally hit a receiver in motion.Two plays later, a screen pa s to Sewell got the Broncos to the Browns' 14-yard-line. Three plays later, facing a third-and-one on the Browns' 5-yard-line, Elway took the shotgun snap, waited for Jackson to break free from his defender, and threw a dart that Jackson was able to corral in the end zone. The score, which came with 32 seconds left in regulation, capped off what is known in NFL history as "The Drive." In overtime, Denver's defense quickly gave Larry Johnson Jersey the ball back to Elway, who got the Broncos past midfield on a 22-yard completion to tight end Orson Mobley. After losing two yards on the next two plays, Elway started to run, which formed Denver's defenders to move up to honor him. But before cro sing the line of scrimmage, Elway stopped, then hit an open Steve Watson, who caught the 28-yard pa s before falling out of bounds. The play set up Rich Karlis' game-winning field goal, as Elway and the Broncos were on their way to Pasadena for Super Bowl XXI. It was the first of five Super Bowl appearances for Elway, who lost his first three Super Bowls before retiring with back-to-back titles. No. 11: The Drive - 1986 Broncos vs. Browns AFC Championship Game (Jan. 11, 1987) : NFL 100 Greatest Games on NFL (@NFL)
https://brian28.wikipublicist.com/4097064/saints_name_woods_grantham_among_5_new_assistants
Click here Click here