Six Biggest Playoff Upsets in NFL History (Part 2)

G'day tribe! Yesterday I wrote about the biggest playoff upsets in NFL history which you can check out here. Today I present the biggest of the biggest upsets ever in battles between David and Goliath.

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3. Super Bowl XXXVI - Patriots vs. Rams

Futute Hall of Famer Kurt Warner led a hot 14-point favoured Rams out against Tom Brady who was relatively unknown at the time. A 24-year old Brady led the Pats down field with the last drive of the game, setting up Adam Vinatieri for a game-winning 48-yard field goal as time expired.

It was the Patriots first ever Super Bowl win in their 42-year history. and a monumental upset against the record breaking, high-powered Rams offense that was nicknamed the "The Greatest Show on Turf". It was also the first of nine Super Bowl wins during the Brady-Belichick era.

2. Super Bowl III - Jets vs. Colts

The New York Jets would upset the 19.5-point favoured Baltimore Colts, who were coming off the back of a 34-0 win over the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Championship game. NFL teams were seen as far more superior over their AFL rivals at the time and it was expected that the Jets would be steamrolled by the Colts. Three days before the game, Jets quarterback Joe Namath famously said that he personally guaranteed victory.

Amazingly the Jets would force five turnovers to one, and and would open up a 16-0 lead until a late Colts touchdown. Namath backed his words up as the Jets closed the game as 16-7 winners over Baltimore in a victory that has been credited to helping set the stage for the AFL-NFL merger.

1. Super Bowl XLII - Giants vs. Patriots

An upset of epic proportions ant the greatest playoff upset in NFL history, the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots who entered Super Bowl XLII as 12-point favourites. The Pats were entering the game undefeated after dominating the regular season with a 16-0 record and scoring at almost 37 points a game.

The Giants pass rush played out of their skins to limit Tom Brady to only 266 yards and a single touchdown. Eli Manning played the game of his life, coming up clutch with a game winning drive which was defined by David Tyree's miracle 'Helmet Catch', before a 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress with 35 seconds remaining.

New York made it to the Super Bowl with a 10-6 record, then pulling off three road wins as a Wild Card team including a miraculous upset of the Packers at Lambeau Field. Thanks to the Giants 17-14 victory, the 1972 Miami Dolphins to this day remain the only team in NFL history with a 'perfect season', New England falling just short with an 18-1 record against their name.


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Wolfgang Sport started in 2017 as a way to connect my passion for American and British sports. Today it's evolved into a blockchain sports blog pushing the boundaries into the crypto world and embracing Web3 technologies.



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4 comments
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I don't know much about the NFL but the way you presented this post made me click on it and i was not disappointed.

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Really enjoying your blog and can see you are enjoying doing it which shows in your writing.

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That means a lot especially coming from yourself. I love sharing around the knowledge and finding out things that blows my mind. Just as equally, I love when people find out those things too and it sparks a discussion.

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Super Bowl XXXVI - Patriots vs. Rams is my favorite who would have thought that the Pat would win that one.

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