NFL Films - The NFL's Greatest Games Season 1: Episode Guide & Ratings

The 1958 National Football League Championship Game was the 26th NFL championship game, played on December 28 at Yankee Stadium in New York City. It was the first NFL playoff game to go into sudden death overtime.[3][4] The final score was Baltimore Colts 23, New York Giants 17, and the game has since become widely known as "The Greatest Game Ever Played". It marked the beginning of the NFL's popularity surge, and eventual rise to the top of the United States sports market.[5] A major reason was that the game was televised across the nation by NBC. Baltimore receiver Raymond Berry recorded 12 receptions for 178 yards and a touchdown. His 12 receptions set a championship record that stood for 55 years.

1966 Dolphins vs Broncos - October 13th (Dolphins First Victory)

The 1967 National Football League Championship Game was the 35th NFL championship, played on December 31 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.[1][2] It determined the NFL's champion, which met the AFL's champion in Super Bowl II, then formally referred to as the second AFL-NFL World Championship Game. The Dallas Cowboys (9-5), champions of the Eastern Conference, traveled north to meet the Western champion Green Bay Packers (9–4–1), the two-time defending league champions. It was a rematch of the previous year's title game, and pitted two future Hall of Fame head coaches against each other, Tom Landry for the Cowboys and Vince Lombardi for the Packers. Because of the adverse conditions in which the game was played, the rivalry between the two teams, and the game's dramatic climax, it has been immortalized as the Ice Bowl and is considered one of the greatest games in NFL history.

1969 Giants vs Vikings - Game of the Week

Super Bowl III was the third AFL–NFL Championship Game in professional American football, and the first to officially bear the name "Super Bowl".[6] The game, played on January 12, 1969, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, is regarded as one of the greatest upsets in American football history.[7] The heavy underdog American Football League (AFL) champion New York Jets defeated the National Football League (NFL) champion Baltimore Colts by a score of 16–7. This was the first Super Bowl victory for the AFL. Before the start of the game, most sports writers and fans believed that AFL teams were less talented than NFL clubs, and expected the Colts to defeat the Jets by a wide margin. Baltimore posted a 13–1 record during the 1968 NFL season before defeating the Cleveland Browns, 34–0, in the 1968 NFL Championship Game. The Jets finished the 1968 AFL season at 11–3, and defeated the Oakland Raiders, 27–23, in the 1968 AFL Championship Game. Jets quarterback Joe Namath made an appearance three days before the Super Bowl at the Miami Touchdown Club and brashly guaranteed a victory. His team backed up his words by controlling most of the game, building a 16–0 lead by the fourth quarter off of a touchdown run by Matt Snell and three field goals by Jim Turner. Colts quarterback Earl Morrall threw three interceptions before being replaced by Johnny Unitas, who then led Baltimore to its only touchdown, during the last few minutes of the game. With the victory, the Jets became (and remain) the only winning Super Bowl team to score only one touchdown (either offensive, defensive, or special teams). Namath, who completed 17 out of 28 passes for 206 yards, was named as the Super Bowl's most valuable player, despite not throwing a touchdown pass in the game or any passes at all in the fourth quarter.

The 1971 AFC Divisional Playoff Game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins, played on Christmas day, was a seesaw battle of touchdowns and field goals that didn’t end until halfway through a second overtime period. The marathon game lasted eighty-two minutes and forty seconds and by all accounts was one of the most exciting games ever played. The Kansas City Chiefs offense directed by Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson, scored the first two times they had the ball and led 10-0, at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Dolphins - with their Hall of Fame quarterback Bob Griese - added 10 points of their own to end the first half deadlocked. Both teams scored touchdowns in the third quarter. In the fourth, the Chiefs scored another to take the lead 24-17. However, with 1:25 remaining in regulation play the Dolphins scored to once again tie the game. On the next play Chiefs running back Ed Podolak returned the Dolphins kick 78 yards to the Miami 22 yard line. Three more plays advanced the ball to the 15. With just 35 seconds left and sensing a victory, Jan Stenerud missed a game-winning field goal. With the score tied 24-24, the game went into overtime. Both teams missed scoring opportunities in the first overtime. Stenerud had a 42-yard field goal attempt blocked and the Dolphins’ placekicker Garo Yepremian missed a 52-yarder. Finally halfway through the sixth quarter, Yepremian got another chance. This time his 37-yard attempt was good and the Dolphins won 27-24. Although a total of 13 future Hall of Fame players were suited up that day, the real star was Chiefs’ running back Ed Podolak. In one of the greatest post-season performances ever, Podolak carried the ball 17 times for 85 yards, caught eight passes for 110 yards, returned three kickoffs for 153 yards, and ran back 2 punts for 2 yards. For the day, Podolak gained a combined total of 350 yards.

The Immaculate Reception is one of the most famous plays in the history of American football. It occurred in the AFC divisional playoff game of the National Football League (NFL), between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 23, 1972.

By running for 219 yards against the New England Patriots the previous week, O.J. Simpson positioned himself to crack the 2,000-yard barrier. On the frozen tundra at snow-covered Shea Stadium today, in the season finale, the Buffalo Bills running back doesn't disappoint his followers. He runs through the New York Jets for exactly 200 yards to become the National Football League's first 2,000-yard man, finishing with 2,003 and breaking Jim Brown's 10-year-old record of 1,863 yards. After the game, the Juice predicts his record will fall someday. It does -- in 1984, when Eric Dickerson will gain 2,105 yards for the Los Angeles Rams. But Simpson remains the only running back in NFL history to better 2,000 yards in 14 games.

The game was played on January 13, 1974 at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas. This was the first time the Super Bowl venue was not home to that of an NFL franchise.[5] This was also the first Super Bowl not to be held in either the Los Angeles, Miami or New Orleans areas.[6] It was also the last Super Bowl, and penultimate game overall (the 1974 Pro Bowl in Kansas City played the next week was the last) to feature goal posts at the front of the end zone (they were moved to the endline, in the back of the endzone the next season). This was the Dolphins' third consecutive Super Bowl appearance. They posted a 12–2 record during the regular season, then defeated the Cincinnati Bengals and the Oakland Raiders in the playoffs. The Vikings were making their second Super Bowl appearance after also finishing the regular season with a 12–2 record, and posting postseason victories over the Washington Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys. Super Bowl VIII was largely dominated by the Dolphins, who scored 24 unanswered points during the first three quarters, including two touchdowns on their first two drives. Minnesota's best chance to threaten Miami occurred with less than a minute left in the first half, but Vikings running back Oscar Reed fumbled the ball away at the Dolphins' 6-yard line, and his team was unable to overcome Miami's lead in the second half. The Dolphins' Larry Csonka became the first running back to be named Super Bowl MVP; both his 145 rushing yards and his 33 carries were Super Bowl records.

In a play that became known as the Sea of Hands, the Raiders' Clarence Davis somehow caught the winning touchdown pass with 24 seconds left in the game among "the sea of hands" of three Dolphins defenders. The game began when rookie receiver Nat Moore returned the opening kickoff 89 yards for a Miami touchdown. Miami defensive back Dick Anderson then intercepted a pass from Ken Stabler, but fellow safety Jake Scott was hurt on the play and would miss the rest of the game. Oakland's defense made a stand in their own territory to force a punt. Later on, the Raiders tied the game with Stabler's 31-yard touchdown pass to Charlie Smith. But with 1:01 left in the half, Miami's Garo Yepremian kicked a 33-yard field goal to put the Dolphins back in the lead. The Raiders scored on their opening drive of the third quarter with Stabler's 13-yard touchdown pass to Fred Biletnikoff, who managed to haul in the ball with one arm along the right sideline and barely tap his feet in bounds through tight coverage by cornerback Tim Foley, giving them a 14–10 lead. Aided by a 29-yard pass interference penalty against the Raiders on third down, Miami struck back with Bob Griese's 16-yard touchdown pass to Paul Warfield. But Oakland lineman Bubba Smith blocked the extra point attempt, keeping the Miami lead at just 2 points, 16–14. Early in the fourth quarter, Yepremian increased Miami's lead to 19–14 with a 46-yard field goal. Later in the period, Oakland got the ball on their own 17-yard line. Stabler started the drive with an 11-yard completion to Biletnikoff. On the next play, he threw a pass to Cliff Branch at the Dolphins' 27-yard line. Branch made a spectacular diving catch and then got back up and ran the rest of the way to the end zone for a 72-yard touchdown reception, giving the Raiders a 21–19 lead with 4:37 left in the game. With 2:08 left to play, the Dolphins took a 26–21 lead with a 68-yard, 4-play drive that ended with Benny Malone's 23-yard touchdown run, evading four tackle attempts by Raider defenders on the way to the end zone. Following a 20-yard kickoff return by Ron Smith, the Raiders got the ball on their own 32-yard line with 2 minutes left to play and all three timeouts left. After a 6-yard completion to tight end Bob Moore and a short run, Stabler went deep to Biletnikoff, completing two consecutive passes to him for gains of 18 and 20 yards. Then after a 4-yard catch by Branch, Frank Pitts made a bobbling first down catch at the Dolphins 14-yard line. On the next play, Clarence Davis ran the ball 6 yards to the 8-yard line, where the Raiders called their final timeout. On the next play, Stabler dropped back to pass and looked for Biletnikoff in the end zone, but he was tightly covered. With Dolphins defensive end Vern Den Herder dragging him down, Stabler threw a desperate pass to the left side of the end zone into a "sea of hands", where Davis fought his way through the Dolphins defenders to make the touchdown catch.

1977 AFC Divisional Playoff Game: Oakland Raiders at Baltimore Colts ("Ghost to the Post")

1977 Broncos vs Raiders - AFC Championship Game

1979 Steelers vs Cowboys - Super Bowl XIII

1982 Chargers vs 49ers - December 11, 1982 Game of the Week

1982 Chargers vs Dolphins - Divisional Playoff

Dan Marino's First Start

It is known, simply, as "The Drive." Quarterback John Elway led the Denver Broncos back from defeat numerous teams, but his performance in the AFC championship game against the Cleveland Browns topped the list of his heroics, elevating him to superstar status. Trailing 20-13 with 5½ minutes left in the fourth quarter at Cleveland, Denver took over on its two, 98 yards away from the tying touchdown. "I suddenly flashed on something I was thinking about before the game," Elway said later. "Great quarterbacks make great plays in great games. That's what it's all about, isn't it?" Elway made like a great quarterback, smartly passing and scrambling the Broncos down to the Browns' 14-yard line. After a nine-yard run by Elway moved the ball to the five, on third-and-one he fired a dart in the end zone to Mark Jackson with 37 seconds left. Rich Karlis' extra point tied the game. In overtime, two Elway completions were good for 50 yards, setting up a 33-yard field goal by Karlis that gave the Broncos a 23-20 victory and sent them to the Super Bowl.

1988 Vikings vs 49ers - Divisional Playoff Game

1992 Bills vs Oilers - AFC WILDCARD (The Comeback)

1992 Cowboys vs 49ers - NFC Championship

1992 Packers Vs Bengals - Favre First Win

1995 Jets vs Dolphins Game of the Week

1997 Packers Vs Patriots - Super Bowl XXXI

1997 Vikings vs Cowboys - Wild Card

2003 Colts vs Buccaneers - (Dungy Returns Home)

2005 Colts vs Rams - October 17, 2005 Game of The Week