Great NFL Games & Chokes

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Macpotata

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Heaps to name. Choke jobs and classics

2014/15

Lions choke at Dallas
Dallas gets robbed at Green Bay { Bryant no catch } although the Lions were perhaps robbed the week before
Green Bay chokes at Seattle { onside kick } were up 21-6 or so late on, or the margin was at least 15, and they choked. Crazy game
Superbowl that Season Sea Hawks throw on first down instead of handing the ball to Lynch to run it and they * it.

2009/10 Wild Card Game

Green Bay 45-51 Arizona O.T - After that loss though like many I had the Pack as Superbowl Winners the following season. After a hot start then stumble, they found their way again. They were 15-1 late on that season. I could see them winning it as I did the Giants in 2012 and Ravens in 2013. Both got hot at the right time.

2010/11

Pats get upset on their home deck to the Jets. Smashed. The also got poleaxed the previous year to the Ravens who ran riot early and then it was too late.

SeaHawks knocking out the Saints that year was also a goody. I think they got in the playoffs with a 7-9 record. That would be my tip, 8-8 my next guess. Anyway they gave it to them in Seattle.

Also 2010/11

A regular season game. The Ginats gave up a 21 point 4th quarter lead and got swept aside with about 5 minutes to play. Coughlin was spewing and rightfully so. I think the Eagles lost to lowly Minnesota the next week.

Speaking of which, the Championship game of 2009/10 at New Orleans was a classic where Farve ****ed it at the end and got intercepted. That was in overtime, and had he converted the pass and down they would of had a F.G to win it. He got picked off, and the rest is history. Saints also smashed the Giants 48-35 in the regular season.

2011/12

49ers had a shootout with Green Bay and got the chocolates where Kaepernick ran amok. They also had a high scoring playoff match with the Saints perhaps the week later, or perhaps the next year. I think it was the next week.


We had the famous missed field goal of 2011/12 where the Ravens ****ed it at the end from close range to win it against the Pats and go into the Superbowl. They did them there the next year in New England though. I had them and the 9ers a year before they made the big dance as the 9ers also lost by about a FG at home the Giants in the Championship game.

2012/13

Sea Hawks at Falcons and 9ers at Falcons were good contests.


Heaps of good games. Pats collapsing in 2008 to the Giants. Santonio Holmes epic catch in 09 at the end vs Zona. Superbowl in 2017 and 2018 classics too. Many, many great contests. Will add more at a later date.


What games live long in your memory?
 

Macpotata

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An obscure game as I mentioned in nfl week 5 thread.

2009/10

Defending champs Steelers held scoreless on the road and lose 9-0 to the Browns. The nine points all field goals. An upset but not that much of a surprise as they are divisional rivals. I felt the Browns that day and steered away from the punt on the Black and Yellow.
 

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bangbang

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Surely atlanta new England superbowl has to go down as the greatest choke of all time. Purely for what's at stake on the biggest stage and deficit at half time
 
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Surely atlanta new England superbowl has to go down as the greatest choke of all time. Purely for what's at stake on the biggest stage and deficit at half time
Probably

Biggest choke: Atlanta Super Bowl LI
Biggest let down: Denver Super Bowl XLVIII (was probably the most hyped Super Bowl ever from what I know and certainly since I've been following the NFL)
Biggest upset: New York over New England Super Bowl XLVI
 
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And also to an extent Super Bowl XLVI is right there as the biggest choke of all time. But people always mix up choke and just laying an egg.

Broncos in SB XLVIII, Pats in SB XLVI, that's not choking, that's simply not being on your game at the right time. Denver were underprepared and New England eventually succumbed to the extreme weight on their shoulders of being undefeated. You could see throughout those playoffs that New England were not the same team. Both prolific offenses ran into hot defenses which shut them down. New England had the benefit of a defense who were able to shut the Giants down in their own right for most of the night, Denver's defense on the other hand were banged up and not even that great to start with, so they couldn't handle Seattle's offense.

Choking is losing when you absolutely shouldn't. Both New England and Denver were favourites, but I think in hindsight, and knowing what I know now, if I were a neutral onlooker, I would have picked Seattle in that game. Defense trumps offense in those situations. Looking at SB XLVI, New England were still the better all-round team and should of won, but with all things considered, it's still nowhere near the choke of the Falcons in SB LI.

Another thing I point to here is that coming into the playoffs hot is something that has rarely worked out for teams in recent years. Coming in off a rough patch helps teams reset, whereas coming in with a big win streak usually leads to disaster. The Patriots could have used a couple of losses late in the season to reset mentally, and a loss to the Giants in Week 17 that year would have been a perfect situation, as it would also keep them on their toes for the eventual SB matchup.

Looking at recent SB champions, you can see a trend where they lose games to finish out the regular season, get a chance to reset and iron out the creases in time for the playoffs. There is however, a few examples of teams going all the way on long winning streaks

17/18 Eagles (13-3) - 3-2 last 5 games
16/17 Patriots (14-2) - 7 game winning streak
15/16 Broncos (12-4) - 2-2 last 4 games/5-4 last 9 games
14/15 Patriots (12-4) - 3-2 last 5 games
13/14 Seahawks (13-3) - 2-2 last 4 games
12/13 Ravens (10-6) - 1-4 last 5 games
11/12 Giants (9-7) - 3-5 last 8 games
10/11 Packers (10-6) - 3-3 last 6 games
09/10 Saints (13-3) - 3 game losing streak

08/09 Steelers (12-4) - 6-1 last 7 games
07/08 Giants (10-6) - 1-2 last 3 games, 4-4 last 8 games
06/07 Colts (12-4) - 3-4 last 7 games

I think the big thing is it's much easier to win 4 or 5 games in a row than it is to win 8 or 9 games in a row


Another big choke in recent times would be the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50. But that falls in line with SB XLVIII a bit. The Panthers clearly weren't prepared mentally or schematically for Denver's defense and what they would face in the moment of that game. So in some ways it's a choke for not showing up ready for the Super Bowl pressure, but at the same time they weren't ready for what they would face in the Denver defense, very similar to Denver two years prior.
 

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surely the buffalo-oilers game in 1993 is the number 1 choke of all time.
up 35-3 at half time and lose to a back up QB

 
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surely the buffalo-oilers game in 1993 is the number 1 choke of all time.
up 35-3 at half time and lose to a back up QB


It doesnt have to be the biggest margin given up. It could be a game already won, 3 point difference, all the player has to do is wave fair catch or something, but inexplicably does something crazy and loses the game.
 
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I didn't think that was a choke. Seahawks were always going to win that imo. I think they were even slight underdogs in that game. But it wasn't a choke.

They were a very good team.
It was just being underprepared - and playing a much better all round team
 
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It doesnt have to be the biggest margin given up. It could be a game already won, 3 point difference, all the player has to do is wave fair catch or something, but inexplicably does something crazy and loses the game.
No because that would be a choke by one player, not a collective by most of the team a la Atlanta
 

Macpotata

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It doesnt have to be the biggest margin given up. It could be a game already won, 3 point difference, all the player has to do is wave fair catch or something, but inexplicably does something crazy and loses the game.
Yep. Chargers at Chiefs 2010/11. All a player had to do was take a knee and I think he fumbled the football. Chiefs ended up winning the game.
 

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