Number 10:
"The Meltdown in Big D"
Green Bay Packers 37--Dallas Cowboys 36
Kicking off the list was a comeback for the ages that helped send Green Bay to the playoffs while forcing Dallas to miss. Most memorable aspect was the Packers ability to come back from a 26-3 halftime deficit to win with a backup quarterback. Matt Flynn was making his third start in a backup quarterback carousel in relief of Aaron Rodgers. Flynn threw four touchdowns against a historically porous Cowboy defense and running back Eddie Lacy capped off the comeback with the go ahead touchdown. The story however, was how the Cowboys lost. Cowboys, despite a 7 yard per carry average rushing, were content on throwing the ball, and two of Tony Romo's last three passes were costly interceptions. Dallas had a meltdown that appears to be a common occurrence nowadays, but Green Bay's fight and determination allows this game to check in at number 10.
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| Packers RB Eddie Lacy caps the comeback with the go-ahead TD. |
Number 9:
"The Hold Seen 'Round the World"
Carolina Panthers 24--New England Patriots 20
Although this game will always be remembered for the hold Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly got away with at the end of the game, but that doesn't discredit a great defensive battle. This game highlighted how good Carolina's defense was in 2013 and how improved New England's defense was on the national stage. Ted Ginn Jr. gave the Panthers the lead with a 25 yard touchdown catch and run with less than a minute to go. Tom Brady, meanwhile, looked poised to lead the Patriots to another last second victory, when a last throw to the endzone with no time left saw the Kuechley hold on Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. The flag was waived off to New England's dismay, allowing the Panthers to claim the victory. As mentioned before, one bad call does not destroy all other aspects of the game, as it doesn't here being the 9th best game of 2013.
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| Panthers LB Luke Kuechley got away with this hold for the 24-20 victory. |
Number 8:
"A Texas-sized Comeback"
Houston Texans 31--San Diego Chargers 28
The 2013 season ended opening week with a dandy pitting the Super Bowl favorite Houston Texans against the rebuilding San Diego Chargers. Down 28-7 with less than five minutes to go in the third quarter and the Chargers dominating, the Texans stormed back and tied it with a Brian Cushing 18 yard interception return with nine and a half minutes to go in the game. Houston complete the comeback with a Randy Bullock walk-off 41 yard field goal. The rest of the season for both teams went in opposite directions from expectations, as the Texans finished 1-14 while the Chargers went 9-6 and found themselves in the playoffs. Oh, how the tables turned so quickly, as they did in the 8th best game of the 2013 season.
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| Texans escape San Diego, but it ended up being short-lived luck. |
Number 7:
"The Beginning of a Dynasty?"
Seattle Seahawks 23--San Francisco 49ers 17
The NFC Championship game pitting the two NFC West rivals against each other finds its way at number seven. As you might have expected after watching the NFC West this season, this game was full of defense. Russell Wilson on 4th and 7 on the San Francisco 35 yard line threw a pass into the endzone for the go-ahead touchdown and jump-started the team to their first ever Super Bowl win. Much was made of Richard Sherman's controversial interview immediately after the game, but it goes to show you how emotional and physical the 7th game on this list was, and it very well could switch places with the game that took 6th place.
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| Seahawks WR Jermaine Kearse catches the game winning TD. |
Number 6:
"Denver Silences Arrowhead"
Denver Broncos 35--Kansas City Chiefs 28
After playing just two weeks prior, the Denver Broncos complete the season sweep over division rival Kansas City to take control of the AFC West. The Chiefs came out of the gate swinging with a 21-7 second quarter lead that included a 108 yard kickoff return touchdown by Knile Davis, but Kansas City failed to stop Eric Decker. The Broncos wide receiver recorded four touchdown catches to lead Denver to score 28 unanswered points to silence the historically loud Arrowhead crowd.The Chiefs attempted the comeback but fell 13 yards short of a tie. The overall intensity and atmosphere of this game allows it to be placed at #6.
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| Eric Decker leads the Broncos to a decisive divisional victory. |
Number 5:
"The Return of Rodgers"
The Chicago Bears broke Aaron Rodgers' collar bone in their week 9 matchup, Rodgers then broke the Bear's hearts in return. The Packers ad Bears battled for NFC North supremacy in week 17, and Rodgers took back the reigns. Green Bay went 2-5-1 without Rodgers (with one of the victories being the #10 game above) and he proved why he his one of the most valuable players in the NFL. In a back-and-forth struggle, the Bears took a 28-20 lead at the start of the fourth quarter. Green Bay engineered a touchdown drive following Chicago's final score to cut the lead to 28-27, which would stand until less than one minute remaining in the game. Rodgers added more to his already large resume with a 4th and 8 situation. Instead of playing safe and playing for the first down, Rodgers found a wide open Randall Cobb deep for a 48 yard touchdown (seriously though, how does a guy get so wide open on 4th & ball game?). Just a gutty effort for a quarterback to be in his first game back after eight weeks on the bench and carry his team for a win and a playoff berth.
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| Randall Cobb was so wide open, no Chicago Bear is near this picture. |
Number 4:
"The Two Minute Drill"
Baltimore Ravens 29--Minnesota Vikings 26
These two teams entered the fourth quarter with the Ravens clinging to a 7-6 lead. What transpires in the quarter? Mayhem. Just utter mayhem. Minnesota took a 12-7 lead at the beginning of the quarter, and that score stood until Joe Flacco threw a touchdown pass and converted the two-point try for a 15-12 at the 2:05 mark. The Vikings on the ensuing drive march down the field with running back Toby Gerhart regaining the lead with a 41 yard touchdown run with 1:27 remaining. Oh, it doesn't stop there, as Jacoby Jones returned the following kickoff for a touchdown to give Baltimore the lead back at 22-19. Vikings wide receiver must believe in the saying "never say die," and took a screen pass and broke through daylight for a 79 yard touchdown and the Vikings are back on top 26-22 with 45 seconds remaining. Guys, lets settle down a bit when criticizing Joe Flacco, because he then led the Ravens 80 yards in 41 seconds capped off by a 9 yard touchdown pass to receiver Marlon Brown to win the game. Teams will practice a two-minute drill every week before a game, and both the Ravens and the Vikings both perfected it on a snowy Baltimore day and granted us with the 4th best game of 2013.
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| Vikings WR Cordarelle Patterson breaks for daylight, but the Ravens somehow come back |
Number 3:
"A Little Bit of Luck"
Indianapolis Colts 45--Kansas City Chiefs 44
Yes, my nickname for this game is clearly a pun, as Colts quarterback Andrew Luck earns his first playoff victory in his patented comeback fashion. Mistakes galore committed by the Colts, and the Chiefs were cruising along with a 38-10 lead at the start of the second half. Andrew Luck then remembered he was a can't miss prospect out of college and led Indianapolis on an unbelievable 35-6 run, with some luck involved (you can interpret that as a pun too if you want). The cards were in the favor of the Colts in the fourth quarter. A Donald Brown fumble on the goalline fell into Andrew Luck's hands where he ran it into the endzone from there (this where the luck puns come in). Indy then took their only lead of the game on the next drive with a 64 yard touchdown pass from Luck to receiver TY Hilton. This was certainly a comeback for the ages.
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| Andrew Luck recovers a fumble for a TD to help lead the Colts in the #3 game of 2013. |
Number 2:
"A Leap of Faith"
Detroit Lions 31--Dallas Cowboys 30
Five months after this game ended, there is still disbelief as to how the Lions pulled this last second victory off. Trailing 13-7 entering the fourth quarter, Detroit and Dallas traded scores until the score was 27-24 in Dallas' favor. The Lions failed to convert on fourth down at their own 31 yard line with 1:24 remaining in the game. A holding call on the Cowboys on third down stopped the clock and settled for a field goal to go up 30-24 with 1:02 remaining. The Lions then performed one of the most unbelievable two-minute drills ever, driving 80 yards in 50 seconds. Quarterback Matthew Stafford went 4-for-5 passing (the incompletion was a spike to stop the clock) for 79 yards highlighted by a 40 yard pass to receiver Kris Durham. The 80th yard was gained after Stafford hit Calvin Johnson on a perfectly thrown pass to go down at the Cowboy one yard line with time running. Rushing the offense to stop the clock, everyone including the offense thought Stafford was going to spike the ball. Instead, Stafford took the initiative to leap over the line and break the plane of the endzone for the game winning touchdown. It is still hard to make heads or tails as to what happened, even from Lions fans, and this finish earns the #2 best game of the season.
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| Lions QB Matthew Stafford stuns the Cowboys with his fake spike to win 31-30. |
Number 1:
"Shootout at the Jerry Jones Corral"
Denver Broncos 51--Dallas Cowboys 48
Was there any doubt as to which game would make the top spot? An offensive shootout for the ages that saw both Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning and Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo throw for 920 yards and 9 touchdowns, and the total offense for the game eclipsed 1,000 yards. The fewest scores in a single quarter was the first frame where Dallas led 14-7. Words cannot describe the intensity of this game, the scoreboard describes it best. This game will go down in history as not just the best game of the 2013 season, but as one of the best games played.
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| Broncos QB Peyton Manning leads the Broncos to a shootout victory. |
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