Hines Ward and the 10 Best Finishes to Fantastic NFL Careers

Hines Ward, Dancing With the Stars’ newest NFL celebrity, has become the source of retirement speculation lately.

Back in January, the former Super Bowl MVP discussed walking away from the game if his team won a third championship in six years. And with his surprising new ABC-televised hobby, Ward didn’t exactly silence the rumors that he might walk away from the NFL.

It’s going to be a while before we know definitively if Ward is going to retire—even if he does announce it this summer, he can always recant or be convinced to comeback during the preseason. But in case the Steelers all-time leading receiver has already played his last game, it was a great Swann song (yes, the Lynn Swann pun is intended).

In the Super Bowl XLV loss to Green Bay, Ward caught a team-high seven passes for 78 yards and made a critical touchdown grab that put the Steelers back in the game just before halftime.

That has us thinking about other great final performances amongst the NFL’s elite.

Here are 10 examples of NFL greats who went out on top.

And just to be clear, we’re talking about final performances. Not last seasons or playoff-runs, but the player’s final game (regular or postseason) in the NFL. 

No. 10: Tiki Barber, RB, New York Giants

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LANDOVER, MD - DECEMBER 30: Tiki Barber #21 of the New York Giants runs the ball against the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field on December 30, 2006 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Year: 2007

Game: NFC Wild Card

Stats: 26 carries, 137 yards

Barber had an incredible final season in the NFL, rushing for 1,662 yards (his third-straight 1,500-plus season) as well as catching 58 passes for 465 more yards.

And although his relationship with some teammates and coaches wasn’t great by the end of the 2006 season, Barber and the Giants qualified for the playoffs.

Against hated rival Philadelphia, Barber again was the workhorse, carrying the ball 26 times in a narrow 23-20 loss. 

No. 9: Brian Sipe, QB, Cleveland Browns

Year: 1983

Game: Week 16 versus Pittsburgh Steelers

Stats: 14-for-22, 199 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT

Technically, the Browns 30-17 win on the last week of the 1983 regular season was Sipe’s final game. He would leave the NFL for the USFL and never return.

On that day in Browns Stadium, the former NFL MVP and director of the fabled Kardiac Kids tossed four touchdowns to provide the Browns with a huge lead that they never relinquished.

Cleveland was eliminated from the postseason that day—at 9-7 the Browns needed losses by Seattle and Buffalo to qualify—but at least Sipe and Cleveland dealt the hated Steelers a fourth loss in five weeks. Backing into the postseason, Pittsburgh was bounced in the first round by the Raiders.  

No. 8: Ted Hendricks, LB, Los Angeles Raiders

Year: 1984

Game: Super Bowl XVIII

Stats: Raiders 39, Redskins 9

Prior to his last game in the NFL, Ted Hendricks already had three Super Bowl rings to his resume: He didn’t need a fourth to secure a spot in the Hall of Fame.

Still, the Mad Stork had one more great performance in him.

Underdogs to a mighty, historic offense, the Raiders quashed NFL MVP Joe Theismann, reigning Super Bowl MVP John Riggins and the Washington Redskins, allowing just nine points.

Although Hendricks didn’t register a tackle (he was playing with a sore pulled stomach muscle) he started for the Raiders and his presence on the field allowed teammates Howie Long, Lyle Alzado, Matt Millen, Mike Haynes and, of course, Jack Squirek, to make the plays in arguably the greatest defensive performance in Super Bowl history.

No. 7: Sterling Sharpe, WR, Green Bay Packers

Year: 1994

Game: Week 17 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Stats: 9 catches, 132 yards, 3 TD

On his way to becoming arguably the greatest receiver in Packers history—perhaps even better than the great Don Hutson—Sterling Sharpe’s career was ruined in late 1994 by a rash of injuries.

A week before the Packers' regular-season finale, he suffered a stinger against the Falcons. With a playoff berth on the line, Sharpe returned to play the Buccaneers.

Shannon’s older brother caught three first-half touchdowns to give Green Bay a 28-6 lead and ultimately the win, clinching the fourth Wild Card spot and a home playoff game.

But the second stinger that he suffered in that 34-19 win over Tampa proved to be the end of his career. He was shelved for the Packers' playoff game against Detroit and never played again. 

No. 6: Jerome Bettis, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

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DETROIT - FEBRUARY 5: Running back Jerome Bettis #36 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Tropy after defeating the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL at Ford Field on February 5, 2006 in Detroit, Michigan. Bettis announced his ret

Year: 2006

Game: Super Bowl XL

Stats: 14 carries, 43 yards

Unless you were living under a rock in February 2006, you know that Jerome Bettis was born and raised in Detroit, where his Pittsburgh Steelers would be playing in Super Bowl XL.

Certainly it was a great-and-heartwarming story, with the Steelers players eating home-cooked meals in his parents’ home. But since he didn’t have a terribly gaudy stat sheet that day in Ford Field, we can’t give him a top five spot on this list.

Still, Bettis did most of the heavy lifting early on in that 21-10 win over Seattle (please don't write any “the ref gave the Steelers that one” comments on this slideshow).

And in the second half, Bettis’ wearing out of the Seahawks front seven allowed Willie Parker to find creases, like that Super Bowl record 75-yard run at the start of the second half that gave Pittsburgh a double-digit lead. 

No. 5: Norm Van Brocklin, QB, Philadelphia Eagles

Year: 1960

Game: NFL championship

Stats: 9-for-20, 204 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT

In the last 50 years, the only quarterback to deliver for the City of Brotherly Love wan’t Ron Jaworski, Randall Cunningham, Donovan McNabb or Michael Vick. It was the Dutchman, Norm Van Brocklin.

Three years after being dealt to Philly from the Rams, Van Brocklin was the league MVP in 1960, throwing 24 touchdowns as the Eagles went 10-2.

In the title game against Vince Lombardi’s Packers, Van Brocklin—who had previously announced he would retire no matter what happened that day in Franklin Field—gave the Eagles a 7-6 lead midway through the second quarter with a 35-yard touchdown pass to Tommy McDonald.

With a few more clutch completions from Van Brocklin in the second half, the Eagles were able to hold on to a 17-13 lead and win the NFL title.

Naturally, sportswriters voted Van Brocklin the game’s Most Valuable Player. Three weeks later, he accepted the head-coaching position of the expansion Minnesota Vikings, which would soon inherit the great Fran Tarkenton. 

No. 4: Otto Graham, QB, Cleveland Browns

Year: 1955

Game: NFL championship

Stats:14-for-25, 209 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT; 2 rushing TD

Automatic Otto Graham and the Browns returned to the NFL title game for a sixth-straight year in 1955.

And for the seventh time in their 10-year history, the Browns were victorious in their title-game showdown.

Graham—who had already announced he intended to retire—accounted for four touchdowns as Cleveland bested the Los Angeles Rams 38-14.

That victory pushed Graham’s record as an  NFL starter to 57-13-1, by far the greatest winning percentage (.810) ever posted by a quarterback.

No. 3: Michael Strahan, DE, New York Giants

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GLENDALE, AZ - FEBRUARY 03: Quarterback Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots is hit hard by Michael Strahan #92 of the New York Giants in the second quarter during Super Bowl XLII on February 3, 2008 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale,

Year: 2008

Game: Super Bowl XLII

Stats: 1 sack

In the stunning upset of the undefeated New England Patriots, Strahan only brought NFL MVP Tom Brady down to the ground once—although that sack came on a third down which forced the Patriots to punt late in the third quarter.

Still, he made several other huge plays that helped the Giants stifle the most prolific offense in NFL history.

He had two tackles, two hurries and several times occupied blockers, allowing Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck and Kawika Mitchell to get in Brady’s face or bring him down for losses.

Strahan didn’t officially announce his retirement until the next summer and he nearly returned to the Giants a few months later when Umenyiora was lost for the season during an exhibition game.

But because he resisted the urge to come back (a la Brett Favre, Reggie White or Deion Sanders) he went out on top and deserves this list’s bronze medal. 

No. 2: Bill Walsh, Head Coach, San Francisco 49errs

Year: 1989

Game: Super Bowl XXIII

Stats: 49ers 20, Bengals 16

True this is a bit of a sneaky entry. For one, a head coach doesn’t retire the same way a player does.

Furthermore, Walsh didn’t completely walk away from coaching: He returned to Stanford three years later and led the Cardinals to a bowl win over Penn State in 1993.

But considering the personal history that surrounded Walsh’s final game as an NFL head coach, it’s hard to imagine a better swan song.

In 1976, Walsh had been inexplicably passed over as the successor to his mentor, Paul Brown, as head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals. The job was given to Tiger Johnson, who was gone after less than two years.

Rather than coach under Johnson, he left the Bengals and later took over the 49ers where he built a dynasty.

A decade later in Super Bowl XXIII, Walsh and the 49ers took on that same Cincinnati Bengals franchise, now coached by his own protégé, Sam Wyche, who had played for Walsh in Cincinnati during the late 1960s.

In one of the greatest Super Bowls ever, Walsh’s offense carved up Wyche’s defense in the final three minutes, defeating the Bengals 20-16 via Joe Montana’s touchdown pass to John Taylor.

It’s hard to imagine a better way for a coach to go out on top than hoisting up a third Lombardi Trophy in eight years. 

No. 1: John Elway, QB, Denver Broncos

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Miami,31Jan99 - Denver Broncos Quarterback John Elway Scores A Touchdown On A Three-Yard Run Past Atlanta Falcons Safety Eugene Robinson, On Ground, In The Fourth Quarter Of Super Bowl Xxxiii January 31. (Photo By Pool/Getty Images)

Year: 1999

Game: Super Bowl XXXIII

Stats: 18-for-29, 336 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1 rushing TD

In a four-year stretch from 1986-89, John Elway’s Broncos lost three Super Bowls and, for the most part, the games weren’t even close.

But with Mike Shanahan, Terrell Davis and an excellent defense, the Broncos rebounded several years later and won Super Bowl XXXII in 1998.

Elway returned for one more season and he was extremely efficient when the Broncos arrived in Miami to defend their title against the Atlanta Falcons.

Early in the fourth quarter—he had already thrown an 80-yard touchdown pass to Rod Smith—Elway’s plunge into the end zone effectively put the game away for Denver, which won the game 34-19.  

For his efforts, Elway was named the game’s MVP. He (quite anti-climactically) announced his retirement the following May.

Since Elway—who for nearly a decade had been synonymous with championship failure—was leaving the game after bringing Denver consecutive Super Bowl titles, he is an easy choice for the top spot on this list.