NFL Playoffs: Greatest Playoff Road Win in Every Franchise's History

The NFL playoffs consist of a compelling win-or-go-home format, which inevitably leads to tons of excitement and notable upsets.

Over the years, the NFL has seen its fair share of underdogs make it to the Super Bowl by pulling off exceptional road wins to get there.

The following slides highlight each NFL franchise's greatest playoff road win.

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers' greatest road playoff win cannot be highlighted by just one road win, but rather a series of three wins.

On their road to winning a championship last year, the Packers entered the playoffs as a No. 6 seed, meaning they had to win three games on the road just to reach the Super Bowl.

In their first game, they faced the No. 3 seeded Eagles at home in a wild-card matchup. The Packers won 21-16 and advanced to the NFC divisional round game in Atlanta.

Having lost just one game at home that season, the Falcons played in the hostile Georgia Dome. In their most impressive win during the run, they trucked on and annihilated Atlanta by a score of 48-21, led by nearly perfect play from quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

The Packers' final road win before the Super Bowl came against NFC North rivals, the Chicago Bears.

Getting off to a 14-0 start, the Packers went on to win 21-14. 

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears' greatest road playoff came 71 years ago, when in the eighth ever NFL Championship, the Bears took on the Redskins in Washington, D.C. at their home stadium of Griffith Park.

Just three weeks prior to the championship, the two teams played and the Bears lost 7-3. The owner of the Redskins talked trash after the game and provided the Bears with plenty of bulletin board material.

The Bears destroyed the Redskins 73-0 in a win that is the greatest margin of victory in NFL history.

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings' greatest road playoff win also happens to be one of the greatest comeback wins in NFL history.

In the 1997 NFL playoffs, the Vikings went on the road to take on the New York Giants in a wild-card matchup.

The Vikings, who finished 9-7, were major underdogs to the Giants, who won the NFC East with a 10-5-1 record. With Minnesota being a dome team, the 40 degree rainy weather was also expected to be a major factor.

In the first half, the game was living up to expectations. The Giants went into halftime with a 19-3 lead.

However, the Vikings did not crumble and instead came into the second half with a vengeance. The Vikings scored 10 unanswered points before a Giants field goal made it 22-13.

With less than two minutes remaining and the game all but over, the Vikings pulled off a miracle. They struck with a quick touchdown, making the score 22-20 and recovered the ensuing onside kick.

The Vikings then drove down the field and hit a game-winning field goal, completing the franchise's greatest postseason comeback ever.

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions franchise record for road playoff games is 2-9.  Therefore, the options are limited for their greatest road win.

Furthermore, both of those wins came in the 1950s. With that said, the Lions won the 1952 NFL Championship playing at Cleveland, by a score of 17-7, garnering them their greatest road playoff win.

Atlanta Falcons

In the 1998 NFC Championship, the 14-2 Atlanta Falcons headed to Minnesota to take on the 15-1 Vikings. 

With the Vikings favored by 11 points, Minnesota jumped out to an early 20-7 lead, but before halftime the Falcons cut the lead to 20-14.

With just over two minutes left in the game, the Vikings led 27-20 and the offense set up kicker Gary Anderson with a 38-yard field goal that would have all but sealed the win. Anderson, who had not missed a field goal all season, kicked the ball wide left, giving the Falcons a final opportunity to tie it up.

The Falcons capitalized on the opportunity and tied the game with 49 seconds remaining, sending it to overtime.

In the Falcons' second possession of overtime with 3:08 remaining, Atlanta drove down the field and set up their kicker, Morten Andersen, with a 38-yard field goal attempt for the win.

Andersen sent the kick through the uprights and the Falcons advanced to the Super Bowl.     

New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints' all-time playoff record is 5-7 and they have never won a road playoff game. 

Carolina Panthers

On the way to reaching the Super Bowl in 2003, the Carolina Panthers faced the Rams in St. Louis for the NFC Divisional playoff.

With the Panthers leading 23-12 in the fourth quarter, the Rams rallied all the way back, and after recovering an onside kick, St. Louis drove down into field goal position. With a minute to go and one timeout, Rams coach Mike Martz opted to let the clock run down and kick a tying field goal, rather than trying for the win.

The Rams made the field goal and sent the game into overtime.

In the first overtime, both teams missed kicks, sending it into a second overtime.

In the second overtime, Jake Delhomme completed a 69-yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith for the win.

The Panthers went on to play in the Super Bowl that season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' only road playoff win in franchise history came in 2002 against the heavily favored Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship.

When the game started, things looked like they could get ugly quickly. Philadelphia's Brian Mitchell returned the opening kick 70 yards, leading to an Eagles touchdown.

However, Tampa Bay responded with a field goal and a touchdown on their next two drives, making the score 10-7.

Midway through the second quarter, the Eagles scored a field goal, tying the game at 10-10, but that would be their last score of the game.

The Buccaneers went on to win 27-10 and advance to the Super Bowl.

Dallas Cowboys

In franchise history, the Dallas Cowboys have won four conference championships on the road to advance to the Super Bowl.

However, of the four of these wins, the 1992 playoff win over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship may be their most impressive.

Led by the play of Steve Young and Jerry Rice, the 49ers went 16-2 in the regular season that year, winning the NFC West.

The Cowboys, lead by Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith, went 13-3 finishing first in the NFC East.

With the game tied 10-10 at halftime, the Cowboys struck first to start the second half. The 49ers answered with a field goal, making it 17-13, but they never again tied or took the lead.

The Cowboys won by a score of 30-20 and went on to win the Super Bowl.

New York Giants

In 2007, the New York Giants put together one of the greatest playoff runs in NFL history, winning three road games to reach the Super Bowl and take down the 18-0 New England Patriots to become champions.

Of these three road games, the wild-card game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was the least exciting of the three, as they won 24-14.

The Giants then played the top-seeded Cowboys in Dallas and pulled off a 21-17 upset.

Then in a thriller for the NFC Championship, the Giants traveled to Green Bay and played in zero degree weather. An overtime game, the Giants came out victorious, 23-20, landing them in the Super Bowl.

Philadelphia Eagles

The 2008 Philadelphia Eagles finished the regular season 9-6-1 and barely squeaked out a playoff berth, winning four of their last five games.

Going into the playoffs, their first matchup was a wild-card away game against the NFC North champions and No. 3-seeded Minnesota Vikings. The Eagles defeated the Vikings fairly easily, 26-14.

In the next game, the Eagles faced the reigning Super Bowl champions, the New York Giants, on their home field in an NFC divisional round.  The Giants were the top-seeded team in the NFC, but had lost to the Eagles during Week 14.

The Eagles were once again able to pull off the upset, quite handily, by a score of 23-11.

The Eagles playoff run came to an end when they were defeated by the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Championship, but those were probably the most impressive road playoff wins in franchise history.

It is worth noting though, that the Eagles did win the 1949 NFL Championship by beating the Los Angeles Rams on the road by a score of 14-0. 

Washington Redskins

The Washington Redskins' most impressive road playoff win in franchise history came during the 1986 NFL Playoffs. 

The Redskins finished second in the NFC East, earning them a wild-card bid, and defeated the Los Angeles Rams at home in order to advance to NFC Divisional game to take on the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.

The reigning Super Bowl champions, the Bears finished the 1986 regular season 14-2 and were the heavy favorites to win it all again.

The oh-so stellar Bears defense did not show up for the second half and the Redskins scored 20 unanswered points, leading to their eventual 27-13 win.

The Redskins run came to an end the next game, when they were defeated in the NFC Championship by the New York Giants.

San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers have an overall playoff record of 26-18 and have only won two total road playoff games

The biggest win of those two came in 1988 when the 49ers defeated the NFC Central champion Chicago Bears in an upset at Soldier Field by a score of 28-3 despite sub-zero temperatures.

The win advanced the 49ers to the Super Bowl.

Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks have just one road playoff win in franchise history and that came in 1983.

Entering the playoffs at 9-7, the Seahawks beat the Denver Broncos at home in a wild-card game to advance to the divisional game against the defending AFC champion Miami Dolphins.

The Seahawks pulled off the upset over the 14-2 Dolphins and won the game 27-20, advancing to the conference championship.

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals have won two road playoff games ever, with their most critical win coming in 2008 during the Super Bowl run.

After winning their home wild-card game against the Atlanta Falcons, the Cardinals advanced on to an NFC divisional game against the Carolina Panthers on the road. The No. 2-seeded Panthers were 8-0 at home that season.

The Cardinals blew the Panthers out 33-13 and advanced the franchise's first ever NFC Championship game and eventually the Super Bowl.

St. Louis Rams

The St. Louis Rams' most impressive road playoff win came in 1979, when despite going 9-7 in the regular season, they won the NFC West and advanced to the playoffs.

In the NFC Divisional game, the Rams were matched up against the 11-5 Dallas Cowboys in what would be a thriller. The Rams led 14-5 at halftime, but the Cowboys struck back in the second half with 14 unanswered points, taking the lead 14-19.

With two minutes left in the game, the Rams managed to score a touchdown, making it 21-19 and the Cowboys were unable to answer.

The Rams went on to win another road game in the NFC Championship and advance to the Super Bowl.

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots' most impressive playoff road win came in 2004 AFC Championship on their way to another Super Bowl.

Beating the Colts in a divisional game to advance to the AFC Championship, the Patriots were matched up with the top-seeded Pittsburgh Steelers, who finished the regular season an impressive 15-1.

Earlier in the season, the Steelers defeated the Patriots 34-20 at Heinz Field. On a mission to get revenge, the Patriots jumped out to a 24-3 halftime lead and never looked back.

The Steelers did put up 24 second-half points, but the Patriots kept on pushing and defeated the Steelers 41-27 on their home field.

The Patriots went to defeat the Eagles and win the Super Bowl.

Due to the very successful season that the Steelers had that year, this was the Patriots most impressive road playoff win. However, it is worth noting that in 1985, the Patriots handily won three road playoff games to advance to the Super Bowl, eventually losing to the Bears.

New York Jets

The Jets greatest road playoff win arguably came last season, when with an 11-5 record and second place finish in the AFC East, the Jets snuck into the playoffs with a wild-card berth.

In the wild-card game, the Jets pulled off their first impressive road win by heading to Indianapolis and defeating the Colts with a game-winning field goal as time expired.

The win advanced the Jets to the AFC Divisional matchup with the top-seeded New England Patriots.

Going 1-1 against the Patriots in the regular season, the Jets had just been run over by New England a few weeks prior to the playoffs, losing 45-3 during Week 13.

In the playoff game, though, the Jets led 14-3 at halftime, but the Patriots made it 14-11 in the third quarter.

In the fourth, the two teams went back and forth scoring, but the Patriots could never overcome the deficit and were defeated 28-21.

The Jets lost in the AFC Championship game to the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills greatest road playoff win came during their 1992 Super Bowl run.

Led by the play of backup quarterback Frank Reich, the Bills made an amazing comeback in their Wild Card game against the Houston Oilers at home and won in OT, advancing them to the AFC divisional game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Bills had beaten the Steelers earlier in the year when they played, but that was with starting quarterback Jim Kelly and not backup Frank Reich, who would be playing in the playoff game.

Regardless, Reich went on to win another game, defeating the Steelers and leading them to the AFC Championship game.

From there, the quarterback reigns were handed back to Jim Kelly, who beat the Miami Dolphins 29-10 on their home field, guiding the team to the Super Bowl. 

Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins' greatest road playoff win came during the 1972 Super Bowl run, when they defeated the 11-3 Pittsburgh Steelers during the AFC Championship game to remain undefeated.

Despite being undefeated, the NFL rules at the time forced the Dolphins to play on the road.

In the game, the Dolphins trailed early 0-7, but tied it up before half. In the third quarter, the Steelers took the lead 7-10, but the Dolphins responded with 14 unanswered points, making it 21-10. The Steelers scored one more time, but it wasn't enough and the Dolphins won by a final score of 21-17. 

The Dolphins went on to win the Super Bowl an become the first team and only NFL team to ever go an entire season, through the Super Bowl, undefeated. 

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers' greatest road playoff win was actually a combination of three wins in 2005, when Pittsburgh beat three opponents on the road en route to a Super Bowl Championship.

Finishing 11-5 in the AFC North, the Steelers got into the playoffs on a wild-card berth. Matched up against their conference opponent Cincinnati Bengals in the wild-card game, the Steelers won 31-17, despite having lost the last matchup between the two teams.

The win advanced the Steelers to a divisional game with the 14-2 Colts in Indianapolis. 7-1 at home, the Steelers had already lost the Colts in Indianapolis during Week 12, 26-7.

In this game, though, the Steelers jumped out to a 14-3 first half lead. In the third quarter, the Steelers increased their lead to 21-3. Despite 15 unanswered points from the Colts in the fourth quarter, Indianapolis could not overcome the deficit and missed a game-tying field goal as the clock expired, losing 21-18.

The defeat marked the first time a No. 6 seed has defeated a No. 1 seed since the twelve team playoff format was instilled.

In the Steelers' final road win of the 2005 playoffs, they defeated the Denver Broncos handily, 34-17.

Beating the Seahawks 21-10 in the Super Bowl, the Steelers became the first team since the merger to win a Super Bowl without playing a single home playoff game. 

Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens celebrated their greatest playoff road win in 2000, when they beat the Tennessee Titans in an AFC Divisional game during their Super Bowl run.

The reason this win was so significant was because after beating the Broncos at home on a wild card, the Ravens faced back-to-back road games. Against the Titans, the game was tied 10-10 until the Ravens scored 14 unanswered fourth quarter points and went on to win 24-10.

The Ravens then defeated the Raiders handily on their home turf, 16-3, and advanced to the Super Bowl.

Despite finishing second in the AFC Central that year, the Ravens won the Super Bowl, defeating the Giants 34-7.  

Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals have an all-time playoff record of 5-9 and have never won a road game.

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns have won just three road playoff games ever, with the greatest coming in 1955 when they handily beat the Los Angeles Rams, 38-14, to win the Championship.

Houston Texans

Established as a franchise in 2002, the Houston Texans have never made the playoffs. This season could be their first time, as they currently lead the AFC South with a 9-3 record.

Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans greatest road win came during 1999, in the franchise's first year being named the Titans.

With a 13-3 record, the Titans finished second in the AFC central to the 14-2 Jacksonville Jaguars, despite being the team that handed the Jaguars their only two losses that season—most notably beating them in Week 16 by a score of 41-14.

After winning their home playoff wild-card game against the Bills, the Titans played the Colts in Indianapolis. Led by the play of running back Eddie George, they won 19-16.

Then came the Titans' most impressive win. For the AFC Championship, Tennessee headed to Jacksonville to play in their ever-anticipated third matchup of the season. Defeating the Jaguars 33-14, the Titans were able keep their streak alive. The Jaguars season ended with just three losses, all to Tennessee.

The Titans then went on to the Super Bowl, but lost to the Rams. 

Jacksonville Jaguars

In 1996, the Jaguars were in just their second season as a franchise, but managed to make the NFL playoffs as a wild card, finishing second in the AFC central at 9-7.

Starting out 3-6 in their first nine weeks of the season, the Jaguars were able to turn things around in the second half of the season and finish 6-1 after their bye week.

Then, in the playoffs, the Jaguars kept their streak alive a little longer by pulling off two stunning road upsets and gaining the franchises first and second ever playoff victory.

In a wild-card game that was tied three times, first at 7-7, then 20-20, then 27-27, the Jaguars pulled off an upset over the Bills in Buffalo, when kicker Mike Hollis nailed a field goal with three minutes remaining, resulting in a final score of 30-27.

The Jaguars then went on to defeat the Denver Broncos in a major upset. Carrying the league's best record at 13-3, Denver was 8-0 at home that season. In the divisional playoff game, the Jaguars trailed 0-12 in the first quarter, but fought back in the second quarter, scoring 13 unanswered points.

Scoring the only touchdown of the the third quarter, the Jaguars led 20-12 heading into the fourth and were able to hold on to win 30-27, despite the Broncos' 15-point onslaught.

Regarded as one of the greater upsets in playoff history, the game was nicknamed "Ambush at Mile High."

Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts' greatest road playoff win came in 2006 during the Super Bowl Championship run.

Finishing 12-4 and first in the AFC South, the Colts' first playoff game was a wild card at home against the Chiefs, which they easily won 23-8.

The win lead them to a AFC Divisional game in Baltimore against the second seeded Ravens, who went 8-1 at home that season. Trailing early, Baltimore could never get its offense going and lost the game 15-6, scoring just two field goals.

The Colts went on to win one more home game in the Conference Championship against the Patriots, and then on to defeat the Chicago Bears to win the Super Bowl. 

Denver Broncos

On the way to winning the 1997 Super Bowl, the Denver Broncos pulled off two playoff road upsets.  

One upset belonged to the AFC West champion Chiefs, who were defeated when the Broncos scored a fourth quarter touchdown which Kansas City could not match, resulting in a 14-10 victory.

The second, more impressive upset came in the AFC Divisional Championship against the 12-5 Pittsburgh Steelers  In that game, the Broncos scored 17 points in the second quarter, making the halftime score 24-14.  The Steelers never came all the way back and the Broncos held on to win 24-21.

Advancing to the Super Bowl, the Broncos defeated the Falcons and became champions. 

Oakland Raiders

The Oakland Raiders' greatest playoff road win came in 1980. During that season, the Raiders finished second in the AFC West and advanced to the playoffs on a wild-card berth with an 11-5 record.

After defeating the Houston Oilers at home in the wild card, 27-7, the Raiders advanced to the AFC divisional game against the AFC Central champion, Cleveland Browns.

Leading 14-12 late in the fourth quarter, the Raiders were on defense and the Browns had the ball. With 41 seconds remaining and the Browns in field-goal position, Cleveland's coaching staff decided to pass instead of attempting the game-winning kick.

In a play famously known as Red Right 88, Browns quarterback Brian Sipe threw a pass right into the hands of Raiders safety Mike Davis, ending the game. Sipe was told to get rid of the ball if nothing was open, but he instead forced the pass.

The Raiders' next game was in the AFC Championship against the Chargers in San Diego. In this game, the Chargers jumped out to a quick 21-7 lead in the first quarter. Leading 28-14 going into halftime, the Chargers came back out and answered with 10 straight points, cutting the lead to four. The Raiders scored two field goals in the second half and the Chargers sunk one, but Oakland held on to win 34-27.

The Raiders then played the Eagles in the Super Bowl and won, collecting the franchise's second championship. 

Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs' greatest playoff victory came in 1969 during the AFL Championship when they defeated the 13-1-1 Oakland Raiders 17-7 to advance to the Super Bowl.

In the final week of the regular season, the Raiders had beaten the Chiefs 10-6 but were unable to do so again.

The Chiefs went on to beat the heavily favored 14-2 Minnesota Vikings 23-7 to become Super Bowl Champions. 

San Diego Chargers

The San Diego Chargers' greatest playoff victory came in 1981 against the Miami Dolphins in an AFC divisional game.

Known as "The Epic in Miami," the game is one of the most famous in NFL history.

During the first quarter, the Chargers jumped out to an enormous 24-0 lead, and the game seemed over before it began.

However, the Dolphins responded in the second quarter, going on a run of their own and scoring 17 unanswered points.

The Dolphins scored again early in the third quarter, tying the score up. With each team scoring once more before the quarter was over, the score at the end of three was 31-31. Miami scored on the first play of the fourth quarter, capitalizing on an earlier Chargers turnover, and took their first lead of the game.

The Chargers did not respond until there was less than one minute left in the game, when a lucky errant pass intended for Kellen Winslow landed in the arms of James Brooks. Making that the tying score, the game went into overtime.

In overtime, the Chargers drove down the field almost immediately and set up for what looked like it would be the game-winning field goal from 27 yards out; but a bad snap resulted in the ball sailing wide left.

Miami then took the ball and marched right down field, setting up for a 34-yard field goal, but the low kick was blocked and San Diego took over at their own 18-yard line. Once again the Chargers drove to set up another field goal, this time from 29 yards out.

This one went as planned and the Chargers won 41-38.