20 Most Dreadful Playoff Performances of the Super Bowl Era

In just a few short weeks the NFL playoffs will be upon us with all their glory.

Fans are sure to bear witness to awe-inspiring passes, fingertip catches, thrilling runs, resilient defense and game-winning field goals.

Inversely, those said fans will view boneheaded play calling, untimely drops, head scratching interceptions and mild cases of fumbleitis.

In a playoff environment a play of either variety can make a man into a legend, but only those of the latter will vilify that man to no end.

Unfortunately for those individuals who have suffered through the heartache of their mistakes before, this list aims to bring the most shocking of them all.

What follows are the 20 most dreadful playoff performances of all time ... enjoy.

Red Right 88

Red Right 88 was the name of the play the Cleveland Browns called during the January 4, 1981 AFC divisional playoff game against the Oakland Raiders.

In a game with a wind chill factor of negative-36 degrees and the Browns trailing 12-14, coach Sam Rutigliano chose to call a passing play after his kicker had already missed two field goals.

The pass was intercepted with less than a minute remaining and the Raiders went on to win the game.

4th and 26

In the 2003-04 NFC Championship, the Green Bay Packers held a 17-14 lead over the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth quarter.

With little more than a minute remaining, the Eagles were faced with the challenge of a game-winning drive.

After an incomplete pass, a false start penalty and a sack, Donovan McNabb and the Eagles were faced with 4th-and-26 from their own 25-yard line. 

All the Packers have to do is make the stop. The video tells the rest of the story.

Tuck Rule Game

January 19, 2002 is a day that Oakland Raider fans can all point to as confirmation of a league bias against their team. This is a dreadful performance of officiating and informing players, fans and coaches.

In their Wild Card game against the upstart New England Patriots, the Raiders led 13-10 with about one minute remaining. After Tom Brady was sacked and what appeared to be a fumble, the play was instead ruled an incomplete pass.

NFL Rule 3, Section 22, Article 2, Note 2. When [an offensive] player is holding the ball to pass it forward, any intentional forward movement of his arm starts a forward pass, even if the player loses possession of the ball as he is attempting to tuck it back toward his body. Also, if the player has tucked the ball into his body and then loses possession, it is a fumble.

Super Bowl III

The braggadocious NFL owners, coaches, players and fans finally realize that those kooky AFL teams are their equals.

The Baltimore Colts came into the game as major favorites to keep the NFL's win streak alive in the inter-league championship game, but Joe Namath and the New York Jets had other plans in mind.

Music City Miracle

The "Music City Miracle" is perhaps the biggest play in Tennessee Titans' franchise history.

In the team's 1999-2000 AFC Wild Card playoff tilt against the Buffalo Bills, the Titans trailed 15-16 with only 16 seconds remaining in the game. 

Buffalo kicks the ball off and, without any consideration for some kind of trickery, proceeds to lose the game on a stunning 75-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

Brett Favre Chokes Again

There should really be a slideshow of Brett Favre's biggest choke jobs, but instead I'll just mark down the most recent.

In the 2009 NFC Championship game Favre and the Minnesota Vikings were tied with the New Orleans Saints, only 30 seconds remaining.

The Vikings were just about in kicker Ryan Longwell's range when Favre decided to have another flub.

Coronation: Super Bowl XXIV

Super Bowl XXIV pitted the returning champion San Francisco 49ers against the perpetual Super Bowl loser Denver Broncos.

Unfortunately for John Elway, the Broncos and Bronco fans, the 49ers didn't care about their Super Bowl losing streak.

San Francisco won the game 55-10, making it the most lopsided Super Bowl win in NFL history. The game has been featured on "NFL's Greatest Games" under the title "Coronation."

Gary Anderson Kicks It Wide Left

The Minnesota Vikings finished the regular season 15-1 and looked like a team of destiny. They had set the record in scoring with 556 points and won their last nine games by an average of 23.

The Vikings were up 27-20 and had driven to the Atlanta Falcons' 20-yard line, where they would attempt a field goal to put the game on ice with just over two minutes left.

Minnesota kicker Gary Anderson had finished the season a perfect 35 of 35, yet when it mattered most he kicked it wide left. 

The Falcons went on to tie it with seconds left on the clock and won in overtime, making the Vikings the only 15-1 team to fail to make a Super Bowl appearance.

Roger Craig Fumbles Away a 3-Peat

Let me set the scene: Fourth quarter, one-point lead, less than three minutes to play, NFC Championship game.

It doesn't get a whole lot bigger than that. The back-to-back Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers were on the verge of a third straight appearance in the title game.

They handed the ball off to Pro Bowl running back Roger Craig, the rest is history.

Jets Stun the Colts

In 2003, the Peyton Manning-led Indianapolis Colts were set for a showdown with Chad Pennington and the New York Jets.

Pennington may be the most accurate passer in NFL history, but he doesn't stand a chance against Manning—or so the NFL universe thought.

What transgressed was a 41-0 trouncing of the Colts, with Manning throwing two interceptions and only 137 yards.

49ers Knockover the Giants

The San Francisco 49ers fell 24 points behind in a 2002 NFC Wild Card matchup against the New York Giants, looking primed for an early playoff exit.

San Francisco capped the second-largest comeback in NFL Playoff history when Jeff Garcia hit Tai Streets on a 13-yard touchdown pass with one minute left in the game, giving the 49ers a 39-38 win.

Los Angeles Raiders Get Buffaloed

En route to the Buffalo Bills first ever Super Bowl appearance they came up against the Los Angeles Raiders in the the 1991 AFC Championship.

In a battle of the AFC's top two seeds, the Bills ran roughshod over the Raiders, winning the game 51-3.

Thurman Thomas rushed for 138 yards and the Raiders threw six interceptions in this epic NFL playoff blowout.

Jaguars Maul the Dolphins

The 1999 Jacksonville Jaguars finished the regular season with a league-best 14-2 record, giving them a week off before their first playoff matchup.

The Jaguars used their bye to good advantage as they drubbed the Dolphins by 55 points in the biggest NFL playoff blowout in history.

Although Fred Taylor rushed for 135 yards, the true MVP was the Jaguar defense which forced seven turnovers. 

We Want the Ball and We're Gonna Score

Matt Hasselbeck was right…but his pass near midfield scored a 52-yard touchdown for Green Bay's Al Harris.

This is mostly dreadful because it's always great to watch the cocky guy be proven wrong. 

Hasselbeck is hardly a cocky guy, but when you're in an opposing team's stadium and you say something like this, you better be able to back it up.

Romo Fumbles the Snap

In a 2006 NFC Wild Card game, the Dallas Cowboys trailed the Seattle Seahawks 20-21 with little more than a minute to go.

The Cowboys drove down to the 2-yard line and lined up to kick through what would be a game-winning field goal.

What happened next sent shock waves throughout the NFL world ...

The Fumble

January 17, 1988 lives on forever in Cleveland history as just one of many simply stunning sports moments that have tortured the city's fans.

In the AFC Championship game between the Browns and the Denver Broncos, the Browns appeared ready to tie the game with 1:12 left on the clock.

Instead, running back Earnest Byner fumbled the ball on the 2-yard line.

Bills Lose 4 Straight Super Bowls

You would think if your team made it to the Super Bowl four consecutive years they would manage to pick a victory or two.

I mean third time's a charm isn't just a saying, right?

For Super Bowls 25-28, the Buffalo Bills represented the AFC and came up empty, looking progressively worse in each showing.

Jake Delhomme Throws 5 Interceptions

The 12-4 Carolina Panthers faced-off against the 9-7 Arizona Cardinals in the Divisional round of the 2008-09 playoffs with expectations of making the felines' second ever Super Bowl appearance.

With wily veteran Jake Delhomme at the helm, the team felt they could do no wrong. What they got instead was perhaps the worst quarterback performance in playoff history.

Delhomme finished the game with five interceptions and a lost fumble, rendering his team's offense utterly useless.

The Comeback

In 1993, the Houston Oilers were beating the Buffalo Bills 35-3 in the third quarter of the two teams' AFC Wild Card tilt.

The Bills recovered from the 32-point deficit to win the game in overtime. The game remains the biggest comeback victory in NFL playoff history.

Wide Right

I hate to remind Buffalo Bills fans of this moment twice, but ... actually, no I don't. In the Bills' first ever Super Bowl appearance they trailed the New York Giants 20-19.

The Bills drove down to the Giants' 29-yard line with just eight seconds remaining, setting up kicker Scott Norwood for a game-winning 47-yard field goal attempt.

If you can't figure out how that went down from the title alone then I just don't know what to tell you.