NFL: Every Team's Best Play of 2011 Season

The 2011 NFL regular season was one of the wildest in recent history. Preluded by the longest lockout in league history, an injury to the game's most valuable player in the league and a host of other stories, this season was about unexpected surprises.

Who knew that Peyton Manning meant the difference between the Indianapolis Colts making another run to the Super Bowl and making a run at the first overall draft pick?

Who knew that Tim Tebow would go from fourth on the depth chart to leading his Denver Broncos to the playoffs?

Who knew that Drew Brees would break Dan Marino's record for most passing yards in a single season? And that Tom Brady would too? And that Matthew Stafford would get within one long bomb of it as well?

Who knew the Green Bay Packers would end the season giving up 100 more yards than they gained?

And who knew that the Kansas City Chiefs would be the only team to defeat the Packers in the regular season?

It was a year full of surprises, a lot of excitement and—most importantly—a heck of a lot of great plays.

If you've gotten this far, you know where I'm going with this. Without further ado, I give you each team's best play from the 2011 regular season!

Arizona Cardinals

Arizona's Patrick Peterson was a huge disappointment as a cover corner, but a sensational return man.

Not only was this a 99-yard punt return, but it was a walk-off in overtime, a franchise record and it helped break a six-game losing streak for the Cardinals. Enjoy!

Atlanta Falcons

Here's Julio Jones showing why he was worth Atlanta giving up all those draft picks to Cleveland in return for the former Alabama standout wearing a Falcons jersey.

Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens defense may be aging, but their young players are stepping up so well you'd hardly know it.

Take Lardarius Webb, a third-year cornerback out of Nicholls State. Not only did he have a pick-six on Mark Sanchez to help seal a Week 4 victory, but he also had this gem of a special teams play—a 68-yard punt return to help knock off the lowly Browns and earn an important AFC North victory.

Great speed and even better blocking downfield by the Ravens punt return unit.

Buffalo Bills

This is as good as it got for Buffalo Bills fans in 2011.

In Week 3, the Bills were driving against the New England Patriots to do something they hadn't done since the Carter administration—defeat the Patriots.

Here's Fred Jackson's amazing catch and run to set up the game-winning field goal by Rian Lindell to put the Bills at the top of the AFC East.

Carolina Panthers

Cam Newton had a ton of highlights this season, but it's the play he wasn't involved in that will stick in our minds for years to come.

Here's Newton leading the Carolina Panthers' version of The Annexation of Puerto Rico.

Chicago Bears

It resulted in an undeserved penalty from confused referees, but it's one of a handful of plays that will live on in the minds of Chicago Bears fans long after the 2011 season is over.

With Chicago down 27-17 late in the game, the Bears defense stopped the Packers offense to force a punt with 1:07 left to play. Devin Hester was set to return the punt. Instead, Green Bay punter Tim Masthay kicked it to Johnny Knox.

Hester, knowing the entire Packers team was zeroed in on him, faked a fair catch and let Knox catch the ball on the opposite side of the field and run in for an apparent touchdown.

Officials blew the play dead and offered no explanation as to why they called back the touchdown, citing a holding penalty on a player who wasn't even out on the field.

Would the Bears have recovered the subsequent onside kick, drove down the field in the 51 seconds remaining, tied the game on a last-second field goal, won the coin toss in overtime and scored again?

Probably not.

But it was still one of the best special teams plays in the history of the NFL, according to Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings, who told the Chicago Tribune "I've been watching the NFL for a long time, [and] that was the best play I've ever seen. That was not a fluke. That was not by luck. That was by design."

Cincinnati Bengals

There's a couple of reasons the Cincinnati Bengals were contenders all year in an incredibly tough AFC North division—a top-10 defense that held offenses to no more than 20 points in 11 out of 16 games, a rookie quarterback in Andy Dalton that played better than most veterans and a wide receiver in A.J. Green that lived up to all the hype he had coming out of Georgia.

Here's Green hauling in an amazing 58-yard catch from Dalton that helped Cincinnati win 23-20 in a Week 4 matchup against Buffalo.

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns had a dismal 2011 season and as you'll see in this article, had more big plays run against them than for them.

Here's an amazing throw and catch from Colt McCoy to Josh Cribbs to help the Browns earn one of their few victories this year.

Dallas Cowboys

DeMarco Murray was a third-round draft pick by Dallas who had a sensational rookie season for the Cowboys—a year that started off with this 91-yard run for a touchdown, the first of his professional career.

Props to fullback Tony Fiammetta who set up the play with a textbook lead block.

Denver Broncos

It's the play that made everyone believe in "Tebow Time" and it's all at the New York Jets' expense.

Two birds with one stone!

This 35-yard scamper capped a 12-play, 95-yard drive over the last five minutes of the game.

Detroit Lions

Calvin Johnson also had the game-winning touchdown in this game over the Cowboys, but it's his 25-yard grab in triple coverage that made Lions fans believe their team could be a force in the NFC playoff race.

Green Bay Packers

Remember all those sports media pundits criticizing Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers for not having offseason workouts during the NFL lockout? Remember how they said it would hurt their chances to defend their Super Bowl title?

Yeah, me neither.

Here's rookie Randall Cobb showing why the new kickoff rule or Green Bay's reluctance to hold team-led offseason workouts didn't matter at all.

Houston Texans

Forget Tebow Time—this was TeeJay Time.

In this late-season matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals, third-string quarterback T.J. Yates orchestrated this fourth-quarter drive to give his Houston Texans a 20-19 victory and secure a spot in the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

Indianapolis Colts

If there's one team who wished they could forget 2011, it'd be the Indianapolis Colts. The club lost Peyton Manning for the year to an offseason neck injury.

It got so bad, the team's opening-day quarterback was Kerry Collins. Ugh.

Thanks to Donald Brown and his performance against the Titans in Week 15, at least Colts fans don't have to deal with the grief of joining the Tampa Bay Bucs and Detroit Lions as the only winless teams in modern NFL history. 

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars had absolutely nothing to hang their hat on during the 2011 season except for running back Maurice Jones-Drew.

Jones-Drew pounded his way to the league rushing title, leaving opponents humiliated that they couldn't tackle someone who's 5'6".

Here is Jones-Drew's touchdown celebration after scoring against the Browns.

That's right—it's a LeBron James impersonation. In Cleveland. Powder on the hands and all. Enjoy, Dawg Pound!

Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs battled all season against injuries, mediocrity, an improving AFC West and a deteriorating quarterback situation.

But that didn't take the heart out of veteran Dwayne Bowe, who made this amazing circus catch at the expense of the floundering Indianapolis Colts.

Miami Dolphins

No one knows whether Miami running back Reggie Bush was running away from or towards Kim Kardashian in this clip, but Dolphins fans hope his resurgence wasn't a one-year wonder.

Here is Bush torching Buffalo's defense for 76 yards, the most explosive play in an otherwise dormant season for the Miami offense.

Minnesota Vikings

Here's Percy Harvin returning a San Diego kickoff 104 yards—a franchise record for the Minnesota Vikings.

Too bad the Vikings still lost to a mediocre Chargers team on their way to their fifth non-winning season in six years.

New England Patriots

If you think Marshawn Lynch put the team on his back last season, check out this clip of New England tight end Rob Gronkowski putting the Redskins on his back.

New Orleans Saints

Drew Brees finally broke Dan Marino's single-season passing record of 5,084 yards.

In 2008, the Saints quarterback came within 15 yards of the record—passing for 5,069 yards. But 2011 will be remembered as the year that Brees supplanted Marino and took his place as the most prolific quarterback in a single season.

Here's a clip of Brees' most exciting pass of the year—a 79-yard bomb to slot receiver Devery Henderson.

New York Giants

Somehow the New York Giants found themselves down to the Seattle Seahawks and then somehow Victor Cruz made this spectacular one-handed catch.

Extra credit goes to the pink gloves. Well done, Cruz. Well done.

New York Jets

Joe McKnight may not have done much in 2010, but he's been a pivotal special teams player in 2011, helping the New York Jets secure several victories.

In this clip, McKnight makes a late block on a Dallas Cowboys punt. It's returned for a touchdown and clinches the opening-night victory for Rex Ryan and Company.

Oakland Raiders

It's not often that a kicker provides the season's best play, but when he puts his name (and his team) in the NFL record books, he deserves it.

Sebastian Janikowski tied Jason Elam and Tom Dempsey for longest field goal in NFL history with this 63-yarder against Denver.

Philadelphia Eagles

Calvin Johnson caught a pass in triple coverage, but Philadelphia's Brent Celek caught a pass in triple coverage after it had been tipped half a dozen times.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been in business for a long time, but they've never had a play go for this kind of distance.

Watch as Ben Roethlisberger passes to Mike Wallace for 95 yards—a franchise record—against the Arizona Cardinals.

San Diego Chargers

It was the one-handed catch heard 'round the world.

Too bad this amazing reception from Vincent Jackson couldn't help San Diego overcome Tom Brady and Company, or help the Chargers secure a playoff spot in an AFC West that was ripe for the picking.

San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers finished the 2011 regular season with a 13-3 record.

Does anyone remember the last time that happened? 1997. Gas prices were $1.40 a gallon and Bill Clinton still hadn't gotten caught for his shenanigans with Monica Lewinsky.

Alex Smith has been mistake-free this season, Frank Gore is running the best he has in his career, the 49ers defense is one of the best in the league and Ted Ginn Jr. has provided many a spark on special teams.

Here's Ted Ginn Jr. returning not one, but two kicks for touchdowns against the Seattle Seahawks.

Seattle Seahawks

This isn't a play but it's the 65 seconds that will live on in our minds long after the season ends.

Taste the rainbow, Seahawks fans.

St. Louis Rams

The opening possession for St. Louis is just about as good as it got for Rams fans this year.

Sam Bradford battled through injury, the defense "battled" opponents and Steven Jackson gave all he had for a losing cause.

At least you made the league think you were going to be good for the first few minutes of the 2011 season. Here's a 47-yard run by Jackson on the first play of scrimmage for the Rams.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

LeGarrette Blount. Two words: beast mode.

This 54-yard run was, as Joe Buck described, "pure effort" and was as close as a running back is going to come to Marshawn Lynch's run in the playoffs against New Orleans.

Tennessee Titans

If it wasn't for Kenny Britt getting injured, the Tennessee Titans would be leading the AFC South and hosting a playoff game.

Instead, Britt tore his ACL, Chris Johnson got lazy and the rest of the receivers couldn't quite carry the load.

Here's a short highlight reel of Britt's three touchdowns in the first two weeks and the season that could have been for the Tennessee Titans.

Washington Redskins

It's a handoff, it's a reverse, it's a—pass from return specialist Brandon Banks to Santana Moss.

Washington ended up losing this game 34-27, but at least Redskins fans left RFK Stadium entertained.