Image via Complex Original
NFL playoffs#EPICFAIL50 Biggest NFL Playoff Fails
4th and 26
OK, Packers' defense: All you need to do is stop the Eagles from gaining over one-quarter of the entire field and you're in the NFC Championship. The failure to cover Freddie Mitchell(!) here is unforgivable.
Antonio Cromartie Whiffs on Tackle
Pay close attention to #31 in blue on this play. What were you thinking, Antonio? Maybe that's why he's got more baby mamas than successful tackles. Zing!
Red Right 88
The Cleveland Browns chose to pass in sub-zero weather with a 30 mph wind. The result is a fail that cost them a shot at the title. Doo doo, Browns.
Fog Bowl
We'll call this fail on Mother Nature. Crazy thing is, Randall Cunningham still threw for 407 yards in all that fog. Shame RC never made it to the Super Bowl.
Sea of Hands
The dreaded #triplefail: Three Miami Dolphin defenders let a single Oakland Raider outmuscle them for the ball for this infamous game-winning TD.
Kurt's Head Is Clearly NOT on a Swivel
Kurt Warner was going to come back this season. He really was.
Aaron Rodgers Fumble vs. Cardinals
Aaron Rodgers makes losing look smooth to end this Wild Card game. But hey, wasn't that a face-mask?
Eugene Robinson and the Strippers
Bros before hoes. Apparently Eugene didn't get the memo, as he was caught with a Miami hooker the night before Super Bowl XXXIII. Guess who got burned by Rod Smith on the game-turning play?
Joe Montana, You Got Knocked Out!
Now that's a blindside hit!
Super Bowl XXIV: Lopsided
Did the Broncos get off the bus? You guys failed spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically.
Donovan Throws Up
This moment from Super Bowl XXXIX was the start of McNabb's ending. Where was Rex Grossman when you needed him?
Barret Robbins Goes AWOL
Barret Robbins decided it was a great idea to go on a two-day bender, in Tijuana, two days before Super Bowl XXXVII. Need we say more?
Gary Anderson Misses Field Goal
Was the fix in? Gary Anderson had not missed a field goal in two years until this one, which cost the Vikings a shot at the Super Bowl. Somebody check homie's phone records.
Kevin Dyson Tackled One Yard Short
Titans: "Let me put the head in?" Rams: "Hell no." And so goes history.
The Drive
A less cynical perspective on this moment might emphasize Elway's heroics over Cleveland's failure to stop him. But nope, this is Cleveland we're talking about, and we are absolute cynics. Sorry, Mistake by the Lake.
Peyton Manning's Four Picks
The 2003 AFC Championship is one that Peyton Manning would like to forget...but we certainly won't.
Kicking to Devin Hester
Any coach who decides to kick this guy the ball deserves everything he gets. This means you, Tony Dungy.
Where is Chad?
The above video is only the preview of what happened in the actual game, but suffice to say that Ochocinco got lost on Revis Island in back-to-back weeks. We ain't heard from Ocho since, to be honest.
TO Catch vs. Green Bay Packers
We count five Packers around the ball, but none with the wherewithal to knock it down. C'mon sons.
Hank Baskett Can't Recover Onside Kick
Kendra...your man's hands are suspect.
First-Ever Hail Mary
Great play by Staubach and Pearson, tremendous fail by the Vikings DB. Sidebar: How creepy is this archival footage? We kept waiting for a ref to get stabbed or something.
Tavaris Jackson Decleated
Tavaris had a chance, he blew it...and indirectly ensured that we'd have to deal with Favre for another two seasons.
Kurt Warner Pick to James Harrison
The worst possible way to end a half...this play was more worthy of a grocery-bagger than a future HOF-er. Sorry, Kurt.
Eddie George Bobble
Bobblehead Eddie butterfingers the ball and lets Ray Lewis put the final nail in the Titans coffin. Ray, if you're reading this: We don't mean it like that.
Bills Lose Four Straight Super Bowls
It used to be an annual occasion in the '90s...new year, new Bills fail.
Nick Harper Chased Down by Big Ben
This game-saving tackle in the AFC Divisional Playoff game led to Vanderjagt's terrible miss moments later, and a Steelers' victory. Word to drunk coeds, Big Ben's pursuit skills are legendary.
Marquez Pope Burned
We don't know if Marquez somehow LeBron'ed this clip off of YouTube, but the only evidence we have of slow-ass Shannon Sharpe burning Pope (#49) in the 2000 AFC Championship is this picture. As far as blown coverages go, that was a deep-throat gagger.
Bo Jackson's Injury
This was Bo's last play in the NFL. The real fail here is on us fans for missing out on more of his awesome runs.
Garo's Gaffe
It'd be an insult to womankind to say that Fins kicker Garo Yepremian throws like a girl. Luckily, the Dolphins won Super Bowl VII despite Garo's fail.
Immaculate Reception
Like some unfortunate young men, the Raiders learned this lesson the hard way: Bad things happen when you don't "wrap up" at the climax.
Peyton Manning Throws Pick to Saints
Peyton Manning "gives back" to his home city in last year's Super Bowl.
Tuck Rule
The fail that wasn't...but should've been. How history would've changed had this play been called the other way. No Gisele, no hair plugs, no UGGs endorsement.
Music City Miracle
C'mon, Buffalo. You had to know something like this was coming. Forward pass or not (and it wasn't), your special teams was not very special on this play.
John Kasay Kicks Ball Out of Bounds
Kickers, all you have to do is make your makeable field goals and kick your kickoffs straight. Is that too much to ask? Clearly, it is.
Cards DBs Not Covering Holmes
How many Cardinals does it take to let a WR catch a game-winning pass in the final minute of a Super Bowl? Three, apparently.
Rodney Harrison Can't Make the Play
Tyree gets all of the plaudits, and rightfully so, but we still can't figure out how Harrison couldn't break this play up. Conclusive proof that HGH doesn't work.
Brett Favre's Pick Against Giants
We could have made an entire supplemental list of Favre Funballs Gone Bad.
Neil O'Donnell Super Bowl Picks
We can't even call these ill-fated O'Donnell passes "wounded" ducks—there are more like quadraplegic ducks.
Tony Romo Botched Snap
Such a fail that it was immortalized in rhyme by Lil Wayne: "You suck like Tony Romo, no homo." Couldn't have said it better ourselves.
Giants Muffed Field Goal
Not only did the Giants give up a huge lead to the Niners, but this bad snap cost them the game—plus the horribly missed pass interference by the refs. When it fails, it pours.
Jake Delhomme's Five Picks
The musical selection for this video says it all. And in case you forgot, Jake Delhomme still sucks.
Jackie Smith's Dropped Pass
Like Bill Buckner, the name Jackie Smith conjures up one play, and one play only: this terrible fail in Super Bowl XIII.
Thurman Thomas Can't Find His Helmet
The Bills RB famously misplaced his helmet before Super XXVI, thus missing the first two Buffalo offensive plays. Thomas ended up playing terribly and surprise, surprise: The Bills got stomped by the Redskins. Not the first time a pro athlete would forget about his "hat" and suffer the consequences.
Vanderjagt Misses Field Goal
This 46-yard miss ended the Colts' 2005 season, and also permanently changed Vanderjagt's name to "Stupid Fucking Kicker."
Leon Lett's Fumble
Had Leon thought that the ball was a blunt or an eightball, he probably would have held on tighter. Sadly, the ball was leather and this is Leon's celebration fail seen 'round the world.
Houston Oilers Lose Lead
This is the worst breakdown in NFL postseason history, with the Oilers blowing a 35-point lead in the second half to Reich and the Bills. See, the Bills aren't always full of fail.
Brett Favre Throws Pick to Saints
Dude, all you had to do was NOT throw this pass and the Vikes could've made (and probably won) the Super Bowl. Way worse than the Favre Dong leaking as Brett's worst moment of 2010.
Earnest Byner: The Fumble
We felt bad for Earnest then, and we still feel bad for him now, but that was an inexcusable #lategamefail. Damn, Cleveland.
Asante Samuel Ruins Perfect Season
Maybe we should thank Asante for failing to grab this pick at the end of Super Bowl XLII. Had he made the catch, we'd have to live with the '08 Pats earning the "Best Team Ever" designation in the history books. That, and New England fans would be even more fucking annoying and insufferable. So, then: FAIL for Asante and New England, but a WIN for the rest of mankind. Thanks, guys!
Wide Right
Let's not forget that it was a 47-yarder—not really a gimme. But still, this is probably the most famous missed kick of all time. For that, Scott Norwood is definitely first-ballot Hall of Fail.