Our List of the 25 Greatest Games in NFL History
Between the two of us, Andy and I have amassed quite a collection of football books over the years–biographies, autobiographies, works of fiction, historical perspectives…even some how at one point a book cobbled together by Drew Rosenhaus (seriously one of the worst books I’ve ever read–I only managed to complete it just to see how bad it was…fortunately I got that one at an outlet discount store).
One book that I had completely forgotten about picking up is a Sports Illustrated Football Classics coffee table style book entitled “Greatest Football Games of All Time,” by Hank Hersch. When I stumbled across the book, I immediately wondered “How many of these games would still make the list today, given that this book was published in 1997?” Well, that might have been my second thought, right after “How do you call it the Greatest Football Games of All Time, but not including any college football games?”.
Given our focus on more historical aspects of the game, I figured it was worth sitting down and coming up with a list…and of course, with my workload, I immediately turned to ChatGPT to help me out–especially because I thought it would be interesting to see how it is able to match up a list with the book, and with what the Zoneblitz audience thinks…
Of course, it isn’t a perfect comparison–I didn’t really give ChatGPT much for parameters beyond “What are the top 25 games in NFL history?” to start, which eventually morphed into a prompt of “Make a ranked list of the 25 greatest games of all-time in NFL history.” And that result is what we’ll reveal here (over time, of course, to hopefully draw out conversation, debate and guesses of what’s next on the list). And as I started to compare to the book…I realized the book’s title wasn’t “The 25 Greatest Football Games of All Time”–just “The Greatest Football Games of All Time.”
And, of course, they broke their list into categories–Big Games, One-Man Games, Comebacks, Nail-Biters, and Fantastic Finishes. Of note–they started the book with the line “More than 10,000 NFL games have been played since the founding of the league in 1920.” Out of curiosity, I looked up how many have been played now–according to ProFootballReference, as of 5/21/2024, there have been 17,665 games played, for what that’s worth.
Their list:
Big Games
- Packers vs Chiefs, 01/15/1967
- Jets vs Colts, 01/12/1969
- Colts vs Giants, 12/28/1958
- Bears vs Spartans, 12/18/1932
- Browns vs Eagles, 09/16/1950
- Bears vs Giants, 12/17/1933
One-Man Games
- Bears vs Giants, 12/06/1925
- Bears vs 49ers, 12/12/1965
- Oilers vs Dolphins, 11/20/1978
- Steelers vs Cowboys, 01/21/1979
- Raiders vs Browns, 11/08/1970
- Steelers vs Cowboys, 01/18/1976
Comebacks
- Bills vs Oilers, 01/03/1993
- Lions vs 49ers, 12/22/1957
- Cowboys vs Redskins, 12/16/1979
- Redskins vs Raiders, 10/02/1983
- Cowboys vs 49ers, 12/23/1972
Nail-Biters
- Packers vs Cowboys, 12/31/1967
- Chargers vs Dolphins, 01/02/1982
- Dolphins vs Chiefs, 12/25/1971
- Raiders vs Jets, 11/17/1968
- Giants vs Bills, 01/27/1991
- Lions vs Browns, 12/27/1953
Fantastic Finishes
- Steelers vs Raiders, 12/23/1972
- 49ers vs Cowboys, 01/10/1982
- Cowboys vs Vikings, 12/28/1975
- 49ers vs Bengals, 01/22/1989
- Rams vs Packers, 12/09/1967
- Broncos vs Browns, 01/11/1987
Let us know in the comments below which (if any) of these games you think will make the modern, AI generated list, and which games you think SHOULD make the list…we’ll be back in the next day or two with the first update to the list of the 25 Great Games in NFL history…
The Zoneblitz.com List of the 25 Greatest Games in NFL History
25. 2022 AFC Divisional Round – Buffalo Bills vs Kansas City Chiefs
24. 2011 NFC Divisional Round – San Francisco 49ers vs New Orleans Saints
23. Super Bowl XXII – Denver Broncos VS Washington Redskins
22. 1992 AFC Wildcard Round – Buffalo Bills vs Houston Oilers
21. 2017 NFC Divisional Round – New Orleans Saints vs Minnesota Vikings
20. 1986 AFC Championship Game – Denver Broncos vs Cleveland Browns
19. 2014 NFC Championship Game – Green Bay Packers vs Seattle Seahawks
18. 2006 AFC Championship Game – Indianapolis Colts vs New England Patriots
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I have this book as well. I will never care about an “AI” generated list because the rules have evolved over the the last two decades to favor more offense and these games were played in eras that were less athletic but more intense and desperate on the defensive side of the ball.
Ironically, probably the most dramatic game of all-time, the 74 playoff between Oakland and Miami, isn’t even in this book …
My List Of Greatest Games
1974 AFC Divisional — Miami at Oakland
1971 AFC Divisional — Miami at KC
1966 NFC Championship — GB at Dallas
1981 NFC Championship — Dallas at SF
1972 NFC Divisional — Dallas at SF
1968 AFL Championship — Oak at NY
1981 AFC Divisional — SD at Mia
1958 NFL Championship — Balt at NY
1975 NFC Divisional — Dallas at Minn
1976 AFC Divisional — NE at Oak
1979 Reg Season — Wash at Dallas
1980 Reg Season — Cleveland at Minn
Just off the top of my head … haha
I will work on a more modern list as well, after 1990 …
Sorry, 1966 NFL Championship game
Damn, forgot to include The Drive from 1986 AFC Championship — Denver at Cleveland and The Fumble from 1987 AFC Championship — Cleveland at Denver … very dramatic games
Other great games, though I prefer postseason due to the stakes were …
1980 NFC Divisional — Dallas at Atlanta … Falcons fans hate this game, since they controlled it but the Cowboys comeback helped put Drew Pearson into the HOF.
1980 AFC Divisional — Raiders at Cleveland
1980 AFC Divisional — Bills at SD
1969 NFL playoff — Rams at Minn
1972 AFC Divisional — Raiders at Steelers
1978 NFC WC — Eagles at Falcons … first great wild card only playoff
1983 NFC Divisional — Lions at 49ers
1983 NFC Championship — 49ers at Wash
Great 1990s Games
1991 AFC Divisional — Oilers at Denver
1992 AFC WC — Oilers at Bills
1993 AFC WC — Steelers at Chiefs
1993 NFC WC — Packers at Lions
1993 AFC Divisional — Chiefs at Oilers
1993 AFC Divisional — Raiders at Bills
1997 AFC Divisional — Broncos at Chiefs
1997 SB — Broncos vs Packers
1998 NFC WC — Packers at 49ers
1998 NFC Championship — Falcons at Vikings
1999 AFC WC — Bills at Titans
It’s amazing to me that Larry Csonka with 6,737 yds rushing still has the Dolphin’s record.
Not a playoff game but the stakes were plenty high for 1985 Bears vs Dolphins. I remember 1990 Chiefs vs Dolphins WC comeback by Dolphins down 16-3 in the 4th quarter for a 17-16 win. The Chiefs with Christian the Nigerian nightmare had the Dolphin’s number for several years. Poor Marty had another one snatched away.
I almost included that Mia-KC WC game from 1990/91 but it was more a great finish than a great game. The Chiefs controlled it.
I will make a great list for the 2000-2022 decades as well.
The 1994 MNF game between Denver and KC was the greatest I ever saw on Monday night.
If I recall Nick Lowry missed a game winning field goal? If that was Montana – Elway it was really good. Maybe made better because an old Montana prevailed. I watched the game also. :) I still think the best was Luv you blue for sheer excitement. Earl Campbell had a night to remember and Bob Griese showed he was more than a game manager.
Guys, are we ready for the next great game in this series? Are you dissatisfied with the AI results, or not enough people commenting?
I think this series is great and helps put perspective on the different eras of pro football. People love basketball score playoff games but some of the best stayed in the 20 scores. Some games had so much drama–like the “Drive” in Cleveland, you could cut the atmosphere with a knife.
Let’s keep them coming Tony, so I can compare them with my list. I hope you and Andy consider a thread for the 2025 NFL season as well. I still want to gamble and win a big game and hope we can compare notes, trends, etc …
I realize this site is more about the Hall Of Fame and our endorsements and criticisms of players trying to get elected but it’s also a slow, waiting–and frustrating–process. I like to comment on the current season as well and hope more people chime in. Thanks for a great site that all historians can embrace …
Hey Brian, apologies–we haven’t completely forgotten about this series…although the realization that the AI list doubled up a couple games kind of threw me off. I’ll try to get back on it…we’re working on another series as well.
We have definitely backed off the in season content, though–never had enough activity to justify the amount of time we were putting in for the way we were doing it…although I am working on some ideas for that as well–just not sure how quick they’ll come together.
Haha … if you guys can help me pick a betting winner, I am all for it!
That 1981 season wasn’t necessarily the “best” overall season ever. But the postseason was great. The Chargers/Dolphins game was one of the ones that made me a fan. The 49ers finally getting past Dallas and ending their decade of dominance was an amazing game. The Ice Bowl. Even the Super Bowl – not the best game ever played, but a game comeback by Cincinnati and Ken Anderson, the vet a lot of people think should be in the Hall, vs Montana, the young guy who became one…
It was probably the first season I watched fully comprehending what I was watching and was memorable to me for so many reasons, not the least of which were going to a Vikings game at Met Stadium and that stadium’s last game a few weeks later.
Yeah, the Vikings leaving the Met ended a tremendous home-field advantage and the team was never the same. They have had their moments in their domed stadiums but the magic of a comeback against the Rams in that great 1969 playoff game, or winning in the last seconds of that crazy 1980 game against the Browns, to win that division, can never be duplicated. Would artificial intelligence even recognize the significance of these games?
I am a huge fan of the NFL postseason the entire time I have watched the game of professional football. Its kind of sad that I have to wait till nearly the end of a modern season to get excited again. Hopefully, new teams and players can step up when it counts the most?