The 10 Most Disastrous Play Calls in NFL Postseason History

The 2024 NFL regular season is quickly approaching its end, and the playoff standing has become a bit clearer.

This time of the year is when things start to really heat up and we begin to see the urgency of teams realizing they have to start putting games together to have a last-gasp chance at making the playoffs.

But even if they make it there, a lot has to go right for teams to succeed — including calling the right plays in critical situations.

And sometimes that goes disastrously wrong. Let’s take a look at the most disastrous play calls in NFL postseason history:

---

10. Chiefs Do Not Take the Points at the End of the Half

• 2022 AFC Championship: Kansas City vs. Cincinatti

After a disappointing 2020 Super Bowl loss to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Kansas City Chiefs wanted to avenge that with a Super Bowl run the following season.

That’s exactly what it looked like was going to transpire, as the Chiefs earned the top-overall seed, winning the divisional round and hosting the AFC championship game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Patrick Mahomes and the offense were unstoppable in the first half, jumping to a 21-3 lead and looking poised to reach their third consecutive Super Bowl. However, a late first-half decision caused a domino effect that would leak into the second half, where Kansas City would ultimately late the game slip away.

At the end of the first half with five seconds left, second-and-goal at the 1-yard line, with zero timeouts, and up 21-10, Mahomes convinced Andy Reid and the coaching staff to leave the field goal unit on the sidelines. Mahomes then failed to throw the ball into the end zone and instead targeted Tyreek Hill in the flat at the goal line. Hill was tackled in bounds and the first half ended right there.

It was a momentum killer for the Chiefs and a glimpse of hope for the Bengals. From that point on, the game flipped, and Joe Burrow ended Kansas City’s season, leading Cincinnati to a game-winning field goal in overtime.

---

9. Mike Vrabel Punts the Ball on 4th-and-2

• 2020 AFC Wildcard: Tennessee vs. Baltimore

With the fourth quarter just beginning, the Tennessee Titans had meticulously driven down the field, taking a few minutes off the clock.

It was fourth-and-two on the Baltimore Ravens‘ 40-yard line with around 10 minutes remaining in the game. The Titans were down 17-13, and had an opportunity to score on a pivotal drive that would have put all the pressure on Lamar Jackson to deliver in the playoffs, which he has struggled with throughout his career. Not to mention, Tennessee had Derrick Henry in the backfield.

Instead, Vrabel elected to punt the ball away, giving the Ravens an opportunity to potentially close the game out. Baltimore did not completely shut the door and were forced to settle for a field goal. However, the Ravens ran the clock down to the two-minute mark, giving the Titans only a couple of minutes to score a touchdown. Ryan Tannehill forced a pass into tight coverage, leading to a back-breaking interception by Marcus Peters. And that was that.

---

8. John Fox Settles for Overtime

• 2012 AFC Divisional Round: Denver vs. Baltimore

This was a catastrophic ending for a team that was seconds away from reaching the AFC championship.

After giving up an inexplicable 70-yard touchdown to Jacoby Jones, Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos were left with 31 seconds and two timeouts to get into field goal range.

However, head coach John Fox played it safe and elected to take a knee, going into overtime.

It took double overtime, but the Ravens ultimately upset the Broncos on a game-winning 47-yard field from Justin Tucker. A 13-3 season had gone to waste because of poor late-game execution and a coach who did not allow his hall-of-fame quarterback to go win the game.

---

7. Mike Holmgren Lets the Broncos Score

• 1998 Super Bowl: Green Bay vs. Denver

The Green Bay Packers were the defending Super Bowl champions, looking to make history and win back-to-back Super Bowls.

Brett Favre and the Packers were heavy favorites heading into the game, but the defense could not contain Terrell Davis and Denver’s rushing attack. The game was tied 24-24 with two minutes left with the Broncos inside the 10-yard line at first and goal. However, an offensive holding penalty call pushed Denver back to the 18-yard line.

Davis took the take the handoff and ran for 17 yards to the 1-yard line. The holding call — which was advantageous for Green Bay — had turned into a curse, as Mike Holmgren thought the run was good enough for a first down, but in reality, it was second-and-goal.

With this thought process, the Packers’ head coach was worried that the Broncos would eat the rest of the time and kick a field goal as time expired. Holmgren informed the defense to allow Denver to score.

With just under two minutes left, Favre and Green Bay needed a touchdown to extend the game. The Packers ended up turning it over on downs, ending their hopes of consecutive Super Bowl titles, and John Elway would walk away with his first Super Bowl victory.

READ NEXT: The Top 25 Most Overrated NFL Players All Time (Offense)

---

6. Matt LaFleur Goes for Field Goal Down by 8

• 2022 NFC Championship: Green Bay vs. Tampa Bay

Seeing Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady square off in the playoffs was only a dream before Brady signed with Tampa Bay before the 2020 NFL season. That matchup became a reality as the two all-time great quarterbacks faced off in the 2021 NFC title game at Lambeau Field.

Brady struggled in this one, throwing 4 interceptions, but his ability to convert third downs consistently throughout the game kept the Buccaneers in position to win.

With a little over two minutes left with three timeouts and down by 8, the Packers were faced with a tough situation: It was fourth-and-goal and Green Bay needed to score a touchdown and make a 2-point conversion to the tie the game.

If you miss it, you still have the two-minute warning and three timeouts as an option. Well, Matt LaFluer settled for a field goal, giving Brady the ball, up by 5 points in a playoff game.

Of course, Brady and Tampa Bay bled the last two minutes off the clock, never giving Rodgers another chance with the ball. It was another example of a coach taking the game out of his quarterback’s hands, which would prove costly.

---

5. Texans’ Fake Punt Sparks Chiefs Comeback

• 2020 AFC Divisional Round: Kansas City vs. Houston

It was Mahomes’ second year as the starting quarterback for the Chiefs, and he delivered after a winning the MVP the prior season.

After earning a first-round bye, Kansas City would host Deshaun Watson and the Houston Texans in the divisional round. Houston jumped out to a 24-0 lead, as the Chiefs kept committing self-inflicted drops that prohibited the offense from finding its rhythm.

Because Kansas City could not get out of its own way up to that point, the last thing the team should have done was present life to the struggling offense. But that is exactly what Bill O’Brien did. After the Chiefs finally mustered a touchdown-scoring drive, the Texans found themselves at 4th-and-4 from their own 31-yard line halfway through the second quarter.

Instead of forcing Mahomes to deliver again on a long drive, Houston ran a fake punt and came up short. This gave the Chiefs some life and handed the ball over to their superstar quarterback on a short field.

Inevitably, Kansas City scored a touchdown on their way to 48 unanswered points. Mahomes proved the doubters wrong, as the Chiefs flipped the script entirely, winning 51-31 and hoisting the Lombardi Trophy a few weeks later.

---

4. Joe Gibbs Calls a Screen Pass, Leading to Pick-6

• 1984 Super Bowl: Washington vs. Los Angeles

Head coach Joe Gibbs had led Washington to its second consecutive Super Bowl appearance with an opportunity to win its second in as many years.

A high-powered offense led by quarterback Joe Theismann was stifled in the first half, as Washington trailed 14-3 with 12 seconds remaining.

The smart decision would have been to kneel the ball and head into halftime with a manageable deficit.

Instead, Gibbs chose to go for it but ran a screen pass that had a low chance of developing into anything substantial. It did, but for the other team. Theismann sailed the pass, and a Los Angeles Raiders defender intercepted the pass and walked into the end zone, extending Los Angeles’ lead to 21-3 heading into halftime. It became an insurmountable deficit that Washington could not overcome.

---

3. Dak Prescott Runs QB Draw With No Timeouts

• 2021 NFC Wildcard Round: Dallas vs. San Francisco

The Dallas Cowboys have failed again and again in the playoffs in recent years, but the one that may resonate the most is the 23-17 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the 2021 wildcard.

Dak Prescott, as usual, came up short in the biggest moments of that game, struggling to deliver on multiple occasions. The last play of the game was a head-scratching decision to say the least.

With 14 seconds left on the 49ers’ 40-yard line with zero timeouts, head coach Mike McCarthy called a quarterback draw. Prescott ran for 15 yards, sliding with seven seconds remaining, which was not enough time for the Cowboys to spike the ball and line up for one last play.

It was another blunder by an organization that has not found much postseason success since the 1990s when Dallas won three Super Bowls.

---

2. Falcons Game Clock Management in Super Bowl Loss

• 2017 Super Bowl: Atlanta vs. New England

The Atlanta Falcons thoroughly outplayed the New England Patriots for the first three quarters of the 2017 Super Bowl, holding a commanding 28-3 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The clock was clearly on the Falcons’ side, as they just needed to play competent football to run out the time.

However, head coach Dan Quinn and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan stuck to the aggressive game plan and continued to throw the ball at a high rate.

This poor game management afforded New England time to claw its way back into the game, and the Patriots were able to do just that, cutting Atlanta’s once-dominant lead to just 8 points with over five minutes remaining.

With over four minutes left in the game, Matt Ryan and Atlanta’s offense drove down to New England’s 22-yard line. In field goal range, all the Falcons had to do was simply run the ball three times, forcing the Patriots to use all of their timeouts before kicking a field goal and making it a two-possession game.

Instead, Shanahan dialed up another pass play. Ryan got sacked out of field goal range. A subsequent holding penalty and an incompletion forced Atlanta to punt.

Brady led New England to a game-tying drive, forcing overtime, where the Patriots scored on the first possession of the extra period and won yet another Super Bowl.

---

1. Seahawks Throw Ball, Don’t Run to Marshawn Lynch

• 2015 Super Bowl: New England vs. Seattle

This is the worst decision of all-time in NFL postseason history, and it goes without saying that narratives were a big part of the decision.

The Seattle Seahawks were down 28-24 late in the fourth quarter and an opportunity for Russell Wilson to deliver a legendary game-winning drive against the Patriots.

It surely looked that way, as Wilson completed pass after pass, leading the Seahawks right down the field. Then disaster struck.

After Marshawn Lynch ran for an 8-yard gain to the 1-yard line, it was a no brainer that Seattle would lean on Lynch for one more play.

New England would not take a timeout, letting the clock tick to 25 seconds. In shotgun formation, it seemed to be the most obvious play call ever. However, Pete Caroll tried to outsmart the defense, running a quick pass play. Cornerback Malcolm Butler jumped the slant route and intercepted the pass right outside of the end zone.

Brady knelt a couple of times, and New England once again found a way to win the Super Bowl in the most ridiculous fashion.

READ NEXT: 10 Most Overrated NFL QBs of All Time, Ranked

0 Comments