***TOP FIVE***My All Time Favorite NFL Playoff Games***

*Note... I originally posted this to my facebook timeline... it has been copied/pasted to here... Okay, so... I don't post to facebook these days nearly as often as I used to. But, here's one that's just in time for the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. I've rated my own top five, my favorite playoff games of all time. Here they are, starting with #5... 5. Super Bowl XXII (22) January 31st 1988 (1987 Season) Though I did not really take a full time interest in professional football until midway through the 1990 season, this was the first Super Bowl and also the first playoff game I ever remember watching. I was only in 4th grade at the time and being as it was a school night, I was unable to stay up and watch the whole game... but the first half was sufficent and certainly exciting enough. The hometown Washington Redskins had scored 35 points in a brief time period during the second quarter to take a 35-10 halftime lead and then went on to win it, 42-10. Later that night, still in bed but unable to sleep... 90 minutes later to be precise, I distinctly recall hearing the neighbors outside singing the "Hail To The Redskins" fight song. 4. 1998 NFC Wildcard, January 3rd 1999 at Candlestick Park, home of the San Francisco 49ers. When I took up a full time interest in professional football during the 1990 season, I originally adopted the San Francisco 49ers as my favorite NFL team. Being in 7th grade at the time, they were considered by many of my peers to be the most popular team and of course, Joe Montana and Jerry Rice were amongst the best players in the league as well. Montana and Rice were eventually replaced by Steve Young and Terrell Owens and this particular game ended with Young's touchdown pass to Owens with less than 10 seconds on the clock to give the 49ers a 30-27 win, a dramatic finish to a very exciting, back and forth, high-scoring game. It was the first time, and to this day (as of this morning anyway), is the only time the 49ers have ever beaten Green Bay in the playoffs. Also, it pretty much marked the end of the 49ers glory days, the last season in their streak of consective winning seasons which went on for nearly two decades. 3. 1999 AFC WIldcard, January 8th 2000. The Music City Miracle. The Tennesse Titans defeated the Buffalo Bills in front of their home crowd in Nashville, by a score of 22-16... on the last play of the game, a kick return. Though these are two teams I really have no interest either way in... this was the most exciting finish to a playoff game, maybe even any game, I've ever watched. Buffalo took the lead on a last minute field goal, 16-15, with just a few seconds remaining... really, just enough time for the ensuing kickoff and nothing else. Tennessee Titans player Lorenzo Neal received the kickoff and almost immediately handed to ball off to team mate, tight end Frank Wycheck. Wycheck then lateraled the ball all the way across the field to team mate Kevin Dyson, a throw that appeared to be very close to an illegal forward pass, and Dyson took it to the end zone for a touchdown. Instant replay revealed it was not a forward pass, and so the touchdown stood. Tennessee advanced to their only ever Super Bowl appearance that year, Buffalo has not returned to the postseason since then. 2. Super Bowl XXXVI (36), February 3rd 2002. (2001 Season) The St Louis Rams seemingly came out of nowhere in the 1999 season to put up a 13-3 regular season record and win their first ever Super Bowl. Two seasons later, quarterback Kurt Warner and the "Greatest Show On Turf" appeared to be an even better team... posting a league best 14-2 regular season record with an explosive offense that seemed "unstoppable" They entered the Super Bowl after the 2001 season as heavy favorites to defeat the New England Patriots and earn their 2nd Super Bowl title. New England had appeared in two Super Bowls previously, losing both in '85 and '96... but were riding an 8-game win streak (including the playoffs) and one of the top-rated defenses in the league that year. Now as an aside, here's a little known fact about me. Though the 49ers were the 1st team I ever adopted as my favorite, I quickly switched loyalties to the Redskins in 1991... however, I took a secret interest in the Patriots as well in the early 90s... this was information I HAD to keep from my peers in middle school at the time, because the Patriots were one of the worst teams in all of football during this era and I'd be ridiculed and mocked if it was revealed that I was a Pats fan. But I liked New England in general (I, at least, enjoyed childhood vacations in Maine)... and quite simply, the old Patriots uniforms were, I thought, the coolest looking uniforms in the NFL. Now, fast forward back to SB XXXVI... New England took advantage of 3 Rams turnovers early in the game to take a 17-3 lead. The Rams offense finally came to life in the 4th, coming back to tie the game late... but 2nd year quarterback Tom Brady woud lead the Patriots on one last drive down the field and Adam Vinatieri kicked the game winning field goal with no time remaining to give New England their first ever Super Bowl title. Now, here's another little known fact about me... excited as I was over the Pats' run to the Super Bowl, I still downplayed my enthusiasm as I did in my middle school years. The feeling then was that I'd be looked at as a "bandwagon fan", particularly since the Pats would then go on to win two more Super Bowls within the next three seasons. As much NFL merchandise as I had purchased or acquired over the years, I never actually owned any New England Patriots gear and never admitted to being a fan until AFTER they lost the Super Bowl to the Giants following the 2007 season. And now, finally... my favorite all time playoff game... 1. 2001 AFC Divisional, January 19th 2002. This game could have probably won the award on its own even without the controversial call... of course, then again, without the tuck rule, the Patriots would not have won. This was an absolutely historic game. The Patriots' last home game played in the old Foxboro stadium before they moved to their new home, Gillete Stadium. Classic January playoff football atmosphere in New England, the snow came down hard all through the game and never really let up at all that Saturday night. It was one of those games where I truly wish that I could have been there in person to see it. I still get chills watching the highlights. Everyone who follows football knows what happened in the 4th quarter and overtime... so I'll skip the details here. The instant replay reversal of Brady's apparent fumble late in the 4th quarter was crucial to the Pats' run to the Super Bowl that year, and the start of their glory days, but it was just one of the many elements that combined to make this playoff game, in my opinion, epic. It goes down as being my favorite NFL game ever, postseason or regular season.