Top 10 Upsets in NFL History! | NFL Films

the number 10 upset of all time the Chiefs win Super Bowl 4 though it wasn't an upset we really believed we were gonna win we didn't feel at all like we were a 13-point underdog this year the AFL had another underdog representing you a team that couldn't win its own division during regular season but coach Hank Stram and his Kansas City wild west variety show came to town with talent and tried the fourth Super Bowl was the tenth and final year of AFL going into its final game this rival League wasn't given any respect the Chiefs were viewed as one-time losers they'd been blown out of Super Bowl Warren that's a good football team and it doesn't compare with the National Football League thing we were stupid stepchild a professional football not-ready-for-prime-time players so that was a motivating factor to us we took on the Minnesota Vikings the Vikings had been dominant in the NFL that year the feeling going into the game was that the Vikings were an unbeatable team the Vikings scored the most points permitted the fewest and dished out such punishment along the way but they came to be known as the purple gang if we talk about the purple people eaters of Minnesota and they were tough as our number 10 upset unfolded it was obvious that the AFL team had been greatly underestimated the Chiefs matched up with the Vikings in all most lethal ways our defense is the area that really dominated that football game they took away the running game took away their passing [Applause] our number 10 upset wasn't just a victory for the Chiefs but a 23 to 7 blowout the Chiefs had a much more complex offensive array and what the Vikings had the Chiefs for emotions shift almost every play Hank Stram put together one hell of a game plan just keep matriculating the ball down the field boys the red 65 toss power trap 65 tossed by our travel that might pop wide open rats and there was a gaping hole there for my carrot so when we won that Super Bowl it was a vindication for ten years of a lot blood sweat and tears that went into the AFL huge upsets are nothing new in pro football in the 1940 NFL championship game the Chicago Bears embarrassed the heavily favored Washington Redskins in the most lopsided game in NFL history there's not very much you can say when you lose again 73 to nothing I told him it was won over fire if Miami's Orange Bowl the experts predicted a Seahawk defeat at the hands of the defending AFC champion doc in 1983 the Cinderella Seahawks didn't let the clock strike midnight in Miami and who can forget in 1998 Cardinals won their first playoff game in 15 years [Music] gave them a chance to witness football game the number nine upset of all time the fight means shot the 49ers very few postseason games I've ever seen a surprised mate more than that one advance to the NFC Championship game a game the Niners weren't supposed to lose Joe Montana the height of his powers Jerry Rice coming into his own our number nine upset took place during the strike shortened 1987 season and involved one of football's most powerful dynasties 49ers were 13 and 2 their offense was ranked first in the league the defense was ranked first in the league and they look like they're as good as the teams that won the previous Super Bowls there was every reason to think they were going to go on and win this Super Bowl Fontana looking right [Applause] for a defense the Vikings were eight and seven that year mediocre on both sides of the ball they're playing the Vikings a team that on paper was not their equal I thought the 49ers were going to run the Vikings right out the front door and right into the bay the Niners 11-point favorites today and the pick of most of the experts to win it all again then as soon as the 49er Viking game begins it's as if he's entered a fall in uniforms el Montana looking flower and Florida the age of the Viking pass wrench begin to catch up with him Joe Montana for one of the only times ever in a big game wasn't himself wasn't on the one sideline pass that he threw that got intercepted returned for a touchdown might be as bad pass as Jose ever thrown in his career and then Anthony Carter just goes berserk I mean I don't even who the quarterback was but every time I looked up at the big screen to see what the replay was Andy Carter was making some type of circus catch 227 yards in 10 catches because Carter was just awesome in that game as shocking if not more shocking is that during that game Montana was pulled from the game and he was replaced by Steve Young but not even the help of another future hall-of-famer could prevent our number 9 upset from happening five games at one playoff loss to the Vikings in 87 was probably the most traumatic experience I've had in sports though Walsh stripped of his presidency right after the game by irate owner Eddie DeBartolo who proclaimed he's not the president anymore I am that's what you know your boss is bad it's a disappointing loss for the 49ers the 87 team really should have been a Super Bowl team even the people from Minnesota I don't think really thought that they were going to go into San Francisco and win that game only a head full of fans are left at most the number Vikings fans as all of the Niners faithful headed to the parking lot a bit early the number 8 upset of all-time big blues big win 25 if no word doesn't mr. feel go then we're talking a different game here here comes number 11 Scott Norwood and he will have a chance to win the Super Bowl for the bill nor would going wide of the goal posts was essentially a stamp of approval for Hostetler's mustache and we can't have that 1990 was a season of upsets for the New York Football Giants first they had to win without their starting quarterback giant fans expected great defense as usual and they were hoping that Hostetler wouldn't screw it up too baby nobody on the bandwagon everybody was a pessimist everybody was a look what you got a quarterback here's your weak link he's never gonna be able to do it even without scoring a touchdown in a NFC Championship Hostetler staves the victory for the g-men they beat a great 49er team in San Francisco but they went on a last-second field goal the bills absolutely obliterate the Oakland Raiders a versatile back a quarterback from a quick snap decision [Music] andre reed obviously a veteran guy like James Lofton they've had a great offensive year and are coming off their best offensive performance and there are a lot of people are comparing to the great offenses of all time [Applause] almost certainly I know thought that the bills are going to win and maybe win huge oh my god they're gonna kill him very early on we took out the Iraqi Air Force we did what could best be described as the Hail Mary play in football while the US was winning the first Gulf War by going deep the Giants launched a ground attack against the seven point favorite bills that would have made general Schwarzkopf proud let's run the ball let's take time off the clock let's limit their possessions let's limit their snaps was the one thing that Giants couldn't afford to do was turned it into a high snap kind of game because the more the bills had the ball was going to play the bills advantage [Applause] the giant strategy gave them a one-point lead late in the fourth quarter where the bill set the stage for one of football's most memorable moments [Applause] [Music] that's an upset car would in the NFL the home team wins about 60% of the time which is why no one predicted the 2000 the two bucks would win their first NFC Championship in Philadelphia every conceivable intangible face them the cam plain cold weather this Bucks tape doesn't look the least bit cold it's the same team that's knocked them out of the playoffs the previous two years where they hadn't even scored a touchdown intangibles don't wear shoulder pads the 79 Oilers shouldered the divisional playoffs without an injured Dan Pastorini or Perl Campbell the men who took their places weren't much healthier Rob carpenter who arrived at the game on crutches and then threw them away to lead the Oilers in Russian Houston still stole the bolts thunder but these backups couldn't knock another group of replacements off our list the Redskins staff beat the Cowboys they've been called scabs scrubs and subs but they'll be representing Washington as a pro football team we are the washing erase cast actually the Washington Redskins were on strike in 1987 as was the rest of the NFL Players Union they're not willing to address any of the clearest concerns teams of replacement players were assembled with often nightmarish results it was the biggest bastardization in the history of pro football the Redskins were the only team that never broke ranks during the strike we had no individuals that ever crossed the picket line were never even close to crossing the picket line I think it's a team effort and that's the most important thing for this the final replacement game of NFL season ironically the last replacement game was our Washington replacements against the Dallas Cowboys squad that had probably had 8 to 10 guys cross the picket line you had Tony Dorsett we had the whites Randy they got him Randy white and Danny Danny white point where I wanted them to call our Famers in Dorset and Randy white if you love the underdog this is a night for you Washington anyone who underestimates a Bobby Beathard football team which is what this new replacement skin squad is is making a serious air to take down America's team bethod was willing to take talent from anywhere the guy I remember is Tony Robinson the quarterback he they got him out of jail or something the Redskins had their quarterback get hurt during the game and halfway through the game they're putting and Tony Robinson who had just been released from prison on a cocaine charge Bobby bath with the Redskins general manager somehow negotiated with prison officials to get him out and he's out there on Monday night football against the pelvis Cowboys thrown tears his route ups and back into place gets rid of the football man Robinson Barry tremendous pressure he played a hell of a game I mean he was the hero fight al takes the faith then it's Robinson who just drops it backwards to Wilson in Dallas caught completely by surprise I win the game the strike ends he goes to prison in Tennessee he was in jail maybe the Cowboys problem was that several names crossed the line the chemistry just wasn't the same and there was a lot more chemistry on that Washington sideline I guess there's a lot to be said for team unity that upset remains one of the greatest in team history they made a movie about it obviously so is the upset that inspired Keanu Reeves as a scab QB and the replacements ranked too low at number seven Oh in the history of the National Football League I think I would move it up to like fifth maybe fourth it was a replacement game the number six upset of all time the Jags beat Denver in the 96th playoff in 1996 the divisional playoff saw the AFC's top seeded Denver Broncos host to Jacksonville team that was one Morten Andersen kick from watching the playoffs at home the Denver Broncos were 13 and 3 the number one seed in the AFC upstart team the Jacksonville Jaguars only around for a few years there was no fear yeah we really never thought Jackson was gonna be this I didn't care that we were fourteen point underdogs the second year team found extra motivation in the Rocky Mountain News we were called the Jaguars I think in the paper all of that played into the story it's just like a fairy tale like a storybook we were going to Denver we felt like we were in a good situation because we thought that they would have some rust and they did the Broncos had clinched everything so far ahead of time that Mike Shanahan tried to rest guys for the postseason because their feeling was that this would be almost a tune-up game [Applause] early on the Broncos looks like the better team but Jacksonville took the lead in the second quarter and never relinquished it Broncos have really let him off the hook the Broncos got in trouble and they couldn't fight their way through it [Music] the Jaguars came in with a good game plan I mean they ran the ball with consistency Natron means got Carrie after Carrie after Carrie runo added another dimension you could not keep him in the pocket [Applause] with a masterful run he has John Elway John Elway and they out Bronco the Broncos they were called Jaguars in the paper this morning and yet they've got the crowd stunned the Jacksonville Jaguars it wasn't just the loss I mean that was a traumatic loss was gut-wrenching gut-wrenching because with that it slipped through our fingers so a lot of hopes in this season going down the drain here for the Broncos even though I'd lost three Super Bowls before that that Jacksonville game was the the biggest loss of my life and now the number five upset of all time John Elway wins Super Bowl 32 in one of the most stunning Super Bowls in NFL history our number 5 upset features the wildcard Broncos taken down Brett Favre and the Packers John Elway had been to the Super Bowl before and never won and had some nightmarish games I'm proud of the fact that we get to three Super Bowl I don't care if we won or lost it was a standard answer because it's really the only answer I had but the bottom line is no I would not have been satisfied if we were never able to say that I was a world champ in a world Super Bowl ring you had the defending champion Packers coming back you had Brett Favre coming back off another MVP season I don't think it's start a season we felt like we were gonna go back to the Super Bowl we were really a good team confident that we were the year before dinner was a 12-point underdog and Super Bowl xxxii started off like Groundhog Day for Elway and the Packers score right away the very first and the game started much like a lot of the Broncos Super Bowl ring they went right down the field I can remember John and I looking at each other like I'll know I think Davis may be shaken up this would be costly for the Broncos migraines are more of a condition and it deals with not only headaches but for me visually I can't see his response with something like well it doesn't matter if you can see or not we sort of need you in this game so that they think we're gonna run the football but if you're not in there they won't believe we're going wrong okay play fake Elway rolls right here John after recovering from his migraine Davis was a real headache for the Packers and was named Super Bowl MVP but it was John Elway's heads-up play that defined our number five upset you want to tell me the 37 year old man that's gonna win this game that's sacrifice that play right there gave our football team mindset that hey we're fixing to get this done no matter what I think the crowd here that's a guy that can trade something when it's not there for him to lay it on the line I like that that just shows you how important that game was tall so when he's doing that it's like oh you know I can't give anything less than that [Music] [Applause] they're not even good I think we really underestimated Denver that year the Broncos are world champions will huge favorites then they outplayed us not to take anything from them they outplayed us everybody they still get shivers when I think about it I still get shivers cuz I can remember exactly how it felt yes was [Applause] the number for upset of all-time the brows 1950 Opening Day game 1950 Browns vs Eagles ironic as it may seem pro football's World Series take place the first week of the 1950 season as the Cleveland Browns champions of the All American Conference take on the defending kingpins of the NFL the Philadelphia comb no one gave the Browns a chance to win Cleveland joined the NFL after the All American Football Conference dissolved in 1949 but at the time the Browns were considered more of a rogue outfit than a legitimate organization the owners the executives of the NFL looked down on the All American Conference but the players weren't as good but the coaches weren't as good they thought it was a minor league product they laughed at Paul Brown they called him a high school coach the NFL view the former a AFC team has nothing more than a carnival Act with its running gun offense and unusual off the field activities the players during their free time engage in some sports activity keep them in shape they say Burke Belt who personally made up the lake schedule schedule the first game is going to be the Philadelphia Eagles the Eagles were two-time defending champions and viewed as the real class act in pro football we're gonna open the season against the Cleveland Browns in Philadelphia and that was no accident I mean Bert Bell wanted to put these guys in their place right away Brown was telling the players what they already knew this league has no respect for you this game is a setup they're expecting you to go in there and get crushed we were so ready we were foaming at the mouth almost ready to play that game they had dominated the All American Football Conference they had won all four league championships what was supposed to be a battle of new champions turned into a one-sided slaughter and our number four upset the Browns just dominated that by halftime that game was pretty much over there were too smart for them there were too quick for them they weren't prepared to deal with the Browns passing attack they had no idea how good players like Otto Graham and Marion motley how good these guys were after the game Bert Bell came in and he said it was the best football team the most intense football team he had ever seen and they drew 71,000 people it was the biggest regular-season attendance ever for the Philadelphia Eagles and remained so to this day the Browns went on to win the 1950 NFL championship suggesting that our number four upset was no fluke [Music] and the Browns had proved they were talented enough and well-coached enough that they would not just be able to compete but be able to thrive in the NFL it's hard to believe but the undefeated dolphins were underdogs to the Redskins in Super Bowl seven Miami completed the NFL's only perfect season and showed that the Super Bowl is the perfect place for a super upset the number three upset of all time the Patriots win Super Bowl 36 I don't think anybody thought the Patriots would beat the Rams they didn't have a chance [Applause] in 2001 the Patriots were hardly considered Super Bowl contenders after losing their first two games and their starting quarterback Tom Brady has been put in the quarterback and blood so taken out and when you do get your opportunity very ready take advantage especially how competitive this league is Brady a sixth round draft pick Jones and promise but wasn't considered a Super Bowl calendar quarterback we have played them already we played them up in New England was cold and so I didn't see any possible way the Patriots were gonna win I didn't see any possibility patrons would even be in the Super Bowl while the Patriots Super Bowl appearance was a surprise the Rams greatest show on turf was used to the spotlight playing against a Rams team that had been to a Super Bowl with this group of players with quarterback Kurt Warner and had one her one was the MVP that year Marshall Faulk is the outstanding offensive player of the year how do you not make that team the favorite [Applause] that's why he's MVP we caught it and that's why he's a VP who threw it we were like flashy we got it done we scored a lot of points however it was the Patriots offense that shined in the first half of Super Bowl 36 making even u2 frontman bono take notice ready block back to throw touched Tom Brady overrated we came out coal came out flat well the Rams offense has never really gotten in rhythm they jumped on us early and wanna go back to throwing here's the punchline microwave on the back [Applause] back to Khloe's Warner on first intend fires over the middle in his plot a tricky throwing drop thank for the game we had to well over 400 yards offense but you know the turnovers create a lopsided score so it wasn't as if they'd stopped this we can't stop ourselves turnovers turnovers the name of the game let's not get too excited here you know the Rams really powerful offense they could come back at any time [Applause] now we go get another one get into the fourth ward of the Rams tie the game water stands in fire when the Patriots got the ball back they had I think a minute and 17 seconds left they screwed up he gave us too much time together Tom Brady and Adam Vinatieri forged the beginnig of any dynasty and gave us our number three upset of all time the night before that game I must have tossed and turned all night I must have kicked that a thousand times in my sleep snap ball down kick up kick is on the way [Applause] and there you go a kicker wins a game form [Applause] and it was the most exciting broadcast moment of my life no upset is more disheartening than one that blemishes a near-perfect season 2004 Patriots at the orange Jersey Dolphins it's the only time in NFL history in which a team that is 10 or more games over 500 lost to a team lose 10 or more games below 500 that was a seminal upset the fish played spoiler before the 85 Bears had an undefeated season dangling within reach until the Dolphins made the catch of the day [Applause] number two upset of all-time a giant upset in Super Bowl 42 I'm telling you we just saw one of the greatest upsets in the history of football and the Giants with the most improbable win Super Bowl 42 there was a great upset because the Patriots are 82 no they were going for 19 to no other you know the perfect season Saturday the Patriots throughout the season New England dominated every opponent in its path to perfection nobody has come close to stopping them they didn't just win they made it look ridiculously easy and they just make it look easy more touchdowns than any offense in history more points than any offense in history while the Patriots were the most dominant team in football now the Giants were one of the most disappointing they went through stretches and they went through periods of that season where they looked absolutely awful I thought the Patriots with win by two or three times then I looked at it as the Giants will get run out of the stadium no doubt about it one of the greatest upsets to me was how that giant defensive lie just totally dominated one of the best offensive lines in football you know it's not like a hot knife through butter like we saw in the middle of the season where zip zip-zip Brady's knocking Giants again pressure you're tackling well to make in place and I said you know what game on here they still had the champions Hart New England to take it down the field and seemingly win the game except that a young quarterback came of age in the last two and a half minutes in Eli Manning and the Giants perfection down by for Manny look nearly perfect as he drove the Giants toward our number two upset and I was shocked you thought the Patriots whether experienced defense would come up with a big play third and five three times 116 ago when Manning first went back to pass he's in trouble man finally gets fires downfield we still see David Tyree going up taking the ball away from Rodney Harrison I think it's one of the greatest moments in Super Bowl history Manning got his team the winning score and was named the game's most valuable player the Giants won with Eli Manning are you kidding me here's a quarterback with more interceptions than any other quarterback in the playoffs that year how you like me now if that's not considered an upset it's like ugly beating hot the look like Sanjaya winning American Idol if you were a Patriots hater it was the greatest way to see them lose the Patriots will not be perfect you could not nullify their season anymore the Patriots seeing their undefeated season go up in smoke I think this this last Super Bowl is the biggest upset I love that upset uh-oh they're cheering the Giants on 18 and one is number two for now but there is one key fact that will ensure its spot near the top for years to come everybody today has witnessed that game and that's a big part of defining what the biggest upset is you can let them know all the stories have to be a witness and I still don't think the Giants were that good the number one upset of all times Broadway Joe guarantees Super Bowl three Super Bowl three is the biggest upset I don't think there's any doubt about that Super Bowl three is going to remain pro football's greatest upset because of the circumstances and the time the circumstances were these the NFL's Colts were 19 point favorites over Joe Namath's Jets members of the upstart American Football League the conventional wisdom held that the American Football League was probably still a decade away from being competitive with the best teams in the NFL [Music] the Colts weren't just the champions on the national football league they were being talked about as maybe one of the great teams of all time the Baltimore Colts are heavier favorites to win the Super Bowl game and Green Bay was in 1967 a 1938 the Packers have won the first two Super Bowls obviously representing the NFL so they've won the first two in pretty convincing fashion I don't think people thought the Jets we're as good as the Chiefs of the Raiders that lost Super Bowls one and two I mean there are a lot of AFL people that went into Super Bowl three sort of with one hand over their face thinking oh god this is going to be worse than the last two games far far away in the kingdom on the coast there was a little prince who made a mighty boast straight I'll make it go there's no doubt about it said the boy named Broadway Joe there was a lot of fuss made about my guarantee in the victory Thursday night before the game Joe Namath not only predicts victory he guarantees it we're gonna win the game I guarantee it and this is posted now given Baltimore even more of an incentive and they say that is that it may be a two-touchdown edge to the call will stay at all comes out they should have been very upset that you'll guaranteed the game if they were as good as what they said they were they should have came out and beat the hell out of us and then on Sunday the biggest star in the game in the biggest city in the game goes out and on the sports biggest stage orchestrates the biggest upset in pro football history I mean that makes it a transcendent kind of story he managed the game masterfully redhot anybody get killed in this game these kill Baltimore so five [Music] [Applause] you know they dominate that game hey Tom made the game that I mean everything I could go wrong went wrong that day we just got our plate the game is over they obsessive olive oil it was shocking that the Colts lost the game gotta have confidence in your team gonna have confidence in yourself and if you don't have that confidence you can't play football the significance of that game it was really more than just the Jets winning against the Colts we won for the league I believe the AFL won over many football fans because that underdog jet team came to our number1 upsets greatest legacy was what it did for the game and the afl-nfl merger the feeling was the real championship game is the NFL title game this Super Bowl thing is just an anti-climax the Friday before Super Bowl 3 Pete Rozelle allowed that the league was looking at rejiggering the playoff structure so two NFL teams might play in a Super Bowl one day historically I think it was the greatest upside if the Jets had been blown out in that game the distinction between the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference would be much less pronounced than it is today it was really the game that made pro football I believe today unfortunately we've reached the end of our list and if you're upset by our list of upsets you're not alone Jacksonville Jaguars over the Denver Broncos in the 96 playoffs that should be top three I don't rate that as a major option I would probably put the Giants beating the bills in Super Bowl 25 ahead of the Rams Patriots a Super Bowl win got to be rate at least higher than a replacement game we are the Washington where yes this one or John Elway quarterbacking a team how much of an upset is pictures

Channel: NFL Films

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Keywords: NFL, Football, NFL Films, American Football, top 10, top 10 show, full show, full shows, top 10 full shows, top 10 upsets, top 10 upsets in nfl history, super bowl 42, scab day, 1987 divisional playoffs, divisional playoffs

Id: yhj0TUSM13Y

Length: 37min 47sec (2267 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 21 2019