SB LI was the greatest NFL game of all time.

[Fanfrom1960]

IMO. Some games that I thought were up there, the divisional game in 2015 vs. Baltimore, and SB XLIX, weren't even close for drama. I watched a rerun of the Baltimore game last night, well, from when it was 28-14 Baltimore. I'd forgotten that the Pats had it all tied up again by the end of the 3rd quarter. The 4th quarter had just a FG by Baltimore and the winning TD pass to Lafell. OK, the Hail Mary at the end by Flacco was very hold your breath.

SB XLIX was a great game but, again, it was a methodical comeback by Tom we'd seen before many times. Malcolm's play was phenomenal of course, but just one play. In SB LI, as has been pointed out many times, there were 20-30 plays, that, if they'd gone the other way, we'd be 4-3 in Super Bowls in the BB - TB era. It was edge of seat, nail biting time every single play from 28-3 on. I'm going to be spoiled for a long time .

 

[Thelonious]

Let me try this trolling thing:

"Oh no it wasn't, ****head."

...

Nah. Not my thing. I take it back. Let me just throw down a few Hail Mary's, and I'll be back

 

[fightingirish595]

In terms of quality of play I think 49 was better

 

[sb1]

Greatest comeback in NFL history- yes. Better than BUF/HOU back in the day imo.

Not sure about greatest game though. That's tough.

 

[Le Numéro Douze]

Greatest comeback in NFL history- yes. Better than BUF/HOU back in the day imo.

Not sure about greatest game though. That's tough.

Greatest comeback easily. Greatest game? As a Patriots fan? Sure, it was such a roller coaster of emotions. For a neutral? Meh, it was a tale of two blowouts. The comeback was epic and makes the game great, but it wasn't a great back and forth. It was, as I said, a tale of two blowouts.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Are we talking about the greatest Patriots game of all-time, or the greatest NFL game of all-time? The thread's title seems to differ from the actual post.

IMO, if we are talking about the Patriots only, I think it's a toss-up between this one and SB49. My reasoning is that Seattle was the best Super Bowl opponent we have faced, and no one had even scored on them in the fourth quarter in something like 8 games. The Patriots had ZERO running game against them either, so it was Tom Brady versus one of the best pass defenses of all-time, passing every single down. And the Butler interception is probably the biggest play in a Super Bowl, for ever Super Bowl, in terms of one play having an impact on the outcome, in the most dramatic fashion possible.

All that said, the Atlanta game was probably as good overall. It's not just a 25 point comeback; it's a 25 comeback near the end end of the third quarter. In that game, though, I really felt the Patriots were clearly a better overall team; they had just turned the ball over and paid for it dearly, which is why they fell into that hole.

I think if the play the Falcons 10 times, they win 7-8. If they play the Seahawks 10 times, they win 5.

 

[scott99]

This was my FAVORITE game of all time, not sure it was the best. Though, some talking heads on ESPN were saying it was the greatest sporting event ever, not just football game.

 

[Simpelton]

Which it absolutely wasn't. In my incredibly biased opinion, the greatest sporting event in North American sports history was and still is the 2004 ALCS

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

I remember a match when the Ultimate Warrior was completely down and out. Macho Man Randy Savage's finishing move was the flying elbow drop from off the corner rope. However, instead of of doing it once, he did five of them in a row. The Ultimate Warrior was completely destroyed. Macho Man went to pin him as a formality, but just between the second and third tap, the seemingly lifeless body of the Warrior suddenly moved. Stunned, Macho Man, picked him up to knock him around more. What happened next was epic, as the Warrior's face paint began peeling off from the sheer will and exhaustion of his perseverance. Eventually, the Ultimate Warrior regained the momentum, leading to an epic comeback and ecstatic crowd.

That's the best one I can remember.

 

[doesntmatter1]

49 for me. 49 was entertaining from beginning to end. I even enjoyed Katy Perry. 51 left NO room for error and was great but I can't forget how close I was to becoming an alcoholic down 28-3 and I hated GaGa.

Leading up to 51 I told many people I didn't think it was going to be close. Either we destroy them or they destroy us and somehow both happened lol.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Greatest NFL game? Of all time? Among all teams?

Colts/Giants 1958 and the Ice Bowl are viable contenders, as is BUF/HOU.

But if anybody's making a list of the top five, LI definitely belongs in the discussion.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Which it absolutely wasn't. In my incredibly biased opinion, the greatest sporting event in North American sports history was and still is the 2004 ALCS

No, it's not. The Miracle on Ice crushes the 2004 ALCS easily.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

LI was the greatest comeback but XLIX was a better game. It also had sustained tension for the bulk of the game which was not true of LI.

 

[LightSkinSmurf]

Not even close to the greatest NFL game of all time. How can you say that when one half of it was completely terrible? Greatest comeback of all time yes but not greatest game. SB49 was far better.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Not even close to the greatest NFL game of all time. How can you say that when one half of it was completely terrible? Greatest comeback of all time yes but not greatest game. SB49 was far better.

More than one-half, even. More like 5/8 or more was terrible.

 

[Pat the Pats Fan]

There have been many GREAT games, and in my humble opinion, it's in the top 5, maybe number 1, but I am looking at it through Pats fan glasses. I grew up in Baltimore and remember the Colts / Giants OT game called the greatest ever. Many of the players, a few of them my neighbors thought it was a horrible game, fraught with mistakes and sloppy play by both teams. But it did establish the NFL as a growing sport, with a new league right around the corner in 2 years.

 

[Uncle Rico]

Not even close to the greatest NFL game of all time. How can you say that when one half of it was completely terrible? Greatest comeback of all time yes but not greatest game. SB49 was far better.

More than one-half, even. More like 5/8 or more was terrible.

I agree - -though Atlanta fans might have a different opinion on that ...

 

[scott99]

No, it's not. The Miracle on Ice crushes the 2004 ALCS easily.

Couldn't agree with this more. Greatest sporting event I've ever seen, biggest upset win ever.

 

[Fanfrom1960]

Not even close to the greatest NFL game of all time. How can you say that when one half of it was completely terrible? Greatest comeback of all time yes but not greatest game. SB49 was far better.

I invite you to go ahead and watch reruns of any and all other NFL games and tell me you found one that is more exciting. And, the first half was just "setting up" the huge comeback. If the Pats don't get behind majorly, there isn't the huge drama in the second half. Finally, I said IMO.

 

[brdmaverick]

Definitely a great comeback, but I would not say the greatest game. Obviously this is just my opinion, but I think the greatest game classification would be better served for a game in which each team goes punch for punch (back and forth) instead of one that was terrible for 3 quarters.

As a pure game I would rank Super Bowl 49 ahead of Super Bowl 51. Once the test of time has settled on this game I think many would even look at Super Bowl 38 as a better game (than 51).