As I said, it was Ray Day as Ray Rice showcased one of the most outstanding performances of the season. Ray ran around 153 yards, caught five passes for 80 yards as well as scored 2 touchdowns which sunk New Orleans Saints 30-24. What excited me most about this game was the strategy adopted by Baltimore against the Champions. This is the reason I have picked up this game as one of the best games of NFL games of 2010. It was a treat to eyes as far as strategy and game plan was concerned.

Normally, Baltimore on the offense would play a high tempo passing game. But instead they opted for running the ball. Coming back to the Star Man, Rice didn’t have a run exceeding 30 yards and had reached the 100-yard mark just once. But while facing New Orleans, he showcased a stunning fourth quarter performance with a 50-yard run. The Saints had leveled the game at 24-24 with 11:34 to go; when Moore made a brilliant catch of a deflected pass in the back left corner of the end zone.

The score was 27-24 with the Saints facing a fourth-and-8 on their own 17. Cory Redding clinched the victory when Ngata blocked a pass by Brees whereas Billy Cundiff scored a field goal to give some breathing space. Prior to this, Brees brought back Saints when they were trailing 21-7 with 2 touchdown passes, one to Lance Moore and other to Jimmy Graham.

At the end, Rice said that he would sign his shoes and give them to his mother for Christmas with other gifts. Well, I would do anything to get those shoes…

The Ice Bowl is considered as NFL history’s one of the greatest game ever played as the game was played in a very harsh climatic condition with the temperature dipping down to as low as -15°F, the setting – NFL Championship Game of 1957, the intense enmity between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys, battle between the two head coaches who were considered as the future Hall of Famers and the dramatic end.

The game was played on December 31, 1967 at the Lambeau Field with over 50,000 people witnessing the clash. After the opening kick-off, the match referees found it difficult to use their whistles due to extreme cold. Referee Norm Schachter indicated the start of the game and blew the whistle which froze to his lips and so, for the remaining part of the match only voice commands were used.

The Packers raced to a 14-0 lead early on in the game thanks to two touchdown passes from Bar Starr to Boyd Dowler. In the second quarter, the Packers conceded two turnovers that allowed Dallas to recover granting them 10 points. First it was Starr who fumbled with Dallas’ George Andrie returned it 7 yards for a touchdown and then it was Willie Wood granting Phil Clark of Dallas to recover and by the end of halftime the scoreboard read 14-10. The third quarter ended on the same score with neither team scoring.

The initial play of final quarter saw Cowboys taking 17-14 lead through Dan Reeves’ 50-yard touchdown pass to Lance Rentzel. With 4:50 remaining, Starr took the initiative with 3 spectacular plays – 13-yard pass to Dowler, a 12-yard pass to Anderson and a 19-yard throw to Chuck Mercein. Starr decided to take the final timeout for Packers on third-and-goal with 16 seconds to go. He then executed a quarterback sneak and scored the touchdown and thus, the Packers won the game 21-17 and a record third consecutive NFL championship.

Such was the chill and thrill of this 1967 Championship Game which went down to the wire and is also known as “The Chilling Championship”.

I am a die-hard NFL fan and this game was recited to me by my dad who was there at the Yankee Stadium on “The Day”. As he told me the background of the game, I could see the passion in his eyes that he witnessed the greatest game of NFL as well as the disappointment of defeat being a Giants fan.

The game was played between Baltimore Colts and New York Giants which the Giants lost by a score of 23-17. First time ever in the history of NFL playoffs a game was awaiting a result after normal play and the game was stretched into the sudden death overtime. Around 64,185 fans witnessed the game at the Yankees Stadium whereas an estimated 45 million couch potatoes watched the first match ever to be televised in US.

Pat Summerall scored a 36-yard field goal in the first quarter making it 3-0 in favor of Giants in the first quarter. However, a 2-yard touchdown by Colts running back Alan Ameche and a 15-yard pass by Johnny Unitas to Raymond Berry turned the match on its head with Colts leading 14-3 at halftime.

The lead was then cut to just 4 points with a 1-yard touchdown run by Mel Triplett to make it 14-10. The Giants then took an early lead in the fourth quarter with a 15-yard pass by Conerly setting up Gifford. My dad exclaimed that by this time all went Giants’ way until the historic “2-minute drill” by Unitas. About 2 minutes were left in the game when The Colts gained possession at their 14-yard line and Unitas delivered what is relished as one of the most famous drives in the history of football. The ball was moved into the 13-yard line of Giants’ setting up a 20-yard tying field goal by Steve Myhra with just 7 seconds left.

First time in the history of NFL a game went into sudden death and Unitas later stated that the players had never heard about overtime. But, I guess they really knew what to do in an overtime period. Colts drove 80 yards in 13 plays and finally Ameche scored a 1-yard touchdown to win the Championship 23-17.

This game was presented by ESPN to the US audience on December 13, 2008, which was a 2-hour duration documentary. The game was a spectacular one indeed with my heartbeats at continuous high levels throughout the overtime. It is rightly regarded as “The Greatest Game Ever Played”.

The Epic in Miami was played on January 2, 1982 between San Diego Chargers and Miami Dolphins at the Miami Orange Bowl. San Diego crushed Miami in the first quarter and gained a commanding lead of 24-0. San Diego delivered the opening blow on the opening drive with Rolf Benirschke’s 32-yard field goal. Wes Chandler then returned the ball when Chargers acquired possession for a 56 yards touchdown to make it 10-0. Several plays later, a 1-yard touchdown by Chuck Muncie and a James Brooks 8-yard touchdown showed 24-0 score line.

Dolphins fought back in the second quarter and registered their first points on the board with 34-yard field goal from Uwe von Schamann. A 1-yard touchdown pass from Strock to Rose made the score 24-10 and with just seconds before halftime the Dolphins cut the deficit to 24-17. Early in the third quarter Strock helped the Dolphins to level the game at 24-24 with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Rose. Chargers regained the lead with a 25-yard touchdown pass by Fouts to Kellen Winslow  The game was again tied at 31 with six consecutive passes by Strock, the move ending with a 50-yard scoring strike to Bruce Hardy. Miami acquired their first lead of the game with Nathan’s touchdown in the first play of fourth quarter. Miami then tried to run down the clock and with just 58 seconds remaining, Brooks scored a touchdown and leveled the game.

After an astonishing regular time, the epic battle went into overtime with players of either side exhausted. In overtime, Benirschke as well as Von Schamann attempted to win the game with their 27-yard and 34-yard field goal attempts respectively. Both were unsuccessful. After Fouts charged his team 74 yards to Miami’s 10 yards, Benirschke went for 29-yard field goal only to succeed this time. The score board read Chargers 41 and Miami 38 and that’s where it ended.

It was a truly breathtaking game and Miami fans at least may argue that it was their best ever game!

The first half was pure one way traffic with Oilers holding the ball for 21:12, keeping the Bills’ offence at bay. A series of fantastic touchdown passes enabled Oilers to go at the break with a 28-3 lead. With 1:41 in the third quarter, Keith McKeller fumbled on a pass from Frank Reich which was grabbed by Bubba McDowell who returned the ball for a 58-yard touchdown pass. At this juncture, Bills were staring at the scoreboard which read 35-3. The comeback was hit with a mighty blow when Thurman Thomas retired from the game due to hip injury.

This was the point where the comeback began. On the kickoff, Buffalo started their campaign and drove 50 yards in 10 plays which included a pass to Pete Metzelaars and the deficit was cut to 35-10 (one extra point was added) by a 1-yard touchdown run by Davis. Reich completed a 24-yard pass on the drive with a few more exchanges that led to a touchdown run with 8:52 remaining in the third quarter. For the first time in the game, Houston was forced to punt which granted the ball to Buffalo at their own 41-yard line. James Lofton received an 18-yard pass from Reich. Meanwhile, Davis gained 20 yards on a screen pass with Reich providing a 26-yard touchdown pass to Reed, cutting down the lead to 35-24 (one extra point was added).

The intent was clear – in last 10 minutes – Oilers 3 plays for 3 yards whereas Bills had 18 plays for 176 yards including 21 points. After some plays, Buffalo were facing fourth down and 5 on the 18-yard line. Instead of settling for a field goal, Reich opted to pass to Reed for a touchdown. The deficit was cut down to just 4 points with the momentum completely with the Bills. With just 3:08 remaining, Reich connected with Rees for a 17-yard touchdown pass that granted Bills their first lead of the game. At the end, thanks to 2 runs from Davis, Christie’s 32-yard field goal gave Buffalo a remarkable 41-38 win.

Steve Christie’s kicking shoes from the game have been enshrined at Pro Football Hall of Fame in commemoration of the game.

The Catch went down as one of the most unforgettable and the greatest events in NFL history. The match however, was a very tight one with both the teams leading by turns. San Francisco were trailing 27-21when they took over the ball at their own 11-yard. They went forward to the Dallas 6-yard line and with just 58 seconds remaining they faced a third down. Earlier in the game, Joe Montana took the snap and passed to Freddie Solomon for a touchdown. This time round, Cowboys had covered Freddie perfectly. Ed Jones alongwith Larry Bethea and D.D.Lewis chased Montana who was backpedaling towards the sidelines. But when it seemed, he won’t make it, Montana threw a high pass to the back of end zone.

This ball seemed to go out of bounds when Dwight Clark clutched the ball with his fingertips and scored a touchdown. The clock showed 51 seconds were remaining but that wasn’t enough for the Cowboys as San Francisco secured a dramatic win of 28-27. The photograph of The Catch was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated the following week. I still have that issue with me and it is one of my cherished NFL events of all time. The 49ers went ahead and won the Super Bowl XVI with the same score line against Cincinnati Bengals.

On 5th November 2006, Clark and Montana enacted their famous The Catch moment at the halftime of Minnesota game at Candlestick Park. This was the 25th anniversary of their play.

However, I found some commercials which were interesting as well as some of them were bland (although many were miles away from the word). So, here are advertisements which I liked the most as well as these are also the ads which got a huge cheer in the bar.

5. Pepsi Max – Love Hurts –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y09z8lwOEYA

This commercial by Pepsi was acknowledged with lot of laughs. The concept of getting your balls busted for ordering French Fries as well as hiding in the bathtub to snatch fast food was indeed hilarious.

4. Doritos – Best for Last –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvIRjevBG_k

Again, this Doritos commercial portrayed some fun in it. An office guy finishes the Doritos bag and his colleague asks that he has left the “best part”. The colleague then cleans the worker’s fingers in a really unpleasant way and wait there’s much more…

3. Bridgestone – Reply All –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dc1eKHgy_o

The pain of office workers has been depicted here. The guy is shown to perform some crazy acts due to his Reply All act instead of just Reply. The conclusion is even more painful.

2. Chrysler – Imported from Detroit –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKL254Y_jtc

Well, I must say that Chrysler blew away their opposite number (yes, I mean BMW) with this brilliantly focused commercial on Detroit. I must say, that Eminem got the goods delivered for Chrysler with an exceptional voice in the background.

1.  Volkswagen – The Force –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R55e-uHQna0

This was the best commercial that I and probably the world witnessed (yes, my assumption is pretty strong as the ad was outstanding). It shows a small boy dressed in Darth Varder gear trying to use “The Force” on every household item that he sees. At last, he succeeds on Volkswagen’s Passat.

Well, for the ones who were more interested in Super Bowl commercials rather than the match, here’s an update for you – Packers defeated Steelers and it was one heck of a match.

The 40th interception came in the fourth quarter when quarterback Troy Smith was looking to guide a pass to Josh Morgan when Barber pounced over to grab the ball easily as well as clinch his place in the history books. It was sweeter for Barber as the Bucs crushed the 49ers with 21-0 victory at Candlestick Park. I call this game as the 40th Interception game. It came with 10:30 remaining and the 49ers were trailing 14-0 at that instant.

Tampa Bay required just one four-play drive to take the game out of San Francisco’s reach and they indeed took that chance to win the game. The Pro Football Hall of Fame demanded the match jersey as well as the gloves during that history moment. I reckon that it is one of the greatest moments in the NFL history which won’t be easily erased from the minds of people who saw that.

The first quarter was a dreary one with either team failing to score. Tennessee opened the scoring when Jevon Kearse sacked Bills quarterback Rob Johnson in the end zone for a safety. Derrick Masons’ 42-yard free kick reached the 28-yard line of Buffalo Bills. Just five plays later, a 1-yard touchdown run was scored by Steve McNair. After this, Al Del Greco failed to capitalize when he was awarded a 45-yard field goal opportunity. Bills made a blunder and so they were reprimanded for defensive holding the play granting another attempt from 40-yards. This time he scored and at the half time break the Titans were leading 12-0.

The first play of the third quarter showed that Buffalo’s were all charged up, when Antowain Smith started a 44-yard run leading to a brilliant 62-yard drive which concluded with his 4-yard touchdown run. Shortly after, Bills lead the game 13-12 when Smith finished a drive with a 4-yard touchdown run.

The fourth quarter headed towards a somewhat exciting finish to what was an ordinary game so far. With 6:15 left on the clock, Tennessee gained possession and took a 15-13 lead with 1:48 remaining. There were no timeouts remaining and on the ensuing drive, Bills marched on towards Titans’ 24-yard line with Johnson, Bills quarterback who led them towards 5-play, 37-yard drive. On the last play, he lost his one shoe and played with just one shoe. As clock was running out, he had no time to put it back and with just 16 seconds left, Steve Christie scored a 41-yard field goal to push Buffalo towards a victory with 16-15 score.

Game over? Well, not yet! Just seconds later, Christie started the play with a kickoff and Lorenzo Neal of Titans receiving it. He found Frank Wycheck, who threw a lateral across the field to Kevin Dyson who ran the sidelines for a 75-yard touchdown. This play called as Home Run Throwback was regularly practiced by Titans in regular season and was the brainchild of Alan Lowry who was Titans Special Teams coordinator. The execution was just flawless.

So, this was the Music City Miracle which I guess wasn’t much melodious to Bills’ players. Nevertheless, the match concluded with a blockbuster end and went down all down the wire.

Ghost to the Post is a 42-yard pass to Dave Casper from Ken Stabler which is a title given after the cartoon character. This amazing play was a part of even more stunning overall game which went into double-overtime.

The moment of brilliance, a 42-yard pass from Ken Stabler to Dave Casper tied up the game at 31 apiece in the dying seconds of the playoff game between Oakland Raiders and Baltimore Colts which took place at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore on December 24, 1977. The game was a mammoth one and is currently the fourth-longest game in the history of NFL and is famously known as Ghost to the Post game.

The first half was a defensive fight with Oakland scoring first through Clarence Davis via a 30-yard run. Baltimore hit back thanks to a 62 yard interception return by Bruce Laird for a touchdown and a 36-yard field goal by Toni Linhart. The halftime score read 10-7 in favor of Colts. The second half was a scoring delight with Oakland’s first drive of the half producing an 8-yard touchdown reception by Dave Casper. Colts returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown. Soon after, Stabler and Casper combined for a 10-yard touchdown pass with the score 21-17 in favor of Raiders.

The see-saw battle continued with Ron Lee scored a 1-yard touchdown in the start of fourth quarter granting Baltimore a 24-21 lead. Oakland hit back with a long drive resulting in 1-yard touchdown by Pete Banaszak with the lead drifting to Oakland – 28-24. A 13-yard Lee run gave Baltimore 31-28 lead with just 2 minutes remaining.

On third and long and less than a minute left on the clock, John Madden, Raiders head coach decided to take a timeout. When the game started, Tom Flores called for a pass to be delivered to one of the two wide receivers who were running in patterns. He told Stabler to “take a peek at the Ghost to the Post” in which he was referring to a deep pattern by Casper. He was running down the field and angling to the goal post. Stabler threw a high and an arching pass that was heading beyond Casper’s reach. Casper changed his direction, chased and his athletic over-the-head catch went down in history. He went down 14 yard line and set up Errol Mann for a field goal which leveled the game.

Second overtime with 43 seconds left, Stabler found Casper for a 10-yard touchdown pass ending the match 37-31.

I am running out of breath after this truly spectacular play. As I wrote this all those memories flashed through my eyes. Truly unmatched athleticism.