NFL

30 NFL Players Who Failed To Deliver In The Playoffs

Darren - January 25, 2022

NFL

30 NFL Players Who Failed To Deliver In The Playoffs

Darren - January 25, 2022

16. Nate Kaeding

Kickers don’t often receive a lot of attention. Usually, it’s because they’ve won their team a game or missed a crucial field goal attempt. Unfortunately, the latter can stain a player’s entire legacy. Just ask Kaeding because he knows this better than everyone. He joined the likes of Gary Anderson in this tragic group after a terrible display against the Jets in 2010.

Kaeding was reliable in the regular season but failed to deliver in the postseason. He choked on two occasions against the Jets. The second defeat was the worst because he missed a staggering three kick attempts. The placekicker had a miserable record of four straight postseason games with missed kicks. Sadly, this is what fans remember (via New York Times).

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15. Tony Romo

Romo enjoyed a long career with the Dallas Cowboys. The quarterback was a consistent performer and has great statistics. However, the numbers don’t always tell the full story. That’s certainly the case for Romo because he failed to deliver in the playoffs. His postseason record was atrocious considering his stature and the number of opportunities he had.

The Cowboys only won two of six playoff games with Romo as their starter. Meanwhile, Romo developed a reputation for being one of the biggest chokers in the NFL. There was the infamous botched snap against Seattle. He also helped Dallas to become the first team in NFC history to lose the divisional round despite home advantage (via Bleacher Report). Meanwhile, the list of interceptions goes on and on.

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14. Ryan Lindley

It feels unfair to put Lindley on this list because he was in a no-win situation. Arizona cut their fourth-string quarterback before an injury crisis struck. Carson Palmer was out of action for the season. Then, Drew Stanton suffered an injury. Suddenly, the Cardinals faced a choice and opted to bring Lindley back. He had the chance to become a hero.

But he couldn’t take it. Instead, he became synonymous with failure. The Cardinals played the Panthers in the first round and lost the game. Meanwhile, Lindley was atrocious. The franchise set an NFL record for the least amount of passing yards in a playoff game (via SB Nation). Remarkably, the Colts still gave him an opportunity as a backup after this display.

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13. Dan Marino

Everybody mentions Marino’s final playoff appearance. It’s unfair to base his legacy off of that game because he was past his prime anyway. Furthermore, the Dolphins were awful as an entity against the Bengals in that crushing loss. However, there’s a strong argument that Marino failed to deliver in his 10 postseason campaigns. He never won a Super Bowl in 16 seasons.

Many great players fail to win rings yet quarterbacks have a unique influence on the outcome of games. He threw 15 touchdowns with 19 interceptions. It’s important to remember that he enjoyed a good receivers corp. Miami’s problem wasn’t their offense but their lack of defense. Sadly, there’s no denying that Marino wasn’t the most clutch player in the playoffs (via Sportskeeda).

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12. Donavon McNabb

McNabb is arguably the Eagles’ greatest quarterback. He’s definitely their best of the modern era. But he never won a Super Bowl with the franchise despite a single appearance and four straight NFC title games. The signal-caller threw three interceptions in the game. It was his best opportunity to win a ring but he failed to deliver. Instead, the Patriots added another Lombardi to their trophy case.

The six-time Pro Bowler enjoyed 11 seasons with the Eagles. However, he’s arguably in that category of very good quarterback who never reached the top tier alongside the likes of Philip Rivers and Derek Carr. Nobody doubts their regular-season consistency (via The Inquirer). Unfortunately, fans remember those near misses in the postseason.

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11. LaDainian Tomlinson

The former Chargers running back had a brilliant Hall of Fame career. He won the NFL MVP award in 2006 along with the Offensive Player of the Year award. In 2017, he received his inevitable induction into the Hall of Fame. Tomlinson was one of the best players in his position of the 2000s. But if there was one flaw to his resume it was his playoff record (via NESN).

Arguably, Tomlinson failed to deliver in the postseason. He only scored six touchdowns in 10 playoff games. and ran for only 468 yards. Ironically, his best playoff performances came when he moved to the Jets. He played three games with Gang Green in 2010. However, he wasn’t amazing in the playoffs for San Diego.

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10. Michael Vick

Vick was a generational talent with a penchant for animal cruelty. However, if we look at his career as an objective whole, there’s one problem. The former Falcons quarterback failed to deliver in the playoffs. He had unbelievable skills and great stats but stumbled when it counted.

Vick played in six postseason games yet won just two. He also completed 54.2 percent of his passes with five touchdowns and two interceptions (via USA Today), highly average stats. Nobody will say that Vick wasn’t great as a football player. But his postseason record speaks for itself. The numbers don’t lie.

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9. Ben Roethlisberger

‘Big Ben’ is a controversial figure off of the field. However, the future Hall of Famer had a spectacular career. He’s a two-time Super Bowl winner so his place on this list may seem insane. But his two wins came in the first four seasons of his career. After that, six of his 12 playoff runs ended after a single game. Roethlisberger was nowhere near Tom Brady in terms of postseason consistency.

Things became even worse as he aged. Some quarterback like Brady are like fine wines. Roethlisberger was more of an uncorked bottle in the fridge. His display against the Browns in 2020 was shambolic (via New York Times). It saw many critics condemn him as they believed he was past his peak. The following season, the Steelers made the postseason again but ‘Big Ben’ failed to deliver.

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8. Rich Gannon

Gannon had a difficult start to his NFL career. The quarterback failed to fully convince in Minnesota or Kansas City before joining the Raiders. Indeed, his Chiefs coach benched him in the postseason because he didn’t trust him. But Gannon became a bonafide starter in Oakland and even won the 2002 MVP award.

The Raiders made it to the Super Bowl that season. Their fans have one memory of that season and it’s not a good one. Gannon threw multiple interceptions against the Bucs (via Missoulian). Meanwhile, Tampa sacked him five times as he suffered a nightmare. He indeed lacked protection on the day but it was still a terrible performance. This event stained his entire legacy.

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7. Brett Favre

Favre’s inclusion on this list is controversial because he is a Super Bowl winner. However, his playoff meltdowns are the stuff of legend. He left the Packers after a late interception lost his team the game. The Giants scored from the resulting field goal. But this wasn’t the exception to the rule. Favre failed to deliver in the postseason on multiple occasions (via Bleacher Report).

Everybody loves a quarterback duel but Favre couldn’t handle the pressure against Kurt Warner. He threw a scandalous six interceptions in the NFC playoffs against the Rams in 2002. As one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, this was ridiculous. Meanwhile, the Vikings also embarrassed him in 2005 as he threw four interceptions. The list goes on and on.

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6. Adrian Peterson

Peterson is a future Hall of Famer. His list of personal accolades includes an NFL MVP award and six Pro Bowl appearances. Furthermore, his longevity is ridiculous for a running back. Peterson spent the bulk of his career with the Minnesota Vikings before a tour of the NFL. However, it’s arguable that he failed to deliver in the postseason.

Indeed, it’s not entirely his fault but his playoff experience is miserable. In 16 seasons, with 6 franchises, he’s only been to the postseason on four occasions (via Star Tribune). Peterson made the championship game once and scored three touchdowns but his team lost the game. He wasn’t able to make a difference in other playoff games as the Vikings’ hopes ended early.

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5. Ezekiel Elliot

Elliot was supposed to be one of the best running backs in the NFL. The Cowboys star had a great partnership with teammate Dak Prescott. The pair are also great friends off the field. However, his form deteriorated drastically in 2020. Dallas failed to make the postseason in a waste of a year. The following year they made the playoffs but crashed out in the Wild Card Round.

Meanwhile, the news emerged that Elliot played through the second half of the season with a torn PCL in his knee. Many questions arose about this because it was a bizarre story. First, why did coach Mike McCarthy start a compromised player? Elliot failed to deliver in the postseason but it wasn’t entirely his fault (via The Spun). Still, it didn’t help his shrinking reputation as a player who never reached his full potential.

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4. Derek Carr

To be fair, it was remarkable that the Raiders made the playoffs in 2021 after a tumultuous year. Firstly, they lost head coach Jon Gruden after his email scandal. Then, star receiver Henry Ruggs III killed a woman in a horrible crash. They also cut former first-round pick Damon Arnette after he made death threats online. However, QB Derek Carr showed strong leadership and helped the team sneak into the postseason.

It appears as though Carr has a great personality. But he’s in the Philip Rivers’ mold of quarterbacks. To sum up, he’s good but not great. The Bengals defeated Las Vegas for their first playoff win in 31 years. Meanwhile, Carr played poorly as he went 29-of-54 for 310 yards (via Sky Sports). He also threw a costly pick-six. In the end, Carr failed to deliver in the postseason.

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3. Philip Rivers

Rivers is another example of a decent quarterback who fell short of being elite. The former Chargers star spent 17 seasons with the franchise before a year in Indiana. The eight-time Pro Bowler never played in a Super Bowl and had a 5-7 postseason record. In short, he was perfectly serviceable for a regular season. However, he wasn’t the man for the playoffs.

He had three solid displays but usually failed to deliver in the postseason. Rivers famously played an AFC title game against the Patriots with a torn ACL. This was very brave so there’s no questioning his heart. On the other hand, they lost the game so it was arguably the wrong call. Many believe that Rivers is one of the best QBs without a ring but maybe they overrate him (via NBC Sports).

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2. Dak Prescott

‘America’s Team’ had a diabolical season in 2020. However, they rebounded in 2021 with an impressive 12-5 regular-season record. This came after the return of QB Dak Prescott from injury. His form was crucial because the previous year fell apart without him. After years of underachieving, the Cowboys finally had hopes of a deep playoff run (via Clutchpoints).

But they fell apart in the NFC Wild Card Round. The Niners led by six points with mere seconds left on the clock. Prescott charged forward with the ball to spike it down but crashed into the official. Time ran out before he could spike the ball. It was a controversial moment but the Cowboys as an entity failed to deliver in the playoffs. Their fans faced yet another year of disappointment.

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1. Andy Dalton

Dalton spent nine seasons with the Bengals before he joined the Cowboys in 2020. He was the franchise’s starting quarterback throughout his time in Cincinnati and the Bengals made the playoffs for four straight years from 2011 through 2014. However, that comes with a twist. That’s because Dalton has one of the worst postseason records in history (via Sporting News).

The red-haired quarterback went 0-4 in playoff games. Houston defeated his Bengals for two years in a row. Then the Chargers and the Colts inflicted pain on him. Meanwhile, he threw multiple interceptions in each game. Dalton failed to deliver in the postseason but was normally consistent. After he left the Bengals he became a backup for Dallas and the Bears.

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30 NFL Players Who Failed To Deliver In The Playoffs

30 NFL Players Who Failed To Deliver In The Playoffs

16. Nate Kaeding

15. Tony Romo

14. Ryan Lindley

13. Dan Marino

12. Donavon McNabb

11. LaDainian Tomlinson

10. Michael Vick

9. Ben Roethlisberger

8. Rich Gannon

7. Brett Favre

6. Adrian Peterson

5. Ezekiel Elliot

4. Derek Carr

3. Philip Rivers

2. Dak Prescott

1. Andy Dalton

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