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

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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