February 11, 2026
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Best of the NFL postseason: Snow, chaos, trickery and more

Sagar09 mins

  • Rich CiminiFebruary 9, 2026, 06:00am ET

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      Rich Cimini is a staff writer covering the New York Jets and the NFL at ESPN. Rich has covered the Jets for more than 30 years, joining ESPN in 2010. Rich also hosts the Flight Deck Podcast. He was previously a beat writer for the New York Daily News and is a graduate of Syracuse University.

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For the first time since 1998, there was no Tom Brady, no Peyton Manning and no patrick mahomes. Except with new stars and a different script, it still produced drama.

There were on-ice games, record numbers of close games, wacky games, spectacular individual performances, lots of tears (we’re looking at you, buffalo bill), To all ankle injury at the wrong time Once upon a time, a man named “Stiddy” made a highly controversial call. brandin cook‘The “catch” was ruled an interception, and ended a one-and-done playoff run by the defending champions. philadelphia eagles.

In total, we watched 13 games, culminating in Seattle Seahawks‘Win 29-13 new England Patriots In Super Bowl LX.

Here’s a look at some memorable moments:

Best ‘bang for their buck’

The name of this play is “Sky Bang Reverse Pass”. It produced the best tricification moment of the postseason.

san francisco 49ers Coach Kyle Shanahan made plays at the right time, resulting in a key touchdown in the Niners’ 23–19 victory over the Eagles in the wild-card round.

brock purdy handed over to sky moore On a jet sweep. he turned it over john jenningswho scored a 29-yard touchdown Christian McCaffreyWho made like Willie Mays with an over-the-shoulder catch.

Turns out Jennings was a highly regarded passer in high school. In fact, 247Sports ranked him the nation’s No. 5 dual-threat quarterback in his class (2014). By the way, the No. 6 quarterback that year?

Sam Darnold.

the most valuable patience

sea ​​birds running back Kenneth Walker III Made several clutch plays while rushing for 135 yards to win super bowl mvpBut there was one in particular that highlighted his grit as a runner.

With eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, Walker took a handoff, stopped on a dime and took a slide-step to the right (and one more) before accelerating through the hole. NBC analyst Chris Collinsworth liked it.

“That might have been the most patient race I’ve ever seen,” Collinsworth said during the broadcast. “Le’Veon Bell would be proud.”

In fact, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, it took Walker 3.09 seconds before reaching the line of scrimmage – an eternity in the fast-paced world of the NFL trenches.

He was relaxed, balanced and patient. Synopsis: Don’t hurry, be happy.

Best/weirdest entrance at the Super Bowl

patriots wide receiver mac hollinsKnown for his unique methods, he came to Levi’s Stadium wearing a prison uniform, handcuffs and a Hannibal-style mask. Oh yes, he was also barefoot. that’s her thing.

Hollins also brought back coach Mike Vrabel’s old high-school jersey, which had “Warriors” written on the front. Perhaps this was indicative of the Patriots’ “road warrior” mentality, which became a rallying cry throughout the season.

He also wore the jersey for warmups before the game.

However, his entry turned out to be more compelling than the Patriots’ offense.

Best Single Play in a Losing Effort

You’ve heard about three-, five- and seven-step drops for quarterbacks. How about a 22-step drop (give or take)?

Chicago Bears star Caleb Williams Did more backtracking than a politician on his miraculous, game-tying fadeaway touchdown pass cole kmet In the NFC Divisional Round. but the ball was hit Los Angeles Rams‘ 14-yard line, 27 seconds left in regulation. Williams, who was running heavily rushing, had a pass 40 when he reached the end zone, meaning his pass had to travel 51 yards before reaching Kmet.

This was the night Chicago cried – because of Williams’ interception in overtime lost 20-17 – But, oh, what an exciting ride it was on the Caleb Coaster.

most painful loss

After taking the Bills to the AFC Divisional Round, josh allen Played like a quarterback whose shoulders grew tired from bearing the burden of heavy expectations. 2024 MVP contributes to Bills’ career high with four turnovers 33-30 overtime loss till denver broncos In another early playoff exit.

Allen now has the unwanted distinction of having the most postseason starts (15) for a quarterback without a Super Bowl start. He was very disappointed with the loss and was openly crying in his press conference after the game. It was a difficult time, especially for owner Terry Pegula, who was so distraught that he Coach Sean McDermott was fired After a few days.

Most Unlikely Performance

what has happened houston texans quarterback CJ Stroud?

The third-year quarterback and the Texans took care of the ball in the regular season, their 12 turnovers were the second fewest in the NFL. But Stroud, who had only eight interceptions in the 2025 regular season, threw four interceptions (all in the first half) during the Texans’ loss to the Patriots in the divisional round.

Houston’s offense, which led all teams in the playoffs with eight turnovers in the Super Bowl, was so out of sync – upset? –that even regular pitch-and-catch games were a challenge. It will be a long, painful offseason for the Texans, who have had enough defensive firepower to last a long time.

The best and worst sham service

Vrabel suffered a bloodied lip while celebrating wild-card win with defensive end milton williamsWho gave head-butt to the kisser of his coach.

“Well, we talked to them about being willing to get some blood out there and get in front of the big dogs in January,” Vrabel said afterward.

But thick lips are better than loose lips.

Seahawks’ rick woolen The latter was provided in the NFC Championship Game, yelling at the Rams sideline after breaking up a pass. He was flagged for taunting (later fined $17,389), then burned for a touchdown on the next play, a potentially game-changing sequence. Luckily for him, the Seahawks made the save and went on to win.

Otherwise, there would have been a woolly goat, and not in the all-time greatest sense of the word.

Best performance in an impromptu news conference after the game

Broncos coach Sean Payton may have had trouble with the media, but he shined after defeating the Bills. Following his press conference, he returned to the media room for an unscheduled briefing to announce the quarterback bo nixBroke his ankle. It was a master class in public relations and motivational coaching.

Payton not only took the lead in the story, but he also used the stage to play drums for backup jarrett stidham – A tone-setter to prepare for the AFC Championship Game. It almost worked; The Broncos fell just short With a quarterback who had not started a game since the 2023 season.

Now if only Payton had applied the same sound decision-making in the second quarter, the fourth and first quarter.

most disappointing exit

Not every legend has a storybook ending. In fact very few people do this.

aaron rodgers42, in what may have been his final game pittsburgh steelers’30-6 wild-card loss. The computer-minded quarterback was running as slowly as dial-up Internet in the 1990s. Texas, meanwhile, was humming along at 100Mbps.

Rodgers passed for only 146 yards in the loss, with his final pass resulting in a pick-six.

But will that ever be his last pass?

Best weekend…ever?

Four of the six wild-card games were decided by four or fewer points – a record for a single postseason, let alone a single round. Talk about drama: There were a record 11 go-ahead touchdowns in the fourth quarter and some exciting game-sealing plays to back them up.

The fun continued into the Divisional Round, which featured multiple overtime games for only the fourth time in history. Championship games were decided by three and four points.

By then, football fans were thinking like the Harbaugh brothers: “Who’s got it better than us? Nobody!”

best in snow

What does this mean with the Patriots, snow games and field goals?

This is the team that gave us the “Snow Plow Game” in 1982 and the “Tuck Rule” game in the 2001 playoffs (adam vinatieriprestigious area target of). The latest frozen-in-time kick occurred in the AFC Championship Game. This time, the Patriots prevented a dramatic field goal from happening.

In heavy snowfall and high winds in Denver, it is rarely used. Leonard Taylor IIIRaised from practice squad, blocked Will LutzA potential game-tying field goal with less than five minutes remaining to preserve the Patriots’ 10–7 victory.

Players from both teams were sliding around the field, but the Patriots held the ball (no turnovers!) and won in the lowest-scoring championship game in 23 years.

And this is not false news.

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