In honor of an upcoming NFL game this week, a trip down memory lane can revive the excitement. The 2021 NFL season was a season that not many talk about, but was incredible when looking back on it. With the return of fans after the 2020 season, there seemed to be a special spark this season.
Every game that was on national TV was a huge hit. The night games, from the season opener to game number 272 on Jan 9th, were filled with drama. It felt like every week, the NFL had to post a “crazy ending” clip on YouTube because the quality of games was just that good.
It began with the first game when the defending champ Tampa Bay Buccaneers hosted the Dallas Cowboys. Dak Prescott and Tom Brady were going at it, with the game ending in a walk-off field goal by the Bucs, winning 31-29. That game set the tone for the rest of the season. A few days later, the Las Vegas Raiders beat the Baltimore Ravens 33-27 on Monday Night Football in front of their Vegas fans for the first time.
This kind of stuff cannot be scripted. To kick off week two, there was a game between the Washington Football Team and the New York Giants. This was supposed to be a ho-hum game between two struggling franchises. Instead, the game ended 30-29 with a walk-off field goal. Taylor Heinicke and Daniel Jones combined for more than 550 yards and 4 total touchdowns.
The final game of the season was a scenario where the Los Angeles Chargers and the Raiders would make the playoffs with a win. If the Chargers won, they’d be in and the Raiders would be out. The same was true for the other way.
There was one cool catch, though. If the teams had tied, they both would have gotten in. This was an insane scenario that fans will probably never see again. That game ended in overtime with the Raiders winning 35-32 with a walk-off field goal with 3 seconds left in overtime. The world was very close to seeing the unlikely scenario of both of them getting in.
There was a total of 18 Sunday night games, and seven of them were decided by less than one score. There were 18 Thursday Night games, and 11 of them were decided by less than one score. Finally, there were 10 games decided by less than one score in 17 Monday Night games. More than half the games on primetime were nail-biters.
When looking at primetime games in 2022-2024, the quality has not even come close to what it was in that 2021 season. There was a magical touch in the air that season during those games. Hopefully, something like that happens again because it was truly sensational to watch, especially after the meek 2020 season.
The best way to begin is by talking about the Divisional Round. Every single game was movie-worthy. The first two games involved the number one seeds in each conference getting knocked out.
In the NFC, it was the top-seeded Green Bay Packers, led by back-to-back MVP Aaron Rodgers, losing to the San Francisco 49ers. The other top seed was the Tennessee Titans, losing to the up-and-coming Cincinnati Bengals. Both teams lost by three in the waning moments of the game.
The next set of games is what put a stamp on this weekend being historic. The Los Angeles Rams, with their new QB, Matthew Stafford, had an all-time classic with Brady and the Bucs. The Rams were up 27-3 with just over three minutes left in the third.
Brady, however, like he always does, wouldn’t go down without a fight. With less than a minute to go, the game sat at 27-27. Then, in the end, Stafford threw a beautiful pass with less than 30 seconds left to triple crown winner Cooper Kupp to set up the game-winning field goal. The Rams would win 30-27.
Then came the duel of the year. The Kansas City Chiefs vs the Buffalo Bills. The 13-second game.
This was an all-time classic between Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen. Both quarterbacks combined for over 800 yards total and eight total touchdowns. The Bills found themselves up 36-33 with just 13 seconds left. They were on the cusp of breaking through and knocking off the big dogs in the AFC.
Then, 13 seconds later, they saw Mahomes and the Chiefs tie it up, and then overtime. In overtime, Kansas City marched right down the field and they won 42-36, and gave Buffalo their most painful playoff loss in recent memory.
The Championship games were no slouches either. The Bengals had possibly the upset of the decade, beating the Chiefs in Arrowhead 27-24 in OT after trailing 21-3 in the first half. The Rams beat the 49ers 20-17 to go back to the big game in 3 years with their new leader in command. Once again, these games came down to the wire, which ultimately led to the unlikely Super Bowl.
It was a fun Super Bowl in LA, where the Rams beat the Bengals 23-20 after a sensational 4th quarter game-winning drive by Kupp and Stafford. Kupp won Super Bowl MVP to cap off his incredible season, while Stafford and Aaron Donald etched themselves in the history books forever by accomplishing the one thing they had left in their career.
Looking back on it, this season was a treat. It provided unbelievable primetime game start to finish, a historic weekend in the playoffs, and a Super Bowl that gave all football fans a much needed break from the dominance from KC.
A season with drama and surprises.
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