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There are not many things in the sports world that are more exciting than a crucial touchdown at an unexpected time in the NFL playoffs. There have been 58 playoffs in the Super Bowl era so many touchdowns have been scored. But we have narrowed down hundreds of exciting moments in NFL playoff history to just five plays. In this article, we’ll break down the top five greatest touchdowns in NFL playoff history based on a multitude of reasons.
Devin Hester is considered the greatest kick returner of all time. Hester was inducted into the Hall of Fame ahead of the 2024 NFL season. He also owns one of the greatest moments in Super Bow history.
In Super Bowl XLI, the Chicago Bears with a great defense and special teams took on Peyton Manning and the high-powered Indianapolis Colts offense. The Bears received the opening kickoff and the Colts made a questionable decision by kicking to Hester.
Hester took the ball 92 yards for a touchdown to give the Bears the lead. Unfortunately for the Bears, they still lost the game 29-17 and have not been back to the Super Bowl since. That kickoff return touchdown still stands as the only opening kickoff touchdown in Super Bowl history.
In 1972, the Pittsburgh Steelers were taking on the Oakland Raiders in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. At that time, the Steelers were still looking for the first playoff victory in their history. This is funny to think about because they have won six Super Bowls since then.
The Steelers were down 7-6 in the fourth quarter with 22 seconds left on the clock. It was fourth down and quarterback Terry Bradshaw threw a pass to running back John Fuqua. The ball then bounced off the helmet of Raiders safety Jack Tatum and into the hands of Franco Harris, who took it 72 yards for a game-winning touchdown. Unfortunately for the Steelers, this wasn’t the beginning of winning championships as they lost the next week to the Miami Dolphins,
Another highlight for the Pittsburgh Steelers makes this list at number three. It is also the only defensive touchdown on this list of five. The Steelers were taking on the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII. Long-time Steelers linebacker James Harrison, who is better known as a pass rusher, dropped into coverage on Kurt Warner.
He intercepted the pass at the goal line and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown right before halftime. That gave the Steelers a 17-7 lead in a game they went on to win 27-23. Harrison still owns the record for the longest interception return touchdown in Super Bowl history.
The most recent play on this list is the Minneapolis Miracle. This moment may be a bit high on this list with it being just in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, but it was one of the wildest plays ever seen.
Just 10 seconds were remaining on the clock with the Minnesota Vikings trailing the New Orleans Saints 24-23. Case Keenum dropped back to pass and found Stefon Diggs down the left sideline at about the Saints’ 34-yard line, where New Orleans safety Marcus Williams whiffed on the tackle. Diggs broke away and took the ball the rest of the way to the end zone.
The Vikings went on to the NFC Championship game to take on the Philadelphia Eagles, where they lost 38-7. Even though they lost the next round, that catch was arguably the greatest moment in Vikings history.
This should not surprise anyone that “The Catch” by Dwight Clark is the number one greatest touchdown in NFL playoff history. The San Francisco 49ers were down by six points with under a minute left on the clock against the Dallas Cowboys.
On a third-and-six, one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time Joe Montana rolled out to his right because he was under pressure. He pump-faked to slow down the pass rush and chucked the ball to the back of the end zone. The ball looked like it was going out of bounds, but Dwight Clark was able to get his hands on it in the back of the end zone for the touchdown,
The 49ers went on to beat the Cincinnati Bengals in that Super Bowl, which was the launching point for one of the greatest dynasties in sports history.
Dylan has had a love for sports since he was a kid. Four years ago, he decided to dive into the sports content-creating industry specializing in Fantasy Football, NFL and NBA. He has since had his work published on sites that include Fantasy Alarm, Fansided, and Fantasy Six Pack.