National Football League

A Pick Six of NFL playoff upsets

Published Jan. 12, 2011 5:56 p.m. ET

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Marshawn Lynch's astounding touchdown run did more than shake the earth around Qwest Field in Seattle.

His 67-yard, tackle-shredding jaunt not only sealed the Seahawks' upset over the defending Super Bowl champion Saints in last weekend's wild-card game, it also evoked memories of playoffs past - when the likes of Anthony Carter (Vikings), Jim Harbaugh (Colts) and Kurt Warner (Cardinals) led their teams to improbable wins - and when Mr. Automatic, Gary Anderson (Vikings), blew a field goal that allowed rival Morten Andersen (Falcons) to eventually kick the winning one in overtime.

No doubt, the Saints' 41-36 loss to the Seahawks - the first team with a losing record to win a playoff game - will rank among the biggest playoff upsets in NFL history.

With that in mind, and with Super Bowls excluded because we're saving them for another day, here's a Pick Six of previous postseason stunners:

- Cardinals 33, Panthers 13 (Jan. 10, 2009): The Panthers were 8-0 at home; the Cardinals were 0-5 on the East Coast and finished the regular season 9-7. Records didn't matter in this divisional playoff when the Panthers' Jake Delhomme threw five interceptions, while Warner threw two TD passes, Neil Rackers kicked four field goals and the Cards scored 33 straight points after falling behind 7-0.

- Steelers 21, Colts 18 (Jan. 15, 2006): Peyton Manning's Colts were 10-point favorites in this divisional matchup, but Ben Roethlisberger's two TD passes put the Steelers up 14-0, and Indy couldn't catch them. The Colts came close, though, scoring 15 fourth-quarter points before a frantic final few minutes ended when Mike Vanderjagt missed a tying field goal at the end after Roethlisberger had made a saving tackle on a fumble return.

- Falcons, 30, Vikings 27, OT (Jan. 17, 1999): With a 15-1 record, the Vikings were 10 1/2-point picks to take the NFC title game. But ''Automatic'' Anderson missed a 38-yard field goal attempt with 2:07 left that would have given the Vikes a 10-point lead. Instead, Chris Chandler's third TD pass, with 49 seconds left, sent the game to overtime, and Andersen kicked a 38-yard winner 11:52 into OT. It left Anderson with his only miss of the season (he was 39 of 39 before that), and put the Falcons in the Super Bowl for the only time.

- Jaguars 30, Broncos 27 (Jan. 4, 1997): A surprise playoff team in just their second season in the league, the Jags were 14 1/2-point underdogs in this divisional playoff against John Elway's Broncos. So what happens? Mark Brunell throws for two TDs, Natrone Means runs for 140 yards, and it's the Jags in a shocker.

- Colts 10, Chiefs 7 (Jan. 7, 1996): With the wind-chill factor below zero, the 11-point favorite Chiefs froze on their home field: Steve Bono threw three interceptions and reliable Lin Elliot missed three field goal attempts. For the Colts, a guy named Jim Harbaugh threw a TD pass.

- Vikings 36, 49ers 24 (Jan. 9, 1988): Not one but two Hall of Fame QBs (Joe Montana, Steve Young) and a Hall of Fame receiver (Jerry Rice) couldn't beat Wade Wilson and his 11-point underdog Vikings. Wilson had two TD passes, and Carter caught 10 passes for 227 yards. The 49ers came into the divisional playoff game having outscored their last three opponents by a combined 124-7.

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