Honorable mention
DeSean Jackson GW TD at NY Giants (2010)
Demaryius Thomas GW TD vs. Pittsburgh (2012)
Prayer at Jordan Hare (2013)
Ray Allen tying 3-pointer vs. San Antonio (2013)
Aaron Harrison wins back-to-back tournament games (2014)
10. Unlikely hero finishes improbable comeback (2017)
In the third quarter, the Atlanta Falcons led Super Bowl LI 28-3, but the Patriots scored 25 straight points in 17:05 to send it into overtime. The comeback was led by Tom Brady and James White. The latter broke the records for most points scored in a Super Bowl (20) and receptions in a Super Bowl (14). The last of his touchdowns ranks No. 10 on this list. With New England and Atlanta tied in overtime, the Patriots faced a 2nd-and-Goal from the 2. Brady tossed it to White who reached the ball across the goal line for the New England victory.
9. Make bat flips great again (2015)
In a wild and exciting game five of the ALDS between Toronto and Texas, it was one home run that stole the show. Or more specifically, one bat flip. Texas had just scored to take a 3-2 lead. However, errors loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh. A pop sacrifice fly tied the game, and with two outs, the Blue Jays had two on and two out for the dangerous Jose Bautista. On a 1-1 pitch from Sam Dyson, Bautista crushed it into the upper deck over the left-center field wall. After the blast, Bautista, out of excitement, chucked the bat toward the dugout. Texas had two base runners in the eighth, but Roberto Osuna shut down the Rangers and punch Toronto's ticket to the ALCS.
8. Freese Frame (2011)
Poor Rangers are back at it again. In one of the best games you'll ever see, David Freese launched a walk-off homer to send the World Series to a game seven. Freese first hit a two-out, two-run triple to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth. After Josh Hamilton gave the Rangers the lead back in the 10th, the Cardinals came back with two in the bottom of the inning to tie it back up. That set the stage for Freese's dramatics once again. Mark Lowe was the new Texas pitcher, and on a 3-2 pitch, Freese crushed it over the center field wall for the walk-off home run to send the series to a seventh game, where St. Louis won 6-2. Freese had two more RBI in that game and was named the World Series MVP.
7. LeBron and Kyrie come up big (2016)
The Golden State Warriors were in the midst of the best season in NBA history. Golden State went 73-9 in the regular season and breezed through the first two rounds, but had to come back from a 3-1 deficit to defeat Oklahoma City in the Western Conference Finals. Cleveland waltzed through the Eastern Conference and the teams met once again for the title after Golden State won the previous season. Well, the Warriors took a 3-1 lead in this series, but Draymond Green was suspended for game five after an incident with him and LeBron at the end of game four. Cleveland won two straight by a total of 29 to send it back to the bay for game seven. With the game tied with less than two minutes to play, Golden State was in transition and Andre Iguodala passed it to Stephen Curry, who passed it back to Iggy. Iguodala went up for the layup, but LeBron blocked it to keep it tied. With less than a minute to go and the shot clock winding down, Kyrie Irving shot a contested 3-pointer, which he buried with 53 seconds left. That was the final blow and LeBron brought back a championship to the city of Cleveland.
6. Tua the legend (2018)
Alabama began the 2017 season 11-0, but was tripped up in the regular season finale at Auburn. However, the Tide were picked as the No. 4 seed in the College Football Playoff over Ohio State. In the first game in the playoffs, the Tide rolled Clemson 24-6 and played fellow SEC member Georgia in the title game. With Alabama trailing 13-0 in the championship at halftime, Nick Saban made a change to bring in true freshman Tua Tagovailoa. The freshman led the Tide to 20 second half points to send it into overtime. With his team down three and facing a 2nd-and-26, Tua went deep down the left sideline to a wide open Devonta Smith for the 41-yard touchdown to win the championship. Tua has been a legend ever since in the state of Alabama.
5. Philly Special (2018)
After Carson Wentz went down with a torn ACL late in the season, nobody thought the Eagles would come out of the NFC, let alone win the whole thing, even as a No. 1 seed. After squeaking past No. 6 Atlanta, Philadelphia was an underdog against No. 2 Minnesota. But Nick Foles led the Eagles to a dominant 38-7 victory to put them in the Super Bowl against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. With the Eagles leading 15-12 late in the second quarter, they faced a fourth down at the 1. With Tom Terrific on the other side, Doug Pedersen knew he had to go for six. On the fourth down play, the direct snap went to Corey Clement, who ran to the left. He pitched it behind him to tight end Trey Burton, who was running from left to right. The former Florida Gator then threw it to a wide open Foles in the end zone for the score. It gave Philly a 22-12 halftime lead, and all the confidence in the world. Philadelphia used this play as a catalyst to bring home its first Lombardi Trophy, 41-33.
4. Can you Diggs it? (2018)
Before the Philly Special, Minnesota faced New Orleans in the Divisional Round. The Vikings had an improbable season, led by journeyman quarterback Case Keenum. Touchdown runs by Jerrick McKinnon and Latavius Murray put the Vikings in front 17-0 at halftime. But in less than three and a half minutes, New Orleans scored twice on Michael Thomas touchdowns to cut it to 17-14. Alvin Kamara actually gave the Saints the lead 21-20. The teams traded field goals in the span of a 1:04, ended with a Wil Lutz field goal with 0:25 left. With 10 seconds left, Minnesota had the ball on its own 39, needing a field goal. Keenum took the snap and launched a pass to Stefon Diggs to the New Orleans 35, and rookie safety Marcus Williams whiffed trying to bring down Diggs and collided with another Saint and Diggs had smooth Se into the end zone for a stunning 29-23 victory. It was their first playoff win since defeating Dallas in the 2009 season.
3. Seahawks pass from the 1 (2015)
In the Super Bowl, Seattle held a 24-14 lead after three quarters, but that set up a wild finish. Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman scored touchdowns to put the Patriots in front 28-24. Brady's balls were perfectly inflated as he threw the 3-yard reception to Edelman to give New England the lead. Seattle drove 79 yards on seven plays down to the New England 1. One of the plays was a improbable catch by Jermaine Kearse for 33 yards down to the 5. After a Marshawn Lynch run to the 1, the Seahawks faced a 2nd-and-Goal at the 1. Instead of running it with Lynch again, Seattle passed it. Russell Wilson threw a slant, but New England's Malcolm Butler jumped the route and picked it off to seal the Super Bowl.
2. Kris Jenkins wins the ship (2016)
It is weird to think of a time when people were wondering if Jay Wright would ever win a big game in the tournament. Well, Villanova waltzed into the championship game after destroying Oklahoma 95-51 and UNC bested Syracuse to set up a great title game. It was a hard-fought game and a free throw gave the Wildcats a six-point lead. However, the Tar Heels came storming back. Down by three with time running out, UNC's Marcus Paige hit a double clutch triple to tie the game at 74 with 4.7 seconds left. If not for what happened next, this would be looked at as the play of the game. But Ryan Arcidiacono dribbled up the court and passed it to a trailing Kris Jenkins, who buried the deep triple from the right wing for the win. It was the first of two championships in a three-year span.
1. Miracle at the Iron Bowl (2013)
The Iron Bowl is one of the greatest rivalries in sports, and one of the most improbable wins in the series came in 2013. First, whichever team won would be virtually be assured of a berth in the National Championship. The Tide took a 21-7 lead after T.J. Yeldon carried it in from a yard out. But Auburn scored late in the second and then tied it with an early in the third with a C.J. Uzomah reception from Nick Marshall. In the fourth, A.J. McCarron connected with Amari Cooper for a 99-yard score, but Sammie Coates caught a 39-yard touchdown with 32 seconds left. Alabama had a chance to win and drove down to the Auburn 39, setting up a 57-yard field goal by Adam Griffith. On the attempt, Auburn put defensive back Chris Davis at the back of the end zone to return any kick that was short. Griffith's kick did just that. The kick was short, and Davis caught it nine yards deep in the end zone. He brought it out and veered toward the left sideline around the 20. From there, he received great blocking and around the 50 he blasted into the clear. He was not touched on his way into the end zone and the "kick six" was born. The crowd rushed the field and Auburn made its way to the SEC Championship game, and eventually, the National Championship game. Of all the memorable moments, this one stood tallest to me.
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