The 32 Best Games the NFL Won't Let You See

The glorious NFL Films vault was going to be unlocked. A vast repository of incredible games was almost at our fingertips. Decades of history that most league fans either dimly remember, or have only heard about, were nearly made available for free online streaming.

And then, fans unwittingly conspired with the league to again slam the door shut, spin the lock, and make sure many of the NFL's best games, players, and teams fade even further into the past.

It seemed like a can't-miss proposition: The league, in partnership with YouTube, announced they had put three of the greatest games from each team's history online, available for free. Fans of each team would go on Facebook, vote for the games they wanted to see, and everybody would win.

So how did everyone lose out?

First of all, the NFL asked fans to pick three games from a pre-selected pool of five. It makes perfect sense to apply the Wisdom of Crowds to this problem; we've got huge, diverse groups with a collective vested interest in the result. Instead of allowing fans to submit nominations, however, the league had some poor staffers do the grunt work themselves—and the results skew heavily toward the recent and obvious

Recency bias was always going to be a factor in the final selection, but teams exacerbated it by asking fans to pick not the "best" games but the "most memorable" ones, priming them to pick games they clearly remember.

So, for example, even though the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise has played 1,140 regular-season games across 84 seasons, plus 29 playoff runs, eight Super Bowl appearances, and six NFL championships, we won't get to see any Steelers games pre-dating Ben Roethlisberger. The farthest back into black-and-gold history we'll get to reach is 2005, with Super Bowl XL at Ford Field.

In fact, of the 96 games to be uploaded to YouTube next month, 23 are Super Bowls. And sure, Super Bowls can definitely be memorable, but they're also usually terrible games. We get no Steel Curtain, no Terry Bradshaw, not even any Neil O'Donnell, but we DO get Super Bowl XLIII, which was 57 minutes of brutal slogging through terrible officiating, then one great drive capped by one unbelievable play—and that play has been all the hell over the internet since the instant it happened.

Speaking of which, NFL Game Pass already streams every regular- and postseason game since 2009. Nineteen of the 96 games are already available on demand for less than a hundred bucks, or with a free trial. Some recent games merit inclusion, but it's ludicrous to deny the Internet the best defense ever assembled in favor of all three games of the Ravens' 2012 playoff run.

The NFL often acts like nothing before it 2002 realignment ever happened; this summer, they missed a golden opportunity to rectify that. For all 32 teams, there's at least one barnburner, thriller, or history-making win we won't get to watch. So I put together my own list of the best games, emphasizing entertainment, historical relevance and sentimental significance over "[player] achieved [thing]."

Buffalo Bills fans were right to pick the greatest comeback in NFL history in a landslide, but what about this 1999 comeback win over the New England Patriots? Doug Flutie turned a fourth-quarter comeback into an overtime win against his old team, helping secure a playoff berth. This game would give us a glimpse of the Drew Bledsoe/Bill Parcells Patriots, which we can't see on the original list.

Somehow Miami Dolphins fans weren't even given the chance to vote for The Longest Day. Played on Christmas Day, 1971, the iconic double-overtime war of attrition would also us see the Len Dawson/Hank Stram Chiefs—an inexcusable exclusion from the original.

The three, five, or 17 greatest games of New England Patriots history could all be plucked from the Bill Belichick Era and it'd be fine. But the 1985 AFC Championship Game features an unjustly forgotten Patriots squad—plus Tony Eason beating the quarterback famously drafted after him, Dan Marino, with a Super Bowl berth on the line.

Super Bowl III was an obvious must for the New York Jets, and the 2010 AFC title game is certainly worthy. But the Bill Parcells era shouldn't be overlooked, and this 1999 playoff win was Peak Big Tuna Jets. Curtis Martin ploughed 124 yards of earth on 36 plodding carries, reaching the end zone twice. Keyshawn Johnson had nine catches for 121 yards plus a receiving score, a rushing score (!), a interception (?!) and a fumble recovery (?!?!?!). Vinny Testaverde was a thing.

It's easy to view the NFL league office as a cohort of shadowy villains led by Roger Goodell (who is somehow both a soulless puppet and a ruthless power monger). Most of the time, these characterizations are off-base. But when the NFL makes damned sure Indianapolis Colts fans can't include the Baltimore Colts in this list, everyone who draws a league paycheck might as well twirl a Snidely Whiplash moustache. Even if the 1958 NFL Championship Game doesn't still stand as The Best Game Ever, it remains a watershed moment in NFL history. But no, instead we'll get Peyton Manning almost-not-beating Rex freaking Grossman in a terrible Super Bowl.

The Jacksonville Jaguars haven't been around long, and a deeply depressing stretch of futility has already eroded memories of some incredible games. The NFL's list for the team is solid, but watching the 1997 Jags end Dan Marino's career with a surreal, gobsmacking 62-7 playoff blowout was certainly one of the "most memorable" games of recent history. Stay tuned for the sprinklers coming on!

Unlike the Colts' revisionist history, the Tennessee Titans get credit for the Houston Oilers' record books—only we still don't get to see any Oilers! But VICE Sports loves ya, Blue, and we'll take Earl Campbell rumbling over the mighty Dolphins for 199 yards in this dramatic 1978 Monday Night Football comeback win.

The Houston Texans have the slimmest history book of any team, and the NFL still managed to miss a 14-point Week 17 comeback win over the New England Patriots that made 2010 the first winning season in Texans history.

This is just criminal. The Baltimore Ravens have packed more history into 21 seasons than most teams have in 50, 60, 70, or more, and we get all three games from one three-year-old playoff run. You could take any game from the 2000 Ravens for inclusion here, but I'd love to watch this 2003 regular-season gem. Down 41-24 to the Seattle Seahawks with less than a quarter to play, Anthony Mason engineers a 20-point comeback (with an assist from an Ed Reed blocked punt return), forcing an overtime period where Matt Stover seals the unbelievable win. Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck throws for 333 yards, five touchdowns, no picks—and loses.

The Cincinnati Bengals have the opposite problem: A long history with little to choose from. I'd say rookie Carson Palmer beating the Steelers on the road to secure the Bengals' first winning season in 15 years should be named among them.

Cleveland Browns fans, of course, have it worse: An even longer history with even less capital-H History to honor. But if film of the 1964 NFL Championship Game survives, the YouTube generation certainly should be able to watch Jim Brown and company rolling 24-0 over the Johnny Unitas-led Baltimore Colts.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, as discussed above, have more History than any other franchise, yet on the NFL's list we're lucky to even get a glimpse of Bill Cowher. While I have a soft spot for this 1995 AFC Championship Game comeback win over Jim "Comeback Kid" Harbaugh, I can't stomach the exclusion of Terry Bradshaw's shootout Super Bowl XIII win over the Roger Staubach-led Dallas Cowboys.

Denver Broncos fans chose wisely here, but c'mon: Super Bowl 50 is probably still on their DVRs. Meanwhile, we're missing out on the 12-2 Orange Crush Broncos stepping over Kenny Stabler's Oakland Raiders on their way to the Broncos' first title game in 1978.

Again, excluding the Hank Stram-era Kansas City Chiefs completely astounds me. The 1969 AFL title win over the Oakland Raiders didn't just earn the Chiefs their first Super Bowl berth; it was vengeance for a 41-6 playoff blowout the Raiders inflicted the season before.

Yes, the Oakland Raiders have been in a lot of Super Bowls, but how do you even watch 96 NFL games that aren't Bo Jackson running for 221 yards on 18 carries?

One of the weirdest things about the NFL's list was the inclusion of so many games where individual players broke individual records, as opposed to iconic performances from those players. LaDanian Tomlinson breaking the single-season touchdown record gets included in the San Diego Chargers' top three games ever, but not Tomlinson running for 192 yards, plus three touchdowns, plus passing for a fourth score?

The Dallas Cowboys are another franchise that could more than fill this list if we stuck to Super Bowls—and sure enough, we're getting a Super Bowl for all three of the Cowboys' "most memorable" games. As a perfect example of why Facebook voting was the wrong way to do this [Why do you hate democracy, Ty?—Ed.], Cowboys fans were offered the original Hail Mary game in their pool of five and turned it down. That still isn't the biggest snub, though: The 1992 NFC Championship Game was a far better, far bigger game than the 52-17 laugher of a Super Bowl that followed it.

Two of the New York Giants' three picks are mortal locks: "Wide right" and "David Tyree" would both be strong contenders for an all-time, league-wide top five. If film of it exists, though, it would be amazing to see the 1956 NFL Championship Game, when Frank Gifford led a 47-7 rout of the Chicago Bears. Failing that, Y.A. Tittle ending the 1962 season of former Giants offensive coordinator Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers would be a treat.

The NFL was right to offer Philadelphia Eagles fans the chance to watch the 1980 NFC Championship Game, and the fans were right to take it. But given two games in the Andy Reid era, I'm not sure the NFL and fans picked the right two. Historians can, should, and will argue about Mike Vick's journey from federal penitentiary to the NFL, but this 2010 Monday Night Football performance against Washington might be the single greatest game any quarterback has ever had. It was all of Vick's incredible potential finally made real.

When it comes to Washington, there's plenty of greatness to choose from. Sadly, Sammy Baugh started his career two years before the first televised NFL game in 1939, and there's likely no surviving footage of him in his pomp. Though I do indeed "like that," it seems a shame we won't see a game from Joe Gibbs' second stint, nor the candle in the wind that was RGIII.

The 1985 Chicago Bears, of course, were one of the best teams ever, and arguably the best defense ever (though I gave the 2000 Ravens the nod above). Super Bowl XX is a worthy inclusion, but two 1985 blowouts belabor the point. Wouldn't you rather watch Mike Ditka catch eight passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns as part of the 1963 championship squad?

Detroit Lions fans weren't presented with the choice of watching their last NFL title win, in 1957 (though, shh, it's already on YouTube). Once again, we're given an individual milestone game (Barry Sanders breaking 2,000 yards in 1997) over a better performance from the same individual (Sanders rushing for 220 yards and four touchdowns in 1991). Though the franchise's only playoff win since '57 is hard to exclude, the 1994 Monday Night Football overtime win at Dallas would be a much more compelling watch than the selected 1991 Divisional Round victory.

Of course, the Green Bay Packers have played a lot of amazing games. You could pick three games from each of the careers of Aaron Rodgers, Brett Favre, and Bart Starr that would top many other franchises' lists. Even so, NFL.com's taglines for Super Bowls XXXI and XLV are "Brett Favre wins Super Bowl" and "Aaron Rodgers wins Super Bowl." OK, great, but now you've left Vince Lombardi's Packers entirely off the list. More specifically, you've denied fans the 1967 NFL Championship Game (a.k.a. Ice Bowl), which would be on any serious shortlist for the best/greatest/most memorable NFL games of all time, let alone Packers games.

No Fran Tarkenton. No Purple People Eaters. No games from Bud Grant's Minnesota Vikings, who made 12 postseasons and four Super Bowls between 1968 and 1982. If we can take only one to add to this list, why not the 1973 Divisional Round victory over Washington, where Tarkenton turned in his career-best postseason performance?

The league and fans made good choices for the latter-day Atlanta Falcons, who didn't play in a lot of classics before the Dirty Bird Era. But colorful head coach Jerry Glanville's 1991 Falcons squad turned in this dramatic Wild Card win over their rival New Orleans Saints, with the game-winning 61-yard bomb coming just before the two-minute warning. Special bonus: A 31-yard interception return by a young Deion Sanders.

Any fan old enough to remember their team's first win would keep it close to their hearts. But the Carolina Panthers won an astonishing 19 games in their first two seasons; that number includes multiple big road wins over playoff teams, a seven-win streak, and a road playoff upset of the mid-1990s Cowboys that rightfully made the list. I mean, yay first win and everything, but for once I'm actually arguing for recency bias here: Cam Newton has been authoring more memorable games since he first put on the Panthers uniform; excluding him entirely from this list doesn't make sense.

Looking at the fan picks for You Tube, it might surprise you to learn that New Orleans Saints history doesn't begin with Drew Brees! In fact, the Dome Patrol defense was consistently one of the NFL's best in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Head coach Jim Mora Sr.'s Saints went 62-33 over a five-year span, including this 20-3 Monday Night Football asphyxiation of the Fighting Joe Gibbses.

It's hard to blame Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans for pretending their franchise started with Tony Dungy and ended with Jon Gruden. But just three years after the team's miserable 0-14 debut season, the Bucs advanced to the NFC Championship Game on the backs of Hall of Fame defensive tackle Lee Roy Selmon and quarterback Doug Williams, the first black quarterback to be drafted in the first round. That's the kind of NFL history that only ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski (who quarterbacked the losing Eagles) would want to forget.

The Kurt Warner/Aaron Rodgers 2009 playoff shootout was one of the wildest, wooliest, awesomest games of the past ten years; it more than deserves inclusion in these 96. But even though the Arizona Cardinals franchise was actually incepted in 1920—thus pre-dating the NFL—we're not slated to see anything older than January 2009. Assuming film of the 1947 Chicago Cardinals winning it all isn't available, this 1975 triumph of the Don Coryell-led St. Louis Cardinals over the Super Bowl-bound Cowboys will do nicely. At a time when Coryell's Hall of Fame candidacy is a topic of debate, some actual video evidence of his innovations is sorely needed.

Whoever compiled the Los Angeles Rams' list wouldn't have dared tell Deacon Jones, Merlin Olsen, or Jack Youngblood they didn't play in any of the "most memorable" games in franchise history. Though this 1974 playoff win didn't feature Jones, it did feature James "Shack" Harris becoming the first black man to start and win a NFL playoff game at quarterback.

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time—the same way you try and pick the three "most memorable" games in San Francisco 49ers history. Yes, of course, The Catch, and then one throws up one's hands. The official list went delightfully off the beaten path with the 1998 Wild Card win over the Packers, but skipped the Seifert era entirely. May I suggest the 1994 NFC Championship Game? We'd then capture the tug-of-war between the NFC's two early-90s juggernauts, and set up Steve Young getting the monkey off his back in Super Bowl XXIX.

Finally, the Seattle Seahawks. Look, I get it: The past four seasons are the best four seasons in franchise history. But no Beastquake? Nothing from the outstanding Holmgren/Hasselbeck years? That's hard to swallow. But today's NFL fans might not realize that, just like their 1970s-expansion contemporaries in Tampa Bay, the Seahawks had old-school glory that's often overlooked. Guess who ended Dan Marino's rookie season with a playoff loss? That's right, quarterback Jim Zorn and the 1983 'Hawks. Sadly, legendary receiver Steve Largent only had 56 yards in that game—but one was a 40-yard bomb, and tailback Curt "Not Kurt" Warner had 151 yards and two touchdowns on 34 touches.

Want to read more stories like this from VICE Sports? Subscribe to our daily newsletter.