Alternate NFL Playoff History

[Hurkman]

Super Bowl XLIV

Sun Life Stadium, Miami, FL

Indianapolis Colts (14-2)


Head Coach-Jim Caldwell
416 Points Scored
307 Points Allowed

Starting Quarterback-Peyton Manning


Road to the Super Bowl:
Defeated Baltimore, 23-20: AFC Divisional Playoffs
Defeated New York, 18-17: AFC Championship



Green Bay Packers (11-5)


Head Coach-Mike McCarthy
461 Points Scored
297 Points Allowed

Starting Quarterback-Aaron Rodgers


Road to the Super Bowl:
Defeated Arizona, 21-20: NFC Wild Card Playoffs
Defeated New Orleans, 27-16: NFC Divisional Playoffs
Defeated Minnesota, 17-12: NFC Championship



The Game

Two quarterbacks on two different paths had a chance to shape their careers in Super Bowl XLIV. Peyton Manning had been this far once before and come up short against the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXXVIII. Now, eight years later, an older and more confident Manning was ready to put the stamp on his career. The only thing that he had missing from his Hall of Fame resumé was that Super Bowl ring, and he knew that he could get the missing piece tonight. The Indianapolis Colts had the best record in the NFL during the 2009 regular season, and though they had only won their two playoff games by a combined four points, that was all that they had needed. The Indianapolis offense could explode at any time, and their defense had done enough to get to the Super Bowl.

For Aaron Rodgers, he was the quarterback that had to take over in Green Bay after Brett Favre. Rodgers spent three years learning from Favre, and in his second year as a starter, he guided the Packers to three straight road playoff wins, including two in the final seconds. The Packers also had a solid team around Rodgers, boasting the best run defense in the NFL, as well as 1,200 yard rusher Ryan Grant on offense. Bot quarterbacks had a chance to add to their stories. Peyton Manning could put the stamp on his career, or Aaron Rodgers could take a step away from Brett Favre and begin crafting his own legacy. In 60 minutes, someone would make history.

Green Bay started with the football and began moving downfield right away. Aaron Rodgers' first Super Bowl pass was a 23 yard completion to Greg Jennings, and he followed that up with a 13 yard pass to Ryan Grant. The Packers were also able to move the ball on the ground, as Grant managed to find a running lane that put the Packers inside field goal distance for Mason Crosby. The Colts were able to stop Green Bay from reaching the end zone, but Crosby did kick a 44 yard field goal for the first points of the Super Bowl. Following an Indianapolis punt, the Packers went to work again, this time almost entirely on the ground. Grant broke free for an 18 yard gain on a second down and 16, and his five yard catch on third down and long once again put the Packers into field goal range. For the second straight drive, Mason Crosby came out and kicked a field goal, this one from 48 yards out. Just when it seemed like the Packers had the momentum in hand, Peyton Manning stepped back onto the field and began to attack the Green Bay defense.

Manning completed a 24 yard pass to Austin Collie and a 16 yard pass to Pierre Garcon to end the first quarter, and then picked things up again at the start of the second quarter with passes to Dallas Clark and Reggie Wayne that put the Colts at the Green Bay two yard line. The Packer defense stood their ground, and forced Indianapolis to kick a short field goal. Matt Stover kicked the 21 yard attempt, and the Green Bay lead was cut in half. After the offensive output by the Colts, neither team was able to do much on offense. The Colts came the closest on their next drive, but Manning was intercepted by Charles Woodson at the Green Bay 25 yard line, putting an end to that drive. Following the interception, the Packers managed to hold on to their three point lead heading into the half.

Indianapolis started out with the ball in the third quarter, but they did not have it for long. Clay Matthews stripped Joseph Addai on the first play of the quarter, and Green Bay recovered. Even though the Packers didn't get a first down, they were still able to add to their lead, thanks to a third field goal from Mason Crosby. On their next possession, the Colts were able to move downfield, thanks to a solid mix of run and pass. Donald Brown and Joseph Addai did their jobs, punishing the Green Bay front seven, and Peyton Manning was, well, Peyton Manning. Manning was four of six on the drive for 47 yards, but it was Addai that finished things with a one yard touchdown run that put the Colts on top for the first time. Following a punt by the Packers, Indianapolis struck again. Manning found Reggie Wayne for 31 yards to put the ball at the Green Bay 26 yard line, and even though the Packers stopped the Colts from reaching the end zone again, Matt Stover was still able to kick a 32 yard field goal that extended the Indianapolis lead. With only 12 minutes to play in the Super Bowl, Aaron Rodgers started to move the Packers downfield once again. The Green Bay quarterback started the next drive with an 18 yard pass to Spencer Havner, and then Ryan Grant and Ahman Green ran the ball on three straight plays for 22 yards down to the Indianapolis 26 yard line. Following back to back scrambles by Rodgers, the Packers faced a third down and one. Ryan Grant picked up the yard, but lost the football. The Colts recovered, killing the drive and putting Peyton Manning seven and a half minutes away from his ring. The Colts moved the ball to midfield, taking three minutes off the clock, before disaster struck. Manning threw a pass behind Reggie Wayne, and Charles Woodson was there for the interception.

With the ball and another chance, Aaron Rodgers set out to write one last chapter to his first playoff story. The Packers ran into some problems early, only picking up three yards on their first three plays of the drive. Facing a fourth down and seven at midfield with just three and a half minutes to play, Mike McCarthy elected to go for the conversion. Rodgers rewarded his gamble with a 19 yard completion to Donald Driver. Ryan Grant then redeemed himself for the earlier fumble, picking up 14 yards on his next carry, and then finding a hole in the Indianapolis defense for a 13 yard touchdown run that put the Packers back on top. The Colts had only two minutes to get into field goal range, and Chad Simpson set them up well, returning the ensuing kickoff back to the Indianapolis 39 yard line. Peyton Manning went back onto the field, but this time, the Green Bay defense was ready for him. The Colts managed just seven yards on their first three downs, and the Packers brought pressure on fourth down, forcing Manning into a bad throw and ending the last chance for the Colts on downs. Green Bay was able to run out the clock and deny Manning his shot at Super Bowl glory. Aaron Rodgers may not have had the best game, but he got it done when it mattered the most. In just his second season as a starter, he had guided the Green Bay Packers back to the top of the football world.

Final Score: Green Bay-16 Indianapolis-13

MVP: Ryan Grant: 15 carries, 88 yards, 1 TD, 2 catches, 13 yards.

[Hurkman]

So...it's over. It took three and a half years, but it's over. I'm going to have one last breakdown and a final look at the alt stats and things like that, but for the moment, I want to just look back at this entire undertaking.

It honestly took me about three and a half years to do this whole thing. In that time, I had four jobs, three serious relationships, four different places of residence, two computers and finished college for real. I stopped this so many times that I lost track, but I kept coming back to it, because I wanted to finish it. I wanted to see it come to an end, to see how things would end. Sure, it took me a lot longer than anyone, myself included, thought it would, but hey, I got to keep up with the times.

That's all for now, but like I said, I've got to do some number crunching, and then I'll be back with one final recap of all the cool stuff. I'm going to look at the craziest matchups, team records, quarterbacks that had no business starting in, or winning a Super Bowl, and a little bit more. Thanks to all of you for reading this, especially those of you who have been following since the start. It's been a long strange trip, but I'm glad you were along for the ride.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Hurkman

So...it's over. It took three and a half years, but it's over. I'm going to have one last breakdown and a final look at the alt stats and things like that, but for the moment, I want to just look back at this entire undertaking.

It honestly took me about three and a half years to do this whole thing. In that time, I had four jobs, three serious relationships, four different places of residence, two computers and finished college for real. I stopped this so many times that I lost track, but I kept coming back to it, because I wanted to finish it. I wanted to see it come to an end, to see how things would end. Sure, it took me a lot longer than anyone, myself included, thought it would, but hey, I got to keep up with the times.

That's all for now, but like I said, I've got to do some number crunching, and then I'll be back with one final recap of all the cool stuff. I'm going to look at the craziest matchups, team records, quarterbacks that had no business starting in, or winning a Super Bowl, and a little bit more. Thanks to all of you for reading this, especially those of you who have been following since the start. It's been a long strange trip, but I'm glad you were along for the ride.

Congratulations on reaching the end of this fantastic journey, Hurkman. It's an incredible accomplishment, and for me personally it's been amazing following along.

Amazing how it ended with one final dagger in the hearts of Vikings fans. Who would have seen that coming?

[Hurkman]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

Congratulations on reaching the end of this fantastic journey, Hurkman. It's an incredible accomplishment, and for me personally it's been amazing following along.

Amazing how it ended with one final dagger in the hearts of Vikings fans. Who would have seen that coming?

Thanks Kenyan. I'm glad that you at least enjoyed the entire thing. I just went back and checked out every post, and it's amazing how close some things were to being true. The Cowboys dominated early, and they carried over to the past decade. Then, the expansion era took over, and a bunch of teams ended up winning.

I found it fitting that the Packers won the last replay that I did, considering they won the first Super Bowl for real. Twisting a knife into the hearts of the Vikings came as an extra bonus for them. I never had the Vikings being this bad. I thought they would have at least made it in 1998, but they just kept falling short.

[Hurkman]

After 44 seasons of replays, you would think that I have some stats for everyone. Well, I do. At the basic level, before breaking anything down, I replayed 817 playoff games. That's like replaying a season and a half of NFL football, so you know exactly what I put myself through during this entire replay. Yes, it took me three and a half years, but if you had to replay and recap almost 1,000 games, how long would it take you?

On top of that, I had to adjust lineups and weather reports and make sure everything was running like it was supposed to. Before my Super Bowl IX replay, WhatIfSports didn't allow me to fix lineups with the depth charts from that season. That's why Joe Gilliam started for the Steelers that year. After that, things worked out, but I had to make sure each and every lineup was perfect. If Jim Kelly missed a game in the playoffs that Frank Reich started, I wanted to know. It took a lot of time to make sure everything was right, but I think I got it as close as I could.

With that in mind, here are the playoff records and stats for every NFL team. Keep in mind, the Houston Texans have never made the playoffs. As for being close to real life stats, the NFC has won 23 Super Bowls, compared to 25 in my replay. After all of this, I'm only two games off. I think it works well. Several NFC teams didn't make it to the Super Bowl, but I blame the Dallas Cowboys. They made it to 10 Super Bowls. The trophy would be called the Landry Trophy in this reality. They won three of the first six Super Bowls. That's enough for me.

OVERALL NFL ALTERNATE PLAYOFF RECORDS

Buffalo Bills:
13-12 Super Bowls: 2-1 (W: I, XXV L: XXIII) Winning %: 520

Kansas City Chiefs:
9-13 Super Bowls: 0-2 (L: IV, XXX) Winning %: .375

Dallas Cowboys:
43-23 Super Bowls: 7-3 (W: III, V, VI, XVI, XVII, XXVII, XXXVIII L: I, XI, XXXI)
Winning %: .652

Green Bay Packers:
17-14 Super Bowls: 2-1 (W: XXXII, XLIV L: VII) Winning %: .548

Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders:
24-19 Super Bowls: 2-3 (W: XVIII, XXXVI L: II, III, V) Winning %: .558

Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans:
4-17 Super Bowls: 0 Winning %: .190

Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams:
26-17 Super Bowls: 4-3 (W: II, IV, VIII, XIII L: X, XII, XXXV) Winning %: .605

Cleveland Browns:
13-13 Super Bowls: 1-3 (W: XXII L: XXI, XXIV, XXXVII) Winning %: .500

New York Jets:
12-13 Super Bowls: 0-1 (L: XXXIX) Winning %: .480

Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts:
16-19 Super Bowls: 0-3 (L: VI, XXXVIII, XLIV) Winning %: .457

Minnesota Vikings:
11-26 Super Bowls: 0 Winning %: .297

Cincinnati Bengals:
8-9 Super Bowls: 0-1 (L: VIII) Winning %: .470

Miami Dolphins:
8-21 Super Bowls: 1-1 (W: VII L: XX) Winning %: .276

Detroit Lions:
6-8 Super Bowls: 0-1 (L: XXVIII) Winning %: .429

San Francisco 49ers:
27-16 Super Bowls: 5-3 (W: XIX, XXI, XXIV, XXIX, XXX L: XXII, XXV, XXXII) Winning %: .628

Washington Redskins:
20-15 Super Bowls: 1-3 (W: XXVI L: IX, XVIII, XLII) Winning %: .571

Pittsburgh Steelers:
30-19 Super Bowls: 5-3 (W: IX, X, XI, XIV, XXVIII L: XVII, XXIX, XLIII)
Winning %: .612

St. Louis/Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals:
2-6 Super Bowls: 0 Winning %: .250

New England Patriots:
10-15 Super Bowls: 1-1 (W: XLII L: XIII) Winning %: .400

Denver Broncos:
14-15 Super Bowls: 2-3 (W: XII, XXXI L: XIX, XXVI, XXXIII) Winning %: .483

Chicago Bears:
13-12 Super Bowls: 1-3 (W: XX L: XXXVI, XL, XLI) Winning %: .520

Philadelphia Eagles:
12-16 Super Bowls: 2-1 (W: XXIII, XXXIX L: XV) Winning %: .428

Atlanta Falcons:
5-9 Super Bowls: 0 Winning %: .357

San Diego Chargers:
12-11 Super Bowls: 1-2 (W: XV L: XVI, XXVII) Winning %: .522

Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
10-8 Super Bowls: 2-1 (W: XXXIV, XXXVII L: XIV) Winning %: .556

New York Giants:
7-14 Super Bowls: 0 Winning %: .333

Seattle Seahawks:
7-10 Super Bowls: 0 Winning %: .412

New Orleans Saints:
5-7 Super Bowls: 0 Winning %: .416

Jacksonville Jaguars:
11-4 Super Bowls: 2-1 (W: XXXII, XL L: XXXIV) Winning %: .733

Carolina Panthers:
3-3 Super Bowls: 1-0 (W: XLIII) Winning %: .500

Baltimore Ravens:
10-4 Super Bowls : 2-0 (W: XXXV, XLI) Winning %: .714

Houston Texans:
0-0

The worst team playoff record wise to win a Super Bowl? The Miami Dolphins, who haven't won much since Super Bowl VII. Meanwhile, the NFC has a slew of teams that have yet to reach the Super Bowl, with the Saints, Seahawks and Giants leading the way. The Panthers lost their first three playoff games only to win their next three on their way to Super Bowl XLIII. New England firmly established their role as most hated team ever with a perfect 19-0 season in 2007, but it wasn't all their fault. They played the Redskins in the Super Bowl. It wasn't even close. The Pats and the Dolphins are the only two perfect teams in NFL history.

[kenyan_cheena]

No offense, but I really can't believe that no one else has given Hurkman props for finishing this thing. The effort he put into it was fantastic and to put it bluntly, I'm pissed off no one else has even acknowledged it.

[jbergey22]

Great work Hurkman. Atleast the Vikings had the same crappy luck in this as they did in real life. It was a pleasure to read your write ups.

[mirrf]

Yea. Great work. I've glad you finished it. Read it all the way from post #1

[Hurkman]

First, thanks once again to everyone for reading this. It doesn't matter to me if you leave a response or not, because I can see the view counter. Considering people have looked at this thread almost 8,000 times, I must have been doing something right.

Anyway, I've gone back and looked at the Super Bowl matchups, and some of them certainly were much more interesting than in real life.

The team of the Super Bowl era? As much as it pains me to say it, the Dallas Cowboys were the best team over the entire span of Super Bowls. They made it to the NFC Championship the first six years that it was around, and they went to four of the first six Super Bowls, winning three. Not only that, but they did it with three different quarterbacks. Don Meredith, Craig Morton and Roger Staubach each won Super Bowls with the Cowboys in the first six seasons that the game was around. Tom Landry would eventually win five Super Bowls, making him the winningest coach in Super Bowl history.

The first rematch in the Super Bowl would have to wait until the 22nd edition, when the 49ers took on the Cleveland Browns. The Browns and 49ers had one hell of a rivalry going in the Super Bowl in the 80s, as they faced off three times in a four year period. The 49ers won two of the three games, but the Browns still managed to get that Super Bowl win that they couldn't find during the 1980s when they had to deal with John Elway in real life.

Speaking of John Elway, he did manage to win a Super Bowl in this reality, too. It just came a year earlier than he did it in real life, and it came against the Dallas Cowboys. Two years later, Elway would get to one last Super Bowl, but he would lost to Brett Favre and the Packers, who had finally won a Super Bowl after falling short years before that.

There were several teams that made it to the Super Bowl that were unexpected, but a few really stood out. The first was the Green Bay Packers in 1972. Scott Hunter only threw for 23 touchdowns in his career, but he started Super Bowl VII against the perfect Miami Dolphins. How did he do it? Jim Brockington and MacArthur Lane may have had something to say about it at the running back position. The Cincinnati Bengals shocked everyone by making it to the Super Bowl a year later, but Ken Anderson had two running backs with almost 1,000 yards each, so the sim liked them a little bit more than it should have.

The New England Patriots made their first run to the Super Bowl a bit early, as Steve Grogan managed to get them there against the Rams. Of course, Grogan threw for more interceptions than touchdowns during the regular season, but the New England running game, led by Grogan's 12 touchdowns on the ground, helped the Patriots get to Super Bowl XIII. The Pats would eventually get their mark in history, but it took a while. Even with Tom Brady, New England always fell short. Then came the 2007 season. The Patriots went 19-0 on the year in the replay, blowing out the Redskins in the Super Bowl to finish things off. It may not have been the best ending for those of us that dislike the Patriots, but it was great for New England.

What is the worst quarterback matchup in Super Bowl history? There are a couple of poor ones in the books. Neil O'Donnell and Erik Kramer faced off between the Steelers and Lions in Super Bowl XXVIII, meaning that Barry Sanders at least made it to one Super Bowl here. At least O'Donnell got the Steelers to back to back Super Bowls, and even came close to winning two in a row. Brad Johnson and Kelly Holcomb went against each other in Super Bowl XXXVII, but that's not the worst one. In Super Bowl XL, Bryon Leftwich and Rex Grossman started at quarterback. Both of them are backups now, and it's only five years later. Keep in mind that in this reality, Grossman started back to back Super Bowls, and it makes it even worse. There have been plenty of questionable quarterbacks to start Super Bowls. Todd Collins, Chad Pennington, Quincy Carter, Shaun King and yes, Trent Dilfer. All of them have started for a team in the Super Bowl in my reality. Some of them won the Super Bowl, some of them lost, but the fact remains that they started the game.

So yes, some things changed over my replay, but other things stayed the same. There were flukes, lucky passes and end of game plays that made seasons. Players stepped up when they had been silent during the regular season, and vice versa. Overall, it was a great experience to have, and I would love to do it again.

I just wish it would take less than three years.

[Hurkman]

The 2010 season is coming to an end tonight. Would anyone be interested in me simulating the playoffs either before or after they started? Since I finished this, I just wanted to know if you wanted me to open the vault once again.

[Hurkman]

Hey, a 7-9 team just made the playoffs. At this point, anything could happen. I doubt they'll beat the Saints, but who knows?

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Hurkman

Hey, a 7-9 team just made the playoffs. Does anyone now think my replays aren't that good?

Reality is almost always stranger than fiction. I think the problem lies with the NFL's divisional structure and playoff system, but that's something that should be discussed in a seperate thread.

[Hurkman]

So, I've already done the sim for this year, but I want to see how the playoffs turn out. So far, the sim is 3/4 on the games. Care to guess which one it missed?

[kenyan_cheena]

It's amazing that in your reality the Panthers have gone from being Superbowl Champions to having the first pick in the draft in the space of two years!

[Hurkman]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

It's amazing that in your reality the Panthers have gone from being Superbowl Champions to having the first pick in the draft in the space of two years!

In real life, they went from being 12-4 to 2-14 in two years, so it's not too far off. At this rate, they'll be back in the Super Bowl in three years.

[Hurkman]

One other thing that I just noticed. WhatIfSports is now replaying famous games in NFL playoff history...the one they put out today was about The Drive, but they've also done The Tuck Rule Game and the Music City Miracle. So far, in all three sims, the team that I had winning has won. Maybe they got this idea from someone...hmmmmm....

[Hurkman]

The season is over now. I'll be posting soon on the playoffs. Things are just as fun as they were then.

[Jamee999]

This is ridiculously epic. Great work.

[sflcat61]

Regarding the epicness of your accomplishment, I feel the need to borrow a line from the classic move Full Metal Jacket: "Well, baby, me so horny. Me so horny. Me love you long time."

[Hurkman]

Another year down, another replay ready to go. Sure, I didn't post anything after last season, but I will now. Once the shock of seeing the Giants win...again...wears off, I'll get to posting the 2010-11 and 2011-12 playoffs. I mean it.