The 10 Best Games of the 2014 NFL Regular Season

10. Denver Broncos at St. Louis Rams Week 11

Peyton and the Broncos were upset 22-7 by the St. Louis Rams. The Ram suffocated the potent Denver attack and held the Broncos to the lowest point total of any game they played this season. While Manning threw for 389 yards and a touchdown, the Broncos’ running back C.J. Anderson only rushed fro 29 yards. This turned out to be one of the beginning signs of failure in the Broncos season that ended in the sour loss to the Colts in the playoffs and the exit of head coach John Fox.

9. San Francisco 49ers at Denver Broncos Week 7

While this game was not much of a contest with the Broncos winning 42-17, Peyton Manning broke the record for the most career touchdown passes as he surpassed Brett Favre with four touchdown passes in the game raising his total to 510. Manning has cemented himself as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time but still lacks the playoff success of Joe Montana or Tom Brady.

8. Detroit Lions at Atlanta Falcons Week 8

The London production of the NFL season gave the early risers in the States a great game as the Lions defeated the Falcons 22-21 on a Matt Prater 48-yard field goal. Prater missed the first attempt at the game winner but a Lions’ delay-of-game gave them a second chance; and Prater put it through. The Falcons blew a 21-0 halftime lead which was the largest blown halftime lead in team history.

7. Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants Week 12

The Dallas Cowboys went into New York and beat the Giants 31-28 on a 13 yard Dez Bryant touchdown catch with 1:01 remaining. The Giants led 21-10 at the break but were outscored 21-7 by the Cowboys in the second half.  The highlight of this game was Giants’ rookie Odell Beckham Jr.’s unbelievable one-handed TD catch that sparked conversation that it was the best catch in NFL history. Dallas was 8-0 on the road this season during the regular season.

6. Miami Dolphins at Detroit Lions Week 10

The Detroit Lions fought to keep their playoff hopes alive as they beat the Miami Dolphins 20-16 on an 11 yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford to Theo Riddick with 29 seconds remaining. This was the third Lions’ win in row in which they had trailed in the fourth quarter. Clavin Johnson had a big game with seven catches for 113 yards and a TD in his first game back after sitting out with an ankle injury. This game pushed the Lions to 5-4 and was key to keeping them in the playoff picture.

5. Cleveland Browns at Atlanta Falcons Week 12

Brian Hoyer and the Cleveland Browns battled through three interceptions to beat the Falcons 26-24 with a last minute drive that led to a Billy Cundiff 37-yard field goal. After a Hoyer interception, the Falcons capitalized with a 53-yard Matt Bryant field goal to take a one point lead. But, four Hoyer passes and great time management put the Browns in field goal range. The Browns moved to 7-4 on the season and Hoyer was able to stave off Manziel talk for another week.

4. Denver Broncos at Seattle Seahawks Week 3

The Superbowl rematch turned out to be a more thrilling contest with the same result as the Broncos fell to the Seahawks 26-20 in OT. The Broncos trailed by 14 heading into the 4th quarter but tied the game at 20 as Manning hit Jacob Tamme with a 26-yard TD strike followed by a Demaryius Thomas 2-point conversion to send the game into overtime. Manning never got a chance to touch the ball in overtime as the Seahawks won the toss and Lynch punched in a 6 yard run to win the game.

3. Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles Week 15

Dallas seized control of the NFC East with a 38-27 thrashing of the Eagles in Philly. Dez Bryant was not to be stopped as he had three touchdown catches. Dallas answered the beatdown they got at the hands of the Eagles when Philadelphia went into Dallas and beat the Cowboys 33-10 on Thanksgiving. The Eagles would fall to the Redskins just a week later wrapping up the division for the Dallas Cowboys who finished 12-4 in the regular season.

2. San Diego Chargers at San Francisco 49ers Week 15

The Chargers trailed 28-7 at halftime but stormed back behind Phillip Rivers to defeat the 49ers 38-35. The Chargers kept their slim playoff hopes alive and further plunged the 49ers into their season-long slump. Rivers tied the game with 29 seconds remaining when he hit Malcom Floyd with an 11-yard TD pass after converting two fourth down’s on the drive. Nick Novak’s 40-yard field goal sealed the deal for the Chargers in OT.

1. New England Patriots at Green Bay Packers Week 13

The first meeting ever between Rodgers and Brady turned out to be an instant classic and possible Super Bowl preview as the Packers defeated the Patriots 26-21 in Green Bay. After jumping out to a 23-14 halftime lead, the Packers fended off a furious Patriot rally that ended with a Stephen Gostkowkski missed FG late in the game and a Rodgers to Cobb third down conversion that left the Patriots with no timeouts left to stop the clock. The loss ended the Patriots’ seven game winning streak but possibly provided us with a Superbowl preview.