Plays of the Year

I just started a new project and thought I'd turn to the board with some help for it. I wish I had been doing this for the past twenty years so I could just take a quick glance at it and conjure up some quick, great memories. Basically, I've created a spreadsheet inclusive of my top ten plays of the year. Either memorable, eventful, or skillful . . . doesn't matter. Just the ten plays that really captured the season for me. Nothing like a Polamalu one-fingered scooped-off-the-turf defensive play stands out and I was hoping you guys could add to this and, perhaps, something will stand out for me and I'll replace something on this list with what was mentioned. Also, I'm staying away from (but maybe I shouldn't because they are impactful and contributed to the narrative of the season as well) injuries or negative plays. Bell's ACL, Brown's concussion, Toussaint's fumble, etc. I think I'd rather keep it positive for now though. What plays am I missing? Thanks for your help. My list:

1.) Jan 9th, at Cincinnati - Vontaze/Pacman meltdown to secure a playoff victory. I don't think anything was more memorable this year than that.

2.) Jan 9th, at Cincinnati - Martavis Bryant somersault TD catch in the corner of the end zone

3.) Nov 15th, vs Cleveland - Antonio Brown 54yrd TD reception from Ben ending with end zone flip

4.) Dec 6th, vs Indianapolis - Antonio Brown 71yrd punt return for TD ending with goal post leap/embrace

5.) Jan 9th, at Cincinnati - Shazier crushes Bernard

6.) Oct 12th, at San Diego - Le'Veon Bell wildcat walk-off TD run

7.) Oct 18th, vs Arizona - Martavis Bryant 88yrd TD reception from Landry Jones

8.) Dec 20th, vs Denver - Antonio Browns 23yrd TD from Ben with 3:24 left to put us on top after huge deficit

9) Dec 13th, at Cincinnati - Stephon Tuitt's interception of Andy Dalton shovel pass at 7yrd line

10) Nov 15th, vs Cleveland - Arthur Moats nearly rips Johnny Manziel's head off (facemask penalty, but still quite enjoyable to watch in a rout of Cleveland)

I also liked the William Gay pick-six off of McCarron and Martavis's leaping TD at the back of the end zone against Arizona but, other than negative plays, nothing else really comes to mind. Your help is appreciated.

 

Sept. 27 vs Rams= When Bell leaped up on that defender. Shows how great he is and that ball was on him like glue.

 

I didn't see on your list that finger tip grab by Martavis. Boy was that a thing of beauty. Only a few players throughout history have or could ever make such a spectacular catch. It was one of the most incredible catches I've ever seen. On a scale of 1-10 it was by far a 12. It was probably the SportsCenter top 1 catch of the Year. It's one that I could brag to my grand children about when I finally have some. I could think about that catch every day for the rest of my life. Sports writers could make a living off that one catch alone. Incredible, Spectacular, Unbelievable, Breath Taking...................................... Oops. He fumbled. Never mind! Carry on.

 

Ha. You lost me right from the start. I was thinking, "What catch is he talking about? I can only remember that deep ball against Cleveland that he made a sweet fingertip grab on only to fumble it away and I had hoped he had stepped out of bounds before he lost it" and then I got to the end of your paragraph. Nice. Psyche!

 

I would move 1, 3 & 4 into separate categories for showboating/brain farts even though the TD runs for 3 and 4 were quite good. I'd move #9 way up in the standings because it was a sensational physical play by Tuitt and everything it set in motion: stopped a significant Cincy drive and lead exchange; knocked carrot top out of that game; and, knocked carrot top out for the remainder of Cincy's 2015 season (which helped us twice). Otherwise - lots of stellar plays - hard to pick and choose. Over the past 10 years - have to be 92's SB INT TD, Ben's tackle on Bettis' fumble against Indy, and Ben to Holmes' game-winning SB TD pass/catch.

 

Not the best highlight, but the Bell TD to win the game against SD should be #1

 

Great list! The highs and lows of this season feel like they trump the past 2 combined..

Hopefully the next few iterations of Tomlin teams are more Harbaugh-ish than Jeff Fisher-ish if you catch my drift..

 

I like your reasoning for the Tuitt play (Mojave -- I guess I don't know how to use the quotes function properly).

Honestly, I feel that if you're talking about the past decade that the most memorable play in my opinion (even bigger than any of the Super Bowl plays) was Bettis running over Urlacher at the goal line. In my mind that was sort of an Immaculate Reception for that mini-dynasty. We had just lost to Cincinnati at home to pretty much relinquish the division title, we were 7-5, the playoffs seemed to be slipping away, it was a season dedicated to #36 and when he ran over Urlacher and into the end zone, everything seemed to change. I got him to sign a 16x20 photo of that play for me. It'll always be one of the most significant plays in Steelers history for me.

But maybe I'm overvaluing a win over a decent Bears team to improve our regular season mark to 8-5. Ha.

 

DING DING DING
#6
JTPPO!!!

 

FYI - Just click the "reply" link on bottom right of any post and it will open a new post box with the selected poster's quote all set for you to start typing. OK - I'll give you credit for the Bettis/Urlacher tromping (maybe top 5 or 10) but I think it became more folklore and the poster child for that SB run after the fact by certainly us fans and perhaps the team - but not until after the game was over and everyone had a chance to see it over and over again. The 3 plays I chose were each quite obvious game changers just as they occurred and monumental in each game's outcome - 2 SBs and one Division Playoff game. Isn't it great though to even be able to debate all these fine plays and efforts. Imagine if you rooted for an Ohio NFL team as many others have pointed out - you'd be debating zip, nada, what ifs.