Top revenge games in NFL history

PRINT EMAIL FACEBOOK DIGG TWITTER RSS SHARE

In his first shot at revenge against the Packers, Brett Favre threw three TD passes to lead the Vikings to victory in Week 4. John Biever/SI Don Banks's Mailbag Submit a comment or question to Don Banks. Name: Email: Hometown: Question: SEND Follow Don Banks on Twitter

Though it threatens to become as over-played as the no-respect angle, did you notice how the revenge factor was all the rage in the NFL on Sunday?

We had Cincinnati's Cedric Benson running wild against Chicago to make the Bears pay for letting him go in the offseason of 2008; Drew Brees lighting up Miami, the team that dawdled on signing him in 2006; and even ex-Raiders head coach Bill Callahan getting the Gatorade-bath treatment from his Jets offensive linemen in celebration of New York's 38-0 victory at Oakland.

In the NFL, there's no such thing as forgive and forget. Vindication is in.

Those were mere appetizers to the main course that will be served Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field, where we will be treated to the unprecedented tableau of Brett Favre returning in enemy colors.

For sheer must-see theater, what could possibly top No. 4's first trip back to Lambeau, with the NFC North division race very much in the balance, the wounds of Favre's bitter divorce from Green Bay still fresh, and both sides still convinced the other side was largely at fault for the historic breakup?

Think Cal Ripken Jr. in Yankees pinstripes, strolling back into Baltimore's Camden Yards for a first-place showdown in midsummer, and you might have something approaching a comparable situation. Might. Because let's face facts: When it comes to the landscape of pro sports in this country, Green Bay is probably unique.

So it's once again Revenge Week in the NFL, and that means nothing can keep us from fixating on the latest chapter of Favre-apalooza. In its honor, we've even come up with a list of our favorite top 10 revenge-themed games in NFL history. To be a true revenge game, there had to be some real animus involved, a palpable dislike or grudge against someone or some team that pervaded the backdrop of the pairing. We're not talking about nice guy Kerry Collins facing the Panthers or Giants here. Save the mamby, pamby crap. This stuff went deep:

10. Jon Gruden routs the Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII

Does it ever end well for Al Davis and one of his former employees any more? (See Marcus Allen, Mike Shanahan, etc....). Unwilling to give Gruden the huge new contract he was in line for, and knowing his coach was conspiring to move on to greener pastures, the Raiders owner outsmarts himself and trades Gruden to Tampa Bay in February 2002. Then he winds up facing him 11 months later in the Super Bowl. Despite the Bucs being four-point underdogs, they win 48-21, building a 34-3 lead late in the third quarter. Gruden's intimate knowledge of the Raiders playbook is a major factor in Tampa Bay's blowout win. That had to hurt.

9. Chad Pennington beats the Brett Favre-led Jets to go to the playoffs

Karma, baby. It's all about the karma. New York's ill-fated fling with Favre last season necessitated Pennington's departure in early August, and, of course, the longtime Jets quarterback wound up signing with AFC East rival Miami. Boy, did the worm turn by Week 17. It was Dolphins at Jets, with both teams still alive in the playoff chase at the beginning of the day. Playing in his old stadium, Pennington threw two touchdown passes as Miami upset New York 24-17 and became just the second team in NFL history to improve by 10 wins from one season to the next. Oh, and did we mention the loss ended both the Favre and Eric Mangini eras in New York? That's the NFL's version of a twin-killing.

8. The Eagles shut down (and shut up) Terrell Owens

No team ever had a more acrimonious denouement with a player than Philadelphia's rollercoaster saga with Owens, who almost single-handedly tried to drive Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb crazy in 2005. So when T.O. came back to Lincoln Financial Field in October 2006 as a member of the hated Dallas Cowboys, it was like a thief returning to the scene of a crime after heavily advertising his intentions to do so.

The Eagles defense made the loudest statement of the game, limiting Owens to just three low-impact catches for 45 yards, with several drops. McNabb threw for two touchdowns and 354 yards, and ran for another score, in Philadelphia's gratifying 38-24 win.