Five Great Wild Card Moments

Each week, BV Sports will look back at the top performances by black quarterbacks in each round of the playoffs. This week, we run down the best wild card performances of all time.

1. Aaron Brooks, New Orleans Saints vs. St. Louis Rams, 2001

The Saints were oh-for-the-franchise in the playoffs leading up to their 2001 NFC wild card game, but Aaron Brooks emphatically shattered that dismal mark. Leading the Saints to their first playoff victory ever, Brooks dismantled the secondary of the reigning Super Bowl champions. The Rams were known as the "Greatest Show on Turf" after their all-out blitzkrieg to the Super Bowl in 2000, but Brooks was undoubtedly the ringmaster at the Superdome that day. The former Virginia star completed 16-of-29 passes for 266 yards and four touchdowns as the Saints sent the Rams home, 31-28, despite St. Louis' spirited three-touchdown rally in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately for the Saints, the team is still waiting on win No. 2.

2. Warren Moon, Houston Oilers vs. Buffalo Bills, 1993

If only the Oilers defense had half as good a day as Moon, the Bills AFC championship run would've ended at two. As it happened, however, Moon's dominant afternoon became a footnote to the greatest comeback the playoffs have ever seen. The Oilers' high-powered run-and-shoot offense sported nine Pro Bowl players and Moon put them all to good use. The All-Pro QB threw for four touchdowns as the Oilers raced out to a 32-point second-half advantage. But the Bills, led by backup quarterback Frank Reich, never let up and before the cheering Buffalo faithful pulled off a stunning 41-38 overtime win in a game known simply as "The Comeback." The Bills luck lasted all the way to the Super Bowl, where they were plastered by the Cowboys. The Oilers, meanwhile, took their own revenge years later when, as the Tennessee Titans, they stunned Buffalo with the "Music City Miracle."

3. Daunte Culpepper, Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers, 2005

In the opening round of the 2005 playoffs, Culpepper defrosted the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field and kept the air humming with touchdown passes. Culpepper was the league's top quarterback in 2004 and the Vikings' 31-17 wild card win over Brett Favre and the Packers was an exclamation point on his finest season. Culpepper threw for four touchdowns and rushed for an additional 47 yards as the Vikings manhandled the Green Bay Packers 31-17. In a division round that featured three black quarterbacks, Culpepper came out on the short end, falling to Donovan McNabb and the Philadelphia Eagles.

4. Rodney Peete, Philadelphia Eagles vs. Detroit Lions, 1996

The highest scoring game in NFL wild card history had a black quarterback at the helm, and an unlikely one at that. In his only season as a starter for the Eagles, Peete quarterbacked the team into the playoffs and past the Detroit Lions. Peete tossed three touchdowns as the Eagles thumped Detroit 59-37 in a defense-lite wild card game. The Eagles lost 30-11 to the Cowboys in the divisional round and Peete handed the reigns of the team over to Ty Detmer the following season.

5. Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2001

Philly fans booed when McNabb was selected in the 1999 draft, but when the Syracuse star led the Eagles to their first playoff win since 1996 by scoring all three of the teams touchdowns, most Philly fans radically changed their opinion. Most. McNabb, who would play in his first Pro Bowl that February, passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another as the Eagles dropped Tampa Bay (also led by a black quarterback -- Shaun King), 21-3. A year later McNabb would lead the Eagles to its first division title since 1988 and in 2004 he led the Eagles to their first Super Bowl berth since 1998.