Some NFL games are too painful to forget—especially when you’re the one who played in them. From botched calls to blown leads, these former pros still lose sleep over that one game.
Whether it was a playoff collapse, a missed opportunity at a ring, or just a grudge that refuses to die, these moments haunt careers and fuel decades-long what-ifs. Here are 21 retired NFL players who are still mad about one game.
21. Steve Smith Sr.
For all his toughness, Steve Smith never got over the 2003 Super Bowl run that ended in a heartbreaking loss to the Patriots. That Panthers squad had a real shot, and he’s reminded of it every February.
20. Warren Sapp
Sapp still grumbles about the 1999 NFC Championship when the Bucs lost to the Rams 11-6 in a defensive slugfest. Tampa Bay had a late TD wiped out by a controversial call, and he’s never let it go.
19. Tony Romo
Romo’s legacy always circles back to the infamous 2006 wild-card game against Seattle. That botched hold on the field goal still lives rent-free in his head—and in memes.
18. Donovan McNabb
McNabb’s Super Bowl XXXIX loss to the Patriots still brings up sore feelings, especially the narrative about him being gassed in the fourth quarter. He insists he wasn’t tired, just let down.
17. Dan Marino
Marino made it to the Super Bowl once—and got smoked by the 49ers in 1985. He thought it would be the first of many, but it ended up being his only shot.
16. Dez Bryant
“Catch” or “no catch,” Dez is still furious about that 2014 playoff game against the Packers. Cowboys fans—and Dez himself—will argue forever that it was a catch.
15. Jerome Bettis
While Bettis eventually got his ring, he still vents about the 1994 AFC Championship loss to the Chargers. The Steelers were heavy favorites and came up short in dramatic fashion.
14. Matt Hasselbeck
He famously declared “We want the ball and we’re gonna score” in OT vs. the Packers in 2004. Instead, he threw a pick-six—and probably hears about it at every family barbecue.
13. Terrell Owens
TO balled out in Super Bowl XXXIX with a broken leg, only to lose to New England. He’ll always believe he did enough to win and still holds grudges about the play-calling.
12. Bo Jackson
Bo’s NFL career was essentially ended by a hip injury in a 1991 playoff game against the Bengals. One game, one tackle, and a whole football chapter closed too soon.
11. Jim Kelly
Four straight Super Bowl losses are brutal, but the one that really stings for Kelly is the first—the missed field goal against the Giants in 1991. “Wide Right” is a phrase he’d love to forget.
10. Brett Favre
Favre’s 2009 NFC Championship meltdown against the Saints is the stuff of Viking nightmares. That cross-body interception was the dagger, and he knew it instantly.
9. Keyshawn Johnson
Keyshawn still fumes about being benched in a critical 2003 game during his final season with the Bucs. He wanted the ball, and the coach gave him a seat.
8. Philip Rivers
Rivers played through a torn ACL in the 2007 AFC Championship, only to lose to the Patriots. He gave it everything, and the loss still gnaws at him.
7. Michael Irvin
Irvin still argues about the 1994 NFC Championship game, claiming the 49ers got all the calls. The Cowboys’ dynasty could’ve had one more ring, and he knows it.
6. Carson Palmer
Palmer’s knee injury on his first pass in the 2005 playoffs against the Steelers still feels cruel. It derailed a Bengals team that looked ready to make a run.
5. Rich Gannon
Gannon had an MVP year in 2002, only to get pummeled by the Bucs in the Super Bowl. Throwing five picks on the biggest stage still haunts him.
4. L.T. (LaDainian Tomlinson)
Tomlinson’s Chargers had so much promise in the mid-2000s, but that 2006 playoff loss to the Patriots still gets under his skin. Sitting on the bench with a helmet and a bad knee wasn’t the storybook ending he wanted.
3. Kurt Warner
Warner’s heartbreaking Super Bowl loss with the Cardinals in 2009 still stings—especially that late Santonio Holmes toe-tap catch. It was this close to being his perfect final chapter.
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2. Randy Moss
Moss and the 2007 Patriots were undefeated until the Giants spoiled the party in the Super Bowl. He never got a ring, and that one loss defines a season that should’ve been legendary.
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1. Charles Woodson
Woodson has never forgiven the refs for the infamous “Tuck Rule” game that helped launch the Patriots dynasty. It should’ve been a fumble, and he’ll die on that hill.
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