Top 10 NFL players with most playoff wins
The list of the most-winningest NFL players in the post-season is dominated by Tom Brady.
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Tom Brady (Image via IMAGO)
The NFL playoffs are the apex platform of football, the one place that all 32 teams strive to reach through 18 weeks, and it is a culmination of the lifetime hard work of all the athletes that step on the field. While each playoff game is important, a handful of players made it a custom to get to the postseason every year and win.
Unsurprisingly, Tom Brady sits atop this list of players with the most playoff victories in football. He has been to 48 playoff games and has 35 wins, which is more victories than most NFL franchises experience in the post-season.
In the top 10 list, four players have played for the New England Patriots during the Dynasty of Bill Belichick. There are four names that the younger football fanbase will not recognize instantly, but their playoff win record makes them unforgettable in the game’s history.
Without further ado, here’s the list of the topmost-winning players in NFL playoff history.
1. Tom Brady (35 playoff wins, 48 playoff appearances)
What needs to be said about the former NFL quarterback that has not already been said? Tom Brady is revered as one of the greatest players of all time for a reason, and that was because he got the job done in the post-season.
During his 23-year career, Brady was a part of 48% of Super Bowls. With 10 trips to the big game and 7 wins there, he had a better shot at making the Super Bowl than Stephen Curry had to make a three-point shot!
2. Adam Vinatieri (21 playoff wins, 32 playoff appearances)
If there was one man who almost played until he was 50 years of age, it was Adam Vinatieri. The placekicker had one of the greatest NFL careers with two of the best franchises in league history. With 10 years on the New England Patriots and 14 years with the Indianapolis Colts, Vinatieri holds the record for most postseason points with 238. He is what should appear on your screen when you search for the word ‘clutch’ because his 12 overtime career FGs made are the most by a kicker.
He is a four-time Super Bowl champion, having won three with the Patriots, and one with the Colts. Vinatieri is known for his iconic 48-yard field goal in Super Bowl XXXVI which won the Patriots their first Lombardi Trophy.
3. Stephen Gostkowski (20 playoff wins, 29 playoff appearances)
It is hard not to remember Stephen Gostkowski when there is a mention of Adam Vinatieri. After the latter left New England, the former came in and picked up where he had left off. His name became synonymous with consistency as his record of 523 consecutive PATs remains unscathed to date.
He made a name for himself by kicking 50-yarder field goals with relative ease. In Super Bowl 53, as the Rams had a chance to tie the game with under 1:30 left in the game, the Patriots sent in Gostkowski to nail a 41-yard field goal. The expression on Sean McVay’s face summed it up accurately as he knew the game was over because the kicker would not miss and that is how things went down.
4. Bill Romanowski (19 playoff wins, 26 playoff appearances)
Known to be one of the hardest-hitting linebackers in football history, Bill Romanowski played for over a decade in the NFL. He is part of an elite club of players with four Super Bowl rings to his name and was part of the San Francisco 49ers in the early 90s where he won two Lombardi Trophies. He briefly played for the Eagles before joining the Broncos, with whom he went on to win two more Super Bowls.
He played 243 consecutive games, a record for linebackers, and made five Super Bowls throughout his career. Interestingly enough, all of his championship rings were won in the form of back-to-back titles. He retired in 2003 after playing for two seasons with the Oakland Raiders.
5. Rob Gronkowski (17 playoff wins, 22 playoff appearances)
There is a reason Rob Gronkowski is considered to be one of the greatest tight ends of all time. The man was built differently and despite having missed a few games owing to injuries, he would always show up during playoff time (except for Super Bowl LI when he was unable to play). He has 15 postseason touchdowns and 1,389 yards in the playoffs.
His chemistry with Tom Brady went on to be one of the greatest QB-TE pairings of all time. He was the Scottie Pippen to Tom Brady’s Michael Jordan. Together, they won four Super Bowls, and Robbie G continues to be known as a dominant force of nature.
6. Jerry Rice (17 playoff wins, 29 playoff appearances)
It is impossible to not bring up Jerry Rice‘s name while speaking of players who enjoyed postseason success. To date, he sits atop the list of players with the most receiving yards and touchdowns in the playoffs with 2,289 and 22, respectively.
The three-time Super Bowl champion had a phenomenal career and is known as the greatest wide receiver to play the game. He achieved immense success in the postseason while playing with Joe Montana on the 49ers. Rice has 33 catches for 589 yards and 8 touchdowns in four Super Bowl appearances.
7. Ted Hendricks (17 playoff wins, 21 playoff appearances)
A three-time All-American at the linebacker position at the University of Miami, Ted Hendricks had a successful 15-year career in the NFL. The eight-time Pro Bowler had a rocky start as he was traded by the Baltimore Colts after five seasons to the Packers, who then allowed him to sign with the Raiders after his best season.
Hendricks played in 215 consecutive games was part of seven AFC Championship games and went on to be undefeated in the Super Bowl, winning four Lombardi Trophies.
8. Charlie Waters (17 playoff wins, 25 playoff appearances)
The only representative of America’s team on this list, Charlie Tutan Waters had a successful 12-year career as a safety for the Cowboys. He played in five Super Bowls and holds the NFL record for the most playoff interceptions, with 9 and 3 of them coming in just one game.
Waters is one of few NFL players who can proudly say he never experienced a losing season. He won two Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys.
9. D.D. Lewis (17 playoff wins, 27 playoff appearances)
Before Daniel Day-Lewis made the D.D. Lewis’ initials famous, Dwight Douglas Lewis was the man that put them on the map. The two-time Super Bowl champion played for the Dallas Cowboys between 1968-81 and started 135 consecutive games.
He is just one of eight NFL players to have played in five Super Bowls and despite never qualifying for the Pro Bowl or All-Pro team, he became a key role player for America’s Team. D.D. Lewis is known for his iconic quote during the 1982 season “Texas Stadium has a hole in its roof so God can watch his favorite team play,” a phrase that remains etched in the hearts of Cowboys fans to date.
10. Travis Kelce (16 playoff wins, 22 playoff appearances)
The only active player on this list, Travis Kelce is a three-time Super Bowl champion vying to win his fourth title this season. Although the tight end has won just one playoff game without Patrick Mahomes, he has appeared in four games without the Chiefs’ star quarterback.
Big Yeti has the chance to add another 3 wins to this number and progress to number four on this list if he is able to win the Lombardi Trophy this year. Travis Kelce is second to Jerry Rice in terms of most receiving yards in playoffs with 1,903 yards, 19 touchdowns, and counting.
Apart from Kelce, 11 other players have 16 wins in the playoffs with 21 or more appearances. The list will soon be dominated by Chiefs’ stars as Patrick Mahomes, Harrison Butker, and Joe Thuney all have 15 wins in the postseason and with another win or two, will sneak into this list.
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Sumedh Joshi
(2234 Articles Published)