The NFL has proven to be a young man's game, and those in the twilight of their career often experience a rapid drop-off in production. While competitors always prefer to retire while they are still at the top of their game, very few players can do so, as Father Time has claimed countless victims over the years.
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A disappointing final game may leave a bad taste in the mouth of the player hanging up their cleats, but these performances tend to become forgotten and do not have much of an effect on their legacy. However, countless great players surely would have liked their final contest to go differently.
10 Drew Brees
Drew Brees is one of the most prolific quarterbacks in NFL history, and he was routinely near the top of the league in both passing yards and proficiency. However, he transitioned into more of a game manager (albeit a highly efficient one) during his final two years rather than the certified game-breaker that he had been up to that point in his career.
Brees was still able to thrive in his newfound role, but the deep passing game was almost nonexistent for New Orleans in 2020, as the 41-year-old's arm strength was not nearly what it had been in years past. The signs of wear were never more evident than in his final contest when he completed only 19 of 34 passes for 134 yards with three interceptions and only one touchdown in the Divisional Round against the rival Buccaneers in the Superdome.
9 Eric Dickerson
Eric Dickerson is one of the most physically gifted running backs in NFL history, and he was an unstoppable force early in his career. While the bruising runner had already established himself as an elite threat at the position after leading the league in rushing during his rookie year, he took an even greater leap in his second season, when he set a record with 2,105 yards on the ground.
His lone season with the Raiders in 1992 may have been forgettable, as he was a shell of his former self at that point, but those who blinked might have missed his four-game stint with the Falcons the following season. His final game in Atlanta was a 6-0 shutout loss to Chicago when he has held to -3 yards on only two carries. The Falcons traded him to Green Bay after the contest, but he never played a game with the team, as he retired after failing a physical.
8 Peyton Manning
Few players mastered their position like Peyton Manning, who set the gold standard for quarterback play as one of the truest students of the game the league has ever seen. Nevertheless, even he was not invincible to Father Time, which became abundantly clear in 2015, when the 39-year-old threw nearly double the number of interceptions to touchdowns and looked like more of a liability to Denver than an asset.
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He may not have been playing at a high level, but the Broncos' defense was good enough to carry the team to the Super Bowl, where they faced off against the top-seeded Panthers. The signal-caller could not turn back the clock in the big game, as he finished with only 13 completions on 23 attempts with an interception in an utterly boring 24-10 Denver victory. While the Sheriff may have gone out on top with a Super Bowl win, it is safe his final chapter did not get written how he would have liked.
7 LeGarrette Blount
LeGarrette Blount became only the second undrafted player to exceed the 1000-yard mark on the ground in their first year in 2010. While he failed to eclipse the barrier again until his breakout 2018 season (when he led the league with 18 rushing touchdowns) with the Patriots, his powerful running style was a signature aspect of his game, and he gave defensive backs nightmares throughout his career.
However, it was clear that he was well past his prime in 2018, as he became more of a plodding runner than the decisive one-cut battering ram he had been in years past. The Lions may have scored a shutout 31-0 road win against the Packers in the final game, but Blount had little impact on the upset victory, as they held the 32-year-old to only 15 yards on 11 carries in his last game.
6 Terrell Owens
Before Terrell Owens was the only household name in the Fan Controlled Football League (at the age of 48), he was one of the most consistently dominant receivers in the NFL. The pass-catcher was equally as good at causing opposing defensive backs to have sleepless nights as he was at giving his coaching staff headaches, which is really saying something.
Owens was still playing at a high level in his final season, as he nearly eclipsed the 1000-yard mark despite playing in only 14 games with the Bengals in 2010. However, he might as well have not shown up to Cincinnati's week 13 clash with the Steelers (the final game of his career), as he struggled to get on the same page with Carson Palmer and caught only one of six passes thrown his way for 22 yards in the 23-7 blowout loss.
5 Warren Moon
While Warren Moon initially struggled to adapt to the NFL after spending the first six years of his career in the CFL, he became one of the best players in the league once he got his feet underneath him. The gunslinger made eight-straight Pro Bowls from 1988 to 1995, and there is no telling where he would rank on the all-time passing list if he played his entire career south of the border.
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Moon was relegated to backup duties for the first time in his career after joining the Chiefs in 1999, as they already had a (somewhat) proven starter in Elvis Grbac. However, the 44-year-old was forced into action when Grbac suffered an injury midway through the 2000 season. He proceeded to have a disastrous performance, as the Chargers swarming defense smelled blood in the water and sacked him five times, picked him off once, and only allowed him to complete 12 of his 31 attempts for 130 yards.
4 Dan Marino
Dan Marino was a generational talent who took the NFL by storm like few others have been able to, as the league had no answer to his passing proficiency when he began his career in 1983. The gunslinger rewrote record books after eclipsing the 5000-yard mark in only his second season and was not only one of the top passers of his generation, but he was also one of the most talented signal-callers in the history of the game.
Nevertheless, age began to take a toll on Marino (whose passer rating declined in his final five seasons), and he became a shell of his former self in 1999, his last year in the league. While the signal-caller may have started his career with a bang, he ended it with a whimper, as he only completed 11 of 25 passes for 95 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions in a shocking 62-7 loss to the Jaguars in the Divisional Round. The performance was so terrible that Jacksonville had a 38-0 lead midway through the second quarter before the signal-caller even completed a pass.
3 Barry Sanders
Barry Sanders' combination of speed, vision, and quick-twitch ability made him a human highlight real and threat to take every play to the house. Unlike most, Sanders retired on his terms and was still playing at an incredibly high level when he decided to hang up his cleats. One could argue that he was even better later in his career, as he achieved three of his highest single-season rushing totals in his final five years in the league.
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While he finished his final season with nearly 1500 yards on the ground, there were a few games late in the year where he struggled to find much room against defenses that game-planned against him, including a 19-10 defeat to the Ravens in Week 17. He allowed Baltimore to take an early 9-0 lead in the contest after fumbling deep in their territory and finished the game with only 41 yards on 19 attempts. As crazy as it sounds, he actually had a 31-yard run in the game, which means his other 18 carries resulted in a total of ten yards.
2 Matt Forte
Matt Forte may have routinely flown under the radar throughout his career, but he was the premier dual-threat running back of his generation and is one of only three players to eclipse 1000-yards on the ground while also hauling in over 100 catches. The workhorse running back's blend of size, speed, and versatility made him a rare threat at the position, and he was the Bears' offensive centerpiece during his eight years in the Windy City.
While his ability to make plays in both the run and pass games made him a unique chess piece, it also negatively affected his longevity in the long run, as the increased touches caused his body to wear down quicker than it otherwise would have. It became clear that his days were numbered when he looked noticeably slower after joining the Jets in 2015, and he only played one more year before calling it a career. His final game (a 14-7 loss to the Chargers in Week 16) was a microcosm of his time with the team, as he fumbled the ball when the New York was in the red zone and only finished with 19 yards on eight attempts.
1 Mike Alstott
Mike Alstott was one of the best athletes to play the fullback position, as he was a bruising runner (his nickname was A-Train) who had a knack for picking up the tough yards whenever the Buccaneers needed him to. However, age began to take its toll on the hard-nosed competitor, and he was less of a threat with the ball in his hands late in his career, as Tampa Bay opted to deploy him as a blocker more often.
With that said, Alstott was still often used in short-yardage situations since it was incredibly difficult to bring the battering ram down behind the line. Nevertheless, Seattle managed to do just that on nearly every one of his attempts in their Week 17 matchup of the 2006 season, when he had four yards on six attempts in the 23-7 Seahawks victory. To make matters worse, he also contributed to the blowout by fumbling the ball for the first time in over two years.
