Big Tackles from Big Bens

Ironically, the two best defensive plays of the NFL divisional playoffs were tackles made by offensive players.

Champ Bailey's interception and 100-yard return of a Tom Brady pass was not only the most important play in the Denver Broncos' 27-13 win over the New England Patriots, but also the set-up to the most entertaining play of the entire weekend. While Bailey was decelerating to enjoy the final yards of what he thought was a clear path to the end zone, Pats tight end Ben Watson continued his own 100-yard dash from the opposite end zone ... only Watson never slowed down to celebrate. Watson hit Bailey like a freight train about one-foot shy of the end zone, separating Bailey from the ball and sending both flying out-of-bounds. Denver eventually scored, but Watson's play was reminiscent of Super Bowl XXVII when Don Beebe - in one of the most memorable plays in Super Bowl history - came from out of nowhere to strip the ball away from a showboating Leon Lett. Bailey's play may have put an end to New England's dreams of a three-peat, but it was Watson's hustle play that will remain etched in the minds of football fans forever.

The other Big Ben - Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger - provided a season-saving tackle in the most unlikely of circumstances. The Steelers were up 21-18 with 1:20 remaining and the ball on the Colts 2. Roethlisberger handed off to Jerome Bettis expecting "The Bus" to plunge into the end zone and put the game out of reach. Instead, Indy's Gary Brackett knocked the ball loose and Nick Harper scooped it up and took off toward the Steelers' goal line. Bettis had only fumbled once in the previous two seasons so there's no way Roethlisberger could be anticipating a fumble. Plus his instinct in that situation would be to go for the ball or to try and make the tackle right away -- either of which would have been disastrous. Instead, Big Ben showed the presence of mind to immediately begin sprinting backwards to try and get in position to slow Harper down enough that one of his teammates could catch him from behind. Roethlisberger did even better than that -- making the game-saving tackle himself at the Colts 42. Roethlisberger's heads-up play saved Jerome Bettis from the nightmare of having the final play of his NFL career go down as one of the biggest blunders in NFL history. Instead, Pittsburgh gets "The Tackle" to go alongside 1972's "Immaculate Reception" as two of the greatest - and most improbable - plays in NFL playoff history.