Throughout the history of the NFL there have been players so talented that they never seemed to have a bad game, or at least people forgot about their bad performances because they put up great performances on a regular basis.

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However, no matter how good a player is, he cannot deliver in every game. Even some of the best players in history like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Emmitt Smith, and Jerry Rice had some disastrous performances. Simply put, anyone can have a bad day. On that note, below we take a look at 10 great NFL players and their worst game.

10 Torry Holt

Torry Holt (2)
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Torry Holt was a sensational pass catcher. He had eight consecutive seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards, including two seasons leading the league in that department. His consistency was undeniable. However, he also had bad games, and his worst was ironically in a phenomenal season for him. In the 2000 season, the St. Louis Rams' Torry Holt recorded 1,635 receiving yards, with 19.9 yards per reception, but in Week 14 he had a terrible game against the Minnesota Vikings. Holt had just two receptions on 10 targets, with 18 yards and a fumble.

9 Jerry Rice

Jerry Rice
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Jerry Rice is arguably the greatest wide receiver of all time, being the all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns. However, even a legend like Jerry Rice had bad games, with perhaps his worst coming on October 24, 2004, against the Arizona Cardinals, when he barely caught one of seven passes. He also had a terrible performance on September 27, 1992, with only two receptions, five yards and a fumble against the New Orleans Saints.

8 Emmitt Smith

Emmitt-Smith-1
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Since we're talking about the greatest wide receiver of all time, let's talk about the greatest running back of all time, Emmitt Smith, the all-time leader in rushing yards (18,355) and rushing touchdowns (164). He had great games pretty much every week.

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Nevertheless, Smith had a few awful performances throughout his career, and perhaps the worst occurred on December 6, 1998, in the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the New Orleans Saints. That day Smith rushed for just six yards on 15 attempts, which is 0.4 yards per rushing attempt.

7 Patrick Mahomes

Patrick Mahomes vs Titans
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The worst game of Patrick Mahomes' young career was last season, in a Week 7 game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tennessee Titans. Mahomes completed 20 of 35 passes (57.14%) for 206 yards, failed to deliver any touchdown passes, was intercepted once and had a dismal 62.3 rating. To make matters worse, Mahomes was sacked four times. Fortunately, these bad performances by Patrick Mahomes are counted on the fingers of one hand, as The Grim Reaper is a generational talent and has proven it on several occasions.

6 Drew Brees

Drew Brees
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Drew Brees had some mediocre games in his career, and it's a little hard to pick the worst, but there are several solid candidates. On November 2, 2003, Brees completed just seven of 15 passes, accumulating 49 yards, no touchdowns and a 26.8 passer rating. On December 24, 2006, against the New York Giants, Brees completed only 13 of 32 passes (40.63%), with 132 passing yards and a 63.5 rating. We must also mention the game between the New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons in Week 13 of the 2012 season, when Brees was intercepted five times and failed to deliver touchdown passes, with a 37.6 passer rating.

5 Cooper Kupp

Cooper Kupp
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Cooper Kupp had a monster season in 2021, and many believe he was enshrined as the best receiver today, but he has also had some very bad games. Cooper Kupp's worst performance was on October 18, 2020, against the San Francisco 49ers, a game in which he recorded three receptions on nine targets, that's just 11 receiving yards and two dropped passes. Perhaps if Kupp had not had such a bad day the Rams would have avoided defeat.

4 Aaron Rodgers

Aaron Rodgers sacked
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Throughout NFL history, there have only been four players who have been named MVP in consecutive years, and Aaron Rodgers is one of them. Rodgers is in the prime of his career, and that's saying something considering his career has been phenomenal, filled with amazing moments.

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On the other hand, Rodgers has also had bad moments, days when he takes the field lazily, like on October 18, 2020, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That day Rodgers completed 16 passes for 160 yards, with a 45.71 pass completion percentage, a pair of interceptions, a 35.4 rating, and he was also sacked four times.

3 Barry Sanders

Barry Sanders in action
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In Week 2 of the 1994 season, the Detroit Lions faced off against the Minnesota Vikings in a game that Sanders surely forced himself to forget. Sanders rushed for 16 yards on 12 attempts, which is 1.33 yards per attempt. Sanders, and the Lions' overall offense, was completely nullified by the Vikings. Interestingly, that was one of Sanders' best seasons, recording 1,883 rushing yards and taking Offensive Player of the Year honors.

2 Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning vs the chiefs
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Peyton Manning was one of the smartest players in the game, no doubt about it, but still, at times he was disconnected. The worst game of Manning's career was in his last season, in Week 9, when the Denver Broncos faced the Kansas City Chiefs. Believe it or not, that day Peyton Manning had a 0.0 passer rating, completing just five of 20 passes, 35 yards, four interceptions, and two sacks.

1 Tom Brady

Tom Brady vs Bills
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Our memories are filled with Tom Brady's great moments, his epic performances and seven Super Bowl victories. That's why people often forget that he has also had lousy performances. Tom Brady's worst game was on September 7, 2003, in the New England Patriots' 31-0 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Brady completed 14 of 28 passes, racking up 123 yards, being intercepted four times and sacked a couple of times as well.