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I felt the same way on Sunday evening as and I commentated on the in the first round of the NFL play-offs.

Kurt Warner celebrates victory over Green Bay on Sunday

I have followed the as a fan since 1983 and I have to say that was the most amazing game I have ever seen, either on television or in a stadium.

It was a game that had it all - 13 touchdowns, spectacular catches, a head-scratching missed field goal and a defensive runback that finally put paid to the offensive fireworks in sudden-death overtime.

After three hours and 31 minutes of drama that even Shakespeare would have been hard-pushed to match, the two teams had conspired to produce the highest-scoring play-off game in NFL history.

And there was a Liverpool connection in the Arizona desert as Packers quarterback is a big fan of Rafa Benitez's men. Rodgers was outstanding and has a bright future in Green Bay but even his four-touchdown display was overshadowed by the form of Arizona passer .

Warner looked like a machine against the Packers. He has always been capable of producing fantasy football-like numbers when in top form and his technique is flawless.

Time and again Warner fired perfect spirals downfield as he picked the Packers apart.

By the end of the thrilling game he had completed 29 of 33 attempts for 379 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions.

That is breathtaking. In the heat of a play-off battle, Warner's passes fell incomplete just four times.

In defeating the Packers, Warner cemented his status as one of the best big-game players in recent NFL history. It was one of the greatest displays of passing I have ever seen.

The problem with defending Warner is that there is no right way to slow him down when he is in top form.

If you blitz him, he is completely unruffled. His guts, determination and vision - coupled with a lightning-quick release - make him the best in the game at slicing apart a defence that is attacking him.

If you drop extra defenders into coverage, you make it harder for Warner, creating tighter windows in which to throw the ball. But he is one of the most accurate passers in the business and, given extra time to throw, he can still find the open spots in a crowded secondary.

As he heads to to take on the in what could be another wild shootout, Warner is brimming with confidence. But that has not always been the case for a man who took a while to blossom into the elite quarterback we know today.

As a young, unheralded passer who graduated from in 1994, Warner was in a spring mini-camp with the Packers. He was buried on the depth chart behind the likes of and and had very little self-belief.

Packers' quarterbacks coach instructed Warner to get on the field and run a few plays with the offense. Warner declined. He felt so low and so fragile in terms of confidence that he asked not to be thrown into team action, claiming he was not ready.

Warner helped St Louis to victory over Tennessee in Super Bowl XXXIV

Mariucci was left scratching his head. Head coach was incredulous.

He could hardly believe that a young player was not willing to take advantage of the opportunity to impress an NFL team. Days later, Warner was cut and ended up stocking shelves in a supermarket.

He played in the indoor and then resurfaced on a full size field in in 1998. He even graced Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, leading the Amsterdam Admirals to victory over the England Monarchs.

Upon returning to the NFL with the , Warner got the break that was needed to kick-start his career when incumbent starter injured his knee early in 1999.

In one of the stories of the year, Warner took full advantage by throwing for 4,353 yards and 41 touchdowns en route to leading the Rams to victory over the .

Warner was outstanding for the Rams through to the conclusion of the 2001 season. And then came a period in his career which I felt would damage his credentials as a potential player.

Injuries and some indifferent form meant that out of a possible 80 regular season games in five years with the Rams, and Cardinals from 2002-2006, Warner started just 31 times.

He won back a starting role with the Cardinals in 2007, but only because young signal-caller got hurt. But again, Warner took full advantage.

He was outstanding in leading Arizona to a Super Bowl appearance last season and has become just the second player in NFL history to throw at least 100 touchdown passes with two different teams - the other being of the and New York Giants.

Despite a gaping hole in the middle of his career, I think Warner has done enough to take up his rightful place in the Hall of Fame when he retires.

He has played in three Super Bowls, winning one, has won two league Most Valuable Player crowns and has thrown for more than 30,000 yards and 200 touchdowns.

That retirement could come much sooner than Cardinals fans would like. Warner is 38 and has had some health issues this season, most significant being a concussion he suffered in mid-season that caused him to miss one game.

That scared Warner because he has often said he would like to leave the game in perfect physical and mental health so . The end of the road is coming for one of the NFL's feel-good success stories.

And when Warner does hang up his boots, the Arizona Cardinals will experience a major drop-off at the position. Leinart is a promising young player but it's hard to replace one of the greatest pure passers of the ball the NFL has ever seen.