Week 12 - Sunday

'72 Miami vs. '69 Cleveland

Miami got an early lead on Cleveland as their rush attack pushed through the end zone with 6:23 left in the 1st quarter. But Cleveland's Nelsen would quickly retaliate, putting together 2 scoring drives in the 2nd quarter, both tosses from over 30 yards out.

Up 14-7, Miami got the ball outside the 2 minute warning, and Morrall was able to score on a 10 yard throw to Warfield for a first half tie.

As the 3rd quarter opened, Miami would get the ball again, and Cleveland was powerless against their continued running game as Ginn powered in for an easy 1 yarder to go up 21-14. For 10 minutes, both teams would remain at stalemate until Cleveland was able to settle for a FG from just 28 yards out.

Cockroft was good on the attempt and Cleveland's hopes for a 4th quarter remained high, especially as the Browns defense continued to hold offthe Dolphins. But as Cleveland entered the red zone again halfway in the 4th quarter, they made the controversial call to settle for the easy FG and got within a point of the Dolphins.

The No-Name defense made sure it didn't happen, and Miami maintained their victory 21-20. Their deadly rushing attacked totalled 243 yards on the day, split almost evenly amongst Csonka, Morris and Kiick. It was enough to matter, as Yepremian missed both FG attempts for Miami and Morrall only completed 4 passes.

Nelsen's 248 yards passing and 58% completion with 2 TD's were crucial to Cleveland's efforts, but with 3 picks against Miami, it's no surprise Cleveland was shorter on ball time. Cleveland remains winless at home.

'15 Carolina vs. '09 New Orleans

The 6-4 Panthers lead the NFC South, but in a division where every other team is just 1 game away from tying you, every game counts.

The Saints and Panthers both put on a great first half show, with Cam Newton hitting each member of his devastating duo (Ginn Jr. and Olsen) for TD throws. Stewart, who was just one of several backs to exploit New Orlean's D-line, ran in a 3rd TD.

Brees had a tougher time against the Panthers D, but was able to get Carney set up for a FG, as well as get close enough for a Thomas TD.

With a 21-10 lead in the 2nd half, the Panthers were expected to grab an easy win, but the neither team could find a way to score for some time. And early in 4th quarter, when Brees hit Hendersoon a short toss in the corner of the end zone, New Orleans was getting closer to the win. But the Panthers were able to keep the Saints on the other side of the field. Carolina wins 21-17. New Orleans dominated time of possession, and Brees was very accurate, but with just 9 completions Newton still got 2 TD's. Much of that is on the effort of Olsen, who caught 4 on the day for 131 yards after his spectacular 73 yarder.

The Saints now take on their 3rd straight loss.

'74 Oakland vs. '68 Jets

Joe Namath took on Ken Stabler in the biggest shootout so far in the league. Both defenses have shown their ability to stop points, but that di not happen today.

Oakland got off to a great start with a 95 yard return for TD on the opening drive by Hart. On their next drive, Stabler would find Branch for an easy 11 yarder. But in the next 10 minutes, the New York defense picked up, and Namath put together 3 scoring drives in a row. Two would be the result of Snell's hard work, 1 rushing and 1 receiving. The third, a 40+ yard toss to Sauer, was a classic Joe Cool toss.

With the Jets up 21-14 in just the 2nd quarter, the Raiders would sneak in a FG before both QB's traded TD tosses. The Jets lead dwindled by half time, 28-24.

The 3rd quarter saw both teams tie up, as Stabler hit Siani for a short pass before NY's Hart hit one between the uprights.

In the 4th quarter, NY would get the lead after another FG, but Stabler would march into the end zone as Hart ran in a score. With the game winding down, the Jets came up with an incredibly quick 2 TD's in just 90 seconds, taking a 48-38 lead with just 30 seconds left.

Against all odds, Oakland's Hart would run his 2nd kickoff return, this one for 89 yards. But down by 3 points and with no timeouts, the onside kick failed and the Jets were able to kill the clock. New York grabs a win, 48-45. With Blanda missing 1 of 2 FG attempts, all eyes in Oakland were on him for the loss, but all eyes were on the QB's during the action. Both QB's struggled to get 50% of their throws completed for 200 or more yards, but Namath had 4 TDs and 2 INT's while Stabler had 3 sores and 1 pick.

'86 NY Giants vs. '85 Chicago

The Bears, who have found themselves struggling the last few games, hosted the underwhelming NY Giants team at Soldier Field. 

Both defenses did a great job. Despite having almost 500 yards offense on the day, the Giants held the Bears to only FG's. In fact, the first 22 minutes of game time was a stalemate until Allegre hit a FG from 47 yards out. Chicago would get their only TD on the following kick return, as Willie Gault picked up yet another 80+ yard return for the score.

As the last minutes of the first half wound down, Simms found Robinson for a 25 yard TD. With a missed kick, the 9-7 lead would be short lived. The Bears immediately drove in FG range, and Butler nailed it to put Chicago up 10-9.

In the 2nd half, both teams continued to struggle, but the Bears managed 2 more FG's  to maintain their lead.  Bears win 16-9. McMahon had a good day, nailing 22/32 for 291 yards. Walter Payton had a great day as well, averaging over 6 yards per carry with 168 yards total. For the Giants, Simm's usually accurate passing was well of, as he only made 1 of 4 throws.

The Giants remain without a win on the road while Chicago stays in the fight for the division with Green Bay.

'76 Pittsburgh vs. '88 Cincinnati

In a low scoring game, the Steelers traveled to Cincinnati to take on an unpredictable Bengals team. And they would prove to be worthy opponent. It took almost 15 minutes before the Bengals went with the sure 20 yard FG after the Steel Curtain held strong. Cincinnati 3-0.

Minutes later, after running both the ball and the clock, the Steelers got some blocks together to help get Franco Harris over the goal line to go up 7-3.

Things would reverse in the 3rd quarter after Esiason hit Brown on a 31 yard toss for the score, while the Steelers settled for a FG. Thanks to a missed PAT, Steelers stayed ahead 10-9.

As the 4th quarter went on, both defenses continued to hold hard, but as the 2 minute warning kicked in, the competition picked up. As the Bengals got in range, they took the easy FG to put the Steelers in a losing spot at 12-10. But give Bradshaw and Harris the chance, and they can make magic happen. The Steelers quickly found themselves in the red zone, and with the final play of the game, they gave Gerela a chance to pick up 3 - and 3 points he was rewarded after his kick went through the uprights.

Steelers win 13-12.

'91 Detroit vs. '91 Washington

Detroit gets dealt a major blow by the Redskins, after several straight weeks coming up big.  Despite a strong 2nd half showing, it was the first half dominance by the Redskins that put them in the W column. In the first 25 minutes of gameplay, Rypien had thrown 2 TD passes to Monk and Riggs had powered one through.

Detroit would soon after get teir first FG of the game, before Brian Mitchell would return the kickoff 82 yards for a 4th Redskins TD. The Lions squeezed in another FG before half,  but 28-6 was too much of a lead to overcome. Barry Sanders, who had an outstanding 228 yards on the day, also took a 24 yard throw from Kramer to give the Lions their first TD.

Later, Kramer would find Clark for a TD throw, and Gray would show Washington their special teams was just a good after he returned a punt 68 yards. But Washington didn't stop scoring, switching to more runs as Detroit's coverage improved, and scoring 2 more TD's in the process. Final Washington 42, Detroit 26.

With an explosive 57 yarder, Barry sander's 228 yards carried an average of 10.4 each touch. But for Washington, Byner and Ervins would combine for almost 180 yards of their own. In addition, Rypien found the mark on 21 of his 30 throws,, with 1/3 of those going to Gary Clark, who had 130 yards on the day for a 21.7 yard average.

'13 Seattle vs. '17 Philadelphia

Philadelphia hosted Seattle at Lincoln Financial Field. Over 72,000 fans showed up to see the 4-6 Eagles take on the 7-3 Seahawks.

The first half of the game was a struggle on both sides, but Philadelphia took a 6-0 lead after Elliot hit 2 FG’s in the 1^st quarter. They would maintain it until the 2 minute warning kicked in, at which point Hauschka hit a 34 yard FG of his own. The Legion of Boom then quickly held the Eagles, but as Wilson had the ball with a minute left, he was picked off by Mills, who sped 69 yards in the end zone to give Philly a 13-3 lead at half time.

Philadelphia would continue to hold the lead, but struggled to score. In fact, the 2^nd half was all Seahawks, as Hauschka put up 2 more FG’s to trail 13-9. As the Eagles got the ball, they tried to control the clock, but a fumble cost them significantly when Seattle recovered and took the ball 54 yards for a TD to lead 16-13.

With the Eagles in a tough spot, Wentz kept his cool and was able to get into Seattle territory. After hitting a few crucial passes, the 2 minute warning kicked in. As the Eagles got closer, Seattle got tougher, but Wentz scrambled for 3 to get ahead of Seattle. And the Eagles D maintained that lead. Philadelphia gets the crucial win 20-16. The Eagles didn’t even break 200 yards, whereas Seattle passed for 259 yards. The Eagles D gets the game VIP nod, for not only scoring an INT run, but grabbing 3 more picks against Wilson and sacking him 5 times.

‘02 Tampa Bay vs. ‘98 Atlanta

In a highly competitive division was a highly competitive divisional matchup between the Buccs and Falcons at the Georgia Dome. Both defenses have been devastating, and both offenses have shown the potential to be unstoppable when they hit a groove.The Buccs took the lead first after Brad Johnson hit Keyshawn on a 20 yard throw. Both defenses would take over from there, until Chandler hit Mathis in the end zone to tie the game just before the half. But Tampa Bay, on their following possession, would get in FG range and call timeout with 2 seconds left. Gramatica was good on the attempt and Tampa Bay went up 10-7.

As the 3^rd quarter rolled on, BJ hit KJ for the 2^nd time to make the lead 10 points. But as Atlanta got the ball, they got Jamal Anderson involved and found the ball easier to move. They would be the only team to score in the 4^th quarter, as Chandler thew 2 TD passes from inside the red zone, giving the Falcons the win 21-17. Both teams had over 260 yards passing and practically 2/3 completion %. In the end it was the Falcons rushing attack that would help give them the edge, with Anderson picking up 113 yards for the day. On the receiving side, both QB’s had a clear “go-to” receiver, with Pittman picking up 121 yards on 6 catches from Brad Johnson and Mathis grabbing 8 on the day from Schaub for 137 yards.

Atlanta, the highest scoring team in the league, is now the first team to break 300 points for the season. And with the win, they likely seal Tampa Bay’s playoff chances.

‘97 Denver vs. ‘90 Buffalo

With all but 1 game today being decided by just 7 or fewer points, the Bills chance at the Broncos was no different.

Both teams played well on D, with Buffalo grabbing the only score in the first quarter on a short FG by Norwood. The 2^nd half would mostly remain silent as well, until Elway hit Terrell Davis on a screen, which turned into a 15 yard TD, leaving just 2:05 on the clock.

Jim Kelly wasted no time driving down into Denver territory, topping off his efforts with a Lofton TD throw to go up 10-7 at the half. Denver was set to receive the ball in the 2^nd half, and eventually Elway got them in FG range to tie the game.

The Bills started getting Thurman Thomas more involved at this point, and it paid off. With Thomas getting some crucial first downs, Kelly would throw 2 TD’s on 2 consecutive drives, both to Reed. The second was an impressive 44-yarder. Buffalo leading 24-10 going into 4^th quarter.

Of course, Elway is the king of comebacks, so Denver fans would have to be patient to see what would transpire. After Terrell Davis ran in a TD with 9:40 to go, it was looking positive. In fact, the Broncos held Buffalo and got the ball back to Elway. As the last few minutes of the game approached, things looked up for Denver as they got into Buffalo’s side of the field. But the Bills forced a 4^th down, and Denver took the safe FG rather than gamble on the pass. Elam drove the ball through the uprights with no issues, and 2:10 remained in the game. But without any timeouts, Buffalo wasted the clock and come up with the win. Bills defeat Denver 24-20.

Buffalo ends their 3 game losing streak, but has some ways to go yet before having a chance at the playoffs.

‘99 Jacksonville vs. ‘08 Tennessee

The Jags traveled to take on their division rival, the Titans, in what would predictably be a low scoring game with the history of each franchise.

Everything looked normal as Jacksonville scored the first TD midway through the 1^st quarter on a Jamal Stewart run. But Stewart, despite carrying the ball 21 times, would find a tough time running against Tennessee, as he was held to just 24 yards on the day.

The Titans defense continued to punish the Jaguars all game, holding Brunell to just 130 yards and 50+ completion %. Jacksonville’s defense also fared well, holding TN to under 140 yards total.

With such great defensive performances, TN would settle for 2 FG’s all game to trail Jacksonville by just 1 point in the 4^th quarter. At that point, it was special teams that came to the rescue, when Carr grabbed a grabbed a short punt and had some perfect blocks to setup for a TN score. From there, both teams stayed in a stalemate, and TN took home the win 13-7.

This marks Jacksonville’s 1^st loss on the road and 3^rd loss all year, but even with this divisional loss they remain on top of the AFC South – for now. This could come back to haunt them later if Tennessee keeps on a win streak.

‘92 Dallas vs. ‘07 New England

Gilette Stadium was host to over 72,000 fans to see their top-ranked Patriots take on the bottom-ranked Cowboys. What they got was a game where rank meant nothing, with the final score being decided by just 3 points.

Brady got the first score of the game with 5 minutes left in the 1^st quarter, after completing several passes and finding Welker in the end zone on a 2 yard throw. Dallas would quickly retaliate, with Aikman finding Michael Irvin in the end zone to tie the score.

Later, as the 2^nd quarter was winding down, Emmitt Smith powered through for a score after the Patriots secondary started holding off Aikman’s pass attack.

With a 14-7 lead at the half, Dallas strengthened their lead in the 3^rd quarter with another Emmitt Smith TD. New England seemed all but defeated. But Tom Brady was not defeated. He easily put together 2 scoring drives in the 4^th quarter to bring New England within 4 points of Dallas.

With the final 2 minutes of the game, both teams were in high gear. With barely over a minute left, the Patriots possession of the ball turned into the TD needed for them to take the lead 24-21. But just 30 seconds and a few passes later, Aikman would find Martin in the end zone to take charge again, 28-24.

With neither team having time outs, the Patriots seemed all but defeated. That was, until Hobbs carried the kickoff 75 yards into the end zone. With just 30 seconds the clock, the Patriots grabbed yet another win, 31-28.

One reason Dallas was so competitive was that Aikman had 345 yards passing on the day, just destroying the New England secondary with 68% completion an average of 12 yards per catch, much of that being yards-after-catch. Brady had 3 TD throws in half as many attempts, but Michael Irvin was just 1 yard shy of a phenomenal 200 yards receiving on 11 catches. On defense, New England had 5 sacks on Aikman and 1 pick. Elliot also missed his only FG attempt, one that in hindsight could have sent Dallas into overtime.

‘62 Green Bay vs. ‘89 San Francisco

With a 3-game win streak, Green Bay traveled to San Francisco to take on the Niners. Despite but San Francisco’s record, the game was a nail biter.

Both teams put up a strong effort, with each team grabbing FG’s on their first drive. By 2^nd quarter, the Packers went up after nailing another FG from 41 yard out.

As the game continued, both defenses kept holding strong, and after Cofer missed a critical FG for the tie, it was looking bad for the Niners. Later, Kramer would miss a FG, and the Niners would look to Joe Montana for a comeback as the 4^th quarter came around. But it would be Starr who would grab the first TD of the game on a 30 yard pass to Moore.

Cofer would redeem himself with 6:44 left in the game, hitting a FG from 37 out to put the Niners one score away. Unfortunately for San Fran, the Big Green and Gold kept Montana out of the end zone. And with that, the Packers win 13-7, marking their 4^th straight while SF remains at the bottom of the league with a guaranteed losing record.