Week 9 - Sunday

'12 Houston vs. '99 Jacksonville

The Jaguars, off their 1st loss of the season, hosted the Texans at Everbank Stadium in a highly anticipated rematch of their week 2 divisional faceoff. Last time....

The first quarter saw a bit of a standoff, until Houston scored on a short run by Foster. Jacksonville was able to get close to the goal on their next possession, but had to settle for a FG. From there, Houston grabbed 10 more points in the 2nd quarter to take a 17-3 advantage.

In the 3rd quarter,both teams struggled, but Houston was able to squeeze out another TD on a run by Martin to put Jacksonville in a difficult spot. Unfortunately, Jacksonville continued to struggle against the Texans defense, and only grabbed 1 TD inside the 2 minute warning on a 9 yard pass by Brunell.

Houston did a terrible job running against the Jaguars, but Schaub hit almost 72% of his targets for 273 yards. Jacksonville had the opposite problem, with Brunell only throwing for 141 yards but the team rushing for 115. This just came down to Houston playing better ball, dealing the Jaguars their 2nd straight loss. Houston 27 - Jacksonville 10.

'90 Buffalo vs. '91 Washington

In a face off between 2 consecutive Super Bowl teams, a rematch of Super Bowl XXVI, an unpredictable Redskins team traveled to take on struggling Bills team.

The Bills were explosive in the 1st half, racking up 2 TD's, a FG and a Safety against the 'Skins. The 'Skins' only score would come on a KO return from Ervins for 92 yards, putting them in a 12 point deficit at the half.

They would continue struggling against Buffalo's defense in the 2nd half, scoring only inside the 2 minute warning. Kelly, on the other hand, remained on fire with several short but critical throws. He had 20 completions on the day for 164 yards. Along with Thurman Thomas' 143 yards to assist, had no problems continuing to score. The Bills reverse their Super Bowl fortune 26-21.

One thing that simply hurt the usually strong Redskins offense was turnovers - four different backs from Buffalo's secondary grabbed INTs of the usually accurate Rypien. Buffalo now has their 2nd straight win and Washington, their 2nd straight loss.

'08 Tennessee vs. '15 Carolina

A Tennessee team on the rise, with a win in their belt from last week, went to Carolina to head off the NFC South leading Panthers. Both teams just have 3 losses, and both teams have shown the ability to win well fought games without high scores.

Despite the somewhat low score, the outcome did not fall in the Titan's favor. Tennessee did okay on offense but just couldn't find a way to get their offense in the end zone. Their only TD came on an incredible 88 yard punt return by Carr. Carolina, on the other hand, remained hard to stop, as Newton ran for more yards than all his other backs combined, almost breaking 100. He also threw for 144 yards. Panthers win 20-10.

With this win, the Panthers just about tie the Saints in their division, meaning NO has much at stake up head.

'75 Minnesota vs. '69 Kansas City

The Powerful Purple took on the Big Red at Kansas City. Both of these teams have shown amazing Defense all season, with KC having a high number of picks on QB's, but has had trouble turning them into scoring attempts. Minnesota has had some great passing games, but hasn't always been able to get the running game needed to balance it out.

The Chiefs were the only team to score in the 1st half, and by the 4th quarter Minnesota had come to just within 4 points after Tarkenton got his game together. But with 5 minutes left in the game, as Tarkenton was inching closer to the game win, the Chiefs defense came up big with a fumble return for TD. Not longer after, Dawson was able to get close enough for a McVea TD, making the final score 28-10, Chiefs.

Both teams rushed for over 100 yards, but in a turn of fortune for the Chiefs, Dawson was able to complete 16 of 20 for 2 TD's and a longest of 46. Tarkenton did well with 75% completion, but just came short of getting the big plays he's known for that could put Minnesota in the end zone.

'72 Miami vs. '69 NY Jets

The Dolphins met the Jets in their first divisional match, in a game that will have high stakes for playoffs as both teams are tied for 2nd in the AFC East. Miami was dealt a huge loss last week and New York comes off a huge win, so who will go home happy? Well, it would take until overtime for us to find out.

The Jets got an early 1st quarter TD on a Namath pass, but Miami bounced right back as Morrall fired a 14 yarder to Warfield. By the time the 2nd half rolled around, Namath found a wide open Maynard for a 66 yard toss to take the lead. Both teams would settle for FG's from that point on, but with NY getting 2 and Miami getting 1, the score was a shaky 20-10 at half.

The 3rd quarter was stale, but Miami finally got their momentum in the 4th quarter, running over the Jets D to grab 10 more points and a tie. But just as the 2 minute warning came around, the Jets got a run in by Snell to lead 27-20 and only 78 seconds on the clock. That's where Miami, with little time, relied on their passing game instead of their powerful rushers, and with 30 seconds left found their tie on a 22-yard throw to Stowe.

In OT, the Jets quickly got in range for a FG to break the tension, and grabbing the big W. NYJ 30, Miami 27.

Earlier I said Miami didn't rely on their rushing to tie, but they certainly relied on it to that point. They totaled 271 yards rushing on the day, with no 1 rusher breaking 100 but several rushers coming up with big plays. The Jets, on the other hand, had almost 300 yards passing.

'15 Philadelphia vs. '85 Chicago

The Bears took on the Eagles at Lincoln Financial in what, as many could have predicted, was mostly a one-sided show that would not leave the Eagles in a desirable spot.

The first half showed both teams appeared to be matched well, trying to figure each other out. In fact, before the half, each team was only able to get a FG, until McMahon found McKinnon on a 42 yarder with just 7 seconds remaining.

The 10-3 lead from there at half just continued to grow in the 2nd half as Chicago found more ways through the Eagles D, and the Bears D had no issues stopping Philadelphia. The Eagles would score just before the 2 minute warning, but Chicago would waste the clock afterwards. Bears defeat the Eagles 27-10.

Chicago had over 300 yards total offense, double that of Philadelphia. Despite Payton being held back by the Eagles, Genty and Thomas made some big plays. But the bigger plays came from McMahon's 300+ passing yards on just 18 completions and 3 TDs.

'68 Colts vs. '76 Steelers

The Steelers took on the Colts, with the opportunity to stay near the top of their division. For Baltimore, a win would give them a 50% record and a chance to stay relevant.

Pittsburgh got the first score of the game on a great run by Franco Harris. But the Colts, just 2 minutes later, fired back with a 51 yard throw by Morrall to the game. Unfortunately for Miami, Morrall would come up with several more huge passes like this for a TD, just breaking down the Steel Curtain. He had 349 yards on the day on just 11 throws. Four of those 11 were for TD's.

Pittsburgh had no trouble scoring, but just couldn't keep up with Morral's lightning like pace. Of course, Bradshaw only made 5 completions on the day, so relying on the rush ultimately proved fatal for Pittsburgh. And they rushed for 200 yards - with Harris, Bleiler, Harrison and Bradshaw all running for more than 40 yards.

The Colts' Orr was the leading receiver with 143 yards on 2 huge catches, both for TD's. In fact, earlier I said Morral had several big plays, and that's no joke. Look at these throws:
- Orr: 1 catch for 79, 1 catch for 63 (both for TDs)
- Perkins: 1 catch for 55
- Matte: a 51 yard catch for TD
- Richardson: a 38 yard catch for TD

Colts win 48-23 over the Steelers

Baltimore now has won 3 straight and Pittsburgh is goes down to 2-4 against the AFC.

'91 Detroit vs '74 Oakland

The Lions are fresh off a 2 game win streak to go to 3-4, and take on a Raiders team that is 4-3 and fresh off a loss.  The Lions have a chance to go 50% with the win, and the Raiders are looking for a chance to move up in the AFC West.

Stabler was hot for much of the 1st quarter, throwing 2 TD passes, while holding the Lions to a FG. Early in the 2nd quarter, the Lions got a fresh chance after Gray ran a punt for 85 yards. But Stabler, still on fire, got his Raiders close enough for Hubbard to run 9 yards on a 3rd score.

Up 21-10 at the half, the Lions would find a FG early in the 2nd half, but the Raiders D would continue to hold back the Lions, putting up 2 FG's of their own to go up 27-13 by the 4th quarter. With 2 TD's from a shot, the Detroit D stepped up and made some big holds on Oakland. But, despite a 56 yard throw by Kramer to Perriman for a TD with 8 minutes left in the game, the Lions failed to score again. Oakland wins 27-20

Oakland produced almost double the yardage of the Lion with over 200 rushing yards and 200 passing yards. Part of this is likely because the Raider's D had 4 picks on Kramer, who may have otherwise given the Lions better field position.

'02 Tampa Bay vs '2013 Seattle

The Seahawks had an easy time beating the Buccaneers at home. Tampa Bay started out getting some plays past Seattle, with Pittman running in the game's first TD. But it would be Tampa Bay's only TD as the legion of Boom quickly shut down the rushing game, as Tampa Bay only had 54 yards rushing on the day.

On the other side, Marshawn Lynch had a good day, not quite breaking 100 yards but powering in 2 TD's. Brad Johnson and Russel Wilson both had good games, with Tampa Bay throwing twice as often as Seattle but only averaging 5 yards per catch. Russel Wilson proved more efficient with less, averaging 8 yards per throw with 70% completion. Both QB's had 1 pick on the day.

Final score Seattle 24, Tampa Bay 10. This is now Tampa Bay's 4th straight loss.

'69 Cleveland vs. '97 Denver

Both the Browns and the Broncos at this point have only 1 win, so the showdown at Mile High Stadium between these teams is the only shot left for a winning record to the winner.

With almost 80,000 people in attendance, Broncos fans were screaming early on as Elway hit Green with just minutes left in the 1st quarter to grab the first score of the game. But in the 2nd quarter, the Browns got a bit break when Kelly broke some tackles to go 46 yards for the score.

With just under 2 minutes in the half, however, Denver's Gordon grabbed a punt and returned it 81 yards for a good lead going into the half.

Both teams had a tough 3rd quarter, and as the 4th quarter started, the Browns started to seem like they would be tying the game as they drove down the field, taking minutes off the clock. But the Broncos D held them to a FG, making the score 14-10 Broncos. From there, the Broncos easily got another score on an Elway sneak. The Broncos come up with a big win, and their first at home, by a score of 21-10.

Terrell Davis was a big part of that victory, taking 23 carries for 118 yards and a 5.1 average. Elway also hit almost 73% of his throws for 200 yards also. Neither team did great with FG's, with only 1 being made on the day by Cockroft out of 3 attempts. Elam was 0-1.

'62 Green Bay vs '17 San Diego

Two juggernauts of the LFL met at LA Memorial, with over 88,000 in attendance. Both teams have shown some great offense all season, and both teams are known for a hard hitting D.

Green Bay would score on the opening drive on a 19 yard pass to McGee, and on the following drive would push San Diego back for a Safety. But as the 1st quarter wound down, Fouts hit Jefferson for a 43 yard score to close the gap 9-7.

In the 2nd quarter, Fouts would continue moving the ball against Green Bay, scoring twice within the 2 minute warning to go up 17-9.

In the 3rd quarter, the Packers D came through with some good stops, and Green Bay's rushing attack came through with a critical TD to put them within 1 point, 17-16. And as the fourth quarter rolled around, Green Bay kept up their momentum and got 2 FG's while holding Tarkenton out of the end zone. Packers win 22-17, dealing San Diego their first loss at home

Both QB's attempted 26-27 throws and completed over 65% and threw over 240 yards. In the rushing game, however, it was the Packers who had 148 yards. Taylor, as usual, had 39/87 of his yards on 1 run. San Diego as a team didn't even have 80 yards.

'07 Patriots vs '00 Ravens

The #1 team in the AFC North took on the #1 team in the AFC East, in what could very easily foreshadow a playoff match.

Brady hit Welker early on on a 19 yard pass, but the Ravens quickly retaliated on their next drive. Jamal Lewis broke free on a 44 yard run to cross the goal line and tie the game. In the 2nd quarter, the Ravens and Patriots fought to stalemate until 2:07 remained on the clock. Stover hit a 43 yard FG for the Ravens, giving Baltimore the 10-7 lead at the half.

In the 2nd half, however, it was clear Bellichik and crew had figured out how to stop Baltimore. Shutout for the 2nd half, the usually active Ravens passing game barely broke 100 yards. Brady, on the other hand, continued exploiting holes in the Baltimore secondary, passing the 300 mark in the 4th quarter. Despite this, Brady only had 1 more TD, as the Patriots settled for 3 FG.s from there out. But Gostkowski remained 100% and the Patriots win 23-10.