Week 3 Results [GFL]
'84 Miami vs. '05 Jacksonville
Miami scored early, but Jacksonville took the lead for Q2 and Q3 in a low-scoring effort. With both defenses forcing several 3-and-outs, a 4th quarter TD by Marino gave the Dolphins a 2 point lead many thought would end the game. But a last minute surprise effort by Leftwich put the Jags just over the Dolphins. Jacksonville wins 19-14. Marino threw for over 380 yards, but Leftwich completed 71% of his tosses for 242 yards. It was the Jags running efforts that helped Leftwich get some extra leverage, however, with Taylor and Jones breaking 100 yards together
'18 Houston vs. '04 Pittsburgh
Watson found himself struggling to score against a brutal Pittsburgh defense as the Steelers blew away the Texans 38-14. Houston settled for several FG's, but thte Steelers matched them with TD's. Deuce Staley grabbed 2 TD's as him and Bettis pounded away on Houston's D-line. Roethlisberger threw 2 TDs and for a whopping 356 yards in just 20 receptions. Everyone that took a pass from Big Ben made plays of 20 yards or more. Watson on the other hand just couldn't complete half his throws and was held to just 158 yards.
'00 Oakland vs. '16 New England
In the biggest offensive shootout yet all season, the Raiders and Patriots faced off at Gilette to 65,798 screaming fans. There would be no shortage of excitement for the game.
After a close first quarter, it was clear both teams were capable of fighting this one all the way through. By half-time, the Patriots only had 3 point edge. The Raiders would take the lead by the 3rd quarter, but a late Q3 run by Blount for 50 yards and six points would shift the momentum to a New England lead. From there, New England D held off Gannon and Brady would throw his 3rd TD pass to cement the Patriots lead and victory, 38-28.
Each team broke 500 yards offense in an unprecedented display of...defense? Where was it? Wheatley ran for over 100 yards for Oakland, but Blound led the game with 169 yards for New England. Both rushers had 2 TDs. Of the 330 passing yards for Ganon, however, it was Tim Brown who would prove deadliest. Brown, who caught just 10 passes on the day, tallied up over 200 yards, with a longest catch of 68. Brady's 347 yards came on fewer big plays, but Tom was 30/37 with no picks.
'81 Cincinnati vs. '80 Philadelphia
In what many expected to be a great match, both teams would definitely fight for position. Just not the way expected. Not a single team made it in the end zone - the game essentially became a field goal competition. And while both kickers were perfect for the day, it was Breech's 4 attempts that gave the Bengals a 12-6 win. Philadelphia put together more yards on offense but at 59% completion, neither QB could average more than 6 yards / catch. Both rushing games were also held to under 50 yards.
'83 Washington vs. '87 Cleveland
The Redskins mopped up the floor with the Browns in another great performance from Gibbs and crew. After a 1st quarter that saw Washington score a safety and an 83 yard KO return, the Browns knew they had a tough road ahead. After a pair of FG's, Cleveland would get their only TD late 2nd quarter. The Redskins came into the 2nd half putting up several unanswered TD's. and FG's.
Despite having over 300 yards offense total, Kosar hit less than half his targets and was picked off twice by the strong Washington secondary. Theisman, on the other hand, was 23/36 for 376 yards. Charlie Brown had 8 of those catches for a monstrous 189 yards total. Art Monk also had over 100 receiving yards. Redskins win 42-7
'93 Oilers vs. '98 Vikings
The Vikings were in high gear again this week, but the Oilers had a bone of their own to pick. In fact, the Oilers would open up with the game's first score, and after a few scares from Minnesota, would still put up a couple FG's and a 17 yard TD pass to Slaughter. The 20-5 lead at the half was still not the end of Houston's momentum, as they scored again with under 7 minutes left on the 3rd quarter clock. With Moon finally having a high profile win in his grasp, it was at this point the Oilers defense fell apart in almost record fashion.
Up 27-5, it started slowly with a Cunningham TD throw to Moss. But with the Vikings D quickly giving him another chance, Cunningham would repeat just as the 4th quarter started. What was once a sure game became a 27-19 competition with a quarter of time left. That's why everyone was jaw-to-the-floor surprised as the Vikings racked up another 22 points by the game's end, all unanswered. At 41-27, the Vikes had just continued to show why they're a force to be reckoned with.
Houston's biggest problem was not being able to get Gary Brown moving, who has to date been an asset for their offense to give Moon a break. With just 29 yards rushing total, even Moon's 60% accuracy and 0 INTs would not suffice. The Vikings had over 500 yards total offense, with 390 coming off Cunningham's efforts. Randy Moss had 164 yards from just 8 catches and 3 TD's.
'99 Rams vs. '80 Bills
After being up 10-7 by the 2nd quarter, the Bills lost their momentum, and the game, as The Greatest Show On Turf proved their strength. Though only tallying 260 yards offense, Warner made plays count and took advantage of fantastic field play afforded by his defense. Faulk helped by breaking 100 yards on the day; Cribbs on the other hand was just shy at 94. Rams win 27-10
'94 San Francisco vs. '08 NY Giants
The Niners had a hard time keeping up with the Giants on the road. After trading scores in the 1st 35 minutes of game time, the Giants would score 3 times in the next 15 minutes, putting the Niners on the defensive several times with a 31-14 lead. San Francisco would manage at least 1 more score before the game was over, but Manning and company would go home happy. With Manning tossing for over 200 yards, it was the rushing game clocking in over 170 that would give the Niners the most trouble. Jacobs, Ward, Bradshaw - they all seemed to be able to exploit the Niners and to good success. Steve Young had a terrible day with just 13 completions for 129 yards. NY wins 31-21.
'06 Chicago vs. '10 Atlanta
The Bears and Falcons both put on good performances, but with fewer yards offense, the Birds would get the help of special teams to stay ahead of the Bears. Up 17-10, Weems would return a deep punt for a TD late in the 3rd quarter. Atlanta would do their best to hold Chicago from there, though Grossman would get in 1 TD for his comeback effort. Atlanta wins 24-17
Both teams broke 100 yards rushing on the day, but only Jones would do it all by himself, averaging 5.3 yards / carry for the Bears. Matt Ryan, despite the win, had no TD's and just 152 yards passing. Grossman completed 23 throws for 215 yards, 2 scores and no picks. Bryant missed a couple FG's for Atlanta from 50+ yards but nothing to cost the game.
'98 NY Jets vs. '07 Indianapolis
Both offenses performed great in this offensive shootout, but after a 14-10 first half in favor of NY, the Colts found themselves stunned in the 2nd half by the Jets defense. The Jets shock the RCA Dome with a 35-17 win over the Colts. NY did a great job balancing their ground and air assaults, giving them an easier time scoring. Testaverde's 81% accuracy helped the Jets get the ball where they needed and Martin's rushing helped get the it in the end zone. He rushed for over 100 yards and 2 TD's. Manning was 24/35 for 305 yards and 2 TDs.
'08 Carolina vs. '06 San Diego
Qualcomm Stadium was full of over 68,000 attendees to watch Rivers and Tomlinson work their magic against Jake Delhomme and the Panthers. But the Panthers were the ones with the magic, maintaining a lead all game by answering each of San Diego's scores with one or more of their own.
All eyes were on DeAngelo Williams who, with just 75 yards total offense, was responsible for 3 of the Panther TD's for the day. The Beast had a similar performance for the Chargers, but cranking out a whopping 190 yards to go with his 3 TD's. Once again he shows why he is destined to be a leader in this league. It just wasn't enough to carry the team, as Rivers only hit 55% of this throws for a measly 170 yards. Carolina 37, San Diego 31
'79 Tampa Bay vs. '15 Denver
The Bucs all but got shut out by the Broncos. A late 1st quarter FG, the first score of the game, remained their only scoring effort for the competition. Denver, despite only 248 yards offense, would go on to tack 2 rushing TD's from Anderson to the scoreboard, coupled with not 2, not 3 - but 4 Field Goals. If that wasn't enough, the Denver D picked up a Safety, and Bolden snatched a punt and ran for 78 yards in the right direction. By the end of the day Tampa Bay was looking like the worst team in the league, and with just 116 passing yards - only 6 more than they had rushing - there's plenty of blame to go around. Williams was picked 3 times. Denver wins 35-3.
'70 Detroit vs. '74 St. Louis Cardinals
The Lions struggled to run in their efforts to take on the Cards at Busch Memorial. St. Louis put on quite a show as Hart put on an explosive show, with Gray his superstar of the day. Gray caught just 7 passes but made 173 yards from them, and taking 2 for TDs. Hart tossed up 383 yards total, tallying 4 TDs and just 2 picks. The Cardinals defense clearly matched Hart's enthusiasm, racking up 6 sacks against the Lions and stopping Detroit to just 33 yards rushing. Cardinals win 34-7
'77 Dallas vs. '05 Seattle
The Cowboys almost handed the Seahawks a loss at home, but the Seahawks would find help from some unlikely places to edge out Dallas 20-17. After trading FG's in the 1st quarter, Dallas would grab a 7 point lead before the half with Staubach tossing a short TD. Seattle would close the gap to 4 in the 3rd quarter on a short FG by brown.
When the Seahawks took the lead in the 4th quarter on an Alexander TD run, the 3 point lead seemed to let Hasselbeck relax. But with just 4 minutes left to play, Staubach would fire deep - and find Pearson for a 69 yard score. Now just under 3 minutes on the clock, Seattle needed more than just 3, So when Scobey grabbed the kickoff return as usual, it was to Seahawks fans' surprise when he couldn't get a touchback, and instead took the ball not 18 yards to make up for it, but 98 yards to make up the game. Seahawks kept their lead, and the win, 20-17.
Seattle's rushing efforts were above and beyond, with 218 total yards, Alexendar picking up 142 of those. Hasselbeck completed just 11 passes for 87 yards - perhaps his worst career performance. Staubach looked great, and Pearson had 120 yards in just 4 catches. But in the end neither could get the Cowboys close enough to FG range.
'01 Green Bay vs. '92 New Orleans
Fans knew they were in for a nail biter when the first score of the game came on a Green Bay fumble in the red zone, which the Saints carried 91 yards the other way as the 2nd quarter opened. Favre would redeem himself and tie the game by half, and a 3rd quarter FG gave the Pack a slight lead. But the Saints hadn't given up, and a strong 4th quarter effort on defense and offense put them in the win column. Saints 17, Packers 10
By all measures the Packers fared well on offense, with Green carrying for over 120 yards and Favre tossing for 256. Hebert and company fared much worse, leaving the legendary Saints D to come to the rescue.
'19 Kansas City vs. '06 Baltimore
The Ravens and Chiefs had an aerial showdown of epic proportions at M&T Bank Stadium. The name Mahomes was all over the scoreboard as the Ravens struggled to hold him back on the ground and in the air. Rushing for 2 TD's, Mahomes also hit a generous 28/36 throws for - get this - 483 yards!!! With the longest play being 56, the average catch was just over 17 yards.
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