Week 4 Results [GFL]
'15 Denver vs. '98 NY Jets
It was the Jets and their fans who would be a mile high at Giants Stadium when Denver arrived. Despite a good offensive performance and some big plays, the Broncos struggled to score all game. The Jets, on the other hand, seemed unstoppable in their 1st half performance. No matter their position, Testaverde made 3 long TD throws. VT had 26 completions for 338 yards; Martin had 31 carries for 123 yards and 2 TD's.
Manning completed just 22 passes for 276 yards, but Hillman put in a great performance on the ground, averaging almost 8 yards / carry and breaking 100 yards. But overall the Broncos just couldn't get setup for many good scoring opportunities.
NY Jets win 37-17.
'06 Baltimore vs. '83 Washington
The Ravens and Redskins traded scores all game in a close matchup. Though Baltimore had a slight lead at halftime 14-7, Washington would almost tie things up early in the 3rd quarter, except Moseley would miss the PAT. As each team would score again before the 4th quarter, a failed 2-point conversion would put the Redskins in a 2-point deficit, which would slip further as Jamal Lewis pounded out a 20 yard rushing TD.
Down 24-19, Theisman would shock everyone with a 44 yard TD pass before the 2-minute warning, and still getting the ball back for a Redskins FG to take the lead. With just 20 seconds left, the Redskins looked to be ready for an important W, when Sams would take the KO return for Baltimore 94 yards in just 6 seconds. All of DC's men couldn't put the Redskins back together after such a heartbreaking and unexpected loss.
Both teams matched up offense well, with Theisman dominating in the air. With just 18 completions, he threw for over 300 yards, 3 TDs and 2 INTs. Brown again played a huge part in the Redskins' efforts, grabbing 6 catches for 147 yards and 2 TD's.
'98 Minnesota vs. '18 Houston
The Texans practically ran Minnesota around town for the first half of this game, wish Watson throwing 2 TD passes and Fairbairn nailing a FG just before half. With a 2nd half strong showing by the Vikings D, however, they wouldn't remain with a goose egg for long. Minnesota would succeed at blocking a Daniel punt and recovering the ball in the end zone. This would spark Cunningham and crew to make progress on offense, but unfortunately not until after Watson threw his 3rd TD pass for the day.
Down by 17, the Vikings would grab 2 TD's before the 2-minute warning to make it a 4-point game. But after the 2-minute warning, Houston was able to wear down the clock. Texans win 24-20.
Despite an astonishing 15 penalties, one reason for the Texans edge was their ability to get Miller to break 100 yards rushing and give Watson great field position. Minnesota also gave up the ball twice on 3 fumbles. But in the end, Watson's great performance outshone Cunningham's. Completing 72.7% for 245 yards, 3 TDs and 0 picks, Watson also ran for 34 yards.
'05 Seattle vs. '84 Miami
With over 77,000 fans in attendance at the Orange Bowl, the Dolphins would find themselves on their toes against Hasselbeck and company. Despite putting up the first score of the game, the Dolphins would find their defense fall apart as Alexander ran for not 1, not 2, but 3 TD's by the early minutes of the 3rd quarter. Up 21-10, the Dolphins would have to find a way to shift momentum in their favor. Lucky for them, their first break would come on a Marino TD pass to Clayton. This seemed to be enough of a boost for their Defense to put Alexander on ice, and by Q4 Marino would throw another TD pass to take the lead. The 4th quarter would see far less action, but an early FG by Miami would cement their comeback. Dolphins win 27-21.
Despite Marino putting balls in the end zone, the surest reason for Miami's turnaround actually came on a surprise effort from their ground game. At some point Shula realized Seattle was weak to it, as at least 4 different rushers were able to put over 40 yards on their stat sheet, with Miami totaling 234 rush yards altogether! Marino's 293 yards came with 2 TD's and 1 pick, in just 21 completions. Hasselbeck was more accurate in his 21 completions, but failed to really score on his own merit. Alexander, as expected, rushed for 127 yards with his 3 TD's; one of those being for 59 yards.
'07 Indianapolis vs. '06 Chicago
In one of our few "could have happened in real life" matchups so far this season, the Colts - or rather Adam Vinatieri - defeated a Bears team that struggled on offense. For 3 straight quarters, Chicago kept holding Manning from the end zone, but each possession still left them in FG range, and the super-accurate Vinatieri made them count. He was 5/5 for the day, effectively outscoring everyone else on the team.
The Colts would get a pair of TD's in the 4th quarter, with Rushing taking a punt for a TD and Manning finally getting an end zone toss outside the 2-minute warning. But if you think it's strange the Bears haven't been mentioned yet, it's because they were uncommonly quiet. Their only score came from their only significant play on offense, a 31-yard run by Jones. Grossman completed several passes, but averaged just 6 yards/catch against the Colts D and was picked off 3 times.
Colts win 29-7.
'04 Steelers vs. '93 Oilers
Roethlisberger had a fantastic game on the road against the Oilers, and the Steelers defense was in high gear tot help make it happen. While the 14-7 lead Pittsburgh had at half would give Houston hope, Houston was unable to score the remainder of the game except for a Del Greco FG. But it was the Houston D. that broke down, as Pittsburgh continued to threaten with 3 more scores. Steelers win 27-10.
Big Ben threw for over 350 yards and 2 TD's, completing 20/34. Moon had just over 200 yards with more picks than TDs. Heinz Ward was on fire, getting almost half of Ben's throws and earning 167 yards on the day. Randel El also returned a put for 62 yards.
'05 Jacksonville vs. '81 Cincinnati
If there was ever a sign of Jacksonville's regular struggles, their road trip to Cincinnati would be it. The Jags were able to answer the Bengals' first TD, but fell down 21-7 by Q3 before settling for a FG. As the 4th quarter rolled around, the Jags D just couldn't hold off Johnson and Anderson. Bengals win 35-17.
Anderson completed 20/30 and threw for almost 300 yards with 2 TDs. Pete Johnson powered through tacklers for 163 yards and 2 TD's, averaging over 7 per carry. Jacksonville totalled just 260 yards, struggling to really find any one weakness in the Bengals.
'06 San Diego vs. '79 Tampa Bay
The Chargers ran into Tampa Stadium kicking up dust with a 10-0 lead on Tampa Bay. That lead would serve to give the Chargers the edge they needed. Once the Bucs recovered, they were able to somehow keep pace with San Diego, despite Williams throwing 4 picks on the day. Most credit goes to their D, for giving them excellent field position. Ricky Bell ran for over 100 yards, outpacing Tomlinson, who fell shy of 100 agains the Bucs D. Rivers made up for it, completing 27 passes for just 237 yards, but making each throw count with 2 TDs.
Chargers win 23-14.
'92 New Orleans vs. '70 Detroit
The Lions continue to look out of place, even at their home of Tiger Stadium. The Saints marched in and put up over 400 yards total and 6 offensive TD's. Detroit's running game couldn't muster more than 50 yards against the Saints D. Not for trying - Farr and Owens racked up over 80 yards together. But it was the repeated efforts of Munson to scramble that cost him 50 yards in the negative. Munson completed just 43% of his throws.
On top of throwing 4 TD's, Bobby Hebert completed 21 passes for over 330 yards. The Saints rushing game didn't average much at just 2.1 yards/carry, but certainly helped wear the Lions down and still counted for 2 TD's.
New Orleans wins 48-7.
'87 Cleveland vs. '77 Dallas
The Browns had no problems scoring against the Cowboys at Texas Stadium, but they simply couldn't keep up with the pace at which Staubach and company were scoring. For each TD or FG they earned, Dallas would seemingly double it. Dallas had 3 rushing TD's in the 2nd quarter alone, with Newhouse picking up 2 and Pearson getting 1. Newhouse also ran over 100 yards, overshadowing the usually star-studded Dorsett. TD still ran for over 60 yards and 1 touchdown.
Staubach was certainly not silent, tossing for over 330 yards with a 67 yard long to Pearson. Pearson broke 100 yards receiving on the day with just 5 catches.
Dallas takes out Cleveland 44-16.
'74 Cardinals vs. '08 Panthers
The Cardinals offense was consistent against the home team in Carolina, but the Panthers had an explosive 2nd quarter that ultimately kept the momentum, and the game, on their side. They would destroy the Cardinals on the ground with 3 TD's that quarter and broke 160 yards total for the day. Williams alone had over 100 yards and 1/2 the team's TD. Delhomme had a tough day trying to score in the air, but no problems putting together over 300 yards. His team's 14 penalties didn't seem to factor much in the end. The Cardinals saw a huge performance from Mel Gray, who made very much out of very little. With just 4 catches, he had 4 big plays, totaling 173 yards and 2 TD's. His longest was a 75-yarder.
Panthers 34, Cardinals 23
'08 NY Giants vs. '99 Rams
The Greatest Show on Turf lived up to their name with a 45-14 romp of the Giants. Every drive by the Rams seemed to end with a Warner TD pass. Warner had 5 total on the day, completing 32/41 for 461 yards. He was picked off just once. Bruce had 145 yards receiving, but the real star of the game was The Beast. Faulk also broke 100 yards receiving in 9 catches, and rushed for 125 yards in 22 carries. On average, if he was getting the ball, he was getting 7 yards.
At over 600 yards total offense, there was no way the Rams were losing. Eli Manning did put up a good effort of his own, completing 2/3 of his throws and getting 292 yards for his efforts. But with 2 picks and a rushing attack that could barely move, scoring came hard for the Giants.
'16 New England vs. '19 Kansas City
Our first shut-out of the season came from a most unexpected place, and with a most unexpected result. Not only was the game a shut-out, it was also a blowout. And the winner? None other than the home-town Chiefs at Arrowhead. Patrick Mahomes had a rare and unheard of day against one of the best teams in the NFL, showing how brutal Andy Reid can be in the right circumstances.
The Patriots were held to just under 200 yards, with Brady averaging under 7 yards / catch on just 17 catches. On the Chief's side, Mahomes had as many rushing yards as NE's LeBlount and led the team, which totalled 137 yards. But of course, the talk of the day was Mahomes breaking 500 passing yards for the day, with 45 completions and 83 completion percent. To top it off, he threw for 7 TD's and 0 INT's. Kelce and Hardman were big the yard makers in the air both breaking 100.
With the score being 42-0 just at half time, things did slow down some in the 2nd half, but the 56-0 blowout against the Patriots still will no doubt remain a historic game for the league.
'80 Buffalo vs. '00 Oakland
The home town Raiders got off to a good start, threatening a 14-0 first half before the Bills would get a break on a punt return for 75 yards.
Somehow, that special teams maneuver shifted momentum towards the Bills, who came darting out in the 2nd half with a Defense that shut Oakland down at every turn, and an offense that found itself pounding away slowly at the Raiders. The Bills were able to put 2 more TD's on the score board, giving them the 7-point lead. Then as Gannon was dropping back inside the 2-minute warning to try and get the ball moving, he was sacked in the end zone for a Safety.
Bills surprise Raiders 23-14.
No one particular player stood out during the matchup, but the Bills did break 130 yards rushing and over 300 yards total. Ferguson looked great at 70% completion but mostly just seemed to call the right plays at the right time.
'80 Philadelphia vs. '94 San Francisco
The usually spry 49ers team had some trouble getting moving at Candlestick Park when the Eagles flew into town. After a close 1st half in which the bids had just a 6-3 edge on FG efforts, the 2nd half saw a rejuvenated Eagles team spring into action and shoot ahead. By the 4th quarter, both teams were at stalemate. The Eagles 20-3 victory shows they're a team to watch closely this year,
In a rare feat that shows the credit owed by the Eagles secondary, Jaworski almost doubled the passing yardage of Steve Young with just a few more completions. At a whopping 15 yards/catch average, it's even more amazing that no particular receiver for Philly broke 100 yards. 6 different receivers all averaged 12 yards or more per catch; half of those broke 21 or more yards average.
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