NFL Old School Game of the Week: Kardiac Kids Clinch AFC Central Title

 

Browns quarterback Brian Sipe would throw for 308 yards and three touchdowns in the Browns' 1980 regular season finale with the Bengals.

The "Kardiac Kids" are regarded as one of the greatest teams in Cleveland Browns history as during the 1980 NFL season as the Browns won nine of their 11 games by a touchdown or less with five of those victories being less than a field goal.

It was fitting that in the final game of the 1980 regular season, the Browns would have to win the game in the final minutes as they traveled to Cincinnati to take on their arch rivals the Bengals with the AFC Central division title on the line.

The Browns came into the regular season finale with a 10-5 record but were coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Minnesota Vikings the week before on the "Miracle at the Met"(To read about that game, click on the link highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2017/10/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-vikings.html).

Led by quarterback Brian Sipe, who would go to win the NFL MVP for the 1980 season in which he finished with 4,162 yards and 30 touchdowns, the Browns needed a win in Cincinnati to secure the first division championship for Cleveland since 1971.

Standing in their way were their bitter intrastate rivals, the Cincinnati Bengals, who were set to finish with their third straight losing season but were looking to carry some momentum into 1981 as Cincinnati was on a three-game winning streak to improve thier record to 6-9 before thier week 16 showdown with the Browns.

If the Bengals were going to knock off the Browns, they would have do so without starting quarterback Ken Anderson as he still recovering from a sprained right ankle he suffered two weeks earlier as Jack Thompson would get the start when Anderson would serve as the team's backup.

The Bengals got the ball to start the game as they drove from their 27-yard-line to the Browns' 46-yard-line primarily on the legs of fullback Pete Johnson, who had four carries for 16 yards up to this point, when Thompson threw a pass over the middle intended for wide receiver Pat McInally.

That is when Browns free safety Thom Darden delivered a vicious hit on McInally, knocking the Bengals receiver/punter unconscious as a stretcher was brought on to take McInally off the field.

The hit drew a personal foul penalty to give the Bengals a 1st down at the Cleveland 31-yard-line as two runs by Johnson for seven yards and an incomplete pass would set up a 42-yard field goal by Jim Breech to give Cincinnati a 3-0 lead.

The two teams would trade punts for the rest of the first quarter as Breech will fill in for McInally as the Bengals punter when on the first play of the second quarter Sipe compelted a 60-yard pass to Dave Logan to give the Browns a 1st down at the Cincinnati 10-yard-line.

But on the very next play, Sipe was stripped of the ball by Bengals defensive end Ross Browner leading to a recovery by the other Bengals defensive end, Eddie Edwards, to give Cincinnati the ball at their 24-yard-line.

After two plays netted nine yards to set up 3rd & 1, running back Charles Alexader got the ball, as he ran for 32 yards that with a 15-yard face mask penalty on Darden gave the Bengals a 1st down at the Browns' 20-yard-line.

Two more runs by Alexander for seven yards would set up 3rd & 3 when Thompson scrambled out of the pocket to run for a 13-yard touchdown to extend the Bengals' lead to 10-0 with 10:30 left in the second quarter.

The Bengals seemed poised to get the ball back as the Browns faced a 3rd & 19 when Sipe was sacked for a four-yard loss only to have Cincinnati nose tackle Wilson Whitley get called for an unnessary roughness penalty which cost the Bengals 15 yards but even worse gave Cleveland a fresh set of downs at its 36-yard-line.

Five plays later, Sipe found Reggie Rucker for a 42-yard touchdown to bring the Browns to within a field goal at 10-7 with 6:56 left in the second quarter.

Following a Bengals punt, the Browns got the ball at their 29-yard-line as a holding penalty would push them back 10 yards as an incomplete pass and an one-yard run by Mike Pruitt would being up 3rd & 19 when Sipe hit Willis Adams for 26 yards and a 1st down at the Cleveland 46-yard-line.

The Browns would move to the Bengals' 39-yard-line until they were forced to punt with 46 seconds left before halftime only to have the punt bounce off the leg of Cincinnati linebacker Reggie Williams as running back Dino Hall recovered the ball to give Cleveland a 1st & goal at the Bengals' nine-yard-line.

Sipe would throw three straight incomplete passes as Don Cockroft came on to kick a 26-yard field goal to tie the game at 10 as the first half came to a close.

Browns wide receiver Ricky Feacher would only catch two passes for 69 yards but both catches went for touchdowns.

The Browns would get the ball to start the second half as Hall would return the opening kickoff 35 yards to give Cleveland the ball at the Bengals' 47-yard-line.

However after Pruitt was dropped for a two-yard loss on 1st down, Sipe was intercepted by Bengals defensive back Ray Griffin on a pass intended for Browns running back Calvin Hill as Griffin would return the pick 52 yards for a touchdown to give Cincinnati a 17-10 lead just 34 seconds into the second half.

Sipe would redeem himself on the Browns' ensuing possession as he completed three straight passes to tight end Ozzie Newsome for 19 yards with a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty accompanying the last completion to give Cleveland a 1st down at the Bengals' 35-yard-line.

Following an incomplete pass on 1st down, Sipe hit Ricky Feacher for a 35-yard touchdown that with Cockroft's extra point tied the game at 17 with 12:21 remaining in the third quarter.

The Benglas would begin their next possession at their 30-yard-line only to give it back on the Browns when on 2nd & 10 Thompson was picked off by Browns cornerback Ron Bolton to give Cleveland the ball at the Cincinnati 41-yard-line.

Sipe would threw a pass to Pruitt which lost the Browns a yard to set up 2nd & 11 as Sipe hit Rucker for 12 yards and a 1st down at the Bengal's 30-yard-line as Sipe was sacked for a four-yard loss on 1st down to bring up 2nd & 14 when Sipe connected with Feacher again, this time for a 34-yard touchdown to give Cleveland its first lead of the game at 24-17 with 9:53 left in the third quarter.

After an exchange of punts, the Bengals got the ball at the Browns' 38-yard-line as a 14-yard pass from Thompson to Isaac Curtis would help set up a 33-yard field goal attempt for Breech, only to have the kick sail wide left and no good to keep the score at 24-17 in favor of the Browns.

Following another exchange of punts, the Bengals had the ball at their 41-yard-line when Thompson went deep and threw a pass for McInally, who remarkably had returned to the game in the second quarter to assume his punting duties, made the catch at the Cleveland 15-yard-line, then dragged Browns cornerback Oliver Davis on the final five yards of his 59-yard touchdown reception that tied the game at 24 with 14 seconds to go in the third quarter.

The Bengals defense would force the Browns to punt on their next possession to get their offense the ball back at their 14-yard-line as Thompson would run for 15 yards on 3rd & 7 to give Cincinnati a 1st down at its 32-yard-line, then found tight end Dan Ross for a 34-yard completion which was followed by a 15-yard pass to McInally to help put the Bengals at the Browns' 20-yard-line.

But the Bengals would be unable to break the 24-24 tie as Thompson would be intercepted by Darden whose 10-yard return gave Cleveland the ball at its 33-yard-line only to have Sipe be picked off a deep pass by Cincinnati cornerback Ken Riley to give the Bengals the ball at their 34-yard-line.

The Bengals would go three-and-out on their ensuing possession to give the ball back to the Browns who took over at their 46-yard-line after McInally shanked his punt which would only go 14 yards.

With over six minutes left in regulation, the "Kardiac Kids" would drive down the field using their ground game as Pruitt carried the ball five times for 31 yards on a 10-play, 49-yard drive that culiminated with a 22-yard field goal by Cockroft to give Clevleand a 27-24 lead with 85 seconds left in regulation.

When the Bengals offense came onto the field to begin their next drive at their 32-yard-line, they did so with Anderson at quarterback as Thompson had suffered a concussion on the Bengals' prior drive.

Anderson completed a three-yard pass to Curtis to begin the drive then threw an incomplete pass to bring up 3rd & 7 when Anderson hit Steve Kreider for 22 yards and a 1st down at the Browns' 43-yard-line.

Anderson would then complete a nine-yard pass to Ross which was followed by another incomplete pass to set up 3rd & 1 at the Cleveland 34-yard-line with 11 seconds left and no timeouts for the Bengals.

That is when Anderson would fire a 20-yard pass to Kreider who could not get out of bounds as time ran out with the Bengals at the Browns' 14-yard-line as the "Kardiac Kids" had come away with the 27-24 win and the AFC Central divsion title.

While the Bengals finished the season with a 6-10 record, things would turn around for them the following season as Cincinnati would go 12-4 during the 1981 regular season to finish with the best record in the AFC thanks in large part to a MVP season by Anderson as he threw for 3,754 yards and 29 touchdown passes.

In the playoffs, the Bengals would knock off the Buffalo Bills 28-21 in the Divisional Round to earn a spot in the AFC Championship where they would play the San Diego Chargers in the "Freezer Bowl" as Cincinnati won the game 27-7 despite playing in -59 wind chill to earn a trip to Super Bowl XVI where the Bengals would fall to the San Francisco 49ers 26-21.

As for the Browns, their storybook 1980 season would come to a heartbreaking end two weeks later as they fall to the Oakland Raiders 14-12 in the AFC Divisional Round on the infamous "Red Right 88" where despite being field goal range for the game-winning field goal, Sipe would throw a pass into the end zone that was intercepted by Raiders safety Mike Davis.

Browns head coach Sam Rutigliano is carried off the field after his team clinched the 1980 AFC Central Division championship.

NFL Old School Game of the Week: Megatron's 329 Receiving Yards Leads Lions to Nail-Biter Win over Cowboys

 

Calvin Johnson became the fifth player in NFL history to have at least 300 receiving yards in a single game during the Lions' 2013 win over the Cowboys.

Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson is regarded as one of the greatest freak athletes to ever play in the NFL.

Standing at 6 feet 5 inches and weighing around 240 pounds, Johnson could ran a 40-yard dash in 4.35 seconds with a broad jump of 11 feet 3 inches, leading to former teammate Roy Williams to nickname Johnson "Megatron" after the leader of the Decepticons from the Transformers film franchise which saw its first live-action movie release in 2007 the same year as Johnson's rookie season.

"Megatron" would go on to terrorize for NFL defensive backs as helped the Lions recover from an embarrassing 0-16 season in 2008 to the playoffs in 2011 as Johnson would became an all-pro receiver.

Then in 2012, Johnson broke the record for most receiving yards in a season as he accounted for 1,964 yards on 122 catches despite Detroit having a 4-12 season that year.

For 2013, Johnson was hoping he could help the Lions get back to the postseason as "Megatron" caught 63 passes for 517 yards and scored six touchdowns, with all of those catches coming courtesy of passes from quarterback Matthew Stafford, to help Detroit equal their win total from the previous year as the Lions entered their Week 8 game with the Dallas Cowboys with a 4-3 record.

The Cowboys also came into the game with a 4-3 record under head coach Jason Garrett whose offense was led by quarterback Tony Romo and wide receiver Dez Bryant was hoping to return to the postseason for the first time since the 2009 season and break a two-year stretch where "America's Team" finished with a 8-8 record.

The two teams traded punts to start the game until the Lions had the ball at their 10-yard-line facing a 2nd & 10 when Johnson caught his first pass of the game, a short slant which "Megatron" turned into a 87-yard completion to give Detroit a 1st & goal at the Dallas three-yard-line.

Three plays picked up only just one yard to set up 4th & goal at the two-yard-line when the Lions decided to go for the touchdown which they got as Stafford found Johnson in the end zone for the touchdown to give Detroit a 7-0 lead with 54 seconds left in the first quarter.

Following a three-and-out by the Cowboys, the Lions got the ball at their 40-yard-line as two straight running plays gained 18 yards that put Detroit at the Dallas 42-yard-line when Stafford was intercepted by Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee to give Dallas the ball at their 38-yard-line.

After both team punted on  their ensuing possessions, the Cowboys got the ball back at their 20-yard-line when Dallas put together its best drive of the game thus far as they drove 55 yards in eight plays to set up a 53-yard field goal by Dan Bailey to cut the Lions' lead to 7-3 with 5:44 left in the second quarter.

The Lions would begin their ensuing possession at their 20-yard-line as Johnson would catch two passes for  30 yards to help Detroit drive to the Dallas 27-yard-line when Stafford was picked off again by Lee, who returned the interception 74 yards to the Lions' four-yard-line.

Three plays later, Romo hit Dez Bryant, who made a spectacular one-handed catch for the five-yard touchdown to give the Cowboys a 10-7 lead with 51 seconds left in the first half.

Detroit would get one more chance to put points on the scoreboard before halftime as a 29-yard catch by Johnson put the Lions at their 49-yard-line until an intentional grounding penalty would kill the drive as the first half came to an end with the Cowboys on top 10-7.

After the Cowboys punted on their opening possession of the second half, the Lions got the ball at their 30-yard-line as they drove to the Dallas 44-yard-line until running back Reggie Bush fumbled the football after a hit by strong safety Jeff Heath that was recovered by linebacker Justin Durant at the Cowboys' 32-yard-line.

The Cowboys would pick up one first down before punting it back to the Lions who took over at their 13-yard-line as they drove to their 48-yard-line until Johnson caught a 21-yard pass, only to fumble the football after he was hit by free safety Barry Church, leading to a recovery by cornerback Brandon Carr, whose 21-yard return that with an unnecessary roughness penalty on tight end Joe Fauria put Dallas at the Detroit 35-yard-line.

However, the Cowboys would not pick up another yard on three plays, forcing them to settle for a 53-yard field goal by Bailey which increased Dallas' lead to 13-7 with 3:02 left in the third quarter.

Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo threw for 206 yards and three touchdown passes.

Following a 44-yard return by Jeremy Ross on the ensuing kickoff, the Lions would begin their next possession at their 37-yard-line as four plays took them to the Cowboys' 47-yard-line when Johnson caught a 18-yard pass to give Detroit a 1st down at the Dallas' 29-yard-line as the third quarter came to an end.

The fourth quarter would begin with Johnson catching a 26-yard pass to give the Lions a 1st & goal at the Cowboys' three-yard-line as the Cowboys would keep the Lions from getting into the end zone, forcing them to settle for a 20-yard field goal by David Akers to cut the Dallas lead to 13-10 with 13:16 left in the fourth quarter.

The Cowboys would start their next drive at their 29-yard-line as two running plays picked up 11 yards to give Dallas a 1st down at its 40-yard-line when Romo completed a short pass to Terrance Williams, who then outran the Lions' defense to get into the end zone to complete the 60-yard touchdown and increase Dallas' lead to 20-10 with 11:43 left in regulation.

The Lions would respond with a seven-play, 80-yard drive which featured Johnson catching a nine-yard pass which set up an one-yard touchdown run by Bell that cut the Cowboys' lead to 20-17 midway through the fourth quarter.

Back came the Cowboys as Dwayne Harris returned the ensuing kickoff 56 yards to the Dallas' 48-yard-line as Joseph Randle ran for two yards to set up to Romo's 50-yard touchdown pass to Bryant which pushed the Cowboys' lead back to 10 points at 27-17 with 6:54 left in the fourth quarter.

Needing a score quickly, Stafford would throw a deep pass on the first play of the Lions' ensuing possession as Johnson would outleap two Dallas defenders to make the catch for a 54-yard reception to give Detroit a 1st down at the  Cowboys' 26-yard-line.

Six plays later, the Lions were in the end zone as Bush punched it in for an one-yard touchdown that cut the Dallas lead to 27-24 with 3:37 left in regulation.

The Lions defense would force the Cowboys to punt on their ensuing possession to get the ball at their 33-yard-line with 2:24 left for Detroit to drive down the field and at least kick a game-tying field goal.

However, the Lions could not pick up a 1st down as a quarterback sack by Cowboys defensive tackle Jason Hatcher cost Detroit eight yards, which was followed by a six-yard pass to tight end Brandon Pettigrew and then two incomplete passes to give the ball back to the Cowboys at the Lions' 31-yard-line with 1:33 left in the game.

It seemed like the Cowboys had the game in hand as they needed only one 1st down to win the game or at least could kick a field goal to make it a six-point lead as they would give the ball back to the Lions with around 25 seconds left in the game.

Dallas would run the ball twice as Joseph Randle was dropped for a three-yard loss on 1st down, followed by Phillip Tanner losing one yard on 2nd down as the Lions spent their remaining two timeouts as the Cowboys faced a 3rd & 14 with 1:14 remaining.

The Cowboys chose to run the ball again as Tanner ran for nine yards, only to have left tackle Tyron Smith get called for holding which stopped the clock as the Lions did the smart thing and elected not to push Dallas back 10 yards but instead declined the penalty to make it 4th & 5 from the Detroit 26-yard-line.

Bailey would come on to kick a 44-yard field goal which increased the Dallas lead to 30-24 but would give the Lions 67 seconds to try and drive for the game-winning touchdown.

Following a touchback on the ensuing kickoff, the Lions would get the ball at their 20-yard-line as Stafford threw an incomplete pass on 1st down, then connected with Johnson for 17 yards and a 1st down at the Detroit 37-yard-line.

After spiking the ball to stop the clock with 40 seconds left, Stafford hit Kris Durham for 40 yards as the third-year wide receiver stepped out of bounds at the Cowboys' 27-yard-line.

Stafford would go back to Johnson as "Megatron" made his 14th catch of the game, a sliding 26-yard catch to give the Lions a 1st & goal at the Cowboys' one-yard-line.

As the Lions ran to the line of scrimmage, Stafford was yelling "Clock" implying that he was going to spike the ball once his team lined up to snap the ball.

But when the ball was snapped, Stafford kept the ball and lunged in for the one-yard touchdown to tie the game at 30 as Akers would come on to kick the go-ahead extra point to give Detroit a 31-30 lead as the Cowboys with 14 seconds left.

The Cowboys would get one last chance to win the game but failed on their attempt to recreate the 1982 Stanford-California finish as the Lions came away with the 31-30 victory following a 14-catch, 329-yard performance by Johnson as Megatron finished with the second most receiving yards in a NFL game behind Flipper Anderson who had 336 yards in a game against the New Orleans Saints in 1989(To read about that game, click on the link which is highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2018/10/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-flipper.html)

The Cowboys would go on to finish the season with a 8-8 record for the third year in a row as Dallas missed the postseason for the fourth consecutive season while the Lions would end the 2013 season on a four-game losing streak to finish with a 7-9 record.

As for Johnson, he would play for two more seasons before shocking the NFL world by retiring from the league after just nine seasons.

"Megatron" would finish his career with 11,619 yards on 731 catches and scored 83 touchdowns as Johnson was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on his first year of eligibility in 2021.

NFL Old School Game of the Week: Hall is the "X-Factor" in Chiefs' Christmas Day Win over Raiders

Dante Hall set up the game-winning field goal for the Chiefs with his 49-yard kickoff return.

In the early 2000s, the Kansas City Chiefs had a "X-Factor" in kick returner Dante Hall, who could turn the momentum of the game in the Chiefs' favor with a kickoff or punt return for touchdown as he returned a combined nine kicks for touchdowns over a span of three seasons from 2002-2004.

Kansas City hoped that Hall would be the "X-Factor" once again as the Chiefs hosted the Oakland Raiders on Christmas Day in 2004.

The Chiefs came into the game having won their previous three games to improve their record to 6-8 under head coach Dick Vermeil who was in his fourth season as the head coach of the Chiefs.

Under Vermeil, the Chiefs had built one of the NFL"s most explosive offenses led by quarterback Trent Green and tight end Tony Gonzalez had averaged nearly 30 points per game since 2002.

However, the defense was ranked near the bottom of the NFL in giving up points as they had given up an average of 27.2 points per game thus far in the 2004 season.

If the Chiefs were going to beat the Raiders, they were going to need their high-powered offense to carry them to victory.

Meanwhile, the Raiders came into the game with a 5-9 record under first-year head coach Norv Turner, who had taken over for Bill Callahan after he had been fired following a 4-12 season in 2003, just one year removed from the Raiders being in the Super Bowl.

Oakland was in transition as Kerry Collins had taken over the starting quarterback job from Rich Gannon while wide receiver wide receiver Tim Brown had been cut from the team after 16 seasons.

Having been eliminated from playoff contention, the Raiders looked to hand the Chiefs a defeat that would squash Kansas City's very faint postseason hopes.

The Chiefs got the ball to start the game but would quickly give it back to the Raiders on the second play of the game as a Green pass intended for Eddie Kennison was intercepted by Raiders linebacker Tyler Braxton whose 24-yard return would give Oakland a 1st & goal at the Kansas City 10-yard-line.

An five-yard run by Zack Crockett and an incomplete pass would set up 3rd & goal when Collins found Jerry Porter in the end zone for a five-yard touchdown to give the Raiders a 7-0 lead just 95 seconds into the game.

Following a  32-yard kickoff return by Hall to the Kansas City 36-yard-line, the Chiefs would drive 40 yards in seven plays to set up a 43-yard field goal attempt by Lawrence Tynes, only to have it blocked by the Raiders' Langston Walker to keep the score 7-0 in favor of Oakland.

Raiders quarterback Kerry Collins threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns.

After the Raiders punted on their ensuing possession, the Chiefs got the ball back at their 32-yard-line as Green would complete passes of 11 yards to Kennison, 12 yards to Gonzalez, and 13 yards to Sammie Parker on a 10-play, 68-yard drive that culminated with a six-yard touchdown run by running back Larry Johnson that helped tie the game at seven with 2:14 left in the first quarter.

The Raiders would respond by driving 62 yards in 10 plays as Collins went 4-of-4 for 34 yards on the drive which did not end until Crockett punched it in for a three-yard touchdown to give Oakland a 14-7 lead with 11:40 remaining in the second quarter.

Looking to avoid a return by Hall, the Raiders kicked it short on the ensuing kickoff, only to have it Hall catch the short kick and return it 29 yards that along with a five-yard Oakland penalty gave the Chiefs the ball at the Raiders' 44-yard-line.

From there, the Chiefs drove down the field on the right arm of Green as he completed a 13-yard pass to Johnson to start the drive, then hit Gonzalez for seven yards on 2nd & 5, and then found Hall for 10 to give Kansas City a 1st & goal at the Raiders' six-yard-line.

After Johnson was dropped for four yards, Green would complete an eight-yard pass to Gonzalez to set up 3rd & goal from the two-yard-line when Green and Gonzalez connected again, this time for the two-yard touchdown that with the extra point tied the score at 14 with 4:56 left in the first half.

Following an Oakland three-and-out, the Chiefs got the ball back at their 12-yard-line as Green completed three of his next six passes for 23 yards to put Kansas City at its 35-yard-line when Johnson carried the ball for just two yards, only to have Raiders defensive tackled Terdell Sands get called for a face mask penalty that put the Chiefs at the Oakland 48-yard-line.

From there, Green would complete a 11-yard pass to Gonzalez, then another 11-yard pass to Chris Horn, before connecting with Gonzalez for a 26-yard touchdown to give the Chiefs their first lead of the game at 21-14 with 1:54 left before halftime.

The Raiders would answer with a seven-play, 69-yard drive which was capped off with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Collins to Alvis Whitted that with the extra point tied the game at 21 with just 24 seconds left in the first half.

That was enough time for Green to complete passes of 14 yards to Johnson and 17 yards to Gonzalez to set up a 50-yard field goal attempt by Tynes on the final play of the first half as Tynes' kick would fall short as it hit the crossbar as time expired in the first half with the game tied at 21.

The two teams would exchange punts to start the second half until the Raiders had the ball at their 24-yard-line facing a 3rd & 14 when Collins went deep and found Porter over the middle for a 43-yard completion to give Oakland a 1st down at the Kansas City 33-yard-line.

Five plays later, Sebastian Janikowski would come on to kick a 40-yard field goal to give the Raiders a 24-21 lead with nine seconds to go in the third quarter.

The two teams would trade punts as the game moved into the fourth quarter until the Chiefs got the ball at their 35-yard-line as Green caught fire again as he completed passes of 21 yards to Kennison, eight yards to Samie Parker, 12 yards to Horn, and then finally hitting Parker for a 14-yard touchdown to cap off the nine-play, 65-yard drive to give Kansas City a 28-24 lead with 6:11 left in the fourth quarter.

Chiefs quarterback Trent Green completed 32 of 45 passes for 358 yards and two touchdown passes.

The Raiders would come back with a seven-play, 29-yard drive that was aided by a 22-yard pass interference penalty on Chiefs cornerback Dexter McCleon to help set up a 45-yard field goal by Janikowski which cut the Kansas City lead to one point at 28-27 with 3:49 left in the game.

Following a 25-yard return by Hall on the ensuing kickoff, the Chiefs would start their next possession at their 26-yard-line hoping to pick up a couple of 1st downs and run out the clock.

Things looked promising for the Chiefs as Green completed passes of 13 yards to David Dunn and 14 yards to Kennison to help Kansas City drive down to the Raiders' 38-yard-line where the Chiefs faced a critical 3rd & 4.

That is when disaster struck as Green was hit by Raiders defensive tackled Ted Washington, leading to a fumble that was recovered by Warren Sapp to give Oakland the ball at their 43-yard-line with a chance to drive down the field for the game-winning field goal with 1:42 left in the game.

After an incomplete pass to start the drive, Collins would complete an eight-yard pass to tight end Doug Jolley to set up 3rd & 2 when Collins found Teve Johnson for 25 yards to give Oakland a 1st down at the Kansas City 24-yard-line.

From there, the Raiders kept it conservative as Crockett ran the ball three straight times while the Chiefs spent all three of their timeouts as Janikowski would come on to kick a 46-yard field goal to give Oakland a 30-28 lead with 63 seconds left in the game.

As the Raiders prepared to kick the ball back to the Chiefs, Turner told Janikowski to squib the kickoff in an effort to prevent Hall of getting his hands on the ball and getting a long return.

However, Hall would get his hands on the ball at his 15-yard-line and behind a line of blockers would run down the field for a 49-yard return until he was knocked out of bound by Janikwoski at the Raiders' 36-yard-line.

Following the return, Green would complete a six-yard pass to Horn and then a seven-yard pass to Gonzalez to give the Chiefs a 1st down at the Oakland 23-yard-line when Johnson would run the ball for three more yards.

After a quarterback spike and an incomplete pass, the Chiefs would send in Tynes to attempt the go-ahead field goal from 38 yards out.

Unlike his earlier attempts, Tynes would be successful on this field goal attempt as his kick sailed through the uprights to give the Chiefs a 31-30 lead with 22 seconds left in the game.

The Raiders would get one last chance to win the game but Collins would throw two straight incomplete passes before being picked off by defensive back Benny Sapp on a desperation Hail Mary throw to end the game with the Chiefs on top 31-30.

Tony Gonzalez finished the game with 11 catches for 124 yards and two touchdowns.

Oakland would finish the season with a 5-11 record, the second of what would be seven straight seasons where the Raiders lost at least 10 games as Turner would lost one more season in Oakland before being fired after a 4-12 season in 2005.

As for the Chiefs, they would lose to the San Diego Chargers the following week to finish the season with a 7-9 record as Vermeil would coach in Kansas City for one more year until his retirement after the 2005 season in which the Chiefs went 10-6.

As for Hall, he would remain in Kansas City through 2006 as he returned one more punt and one more kickoff for a touchdown before being traded to the St. Louis Rams where he spend the next two seasons returning just one kick for a touchdown before his retirement in 2009 with a career 12 kick return touchdowns.

NFL Old School Game of the Week: Bengals Overcome 21-Point Halftime Deficit to Beat Vikings

 

Bengals kicker Doug Pelfrey is hoisted up by his teammates after his game-winning field goal in Cincinnati's win over the Minnesota Vikings.

Christmas is supposed to be the time of the miracles and the Cincinnati Bengals would get one when they hosted the Minnesota Vikings on Christmas Eve during the final week of the 1995 NFL regular season.

The Bengals came into the game with a 6-9 record having secured their fifth consecutive losing season since the team's last appearance in the postseason in 1990 when they fell to the Los Angeles Raiders 20-10 in the AFC Divisional Playoffs.

Following a 3-13 season in 1991, head coach Sam Wyche was fired and replaced by his wide receivers coach, Dave Shula, son of legendary Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula.

Unlike his father who only had two losing seasons, Dave's run in Cincinnati was not going well as the team lost more than 10 games in each of his first three seasons.

 A loss to the Vikings would secure a fifth straight season of at least 10 losses for the Bengals and possibly Shula his job as his fate was uncertain as the team prepared to wrap up the 1995 season hosting the Vikings.

The Vikings came into the game with a 8-7 record, still alive for a playoff spot as Minnesota needed to defeat Cincinnati, then have the Chicago Bears and Atlanta Falcons lose their games in Week 17 which would allow the Vikings to clinch the final spot in the NFC playoffs.

The Vikings were led by head coach Dennis Green, who had not missed the playoffs since his arrival in Minnesota in 1992, as he and his team were hoping for a Christmas miracle to participate in the NFL postseason for 1995.

The Vikings got the ball to start the game as they would drive 58 yards in nine plays as a 19-yard pass from quarterback Warren Moon to Jake Reed and a 15-yard run by running back Amp Lee would set up a 20-yard field goal by Fuad Reveiz to give Minnesota a 3-0 lead.

After a 32-yard return by David Dunn on the ensuing kickoff, the Bengals would begin their first possession of the game at the 50-yard-line as quarterback Jeff Blake hit passes of 12 yards to Carl Pickens and nine yards to Darnay Scott to set up  Doug Pelfrey's 44-yard field goal which tied the game at 3 with 6:16 left in the first quarter.

The Vikings would get the ball back at their 28-yard-line as it took them three plays to drive into Bengals territory until  Lee fumbled the football after he was hit by Cincinnati defensive end Artie Smith, leading to a recovery by cornerback Rod Jones to give the Bengals the ball at their 38-yard-line.

The two teams would exchange punts as the game moved into the second quarter when the Vikings began a drive from their 24-yard-line as they slowly drove to midfield when they faced a 3rd & 11 at their 49-yard-line.

That is when Moon went deep and connected with Reed for a 51-yard touchdown to give Minnesota a 10-3 lead with 8:08 remaining in the second quarter.

It would only take the Vikings 27 seconds to get back into the end zone as defensive back Alfred Jackson intercepted a Blake pass intended for Pickens and ran it back 37 yards for a touchdown to increase Minnesota's lead to 17-3.

Following a three-and-out by the Bengals on their next possession, the Vikings would get the ball at their 14-yard-line as Minnesota would drive to the Cincinnati 34-yard-line until three straight incomplete passes led to a punt back to the Bengals who would begin their next drive at their 20-yard-line.

The Vikings' defense would force another three-and-out to give their offense the ball at their 43-yard-line and a chance to pick up some points before the end of the first half as just 24 seconds remained before halftime.

The drive began with Moon completing a 16-yard pass to wide receiver Cris Carter, followed by back-to-back completions to David Palmer which totaled 27 yards to put the Vikings at the Bengals' 14-yard-line when Moon found Carter in the end zone for the touchdown to increase the Minnesota lead to 24-3 with just two seconds left in the first half.

Vikings quarterback Warren Moon completed 26 of 43 passes for 294 yards and threw two touchdowns.

The Bengals would run out the clock to end the first half down three touchdowns after a first half in which Cincinnati was outgained 310-48 and accumulated only two 1st downs in the game's first 30 minutes.

The Bengals would get the ball to start the second half when Cincinnati turned to running back Eric Bieniemy to get their offense back on track as he would run for 13 yards on the first play of the drive then three plays later run for 20 yards that with a face mask penalty on Vikings free safety Orlando Thomas put the Bengals at the Minnesota 11-yard-line.

After Blake threw an incomplete pass on 1st down, then hit Dunn for six yards on 2nd down, Bieniemy got the ball again on 3rd & goal as he took up the gut for the five-yard touchdown to cap off the eight-play, 65-yard drive and cut the Bengals' deficit to 24-10 with 11:08 left in the third quarter.

Following a Minnesota punt, the Bengals would begin their next possession on their four-yard-line as Blake, who completed only four of 14 passes for 35 yards in the first half, was able to complete passes of seven yards to Scott and 16 yards to Tony McGee to give Cincinnati a fresh set of downs at its 27-yard-line.

After a four-yard run by Bieniemy, Blake found Pickens for 13 yards and another 1st down as Bieniemy would get the ball on the next two plays, running for 13 yards to give the Bengals a 1st down at the Minnesota 43-yard-line.

From there, the Bengals would rely on the right arm of Blake as he completed an eight-yard pass to James Joseph, then found Pickens for 11 yards, followed by a 13-yard completion to McGee, and then finally wrapping up the drive with a 11-yard touchdown pass to Pickens.

In all, Blake completed all seven of his passes for 79 yards on the 10-play, 96-yard touchdown drive which cut the Vikings' lead to 24-17 with 3:20 remaining in the third quarter.

The Vikings would hold the ball for the rest of the third quarter until they were forced to punt on the first play of the fourth quarter as the Bengals would get the ball back at their 27-yard-line when disaster struck on 2nd & 7 when Blake was intercepted by Minnesota linebacker Jeff Brady to give the Vikings the ball at the Cincinnati 33-yard-line.

The Vikings would run six plays for a total of 13 yards before bringing on Reveiz to attempt a 38-yard field goal which would push the Minnesota lead back to double digits.

However, Reveiz would slip as he came to kick the football, which sailed wide right and no good to keep the score at 24-17 as the Bengals would take over at their 28-yard-line.

Minnesota's defense would force a three-and-out to give their offense the ball back at their 24-yard-line, only for them to go three-and-out and punt the ball back to the Bengals punter Mike Saxon would shank the punt as it went only 15 yards to allow Cincinnati to begin its next possession at the Vikings' 40-yard-line.

That is when Blake completed a 35-yard pass to Scott to give Cincinnati a 1st & goal at the Minnesota five-yard-line as after two incomplete passes, Blake would find McGee in the end zone for the five-yard touchdown that with the extra point by Pelfrey tied the game at 24 with 9:01 left in regulation.

With their three-touchdown lead disappeared, The Vikings would methodically drive down the field as Moon completed four passes for 42 yards while Graham would run for 26 yards on five carries to lead Minnesota move from their 20-yard-line to the Bengals' seven-yard-line where the drive would stall.

Reveiz would be given a chance to redeem himself for his earlier miss as he attempted a chip-shot 25-yard field goal, only for it to sail wide left and no good, to keep the game tied as the Bengals would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line with 2:06 left in regulation and a chance to drive for the game-winning score.

The drive got off to an auspicious start as Bieniemy ran for one yard on 1st down which was followed by an incomplete pass on 2nd down to bring up 3rd & 9 when Blake found Dunn for nine yards to give the Bengals a 1st down at their 30-yard-line.

The third down conversion would kickstart the Bengals' drive as Blake hit Pickens for 18 yards on the next play, then completed two straight passes to Bieniemy for a total of 16 yards to put Cincinnati at the Minnesota 36-yard-line.

However, a false start penalty would push the Bengals back five yards as Blake would then an incomplete pass on 1st down, then complete a five-yard pass to Bieniemy on 2nd down, followed by a two-yards pass to Joseph on 3rd down to bring up 4th & 8 with just a few seconds left.

That is when Shula sent in the field goal unit as Pelfrey would come to attempt a 51-yard field goal that would give the Bengals the win or send the game into overtime with a miss.

Pelfrey's kick was barely cross over the crossbar as time expired as his 51-yard field goal gave the Bengals a 27-24 victory as Cincinnati for the second time in team history overcame a three-touchdown deficit to win a game(To read about the previous occasion, click on the link highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2017/09/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-third.html).

Bengals quarterback Jeff Blake completed 19 of 26 passes for 193 yards and threw two touchdowns in the second half of Cincinnati's comeback win.

While the collapse against the Bengals officially eliminated the Vikings from playoff contention, they would not have gotten in anyway as the Falcons and Bears both won their games to finish tied for the last playoff spot which went to Atlanta while Minnesota finished the season with a 8-8 record.

As for the Bengals, their win over the Vikings allowed them to finish with a 7-9 record, the team's best record since 1990 which paved the way for Shula to return to coach the team for the 1996 season.

However, the Bengals would get off to a 1-6 start the following season which led to Shula being fired midway through the season(If you want to read about his final game as coach, click on the link highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2021/12/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-young-plays.html)to finish a four-and-half year tenure where Cincinnati won only 19 games.

NFL Old School Game of the Week: Eagles Hold Off Cowboys Thanks To Last-Second Defensive Touchdown

Eagles linebacker James Willis(50)prepares to lateral the ball to cornerback Troy Vincent for what would be the game-winning touchdown.

Anytime the Philadelphia Eagles play the Dallas Cowboys, emotions are always high between the two bitter division rivals, but their meeting in Week 10 of the 1996 NFL season was important as 1st place in the NFC East was at stake.

The Eagles came into the game with a 6-2 record under second year head coach Ray Rhodes, who had Philadelphia to the playoffs the year before as the Eagles were eliminated by the Cowboys 30-11 in their NFC Divisional Playoff.

The Eagles' quarterback for their showdown with the Cowboys was Ty Detmer, who after attempting only 21 passes in four seasons with the Green Bay Packers, signed with Philadelphia to back up Rodney Peete only to for the 1990 Heisman Trophy Winner to take over the job as starting quarterback after Peete was lost for the year with a tore patella tendon in the Eagles' 23-19 loss to the Cowboys in Week 5.

With help from running back Ricky Watters, Detmer led the Eagles to three straight wins as Ty completed 59 of 85 passes for 738 yards and threw five touchdown passes in the winning streak as Philadelphia traveled to Texas to take on the defending Super Bowl champions.

The Cowboys had established themselves as the "Team of the 90s" thanks to their three Super Bowl titles in four years led by the "Triplets" in quarterback Troy Aikman, running back Emmitt Smith, and wide receiver Michael Irvin.

However, the '96 season got off to a tumultuous start as the Cowboys lost three of their opening four games while Irvin sat on the bench with a five-game suspension after pleading no contest to cocaine possession during the summer.

Following their win over the Eagles in week 5, Irvin came back to help the Cowboys win their next three games to improve their record to 5-3, including a 12-catch, 186-yard performance in a 29-10 over the Miami Dolphins and Dallas' former head coach Jimmy Johnson.

Irvin and the Cowboys looked to keep things going in the right direction as they hosted thier bitter division rivals with 1st place in the NFC East on the line.

The game got off to a fast start as Herschel Walker, in his second stint with the Cowboys, returned the game's opening kickoff 86 yards to the Eagles' six-yard-line as three plays later, Dallas would have the first touchdown of the game as Smith punched it in from one yard out.

Emmitt Smith ran for 113 yards on 24 carries and scored two touchdowns.

The Eagles would be a bit more methodically on their opening possession as they drove 75 yards in 13 plays as Detmer completed five of seven passes for 43 yards on the drive which ended with a five-yard touchdown run by Watters that tied the game at seven midway through the first quarter.

After the Cowboys went three-and-out on their next possession, the Eagles got the ball at their 19-yard-line as Detmer completed a 21-yard pass to Irving Fryar to start the drive, then found Fryar again for 13 yards on 3rd & 13 to give Philadelphia a 1st down at the 50-yard-line.

Two runs by Watters collected 18 yards to give the Eagles a fresh set of downs at the Dallas 32-yard-line as Detmer threw three straight incomplete passes to bring up 4th & 10 when Rhodes decided to go for the 1st down instead of attempting a long field goal.

The gamble would not pay off as Detmer threw another incomplete pass to give the Cowboys the ball at their 32-yard-line as Smith ran for 24 yards to start the Dallas possession as the Cowboys drove to the Eagles' 18-yard-line as the first quarter came to a close.

Five straight running plays for 17 yards set up 3rd & goal at the Eagles' one-yard-line when Aikman fumbled the snap from center to which he recovered at the two-yard-line, allowing for the Cowboys to settle for a 19-yard field goal by Chris Boniol which gave Dallas a 10-7 lead with 11:12 remaining in the second quarter.

Following an exchange of punts, the Eagles got the ball back at their 20-yard-line as they would drive down the field behind the right arm of Detmer as he completed passes of 16 yards to Fryar, 18 yards to tight end Ed West, and 24 yards to Mark Seay to help put Philadelphia at the Cowboys' one-yard-line with a 1st & goal.

After a false start penalty pushed them back five yards, the Eagles would get into the end zone as Detmer ran it in on a quarterback draw for a six-yard touchdown to give Philadelphia a 14-10 lead with 59 seconds left in the first half.

The Cowboys would run out the clock to end the first half trailing 14-10 as the Eagles would get the ball to start the second half, only to punt it back to Dallas who would begin its initial possession of the second half at its 25-yard-line.

From there, the Cowboys would drive to the Eagles' 19-yard-line in seven plays until the Philadelphia defense hunkered down and did not permit another yard to force the Cowboys to settle for a 37-yard field goal by Boniol which cut the Eagles' lead to 14-13 midway  through the third quarter.

The Eagles would start their next possession at their 25-yard-line with a 17-yard run by Watters which was followed by the running back being dropped for a six-yard loss to bring up 2nd & 16 when Detmer found Fryar for 18 yards and a 1st down.

After a pass interference penalty on tight end Jason Dunn pushed the Eagles back 10 yards, Detmer hit Seay for 12 yards, then after a six-yard run by Watters made it 3rd & 2, Ty found Fryar again this time for 12 yards and a 1st down at Dallas 26-yard-line.

Five plays later, Detmer would connect with Fryar again, this time for a 14-yard touchdown which increased the Eagles' lead to 21-13 with 1:57 left in the third quarter.

The Cowboys would respond with a 13-play, 84-yard drive which saw Aikman passes of 17 and 11 yards to Irvin, 14 yards to Kelvin Martin, and 15 yards to Sanders, all leading up to a seven-yard touchdown run by Smith to make it 21-19 as Dallas would attempt a two-point conversion to tie the game.

The Cowboys would successfully make the two-point conversion as Aikman completed a pass to tight end Eric Bjornson to tie the game at 21 with 10:14 left in regulation.

Eagles quarterback Ty Detmer completed 19 of 33 passes for 217 yards and threw one touchdown run while for another.

Following a three-and-out by the Eagles, the Cowboys got the ball back at their 28-yard-line as two plays netted two yards to set up 3rd & 8 when Aikman was intercepted by safety James Fuller to give Philadelphia the ball at the Dallas 35-yard-line.

After Detmer completed a 10-yard pass to Fryar to begin the drive, Watters would get the ball on five straight plays, picking up 12 yards to set up 3rd & 9 from the Cowboys' 12-yard-line when Detmer would throw an incomplete pass trying to hit Fryar again.

This would bring out Gary Anderson to come on and attempt a 30-yard field goal which he made to give the Eagles a 24-21 lead with 3:19 remaining in regulation.

After Walker returned the ensuing kickoff 24 yards to the Dallas 28-yard-line, Aikman and the Cowboys' offense came onto the field hoping to at least drive for a game-tying field goal or even better a go-ahead touchdown.

Aikman came out firing as he completed three straight passes for 21 yards, which was followed by a six-yard run by Smith to put the Cowboys in Eagles territory at the Philadelphia 45-yard-line as an offsides penalty and a 10-yard pass from Aikman to Martin put the Cowboys at the Eagles' 30-yard-line.

An eight-yard run by Smith and an incomplete pass would bring up 3rd & 2 when Aikman found Bjornson for 19 yards to give Dallas a 1st & goal at the Eagles' three-yard-line as the Cowboys seemed on the doorstep of scoring the game-winning touchdown.

The Cowboys would try to punch it in with Smith as he picked up one yard on 1st down, then lost that one yard on 2nd down to set up 3rd & goal from the three-yard-line.

That is when  Aikman dropped back to throw a pass into the end zone when under pressure from defensive end William Fuller, fired a pass that was picked off by linebacker James Willis, who instead of taking a knee in the end zone, ran out to his 10-yard-line then lateraled the ball to cornerback Troy Vincent, who ran the remaining 90 yards to increase the Eagles' lead to 31-21 with just 15 seconds left.

Vincent's touchdown effectively ended the game as the Cowboys threw an incomplete pass on the final play of the game as the Eagles came away with the 31-21 win as Philadelphia retained sole possession of 1st place in the NFC East.

However, the win over the Cowboys would be the highlight of the Eagles' season as they would drop their next three games as Philadelphia finished the regular season with a 10-6 record as they finished in a tie with Dallas for the NFC East which the Cowboys won thanks to a tiebreaker.

The Eagles would fall to the San Francisco 49ers 14-0 in the Wild Card round while the Cowboys would easily dispatch of the Minnesota Vikings 40-15 in the same round before being eliminated by the Carolina Panthers 26-17 in the Divisional Round of the NFC playoffs.

NFL Old School Game of the Week: Montana's Four 4th Quarter TD Passes Leads 49ers to Comeback Win over Eagles

 

49ers quarterback Joe Montana would threw for 428 yards and five touchdown passes in San Francisco's win over the Eagles.

When the San Francisco 49ers traveled to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles in Week 3 of the 1989 NFL season, it was billed as a game between the "Team of the 80's" vs the "Team of the 90's."

The 49ers were coming off their third Super Bowl title in eight years as they had defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 20-16 in Super Bowl XXIII, which was the final game in head coach Bill Walsh's career after he turned the 49ers from a bottom feeder into the league's newest dynasty.

George Seifert, who had served as the 49ers' defensive coordinator since 1983, was promoted to head coach as he had inherited a roster which featured quarterback Joe Montana, running back Roger Craig, wide receiver Jerry Rice, and defensive back Ronnie Lott.

The 49ers won their first two games of the season as they had hoped to become the first team since the Pittsburgh Steelers a decade earlier to win back-to-back Super Bowls.

While the 49ers' dynasty was in transition, the Philadelphia Eagles were being billed as the team that would take over the 49ers' mantle at the top of the NFL, thanks in large part to a ferocious defense directed by head coach Buddy Ryan, who was in his fourth season as the Philadelphia head coach after serving as the defensive coordinator of the 1985 Chicago Bears defense.

The Eagles' defense was led by a ferocious pass rush featuring defensive end Reggie White and defensive tackle Jerome Brown who to go along with an offense led by dynamic quarterback Randall Cunningham helped lead Philadelphia to the 1988 NFC East division title and team's first playoff appearance in seven years.

Just like the 49ers, the Eagles won their first two games of the 1989 season, which included a 42-37 shootout win over the Washington Redskins the week before(To read about that game, click on the link highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2017/10/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-eagles.html) as Philadelphia prepared to host the defending Super Bowl Champions at Veterans Stadium.

The 49ers got the ball to start the game as they gained 11 yards on five plays to set up 3rd & 9 from their 32-yard-line when Montana threw a deep pass down the middle of the field for Rice, who made the catch and outraced his defender for the the 68-yard touchdown to give San Francisco a 7-0 lead.

After an exchange of punts, the Eagles would get the first turnover of the game as Taylor fumbled the football on a punt return which was recovered by defensive back William Frizzell to give Philadelphia the ball at the 49ers' 31-yard-line.

But on the very next play from scrimmage, the 49ers would get the ball back as defensive end Kevin Fagan recovered Eagles running back Heath Sherman's fumble at the same spot where Frizzell made his fumble recovery at the 49ers' 31-yard-line.

The 49ers would be unable to drive into Philadelphia territory as the Eagles' pass rush would begin to make its presence felt as Montana would be sacked twice on the ensuing drive, forcing them to punt the ball back to the Eagles.

However, the 49ers would not get the punt away  punter Mike Helton  mishandled the snap from center leading him to being dropped for a 13-yard loss by Eagles defensive end Clyde Simmons to give Philadelphia the ball at the San Francisco 33-yard-line.

Five plays later, the Eagles were in the end zone as Sherman punched it in for a two-yard touchdown to tie the game at seven with 1:48 left in the first quarter.

Eagles defensive end Reggie White accounted for 2.5 sacks as Philadelphia sacked Joe Montana eight times.

The 49ers would have another special teams blunder on the ensuing kickoff as Terrence Flagler would mishandle the kick leading to him being tackled at his 11-yard-line where San Francisco would begin its next possession.

Things would get worse for the 49ers as Montana was sacked by White for an eight-yard loss on 1st down, which was followed by a delay of game penalty that pushed the 49ers back another yard, and then followed by right guard Bruce Collie stepping on Montana's foot, causing the quarterback to fall to the ground in the end zone as Eagles linebacker Al Harris would touch Montana for a safety to give Philadelphia a 9-7 lead and the ball at their 28-yard-line following the ensuing kick by the 49ers.

From there, the Eagles would drive 55 yards in eight plays to set up a 35-yard field goal by Luis Zendejas which increased their lead to 12-7 with 12 minutes left in the second quarter.

The 49ers would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line as Craig opened the drive with a four-yard run, which was followed by three straight completions by Montana for 35 yards to put the 49ers at the Eagles' 41-yard-line when the drive stalled as a false start penalty and another quarterback sack, this time by defensive tackle Mike Pitts, would force another San Francisco punt.

The San Francisco defense would force the Eagles to punt the ball back to the 49ers, who took over at their 31-yard-line as Montana completed passes of nine yards to wide receiver John Taylor, 14 yards to Rice, and 23 yards to tight end Brent Jones to put San Francisco at the Philadelphia nine-yard-line where they had a 1st & goal.

But the Eagles' pass rush would strike again as White sacked Montana for a seven-yard loss on 3rd & goal from the eight-yard-line, forcing the 49ers to settle for a 32-yard field goal by Mike Cofer which cut the Philadelphia lead to 12-10 with 2:11 remaining in the second quarter.

Neither team would mount another scoring threat for the rest of the first half as the Eagles went into the halftime break leading 12-10 after sacking Montana six times in the game's first 30 minutes.

The Eagles would get the ball to start the second half as three runs by Sherman for 20 yards and an incomplete pass would bring up 4th down when Philadelphia lined up to punt, only to run a fake as punter John Teltschik took the ball and ran for 23 yards to give the Eagles a 1st down at the 49ers' 37-yard-line.

From there, the Eagles would drive to the 49ers' 17-yard-line until Zendejas came on and kicked a 35-yard field goal to cap off the 13-play, 63-yard drive and increase Philadelphia's lead to 15-10.

Following a 49ers punt, the Eagles would drive 40 yards in eight plays to set up another Zendejas field goal, this one from 44 yards out which increased Philadelphia's lead to 18-10 with 3:15 remaining in the third quarter.

The Eagles defense would give their offense a golden opportunity to possibly put the game away as Harris intercepted a Montana pass and returned the pick 11 yards to the 49ers' 15-yard-line where Cunningham and the offense would take over.

However, the Eagles could not put it in the end zone as they had to settle for a 20-yard field goal by Zendejas on the second play of the fourth quarter which pushed their lead to 21-10 as the 49ers would begin their ensuing possession at their nine-yard-line following a penalty on the kickoff.

49ers wide receiver John Taylor caught six passes for 136 yards and scored one touchdown.

When the 49ers' offense came back onto the field, they lined up in a four wide receiver formation in hopes that the Eagles' defense would bring in extra defensive backs in favor of pass rushers.

The strategy would pay off for the 49ers as Montana completed three passes in a row for a total of 21 yards to set up 2nd & 6 from the 30-yard-line when Joe threw a short pass to Taylor, who made the catch at his 32-yard-line, made a juke move on Eagles cornerback Izel Jenkins, and raced down the sideline for a 70-yard touchdown to bring San Francisco to within four at 21-17.

The 49ers seemed set to get the ball back as their defense forced a three-and-out only to have linebacker Bill Romanski have Teltschik's punt bounce off his helmet, leading to a recovery by Henry Williams to give the Eagles the ball at the 50-yard-line.

A 31-yard pass from Cunningham to tight end Jimmie Giles would be the big play of the eight-play, 50-yard drive that culminated with a three-yard touchdown pass from Cunningham to Giles which pushed the Eagles' lead back to 11 points at 28-17 with 8:24 left in the fourth quarter.

The 49ers would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line as Montana scrambled for 19 yards to pick up the initial 1st down of the drive, then handed the ball off to running back Harry Sydney who ran for 18 yards to give San Francisco a 1st down at the Eagles' 41-yard-line.

From there, Montana would complete four consecutive passes beginning with a 11-yard pass to Sydney, then 15 yards to Rice, followed by nine yards to Taylor, and wrapped up with an eight-yard touchdown pass to fullback Tom Rathman which cut the 49ers' deficit back to four points at 28-24 with 6:03 to play.

After the Eagles went three-and-out on their next possession, the 49ers would get the ball back at the Eagles' 47-yard-line with a chance to take the lead when White struck again as he sacked Montana for a 13-yard loss, pushing San Francisco back to its 40-yard-line where they would face a 2nd & 23.

That is when Montana found Taylor for 36 yards to give the 49ers a 1st down at the Eagles' 24-yard-line as Montana would loft a pass for Jones, who made the catch at the Philadelphia 10-yard-line and outran linebacker Seth Joyner to complete the 24-yard touchdown and give San Francisco a 31-28 lead with 3:17 left in regulation.

The Eagles would begin their ensuing possession at their 20-yard-line as Cunningham completed a 17-yard pass to Sherman, then scrambled for three yards, before throwing a pass for fullback Keith Byars, which bounced off his hands and into the arms of Lott, who made the interception and returned it six yards to the Philadelphia 39-yard-line.

Two straight running plays for six yards would set up 3rd & 4 when Montana found Rice down the middle for a 33-yard touchdown that increased the 49ers' lead to double digits at 38-28 with 2:02 remaining in the game.

The Eagles would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line as Cunningham completed three of his next five passes for 33 yards until the quarterback scrambled for nine yards when he was hit by Romanski leading to a fumble that was recovered by 49ers defensive back Jonnie Jackson at the San Francisco 41-yard-line with 52 seconds to go.

Montana would come on and take two knees to run out the clock as the 49ers had pulled out the 38-28 victory following a fabulous fourth quarter by "Joe Cool" in which he completed 11 of 12 passes for 227 yards and threw four touchdown passes in the game's final 15 minutes.

Jerry Rice would catch six passes for 164 yards and score two touchdowns.

The Eagles would finish the regular season with a 11-5 record good enough to earn a spot in the NFC Wild Card game where they would play the Los Angeles Rams on a rainy New Year's Eve in Philadelphia.

The Rams would upset the Eagles 21-7 to end Philadelphia's season as "Gang Green" would not fulfill the prophecy of becoming the "Team of the 1990s" as Ryan would be fired after the 1990 season in which the Eagles were once again eliminated at home in the NFC Wild Card Game, this time to the Washington Redskins.

As for the 49ers, they would go on to finish with the league's best record at 14-2, which included another dramatic comeback win, this one over the Rams 30-27 on Monday Night Football(To read about that game, click on the link highlighted here:https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2019/10/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-montana.html) as San Francisco earned the #1 seed in the NFC playoffs.

In the playoffs, the 49ers would defeat the Minnesota Vikings 41-13 in the Divisional Round, then knock off the Rams 30-3 in the NFC Championship Game, and finally destroyed the Denver Broncos 55-10 in Super Bowl XXIV, to earn the franchise their second straight Super Bowl title and fourth in nine years.

NFL Old School Game of the Week: Patriots Clinch 1st Round Bye With Comeback Win over Giants

 

Patriots tight end Ben Coates lunges for the goal line on his game-winning touchdown against the Giants in 1996.

While the New England Patriots had already locked up the AFC East division title as they traveled to the Meadowlands to take on the New York Giants in the final week of the 1996 regular season, they still had plenty to play for as a win over the Giants would clinch the #2 seed and a first round bye.

The Patriots came into the game with a 10-5 record under head coach Bill Parcells, who was in his fourth season as the New England head coach but was in a dispute with owner Robert Kraft over who should be in charge of choosing the Patriots' personnel.

Parcells was upset when the Patriots chose wide receiver Terry Glenn in the first round of the 1996 NFL draft instead of choosing a defensive player to go along with quarterback Drew Bledsoe, who was also entering his fourth season in Foxboro.

However, Glenn would win over Parcells as he caught 82 passes for 1,008 yards up entering the Patriots' regular season finale with the New York Giants, Parcells' former team where he spent eight years from 1983-1990 and led "Big Blue" to two Super Bowl titles.

The Giants were far away from being a Super Bowl contender as they came into the game with a 6-9 record under head coach Dan Reeves, who was on the hot seat as speculation in the New York media was that Reeves would be fired as head coach following the Patriots game.

If Reeves was to go out as Giants head coach, he hoped to go say with a win over the Patriots.

After the Patriots went three-and-out to start the game, the Giants got the ball at their 34-yard-line as four runs by Gary Downs for 19 yards and two completions by quarterback Dave Brown for 43 yards to help give New York a 1st & goal at the New England four-yard-line.

Downs would get the ball on three straight plays picking up three yards to set up 4th & goal from the one-yard-line when Reeves decided to go for the touchdown as Downs would get another shot at the end zone only to be stopped for no gain by Patriots defensive tackle Mark Wheeler and defensive end Mike Jones to keep the game scoreless as New England would take over at its one-yard-line.

Following an exchange of punts, the Patriots had the ball at their five-yard-line when Bledsoe tried to advert a pass rush from Giants defensive end Michael Strahan and ended up throwing the ball into the turf in the end zone to draw an intentional grounding which resulted in a safety for the Giants and a 2-0 lead with 10 seconds left in the first quarter.

After the free kick, the Giants would begin their next possession at the Patriots' 44-yard-line as Brown completed passes of 12 and 14 yards to Thomas Lewis, then connected with running back Charles Way for 18 yards to set up Way's one-yard touchdown run which increased New York's lead to 9-0 with 12:18 remaining in the second quarter.

The Patriots would go three-and-out to punt the ball back to the Giants who took over at their 33-yard-line as a 35-yard pass from Brown to Charles Alexander would set up a 30-yard field goal by Brad Daluiso to push the New York lead to double digits at 12-0.

After another three-and-out by the Patriots, the Giants would drive from their 47-yard-line to the New England nine-yard-line in three plays as Brown completed two passes to Way for 41 yards while Downs ran for three yards on the play.

However, the Patriots' defense would keep the Giants out of the end zone as Daluiso would come on to kick a 27-yard field goal to make it 15-0 in favor of New York.

If things weren't bad enough for the Patriots, it would get worse on their next play from scrimmage as Bledsoe was picked off by Giants cornerback Jason Sehorn who took it to the house for a 27-yard pick six to increase the New York to 22-0 with 2:45 left in the first half.

Having mustered just 26 yards of total offense and one 1st down, the Patriots needed a drive to get some points before the end of the first half.

New England would get great field position to start their ensuing possession as they took over at their 44-yard-line as Bledsoe would complete six passes in a row totaling 26 yards to put the Patriots at the Giants' 30-yard-line when after two incomplete passes, Bledsoe hit Shawn Jefferson for 22 yards to give New England a 1st & goal at the New York eight-yard-line.

But just when it seemed the Patriots were going to put points on the scoreboard, Bledsoe would be intercepted in the end zone by Giants cornerback Philippi Starks as time expired in the first half with New York ahead 22-0.

Giants quarterback Dave Brown completed 14 of 34 passes for 215 yards and threw one interception.

The two teams would trade punts to start the third quarter until the Patriots got out of a 2nd & 19 hole at their eight-yard-line as Bledsoe found Glenn for 31 yards, then again for 29 yards to put New England at the Giants' 32-yard-line.

Five plays later, Adam Vinatieri would come on to kick a 40-yard field goal to put the Patriots on the board but still behind 22-3 with 4:12 left in the third quarter.

The New England defense would force the Giants to punt on their next possession to give their offense the ball back at their 12-yard-line as Bledsoe would complete six of eight passes for 81 yards on the 10-play, 88-yard drive that culminated with a 26-yard touchdown pass from Bledsoe to Glenn to cut the Giants' lead to 22-10 with 12:20 to go in the fourth quarter.

The Patriots were set to get the ball back when they forced a three-and-out when Dave Meggett, who served as the Giants' kick returner from 1989-1994, made his presence felt as he would return the New York punt 60 yards for a touchdown that made it an one-possession game at 22-17 with 11:09 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The momentum had clearly shifted to the Patriots as cornerback Otis Smith would intercept a Brown pass on the Giants' next possession to give New England the ball at their 36-yard line with a chance to drive down for the go-ahead score.

However, the Patriots would go three-and-out to punt the ball back to the Giants, who would then go three-and-out to punt it back to New England who would get the ball at their 25-yard-line with 7:08 to go in the game.

The drive would begin with a 17-yard pass from Bledsoe to running back Keith Byars to give the Patriots a 1st down at its 42-yard-line as Bledsoe would throw an incomplete pass then complete a two-yard pass to tight end Ben Coates to set up 3rd & 8.

That is when Bledsoe found Glenn for 17 yards and another 1st down at the Giants' 39-yard-line as two straight running plays would lose three yards to force 3rd & 13 when Bledsoe hit Brown for the 13 yards to give the Patriots a new set of downs at the New York 29-yard-line.

Another incomplete pass followed by a 13-yard pass to Glenn put the Patriots at the Giants' 16-yard-line as New England would pick up three yards to set up a do-or-die 4th & 7 at the 13-yard-line with 1:30 to play in the game.

That is when Bledsoe threw a pass for Coates, who made the catch at the two-yard-line, then dragged two Giant defenders into the end zone as he would complete the 13-yard touchdown to give the Patriots their first lead of the game at 23-22.

The Patriots would go for two but Bledsoe's pass would fall incomplete to keep the score at 23-22 with 1:23 to go, giving the Giants enough time to save themselves from a hulmiliating collapse.

Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe completed 31 of 47 passes for 301 yards and threw two touchdown passes.

The Giants would start their ensuing possession at their 36-yard-line as Patriots cornerback Ty Law drew a pass interference penalty to give New York a fresh set of downs starting at their 45-yard-line.

Two incomplete passes and a three-yard scramble by Brown would bring up 4th & 7 when Brown completed a 11-yard pass to Chris Calloway to give the Giants a 1st down at the Patriots' 40-yard-line.

But the Giants would go no further as an intentional grounding penalty and three incomplete passes would force New York to turn it over on downs, allowing the Patriots to run out the clock as New England would come away with the 23-22 victory and the AFC East division title plus a first round bye.

Two days after the loss to the Patriots, Reeves was fired as head coach as he was replaced by Jim Fassel, who helped lead the Giants to the Super Bowl in the 2000 season, while Reeves would go south to become the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons and lead them to the Super Bowl in 1998.

As for the Patriots, they would knock off the Pittsburgh Steelers 28-3 in their AFC Divisional Playoff to advance to the AFC Championship Game where they would face the second-year Jacksonville Jaguars as a 47-yard pick six by Smith would seal the 20-6 victory for New England and send them to the Super Bowl.

But the Patriots would fall to the Green Bay Packers 35-21 in  Super Bowl XXXI as Parcells would step down as head coach of the Patriots and become the coach for the New York Jets.