NFL Old School Game of the Week: Third-String QB Leads Bengals to Comeback Win

Turk Schonert came off the bench to lead the Bengals back from a 21-point deficit to defeat the Seattle Seahawks.

The one-hit wonder often refers to popular music when an artist or a band had one big hit and is never heard from again or has other songs that never reach the popularity of the biggest hit.

Some came be true to sports as an athlete has, pardon the pun, one shining moment in which he or she does something that is remembered forever but then fades into obscurity.

This can be applied to former NFL quarterback Turk Schonert who had his moment in the sun on opening day of the 1981 NFL season.

Schonert was a quarterback out of Stanford University that was chosen in the ninth round of the 1980 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears but never took a snap for the team and was waived in the offseason.

He signed on with the Cincinnati Bengals as the team’s third string quarterback behind veteran quarterback Ken Anderson and backup quarterback Jack Thompson.

The Bengals were hoping to turn things in 1981 after three straight 10+ loss seasons behind 2nd-year head coach Forrest Gregg, the hall of fame guard from the Green Bay Packers of the 1960s.

There was also a change in uniform for the 1981 season as the Bengals introduced the “tiger stripe” uniforms after 13 seasons of using a uniform that looked similar to the Cleveland Browns(Paul Brown was the owner of the Bengals).

While the Seattle Seahawks were not introducing new uniforms for the ‘81 season, they were also trying to bounce back after a losing season in which they finished with a 4-12 record, including a nine-game losing streak to end the season.

Led by head coach Jack Patera and the passing combination of quarterback Jim Zorn and wide receiver Steve Largent, the Seahawks were hoping to make their first trip to the playoffs since the team’s inception in 1976.

As the two teams met in Cincinnati on the first Sunday of the ‘81 NFL season, something had to give.

The Seahawks had never won a game on Opening Day while the Bengals had lost their last four season openers.

After both teams punted on their opening possessions of the game, the Bengals took over at their own 17-yard-line and gained eight yards on two plays when they were faced with a 3rd-and-2.

Anderson threw a pass directed toward his favorite receiver Isaac Curtis, but was instead intercepted by free safety John Harris, who raced 29 yards for the touchdown that gave Seattle a 7-0 lead.

Anderson would threw three straight incomplete passes on the Bengals’ next drive, forcing another Cincinnati punt and giving the ball back to the Seahawks, who took over at their own 42-yard-line.

Six plays later, Zorn found Largent in the end zone for a 36-yard touchdown that pushed the Seahawks’ lead to double digits at 14-0.

It got worse for the Bengals on their next possession when Anderson connected with Steve Krieder for a completion, only to have Seattle defensive back Dave Brown jar the ball loose when he hit Krieder, forcing a fumble that was picked up by fellow defensive back Kerry Justin.

Justin returned the fumble 43 yards to the Bengals’ two-yard-line, setting up Jim Jodat’s one-yard-touchdown run to give the Seahawks a 21-0 lead in the first 11 minutes and 41 seconds of the game, leading to a chorus of boos from the Cincinnati faithful.

Ken Anderson was benched after going 5-of-15 for 39 yards and throwing two interceptions.

With Thompson out to a sprained ankle , Gregg decided to stick with Anderson but on the Bengals’ next drive he was picked off for the second time of the game, this time by Keith Simpson.

The Seahawks had a chance to put the game away early as they had the ball at the Bengals’ 32-yard-line when Zorn was intercepted by Bengals linebacker Bo Harris, whose 43-yard return gave Cincinnati possession at the Seahawks’ 31-yard-line.

That is when Gregg called on Schonert to replace Anderson and take over the Cincinnati offense, hoping to provide a spark and get the Bengals back into the game.

But on the very first play from scrimmage after the interception, Schonert fumbled the snap, which was recovered by the Seahawks.

However, Seattle gave it right back to Cincinnati when Jodat fumbled the ball two plays later, giving the ball back to the Bengals at the Seattle 43.

Schonert got the Bengals offense moving as they drove to the three-yard-line only to have Seahawks defensive tackle Robert Hardy sack Schonert to force a 25-yard field goal by Jim Breech that put Cincinnati on the scoreboard trailing 21-3 with 10:44 left in the second quarter.

On Seattle’s next drive, Jodat fumbled the ball again, giving the Bengals another chance to put points on the board.

Once again, the Bengals drive down the field until they were faced with a 4th-and-1 at Seattle’ four-yard-line.

Gregg decided to forgo the field goal and try to pick up the 1st down.

But the Bengals were unsuccessful as running back Charles Alexander was stopped by Simpson and strong safety Kenny Easley, leading to a turnover on downs.

The Bengals would force a Seattle punt, getting the ball back at their own 41-yard-line, where Schonert and the Bengals put together a 8-play, 59-yard drive that included a 19-yard run by Schonert and a 18-yard completion to rookie wide receiver(and future NBC analyst)Cris Collinsworth.

The drive culminated with a three-yard touchdown run by Pete Johnson, that cut the deficit to 11 points, 21-10 with 57 seconds left in the half.

The Bengals would get one more chance to put points on the board before halftime when they recovered a fumble by Seattle fullback Dan Doornick in Seattle territory.

But Breech’s 43-yard field goal as time expired was no good, keeping it a 21-10 game in favor of the Seahawks in a 1st half that saw eight turnovers combined between the two teams.

The sloppy play continued on the opening kickoff of the second half when Will Lewis muffed the kick with ball going out of bounds at the Seahawks’ five-yard-line.

Seattle went nowhere on the drive and punted the ball back to Cincinnati, who took over at midfield.

On the very first play, former two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin ran 23 yards on a sweep, putting the Bengals at the Seattle 27.

However, the Seahawks defense stiffened and allowed only four more yards on the next three plays, forcing a 40-yard field goal attempt by Breech, which he made, to make the score 21-13, with 11:32 left in the third quarter.

After four turnovers and a cupid of punts, the Seattle offense finally got back on track as Zorn directed the Seahawks to the Bengals’19-yard-line when he found Mark McGrath(not the singer from Sugar Ray) for an apparent touchdown.

However, the touchdown was nullified because McGrath’s foot touched the out-of-bounds line forcing a field goal attempt from Efren Herrera, who missed from 37 yards out, keeping the momentum in favor of the Bengals.

That is when Schonert led the Bengals down the field, 80 yards for another touchdown, a three-yard run by Griffin for his first touchdown in five years, to cut it to a one-point game at 21-20 with 2:52 to play in the third quarter.

Pete Johnson(46) carried the ball 20 times for 84 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown.

Schonert was brilliant on the touchdown drive as he completed three passes for 46 yards on the drive.

Then after the defense forced another Seattle punt, Schonert and the Bengals got the ball back at their own 16-yard-line with a chance to take the lead.

The drive was going perfectly as eight plays gained 52 yards until a penalty forced the Bengals into a 1st-and-20 situation from the Seahawks’ 42-yard-line.

That is when Schonert fired a pass for tight end Dan Ross, who made a juggling, one-handed catch for 19 yards, making it 2nd-and-1 at the 23-yard-line.

After Ross’ catch, Johnson took over as he carried the ball on five of the next six plays, the last being a 2-yard touchdown that gave the Bengals their first lead of the game, 27-21 with 5:04 to play in the game.

The Seahawks got the ball back with a chance to save themselves and get their first win on an Opening Day.

It seemed Seattle was poised to retake the lead as Zorn completed five straight passes to lead the Seahawks to the Cincinnati 26-yard-line.

But the Bengals defense stiffened and forced a turnover on downs, giving the ball back to Schonert and the offense who ran out the clock to complete the greatest comeback in Bengals history and come away with a 27-21 win.

The Seahawks would finally snap their losing streak the following week as they defeated the Denver Broncos 13-10, but promptly lost their next five games and ended finishing the season with a 6-10 record.

As for the Bengals, the opening day comeback victory was the start of something special as they would finish the regular season with a 12-4 record, and then defeated the Buffalo Bills and San Diego Chargers in the AFC playoffs to earn the team’s first trip to the Super Bowl.

Anderson would bounce back from his awful opening day start to finish the season with a then franchise record 29 touchdown passes and led the league in quarterback rating(98.4) for the third time in his career to win NFL MVP award.

However, the Bengals dream season would end with a 26-21 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

As for Schonert, he would threw only one more pass during the 1981 season as he returned to his role as the Bengals’ third string quarterback.

Schonert would remain with the Bengals through the 1985 season and started six games,winning four of them, before spending the 1986 season with the Atlanta Falcons, where he started five games and went 2-3.

After his one year in Atlanta, Schonert returned to Cincinnati and backed up Boomer Esiason for three more years until he retired after the 1989 season.

He then went into coaching 1992 and currently serves as the wide receivers coach for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League.

But he is best remembered for his heroics on opening day in 1981.