NFL Old School Game of the Week: Redskins Clinch Playoff Berth With Win over Eagles

 

Redskins running back Clinton Portis would run for 112 yards and score two touchdowns on 27 carries in Washington's win over the Eagles.

When the Washington Redskins lost in overtime to the San Diego Chargers in Week 11 of the 2005 NFL season, some experts believed that was the end of the Redskins' playoff hopes as they stood with a 5-6 record.

However, six weeks later, the Redskins would be playing in a game against their NFC East rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, where a win would send them to the playoffs.

The Redskins were led by head coach Joe Gibbs, who had returned to the sidelines the previous year after a 12-year absence.

Redskins fans were hoping Gibbs would bring back their beloved team to their glory days when he lead the Redskins to three Super Bowls during his initial 12-year run as Washington's head coach.

But his second run had been a struggle as he went 6-10 in 2004 and was staring at another losing season after the Redskins dropped six of their previous eight games following a 3-0 start to the season.

However, the Redskins would turn around with a four-game winning streak as running back Clinton Portis put together four consecutive 100-yard rushing games to lead Washington to wins over the Rams, Cardinals, Cowboys, and Giants.

All the Redskins needed to do was defeat the Eagles in the final week of the regular season and Washington would be in the playoffs for the first time in six years.

While the Redskins were ascending, the Eagles were descending as they entered the final game of the regular season with a 6-9 record having lost seven of their previous nine games.

It had been a nightmare season for the Eagles one year after reaching the Super Bowl as wide receiver Terrell Owens created havoc by criticizing quarterback Donovan McNabb in the offseason for thier loss in the Super Bowl.

That began a media circus involving Owens which would eventually end in his release from the team midseason.

But the Eagles' problems did not stop there as McNabb was lost for the season with a sports hernia in a Week 10 loss to the Cowboys, followed by a season-ending foot injury to running back Brian Westbrook three weeks later.

With the injuries and the jettison of Owens, head coach Andy Reid was left with Mike McMahon at quarterback, Bruce Perry and Ryan Moats at running back, and Reggie Brown at wide receiver.

With the offense depleted, the Eagles would fail to win the NFC East for the first time since 2000 and failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1999.

However, the Eagles could end their season on a high note by knocking off their division rivals in their regular season finale which was played in Philadelphia.

After both teams punted on their opening possessions of the game, the Eagles got the ball at their 48-yard-line and ran the ball three straight times, gaining 21 yards to set up a 49-yard field goal by David Akers to give Philadelphia a 3-0 lead with 10:16 left in the first quarter.

It appeared the Eagles were set to get the ball back as they forced a three-and-out on the Redskins' ensuing possession forcing them to punt, only to have Dexter Wynn muff it as Washington tight end Mike Sellers recover the loose ball at the Philadelphia 37-yard-line.

Redskins quarterback Mark Brunell would hand the ball off two straight times to Portis, who gained 14 yards on his two runs, which was followed by a three-yard pass from Brunell to tight end Chris Cooley, then a 14-yarder to Moss on 3rd & 4 to set up 1st & goal at the Eagles' four-yard-line.

That is when Sellers was rewarded for his fumble recovery with a touchdown as he caught a four-yard pass from Brunell to give the Redskins a 7-3 lead with 6:41 to go in the first quarter.

Eagles quarterback Mike McMahon would complete 16 of 31 passes for 254 yards and throw two touchdowns, but would also have three turnovers.

Following an exchange of punts, the Eagles got the ball at their 38-yard-line but were after two plays picked up just two yards where faced with a 3rd & 8 when McMahon connected with Brown for 10 yards and a 1st down at the 50-yard-line.

Two plays later, McMahon and the Eagles would convert on another 3rd & 8 when McMahon found Billy McMullen for 15 yards and another 1st down at the Washington 33-yard-line.

On the next play, McMahon would connect with Brown again, this time for a 33-yard touchdown to give the Eagles a 10-7 lead with 33 seconds remaining in the opening period.

The score was still 10-7 when the Eagles got the ball at their 29-yard-line with just under 11 minutes left in the second quarter when they put together an eight play, 71-yard touchdown drive.

After taking three plays to pick up one 1st down, McMahon would hit tight end L.J. Smith for a 48-yard gain to give the Eagles a 1st down at the Redskins' 11-yard-line.

Disaster nearly struck as McMahon fumbled the football at the end of a four-yard run, only to have guard Adrian Clarke recover the fumble at the Washington seven-yard-line.

Then the Eagles started going backwards as illegal shift penalty on Moats nullified a seven-yard touchdown pass from McMahon to Brown, which was followed by a quarterback sack by Redskins linebacker Marcus Washington that dropped McMahon for a 10-yard loss to set up 3rd & 21 from the 22-yard-line.

That is when the Eagles caught a break as Redskins cornerback Shawn Springs was called for pass interference on a McMahon pass intended for Smith, giving the Eagles an automatic 1st down back at the Washington 11-yard-line.

After a three-yard run by Perry, McMahon found Brown in the end zone for an eight-yard touchdown to increase the Philadelphia lead to 17-7 with 6:05 to go before halftime.

Having punted on their five of their first six possessions, the Redskins' offense needed to get moving if they were to get back in the game.

They would do just that on their ensuing possession which began at their 24-yard-line as Portis would carry the ball four times for 17 yards while Brunell hit Santana Moss for an eight-yard pass which lead to the Redskins' biggest offensive play of the game as Brunell connected with James Thrash for a 41-yard completion to give Washington a 1st down at the Eagles' 15-yard-line.

Two runs by Portis picked up nine yards to set up 3rd & 1 when Brunell could not hit Cooley for the 1st down, forcing the Redskins to settle for a 25-yard field goal by John Hall to cut the Eagles' lead to 17-10 with 61 seconds left in the first half.

The Eagles would get good field position to start their next drive as Perry returned the ensuing kickoff 25 yards to the Philadelphia 38-yard-line.

Perry would run for 11 yards to pick up an Eagles 1st down, only to have McMullen fumble the football at the end of a 11-yard catch when he was stripped of the football by Marcus Washington who recovered the fumble at the Redskins' 38-yard-line.

However, the Redskins would give it right back to the Eagles as Brunell threw a deep pass that was intercepted by Eagles cornerback Roderick Hood at the Philadelphia 20-yard-line.

McMahon would take a knee on the next play to end the first half with the Eagles ahead 17-10 but with the Redskins set to get the ball to start the second half.

Eagles wide receiver Reggie Brown would catch seven passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns.

The Redskins would begin their opening possession of the second half at their 28-yard-line where Portis would carry the ball twice, gaining seven yards, then caught a five-yard pass from Brunell to give Washington a 1st down at its 40-yard-line.

That is when Brunell connected with Moss for a 54-yard completion to set up 1st & goal at the Eagles' six-yard-line.

Portis would run it for four yards on 1st down, then punch it in for the two-yard touchdown that with Hall's extra point tied the game at 17 with 11:46 to go in the third quarter.

However on the ensuing kickoff, Redskins fullback Rock Cartwright would be called for a 15-yard face mask that was added to a 20-yard return by Perry to give the Eagles the ball at their 46-yard-line.

The Eagles would quickly drive down the field as McMahon found Greg Lewis for 20 yards to start the drive, which was followed by a 11-yard run by Perry and a six-yard run by Moats to put Philadelphia in the Washington red zone as they had a 2nd & 4 at the Redskins' 17-yard-line.

But Perry would be stopped for no gain on 2nd down, which was followed by an incomplete pass on 3rd down, forcing the Eagles to settle for a 35-yard field goal by Akers which broke the 17-17 tie and gave Philadelphia a 20-17 lead with 8:52 left in the third quarter.

From there, the game would turn into a defensive stalemate as both teams traded punts until the fourth quarter when were faced with a 3rd & 15 at their 20-yard-line when McMahon was intercepted by Redskins linebacker Lemar Marshall, whose four-yard return gave the Redskins the ball at the Eagles 22-yard-line.

On the first play after the fumble, Brunell handed the ball off to Portis, who spun around an Eagles tackler, cut to his left and ran in for a  22-yard touchdown to give the Redskins a 24-20 lead with 12:19 left in the fourth quarter.

The Eagles would get the ball for their next possession at their 40-yard-line after Hall kicked the ensuing kickoff out of bounds.

A 20-yard pass to Smith on 3rd & 8 gave the Eagles a 1st down at the Redskins' 38-yard-line but one play after a two-yard run by Perry, McMahon fumbled the snap from center Jamaal Jackson, which lead to a recovery by Washington defensive tackle Joe Salave'a at the Redskins' 41-yard-line.

After forcing the Redskins to go three-and-out, the Eagles would get the ball back at their 27-yard-line when Reid replaced McMahon with Koy Detmer.

Detmer would complete two of five passes for 16 yards as the Eagles would punt the ball back to the Redskins who took over at their 16-yard-line with 5:40 left in the game and a chance to milk the clock.

The Redskins would pick up one 1st down when Brunell scrambled for 12 yards on 3rd & 8 from the 18-yard-line, but would be forced to punt the ball back to the Eagles who took over at their 25-yard-line with 3:11 left and no timeouts in their pocket.

After an incomplete pass to start the drive, Detmer would connect with Smith for five yards, then with McMullen for six yards to pick up a 1st down at the Philadelphia 36-yard-line.

That is when Redskins defensive end Philip Daniels would hit Detmer so hard it knocked the loose, which was scooped up free safety Sean Taylor who ran it for a 39-yard touchdown to extend the Redskins' lead to 31-20 with 2:16 left in the game.

Redskins free saftey Sean Taylor leaps into the end zone as he scores the touchdown that secured the Redskins' first playoff spot since 1999.

The Eagles would get one last chance to pull out a miracle but Detmer would be picked off by Redskins strong safety Ryan Clark, allowing Brunell to take three knees to run out the clock on the 31-20 victory that secured Washington's first trip to the playoffs since 1999.

In the Wild Card Round, the #6 seeded Redskins took on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where despite 120 yards of total offense, the Redskins would knock off the Bucs 17-10, thanks in large part to another fumble return for a touchdown by Taylor, this time for 51 yards.

The Redskins' run would come to an end the following week as they fell to the eventual NFC Champion Seattle Seahawks 20-10.

Two years later, the Redskins would go on another late-season winning streak as they won their final four games to finish the season 9-7 and clinch the team's second playoff berth in three seasons, only to fall to the Seahawks 35-14 in the NFC Wild Card Round.

That game would be the final game of Gibbs' second run in Washington as he would retire for good a few days after the loss to the Seahawks with a 31-38 record during his four-year run as the Redskins' head coach. 

NFL Old School Game of the Week: Browns Prevail over Jets in the "Marathon By The Lake"

When it comes to the Cleveland Browns and the NFL playoffs, they think of the excuriating losses the franchise has endured like "Red Right 88" when Browns quarterback Brian Sipe was intercepted in the end zone by Oakland Raiders safety Mike Davis in the final seconds when Clevland was in field goal range for a game-winning field goal as they lost their 1980 AFC Divisional Playoff 14-12 or the Browns blowing a 17-point lead to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2002 AFC Wild Card Round to lose 36-33.

But on January 4, 1987, the Cleveland Browns would find themselves on the winning end of an epic playoff game that would become known as the "Marathon By The Lake" as they faced the New York Jets in the Divisional Round.

The Browns came into the playoffs with a 12-4 record to earn the #1 seed in the AFC and home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

The Browns were led by head coach Marty Schottenheimer who was in his second full season as the Cleveland head coach after taking over from former head coach Sam Rutigliano midway through the 1984 season.

The Browns also had one of the top young quarterbacks in the league in Bernie Kosar who was in his second year in the league and had led the Browns to the 1985 AFC Central Division title in his rookie year.

However, the Browns were blow a 21-3 lead and lose to the Miami Dolphins 24-21 as Kosar criticized Schottenheimer after the game for their conservative, run-oriented attack while holding a 18-point lead.

This would lead to a change in offensive philosophy for the Browns in 1986 as Kosar threw for 3,854 yards during the regular season as the Browns won eight of their last nine games to earn the top seed in the AFC.

While the Browns came into the playoffs on fire, the Jets came ice cold as they had dropped their last five games of the regular season to finish with a 10-6 record and a Wild Card spot.

A slew of injuries to starting quarterback Ken O'Brien, defensive end Mark Gastineau, and defensive tackle Joe Klecko had led to a five-game losing streak to end the regular season as the Jets were outscored 183-61 as head coach Joe Walton's team limped into the playoffs, the team's fourth in six seasons.

In the AFC Wild Card Game, Pat Ryan started in place of O'Brien, where the backup quarterback's 24-yard run on a 4th down quarterback draw in the 1st quarter sparked the Jets to a 35-15 win over the Kansas City Chiefs and send them on the shores of Lake Erie to take on the Browns in a Divisional Playoff game for the ages.

After the Jets went three-and-out to start the game, the Browns got the ball at their 44-yard-line where on 2nd & 9, Kosar connected with tight end Ozzie Newsome for nine yards and a 1st down which became a 24-yard play when New York defensive end Marty Lyons was called for a personal foul penalty, giving the Browns 15 extra yards as they had a 1st down at the Jets 31-yard-line.

The Jets' defense would stiffen and hold the Browns to just two yards on the next three plays to force a 46-yard field goal attempt by Mark Moseley, which fell short of the uprights and no good to keep the game scoreless.

Following an exchange of punts, the Jets had the ball at their 18-yard-line when Ryan connected with Al Toon for 28 yards on the first play of the drive to give New York a 1st down at their 46-yard-line.

Then after picking up another 1st down, the Jets went into their bag of tracks as Ryan handed the ball off to McNeil, only to have the running back throw a backwards lateral back to Ryan, who then fired a pass for a wide open Wesley Walker, who made the catch for a 42-yard touchdown to put New York on top 7-0 with 5:05 left in the first quarter.

The Browns would then get poor field position for their next possession as Gerald McNeil mishandled the ensuing kickoff, leading to Cleveland to begin the drive at its own two-yard-line.

However, Kosar would get the Browns out of the jam quickly as he connected with Newsome for passes of 21 and 23 yards to get Cleveland to midfield.

A nine-yard pass to Harry Holt and an offsides penalty gave the Browns a 1st down at the Jets' 37-yard-line when Kosar dropped back and found Herman Fontenot for a 37-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7 with 1:44 to go in the opening period.

Browns quarterback  Bernie Kosar would throw for a then Playoff record 489 yards on 33-of-64 passing.

The score remained 7-7 in the second quarter when on a 3rd & 6 from the Jets eight-yard-line, Ryan would be sacked by Browns linebacker Chip Banks and defensive end Reggie Camp for an one-yard-loss which forced an New York punt, but even worse led to Ryan limp off the field with a pulled groin.

The Jets would punt the the ball back to the Browns who took over at exactly the 50-yard-line when Kosar hit three passes in a row: a 13-yarder to Newsome, a 3-yarder to Fontenot, and a 25-yarder to Mack to give Cleveland a 1st & goal at the New York nine-yard-line.

But an holding penalty would push the Browns 10 yards back and eventually kill the drive as Moseley was forced to come on and kick a 38-yard field goal to give Cleveland a 10-7 lead with 5:51 left in the second quarter.

When the Jets' offense come onto the field for their next possession, O' Brien came onto the field with them, replacing Ryan. 

O'Brien's first pass was complete to Toon for 11 yards but the Jets would be forced to punt again when McNeil was dropped for a three-yard loss on 3rd & 1.

The Jets would get the ball back at their 31-yard-line with 89 seconds left in the first half and a chance to pick up some points before halftime.

O'Brien scrambled for nine yards to begin the drive, then after a sack by Camp that dropped him for a three-yard loss, found McNeil for 12 yards and a 1st down at the Jets' 49-yard-line.

Soon, the Jets would be faced with a 4th & 4 at the Cleveland 45-yard-line when Walton decided not to punt the ball away and go for the 1st down.

The gamble paid off as O'Brien scrambled for 16 yards to set up Pat Leahy's 46-yard field goal that tied the game at 10 as the first half came to a close.

The Browns would get the ball to start the second half but would go three-and-out, giving the ball back to the Jets who took over at the Browns' 41-yard-line.

From there, McNeil would carry the ball three straight times, gaining 23 yards until he was dropped for a two-yard loss on his fourth straight carry.

Two incomplete passes would force the Jets to settle for another Leahy field goal, this one from 37 yards out to give New York a 13-10 lead with 10:57 left in the third quarter.

The Browns would get the ball back at their 28-yard-line but would quickly be in New York territory as Kosar connected with Holt for a 33-yard completion on 3rd & 1 to give Cleveland a 1st down at the Jets' 30-yard-line.

But the Jets' defense would hold to force a 44-yard field goal attempt by Moseley which sailed wide left to keep the score 13-10 in the Jets' favor.

The two teams would trade punts into the fourth quarter when the Browns got the ball at the 50-yard-line when one play after Mack was dropped for a two-yard-loss on 1st down, Kosar found Newsome for 34 yards and a Cleveland 1st down at the Jets' 18-yard-line.

The Browns would pick up another 1st down when Jets cornerback Russell Carter was called for pass interference to give Cleveland a 1st & goal at the 10-yard-line.

After two runs by Mack that picked up eight yards, Carter would atone for his mistake as he intercepted a Kosar pass intended for Webster Slaughter in the corner of the end zone to stop the Browns from at least tying the game and giving the ball back to the Jets who took over at their 20-yard-line with just over nine minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The Jets would drive to the Cleveland 43-yard-line before punting the ball back to the Browns who took over at their 17-yard-line with 4:31 to go in the fourth quarter.

But on 1st down, Kosar was intercepted again, this time by the Jets' other cornerback, Jerry Holmes on a pass intended for Fontenot to give New York the ball at the Browns' 25-yard-line.

That is when O'Brien handed the ball off to McNeil, who took it around the right side for a 25-yard touchdown to increase New York's lead to 20-10 with 4:14 left and leading Jets radio broadcaster and future ESPN anchor Charley Steiner to declare "The Jets are going to win this football game! The Jets are going to the AFC Championship Game!"

It certainly appeared that way as the Browns needed at least 10 points in the final four minutes of regulation to force overtime and had only one timeout left in their pocket.

Cleveland would begin its next possession at its 32-yard-line when an holding penalty pushed the Browns back 10 yards for 1st & 20 when Kosar was sacked by Lyons for a four-yard loss to set up 2nd & 24 at the Cleveland 18-yard-line.

The next play would see a pair of offsetting penalties forcing the two teams to replay 2nd & 24 when the turning point of the game.

Kosar would drop back and throw an incomplete pass only to have Gastineau dropped his helmet down and hit Kosar in the back to draw an roughing-the-passer penalty to not only give the Browns 15 yards but an automatic 1st down.

So instead of 3rd & 24 from the 18-yard-line, the Browns had a 1st & 10 from their 33-yard-line.

Mark Gastineau's late hit on Bernie Kosar gave the Browns new life as they trailed 20-10 with over four minutes left in regulation.

After two more incomplete passes, Kosar would get rolling as he hit Reggie Langhorne for 10 yards and a 1st down at the Browns' 43-yard-line, then connected with Langhorne again, this time for 13 yards and a 1st down at the Jets' 44-yard-line.

Kosar would then complete passes to Brian Brennan of 22 and 19 yards to set up 1st & goal at the three-yard-line where he connected Curtis Dickey for two yards before handing the ball off to Mack who punched it in for the one-yard touchdown to make it 20-17 with 1:57 left in regulation.

The Browns would attempt an onside kick but the Jets' Marion Barber recovered it at the Cleveland 45-yard-line as New York needed just one 1st down to ice the game.

But the Jets would lose three yards on three straight running plays to force a punt with 1:13 left that was downed at the Cleveland' seven-yard-line, only to have it nullified by a holding penalty on Barber to push the Jets back 10 yards and force them to re-kick.

This time, the punt traveled 36 yards and was returned by McNeil for 11 yards to give the Browns the ball at their 33-yard-line, a 26-yard chance in field position, with 51 seconds left and no timeouts remaining.

Kosar would throw a pass to Brennan which fell incomplete but drew a pass interference penalty on Jets defensive back Carl Howard, resulting in a 25-yard gain for the Browns and a 1st down at the New York 42-yard-line.

That is when Kosar dropped back and fired a deep pass for Slaughter, who made a sliding catch at the Jets' five-yard-line for a 37-yard completion to give Cleveland a 1st & goal.

As the Browns celebrated Slaughter's catch, Kosar tried to get the team lined up for a shot at the end zone which almost backfired as Kosar's pass for Slaughter was almost intercepted by Carter, who got one hand on the ball but could not complete the catch.

Following this near disaster, Schottenheimer sent in the field goal unit as Moseley kicked a 22-yard field goal to tie the game at 20 with seven seconds left in regulation.

Miraculously, the Browns had scored 10 points in the final two minutes to send the game into overtime.

The Jets won the coin toss and elected to receive but would go three-and-out to punt the ball back to the Browns who took over at their 26-yard-line.

Kosar would complete a six-yard pass to Fontenot to begin the drive which was followed by a five-yard run by Mack to pick up a 1st down at the Cleveland 37-yard-line.

After an incomplete pass on 1st down, Kosar would complete his next three passes for 23 yards to set up 2nd & 1 at the Jets' 40-yard-line when Kosar lofted a deep pass that was caught by Langhorne for a 35-yard gain to set up 1st & goal at the five-yard-line.

Schottenheimer decided to send in the field goal unit as Moseley would attempt a 23-yard chip shot to send the Browns to the AFC Championship Game.

But shockingly, Moseley's kick sailed wide right and no good keeping it 20-20 and giving the ball back to the Jets at their 20-yard-line.

Seemingly have found no life, the Jets' drive began with back-to-back passes from O'Brien as he hit tight end Mickey Shuler for seven yards and Toon for 12 yards for a New York 1st down at their 39-yard-line.

But a sack of O'Brien by Browns defensive end Carl Hairston, one of the Browns' playoff record nine sacks, for a seven-yard loss killed the drive and forced the Jets to punt the ball away.

After both teams went three-and-out on their ensuing possessions, the Browns would get the ball at their 31-yard-line with 2:38 left in the overtime session.

But since it was a playoff game, the Browns would have more than 2 1/2 minutes to win the game as NFL rules dictate that a postseason game must have a winner, so if more than one overtime period is needed, then so be it.

On this drive, it was time for the running game to take over as Mack picked up four yards on 3rd & 1 at the Cleveland 40-yard-line, then ran for eight more on 2nd & 4 to give the Browns a 1st down at the Jets' 42-yard-line.

An seven-yard run by Fontenot set up 3rd & 4 at the Jets' 35-yard-line as the second overtime began when Mack busted through to run for 15 yards and a 1st down at the New York 20-yard-line.

Mack would run the ball two more times gaining 11 yards before Schottenheimer called on Moseley again to attempt a 27-yard field goal.

This time, Moseley's kick sailed through the uprights 2:02 into the second overtime period to give Cleveland a 23-20 double overtime win and their first trip to the AFC Championship Game after winning the third longest game in NFL history.

Mark Moseley kicks the game-winning field goal in double overtime.

The loss to the Browns would begin a precipitous decline for the Jets as they would finish with only one winning season and one playoff appearance over the next decade.

As for the Browns, the high from their win over the Jets would be followed by a crushing low as they would lose to the Denver Broncos 23-20 in overtime with Broncos quarterback John Elway leading the Broncos on a 15-play, 98-yard touchdown drive in the final five minutes of regulation that would become known as "The Drive".

The two teams would meet again in the following year's AFC Championship Game where the Browns' hearts would be broken again when Byner looked to be on his way to the game-tying touchdown, only to have the ball knocked loose and recovered by Broncos defensive back Jeremiah Castille at the Denver' two-yard-line in a play that would go to be known as "The Fumble" as the Broncos would come away with the 38-33 victory.

After another playoff loss in 1988, Schottenheimer was fired by the Browns and replaced by Bud Carson who helped lead the Browns back to the AFC Championship Game, only to lose again to the Broncos, this time by the score of 37-21.

Since then, the Browns have only made the playoffs three times and won only one playoff game.

NFL Old School Game of the Week: Ravens Overcome 17-Point Deficit to Knock off Jaguars in Shootout

 

Ravens quarterback Tony Banks threw for five touchdown passes to lead the Ravens back from a 17-point deficit against the Jaguars in 2000.

When it comes to the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, they think of the tenacious defense led by linebacker Ray Lewis that allowed only 10.3 points per game during the 2000 season.

But in Week 2 of the 2000 NFL season, it would be the Ravens' offense that would lead them to victory.

The Ravens entered the 2000 season under a cloud of controversy as Lewis, who had made the Pro Bowl the previous three seasons, was charged with double murder outside an Atlanta nightclub the night after Super Bowl XXXIV was played there.

Lewis would strike a plea bargain on June 5 as he pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in exchange for testimony against the two other accomplices that he had been charged with.(The trial would end in a not guilty verdict for the other two individuals).

Lewis would be fined $250,000 by the NFL but would serve any suspension as he hoped to lead the Ravens to the playoffs after an 8-8 season the year before, the best record since the franchise moved from Cleveland in 1996.

Second year head coach Brian Billick hoped to improve the offense with quarterback Tony Banks, running back Priest Holmes, and free agent signee Shannon Sharpe at tight end in hopes of leading the Ravens to the playoffs for the first time in team history(The history and records of the Browns remained in Cleveland as the Browns returned to the NFL in 1999).

While the Ravens were just hoping to get to the playoffs, the Jacksonville Jaguars were trying to get back there for the fifth season in a row as they had made the playoffs the previous four years, including two trips to the AFC Championship Game.

The year before, the Jaguars had finished with the best record in the league at 14-2 but were stunned by the Tennessee Titans 33-14 in the AFC Championship Game.

With the nucleus of quarterback Mark Brunell, wide receivers Keenan McCardell and Jimmy Smith, plus head coach Tom Coughlin, the Jaguars were hoping 2000 would be the year they finally made it to the Super Bowl.

The Jaguars and Ravens both won their Week 1 games to set up their AFC Central showdown(both teams were in the same division until the NFL's realignment in 2002)in Baltimore where one of the wildest games in Ravens history would take place.

The Jaguars got the ball to start the game where it took them just one play to drive into Ravens territory as Brunell hit Smith for a 26-yard gain to give Jacksonville a 1st down at the Baltimore 39-yard-line.

But later in the drive, Brunell would overthrow a wide open Smith in the end zone, forcing the Jaguars to settle for a 36-yard field goal by Mike Hollis to give Jacksonville a 3-0 lead with 11:15 left in the first quarter.

After forcing a three-and-out from the Ravens and a 20-yard-punt that gave the Jaguars the ball in Ravens territory, Brunell would fire a deep pass down the right sideline for Smith who made the catch in stride for a 45-yard touchdown to increase the Jacksonville lead to 10-0 with 7:49  left in the first quarter.

The Jaguars would force another three-and-out on the Ravens' ensuing possession to get the ball back at their 23-yard-line where it took them five plays to drive to the Baltimore 43-yard-line when Brunell again threw deep for Smith who again made the catch for the 43-yard touchdown to push the Jacksonville lead to 17-0 with 2:32 to go in the opening quarter.

Jaguars wide receiver Jimmy Smith would catch 15 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns.

It looked like it was going to be a long day for the Ravens especially after they went three-and-out again on their next possession to punt the ball back to the Jaguars as the first quarter came to an end with Baltimore down 17-0.

But the Ravens' defense would make their presence felt on the first play of the second quarter when defensive end Rob Burnett jarred the ball loose from Jaguars running back Chris Howard, leading to a fumble that was recovered by cornerback Duane Starks at the Jacksonville 14-yard-line.

It would only take the Ravens one play to get into the end zone as Banks fired a 14-yard strike to Travis Taylor to cut the Jaguars' lead to 17-7 just 12 seconds into the second quarter.

After both teams punted on their next possessions, the Jaguars got the ball at their 10-yard-line when they put together their longest drive of the game: a 14-play, 63-yard drive that took up nearly seven minutes as Brunell completed three passes to Smith for 43 yards on the drive to set up Hollis' 45-yard field goal which increased Jacksonville's lead to 20-7 with 3:36 left in the second quarter.

Following a three-and-out by the Ravens, the Jaguars got the ball at their 42-yard-line where Brunell completed four of six passes for 30 yards to set up another Hollis field goal, this one from 48 yards out to make it 23-7 in favor of Jacksonville with 44 seconds left before halftime.

The Ravens would get one more chance to put points on the board before halftime but could not as Banks threw an interception on the last play of the half as Baltimore went into the locker room trailing 23-7 but would get the ball to start the second half.

If the Ravens were to get back in this game, they would need to get some sort of score on this drive.

Starting at his 32-yard-line, Banks would hit Travis Taylor for 40 yards on the first play of the second half to give the Ravens at the Jaguars' 28-yard-line.

After two plays gained five yards, Banks would connect with Taylor again, this time for a 23-yard touchdown to make it a 23-13 game.

Billick decided to go for two to try and make it an one-score game which he got as Banks found Coates in the end zone for the two-point conversion to cut the Jaguars' lead to eight points at 23-15 just 89 seconds into the third quarter.

It looked that the touchdown had given Baltimore the momentum especially after the defense forced a three-and-out to give their offense the ball back at their 39-yard-line.

But on 3rd & 11, Banks was picked off by Jaguars free safety Reyna Stewart, whose 24-yard return gave the Jaguars the ball at the Ravens' 41-yard-line.

The Jaguars would drive to the Ravens' 18-yard-line until an offensive pass interference penalty and a sack by Burnett of Brunell pushed Jacksonville back 15 yards for 2nd & 25.

The Jaguars would get 17 of the yards back before sending in Hollis to kick a 34-yard field goal to increase the Jacksonville lead to 26-15 with 6:47 to go in the third quarter.

Jaguars quarterback Mark Brunell completed 28 of 50 passes for 386 yards and threw three touchdowns.

The Ravens would begin their next possession at their 24-yard-line when Holmes after being held in check for most of the game made his presence felt as he would lead the Ravens down the field.

First, Holmes would run for 17 yards on 2nd & 4 from the Baltimore 30-yard-line to give the Ravens a 1st down at their 47-yard-line.

It looked like the Ravens were going to have punt when Banks threw an incomplete pass on 3rd & 6, only to have Jaguars defensive end Joel Smeege be called for holding which drew a five-yard penalty and an automatic 1st down.

Holmes would strike again on 2nd & 3 from the Jaguars' 37-yard-line when he ran for the three yards needed for the 1st down, then ran for 20 more on 2nd & 4 from the 28-yard-line to set up 1st & goal at the eight-yard-line.

Following a three-yard-run by Jamal Lewis on 1st down, Banks connected with fullback Obafemi Ayanbadejo for a five-yard touchdown to cut it to 26-21 as Billick decided to go for two again.

It looked like the Ravens had converted the two-point conversion as Banks found Sharpe in the end zone, only to have it called back because of a pass interference penalty on Sharpe, which push the Ravens back 10 yards and forced them to go for the extra point which they got to make it 26-22 with 1:02 left in the third quarter.

Following an exchange of punts, the Jaguars had the ball at their 12-yard-line when the Ravens forced their second turnover of the game as linebacker Jamie Sharper knocked the ball loose from Jaguars running back Stacey Mack and recovered it at the 12-yard-line.

After an incomplete pass to Holmes on 1st down, Banks found Jermaine Lewis in the end zone for the 12-yard touchdown to give the Ravens their first lead of the game at 29-26 with exactly 10 minutes to go in the 4th quarter.

The Jaguars would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line where they picked up 23 yards on the first two plays of the drive until Ravens safety Corey Harris deflected a Brunell pass that landed in the hands of strong safety Kim Herring for an interception.

Herring's 30-yard return set up Baltimore at the Jacksonville 35-yard-line but the Ravens could not pick up a 1st down and had to settle for a 44-yard field goal by Matt Stover which increased their lead to 32-26 with exactly seven minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

The Jaguars would begin its next possession at their 20-yard-line when the Brunell-to-Smith connection struck again as Brunell connected with Smith for a 33-yard gain that would lead to a 48-yard field goal by Hollis to cut the Ravens' lead in half to 32-29 with 3:53 left in regulation.

The Jaguars needed a defensive stop in hopes of at least tying the game and they would get that as they forced the Ravens to go three-and-out on their next possession to get the ball back at their 39-yard-line with 2:42 left on the clock.

The drive began with a 17-yard completion by Brunell to McCardell to give the Jaguars a 1st down at the Ravens' 44-yard-line.

Then, Brunell connected with Smith for four yards and then was dropped for no gain by Ravens defensive back James Trapp setting up 3rd & 6 from the Baltimore 40-yard-line.

That is when Brunell fired a pass that bounced off the hands of McCardell, only to land in the hands of Smith, who then broke a tackle at the 10-yard-line and ran in for a shocking 40-yard touchdown to give Jacksonville a 36-32 lead with 1:45 left in the game.

The Ravens would get one more shot as they took over at their 25-yard-line with 1:42 left and two timeouts in their pocket, needing a touchdown to win.

After Banks threw an incomplete pass intended for Sharpe, Banks found Billy Davis for 19 yards and a 1st down at the Baltimore 44-yard-line.

Following another incomplete pass, Banks connected with Davis again, this time for 15 yards and another Ravens 1st down at the Jacksonville 41-yard-line as Baltimore called timeout with 65 seconds left.

Banks would then hit Ayanbadejo for 12 yards and another 1st down at the Jacksonville 29-yard-line when Banks spiked the ball to stop the clock with 48 seconds left setting up 2nd & 10.

That is when Banks fired a pass for Sharpe, who made the catch at the two-yard-line, and then fell into the end zone for the 29-yard touchdown to give the Ravens a 39-36 lead with 41 seconds left.

Ravens tight end Shannon Sharpe(82) celebrates after his game-winning touchdown catch.

The Jaguars would get the ball back at their 28-yard-line but could do nothing with it as time ran out with the Ravens winning the game 39-36 in a game where both quarterbacks combined for 648 yards and eight touchdown passes.

The Jaguars would bounce back with a win over the Cincinnati Bengals the following week, but then went on a five-game losing streak to which they never recovered from as they finished the season with a 7-9 record to miss the playoffs for the first time since 1995.

Little did anybody know it but the 2000 season was the beginning of the end of the Jaguars' run as one of the elite in the AFC as they would go 6-10 in 2001 + 2002, which lead to the firing of Coughlin at head coach after eight seasons in Jacksonville.

Meanwhile, the Ravens would get off to their best start in franchise history as they won five of their first six games to start the season with 5-1 record.

But the Ravens would hit a rough patch as they went the entire month of October without scoring an offensive touchdown in five games, leading to the benching of Banks in favor of veteran quarterback Trent Dilfer.

The Ravens would break their offensive dry spell in the team's tenth game of the season as Dilfer would threw three touchdown passes in a 27-7 win over the Cincinnati Bengals to begin a seven-game winning streak to clinch the first playoff berth in Baltimore history as they finished with a 12-4 record.

From there, the Ravens' defense would take over as they allowed only 23 points in the playoffs as Baltimore defeated the Denver Broncos 21-3 in the Wild Card Round, then beat the Tennessee Titans 24-10 in the Divisional Round, followed by a 16-3 win over the Oakland Raiders in the AFC Championship Game, and then a 34-7 rout of the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV for the team's first Super Bowl title in franchise history.

As for Banks, he would be released by the Ravens in the offseason and signed with the Dallas Cowboys, only to be released in the preseason, leading him to sign with the Washington Redskins, where he was named the team's starting quarterback as the 2001 season began.

Banks would lead the Redskins out of a 0-5 hole to finish the season with a 8-8 record, but again he would be released and would sign with the Houston Texans where he served as David Carr's backup for the next four years until his retirement following the 2005 season.

College Football Old School Game of the Week: Alexander's 4-TD Performance Leads Bama to Upset Win over Florida

 

Alabama running Shaun Alexander accounted for 200 yards of total offense(106 rushing, 94 receiving) and four touchdowns(3 rushing, 1 receiving).

It's hard to imagine now, but there was a time when the Alabama football program was not contending for SEC and national championships every season

But that was the case in the late 1990s as the Tide were struggling after Gene Stallings' resignation following the 1996 season as his replacement, defensive line coach Mike Dubose went 11-12 over the 1997 + 98 seasons, then after jumping out to a 2-0 start in the 1999 season, lost to Louisiana Tech 29-28 on the final play of the game.

This led many Crimson Tide fans to call on the Alabama athletic department to fire Dubose and it seemed that these fans were going to get their wish as rumors persisted that Dubose would be fired during the bye week following the October 2nd game with the Florida Gators in "The Swamp".

Many felt Alabama had no chance to beat the Gators in "The Swamp" as Florida entered the game ranked #3 in the country and were 17-point favorites to beat the Tide.

The Gators were led by head coach Steve Spurrier, who was in his tenth season in Gainesville having led the Gators to five SEC championships and the 1996 national championship thanks to his innovative "Fun & Gun" offense that relied on the pass instead of the run.

But after two years without a SEC title, Gator fans were getting a little impatient and wanted another championship.

With senior quarterback Doug Johnson leading the "Fun & Gun" offense, the Gators had seemingly vanquished their biggest threat for the SEC title in defending national champion Tennessee, whom the Gators defeated 23-21 two weeks earlier.

A win over Alabama seemed like a formality but the Tide had things going on offense which had averaged 32 points per game over the Tide's first four games(Alabama beat Arkansas one week after their loss to Louisiana Tech).

Led by quarterback Andrew Zow and running back Shaun Alexander, the Tide thought maybe they had a chance against the Gators.

But the Tide had their work cut out for them as the Gators were riding a 30-game home winning streak and had lost at home in almost five years(For information on that game, click on the highlighted link here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2019/10/college-football-old-school-game-of.html).

After both teams punted on their opening possessions of the game, the Gators had the ball at their 34-yard-line when Johnson connected with running back  Robert Gillespie for a 11-yard reception, only to have Alabama strong safety Marcus Spencer knock the ball loose and pick up the football as he returned the fumble to the Florida 38-yard-line.

From there, the Tide picked up 19 yards in six plays to set up Chris Kemp's 37-yard field goal to give Bama a 3-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

It would only take the Gators one play to respond to the field goal as Johnson fired a 73-yard touchdown pass to Darrell Jackson to put Florida on top 7-3 just 22 seconds after the Bama field goal.

Florida wide receiver Darrell Jackson caught six passes for 127 yards with three of those for touchdowns.

Following an Alabama punt, the Gators got the ball back at their 14-yard-line as they drove to the Crimson Tide 40-yard-line until Johnson fumbled a snap from center, which was recovered by Alabama linebacker Saleem Rashard at the Tide 41-yard-line.

On the very next play, Alexander made his presence felt as he busted loose for a 39-yard-run to the Florida 20-yard-line that was followed by a 14-yard pass from Zow to Freddie Milons on the first play of the second quarter to set up 1st & goal at the one-yard-line.

However, three straight running plays picked up zero yards setting up 4th & goal from the one-yard-line as Dubose decided to go for the touchdown.

The gamble paid off as Alexander punched it in for the one-yard touchdown to give the Tide a 10-7 lead with 12:53 left in the second quarter.

Florida would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line but would soon be in Crimson Tide territory as Bo Carroll busted through the middle for a 38-yard run to give Florida a 1st down at the Alabama 32-yard-line.

The Gators drove to the Bama 16-yard-line until an intentional grounding penalty pushed Florida back nine yards where they had to settle for a 42-yard field goal attempt by Jeff Chandler.

But Chandler's kick sailed wide right and no good keeping Alabama in the lead at 10-7 and giving the Tide the ball at their 25-yard-line with 9:15 left in the second quarter.

From there, the Tide would put together a 18-play, 70-yard drive that would take up nearly the remaining time in the first half as Alexander carried the ball six times for 19 yards while Zow completed five of seven passes for 44 yards, all leading to a 22-yard field goal by Kemp that increased the Tide's lead to 13-7 with just 17 seconds left in the first half.

Florida would get the ball back but would run only one play as they went into the halftime break down 13-7.

After both teams punted on their first possessions of the second half, the Tide had the ball at their 40-yard-line when Zow was intercepted by Florida cornerback Bennie Alexander, who returned it 42 yards for a pick-six that with Chandler's extra point gave the Gators a 14-13 lead with 8:46 left in the third quarter.

Bama would get the ball back at their 30-yard-line where Alexander got the call on the opening play of the drive and ran for 11 yards and a 1st down.

A sack by Florida defensive end Thad Bullard, the future Titus O' Neil of the WWE, set up a 3rd & 19 where Zow hit Antonio Carter for 21 yards and a 1st down at the Florida 47-yard-line.

On the very next play, Zow went deep and fired a pass for Alexander, who made the 47-yard touchdown catch to give the lead back to Alabama.

Bama attempted a two-point conversion but Zow's pass fell incomplete keeping the score 19-14 in favor of the Tide with 6:07 remaining in the third quarter.

The Gators would begin their ensuing possession at their 20-yard-line where Johnson would lead Florida on an eight-play, 80-yard drive where the senior quarterback completed all five of his passes on the drive for 58 yards, including a 28-yard pass to Alex Willis on 1st & 27 which was immediately followed by an eight-yard touchdown pass to Jackson.

Johnson would then hit Kirk Wells for the two-point conversion to give the Gators a 22-19 lead with 3:03 to go in the third quarter.

The Tide would answer with another long touchdown drive, this one taking 12 plays to cover 84 yards in 5:33 as Zow would find Antonio Carter on a crossing route for a 14-yard touchdown to give Bama a 26-22 lead, two minutes and thirty seconds into the fourth quarter.

Alabama quarterback Andrew Zow completed 28 of 40 passes for 336 yards and threw two touchdowns

Florida would get the ball at their 28-yard-line where Johnson continued his hot streak as he connected with Jackson for 12 yards to start the drive, then found Willis for 15 yards to put the Gators at the Alabama 45-yard-line.

Then after two straight incomplete passes, Johnson hit Willis for 22 yards to give Florida a 1st down at the Tide 23-yard-line.

However, the Bama defense would only allow two more yards on the next two yards, forcing the Gators to settle for a 37-yard field goal by Chandler to cut the Bama lead to 26-25 with 9:42 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Tide would begin its next possession at their 20-yard-line and it got off to a good start as Zow found Milons for 22 yards and a 1st down at the Tide 42-yard-line.

The next two plays would pick up four yards setting up 3rd & 6 when the Tide pulled a trick play as Alexander threw a five-yard pass to Terry Jones, only to have it called back because of a holding penalty, pushing the Tide back 11 yards for 3rd & 17 when Zow got called for intentional grounding, costing the Tide eight more yards and a loss of down as they were prepared to punt the ball away on 4th & 25.

But the Tide couldn't even do that as long snapper Bradley Ledbetter's bad snap lead to a fumble recovery by the Gators at the Alabama 26-yard-line.

Three plays later, Johnson would connect with Jackson for their third touchdown of the game, a 14-yarder that along with Carroll's successful two-point conversion run gave the Gators a 33-26 lead with 5:15 left in regulation.

After Milons returned the ensuing kickoff 27 yards to the Bama 31-yard-line, he caught a 22-yard pass from Zow to give the Tide a 1st down at the Florida 47-yard-line.

But Zow would only complete one of his next three passes for minus one yard, forcing the Tide to punt when Jackson muffed the punt, leading to a fumble recovery by Alabama's Marvin Brown at the Gators 21-yard-line with 3:17 left in regulation.

Alexander ran for four yards on 1st down, which was followed by a two-yard pass from Zow to Milons, then a two-yard run by Alexander to set up 4th & 2 from the Gators' 13-yard-line with 90 seconds left in regulation.

Bama went for the 1st down and got more than that as Alexander busted through the Florida defense for a 13-yard touchdown that with Kemp's extra point tied the game at 33 with 1:25 left in regulation.

That was still enough time for Florida to drive down the field and at least get in range for a field goal attempt by Chandler as the Gators got the ball at their 21-yard-line but with no timeouts in their pocket.

The drive began with a six-yard pass from Johnson to Gillespie, followed by an incomplete pass, and then a 10-yard run by Gillespie to give Florida a 1st down at their 37-yard-line.

An 18-yard pass to Reche Caldwell put the Gators in Bama territory at the Tide 45-yard-line when the drive fell apart as Johnson threw an incomplete pass which was followed by a substitution infraction on the Gators costing them five yards and then a quarterback sack by Alabama linebacker Chris Horne on the final play of regulation to send the game into overtime with the game tied at 33.

Alabama won the coin toss but elected to go on defense so to know what their offense needed to do when they got the ball for their possession in overtime.

The first two plays for the Gators picked up only five yards setting up 3rd & 5 when Johnson connected with Jackson for 8 yards and a 1st down at the Bama 12-yard-line.

Two runs by Gillespie gained six yards, setting up 3rd & 4 when Johnson found Caldwell in the end zone for the six-yard touchdown to give Florida a 39-33 lead.

But disaster would strike on the extra point as Chandler's kick sailed wide right, keeping the score 39-33 which meant that if the Tide scored a touchdown and made the extra point they would win the game.

That is when the Tide handed the ball off to Alexander on a counter play off the left side as Alexander would run in untouched for a shocking 25-yard touchdown to tie the game at 39.

It seemed like the Tide were going to win the game as Kemp came on to attempt the extra point, only for his kick to sail wide right and no good, seemingly sending the game into a second overtime.

But Kemp would get a reprieve as Florida's Bennie Alexander and Marquand Manuel were called for offsides, giving Kemp a second chance at making the game-winning extra point, which he did to give the Tide a 40-39 overtime win over the Gators, handing Florida its first loss at home in five years.

Alabama players celebrate after Chris Kemp made the game-winning extra point in overtime.

Nine weeks later, the two teams would meet again in the SEC Championship Game at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta where many experts believed the Gators would avenge their loss to the Tide.

However, the Tide romped over the Gators 34-7 to win their first SEC title since 1992.

Both teams ended up losing their bowl games as the Gators lost 37-34 to the Michigan State Spartans in the Citrus Bowl to finish the season with a 9-4 record, while Alabama lost to the Michigan Wolverines 35-34 in overtime in the Orange Bowl, ironically when Kemp missed an extra point that would have sent the game into a second overtime.

As for Dubose, his time in Tuscaloosa would come to an end one year later when the Tide went 3-8 which resulted in his firing after a four-year tenure in which Bama went 24-23, 14-20 if you take out the 1999 season.

It wouldn't be until the arrival of Nick Saban in 2007 that the Tide would return to national dominance.

NFL Old School Game of the Week: Hostetler Comes off Bench to Lead Giants To Last-Second Win over Cardinals

Giants quarterback Jeff Hostetler came off the bench to complete 11 of 21 passes for 180 yards and throw a touchdown in the Giants' comeback win over the Cardinals.

 There are some games in a NFL season that later turn out to be a preview of things to come for the rest of that season.

For the New York Giants, such a game occurred in Week 7 of the 1990 NFL season when they hosted the Phoenix Cardinals.

The Giants were off to a 5-0 start under head coach Bill Parcells, whose formula of a strong running game and strong defense were still being used as the Giants were considered Super Bowl favorites.

The offense was led by former Super Bowl MVP Phil Simms, who was the league's highest rated passer entering the Cardinals game, and wily old veteran Ottis Anderson in the backfield at running back,  plus one of the league's top defenses which was led by linebacker Lawrence Taylor.

While the Giants had Super Bowl aspirations, the Cardinals were just trying to figure out how to get their franchise moving since their move from St. Louis to Phoenix back in 1988.

The Cardinals were led by head coach Joe Bugel, famous for being the offensive line coach for the Washington Redskins during two Super Bowl championships in 1980s, who was trying to build a winner in Phoenix(They would not be called the Arizona Cardinals until 1994)with second-year quarterback Timm Rosenbach and rookie running back Johnny Johnson.

If the Cardinals could knock off the Giants, they were push their record back to .500 as they stood 2-3 entering the New York game and perhaps could their season moving in the right direction.

A player that did not figure to be a factor in the game as Giants backup quarterback Jeff Hostetler, who was in his seventh season in the NFL and had made only two career starts in his previous six seasons.

Hostetler was at the point of thinking he should retire from the NFL since he didn't feel he was going to get an opportunity to showcase his talents in New York.

But in this upcoming game and later down the road, Hostetler would showed the world what he could do.

The Giants got the ball to start the game at their 30-yard-line and it appeared were set to punt after failing to pick up a 1st down following three plays that gained nine yards.

The Giants did line up in a punt formation but then had Hostetler, who was lined up as one of the protect man, get behind center and pitch out to running back Lee Rouson, who ran for three yards and the 1st down at the New York 42-yard-line.

Seven plays later, the Giants were in the end zone as Anderson punched it in for a four-yard touchdown to give New York a 7-0 lead with 8:49 left in the first quarter.

The Cardinals would begin their initial possession of the game at their 28-yard-line where on the first play from scrimmage, Johnson ran for 28 yards to the Giants' 44-yard-line, which was soon followed by a 16-yard pass from Rosenbach to Terrance Flagler for a Phoenix 1st down at the Giants' 24-yard-line.

The drive would stall as the Cardinals would pick only three yards on the next three plays, forcing them to settle for a 38-yard field goal by Al Del Greco to cut the Giants' lead to 7-3 with 5:43 to go in the opening period.

Following an exchange of punts, the Giants got the ball at their 23-yard-line where two runs by Anderson picked up four yards setting up 3rd & 6 when Simms dropped back to pass, only to get crushed by Cardinals linebacker Ken Harvey and cornerback Cedric Mack, leaving Simms with a concussion and sprained left ankle.

Simms would walk off on his power but would not return to the game as Hostetler warmed up on the sidelines while the Giants punted the ball back to the Cardinals.

After a three-and-out by the Cardinals, Hostetler and the Giants' offense came out onto the field with the ball with the ball at their 37-yard-line.

Hostetler's first play from scrimmage was a good one as he hit tight end Mark Bavaro for 19 yards and a 1st down at the Cardinals 44-yard-line.

Following an eight-yard run by Lewis Tillman on 1st down, disaster nearly struck for the Giants as fullback Maurice Carthon was stripped of the football by Cardinals linebacker Freddie Joe Nunn, only for Hostetler to land on the football at the Phoenix 35-yard-line.

The next play was a 10-yard run by Anderson for a 1st down at the Cardinals' 25-yard-line from where the Giants drove to inches with a 1st down on the next three plays.

Instead of going with a Matt Bahr field goal, Parcells decided to go for the 1st down, but this time was unsuccessful as Hostetler was stopped for no gain, giving the ball back to the Cardinals at their 16-yard-line.

The Cardinals would go three-and-out forcing them to punt the ball back to the Giants, who got a 27-yard return by Dave Meggett to the Phoenix 30-yard-line, which was followed by a 19-yard run by Anderson to set up a 34-yard field goal by Bahr to increase the New York lead to 10-3 with 4:15 left in the second quarter.

Giants running back Ottis Anderson ran for 88 yards on just 11 carries and scored one touchdown.

The Cardinals would get the ball at their 35-yard-line to start their next drive when Rosenbach got hot as he completed six of seven passes for 58 yards on a 10-play, 65-yard drive that ended with a bit of trickery by the Cardinals as Rosenbach hit offensive tackle Luis Sharpe, who lined up as an eligible receiver, for an one-yard touchdown that with Del Greco's extra point tied the game at 10 with 23 seconds to go in the first half.

The Giants would get the ball back at their 35-yard-line with enough time to drive to the Cardinals' 39-yard-line to allow Bahr to attempt a 56-yard field goal with one second left in the half.

Bahr's kick was short and the two teams went into the halftime break still tied 10-10 with the Cardinals set to get the ball to start the second half.

The Cardinals got the ball at their 30-yard-line and went to their running back Johnson to lead them down the field as he carried the ball eight times for 39 yards to set up a 3rd & goal from the Giants' five-yard-line when Rosenbach took the ball on a quarterback draw and was tackled short of the end zone at the one-yard-line by New York defensive lineman Eric Dorsey and Erik Howard to set up 4th & goal.

Phoenix could have gone for the touchdown but Bugel decided to play it safe and go for the field goal which he got as Del Greco made the 18-yard chip shot to give the Cardinals their first lead of the game at 13-10 with 8:17 left in the third quarter.

The Giants got the ball back at their 25-yard-line where one play after an one-yard-run by Anderson, Hostetler was sacked by Harvey causing a fumble that was recovered by Phoenix defensive end Ron Saddler at the New York 31-yard-line.

The Cardinals would drive 14 yards before settling for a 34-yard field goal by Del Greco to increase the Phoenix lead to 16-10 with 4:15 remaining in the third quarter.

After another exchange of punts, the Giants had the ball at the Cardinals' 35-yard-line where they drove to the Phoenix 26-yard-line when they were faced with a 4th & 1 situation.

Once agian, Parcells decided to go for it and once again the Giants were denied a 1st down as Carthon was stopped for no gain by Cardinals free safety Mike Zordich.

The Giants would force another three-and-out to get their offense the ball back at their 25-yard-line only to have Hostetler get picked off by Cardinals strong safety Tim McDonald, whose 20-yard return gave Phoenix the ball at the New York 25-yard-line.

The New York defense would hold strong not allowing a yard as the Cardinals were pushed back three yards on three plays as they ended up settling for a 45-yard field goal by Del Greco which increase Phoenix's lead to 19-10 with 5:38 left in the fourth quarter.

Cardinals running back Johnny Johnson would run the ball 30 times for 108 yards.

At this point, many Giants fans began to rush for the exits as it looked like their beloved Giants were going to fall from the ranks of the unbeaten at the hands of the lowly Cardinals.

But that is when the fun began.

The Giants would begin its next possession at their 23-yard-line and went to a no-huddle offense in effort to score as quickly as possible.

The drive began with a Hostetler seven-yard run on 1st down, followed by an incomplete pass, and then a five-yard run by Meggett to give the Giants a 1st down at their 35-yard-line.

Hostetler would hit Mark Ingram for 11 yards and another 1st down at the Giants' 46-yard-line, which was followed by another run by Hostetler this time for five yards, and then an 11-yard run by Meggett to give New York a 1st down at the Cardinals' 38-yard-line.

Following an incomplete pass, Hostetler dropped back and went deep for Stephen Baker, who got behind McDonald and cornerback Lorenzo Lynch, to catch Hostetler's 38-yard touchdown pass to cut the Cardinals' lead to 19-17 with 3:21 to go in the game.

The Giants could have gone with an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff, but Parcells decided to kick it deep, giving the ball back to the Cardinals at their 20-yard-line.

The Cardinals put the game in Johnson's hands, who carried the ball four straight times gaining 13 yards to set up a crucial 3rd & 9 from the Phoenix 33-yard-line.

That is when Rosenbach kept the ball on a quarterback bootleg only to be stopped four yards shy of the 1st down, forcing the Cardinals to punt the ball back to the Giants who would take over at their 29-yard-line with 58 seconds left and no timeouts remaining.

After an incomplete pass on 1st down, Hostetler hit Ingram, who made a sliding catch to give the Giants a 1st down at the Cardinals' 45-yard-line.

Hostetler's next pass would be incomplete by the Giants would catch a break as Lynch was called for holding giving the Giants five free yards and a fresh set of downs at the Cardinals' 40-yard-line.

Following two incomplete passes, Hostetler found Lionel Manuel for a 17-yard reception at the Phoenix 23-yard-line when the Giants ran to the line so that Hostetler could spike the ball which he did with three seconds remaining in the game.

Bahr would come on to attempt the game-winning 40-yard field goal, which he made right down the middle as the clock expired to give the Giants an unlikely 20-19 win and improve their record to 6-0 while dropping the Cardinals to 2-4.

Hostetler raises his arms in celebration after Matt Bahr kicked the game-winning field goal as time expired.

While the Cardinals would go on to finish the season with a 5-11 record, the Giants would continue to improve on their best start in team history as they moved to 10-0 until a late season slump where they lost three of their next four games dropped them to 11-3.

Even worse, they lost Simms for the year as he broke his foot in a 17-13 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

Hostetler would come in and fill in for Simms for the rest of the season as he lead the Giants to two straight wins to end the regular season, including a 24-21 win over the Cardinals as New York clinched the NFC East title with a 13-3 record good enough to earn the #2 seed in the NFC and a first round bye.

In the Divisional Playoffs, the Giants would rout the Chicago Bears 31-3, then stunned the two-time defending Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers 15-13 as Bahr kicked five field goals, including the game-winning 42-yard field goal as time expired to send New York to Super Bowl XXV where they faced off with the Bills.

Using a ball-control offense that took up 40 minutes off the clock and behind Hostetler's 222 passing yards, the Giants would upset the Bills 20-19 as Scott Norwood missed a 47-yard field goal in the final seconds to preserve the Giants' second Super Bowl title in five years.

Hostetler would spend the next two years in New York competing with Simms for the starting quarterback job before being signing with the Los Angeles Raiders as a free agent before the 1993 NFL season where he spent four years as he lead the Raiders to a playoff spot in the 1993 season, then spent the 1997 + 98 seasons with the Washington Redskins before his retirement after a 15-year career in the NFL.

College Football Old School Game of the Week: Unranked UNC Shocks Undefeated Miami with Last-Second FG

The North Carolina football team runs out onto the field after Conner Barth, who is being held in the air, kicked a game-winning field goal at the buzzer to knock off Miami.

When the Miami Hurricanes joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2004, many in their fanbase thought they would dominate the ACC like they did their previous conference, the Big East, where the Hurricanes won at least a shar of the Big East conference title in nine of the previous 13 seasons, including the last four.

But the Hurricanes would find out the hard way that the ACC was not the Big East when they visited Chapel Hill to take on the North Carolina Tar Heels on October 30, 2004.

The Hurricanes entered the game with a 6-0 record and #4 ranking in the AP poll as the Hurricanes had won their first three ACC games which included a 16-10 overtime win over arch rival Florida State.

The Canes were led by head coach Larry Coker, who was in his fourth year at the helm at "The U", and had a roster full of future NFL stars such as running back Frank Gore, tight end Greg Olsen, defensive back Antrel Rolle and kick returner Devin Hester.

With a roster like that and quarterback Brock Berlin, the Hurricanes entered the game with the Tar Heels as three touchdown favorites as they took on the 3-4 Tar Heels.

North Carolina was just hoping to get to a bowl game, which would be their second in four years under head coach John Bunting and senior quarterback Darian Durant.

If the Tar Heels had any chance to knock off the Canes, they were going to need a good start to keep their fans at Kenan Stadium into the game.

  The Tar Heels got the ball to start the game and were given great field position after Del Roberts returned the opening kickoff 39 yards to the North Carolina 43-yard-line.

After a delay of game pushed them back five yards, the Tar Heel offense got moving as running back Chad Scott ran for 16 yards on 1st down, then ran for six more on two carries plus a Miami offsides penalty put North Carolina at the Miami 35-yard-line when Durant fired a 35-yard touchdown pass to Mike Mason to give the Tar Heels a 7-0 lead just 2:30 into the game.

The Hurricanes would also get good field position for their opening drive as UNC kicker Connor Barth kicked the ensuing kickoff out of bounds given Miami the ball at their 35-yard-line.

Following a four-yard run by Gore to start the drive, Berlin would throw five straight passes, completing three of them for 61 yards, with the last completion being a 27-yard touchdown to Lance Leggett to tie the game at 7 with 10:47 left in the first quarter.

After both teams had scored touchdowns in the game's first five minutes, the Tar Heels were more methodically on their next drive as they used the running game to drive down to the Miami seven-yard-line as Scott produced runs of 12 and 18 yards on the drive when Durant ran for 24 yards on a 2nd & 14 at the Hurricanes' 31-yard-line.

But an offensive pass interference penalty on Jesse Holley pushed the Tar Heels back 15 yards which led to a 40-yard field goal attempt by Barth, which he missed wide left, keeping the game tied and giving the ball back to the Hurricanes at their 23-yard-line.

From there, Berlin continued his hot start as he completed four of five passes for 74 yards on the eight-play, 77-yard touchdown drive that culminated with Berlin's 26-yard touchdown pass to Roscoe Parrish to give the Canes a 14-7 lead with 1:12 remaining in the first quarter.

Miami quarterback Brock Berlin completed 20 of 35 passes for 338 yards and two touchdowns.

Following an exchange of punts, the Tar Heels got the ball back at their 20-yard-line early in the second quarter as they drove to the Miami 40-yard-line when they were faced with a 4th & 1 situation.

Bunting decided to go for the 1st down and got it when Madison Hedgecock ran for 12 yards and a 1st down at the Hurricanes' 28-yard-line.

From there it was all Scott, who got the Tar Heels back into the end zone with a 14-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 14 midway through the second quarter.

It wouldn't take long for the Hurricanes to get back into North Carolina territory as a 25-yard pass from Berlin to Hester gave Miami a 1st down at the Tar Heels 39-yard-line.

Three straight running plays gained five yards before Coker sent in the field goal unit to break the 14-14 tie.

But Jon Peattie's 51-yard attempt was wide left and no good giving the ball back to the Tar Heels at their 35-yard-line.

After picking up one 1st down, Durant handed the ball off to Scott who exploded for a 40-yard run that would help set up Durant's 18-yard touchdown pass to Scott Brummett to give UNC a 21-14 lead with 3:03 to go in the first half.

The Tar Heels would force the Hurricanes to go three-and-out on their next possession to get the ball back at their 23-yard-line with 1:26 left before halftime and a chance to increase the North Carolina lead.

The drive began with an eight-yard run by Hedgecock which were followed by back-to-back completions by Durant that picked up 24 yards to put the Tar Heels at the Miami 45-yard-line.

Two incomplete passes later, Durant found Jesse Hamlett for 36 yards to give the Tar Heels a 1st & goal at the Miami nine-yard-line with 17 seconds to go in the half.

Durant would then hit Jarwarski Pollack for eight yards as Pollack went out of bounds at the one-yard-line, which was followed by an one-yard loss by Hedgecock causing the Tar Heels to burn their last timeout of the half with seven seconds left, enough for one more shot at the end zone.

UNC quarterback Darian Durant accounted for 330 yards of total offense(266 passing, 64 rushing) and threw two touchdown passes.

However, Durant would be intercepted by Miami defensive back Greg Threat in the end zone, who decided to take it out and try to run all the way back to the North Carolina end zone for a touchdown before halftime.

Threat made a great effort but he was stopped by North Carolina wide receiver Jesse Holley at the Tar Heels 39-yard-line following a 61-yard return as the first half came to an end with the Tar Heels up 21-14.

Both teams would trade punts to start the second half until the Hurricanes took over at the North Carolina 38-yard-line after Tar Heels punter David Woolridge shanked a punt which went only 14 yards.

It would take the Hurricanes five plays to travel the 38 yards needed for the touchdown as Tyrone Moss ran it in from eight yards out to tie the game at 21 with 3:13 left in the third quarter.

The Tar Heels would get the ball back at their 22-yard-line and proceed to drive down the field as Durant hit Hamlett for 11 yards on 3rd & 5 from the UNC 27-yard-line, then connected with Holley for 15 yards on 3rd & 7 to give the Tar Heels a 1st down at the Miami 44-yard-line as the game moved into the fourth quarter.

After the Tar Heels picked up another 1st down, disaster nearly struck as at the end of an eight-yard run, Scott fumbled the football, only to have it recovered by UNC tight end Jocques Dumas at the 25-yard-line.

Three plays later, Scott was in the end zone as his nine-yard touchdown run capped off a 12-play, 78-yard drive that took up more than seven minutes off the clock but more importantly gave the Tar Heels a 28-21 lead with 10:57 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Despite playing with a hip pointer, UNC running back Chad Scott ran for 175 yards on 25 carries and scored two touchdowns.

The Hurricanes would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line where it took them six plays to drive to the North Carolina 35-yard-line as Berlin completed passes of 14 yards to Darnell Jenkins, 23 yards to Leggett, and 14 yards to Sinorice Moss.

But the next three Miami plays only picked up two yards setting up a 4th & 8 at the UNC 33-yard-line.

In no man's land and a field goal doing them no good, the Canes went for the 1st down but failed to convert as Berlin's pass for Olson fell incomplete, giving the ball back to Carolina at its 33-yard-line.

However, the Miami defense would force a three-and-out to get their offense the ball back at their 10-yard-line with 5:24 left to drive for the game-tying touchdown.

The drive would begin with a 24-yard screen pass to Gore to give the Hurricanes a 1st down at thier 34-yard-line, which was followed by an incomplete pass, and then a strange play when Berlin's pass was deflected at the line of scrimmage, only to end up in the quarterback's hands for a catch that cost Miami two yards and set up 3rd & 12.

That is when Berlin found Leggett for 22 yards and a 1st down at the Tar Heels' 45-yard-line.

Berlin would then hit Leggett for nine yards before firing an incomplete pass to set up 3rd & 1 when Berlin handed the ball off to Gore, who ran up the middle for just three yards but enough for the 1st down.

Then, Berlin hit Parrish for 22 yards to give the Hurricanes a 1st down at the UNC 11-yard-line when Berlin handed the ball off to Hester on a sweep in which Hester scored that with the extra point tied the game at 28 with 2:25 left in regulation.

The Tar Heels would take over at their 10-yard-line, only to drive far enough to give Barth a chance at a a game-winning field goal.

The drive began with a four-yard run by Scott, which was followed by a 12-yard pass to Scott, giving the Tar Heels a 1st down at their 26-yard-line.

After Durant ran for four yards on 1st down, he found Pollock for 14 yards, then fired over the middle for Hamlett for a 22-yard completion to put the Tar Heels at the Miami 34-yard-line.

The Tar Heels figured they needed one more 1st down to feel comfortable enough for Barth to try a field goal so they went back to the running game only to have Scott but dropped for a two-yard loss on 1st down, which was followed by a six-yard pass to Hamlett as the Tar Heels called timeout with 17 seconds left and a 3rd & 6 at the Miami 30-yard-line.

That is when Durant called his own number and went up the middle on a draw play that picked up five yards as the Tar Heels wound the clock down to four seconds before calling timeout as Bunting sent in Barth to attempt a potential game-winning 42-yard field goal.

Miami called timeout in hopes of icing Barth but it was to no avail as Barth's 42-yard kick sailed through the uprights as time expired, giving the Tar Heels a shocking 31-28 victory over the #4 ranked Hurricanes.

The win sent the Kenan Stadium crowd into a frenzy as students ran out onto the field to tear down the goal posts after the Tar Heels had pulled off their first victory over a Top-5 ranked team in school history.

The Tar Heels' upset over Miami would be the difference in the Tar Heels being eligible for a bowl game as they finished with a 6-5 record, which earned them a berth in the Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte, where they fell to future ACC member Boston College 37-24 to finish the season with a 6-6 record.

As for Miami, they  never fully recovered from the loss to the Tar Heels as they would lose to Clemson the following week and then to Virginia Tech in the regular season finale where the winner would win the ACC title as the 16-10 loss to the Hokies sent the Hurricanes to the Peach Bowl where they would beat the Florida Gators 27-10 to finish with a 9-3 record and #11 ranking in both polls.

Since then, the Hurricanes have not been a dominant presence in the ACC as their fans thought they would be as they have yet to win a conference title and have only played in the ACC Championship Game, which was introduced in 2005, once.