NFL Old School Game of the Week: Stabler Leads Raiders To MNF Comeback Win over Saints

Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler would throw three touchdown passes in the 4th quarter of the Raiders' comeback win against the Saints on Monday Night Football in 1979.

Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler was one of the most clutch quarterbacks in NFL history as he lead his teams to many memorable last-minute victories during his 15-year Hall-of-Fame career.
Three of those occurred in the playoffs which included the famous "Sea of Hands" play that ended the Miami Dolphins' chances of a third straight Super Bowl title in 1974, an one-yard touchdown run following a controversial roughing-the-passer penalty that allowed for the Raiders to beat the New England Patriots in 1976 and the "Ghost to the Post" pass which set up the Raiders' double overtime win over the Baltimore Colts in 1977.
But Stabler's last great comeback win with the Raiders did not come in a playoff game but in a game on Monday Night Football as the Raiders traveled to New Orleans to take on the Saints.
While the game was not a playoff game, it had postseason implications for both teams as they both entered the game with 7-6 records, needing a win to increase their chances at a playoff spot.
For the Raiders, it would be return to normalcy as they had missed the playoffs the previous year, the first time they had happened since 1966.
Head coach John Madden had stepped down following the '78 season to begin his legendary career in broadcasting as wide receivers coach Tom Flores took over head coaching duties before the 1979 season began.
After getting off to a 1-3 start, the Raiders went 6-3 over their next nine games as they prepared to play inside a ruckus Superdome as the Saints also entered the game with a 7-6 record.
Unlike the Raiders, the Saints were not accustomed to contending for a playoff spot as they had never had a winning season since their inception in 1967.
But led by head coach Dick Nolan, quarterback Archie Manning, and a backfield dubbed in "Thunder and Lightning" in Tony Galbreath and Chuck Muncie, the Saints had shaken off an 0-3 start to win seven of their next ten games as they prepared for perhaps what was the biggest game in franchise history up to that point as the winner would get one step closer to a postseason berth.
 After forcing the Saints to punt on the opening possession of the game, the Raiders got the ball at their 22-yard-line where they put together a 15-play, 78-yard drive which saw Stabler complete all six of his passes for 49 yards, with the last completion being a three-yard touchdown to tight end Raymond Chester to put Oakland ahead 7-0 with 4:33 left in the first quarter.
The Saints would respond by going to the ground game as Muncie carried the ball seven times on a 11-play, 79-yard drive that culminated with a two-yard touchdown run by Tony Galbreath to tie the game at 7 just 90 seconds into the second quarter.
It seemed like a track meet was about to develop as the Raiders drove into New Orleans territory on their next possession, only to have the scoring threat be snuffed out when Saints cornerback Eric Felton picked off a tipped pass and returned it 53 yards to the Oakland 17-yard-line, setting up a 17-yard touchdown pass from Manning to Galbreath to give the Saints a 14-7 lead with 10:08 left in the second quarter.

Saints running backs Chuck Muncie(42) and Tony Galbreath(34) scored three touchdowns in the game.

Following an Oakland punt, the Saints got the ball at their 32-yard-line and picked up a 1st down before having to punt the ball away from their 41-yard-line on 4th & 12.
However, Raiders strong safety Mike Davis ran into the punter, Rick Patridge, drawing a five-yard penalty but an automatic 1st down at the New Orleans 46-yard-line.
From there, Manning hit Galbreath on a 20-yard screen pass, which was followed by a 31-yard run by Muncie to give the Saints a 1st & goal at the Raiders' three-yard-line.
Muncie would punch it from the one on 3rd & goal to increase the New Orleans lead to 21-7 with 3:24 left in the first half.
Things would get worse for the Raiders on their next possession when Stabler fumbled the football which was recovered by Saints defensive tackle Elex Price at the Oakland 28-yard-line.
It took only one play for the Saints to capitalize on the turnover as Manning hit tight end Henry Childs for a 28-yard touchdown to give New Orleans 28 straight points and a 28-7 lead with 2:18 to go before halftime.
Hoping to break the 28-0 run, the Raiders needed to put together a drive and try to pick up some points before the end of the first half.
Taking over at his 30-yard-line, Stabler led the Raiders to the New Orleans 27-yard-line when Saints defensive back Ralph McGill was called for pass interference to give Oakland a 1st & goal at the one-yard-line with four seconds left in the half.
Instead of kicking the field goal, Flores gambled and went for the touchdown to which he was reward as Arthur Whittington dove it in for the touchdown as time expired to cut the Saints' lead to 28-14 as the two teams went into the locker room for the halftime break.
The score remained 28-14 in the third quarter until the Raiders were faced with a 3rd & 2 at their 21-yard-line when Stabler's pass was tipped and intercepted by Saints linebacker Ken Bordelon, who returned it 19 yards for a pick-six to push the Saints' lead back to three touchdowns at 35-14 with 8:36 left in the third quarter.

Saints quarterback Archie Manning threw for 154 yards and two touchdowns on 12-of-23 passing.

While attempting to stop Bordelon from getting into the end zone, Stabler took a hit to the head when he collided with Saints defensive tackle Barry Bennett.
Flores prepared backup quarterback Jim Plunkett to go into the game only to have Stabler go to Flores and tell him "I got us in this mess and it's my job to get us out of it" as the "Snake" went back into huddle after committing his third turnover which led to an New Orleans touchdown.
Stabler would direct the Raiders on a 12-play, 62-yard drive which saw Stabler complete five passes on the drive, three of them to tight end Dave Casper, which included a nine-yard pass from the "Snake" to the "Ghost" on 4th & 4 from the Saints' 23-yard-line.
This all lead to an one-yard touchdown run by Mark van Eeghan to cut the Saints' lead to 35-21 with just over three minutes left in the third quarter.
After forcing a New Orleans punt, Stabler and the Raiders got the ball back at their 28-yard-line where they quickly drove down the field as it took them six plays to get back in the end zone as Stabler hit a wide open Derrick Ramsey for a 17-yard touchdown to bring Oakland to within a touchdown at 35-28 with 12:51 left in the fourth quarter.
After an exchange of punts, the Raiders got the ball back at their 33-yard-line with 4:13 left in regulation, needing a touchdown and an extra point to tie the game.
Following an one-yard reception by center Dave Dalby off a deflected pass, Stabler fired a short pass in the left flat for Cliff Branch.
Branch made the catch at about the Raiders' 40-yard-line, made a juke move on Erik Felton, then got a crushing block from Whittington, clearing Branch's path for a 66-yard touchdown that with the extra point tied the game at 35 with 3:19 left in regulation.
Having watch their 21-point lead evaporate, the Saints would get the ball at their 32-yard-line with a chance to drive down the field for the winning score.
The drive got off to a promising start as Galbreath ran for nine yards on 1st down, but on the very next play, Muncie fumbled the football which was picked up by Mike Davis at the 39-yard-line.
Davis proceeded to run down to the Saints' 20-yard-line before he lateraled the ball to linebacker Ted Hendricks who picked seven more yards to give the Raiders the ball at the New Orleans 13-yard-line, giving the Raiders a chance to take the lead.
Following a pair of runs that gained five yards, the Raiders were faced with a 3rd & 5 at the eight-yard-line as the two-minute warning hit.
Stabler went to the sidelines where met with Flores who told me to go for the touchdown on the next play.
When Stabler went back onto the field, he took the snap, dropped back and fired a pass to Branch, who made the catch at the two-yard-line then dove in to the end zone for the Raiders' fourth straight touchdown which gave them a 42-35 lead with 1:54 left in regulation.

Raiders wide receiver Cliff Branch would catch the game-tying and game-winning touchdowns.

The Saints would get the ball back at their 31-yard-line with a chance to redeem themselves and send the game  into overtime, but the Raiders' defense did not allow a 1st down as Manning was sacked on 4th & 13 to end the Saints' chances and allow for Oakland to run out the clock and come away with a 42-35 win.
The loss would cost the Saints dearly as they finished the season 8-8, just one game back of the Los Angeles Rams for the NFC West title and their first ever playoff berth.
Things would not get much worse the following season as the Saints would go 1-15, taking them until the next-to-last game of the season for New Orleans to pick up their first and only win of the season.
After the season, the team was eventually broken up as Nolan was fired, Galbreath was traded to the Minnesota Vikings in the offseason, followed by the trade of Muncie to the San Diego Chargers following an 0-4 start to the 1981 season.
The Saints would not reach the postseason or record a winning season until 1987.
As for the Raiders, they entered the last week of the season with a chance to clinch a spot in the playoffs with a win, but they lost to the Seattle Seahawks 29-24 to finish the season with a 9-7 record and out of the playoffs for the second year in a row.
Three months later, Stabler would be traded to the Houston Oilers for their quarterback Dan Pastorini, in hopes of changing things up for both teams as the Oilers had made it to the AFC Championship Game the previous two seasons but had lost both times to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Stabler would lead the Oilers to a 11-5 record and a playoff berth where they met Stabler's old team in the AFC Wild Card Game, with Plunkett now the starter after Pastorini had gone down in the middle of the season with a broken leg.
The Raiders would get the best of Stabler as they beat him and the Oilers 27-7 on their way to a surprise Super Bowl title as they become the first Wild Card team to win the Super Bowl.
Stabler would remain with the Oilers for one more season before being released and then ironically signing with the Saints where would he would play until his retirement in 1984.