When the Washington Redskins traveled to Lambeau Field to take on the Green Bay Packers in Week 7 of the 1983 NFL season, millions of fans turned into ABC to see the two high-powered offenses face each other on "Monday Night Football".
What these viewers got to see was one of the greatest shootouts in NFL history in a game that for decades would remain the highest-scoring game in the history of "Monday Night Football".
The Redskins came into the game with a 5-1 record with their loss coming in their season opener a 31-30 heartbreaker to the Dallas Cowboys that also took placed on "Monday Night Football".
The Redskins were the defending Super Bowl champions but seemed to have only gotten better under head coach Joe Gibbs, whose offense had averaged nearly 30 points per game to start the 1983 season.
The offense was a balanced attack with fullback John Riggins aka "The Diesel" providing the running game while quarterback Joe Theismann directed the passing game with a group of wide receivers known as the "Fun Bunch" for their high-five touchdown celebration.
The "Fun Bunch" included Art Monk and Charlie Brown while scatback Joe Washington provided the Redskins with another weapon out of the backfield as the Skins had established themselves as the team to beat when it comes to the Super Bowl.
While the Redskins had aspirations of a second straight Super Bowl title, the Packers were hoping just to make the playoffs for the second year in a row following a 10-year dry spell.
Green Bay came into the game 3-3 under head coach Bart Starr, the Hall of Fame quarterback who led the Packers to five NFL championships and the first two Super Bowl wins, who was in his ninth year as coach of the Packers.
Much like Washington, Green Bay had a explosive offense led by quarterback Lynn Dickey and a wide receiving corps that featured John Jefferson and James Lofton at wide receiver plus all-pro tight end Paul Coffman.
While the offense was strong scoring a combined 161 points in the first six games of the season, the defense was not as it had given up a combined 166 points during that span.
If the Packers were going to knock off the defending Super Bowl champs, they probably would need their offense to score more their average of 26 points per game in order to win.
The fireworks got started on the third play of the game when Theismann completed a screen pass to Joe Washington who was hit by Packers linebacker Mike Douglass causing a fumble that was scooped up by Douglass and returned for a 22-yard touchdown to give Green Bay a 7-0 lead just 67 seconds into the game.
It would not take long for the Redskins respond as Mike Nelms returned the ensuing kickoff 41 yards to the Washington 45-yard-line which would followed by an one-yard run by Riggins on 1st down then a 34-yard pass from Theismann to Monk that put Washington at the Green Bay 20-yard-line.
Four plays later, the Redskins were in the end zone as tight end Clint Didier was able to land on top of a fumble after Riggins was hit at the one-yard-line, leading to the football being recovered in the end zone for a Washington touchdown which tied the game as the Packers offense was set to get the ball for the first time.
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| Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann would complete 27 of 39 passes for 398 yards and throw four touchdown passes. |
After an incomplete pass to start the drive, Dickey would complete passes of 17 yards to Lofton and 13 yards to Coffman to help set up Jan Sternud's 47-yard field goal which put the Packers back on top at 10-7 with 5:34 left in the first quarter.
The Redskins would get the ball back at their 35-yard line as Theismann hit Monk for 22 yards and then running back Nick Giaquinto for 31 yards to give Washington a 1st & goal at the Packers' six-yard-line.
However, the Green Bay defense would respond with two quarterback sacks to push the Redskins back 18 yards and forced them to settle for a 42-yard field goal by Moseley that tied the game again at 10 with 38 seconds to go in the first quarter.
The Packers would drive into Redskins territory as the opening quarter came to an end as a 21-yard pass from Dickey to Lofton that got 15 yards added on because of an unnecessary roughness penalty on cornerback Darrell Green put Green Bay at the Washington 36-yard-line.
As the second quarter began, Dickey connected with Coffman on a 36-yard touchdown to once again give the Packers the lead at 17-10.
Back came the Redskins with a seven-play, 67-yard touchdown drive which was almost exclusively Riggins as he carried the ball six times for 52 yards with his biggest runs by a 36-yard run on 3rd & 1 at the Washington 45-yard-line and then an one-yard touchdown run which tied the game again at 17.
The Packers seem poised to put some points on the board as they drove from their 24-yard-line to the Washington 33-yard-line on their ensuing possession until Dickey was intercepted by Redskins defensive back Anthony Washington to give the ball back to his offense at the Redskins' 29-yard-line.
The Packers defense would force the first punt of the game to get the ball back at their 27-yard-line and drove to the Redskins' 44-yard-line where they faced a 3rd & 1 when Green Bay pulled out a gadget play as Dickey handed the ball off to running back Eddie Lee Ivery, who then threw a pass for Coffman for 35 yards to give Green Bay a 1st & goal at the Washington nine-yard-line.
On the very next play, Coffman caught a nine-yard touchdown pass from Dickey to give Green Bay a 24-17 lead with 1:56 left before halftime.
That gave the Redskins plenty of time to drive down for more points as Washington went to their two-minute offense as Theismann completed five of his next nine passes for 63 yards to give Moseley a chance to kick a 28-yard field goal which he made before the end of the half to cut the Packers' lead to 24-20.
The Packers would get the ball at their 20-yard-line to start the second half where it took them only play to get into Redskins territory as Dickey found Lofton for 40 yards on the first play from scrimmage to put Green Bay at the Washington 40-yard-line.
After an incomplete pass, Dickey would threw passes of five yards running back Gerry Ellis and 11 yards to Lofton before handing the ball off to Ellis who ran for a 24-yard touchdown to increase the Packers' lead to 31-20 just 42 seconds into the second half.
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| Running back Gerry Ellis(31) accounted for 146 yards of total offense and scored one TD. |
The Redskins would begin its next possession at their 30-yard-line and drive down for an apparent touchdown as Theismann hit tight end Don Warren for a four-yard touchdown, only to have it called back as Warren was called for pass interference, pushing Washington back 10 yard and eventually settling for a 31-yard field goal by Moseley that cut the Green Bay lead to 31-23.
The Washington defense would then do something they had not been able to do all game: force a Green Bay punt as the Packers failed to pick up a 1st down after three plays.
However, Bucky Scribner never got the punt away as Washington defensive back Ken Coffey blocked the punt to give the Redskins the ball at the Packers' 19-yard-line.
Five plays later, the Redskins were in the end zone as Theismann threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Joe Washington which brought the Redskins to within a point at 31-30 with 5:25 left in the third quarter.
Following another Green Bay three-and-out, the Redskins would get the ball at their 46-yard-line as Joe Washington would carry the ball five times for 33 yards to help set up Moseley's 28-yard field goal which gave the Redskins their first lead of the game at 33-31 with 10 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
The momentum seemed in favor of the Redskins until the ensuing kickoff as Harlan Huckleby's 57-yard return gave the Packers the ball at the Washington 39-yard-line as the third quarter came to an end.
Dickey would hit Ellis for 32 yards to set up 1st & goal at the Redskins' seven-yard-line as Dickey completed a five-yard pass to Ivery to set up 2nd & goal when tight end Gary Lewis ran a reverse into the end zone for a two-yard touchdown to put Green Bay back on top 38-33 only 15 seconds into the fourth quarter.
The Redskins would come back with an eight-play, 70-yard drive which featured passes of 25 yards from Theismann to Monk and 16 yards to Charlie Brown to set up Riggins' one-yard touchdown run to give Washington a 40-38 lead with just under 10 minutes to go,
Back came the Packers as they drove 68 yards in six plays as Dickey four of five passes for 71 yards on the drive which featured a 19-yard pass to Jefferson, a 17-yard pass to Lofton, and then a 31-yard touchdown pass to running back Mike Meade to give the lead back to the Packers at 45-40.
The Redskins would get the ball back at their 28-yard-line as Theismann connected with Monk for 21 yards to start the drive, then found Giaquinto for 35 yards on a 2nd & 16 from the Green Bay 46-yard-line, and then capped off the nine-play, 72-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown pass to Joe Washington that put the Redskins on top 47-45 with 2:50 left in the game.
It was starting to look like whoever had the ball last would win the game and it looked like it might be the Packers as they begin their ensuing possession at their 36-yard-line.
However, the drive got off to an auspicious start as Dickey's first two passes of the drive were dropped to set up 3rd & 10 when Dickey found Ellis for 56 yards to give Green Bay a 1st & goal at the Redskins' eight-yard-line.
Ivery would then run the ball three straight times picking up five yards to give Sternud a chance to put Green Bay back on top with a 20-yard field goal.
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| Packers quarterback Lynn Dickey threw for 387 yards and three touchdowns on 22-of-31 passes. |
Sternud's kick was successful as the Packers now had a 48-47 lead with 49 seconds to go as the Redskins would get the ball back at their 27-yard-line with a chance to drive down for the winning score.
After an incomplete pass on 1st down, Theismann would hit back-to-back passes to Joe Washington which totaled 22 yards and gave the Redskins a 1st down at their 49-yard-line.
Following an incomplete pass, Theismann connected with Joe Washington again, this time for 11 yards, which was followed by a 18-yard pass to Brown that put the Redskins at the Green Bay 22-yard-line as Moseley came on to try and win the game with three seconds left.
It looked bleak for the Packers as Moseley had made 82% of his field goals from 40 yards or closer as this field goal attempt would be 39 yards.
But this time, Moseley's kick would sail wide right and no good as time expired, giving the Packers the 48-47 win in a game which featured a combined 95 points and 1,025 yards of total offense.
The Monday Night win over the Redskins would be the highlight of the Packers' season as they would go to finish with a 8-8 record which resulted in the firing of Starr as head coach.
Washington would not lose a game for the rest of the regular season as they finished with a NFL best 14-2 record as the Redskins finished with a then NFL record 541 points as they advanced to the Super Bowl for the second year in a row, only to get trounced by the Los Angeles Raiders 38-9 in Super Bowl XVIII.
As for the game, its legacy grew overtime as it remained the highest scoring game in the history of Monday Night Football for 35 years until the Rams knocked off the Chiefs 54-51 during the 2018 NFL season.
Then in 2019, the NFL named the Redskins-Packers shootout as the 75th greatest game in NFL history in celebration of the NFL"s 100th anniversary.
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