NFL Old School Game of the Week: Bills Clinch AFC East Title with Win over 49ers

Fans greet the Buffalo Bills after their 18-13 win over the San Francisco 49ers clinched the AFC East title for Buffalo.

As the Buffalo Bills traveled to San Francisco to take on the 49ers in the final week of the 1980 regular season, the Bills had a chance to do something they had not done since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970: win a division championship.

The Bills came into Week 16 with a 10-5 record needing a win or tie over the 49ers to secure the first division title for Buffalo since they won the Eastern Division title in the American Football League in 1966.

The Bills were led by head coach Chuck Knox, who after a five-year tenure with the Los Angeles Rams in which he led LA to five straight NFC West titles and three trips to the NFC Championship Game, left to become the Buffalo head coach in 1978.

After two straight losing seasons, the Bills become winners in 1980 as they ended a 20-game losing streak to the Miami Dolphins with a 17-7 over Miami in Week 1 as Buffalo jumped out to a 5-0 start.

The key to the Bills' turnaround was their defense which ranked first in fewest yards allowed as led by the trio of nose tackle Fred Smerlas and inside linebackers Jim Haslett and Shane Nelson, otherwise known as the "Bermuda Triangle" as opposing running backs could not get past this trio.

On offense, the Bills were led by quarterback Joe Ferguson, who had been the Buffalo starting quarterback since 1973 and running back Joe Cribbs who had rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie season.

However, Ferguson's status for the game against the 49ers was a question mark as he had sprained his left ankle in the first quarter of the Bills' 24-2 loss to the New England Patriots the week before.

While the Bills were hoping that their franchise quarterback could give it a go, the 49ers had no such issues at quarterback as they had found their quarterback of the future in Joe Montana.

Entering his third NFL season, Montana was named the 49ers starting quarterback by second year head coach Bill Walsh in the seventh week of the 1980 season in the midst of an eight-game losing streak for the 49ers.

While the 49ers were destined for their fourth straight losing season and seventh in eight years, San Francisco fans were given a glimmer of hope two weeks before the game with the Bills as Montana led the 49ers back from a 28-point halftime deficit to lead San Francisco to a 38-35 overtime win over the New Orleans Saints in what was at the time the greatest comeback in NFL history.

San Francisco came into their final game of the 1980 season with a 6-9 record as they had hoped to spoil the Bills' hopes of reaching the playoffs for the first time since 1974 on a muddy field in Candlestick Park.

 After the 49ers went three-and-out to start the game, the Bills would get the ball at their 24-yard-line when Ferguson handed the ball off to Cribbs, who took around the left side for a 48-yard run, his longest run of the season to put Buffalo at the San Francisco 28-yard-line after just one play.

Cribbs would run the ball on the next three plays, picking up 12 yards, before Curtis Brown get a carry for six yards to set up 3rd & 3 at the 49ers' 10-yard-line when Ferguson throw his first pass of the game which would be a touchdown to wide receiver Jerry Butler to give Buffalo a 6-0 lead as Nick Mike-Meyer's extra point would bounce off the upright.

The 49ers would begin their ensuing possession at their 23-yard-line as San Francisco would drive down the field with the help of a couple of Buffalo penalties as defensive end Sherman White would be called for roughing the passer to add 15 yards to an 11-yard pass from Montana to running back Earl Cooper to put San Francisco in Buffalo territory at the Bills' 38-yard-line.

Two plays later, Montana would complete a three-yard pass to running back Lenvil Elliott when linebacker Isiah Robertson would be called for unnecessary roughness to help put the 49ers at the Bills' nine-yard-line where they had a 1st & goal.

The 49ers would move to the four-yard-line where they faced 3rd & goal when Montana handed the ball off to Cooper, who took up the middle and fumbled the football before crossing the goal line as Smerlas would recover the fumble.

However, the referees ruled that Cooper had crossed the goal line before he fumbled the football even though replays showed that was not the case, as the controversial touchdown tied the game at six.

A holding penalty would push the 49ers back 10 yards for Ray Wersching's extra point which would bounce off the left upright to keep the game tied at six with 6:14 left in the first quarter.

Despite a gimpy ankle, Bills quarterback Joe Ferguson would complete 12 of 20 passes for 102 yards and throw one touchdown pass.

The Bills would hold the ball for the rest of the first quarter as they would drive from their 27-yard-line to the 49ers' 40-yard-line before punting the ball on the first play of the second quarter back to San Francisco, who would take over at their 20-yard-line as the Buffalo defense would force a three-and-out to give their offense the ball at the 49ers' 43-yard-line.

But the three-and-out would be costly as Nelson would be lost for the game with a broken right wrist as he was replaced by former Raider linebacker Phil Villapiano.

The Bills would drive down the field behind the right arm of Ferguson as the veteran quarterback would complete a 14-yard pass to Frank Lewis, then hit tight end Mark Bremmer on two straight 3rd down situations, to help set up a four-yard touchdown run by Brown that with a successful extra point gave Buffalo a 13-6 lead with 9:01 left in the second quarter.

The 49ers would start their next drive at their 29-yard-line as the 49ers would methodically drive down to the Buffalo two-yard-line where they were faced with a 4th & goal situation when Walsh decided to go for the touchdown instead of attempting the field goal.

On the play, Montana would roll to his right and threw a pass toward the end zone intended for Elliott only to have Bills strong safety Steve Freeman knock the ball down to force a turnover on downs and give the ball back to Buffalo at their two-yard-line with 1:59 left before halftime.

The Bills would run the ball four straight times to run out the clock on the first half with Buffalo ahead 13-6 as they were 30 minutes away from a division title.

Buffalo would get the ball to start the second half as they would pick up one 1st down before punting the ball back to the 49ers, who would take over at their 43-yard-line as Cooper would run for six yards to begin the drive to bring up 2nd & 4 when Cooper would run 47 yards before being knocked out of bounds at the Buffalo four-yard-line.

After a two-yard run by Elliott, Montana would find Eason Ramson for a two-yard touchdown that with the extra point tied the game at 13 with 11:20 left in the third quarter.

The Bills would start their next drive at their 30-yard-line as Ferguson would go deep for Lewis as the wide receiver would draw a pass interference penalty on 49ers cornerback Gerard Williams to give Buffalo a 1st down at the San Francisco 35-yard-line.

From there, the Bills would drive to the 49ers' eight-yard-line until Mike-Meyer would come on to kick a 25-yard field goal to give Buffalo a 16-13 lead with 5:33 left in the third quarter.

On their ensuing possession, the 49ers would move from their 25-yard-line to their 42-yard-line before they lined up to punt the ball back to the Bills when the snap went over punter Jim Miller's head as Miller would fall on the ball in the end zone until he was touched by defensive end Ken Johnson for a safety to extend Buffalo's lead to 18-13 with 1:38 to go in the third quarter.

Running back Roland Hooks would receive the free kick at his 28-yard-line and ran it back 30 yards until he was hit by the 49ers' Ricky Patton to knock the ball loose as cornerback Ray Rhodes would recover the ball to give San Francisco the ball at their 41-yard-line.

The 49ers would go three-and-out to punt the ball back to the Bills, who would take over at their 20-yard-line as two runs by Cribbs would go for 26 yards to put the Bills at their 46-yard-line when Ferguson would fumble a snap from center as defensive tackle Archie Reese would recover it to give San Francisco the ball at the Buffalo 45-yard-line early in the fourth quarter.

San Francisco would use its running game to drive down the field as they would run the ball on seven of their next eight plays as the 49ers drove down to the Bills' eight-yard-line until disaster struck when Cooper fumbled the football when he was hit by Buffalo linebacker Lucas Sanford as cornerback Mario Clark would make the recovery at the San Francisco five-yard-line with 8:30 left in the fourth quarter.

Bills running back Joe Cribbs would run for 128 yards on 18 carries.

The two teams would exchange punts until the 49ers got the ball at their 24-yard-line with 3:23 left in the game as the drive would begin with a four-yard loss by Cooper which was followed by a 12-yard pass from Montana to Elliott to set up 3rd & 2 as the two-minute warning hit.

Following the timeout, Elliott would run for four yards to give the 49ers a 1st down at their 36-yard-line as Montana would hit Dwight Clark for nine yards, then completing a three-yard pass to Cooper to put San Francisco at their 48-yard-line with a fresh set of downs.

Three plays later, the 49ers were forced with a 4th & 10 situation when Montana found Clark over the middle for 18 yards and a 1st down at the Bills' 34-yard-line with 28 seconds to go in the game.

Montana would complete an one-yard pass to Freddie Soloman before throwing an incomplete pass to set up 3rd & 9 at the 33-yard-line with nine seconds to go when Montana threw a Hail Mary pass to the left corner of the end zone that tight end Charlie Young got his hands around the ball but could not bring it down as Buffalo cornerback Charles Romes would knock the ball out of Young's hands to make the pass incomplete with two seconds to go.

That gave Montana another chance at a Hail Mary pass at the left corner of the end zone as time expired as the pass was batted around before it fell to the ground and incomplete to give the Bills the 18-13 win and the AFC East division title.

The "Bills Mafia" were so excited by the division title that nearly 8,000 fans braved the 13-degree night to greet their beloved Bills when they arrived at the Buffalo airport at 3:30 in the morning following the win over the 49ers.

Buffalo would get a first round bye as all division champions did in the 1980 NFL playoffs before traveling to San Diego to take on the Chargers in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs.

The Bills led late in the game until Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Ron Smith with 2:06 left in the game to give San Diego a 20-14 win to end Buffalo's dream of making it to the Super Bowl.

The Bills would respond the following year by going 10-6 to earn a spot in the AFC Wild Card Game where they would defeat the New York Jets 31-27 after building up a 24-0 1st quarter lead to earn Buffalo its first playoff win since the 1965 AFL Championship.

Buffalo's 1981 season would end the following week in a 28-21 defeat to the Cincinnati Bengals as the Bills would not return to the postseason until 1988 which began a six-year run of playoff appearances that included four straight AFC Championships from 1990 through 1993.

College Football Old School Game of the Week: By An Inch, Alabama Ends Auburn's 21-Game Undefeated Streak

 

One of the biggest cliches in football is that it is a game of inches.

That cliche could be used to describe the ending of the 1994 Iron Bowl as the Auburn Tigers faced with the Alabama Crimson Tide in the annual meeting between the two schools that divide the state of Alabama.

For only the second time in the history of the rivalry, both teams came into the game without a loss as Alabama entered the game with a 10-0 record while Auburn came into the game with a 9-0-1 record.

The Crimson Tide were led by head coach Gene Stallings, who was in his fifth season as the Alabama head coach as he had led the Tide to the 1992 national championship, the school's first since 1979.

On the field, the Tide were led by quarterback Jay Barker, who had complied a 33-1-1 record during his time at Alabama, plus running back Sherman Williams, who had rushed for over 1,000 yards during the season and a stout defense, while not as good as the one in 1992, was still strong having given up an average of 13.5 points per game.

Alabama had already clinched a spot in the SEC Championship Game where they would face the Florida Gators in two weeks but first they had to defeat their arch rival in the Iron Bowl.

Auburn was led by head coach Terry Bowden, son of Florida State Seminoles head coach Bobby Bowden, who took after Pat Dye stepped down as head coach following a NCAA investigation that put Auburn on probabation and banned them from postseason play in 1993 and 1994.

Bowden would lead Auburn to a shocking 11-0 season in 1993 which included a 22-14 win over the Tide in the 1993 Iron Bowl which was only the second time the game was played at Auburn's Jordan-Hare Stadium.

In 1994, the Tigers had pulled out dramatic victories over LSU and Florida(To read about those games, click on the links which are highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2017/10/college-football-old-school-game-of_11.html and https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2019/10/college-football-old-school-game-of.html) to extend their winning streak to 20 until a shocking 23-23 tie against the Georgia Bulldogs one week prior to the Iron Bowl handed Bowden his first non-win since becoming the Auburn head coach.

Bowden and the Tigers hoped to rebound from the tie with another win over Alabama as the two teams faced off in Legion Field in Birmingham for the 1994 Iron Bowl.

  After Auburn went three-and-out to start the game, Alabama would get the ball at their 22-yard-line to as a 26-yard run by Williams on the first play of the drive followed by a 25-yard run by fullback Tarrant Lynch help lead the Tide to the Auburn 19-yard-line to set up a 36-yard field goal attempt by Michael Proctor.

However, Proctor's kick would side wide right to keep the game scoreless as the two teams would exchange punts on their next possessions until the Crimson Tide defense forced a turnover when linebacker Michael Rogers knocked the ball loose from running back Stephen Davis which was recovered by Alabama strong safety Sam Shade to give the Tide the ball at the Auburn 47-yard-line.

From there, the Tide would drive 47 yards in eight plays as Barker would complete passes on two straight 3rd down conversions, first finding Curtis Brown for 11 yards on 3rd & 7, followed by a 13-yard screen pass to Lynch on 3rd & 9, to set up Williams' 13-yard touchdown run to give Alabama a 7-0 lead with 2:38 left in the first quarter.

Following an Auburn three-and-out, the Tide got the ball back at their 31-yard-line as a holding penalty would negate a five-yard run by Williams and push Bama back to its 26-yard-line where they would face a 1st & 15 situation.

That is when Barker fired a pass over the middle for Toderick Malone, who made the catch at the Alabama 45-yard-line, then outran the Auburn defense for a 74-yard touchdown on the final play of the first quarter to extend the Crimson Tide's lead to 14-0.

The Tigers would begin their next possession at their 20-yard-line as quarterback Patrick Nix would complete a 27-yard pass to Thomas Bailey to give Auburn a 1st down at their 47-yard-line as they would drive into Alabama territory before punting the ball back to the Tide who would take over at their 13-yard-line.

It would take the Tide six plays to get back into the end zone as Barker would throw a 49-yard touchdown pass to Marcell West to increase Alabama's lead to 21-0 with 10:25 left in the second quarter.

The Auburn defense try to converge on running back Sherman Williams(20) who would run for 164 yards on 27 carries.

Auburn would start its next drive at their 20-yard-line as they nearly avoided disaster when on 3rd & 9, Nix was intercepted by Alabama cornerback Deshea Townsend, only to have the play be nullified by offsetting penalties, which meant Alabama would not take over in Auburn territory with a chance to make it 28-0.

Following the negated pick, the two teams would trade punts for the rest of the first half as the Tide would go into the locker room ahead 21-0 after a first half in which they complied 278 yards of total offense compared to 76 by the Tigers.

Alabama would get the ball to start the second half as they would drive from their 38-yard-line to the Auburn 19-yard-line until Barker fumbled the football following a quarterback sack which was recovered by Tigers defensive tackle Mike Pelton to give Auburn the football at their 28-yard-line.

The drive would begin with a 19-yard run by Davis followed by two straight running plays for six yards to set up 3rd & 4 when Nix completed a six-yard pass to Bailey to give the Tigers their first 3rd down conversion of the game and a fresh set of downs at the Alabama 41-yard-line

Two plays later on 3rd & 10, Nix would complete a 20-yard screen pass to running back Fred Beasley to give Auburn a 1st down at the Alabama 21-yard-line as Nix would find Bailey for nine yards on 1st down, then scramble for four yards on 2nd down to give Auburn a 1st & goal at the Crimson Tide eight-yard-line.

A three-yard run by running back Harold Morrow followed by an incomplete pass set up 3rd & goal from the Alabama five-yard-line when Nix completed a four-yard pass to Hicks Poor to put Auburn at the one-yard-line where they were faced with a 4th & goal.

Bowden would go for the touchdown which he got as Nix sneaked in for the one-yard touchdown to complete the 13-play, 72-yard drive and cut Alabama's lead to 21-7 with 5:03 remaining in the third quarter.

The Tide would hold the ball for the rest of the third quarter as they would drive 71 yards in 19 plays only to come away with zero points as Barker would be intercepted in the end zone by Auburn strong safety Brian Robinson, as he ran it out of the end zone before being knocked out of bounds at his 19-yard-line.

On the next play from scrimmage, Nix would throw a bomb for Bailey, who made the catch for a 48-yard gain to put Auburn at the Alabama 33-yard-line as the Tigers would drive to the Crimson Tide 18-yard-line, poised to make it an one-score game.

However, Crimson Tide defensive end Dameain Jeffries would deflect a Nix pass to make the interception to end the Tigers scoring threat and give Alabama the ball back at their 30-yard-line midway through the fourth quarter.

Alabama would run the ball five straight times before punting the ball back to the Tigers who would take over at their 26-yard-line with 4:02 remaining in the game and needing two touchdowns.

A six-yard scramble by Nix would start the drive as an incomplete pass would bring up 3rd & 4 where Nix hit Poor for five yards to give Auburn a 1st down at their 37-yard-line.

Following two incomplete passes, Nix would complete a 16-yard screen pass to Beasley to put the Tigers in Alabama territory as Nix would find Poor for eight yards, then Sanders for nine yards to give Auburn a 1st down at the Alabama 30-yard-line.

A two-yard pass to Beasley would get 15 yards added on to it as the Tide were called for 12 men on the field to put the Tigers at the Alabama 13-yard-line as Nix would find Sanders for 12 yards to make it 1st & goal at the one-yard-line when Nix snuck it in for the touchdown to end the 12-play, 74-yard drive and cut the Crimson Tide lead to 21-14 with 2:23 to go in the game.

Auburn quarterback Patrick Nix would complete 23 of 42 passes for 247 yards and run for two touchdowns.

The Tigers would attempt an onside kick but Lynch would recover it to give the Tide the ball at the Auburn 46-yard-line with a chance to pick up a 1st down to run out the clock and secure the victory for Alabama.

However, the Tide could not pick up a 1st down as the Tigers spend all three timeouts before Bryne Diehl would come on to punt the ball back to the Tigers as Alabama would down the punt at the one-yard-line with 1:47 to go in the game.

Needing to go 99 yards for a touchdown, the Tigers' drive began with an incomplete pass which was followed by two straight passes from Nix to Beasley that totaled 26 yards to move Auburn to its 27-yard-line.

Nix would then hit Sanders for nine yards which was followed by a 15-yard scramble by the quarterback to put Auburn at the Alabama 49-yard-line.

Two straight incomplete passes would force a 3rd down when Nix completed a seven-yard pass to Beasley to set up a do-or-die 4th & 3 from the Alabama 42-yard-line.

That is when Nix completed a short pass across the middle for Sanders who was hit immediately by Shade close to the 1st down marker as both sides celebrated as the Tide thought that Shade had stopped Sanders short of the 1st down while the Tigers thought that Sanders had picked up the 1st down.

The chain gang would come onto the field to measure it and at first it looked like the Tigers had made the 1st down but when the referees bent down to see if the ball had touched the marker, they signaled that Sanders had not made the 1st down and the ball would go back to Alabama at their 40-yard-line.

Barker would take a knee to run out the clock as the Crimson Tide handed Bowden his first loss as Auburn head coach with Alabama winning the game 21-14.

The Tigers would end the season with a 9-1-1 record as they would finish ranked #9 in the final AP poll as Bowden would remain the Auburn head coach until midway through the 1998 season when he resigned following a 1-5 start to the '98 season.

As for the Tide, their chances at a second national title in three years were dashed in the SEC Championship Game as they fell to the Florida Gators 24-23 as Alabama would finish the season playing Ohio State in the Citrus Bowl where a 24-17 victory over the Buckeyes would earn the Tide a top 5 ranking in both the final AP and coaches polls.

NFL Old School Game of the Week: Peterson's Breakthrough Performance Leads Vikings to Win over Bears

 

Vikings running back Adrian Peterson complied 361 all purpose yards in a 2007 game with the Bears.

There are times in an athlete's career where a certain play or performance tells the world that this athlete is special and is going to be a force for years to come.

Such was the case for Adrian Peterson as he put together a performance for the ages in the Minnesota Vikings' Week 6 game with the Chicago Bears during the 2007 season.

The Vikings came into the game with a 1-3 record under second-year head coach Brad Childress, who was hoping to improve on a 6-10 season in 2006 as Minnesota hoped to return to the postseason for the first time since 2004.

The Vikings used their top pick in the 2007 NFL draft to select Peterson with the #7 overall pick despite already having running back Chester Taylor who had run for 1,216 yards during the previous season.

Peterson ran for 103 yards in the Vikings' season opener, a 24-3 win over the Atlanta Falcons, as Minnesota would lose their next three games despite Peterson running for over 100 yards in two of those games.

The bye came at just right the time for the Vikings following Minnesota's third straight loss which allowed starting quarterback Tavares Jackson, who had missed two games because of a groin injury, to return to the lineup as the Vikings traveled to Chicago to take on their division rivals.

The Bears came into the game with a 2-3 record as Chicago was seeking a return trip to the Super Bowl after falling to the Indianapolis Colts 29-17 eight months earlier in Super Bowl XLI.

However, things got off to a bad start as starting quarterback Rex Grossman accounted for 10 turnovers in the Bears' first three games leading to head coach Lovie Smith to bench him in favor of Brian Griese.

Griese lost his first start against the Detroit Lions but won his second start against the Green Bay Packers as the Bears' best offense remained their kick returner Devin Hester, who after returning a combined six kicks back for touchdowns in 2006, had already returned one punt and one kickoff for a touchdown in Chicago's first five games of the season.

After the Bears punted on their opening possession of the game, the Vikings took over at their 14-yard-line as it took them six plays to travel to their 40-yard-line until Peterson got his first carry of the game which would go for no gain.

Peterson would get loose on his next carry as he would run for 27 yards to put the Vikings at the Bears' 33-yard-line as the next three plays would net zero yards as Minnesota would punt the ball back to Chicago who would start their next drive at their 20-yard-line.

The Vikings would force the Bears to punt again to get the ball back at their 19-yard-line as Peterson would catch a nine-yard pass from Jackson to start the drive, then got three carries for five yards before Minnesota punted the ball back to Chicago.

That is when the "Windy City Flyer" struck as Hester would return the ensuing punt 89 yards for a touchdown to give the Bears a 7-0 lead with 1:56 left in the first quarter.

Peterson would return the ensuing kickoff 22 yards to the Minnesota 26-yard-line as it would take three plays for the Vikings to drive to their 40-yard-line until Jackson connected with Troy Williamson on a 60-yard touchdown that with the extra point tied the game at seven as the first quarter came to an end.

Chicago would start its next possession at their 33-yard-line as it would take them six plays to get back into the end zone as Griese would throw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Bernard Berrian to give the Bears a 14-7 lead with 11:45 to go in the second quarter.

The two teams would trade punts until 4:22 left in the second quarter when the Vikings took over at their 20-yard-line as Jackson would complete a nine-yard pass to Robert Ferguson, then handed the ball off to Taylor who would run for four yards to pick up a 1st down before getting another carry that would go for no gain that would set up 2nd & 10 at the Minnesota 33-yard-line.

That is when Peterson took a handoff from Jackson, ran to his left before cutting to his right, then broke the tackle of Bears free safety Brandon McGowan on his way to a 67-yard touchdown to help tie the game at 14 with 2:19 left before halftime.

The Bears would begin their next possession at their 30-yard-line as Griese would complete two straight passes for 17 yards to give Chicago a 1st down at their 47-yard-line as Griese would then two straight incomplete passes before firing a nine-yard pass to Mark Bradley to set up a 4th & 1 at the Minnesota 44-yard-line.

Chicago would go for the 1st down only to have Griese fumble the football which was recovered by Minnesota defensive tackle Pat Williams to give the Vikings the ball at their 43-yard-line.

The Vikings would go three-and-out to give the ball back to the Bears who took over at their 20-yard-line as they would drive to their 36-yard-line before fumbling the ball to the Vikings on the final play of the first half as the game remain tied at 14.

Devin Hester would return a punt for a touchdown to go along with a 81-yard touchdown reception.

The third quarter would be a stalemate until 2:44 left in the third quarter when Peterson put together his second long touchdown of the game, this one for 73 yards to give the Vikings their first lead of the game at 21-14.

The Bears would get the ball back at their 35-yard-line as Griese would complete three of his next four passes for 18 yards to move Chicago into Viking territory at the Minnesota 48-yard-line until he was intercepted by Vikings linebacker Ben Leber on the final play of the third quarter to give the ball back to the Vikings at their 36-yard-line.

The Vikings would drive to the Bears' 30-yard-line before settling for a 48-yard field goal by Ryan Longwell to extend Minnesota's lead to 24-14 with 11:31 to go in the fourth quarter.

Chicago would get great field position to start its next possession as the Vikings kicked away from Hester as Rashied Davis would return the ensuing kickoff 20 yards to the Bears' 42-yard-line.

A 31-yard pass from Griese to tight end Greg Olsen would help set up a 32-yard field goal by Robbie Gould to cut the Vikings' lead to 24-17 with 8:37 to go in regulation.

The Vikings would begin their next possession at their 32-yard-line as they would drive to the Bears' 35-yard-line until Peterson ran down the right sideline as he avoided three attempt by Chicago tacklers to knock him out of bounds as the rookie would cross the 200-yard mark on his third touchdown of the game to increase the Vikings' lead to 31-17 with 4:10 remaining in in the game.

The game appeared to be over especially when on the Bears' next play from scrimmage, Griese was picked off by Vikings free safety Dwight Smith on a pass intended for Mushin Muhammad to give Minnesota the ball at its 26-yard-line with a chance to run out the clock.

However, the Bears defense would force a three-and-out to give their offense the ball back at their 47-yard-line with 2:56 left in regulation.

Griese would complete a 20-yard pass to Berrian to start the drive then after an incomplete pass, Brian hit Muhammad for a 33-yard touchdown that will cut the Vikings' lead to 31-24 with 2:36 to go in the fourth quarter.

The Bears would attempt an onside kick but the Vikings would recover as they would take over at the Chicago 39-yard-line with another chance to run out the clock.

But the Vikings would go backwards as they would lose seven yards on three straight running plays, forcing them to punt the ball back to the Bears who would take over at their 19-yard-line with 1:53 left on the clock and no timeouts.

After an incomplete pass on 1st down, Griese would throw a bomb for Hester, who would make the catch at the Minnesota 35-yard-line,and then outrun the Minnesota defense to go into the end zone for the shocking 81-yard touchdown that with Gould's extra point tied the game at 31 with 1:38 left in regulation.

After giving up two touchdowns in less than a minute, the Vikings seemed to be on their heels until the ensuing kickoff when Peterson struck again as his 53-yard return would put Minnesota at the Bears' 38-yard-line with exactly 90 seconds to go.

Ryan Longwell raises his arms in celebration after his game-winning field goal.

Taylor would run for five yards on 1st down to seemingly put the Vikings in field goal range only for Jackson to throw an incomplete pass on 2nd down which was followed by Peterson being dropped for a four-yard loss as Minnesota would run the clock down to four seconds left before calling timeout and sending in Longwell to attempt a 55-yard field goal.

Despite having a chance to end the game in regulation, the game seemed destined for overtime as Longwell had never made a kick of longer than 55 yards in his entire career to go along with the fact that his longest field goal up to this point in the season had been 49 yards.

But Longwell would make the kick as the ball barely barley crossed the crossbar as time expired to give the Vikings a 34-31 win, thanks in large part to Peterson's 224-yard performance on 20 carries to go along with his four kickoff returns for 128 yards.

The Bears would not get over their Super Bowl hangover as they would go on to finish the season with a 7-9 record as Chicago would not return to the postseason until 2010.

As for the Vikings, they would go on to finish the season with an 8-8 record as Peterson would be named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year after he ran for 1,341 yards including his 296-yard performance in a win against the San Diego Chargers to set the single game record for most rushing yards inn one NFL game.

Peterson would go on to a spectacular career as he would run for 14,918 yards over the course of his 15-year career to currently land at 5th place on the NFL's career rushing yards list.

College Football Old School Game of the Week: Sanders Celebrates Heisman Trophy Win with Spectacular Performance in Japan

 

Barry Sanders would finish the 1988 regular season with another 300-plus rushing performance against Texas Tech in Tokyo, Japan.

When Barry Sanders won the 1988 Heisman Trophy, he was not in New York to accept the award.

Instead, he was in Tokyo waiting in the lobby of the Miyako Hotel in Tokyo, Japan just a few hours before he and the Oklahoma State Cowboys would take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the 1988 Coca-Cola Classic at the Tokyo Dome.

Sanders had complied a season for the ages as he had run for 2,296 yards and scored 35 touchdowns as he broke 18 NCAA records including the one for most touchdowns in a season by one player as Oklahoma State as Barry needed just 47 seconds to break Marcus Allen's record for most rushing yards in a season which he set in 1981.

But Sanders was not alone as he was surrounded by quarterback and future Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy and all-American wide receiver Hart Lee Dykes as they were a part of an offense averaged 47.7 points per game with their lowest total being 28 in their loss to Oklahoma(To read about the Oklahoma game, click on the link which is highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/college-football-old-school-game-of_19.html).

Under head coach Pat Jones, the Cowboys had already accepted an invitation to play the University of Wyoming in the Holiday Bowl at the end of December 1988, as Oklahoma State was two wins away from a second straight 10-win season and third in five years.

The Cowboys' opponent in Tokyo were the Red Raiders out of the Southwest Conference who entered the game with a 5-5 record under second year head coach Spike Dykes, who would not be participating a bowl game despite needing one more win to become bowl eligible.

The Red Raiders also had a explosive offense led by quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver as Texas Tech had averaged 34.4 points over its last five games as they had overcome a 1-4 start to give themselves a chance at a second straight winning season if they could upset the Cowboys in Tokyo.

Texas Tech would get the ball to start the game but would immediately give it right back to the Cowboys as Tolliver try to hit wide receiver Tyrone Thurman on a deep pass on the first play of the game, only to be intercepted by Oklahoma State cornerback Melvin Gilliam, whose eight-yard return gave the Oklahoma State offense the ball at their 43-yard-line.

The Cowboys would drive 57 yards in 10 plays with Sanders carrying the ball seven times for 31 yards with his last carry being a dive into the end zone for a one-yard touchdown to give Oklahoma State a 7-0 lead.

The Red Raiders would begin their ensuing possession at their 20-yard-line as Tolliver would complete four of five passes for 53 yards on a 10-play, 80-yard drive that culminated with running back Jerry Gray punching it in for a one-yard touchdown that with the extra point tied the game at seven with 5:15 left in the first quarter.

The Cowboys would get the ball back at their 21-yard-line for their next possession as Sanders needed just 16 yards to break Allen's single-season record.

Sanders would run for six yards on the opening play of the possession which was followed by an 11-yard run by fullback Garrett Limback to give the Cowboys a 1st down at their 38-yard-line.

Sanders would then lose four yards on 1st down which was followed by a one-yard pass from Gundy to Sanders on 2nd down to set up 3rd & 13 at the Oklahoma State 35-yard-line.

That is when Gundy handed the ball off to Sanders on a draw play that picked up 15 yards to break Allen's record and give the Cowboys a 1st down at the 50-yard-line.

The Cowboys would drive to the Texas Tech 28-yard-line when faced with a 4th & 2 to start the second quarter, Jones decided to go for the 1st down instead of attempting a field goal, which would backfire as Gundy would trip over his center for a four-yard loss to give the Red Raiders the ball at their 32-yard-line.

After a Texas Tech punt, the Cowboys would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line only to turn it over on the first play of their ensuing possession as Gundy was intercepted by Red Raiders free safety Brian Dubiski to give Texas Tech the ball at the Oklahoma State 35-yard-line.

The Red Raiders would move to the Oklahoma State 25-yard-line until Scott Segriest would come on to attempt a 42-yard field goal which he would fail to make to keep the game tied at seven.

Following an Oklahoma State punt, the Red Raiders would begin their next drive at their 23-yard-line as they would drive 77 yards in eight plays as Tolliver completed all four of his passes on the drive for 60 yards with the last completion being a six-yard touchdown pass to Gray to give Texas Tech a 14-7 lead with 6:32 left in the second quarter.

Texas Tech quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver would throw for a then school record 446 yards on 28-of-41 passing.

The Cowboys would get the ball back at their 17-yard-line as they slowly move to their 44-yard-line until Gundy pitched the ball to Sanders, who then broke three tacklers on his way to a 56-yard touchdown that with the extra point tied the game at 14 with 4:28 to go in the second quarter.

The Red Raiders would start their next possession at their 27-yard-line as a 12-yard pass from Tolliver to Thurman plus a 15-yard penalty on the Cowboys and a 19-yard pass to running back Ervin Farris put Texas Tech at the Oklahoma State 27-yard-line.

However, penalties would push the Red Raiders all the way back to their 48-yard-line where they faced a seemingly insurmountable 2nd & 35 when Tolliver found Thurman for 24 yards then handed the ball off to Gray who ran for three yards to set up 4th & 8 at the Oklahoma State 25-yard-line.

The Red Raiders would go for the 1st down which they got as Tolliver completed a 21-yard pass to Farris to give Texas Tech a 1st & goal at the Oklahoma State four-yard-line when Gray ran it in for the four-yard touchdown to give the Red Raiders a 21-14 led with 1:47 left before halftime

Taking over at their 22-yard-line, the Cowboys would turn to Sanders to get them down the field as he would run the ball four times for 53 yards to get Oklahoma State down to the Texas Tech 14-yard-line until Gundy was sacked by Red Raiders defensive lineman John Elliott for a 11-yard-loss, forcing the Cowboys to settle for a 43-yard field goal by Cary Blanchard as time expired in the first half with the Red Raiders ahead 21-17.

Oklahoma State would get the ball to start the second half as the Cowboys would get the ball at their 23-yard-line as they would drive 77 yards in nine plays with the drive being capped off with a 11-yard touchdown pass from Gundy to Dykes to give Oklahoma State a 24-21 lead.

The Cowboy defense would force the Red Raiders to punt on their next possession to give their offense the ball back at their 20-yard-line as a penalty would push Oklahoma State back to its 10-yard-line to face a 1st & 20 when Gundy found Dykes for a 32-yard completion to give the Cowboys a 1st down at their 42-yard-line.

Disaster nearly struck for the Cowboys on their next play from scrimmage when Sanders fumbled the ball at the end of a 23-yard run only to be saved by tight end Robert Kirksey, allowing Oklahoma State to keep possession at the Texas Tech 35-yard-line.

Six plays later, the Cowboys were back in the end zone as Gundy hit Dykes for a six-yard touchdown to increase Oklahoma State's lead to 31-21 with eight minutes to go in the third quarter.

The Red Raiders would begin their next possession at their 20-yard-line as Tolliver completed a pair of 14-yard pass to Farris and two passes to Thurman that totaled 43 yards to set up Gray's one-yard touchdown run which cut the Oklahoma State lead to 31-28 with 2:45 remaining in the third quarter.

The Cowboys would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line where after a two-yard run by Sanders to start the drive, the Heisman Trophy winner would catch a swing pass from Gundy and turn into a 66-yard play to put Oklahoma State at the Texas Tech 12-yard-line.

Three plays later, Sanders would punch it in for a two-yard touchdown which pushed the Cowboys' lead back to 10 points at 38-28 with 27 seconds left in the third quarter.

It would take the Red Raiders three plays to get back into the end zone as running back Clifford Winston would run for 40 yards on the first play of Texas Tech's ensuing possession, then run for eight more yards to set up Tolliver's 37-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Sprinkles on the first play of the fourth quarter to cut Oklahoma State's lead to 38-35.

The Cowboys would start their next possession at their 14-yard-line as five plays took them to their 35-yard-line where they faced a 4th & 1 situation when Jones decided to gamble and go for the 1st down which he got when Sanders ran for six yards to give Oklahoma State a 1st down at their 41-yard-line.

After two passes to Limbrick gained eight yards, Gundy had a pass batted down on 3rd & 2 to bring up 4th down when the Cowboys lined up to punt, only for them to run a fake as the snap went to Limbrick who ran for five yards to give Oklahoma State a fresh set of downs at the Texas Tech 47-yard-line.

Following a Sanders run that went for no gain, Limbrick would run for 16 yards that got 15 yards added on to it because of a Texas Tech penalty to put the Cowboys at the Red Raiders 16-yard-line.

Sanders would then run for two yards which would be followed by a 11-yard pass from Gundy to tight end Vance Vice to give Oklahoma State a 1st & goal at the Texas Tech three-yard-line as Sanders would run it for a three-yard touchdown to make it a 10-point game once again as Oklahoma State took a 45-35 lead with 9:28 left in the game.

Back came the Red Raiders as a 59-yard bomb from Tolliver to Rodney Blackshear on the opening play of Texas Tech's next drive would lead to a two-yard touchdown run by Isaac Garrett cut the Cowboys' lead to 45-42 with 7:43 to go in the game.

Sanders accepts the award for MVP of the Coca-Cola Classic.

The Cowboys would then hold the ball for over five minutes as they drove from their 29-yard-line to the Texas Tech 45-yard-line before punting the ball back to the Red Raiders who would take over at their 15-yard-line with a chance to salvage a tie or win the game.

After an incomplete pass to start the drive, Tolliver would complete a 24-yard pass to Travis Price, only for it to be downgraded to a four-yard pass because of a clipping penalty as the Red Raiders would face a 2nd & 6 at their 19-yard-line.

Tolliver would then complete passes of nine yards to Farris and 24 yards to Price to put Texas Tech at the Oklahoma State 48-yard-line when Anthony Lynn fumbled the football after catching a short pass as Cowboys defensive tackle Brandon Colbert would recover the fumble to give the Cowboys the ball at their 48-yard-line with a chance to run out the clock.

The Cowboys would fail to pick up a 1st down as they would punt the ball back to the Red Raiders who would take over at their 18-yard-line with only a handful of seconds to play.

Tolliver would throw one incomplete pass before firing a desperation Hail Mary pass on the final play of the game which would be picked off by Gilliam to end the game with the Cowboys on top 45-42.

Sanders would finish the game with 332 yards on 44 carries, the fourth time he rushed for more than 300 yards in a game, to bring his season total to 2,628 yards and 39 touchdowns.

Almost a month later, Sanders would suit up one final time for the Cowboys as he would run for 222 yards on 29 carries and score five touchdowns in a 62-14 thrashing of Wyoming in the Holiday Bowl to give Oklahoma State its 10th win of the season as they would finish ranked #11 in both the final coaches and AP polls.

Sanders would then go on to be selected with the #3 overall pick in the 1989 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions as he would go to have a Hall-of-Fame career as he ran for 15,269 yards over ten seasons.

NFL Old School Game of the Week: Fryar's Hail Mary TD Gives Patriots Win over Rams

Irving Fryar holds the ball up high after catching the game-winning touchdown in the Patriots' 1986 game with the Rams.

In Game 5 of the 1986 American League Championship Series, the California Angels were one strike from advancing to the World Series until Dave Henderson hit a two-run home run to give the Boston Red Sox a 6-5 in the 9th inning of a game in which Boston would win 7-6 after innings as the Red Sox would overcome a 3-1 series deficit to win the American League pennant to earn a trip to the World Series.

Almost a month after that fateful game, another Boston sports teams would pull off a miracle win in that stadium, Anaheim Stadium, as the New England Patriots faced off with the Los Angeles Rams in a key week 11 game of the 1986 NFL season.

The Patriots came into the game with a 7-3 record as New England was hoping to make another run to the Super Bowl were one year earlier, the Patriots made the NFL playoffs as a Wild Card team and won three games on the road to win the AFC championship.

New England was led by head coach Raymond Berry, who was in his second full season as the Patriots head coach with his starting quarterback being Tony Eason, who was selected with the #15 overall pick in the 1983 NFL Draft as Eason was the fourth of the six quarterbacks picked in the first round in a class that included John Elway, Jim Kelly, and Dan Marino.

After going back-and-forth as the Patriots starting quarterback for the past two seasons with veteran Steve Grogan, Eason was firmly set as the starting quarterback in the 1986 season as he had started all but two games up to this point in the season.

While the Patriots had seemingly found their franchise quarterback, the Rams were still looking for their as they also came into the game with a 7-3 record under head coach John Robinson, who was in his fourth season as the LA head coach.

The Rams had made the playoffs the previous three seasons primarily on the legs of Eric Dickerson, as he had finished as the NFL's leading rusher in his first two seasons in 1983 and 1984 with Dickerson breaking the single season rushing record in 1984 as he ran for 2,105 yards.

However, the Rams' fortune relied on finding a new quarterback as they had finished toward the bottom of the league when it came to passing offense in 1984 + 1985 as the likes of Jeff Kemp and Dieter Brock had served as the team's starting quarterbacks during that time.

For 1986, the Rams had signed veteran Steve Bartkowski as a free agent to become the new starting quarterback only to be replaced after six starts by backup Steve Dils as Ram fans were clamoring to see if rookie Jim Everett, who had been acquired in a trade after Everett could not come to a contract agreement with the Houston Oilers after they selected him with the #3 overall pick in the 1986 NFL draft, could take the reins as the LA quarterback.

Everett would go into the New England game as the team's backup quarterback behind Dils as Los Angeles was seeking on at least a return to the NFC Championship Game, where they would fall to the Chicago Bears in the previous year.

   The Patriots would get the ball to start the game as Stephen Starring would return the opening kickoff 42 yards to give the New England offense the ball at their 44-yard-line.

From there, Eason would complete three straight passes, totaling 27 yards, to move the Patriots deep into LA territory to set up a 42-yard field goal by Tony Franklin to give New England a 3-0 lead early in the first quarter.

The Rams would start their initial possession of the game at their 31-yard-line as a 21-yard pass from Dils to David Hill would help Los Angeles get to the New England 25-yard-line where Mike Lansford would come on to attempt a 42-yard field goal, which would sail wide left to keep the score 3-0 in favor of the Patriots.

Patriots quarterback Tony Eason would complete 36 of 52 passes for 375 yards and throw touchdown passes.

 

Taking over at their 25-yard-line, the Patriots would drive to the Rams' 46-yard-line until Eason was intercepted by Rams cornerback Leroy Irvin, who retuned the pick 23 yards until he fumbled the football which was recovered by Patriots running back Craig James, allowing New England to retain possession at the Los Angeles 47-yard-line.

From there, the Patriots would drive to the Rams' 28-yard-line until Franklin came on to kick a 45-yard field goal which increased New England's lead to 6-0 with 3:32 left in the first quarter.

The Rams would go three-and-out on their next possession to punt the ball back to the Patriots but would get a reprieve when Irving Fryar fumbled the punt which was recovered by Rams linebacker Norwood Vann to give the ball back to Los Angeles at their 47-yard-line.

However, the Rams could not take advantage of the turnover as they would go three-and-out again, forcing them to punt again when disaster would strike for LA when Dale Hatcher's punt was blocked by Patriots defensive back Rod McSwain, who scooped up the football at the LA 31-yard-line to run it in for a touchdown to increase New England's lead to 13-0 just 15 seconds into the second quarter.

With the game slipping away, Robinson inserted Everett into the game on the Rams' next offensive possession which did not seem to provide a spark as they would go three-and-out again to punt the ball back to the Patriots.

But the Rams would not get another gift from Fryar as he fumbled the football after a hit by LA free safety Vince Newsome as Vann would make his second recovery to give the ball back to the Rams at the Patriots' 34-yard-line.

This time, the Rams would cash in on the turnover as Everett threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Henry Ellard to put Los Angeles on the scoreboard to cut the Patriots' lead to 13-7 with 13:02 left in the second quarter.

The two teams would exchange punts until 3:45 left in the second quarter when the Rams took over at their 21-yard-line as Dickerson got the ball on the first two plays of the drive, gaining 15 yards to give LA a 1st down at its 36-yard-line when Everett completed a seven-yard pass to Ellard, which was followed by an one-yard loss by Dickerson to set up 3rd & 4 at the Rams' 42-yard-line as the two-minute warning hit.

After the timeout, Everett would complete a 10-yard pass to running back Mike Guman to give the Rams a 1st down at the New England 48-yard-line where Everett would find Ellard for 22 yards to give the Rams another 1st down at the Patriots' 26-yard-line.

Following a two-yard run by Dickerson, Everett would scramble out of the pocket before firing a 24-yard touchdown pass to running back Barry Redden that with the extra point gave the Rams a 14-13 lead with 90 seconds left before halftime.

The Patriots would get the ball back at their 23-yard-line as Eason would complete four straight passes for 58 yards to move New England to the LA 19-yard-line when Eason handed the ball off to Tony Collins, who would run for 17 yards to give the Patriots a 1st & goal at the Los Angeles two-yard-line with 48 seconds left in the first half.

However, the Patriots could not punch into the end zone as a run by Mosi Tatupu would go nowhere while Eason would throw back-to-back incomplete passes to bring up 4th & goal when Franklin would come on to kick a 19-yard field goal to give New England a 16-14 lead with 24 seconds left in the first half.

The Rams took a knee to end the first half as they would go on into the locker room down 16-14 but set to get the ball to start the second half.

After both teams punted on their first possessions of the second half, the Rams would get the ball at the New England 37-yard-line as three runs by Dickerson for 17 yards plus a nine-yard pass from Everett to Ron Brown would set up an 11-yard touchdown run by Redden to give the lead back to Los Angeles at 21-16 with 9:15 to go in the third quarter.

Following a New England three-and-out, the Rams would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line as they would drive to the Patriots' 36-yard-line until Redden fumbled the football after he was hit by Patriots linebacker Don Blackmon, leading to a recovery by fellow linebacker Ed Reynolds to give New England the ball at their 33-yard-line.

After another exchange of punts, the Patriots took over at the 50-yard-line when Eason was picked off by Irvin again, who returned the pick 22 yards until like he did in the first quarter, fumble the football which this time was recovered by Collins to seemingly give the ball back to New England.

But an inadvertent whistle by back judge Jimmy Rosser before the fumble allowed the Rams to keep the football at the Patriots' 39-yard-line with 1:16 to go in the third quarter.

Everett would complete a swing pass to Dickerson that would go for 24 yards to put the Rams at the New England 15-yard-line when a holding penalty pushed Los Angeles back to the 25-yard-line as Dickerson would run for five yards on 1st & 20 to put the Rams at the Patriots' 20-yard-line as the third quarter came to an end.

The fourth quarter would begin with a bang as Everett would find Ellard in the end zone for the 20-yard touchdown which extended Los Angeles' lead to 28-16 just six seconds into the fourth quarter.

Rams quarterback Jim Everett would come off the bench to throw three touchdown passes on 12-of-19 passing for 193 yards.

Following another exchange of punts, the Patriots got the ball at their 42-yard-line when New England went into their two-minute offense as Eason would complete four passes in a row, totaling 52 yards to give New England a 1st & goal at the Rams' six-yard-line when Eason would finally throw an incomplete pass to bring up 2nd down.

That is when Eason found Fryar in the end zone for a six-yard touchdown to cut the Rams' lead to 28-23 with 7:06 to go in the game.

The Rams would begin their next possession at their 29-yard-line as LA reverted back its ground attack to try and milk the clock as they would run the ball seven straight times as they picked up a pair of 1st downs as they moved to the Patriots' 33-yard-line where they had a 3rd & 1 with a little over two minutes to go.

Dickerson appeared to get the 1st down only to have it called back because of a holding penalty to push them back 10 yards to the New England 43-yard-line when Everett threw an incomplete pass, forcing the Rams to punt the ball back to the Patriots, who would take over at their 13-yard-line with 1:45 left to play in the game.

The drive would start off with Eason completing an eight-yard pass to Fryar which was followed by a 18-yard pass to Stanley Morgan to give the Patriots a 1st down at their 39-yard-line.

The Patriots would go backwards on 1st down when Rams linebacker Kevin Greene sacked Eason for a five-yard loss to make it 2nd & 15 where Eason found Fryar for 13 yards to set up 3rd & 2 at the New England 47-yard-line.

It looked like the Patriots had converted as Eason completed a 23-yard pass to tight end Greg Baty only to have it nullified because Eason crossed the line of scrimmage before throwing the pass resulting in a five-yard penalty and a loss of down to make it 4th & 7 at the New England 42-yard-line with 34 seconds to go.

The Patriots would keep their hopes alive as Eason completed a pass to Collins for the needed seven yards to give New England a 1st down at their 49-yard-line as Eason stopped the clock with an incomplete pass with 15 seconds to go.

Eason would scramble for 26 yards before stepping out of bounds at the Rams' 25-yard-line with three seconds to go, giving the Patriots a chance at one throw into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.

Eason would loft a pass for the right corner of the end zone where Morgan was able to tip the ball amongst a sea of Ram defenders that would fall into the hands of Fryar for a shocking 25-yard touchdown with no time left on the clock.

After the wild celebration following the touchdown, Franklin would come on to kick the extra point to make the Patriots' victory official with the score of 30-28.

Even though they lost the game, the Rams found their quarterback as Everett would be the starting quarterback for the rest of the season as he helped Los Angeles earn a spot in the playoffs with a 10-6 record as the Rams would fall to the Washington Redskins 19-7 in the NFC Wild Card Game.

Everett would remain as the Rams' starting quarterback for the next seven seasons as he would finish his LA career as the all-time leader passer in Rams history with 23,758 yards.

As for the Patriots, they would finish the season with a 11-5 record that aided with a collapse by the New York Jets, would help New England clinch the AFC East division title for the Patriots' first division title since 1978.

However, the Patriots would fall to the Denver Broncos 22-17 in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs as New England would not return to the postseason until 1994 and with Drew Bledsoe at quarterback.

College Football Old School Game of the Week: Kansas State Pulls Out Holiday Bowl Win over Arizona State

 

Kansas State quarterback Ell Roberson would throw for 215 yards and a touchdown while running for 63 yards and two touchdowns.

On December 27,2002 the #6 ranked Kansas State Wildcats traveled to San Diego, California to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils in the 25th edition of the Holiday Bowl.

The Wildcats came into the game with a 10-2 record under head coach Bill Snyder, who had turned the Kansas State football program from one of the worst in college football to one of the best as the Wildcats, who had just three winning seasons from 1935 through 1988, had won at least nine games for the ninth time in 10 years.

The 2002 Wildcats roster featured quarterback Ell Roberson, who had become the Wildcats' starting quarterback after coming off the bench to lead Kansas State to a 27-20 win over USC in the fourth game of the season and sophomore running back Darren Sproles, who had run for 1,347 yards during the regular season.

Kansas State also had the nation's #1 scoring defense as the Wildcats allowed an average of just 11.8 points per game on a squad that was led by cornerback Terrance Newman, who won the Jim Thorpe Award which goes to the best defensive back in the country.

With the firepower on offense and their stingy defense, the Wildcats hoped to finish off the 2002 season on a high note as they prepared to face the Sun Devils for the sixth time in school history.

The Sun Devils came into the Holiday Bowl unranked with an 8-5 record under second year head coach Dirk Koetter, who had taken over from Bruce Snyder after his nine-year run in Tempe.

The Sun Devils got off to a 7-2 start in 2002 but a three-game losing streak in November would cause them to fall from #16 in the rankings to unranked as they would defeat arch rival Arizona in the regular season finale to earn an invitation in the Holiday Bowl.

The Arizona State offense was predicated on the passing game led by quarterback Andrew Walter who threw for 3,584 yards during the regular season with his leading receiver being Shaun McDonald, who caught 77 passes for 1,309 yards and scored 13 touchdowns while the defense was led by all-American defensive end Terrell Suggs who had accounted for 22 quarterback sacks, a NCAA record.

The Sun Devils hoped that a upset over the Wildcats could be the turning point for their football program which was hoping for their first nine-win season since 1997.

  After a scoreless first quarter which saw both teams combine for six punts, the Sun Devils got the ball in Kansas State territory at the Wildcats' 38-yard-line as Walter would overcome a quarterback sack on the first play of the drive, to complete passes of nine yards to Daryl Lightfoot and 11 yards to Derek Hagen to give Arizona State a 1st down at the Kansas State 23-yard-line.

Following two straight incomplete passes, Walter would find Mike Williams for 15 yards to pick up another 1st down as Williams would then run for two yards to set up 2nd & goal where Walter found Justin Taplin for a six-yard touchdown to give the Sun Devils a 7-0 lead with 11:36 left in the second quarter.

The Wildcats would begin their next possession at their 20-yard-line only to give it right back to the Sun Devils as Roberson lost the football after he was hit by Arizona State linebacker Mason Unck as defensive tackle Brian Montesanto made the recovery to give Walter and the ASU offense the ball at the Kansas State 16-yard-line.

However, the Wildcat defense would not allow a 1st down as the Sun Devils were forced to settle for a 26-yard field goal by Mike Barth which increased Arizona State's lead to 10-0.

Having been held to just six yards of total offense, the Wildcat offense needed to get on track which is exactly what they accomplished on their next drive as Snyder inserted Newman into the game on offense as he would catch a 36-yard pass from Roberson to give Kansas State a 1st down at the Arizona State 41-yard-line.

On the very next play, Roberson gave the ball to Sproles who run it in for the 41-yard touchdown to put the Wildcats on the scoreboard and cut the Sun Devils' lead to 10-7.

Arizona State would start its next possession at the Wildcats' 48-yard-line thanks to a 42-yard return by Josh Golden, but would be forced to punt the ball back to the Wildcats, who would go on three-and-out to give the ball back to the Sun Devils at the Kansas State 42-yard-line.

From there, Walter would complete a 24-yard pass to McDonald, then hand the ball off to Williams on the next two plays as he gained nine yards to set up 3rd & 1 when Hakim Hill was able to run it in for the nine-yard touchdown to push the Sun Devils back to ten points at 17-7.

Things would go from bad to worse for the Wildcats on their next possession as Sproles fumbled the football at the end of a 19-yard run as Sun Devils cornerback Brett Hudson made the recovery to give the Arizona State offense the ball at the Kansas State 26-yard-line.

But like they did earlier in the second quarter, the Kansas State defense would hold the Sun Devils to a field goal after a turnover as Barth would come on to kick a 39-yard field goal to increase the Arizona State lead to 20-7 with 1:25 left before halftime.

Arizona State quarterback Andrew Walter would complete 28 of 51 passes for 293 yards and throw two touchdown passes.

Hoping to get a score before the end of the half, the Wildcats would drive 78 yards in three plays as Roberson completed a 41-yard pass to Taco Wallace to set up the junior quarterback's 32-yard touchdown run to trim the Arizona State lead to 20-14 with 54 seconds left in the first half.

The Sun Devils would get the ball back at their 34-yard-line but would be unable to mount a scoring threat as the first half came to an end with Arizona State on top 20-14.

The start of the third quarter resembled the first quarter as both teams traded punts until the 5:33 mark of the quarter when Walter completed a 19-yard pass to McDonald to put the Sun Devils at the Kansas State 36-yard-line.

Two runs by Hill which netted just one yard and an incomplete pass would lead the Sun Devils to call on Barth to attempt a 51-yard field goal, which would fall short of the uprights to keep the score at 20-14 and give the ball to the Wildcats at their 35-yard-line.

From there, the Wildcats would put together the most impressive drive of the game as they travel 65 yards in 16 plays on a drive that took over seven minutes to complete and did not end until Roberson punched it in from three yards out to tie the game at 20.

However, the Wildcats could not take the lead as the snap on the ensuing extra point was too low for holder Travis Brown to handle as kicker Joe Rheem would not get an opportunity to kick the ball as the score remained deadlocked at 20 with 12:10 left in the fourth quarter.

The Sun Devils would begin their next possession at their 22-yard-line as Walter would hit Bobby Pinkard for a 33-yard completion on the first play of the drive to put Arizona State at the Wildcats' 45-yard-line.

After an incomplete pass, Walter would complete his next three passes for 29 yards to move Arizona State to the Kansas State 16-yard-line as the sophomore quarterback would throw another incomplete pass to bring up 2nd & 10 where he would find McDonald for six yards to set up 3rd & 4 at the Kansas State 10-yard-line.

That is when Walter rolled to his right only to spin back to his left and loft a screen pass for Williams who was able to run it for the 10-yard touchdown to give Arizona State a 27-20 lead with 10:30 left in the fourth quarter.

The Wildcats would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line as the drive began with a three-yard run by Sproles, which was followed by a 32-yard pass from Roberson to James Terry and then a 11-yard pass from Roberson to Terry to put Kansas State at the Sun Devils' 34-yard-line.

Sproles would then carry for 12 yards to give Kansas State another 1st down at the Arizona State 22-yard-line as the next three plays netted zero yards to set up 4th & 10.

Instead of opting for a field goal that would cut the Sun Devils' lead to four points, Snyder had the offense lined up to go for the 1st down as the Wildcats would then spend two timeouts before ultimately going for it.

The gamble would pay off as Roberson hit Terry for 21 yards to set up the quarterback's one-yard touchdown run that with the extra point tied the game at 27 with 6:41 to go in regulation.

The Wildcat defense would force an Arizona State punt to give their offense the ball back at their 41-yard-line with 4:24 remaining and a chance to drive for the go-ahead score.

Following two runs by Roberson that totaled eight yards, fullback Travis Wilson would get the ball on 3rd & 2 as he ran for five yards to give the Wildcats a 1st down at the Arizona State 46-yard-line.

Roberson would then keep it for 16 yards on the next play from scrimmage to give Kansas State a 1st down at the Arizona State 30-yard-line as Sproles would then carry it for five yards to set up 2nd & 5 when Roberson completed a 15-yard pass to Terry to set up 1st & goal at the Sun Devils' 10-yard-line.

That is when Roberson hit Derrick Evans on a slant pattern for the 10-yard touchdown that with the extra point gave the Wildcats their first lead of the game at 34-27 with 75 seconds to go in regulation.

Kansas State running back Darren Sproles would run for 118 yards on 21 carries and scored one touchdown.

Taking over at his 22-yard-line, Walter would complete a 20-yard pass to Taplin to begin the Sun Devils' ensuing possession as the two would connect again for eight yards to put Arizona State at the 50-yard-line as Walter would throw two straight incomplete passes to bring up 4th & 2.

The Sun Devils would convert as Walter found Lightfoot for only four yards but enough for a 1st down at the Kansas State 46-yard-line.

After three straight incomplete passes, Walter would fire a desperation Hail Mary pass on the final play of the game that the Wildcats would knock away to preserve the 34-27 victory, the 11th for Kansas State during the 2002 season.

The loss dropped the Sun Devils to 8-5 as they would not qualify for a bowl in 2003 but would rebound in 2004 with a 9-3 record which included a 27-23 victory over Purdue in the Sun Bowl as the Sun Devils would finish #19 in the final AP poll and #20 in the final coaches poll that year.

That would be the highpoint of the Dirk Koetter era which ended after the 2006 season as he was fired after a six-year tenure where the Sun Devils went 40-34.

As for the Wildcats, their win over Arizona State gave them their fifth 11-win season in six years which as Kansas State would retain its #6 ranking in the final AP poll but fell one spot in the coaches poll to #7.

Roberson and Sproles would return the following year to lead the Wildcats to the Big 12 Championship Game where Kansas State would stun #1 Oklahoma 35-7 to give the Wildcats their first conference championship since 1934.

NFL Old School Game of the Week: Texans Tame Lions in Thanksgiving Thriller

 

The Texans celebrate after Shayne Graham kicked the game-winning field goal in their 2012 win over the Detroit Lions.

The Houston Texans got to make their first ever appearance on Thanksgiving Day in 2012 when they traveled up north to take on the Detroit Lions in the Lions' annual Thanksgiving game.

The Texans came into the game with a 9-1 record just one win away from tying their franchise record of 10 wins which Houston had accomplished the prior season when the Texans made it to the playoffs for the first time since their inception in 2002.

The Texans featured one of the NFL's most explosive offenses which was led by quarterback Matt Schaub, running back Arian Foster and wide receiver Andre Johnson while the defense was led by defensive end J.J. Watt who was on his way to a 20-sack season as Houston was hoping to secure the top seed in the AFC playoffs.

While the Texans were riding high, the Lions were struggling as they entered their annual Thanksgiving game with a 4-6 record, already matching their loss total from the previous season where they went 10-6 to earn a playoff spot for the first time in 12 years.

Detroit was led by quarterback Matthew Stafford and his favorite target, wide receiver Calvin Johnson, who had caught 65 passes for 1,117 yards up to this point in the season as the Lions were hoping to win on Thanksgiving for the first time since 2003.

 The Lions got the ball to start the game as Stafford would overcome a sack by Watt on the first play of the game to complete four of eight passes for 67 yards on a 12-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown run by Mikel Leshoure to put Detroit ahead 7-0.

The rest of the first quarter would be a punting contest as both teams trading punts with the only significant play of the first quarter was whether Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh intentionally kicked Schaub in the crotch.

The Texans would start a drive early in the second quarter at their 26-yard-line as Schaub would hit Johnson for 37 yards to put Houston in Detroit territory at the Lions 37-yard-line as six plays later, Foster would punch it in from six yards out that with the extra point tied the game at seven with 10:57 left in the second quarter.

The Lions would respond with a 10-play, 83-yard drive as Stafford completed five of eight passes for 79 yards on the drive which culminated with a five-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to Mike Thomas to give Detroit a 14-7 lead with six minutes to go in the second quarter.

Houston would get the ball back at their 25-yard-line as Schaub would complete five of six passes for 78 yards on the drive which included a 43-yard pass to Johnson as Schaub would find tight end Owen Daniels for a nine-yard touchdown to help tie the game at 14 with 2:11 left before halftime.

It would only take the Lions 22 seconds to get back into the end zone as Stefan Logan would return the ensuing kickoff 38 yards to the Detroit 41-yard-line as Stafford would complete a 37-yard pass to Ryan Broyles which was followed by a 22-yard touchdown pass to Johnson to give the Lions a 21-14 led with 1:49 left in the first half.

The Texans would try to mount one more drive before the end of the first half but a sack by Lions defensive end Cliff Avril would end the first half with the Lions ahead 21-14 as Houston would get the ball to start the second half.

The Lions would force a three-and-out to get their offense the ball back at their 22-yard-line as Detroit would hold the ball for six-and-a-half minutes as they would drive 45 yards in 11 plays to set up a 46-yard field goal by Jason Hanson which extended the Lions' lead to 24-14 with a little over seven minutes left in the third quarter.

The Texans would start their next possession at their 19-yard-line as Schaub would throw an incomplete pass on 1st down to set up 2nd & 10 when the most controversial play of the game occurred.

Schaub would hand the ball off to Justin Forsett who would run for seven yards until he was hit by Lions free safety Louis Demas, causing the Houston running back to have his left arm and knee to hit the ground.

Forsett would get up and run in untouched into the end zone as referees never blew the whistle and signaled touchdown as replays clearly showed Forsett was down by contact.

Because it was a scoring play, the instant replay booth would automatically review only to have Schwartz thrown the challenge flag to draw an unsportsmanlike penalty but even worse, nullify the review which meant the 81-yard touchdown would stand as Shayne Graham would make the extra point to cut the Lions' lead to 24-21.

The Texans would force a Detroit punt to get the ball back at their 33-yard-line as three straight running plays gained 34 yards to put Houston at the Detroit 33-yard-line as the drive would stall as the Texans would settle for a 45-yard field goal by Graham which tied the game at 24 with 2:36 left in the third quarter.

The Lions would start their next drive at their 20-yard-line as Joique Bell would account for the bulk of the yardage on the drive as he ran for 26 yards on the final play of the third quarter then would run it in for a 23-yard touchdown to give Detroit a 31-24 lead with 13:31 remaining in the third quarter.

The two teams would trade punts for the next six minutes of the game until the Texans were pinned back in front of their end zone as they got the ball at their three-yard-line.

After throwing an incomplete pass to start the drive, Schaub would complete a two-yard pass to Foster which was followed by a 13-yard pass to Johnson to give the Texans a 1st down at their 18-yard-line.

Foster would run for 15 yards on the next play to give Houston another 1st down as Schaub would hit Johnson for 23 yards to put the Texans at the Lions' 44-yard-line as Schaub would throw an incomplete pass before hitting Foster on two straight plays picking up only three yards to set up 4th & 7.

Despite having a little over four minutes left in regulation, Kubiak would gamble and go for the 1st down which he got as Schaub found Johnson for 16 yards to give the Texans a 1st down at the Lions' 25-yard-line.

Two incomplete passes later, Schaub would hit Johnson again, this time for 12 yards which was followed by a 11-yard pass to tight end Garrett Graham to set up 1st & goal at the Lions' two-yard-line.

Foster would run for one yard as the two-minute warning hit to set up 2nd & goal when Foster got the ball again as he would punch it in for the one-yard touchdown to cap off the 15-play, 97-yard touchdown drive that with Graham's extra point tied the game at 31 with 1:55 to go in regulation.

The Lions would get the ball back at their 24-yard-line as Stafford completed passes of 18 yards to Johnson and 13 yards to tight end Tony Scheffler to put Detroit at the Houston 45-yard-line as Stafford would throw three straight incomplete passes to force a Detroit punt to give the Texans the ball at their two-yard-line with 39 seconds left in regulation.

Schaub would take a knee to run out the clock as the game would move into overtime with the score tied at 31 as the Lions would win the overtime coin toss to get the ball to start overtime.

Stafford would complete a 40-yard pass to Broyles on the first play of overtime to put the Lions at the Texans' 40-yard-line seemingly to put Detroit close to field goal range only for the Lions to turn it over two plays later when tight end Brandon Pettigrew fumbled the football after a hit by strong safety Danael Manning which was recovered by linebacker Daryl Sharpton to give the Texans the ball at their 35-yard-line.

A 14-yard pass from Schaub to Johnson plus five runs by Foster for 25 yards help put the Texans in field goal range as Graham would come onto attempt a 51-yard field goal that would give Houston the win.

However, Graham's kick would sail wide left to keep the game going as the Lions would take over at their 41-yard-line with 9:38 left in the extra period.

The Lions would pick up one 1st down before punting the ball back to the Texans who would take over at their nine-yard-line as Houston would drive to their 29-yard-line until Schaub was intercepted by cornerback Chris Houston to give Detroit the ball at the Houston 41-yard-line.

A 14-yard pass from Stafford to Scheffler would help set up a 47-yard field goal attempt by Hanson which would bounce off the left upright to give the Texans the ball back at their 37-yard-line with 4:32 left in overtime.

From there, Schaub would complete passes of 15 and 11 yards to tight end James Casey with a 23-yard pass to Johnson sandwiched in between the two catches by Casey to help the Texans at the Lions' 14-yard-line as Graham would come on to attempt a 32-yard field goal.

The third time would be the charm for a game-winning field goal as Schaub's kick sailed through the uprights with 2:25 to go in overtime to give Houston a 34-31 win.

The Lions would never recover from the Thanksgiving loss as they would lose their remaining five games of the season to end the season on an eight-game losing streak to finish the season with a 4-12 record with the lone highlight being Johnson breaking Jerry Rice's record for most receiving yards in a season as Megatron would finish the season with 1,964 yards on 122 receptions.

As for the Texans, they would finish the regular season with a 12-4 record to win the AFC South for the second year in a row as Houston would host the Cincinnati Bengals in an AFC Wild Card game which the Texans won 19-13 to advance to the Divisional Round where they would be eliminated by the New England Patriots with a 41-28 defeat.