NFL Old School Game of the Week: Stafford Leads Lions Past Browns in Stunning QB Duel

Matthew Stafford is greeted by teammates as he nurses a separated shoulder following his heroics against the Browns in 2009.

When the Cleveland Browns traveled to Detroit to take on the Lions in Week 11 of the 2009 NFL season, almost everybody thought this game was going to be a snoozer as both teams entered the game with identical 1-8 records.

However, the Browns and Lions would participate in perhaps the best game of the 2009 regular season in a wild game with a combined 75 points and 912 yards of total offense with a remarkable finish that showed the grit and toughness of rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford.

Stafford had been selected by the Lions with the #1 overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft after the Lions became the first team in NFL history lose all 16 games in a 16-game season and the first team to suffer a winless season since the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Lions hoped the pick of Stafford to go along with wide receiver Calvin Johnson, who had been Detroit's best player for the 2008 season as he caught 78 passes for 1,331 yards and scored 12 touchdowns, as well as new head coach Jim Schwartz would spark a revival in Detroit as the Lions had not had a winning season since 2000 and had been absent from the postseason since 1999.

Stafford would lead the Lions to a win in their third game of the season, a 19-14 win over the Washington Redskins, before Detroit went on a six-game losing streak before their game with the Lions as Stafford threw five straight touchdown passes compared to 12 interceptions.

On the other side of the field were the Browns who were having a difficult first season under head coach Eric Mangini as the Browns had won only one game up to this point, a dismal 6-3 win over the Buffalo Bills.

The biggest reason for the Browns' poor play was inconsistency at quarterback as the job as Brady Quinn started out the season as the Browns starting quarterback before being benched in the third game of the season in favor of Derek Anderson, who would lose the job four games later back to Quinn.

Quinn had struggled since being picked by the Browns in the first round of the 2007 NFL draft as he had thrown just three touchdown passes since his arrival in Cleveland.

With the ineptitude that both starting quarterbacks had playing up to this point, the only thing that seemed interesting about this game was that Stafford would be wear a wireless microphone for NFL Films to help in the production of the highlights of this game.

When it was all said and done, NFL Films producer Steve Sabol would call Stafford's performance the most dramatic he had ever seen in 30 years.

The Browns took the ball to start the game as Quinn would complete four of five passes for 49 yards on a nine-play, 48-yard drive that ended with Phil Dawson kicking a 44-yard field goal to Cleveland a 3-0 lead.

The Lions would begin their first possession of the game at their 20-yard-line where it took them just one play to get into Cleveland territory as Stafford completed a short screen pass to running back Kevin Smith who turned into a 63-yard reception to put Detroit at the Browns' 17-yard-line.

However, the Lions would have to settle for a 31-yard field goal by Jason Hansen that would tie the game at three as the Browns would get start their ensuing possession at their 41-yard-line.

That is when Quinn went deep and hit Mohammad Massaquoi for a 59-yard touchdown to give the Browns a 10-3 lead with 8:56 left in the first quarter.

The Lions would go three-and-out on their next possession to give the ball back to the Browns who took over at their 28-yard-line as it took them six plays to drive to the Detroit 40-yard-line when Quinn threw deep again, this time connecting with Chansi Stuckey for the 40-yard touchdown to increase Cleveland's lead to 17-3.

Things would not improve for the Lions on their next offensive play from scrimmage as Stafford would be picked off by Cleveland cornerback Eric Wright, whose 47-yard return would give the Browns a 1st & goal at the Detroit six-yard-line.

After a two-yard run by Jamal Lewis on 1st down, Quinn would find Cribbs in the end zone for the four-yard touchdown to give the Browns a shocking 24-3 lead with 2:52 to go in the first quarter.

Brady Quinn had the best game of his NFL career as he threw for 304 yards and four touchdowns on 21-of-33 passes.

With the game seemingly getting out of hand early, the Lions needed to stop the bleeding as they would begin their ensuing possession at their 22-yard-line.

The drive would begin with a 30-yard pass from Stafford to tight end Brandon Pettigrew to put the Lions in Cleveland territory which was followed by a 11-yard run by Smith and then a 11-yard catch by Pettigrew to put the Lions at the Browns' 26-yard-line.

Following an incomplete pass on 1st down, Stafford would complete a short pass to running back Aaron Brown, who was able to turn it into a 26-yard touchdown that would cut the Browns' lead to 24-10 with 30 seconds to go in the first quarter.

The Lions' defense would force a three-and-out to give their offense the ball back at their 39-yard line as Stafford would complete four of six passes for 58 yards on the seven-play, 61-yard drive that culminated with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to Smith to make it an one-score game at 24-17 early in the second quarter.

The Browns would drive into Detroit territory again but ended up punting it back to the Lions who would take over at their six-yard-line as two offsides penalties helped Detroit move to their 25-yard-line when Stafford fired a bomb for Johnson who caught the ball around the Cleveland 25-yard-line and ran in untouched for the 75-yard touchdown that with the extra point tied the game at 24 with 5:01 left in the second quarter.

Having seen their 21-point lead evaporate, the Browns would drive from their 20-yard-line to the Lions' 29-yard-line when instead of kicking a field goal on 4th & 4, Cleveland went for the 1st down which they got when Quinn completed a seven-yard pass to Stuckey to give the Browns a fresh set of downs at the Detroit 22-yard-line.

Two plays later, the Browns would face a 3rd & 9 when Quinn lofted a pass for Jennings in the end zone who let a sure touchdown slip through his fingers to seemingly bring up a field goal attempt on 4th & 9.

But the Browns would run a fake field goal as the ball was snapped directly to the kicker, Dawson, who then completed a 10-yard pass to wide receiver Mike Furrey to give the Browns a 1st down at the Lions' 11-yard-line.

However with just six seconds left, the Browns would end up settling for the field goal as Dawson would make a 29-yarder to give Cleveland a 27-24 after a wild and crazy 30 minutes of play.

Following an exchange of punts to start the third quarter, the Lions would get the ball at their 16-yard-line as they would drive the field on the right arm of Stafford as he would complete six of seven passes for 67 yards on the 10-play, 84-yard drive which ended with an one-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to tight end Will Heller to give the Lions their first lead of the game at 31-27 with 2:47 left in the third quarter.

The Browns would go three-and-out on their next possession but would pin the Lions back at their two-yard-line as Cleveland would cut the Detroit lead to two points as Stafford was called for intentional grounding in the end zone which resulted in a safety for the Browns as they trim the Lions' lead to 31-29 with 41 seconds to go in the third quarter.

Both teams would go three-and-out on their ensuing possessions as the Browns would get the ball back at their 25-yard-line as they would hold the ball for nearly seven minutes as they drove 75 yards in 14 plays, culminating with a two-yard touchdown pass from Quinn to tight end Michael Gains to give the lead back to Cleveland.

The Browns would go for two after the touchdown which they got as Lewis would punch it in to give Cleveland a 37-31 lead with 5:44 to play in the game.

The Lions would begin their next possession at their 40-yard-line as Stafford would complete three passes for 20 yards to move Detroit into Cleveland territory until the rookie tried to hit Johnson in the end zone only for Browns strong safety Brodney Pool intercept the pass to give the Browns a chance to pick up some 1st downs to end the game as they took over at their 20-yard-line with 3:40 to play.

Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson caught seven passes for 161 yards and scored one touchdown.

Two runs by Lewis would pick up four yards to set up 3rd & 6 when Quinn found Stuckey for 13 yards and a 1st down at the Cleveland 37-yard-line as one more 1st down would probably end the game.

Another two runs by Lewis gained five yards would set up 3rd & 5 when Quinn could not connect with Massaquoi  as his pass fell incomplete which would force the Browns to punt the ball back to the Lions who would take over at their 12-yard-line with 1:46 to go in the game and no timeouts for Detroit, who needed a touchdown to win.

The drive would begin with Stafford completing his first three passes, two of them to Johnson for 30 yards to move the Lions to their 46-yard-line when Stafford spiked the ball to stop the clock with 43 seconds to go.

Following the spike, Stafford would find Pettigrew for 11 yards to put the Lions in Cleveland territory at the Browns' 43-yard-line as another spike would stop the clock with 27 seconds left.

After an incomplete pass on 2nd down, Stafford would hit Hiller for 11 yards for a 1st down at the Browns' 32-yard-line as another spike stopped the clock with eight seconds to go.

With a possible two chances at hitting a Hail Mary, Stafford would take the snap and then scramble the pocket to avoid the Cleveland pass rush as the clock counted down to zero until Stafford was able to get a pass away before taking a vicious hit from Browns defensive tackle CJ Mosley.

Stafford's pass would be picked off in the end zone by Pool to seemingly end the game and give the win for the Browns but in typical Cleveland fashion the rug would be pulled out from under them as defensive back Hank Poteat would be called for pass interference, giving the Lions one untimed play from the Browns' one-yard-line.

The Lions medical staff would run onto to the field to Stafford, who ended up separating his non-throwing shoulder, as backup Dante Culpepper came onto the field to assumingly be the quarterback for the Lions' untimed play.

But the Browns would call timeout to set up their defense, which allowed Stafford to reenter the game who told Schwartz that he could throw the ball if they needed him to.

Amazingly, Stafford would come back onto the field to take the snap from center and fire a pass to the back of the end zone for Pettegrew, who caught the ball and got both feet inbounds for the shocking touchdown to tie the game at 37 as Stafford went back to the sidelines as the shoulder had officially separated.

But the drama was not over as Hanson would come on to attempt an extra point if he somehow missed would send the game to overtime.

But Hanson would easily make the kick to give the Lions a remarkable 38-37 win thanks to Stafford's performance in which he completed 26 of 43 passes for 422 yards and threw five touchdowns.

While the loss dropped them to a 1-9 record, the Browns would end the season with a four-game winning streak to finish the season with a 5-11 record as Quinn would be traded in the offseason to the Denver Broncos while Mangini would be fired after another 5-11 season in 2010.

As for the Lions, their comeback win over the Browns would be the highlight of the season as they would not win another game to finish the season with a 2-14 record.

However, brighter days were ahead for the Lions as two years later they would make the playoffs with a 10-6 record, the first of three playoff appearances with Stafford as quarterback as he would become the Lions' all time passing leader with 45,109 yards in 12 seasons in Detroit.

Stafford would be traded to the Los Angeles Rams in 2021 where in his first season he threw for 4,886 yards and 41 touchdowns to help led the Rams to their first Super Bowl in 22 years.

College Football Old School Game of the Week: Ole Miss Defeats LSU Thanks to Tigers' Poor Clock Management

Ole Miss players hold the Magnolia Bowl trophy after their 2009 win over LSU.

 In 1972, the Ole Miss Rebels were defeated by the LSU Tigers 17-16 in a controversial finish where the Tigers got some home cooking as the potential last play which resulted in an incompletion seemed to take longer the four seconds that remained on the clock as LSU was given one last chance to win the game which they did when quarterback Bert Jones threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy LeDoux that with the extra point gave the Bayou Bengals the win.

Ole Miss fans were so incensed that someone decided to put a road sign at the Louisiana-Mississippi border that said "You are now entering Louisiana. Please set your clock back four seconds".'

Thirty seven years later, the Rebels would get a matter of revenge as the time would go against LSU as the two teams prepared to face off for the 98th time.

Ole Miss came into the game with a 7-3 record but unranked as the Rebels had been seen as a disappointment for the 2009 season as they began the season ranked #8 in the AP poll and #10 coaches poll.

A part of the reason for the disappointment was quarterback Jeven Snead, who had thrown 14 interceptions in the Rebels' first 10 games as the Rebels had seeked to improve from their 2008 season in which they went 9-4 and finished in the top 15 in both polls after their 47-34 upset win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Cotton Bowl.

Perhaps the bigger highlight of the 2008 season is when the Rebels traveled to Baton Rouge and easily dispatched the Tigers 31-13 for Ole Miss' first victory over LSU since 2002 when Eli Manning was the quarterback.

Led by head coach Houston Nutt and running back Dexter McCluster, the Rebels to knock off the Tigers in Oxford for the first time since 1998.

Meanwhile, LSU came into the game ranked #10 in the AP poll with an 8-2 record under head coach Les Miles, who was almost two years removed from leading LSU to the national championship as a win over the Rebels would boost the Tigers' chances to play in one of the BCS bowls(Rose, Sugar, Cotton, Orange)

Ole Miss would get the ball to start the game as the first play of the game was a backwards pass that went off the hands of McCluster and out of bounds, costing the Rebels eight yards to set up 2nd & 18 when McCluster took a handoff from Snead and ran 67 yards before being tackled at the LSU 31-yard-line.

The drive would stall as the Rebels picked up four yards on the next three plays as they would settle for a 45-yard field goal by Joshua Shene to give Ole Miss an early 3-0 lead.

The Tigers' first possession of the game would end in disaster as quarterback Jordan Jefferson would be intercepted by Rebels cornerback Cassius Vaughn, who would return the pick to the LSU nine-yard-line only to have an illegal block and an unsportsmanlike penalty on Vaughn push Ole Miss back to the Tigers' 34-yard-line.

The Rebels would settle for another field goal attempt, but this one was blocked by LSU defensive tackle Al Woods leading to cornerback Patrick Peterson scooping up the ball and running it back for a 53-yard touchdown to give LSU a 7-3 lead.

Ole Miss would begin its ensuing possession at their 30-yard-line as three straight running plays gained a total of 13 yards before Snead connected with wide receiver Markeith Summers for a 42-yard completion to give the Rebels a 1st down at the LSU 15-yard-line.

But once again the Rebels would settle for another field goal attempt which this time was successful as Shene would kick it through the uprights for a 25-yard field goal to cut the LSU lead to 7-6 with 3:37 left in the first quarter.

 The Tigers would get great field position to start their next drive as Ron Brooks returned the ensuing kickoff 41 yards to his 47-yard-line as LSU would drive 53 yards in eight plays with the drive culminating with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Jefferson to Reuben Randle to increase LSU's lead to 14-6 with 11 seconds to go in the opening period.

The Rebels would lean on their running game for their next possession as McCluster and Brandon Bolden combined for eight carries for a total of 27 yards on a 12-play, 45-yard drive that ended with another Shene field goal, this one from 33 yards out to cut the Tigers' lead to 14-9 midway through the second quarter.

Ole Miss running back Dexter McCluster would run for 148 yards on 24 carries and throw a 27-yard touchdown pass.

LSU would get the ball back at its 21-yard-line as a 13-yard run by Keiland Willams and a 31-yard pass from Jefferson to Terrance Tolliver put the Tigers back in Ole Miss territory at the Rebels' 35-yard-line.

However, the Tigers would pick up just three yards on the next three plays as they would settle for a 50-yard field goal by Josh Jasper which increased LSU's lead to 17-9 with 6:23 remaining in the second quarter.

Miles would try to catch the Rebels off-guard on the ensuing kickoff with a surprise onside kick but ended up backfiring on the Tigers as Peterson would recover the kick out of bounds resulting in a penalty and giving Ole Miss the ball at the LSU 47-yard-line.

Snead would then complete passes of 13 and 26 yards to Shay Hodge to put Ole Miss at the LSU eight-yard-line with a 1st & goal as a one-yard run by Bolden followed by a four-yard run by Snead set up 3rd & goal when Snead handed the ball to wide receiver Jesse Grandy for the three-yard touchdown.

The Rebels would go for two to try and tie the game but Snead's pass would fall incomplete to keep the score at 17-15 in favor of LSU with 4:40 left before halftime.

The Tigers seemed poised to increase their lead as they were able to drive to the Ole Miss 39-yard-line until Rebels defensive end Emmanuel Stephens sacked Jefferson on a 3rd & 6 to stall the drive and force LSU to punt the ball back to Ole Miss, who would run out the clock in the first half as the Rebels trailed 17-15.

The third quarter would be a defensive battle as both teams traded punts until early in the fourth quarter when the Rebels would take over at the LSU 44-yard-line as a 11-yard pass from Snead to Hodge and a six-yard run by McCluster would put Ole Miss at the Tigers' 27-yard-line.

That is when Snead handed the ball off to McCluster, who ran to his right side and fired a pass for Hodge who would make the catch for the 27-yard touchdown that with the extra point gave the Rebels a 22-17 lead with 13:33 to go in the fourth quarter.

After another LSU three-and-out, the Rebels got the ball back at their 35-yard-line as Ole Miss would hold the ball for eight and a half minutes as they drove 60 yards in 14 plays until Shene would kick a 23-yard field goal to increase the Rebels' lead to 25-17 with 3:42 left in the fourth quarter.

Following a 33-yard return by Trenton Holliday on the ensuing kickoff, the Tigers took over at their 34-yard-line needing a touchdown and a two-point conversion to tie the game and send in into overtime.

Jefferson would complete four of eight passes for 56 yards on the 10-play, 66-yard drive which was capped off with a 25-yard touchdown pass from the sophomore quarterback to Randle to bring LSU to within a two-point conversion of tying the game.

Jefferson would loft a pass for Tolliver in the left corner of the end zone which fell incomplete but drew a pass interference penalty on Vaughn to give LSU an extra chance at the two-point conversion where the Tigers tried the exact same play where Tolliver was unable to make the catch to keep the score at 25-23 in favor of Ole Miss with 1:17 to go in the game.

With two timeouts in their pocket and such little time, LSU lined up for an onside kick, where unlike earlier in the game, was successful as LaFell recovered the ball to give the Tigers a chance to drive and set up a potential game-winning field goal.

Taking over at his 42-yard-line, Jefferson would throw an incomplete pass on 1st down before connecting with LaFell for 26 yards to give LSU a 1st down at the Ole Miss 32-yard-line.

The Tigers were at the spot where Jasper had made a 50-yard field goal earlier in the game so it seemed logical that LSU would run the ball to get a few yards closer and make the kick easier.

However, on 1st down, Jefferson would throw an incomplete pass which was followed by a disastrous play on 2nd down as Stephens would drop the quarterback for a nine-yard-loss, knocking LSU out of field goal range and forcing them to call timeout with 32 seconds left.

Facing a 3rd & 19 at the Rebels' 41-yard-line, the Tigers tried to get back into field goal range but while Ridley would catch a screen pass from Jefferson, he would be tackled for a seven-yard-loss to push LSU back to the Ole Miss 48-yard-line where they would face a do-or-die 4th & 26.

Inexplicably, Miles would let 17 seconds run off the clock before calling his last timeout with nine seconds to go as the Tigers would have no choice but have Jefferson throw a Hail Mary pass.

Amazingly, the play worked as Jefferson's pass would be caught by Tolliver for a 43-yard completion to put the Tigers at the Ole Miss five-yard-line easily in field goal range with one second left.

But instead of sending in the field goal unit, Miles had Jefferson line up behind center to spike the ball at hopes of stopping the clock before it hit zero even though it takes two seconds for such a play to be excuted properly.

But Jefferson could not spike the ball in time as the Rebels escaped with the 25-23 win for their first win over LSU in front of their home fans since 1998.

LSU would rebound for the embarrassing defeat to knock off the Arkansas Razorbacks 33-30 in their regular season finale to earn a trip to the Capital One Bowl in Orlando where they would fall to the Penn State Nittany Lions 19-17 to finish the season with a 9-4 record and #17 ranking in both the final AP and coaches poll.

As for Ole Miss, they would lose to arch rival Mississippi State 41-27 in the annual "Egg Bowl" as the Rebels would be invited to play in the Cotton Bowl for the second year in a row, this time facing off with the Oklahoma State Cowboys, whom the Rebels defeated 21-7 to finish the season with a 9-4 record and #20 ranking in the final AP poll and #21 ranking in the final coaches poll.

NFL Old School Game of the Week: Cardinals Rally From 23 Points Down to Shock 49ers

Roy Green raises his arms in celebration after his game-winning touchdown catch against the 49ers in 1988.

In Week 10 of the 1988 NFL season, the San Francisco 49ers would play their first ever game in the state of the Arizona as they took on the Phoenix Cardinals(they changed the name to Arizona in 1994).

It would be an experience that the 49ers would like to forget while for the Cardinals it would be one of the greatest victories in team history.

 On March 15, 1988, the NFL voted to allow Brian Bidwell, owner of the St. Louis Cardinals, to move his team to Phoenix, Arizona as the Cardinals would play their home games at Sun Devil Stadium, home of the Arizona State Sun Devils, in Tempe which is about 10 miles away from downtown Phoenix.

For the Cardinals' inaugural season in Arizona, the team was led by head coach Gene Stallings, who was trying to get Phoenix to the postseason for the first time since 1982 and the first time in a non-strike shortned season since 1975.

At quarterback was Neil Lomax, an eight-year veteran who had thrown for a franchise record 4,614 yards in 1984 and 3,387 in 1987, which was tops in the NFL for most passing yards by a quarterback as his favorite targets were wide receivers Roy Green and J.T. Smith.

Following an 0-2 start to the season, the Cardinals would go on a four-game winning streak as Phoenix would improve its record to 5-4 entering their showdown with the 49ers.

While the Cardinals were just hoping to make it to the playoffs, the 49ers had dreams of making it back to the Super Bowl as San Francisco had won two Super Bowls earlier in the decade behind head coach Bill Walsh and quarterback Joe Montana.

However prior to the 1987 season, Walsh traded two NFL draft picks to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for quarterback Steve Young, as the creator of the West Coast offense thought that Montana was on the tail end of his career especially after a serious back injury sidelined Montana for several weeks during the 1986 season.

For the 1988 season, Montana would start the game at quarterback but at certain times would be replaced by Young for a series of two, leading to confusion on who really was the 49ers' starting quarterback as San Francisco went 6-3 over the first nine games of the '88 season.

With Montana bothered by his back, Young would get the start for the 49ers' trip to Phoenix to take on the Cardinals as Young hoped to rely on running back Roger Craig and wide receiver Jerry Rice to lead San Francisco to victory.

The 49ers got the ball to start the game as they would use their running game to drive down the field with the biggest run being a 21-yard run by Young as San Francisco moved 53 yards in eight plays to set up a 42-yard field goal by Mike Cofer to give the 49ers an early 3-0 lead.

Neither team could mount a drive for the rest of the first quarter until the 49ers put together a 10-play, 70-yard drive that spilled over into the second quarter as fullback Tom Rathman accounted for 30 yards on the drive with a 16-yard reception and two runs for 14 yards, all leading up to a three-yard touchdown run by Craig to increase San Francisco's lead to 10-0 with 12:06 to go in the second quarter.

The Cardinals would start their next possession at their 27-yard-line as a four-yard run by Stump Mitchell and a quarterback sack by the 49ers' defensive lineman Michael Carter and Larry Roberts would force a 3rd & 14 situation when Lomax completed a 22-yard pass to J.T. Smith only for him to fumble after a hit by San Francisco strong safety Jeff Fuller.

Linebacker Keena Turner would make the recovery to give the 49ers the ball at the Cardinals' 44-yard-line where Young would complete a 14-yard pass to Rice which was followed by a 25-yard run by Craig would give San Francisco a 1st & goal at the Phoenix five-yard-line.

However, the Cardinals' defense would keep the 49ers out of the end zone as a quarterback sack by Phoenix defensive tackle Bob Clasby would stall the drive and force San Francisco to settle for a 27-yard field goal by Cofer which increased the 49ers' lead to 13-0 with 8:24 left in the second quarter.

49ers running back Roger Craig would run for 162 yards on 26 carries and score one touchdown.

The Cardinals would then have its best drive of the game thus far as they drove from their 20-yard-line to the San Francisco 46-yard-line thanks in large part to running back Earl Ferrell, who carried the ball on the first three plays of the drive, as he gained 25 yards on his three carries.

But it was Ferrell who would cough up the football after a hit by 49ers linebacker Mike Walter as free safety Ronnie Lott would make the recovery to give San Francisco the ball at their 38-yard-line.

The 49ers would go three-and-out as a holding penalty would wipe out an eight-yard run by Rice on 3rd & 1 which was followed by Young was running for 11 yards on 3rd & 11 only for an illegal block push the 49ers back another 10 yards to set up 3rd & 21 when Young was sacked once again by Clasby forcing San Francisco to punt the ball back to the Cardinals.

The Cardinals would once again move into San Francisco territory and once again Ferrell would fumble the football as Turner would make his second recovery of the first half to give the 49ers the ball at their 42-yard-line with 1:34 left before halftime.

The drive would begin with a 19-yard pass from Young to Rice which was followed by two runs by Craig for 12 yards and then a 15-yard pass from Young to Mike Wilson to give the 49ers a 1st down at the Cardinals' 12-yard-line.

But the 49ers could not put into the end zone as they ended up settling for another field goal by Cofer, this one from 30 yards out which increase their lead to 16-0 as the first half came to an end.

After the Cardinals went three-and-out on their opening possession of the second half, the 49ers would put together a 12-play, 75-yard drive that took over six minutes off the clock and did not end until Young threw a three-yard touchdown pass to tight end Brent Jones, the first touchdown of Jones' career, to increase San Francisco's lead to 23-0 with 7:20 left in the third quarter.

At this point you couldn't blame Phoenix fans for thinking the game was over but there was hope on the Cardinals sidelines that they could come back and win as one year earlier, the Cards scored four touchdowns in the fourth quarter to overcome a 25-point deficit and defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-28 in the largest fourth quarter comeback in NFL history.

Going to a no-huddle offense, the Cardinals would start their next possession at their 26-yard-line as Lomax would complete a 15-yard pass to Smith on the first play of the drive as three plays later, Phoenix was faced with a 4th & 1 when Stallings decided to keep the offense on the field and go for the 1st down which they got when Ferrell ran for two yards to give the Cardinals a fresh set of downs at the San Francisco 48-yard-line.

After Ferrell caught a pass for nine yards then ran for four more yards to give Phoenix a 1st down, Lomax would hit Green in the corner of the end zone for a 35-yard touchdown to put the Cardinals on the scoreboard as they cut the 49ers' lead to 23-7 with 3:39 to go in the third quarter.

The 49ers would hold the ball for the rest of the third quarter as they drove from their 25-yard-line to the Cardinals' 37-yard-line where they would face a 3rd & 5 as the fourth quarter began with an apparent 1st down as Young scrambled for eight yards, only for it to be nullified by a holding penalty to set up 3rd & 15 when Young was sacked by Phoenix linebacker Kevin Harvey, forcing San Francisco to punt the ball back to the Cardinals.

Taking over at their 34-yard-line, the Cardinals would drive down to the field on the right arm of Lomax as he would complete four straight passes for 52 yards to move Phoenix to the San Francisco seven-yard-line when on 2nd & 5, Green dropped a sure touchdown that ended up costing the Cardinals four points as they settled for a 24-yard field goal by Al Del Greco to cut the 49ers' lead to 23-10 with 10:51 to go in the fourth quarter.

Cardinals quarterback Neil Lomax would 19 of 30 passes for 214 yards and threw three touchdowns passes in the second half alone.

Following a 49ers three-and-out, the Cardinals got the ball back at the 50-yard-line as a holding penalty would wipe out a 11-yard pass from Lomax to Ernie Jones on 3rd & 10 as Phoenix ended up punting the ball back to San Francisco, only to get a reprieve as a holding penalty on 49ers cornerback Eric Wright before the punt gave the Cardinals a 1st down at the San Francisco 45-yard-line.

However, the Cardinals would end up punting the ball to the 49ers anyway as San Francisco would begin its next possession at their nine-yard-line hoping to some run clock as Craig carried the ball on three straight plays, gaining nine yards to force another San Francisco punt as the Cardinals would once again take over possession at the 50-yard-line with 4:11 to play.

From there, Lomax would complete four straight passes to four different receivers for 48 yards to put the Cardinals at the 49ers' two-yard-line with a 1st & goal to go.

But two incomplete passes and a run by Ferrell that lost three yards would set up a do-or-die 4th & goal when Lomax found Jones for a five-yard touchdown to make it a 23-17 game with 2:17 left in the game.

Stallings decided against an onside kick as the Cardinals still had two timeouts plus the two-minute warning as the 49ers would take over at their 15-yard-line hoping to pick up a 1st down to put the game away.

Craig would run for seven yards on 1st down, then would lose one yard on 2nd down to set up 3rd & 4 when Young kept the ball on a bootleg around the left side as he would try to stretch the ball to pick up the 1st down while being pursued by Cardinals linebacker E.J. Junior.

Young and the 49ers that he picked up the 1st down but the referees spotted him short which was reviewed by the instant replay booth and upheld, forcing the 49ers to punt the ball back to the Cardinals, who took over at their 34-yard-line with 1:27 to play in the game and needing a touchdown to win.

The drive would begin with Lomax completing a nine-yard pass to Smith which was followed by a 14-yard pass to Jones to give the Cardinals a 1st down at the 49ers' 43-yard-line where Lomax would throw an incomplete pass to stop the clock.

Lomax would then hit Smith for nine yards before connecting with Jones for a 25-yard completion to put the Cardinals at the 49ers' nine-yard-line when Lomax threw a pass out of bounds to stop the clock with six seconds to go.

Having perhaps just one chance to get into the end zone, Lomax lofted a pass for Green in the back of the end zone, who would make the catch despite good coverage from 49ers defensive back Darryl Pollard to tie the game at 23 with three seconds to go.

The play would be reviewed and upheld as Al Del Greco would come on to kick the go-ahead extra point as the 49ers could not pull off a miracle on the ensuing kickoff as time expired with the Cardinals on top 24-23 to complete the second greatest comeback in team history.

The collapse against the Cardinals would not be the low point for the 49ers as they would fall to the Los Angeles Raiders 9-3 the following week to drop San Francisco's record to 6-5.

Walsh would then name Montana the starting quarterback for the rest of the season as the 49ers would go on a four-game winning streak to clinch the NFC West division title with a 10-6 record as San Francisco would beat the Minnesota Vikings 34-9 in the Divisional Round, then knocked off the Chicago Bears 28-3 in the NFC Championship Game to send the 49ers to their third Super Bowl in eight years.

In Super Bowl XXIII, Montana would lead the 49ers on 11-play, 92-yard touchdown drive in the final minutes of the game as his 10-yard touchdown pass to John Taylor would give San Francisco a 20-16 win and its third Lombardi Trophy in what would be Walsh's final game as the 49ers' head coach.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals seemed destined to return to the postseason especially after defeating the New York Giants 24-17 the following week to improve their record to 7-4 only to go on a five-game losing streak to end the season with a 7-9 record as Phoenix failed to earn a playoff spot.

The following season would be a tumultuous one for the Cardinals as Lomax missed the entire season because of an arthritic hip, which would lead to his retirement in 1990, while head coach Gene Stallings announced he would step down as head coach at the end of the season, only for general manager Larry Wilson to fire him and replace him with running backs coach Hank Kuhlmann.

The Cardinals would go 0-5 under Kuhlmann as they would finish the '89 season with a 5-11 record as it would they would have to wait until 1998 to finally earn a trip to the NFL postseason.

College Football Old School Game of the Week: Wazzu Wins Apple Cup to Clinch 1st Trip to Rose Bowl in 67 Years

 

Washington State fans tear down the goal posts at Husky Stadium following the Cougars' win in the 1997 Apple Cup.

The mid-1990s saw a number of Big 10 and Pac 10 teams make unexpected runs to the Rose Bowl.

It all started with the Wisconsin Badgers, who ended a 31-year drought with their Big 10 championship season in 1993, followed by the Oregon Ducks in the Pac 10 who ended a 37-year drought with their Pac-10 championship season in 1994.

1995 saw the biggest shocker of them all when the Northwestern Wildcats, who had not had a winning season since 1971, made it to the Rose Bowl, followed by the Arizona State Sun Devils who won the Pac-10 in 1996 to play in the Grandaddy of Them All after a nine-year postseason absence.

For 1997, it was the Washington State Cougars' turn to shock the college football world as Wazzu entered its regular season finale with the Washington Huskies with a chance to earn a trip to play in the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1930

The Cougars were led by head coach Mike Price, who was in his ninth season at Pullman as the Wazzu head coach after led the Cougars to bowl appearances in 1992 and 1994.

Wazzu was not expected to contend for the Pac-10 crown in 1997 as the Cougars were expected to finish seventh in the 10-team league.

But led by eventual Heisman Trophy finalist Ryan Leaf at quarterback, the Cougars jumped out to a 7-0 start as they climbed into the top 10 of the AP and coaches poll until a 44-31loss to Arizona State early in November ended Wazzu's chances of a undefeated season.

The Cougars recovered to win their next two games to improve their record to 9-1 as Leaf threw for 3,279 yards and 31 touchdowns during the first 10 games of the season as the Wazzu offense averaged 42.6 points per game with a wide receiving corps that was nicknamed the Fab Five and running back Michael Black, who needed just 13 yards to cross the 1,000 mark.

If the Cougars could defeat their intrastate rival in the "Apple Cup" and UCLA could beat USC, Washington State would be playing in the "Grandaddy of Them All" for the first time in 67 years.

Standing in the Cougars' way were the Washington Huskies, a team that had accustomed to playing in the Rose Bowl as the Huskies had made six appearances between 1977 and 1992, which included a share of the national title in 1991.

The Huskies made those appearances under head coach Don James, who had resigned prior to the 1993 season as it was revealed several Washington players had received improper benefits which led to the NCAA banning the Huskies from postseason play in 1993 and 1994.

James was replaced by his defensive coordinator, Jim Lambright, who was still the Huskies' head coach as the 1997 season began with many experts predicting that the Huskies would return to the Rose Bowl.

With an offense that featured quarterback Brock Huard, running back Rashaan Shehee, and wide receiver Jerome Pathon, the Huskies were neck + neck with the Cougars at the start of November was Washington stood atop the Pac-10 standings with a 7-1 overall record, their only loss being to the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

But injuries, including one to Shehee, led to the Washington's downfall as they dropped their next two games to fall to 7-3 and eliminated from playing in Pasadena on New Year's Day as the Huskies looked to spoil their rivals' chances of playing in the Rose Bowl with a win in the Apple Cup.

Despite the game being played at Husky Stadium in Seattle, the Cougars entered the game confident as evident by wide receiver Chris Jackson, who during the week saying that the Cougars would hang 40 or 50 points on the Huskies.

The Cougars would get the ball to start the game and while going three-and-out was not the end of the world, a much bigger problem was developing as during the drive, Leaf got his throwing thumb stuck in the face mask of linebacker Jason Chorak, leading to a dislocation of Leaf's thumb.

Leaf would hide the injury as he kept his throwing hand in a hand warmer as the game would go along.

Cougars quarterback Ryan Leaf would complete 22 of 38 passes for 358 yards and throw two touchdown passes.

Following the Cougars three-and-out, the Huskies got the ball at their 29-yard-line as they would put together their longest drive of the season in terms of plays(14) and time of possession(7:53) as Huard would fire a 15-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jerome Pathon to cap off the drive and give Washington a 7-0 lead.

The Cougars offense continued their slow start as they went three-and-out again on their next possession, only to get the ball back one play later as Huard threw a deep pass intended for wide receiver JaWarren Hooker, who tore his hamstring while running his route, leading to a easy interception by Cougars cornerback Adesola Moronkola to give Wazzu the ball at its 27-yard-line.

From there, the Cougars would drive 73 yards in 14 plays, which took over six minutes to complete as Leaf completed 4 of 5 passes for 47 yards on the drive with the biggest completion being a 24-yard pass to Shawn Tims on a 3rd & 9 at the Washington 44-yard-line.

All this would lead up to an eight-yard touchdown run by Black that with the extra point tied the game at seven with 12:53 to go in the second quarter.

The Huskies would turn it over again on their next possession as Huard would be intercepted again on another deep pass, this time by Cougars cornerback Ray Jackson, brother of Chris, to give Wazzu the ball at its 30-yard-line.

A 16-yard pass from Leaf to Tims to start the drive would give the Cougars a 1st down at their 46-yard-line as the next two plays lost three yards to set up a 3rd & 13 when Leaf threw a deep pass for Chris Jackson, who made the catch at the Washington 20-yard-line, then ran over Huskies free safety Tony Parrish to complete the 57-yard touchdown and give Wazzu a 14-7 lead with 9:24 left in the second quarter.

The Huskies seemed poised to tie the game as they would drive to the Cougars' 22-yard-line until Huard was picked off for the third time in the first half as Wazzu defensive end Shane Doyle hit Huard's elbow just as he was about to throw, causing a fluttering ball that was intercepted by free safety Lamont Thompson to end the Washington scoring threat.

Leaf would then complete passes of 15 yards to Kevin McKenzie, 22 yards to Shawn McWashington, and 29 yards to Tims on a 14-play, 86-yard drive that culminated with a 20-yard field goal by Rian Lindell that increased the Cougars' lead to 17-7 as the first half came to a close.

The Huskies would get the ball to start the second half only for it to end with another interception, this time as an Huard pass bounced off the hands of Pathon and into the hands of Thompson to give Wazzu the ball at the Washington 40-yard-line.

Methodically, the Cougars would drive to the Washington three-yard-line when Black tried to run into in for the touchdown until he was hit by Huskies linebacker Marques Hairston, causing a fumble that bounced into the end zone.

However, Cougars left tackle Rob Rainville was able to fall on the football in the end zone for the unlikely touchdown to cap off the 11-play, 40-yard drive and increase Wazzu's lead to 24-7.

An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty following the extra point on the Cougars would help give Washington great field position to start its next drive as Pathon returned the ensuing kickoff 26 yards to the Huskies' 54-yard-line.

From there, Huard complete a 23-yard pass to tight end Cam Cleeland, then hit Fred Coleman for a 38-yard touchdown to cut the Cougars' lead to 24-14, only 50 seconds after the Cougars' last touchdown.

The Cougars would begin their ensuing possession at their 24-yard-line but penalties would back them up to the five-yard-line when on a 3rd & 29, Leaf was picked off by Parrish, who would run it back for a 32-yard pick-six to bring the Huskies to within a field goal at 24-21 with 6:04 left in the third quarter.

With the momentum now in favor of the Huskies, the Cougars needed a score as they took over at their 20-yard-line where it took them four plays  to get to the 50-yard-line where Leaf threw a pass for Chris Jackson, who made the catch at the Washington 25-yard-line and then outran his defender to get into the end zone and push Wazzu's lead back to 10 points at 31-21 with 3:58 left in the third quarter.

Wide receiver Chris Jackson backed up his trash talk by catching eight passes for 185 yards and scoring two touchdowns.

The Huskies would respond with an eight-play, 66-yard drive that was capped off with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Huard to fullback Mike Reed to trim the Washington deficit back to a field goal at 31-28 with only 15 seconds left in the third quarter.

Wazzu would begin its next possession at their 34-yard-line with a 14-yard pass from Leaf to Chris Jackson, followed by a 38-yard run by Black would put the Cougars at the Huskies' 11-yard-line.

Two plays later, the Cougars were faced with a 3rd & 15 when Leaf threw a pass intended for Jackson which fell incomplete but drew a pass interference penalty on the Huskies cornerback Mel Miller to give Wazzu a 1st & goal at the Washington three-yard-line.

Two plays netted two yards to set up 3rd & goal from the one-yard-line where Leaf tried to sneak it in into the end zone as he would recover his own fumble in the end zone to increase the Cougars' lead to 38-28 with 13:14 left in the fourth quarter.

The Huskies looked to respond as they  moved to their 49-yard-line where on 3rd & 12, Huard completd a 22-yard pass to Pathon to give Washington a 1st down at the Cougars' 29-yard-line, only for it to be wiped out with a holding penalty which pushed the Huskies back to their 33-yard-line which would lead to a Washington punt.

The Cougars would then put together a 12-play, 62-yard drive that included Leaf completing two passes to Jackson for 28 yards on the drive that ended with a 29-yard field goal by Lindell that increased Wazzu's lead to 41-28 with 4:12 remaining in the game.

Huard would then throw his fifth interception of the game on the Huskies' ensuing drive as once again the ball bounced off the hands of Pathon and into the hands of Thompson, who tied a Pac-10 record for most interceptions by a freshman in one game with three.

Wazzu would punt the ball back to the Huskies who would drive 78 yards in six plays, culminating with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Huard to Pathon that cut the Cougars' lead to 41-35 with just nine seconds to go.

Any chance at a Washington miracle were dashed on the ensuing kickoff as McWashington recovered the onside kick, allowing Leaf to take a knee and run out the clock as the Cougars won the game 41-35 that tied with UCLA's 31-24 over USC, clinched Washington State the Pac-10 title and secured its spot in the Rose Bowl as Wazzu fans would come onto the field and tear down the goal posts at Husky Stadium.

The loss would drop Washington to #21 in the rankings as the Huskies accepted an invitation to play the Michigan State Spartans in the Aloha Bowl in Hawaii where Shehee returned for Washington as he ran for 193 yards and scored two touchdowns to lead the Huskies to a 51-23 victory.

The Huskies would move up to #18 in the final AP and coaches poll as they finished with a 8-4 record as Lambright would be fired the following season after Washington went 6-6.

As for the Cougars, they would meet the Michigan Wolverines in Pasadena on New Year's Day with the Wolverines eyeing at least a piece of the national championship if they won.

Trailing 21-16 with 29 seconds to go, Leaf led the Cougars from their seven-yard-line to the Michigan 26-yard-line where with two seconds left, Leaf would spike the ball to stop the clock, only for the clock to run out as the game came to a close despite Wazzu's pleas that one second was left when the ball was spiked as Michigan came away with the victory to finish #1 in the AP poll while the Nebraska Cornhuskers finished #1 in the coaches poll.

It would not take the Cougars very long to get back to the Rose Bowl as five years after their Cinderella run in 1997, Wazzu returned to the Rose Bowl as they shared the Pac-10 title with USC but earned the right to go to Pasadena based on the Cougars' overtime win over the Trojans during the season.

However, the Cougars would fall to the Oklahoma Sooners 34-14 in what would be Price's final game as Washington State head coach as he left to become the Alabama Crimson Tide head coach, only to resign before coaching a single game following an off the field scandal.

NFL Old School Game of the Week: Titans Hold Off Rams Rally in Super Bowl Preview

Titans quarterback Steve McNair would throw two touchdown passes while running it for another touchdown in Tennessee's victory over the Rams.

On October 31, 1999, the St. Louis Rams traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to take on the Tennessee Titans in a Week 8 showdown that would end by a preview of the Super Bowl XXXIV.

The Rams were the biggest story going on in the NFL at that time as they had jumped out to a 6-0 start behind head coach Dick Vermeil, who was in his third season as the St. Louis head coach following a 14-year hiatus after a seven-year stint with the Philadelphia Eagles which included an appearance in Super Bowl XV and quarterback Kurt Warner who just a few years earlier was bagging groceries at a Hy-Vee store in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Following an ninth straight losing season, the Rams made some changes in the offseason as they signed quarterback Trent Green to become St. Louis' new starter while acquiring running back Marshall Faulk from the Indianapolis Colts and using their first round pick to select wide receiver Torry Holt who was to be paired up with all-pro wide receiver Isaac Bruce.

With all these pieces on offense and a new play caller in offensive coordinator Mike Martz, the Rams felt confident they could be a dark horse to make the playoffs for the 1999 season.

However in the third game of the preseason, Green tore the ACL in his left knee following a low hit by San Diego Chargers strong safety Rodney Harrison, knocking him out for the season as many experts believed that the Rams were destined for a 10th straight losing season.

But like what Vermeil said in his press conference following Green's injury the Rams rallied around Warner and played good football as they won their first six games by average of almost 25 points per game as Warner throwing for 1,531 yards and 18 touchdowns to direct an offense which averaged 36 points per game, coining the offense to be known as the "Greatest Show on Turf".

While the Rams were dominating their competition, the Titans were finding ways to win in their 5-1 start to the season, which was seen as a rebirth for their franchise in more ways than one.

Prior to the 1996 season, Houston Oilers owner Bud Adams announced he was moving the franchise to Tennessee with the goal of having a new stadium ready to go in the city of Nashville by the start of the 1999 NFL season.

The Oilers spent the 1997 season in Memphis(To read about their first game, click on the link which is highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2017/09/nfl-old-school-game-of-week.html)but after low attendance, the team played their games for the 1998 stadium at Vanderbilt University in Nashville before moving into their brand new stadium on the east bank of the Cumberland River for the 1999 season.

That wasn't the only change for the franchise as the team changed its nickname from Oilers to Titans as new uniforms and colors were also introduced for the 1999 season.

The first official game as the Tennessee Titans was a 36-35 comeback win over the Cincinnati Bengals,  before a sellout crowd at the 69,213 seas Adelphia Coliseum as quarterback Steve McNair threw for 341 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Titans to victory.

But after the win over the Bengals, the Titans would lose McNair for several weeks as he underwent surgery to repair an inflamed disk in his back.

Neil O'Donnell would fill in for McNair and with the help of running back Eddie George, the Titans would go 4-1 over the next six weeks which included narrow wins over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Baltimore Ravens and New Orleans Saints.

As the Titans prepared for their showdown against the Rams, head coach Jeff Fisher kept a tight lip on whether or not McNair would get the start at quarterback as it was not revealed until a hour before kickoff that McNair would get the nod.

Rams running back Marshall Faulk would run for 90 yards on 16 carries while catching six passes for 94 yards and a touchdown.

The Titans would get the ball to start the game as McNair would complete a 15-yard-pass to Yancey Thigpen on the first play from scrimmage, then run for 13 yards on a 3rd & 7 to give Tennessee a 1st down at the Rams' 49-yard-line.

Two plays later, McNair would find tight end Frank Wycheck for a 13-yard completion and another Tennessee 1st down at the St. Louis 35-yard-line as runs by George for 19 yards and McNair for 11 yards would lead to a 1st & goal at the Rams' one-yard-line.

That is when McNair threw an one-yard touchdown pass to fullback Lorenzo Neal to cap off the 11-play, 80-yard drive to give the Titans an early 7-0 lead.

After both teams punted on their ensuing possessions, the Rams had the ball at their 28-yard-line when Warner was sacked by Titans linebacker Joe Bowden, who stripped Warner of the ball, as fellow linebacker Baron Wortham would recover the fumble and return it 8 yards to give Tennessee the ball at the St. Louis 18-yard-line.

On the next play from scrimmage, McNair would complete a screen pass to George, who would run into the end zone for the 17-yard touchdown that would increase Tennessee's lead to 14-0 with 2:41 to go in the opening quarter.

It would go from bad to worse for the Rams on their next possession when Warner collided with fullback Jeff Robinson which led to another fumble recovery by Wortham to give the Titans the ball back at the Rams' 26-yard-line.

This time it would take Tennessee two plays to get into the end zone as McNair completed a 16-yard -pass to Kevin Dyson then ran it up the middle for the 10-yard touchdown to give the Titans a shocking 21-0 lead with 1:24 left in the first quarter.

Following the Titans' two touchdowns in a span of 77 seconds, the game turned into a defensive stalemate as both teams traded punts until there was 1:07 left before halftime when Warner scrambled for 22 yards to give the Rams a 1st down at the Tennessee 33-yard-line as St. Louis was hoping to get on the scoreboard before the end of the first half.

The drive would stall however as the Rams would be forced to settle for a 54-yard field goal attempt by Jeff Wilkins, which fell short of the uprights and no good to keep the score at 21-0 in favor of the Titans after the first 30 minutes of play.

St. Louis would get the ball to start the second half as Ron Carpenter returned the opening kickoff of the second half 37 yards to the Rams' 43-yard-line where Warner and the offense would begin their next possession.

After throwing an incomplete pass on 1st down, Warner connected with Faulk on a swing pass for a 57-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 21-7 just 27 seconds into the third quarter.

Following a Titans punt, the Rams got the ball back at their 41-yard-line as Faulk would run for two yards to begin the drive, which was followed by a roughing the passer penalty on Tennessee defensive tackle Josh Evans to give St. Louis a 1st down at the Titans' 42-yard-line.

Warner would then hit Az-Zhair Hakim for 11 yards then Bruce for 21 yards to give the Rams a 1st & goal at the Titans' 10-yard-line as an incomplete pass and a seven-yard run by Faulk would set up 3rd & goal from the three-yard-line when Warner found Bruce in the end zone for the touchdown to make it a 21-14 game with 7:55 remaining in the third quarter.

Rams quarterback Kurt Warner would complete 29 of 46 passes for 328 yards and throw three touchdown passes.

The Titans would respond with a nine-play, 65-yard drive that took four minutes off the clock as McNair would complete passes of 17 yards to George and 34 yards to Thigpen to help set up a 27-yard field goal by Al Del Greco which pushed Tennessee's lead back to double digits at 24-14.

After an exchange of punts, the Rams took over at their 32-yard-line as the fourth quarter began with Warner completing an eight-yard pass to Faulk which was followed by Marshall running for three yards and a 1st down at the St. Louis 43-yard-line.

However, the drive would end with another St. Louis fumble as Faulk would be stripped of the ball by Titans defensive back Steve Jackson as Bowden would fall on the loose football to give Tennessee the back at the Rams' 46-yard-line.

The Rams' defense would force the Titans to go three-and-out as both teams would again trade punts until the 7:15 mark of the fourth quarter when St. Louis took over at its 20-yard-line, needing two scores.

The drive would begin with a 14-yard pass from Warner to Holt for a 1st down at the Rams' 34-yard-line as a quarterback sack by Evans would force a 2nd & 16 when Warner hit Ricky Proehl for 18 yards and a 1st down at the St. Louis 46-yard-line.

A six-yard pass to Hakim followed by a seven-yard run by Faulk would give the Rams a 1st down at the Titans' 41-yard-line when another quarterback sack and a holding penalty would bring up a 3rd & 21 situation when Warner connected with Hakim again, this time for 25 yards to give St. Louis a fresh set of downs at the Tennessee 27-yard-line.

After an incomplete pass, Warner would complete a 12-yard pass to Faulk to give the Rams a 1st down at the Titans' 15-yard-line when Warner found running back Amp Lee for the 15-yard touchdown that with Wilkins' extra point cut the lead to 24-21 with 2:14 left in regulation.

Having spent all of their timeouts, the Rams had no choice but go for the onside kick in hopes that they could recover it and drive down for at least a potential game-tying field goal.

It worked as linebacker Lorenzo Styles would fall on the football to give the Rams the ball at their 42-yard-line with 2:09 remaining for them to keep their undefeated season going.

Following a false start that pushed the Rams back five yards, Warner would complete a four-yard pass to Faulk followed by a 15-yard pass to Holt to give St. Louis a 1st down at the Tennessee 44-yard-line.

Three plays later, the Rams were faced with a do-or-die 4th & 10 when Warner found Hakim for 15 yards and a 1st down at the Titans' 29-yard-line as Warner would then spike the ball to stop the clock with 59 seconds remaining.

Warner would then complete passes of five yards to Hakim and four yards to Proehl to bring up a 4th & 1 at the Titans' 20-yard-line when Vermeil sent in the field goal unit to try and tie the game to send it into overtime.

However, Wilkins' 38-yard kick would sail wide right and no good, allowing the Titans to take a knee to run out the clock on their 24-21 victory to hand the Rams their first loss of the season while Tennessee improved to a 6-1 record.

Titans running back Eddie George had 17 carries for 68 yards while catching three passes for 35 yards and a touchdown.

The Rams would recover from the loss to finish the season with a 13-3 record which not only clinched the team's first playoff berth in 10 years but also earned them the #1 seed in the NFC playoffs thanks in large part to Warner's MVP season while the Titans would also finish the season with a 13-3 record but had to play in the Wild Card round of the AFC playoffs as they finished one game behind the Jacksonville Jaguars for the top seed in the AFC.

In the playoffs, the Titans stunned the Buffalo Bills 22-16 in their Wild Card game with a game-winning kickoff return by Kevin Dyson in the final seconds that would become known as the "Music City Miracle" as Tennessee would then knock off the Indianapolis Colts 19-16 in the Divisional Round and then beat the Jacksonville Jaguars for the third time in the 1999 season as the Titans' 33-14 victory clinched their trip to the Super Bowl in team history.

Meanwhile, the Rams knocked off the Minnesota Vikings 49-37 in a Divisional Round shootout behind Warner's six touchdown passes then won a 11-6 slugfest over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game to send the Rams to the Super Bowl for the first time in 20 years.

In Super Bowl XXXIV, the Rams would jump out to a 16-0 lead, only to have the Titans rally and tied the game with 2:12 to go in regulation to which St. Louis responded with a 73-yard touchdown pass from Warner to Bruce to put the Rams back on top at 23-16 with 1:48 to play.

The Titans would drive from their 12-yard-line to the St. Louis10-yard-line where on the final play of regulation, McNair completed a slant pass to Kevin Dyson, who was tackled at the one-yard-line by Rams linebacker Mike Jones as time expired with the Rams claiming their first Lombardi trophy with the 23-16 win.

College Football Old School Game of the Week: Notre Dame Nips Texas A&M in Cotton Bowl

You couldn't blame the Notre Dame Fighting Irish or its fans for being angry that they had to play the Texas A&M Aggies in the Cotton Bowl Classic on New Year's Day in 1994 as they felt, especially their head coach Lou Holtz, that they should be playing for the national championship.

Late in the '93 regular season, the #2 ranked Irish defeated #1 Florida State 31-24 in the "Game of the Century" to claim the #1 ranking with a 10-0 record(If you want to read about that game, click on the link which is highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2018/11/college-football-old-school-game-of.html).

The experts felt that a rematch should occur in that year's Fiesta Bowl if the Irish and the Seminoles won out for the rest of the regular season.

But one week after their win over Florida State, the Irish would be upset by #17 Boston College 41-39 as the Eagles won the game on a 41-yard field goal by David Gordon as time expiered, which would drop Notre Dame from #1 to #4.

The shocking loss also derailed the chances of a Florida State-Notre Dame as the Seminoles would win their final two games of the regular season to finish the season as the #1 team in the country which earned them an invitation to play #2 Nebraska Cornhuskers for the national championship in the Orange Bowl.

This led to the Irish accepting an invitation to return to Dallas to play in the Cotton Bowl where some of the Irish faithful hoped that a decisive victory over the Aggies could sway voters in the AP or Coaches Poll to vote Notre Dame #1 after all the bowl games.

The Irish were led by senior quarterback Kevin McDougal, who only become the Irish's starting quarterback when incoming freshman Ron Powlus broke his collarbone one week before the start of the 1993 season.

McDougal led a run-oriented offense that averaged 260.7 yards per game and featured a stable of running backs including Lee Becton, who rushed for 1,044 yards during the season while on defense, the Irish were led by All-American free safety Jeff Burris and cornerback Bobby Taylor that a unit that allowed 17.6 points per game.

The Irish were favored by a touchdown over their opponents, the Texas A&M Aggies, who came into the game ranked #6 in the coaches poll and #7 in the AP poll with a 10-1 record, their only loss being a 44-14 beatdown by the Oklahoma Sooners in the second game of the season.

A&M was led by R.C. Slocum, who had led the Aggies to their third straight Southwest Confernce championship and third straight trip to the Cotton Bowl

Under Slocum, the Aggies became known for their defense nicknamed the "Wrecking Crew" which led the nation in total defense in 1991 and was strong again in 1993 as the "Crew" led by All-American defensive lineman Sam Adams and cornerback Aaron Glenn allowed just 10.8 points per game during the regular season.

But if the Aggies were going to upset the Irish they were going to need a strong performance from their offense which scored a total of just five points in A&M's previous two Cotton Bowl appearances, including a 28-3 loss to the Irish one year before.

 Notre Dame would get the ball to start the game as they would drive 91 yards in 13 plays with all but one of those plays being a run as McDougal would keep it himself on a quarterback option for a 19-yard touchdown that put the Irish on top 7-0.

Not to be outdone, the Aggies would also drive for a touchdown on their opening possession of the game as A&M would drive 79 yards in 10 plays as quarterback Corey Pullig completed passes of 21 yards to Thomas, nine yards to tight end Greg Schorp, and 18 yards to running back Clif Groce, to set up an eight-yard touchdown run by running back Greg Hill, the first touchdown A&M had scored in a Cotton Bowl since their win over the Irish six years earlier.

Following a Notre Dame punt, the Aggies would get the ball back at their 40-yard-line as A&M would quickly drive to the Irish 22-yard-line as Hill busted loose for a 20-yard run which was followed by an 18-yard pass from Pullig to wide receiver Brian Mitchell.

However, the drive would stall as Pullig would throw three straight incomplete passes, forcing the Aggies to call on Terry Venetoulias to attempt a 39-yard field goal which would be blocked by Notre Dame cornerback Bobby Taylor to keep score at 7-7 as the first quarter came to an end.

Notre Dame running back Lee Becton ran for 138 yards on 26 carries.

The two teams would exchange punts at the beginning of the second quarter until the Aggies took over at their 23-yard-line as they would put together a drive that would last over seven minutes which included two 4th down conversions.

The first one came at the A&M 44-yard-line as Pullig sneaked for two yards to pick up the 1st down on a 4th & inches and the second one come on a 4th & 1 at the Notre Dame 15-yard-line as Pullig found running back Detron Smith wide open for the touchdown to give the Aggies a 14-7 lead with 2:56 left before halftime.

The Irish would hold the ball for over two minutes before punting it back to the Aggies who ran out the clock to go into the halftime break up 14-7 and set to get the ball to start the second half.

But the Aggies would go three-and-out on their opening possession of the second half which was compounded by a 12-yard punt by Kevin Bennett which gave the Irish great field position as they would begin their ensuing possession at their 49-yard-line.

From there, the Irish would drive 51 yards in eight plays, all of them runs, as Becton carried the ball four times for 32 yards on the drive, which culminated with a two-yard touchdown run by fullback Ray Zellers that help tied the game at 14 with 10:21 to play in the third quarter.

The Aggies would respond with a 10-play, 80-yard drive which saw running back Leeland McElroy run for 21 yards on the first play of the drive and then for 16 yards later in the drive to set up Rodney Thomas' one-yard touchdown run to put A&M back in front at 21-14 with 6:50 left in the third quarter.

Back came the Irish as they would move 65 yards in seven plays on a drive where Becton ran the ball three times for 30 yards and McDougal completed a 18-yard pass to Zellers, all leading up to a two-yard touchdown run by fullback Marc Edwards that with the extra point tied the game once again, this time at 21 with 3:48 remaining in the third quarter.

After both teams punted on their next possessions, the Aggies got the ball back at their 36-yard-line as A&M would overcome a 3rd & 17 situation as Pullig completed a 24-yard pass to wide receiver Tony Harrison to give the Aggies a 1st down at the Notre Dame 47-yard-line.

But two plays later, the Aggies would turn it over as Notre Dame linebacker Pete Bercich made a diving interception to kill the A&M drive and give the Irish the ball at their 45-yard-line.

It was a bit of redemption for Bercich as he had a potential interception slip through his fingers on Boston College's eventual drive for the game-winning field goal.

The Irish would advance to the A&M 43-yard-line before punting it back to the Aggies, who took over at their 10-yard-line as they would go three-and-out as they would be forced to punt and give Notre Dame great field position for their next drive.

The field position would become even greater as Michael Miller would return the punt 38 yards to the A&M 22-yard-line where the Irish would take over with 3:55 left in the game and a short field to drive for the go-ahead score.

Becton would run for eight yards on 1st down but would lose a yard on 2nd down to set up 3rd & 3 where Zellars picked up just one yard to bring up 4th & 2 as the Irish lined up to go for the 1st down only to call timeout with 2:22 left as an attempt to draw the Aggies offsides failed.

On came Kevin Pendergast, who would come on and kick a 31-yard field goal that split through the arms of a diving Glenn, who was attempting to block the kick, and just inside the right upright for a successful kick to give the Irish a 24-21 with 2:17 to go in the game.

The Aggies would begin their ensuing possession at their 31-yard-line with a chance to drive down for a potential game-tying field goal or game-winning touchdown, only to turn it over on the first play from scrimmage as at the end of an 11-yard run by Thomas, Irish free safety Jeff Burris would hit Thomas so hard it jarred the ball loose.

Taylor wound up recovering the fumble to give Notre Dame the ball at the Aggies 42-yard-line, giving the Irish a chance to run out the clock and clinch the victory.

However, the Aggies would force a three-and-out as they would spend their last two timeouts as A&M would start their next possession at its 20-yard-line with 1:10 remaining.

Pullig would give the Aggies hope for a miracle as he completed a 32-yard pass to Schrop to give A&M a 1st down at the Notre Dame 48-yard-line only to be followed up with a quarterback sack and an incomplete pass to force a 3rd & 17 at the Aggies 41-yard-line.

That is when Pullig connected with Harrison for a 24-yard completion that the junior wide receiver hoped to make a bigger play as he tried to lateral the ball to McElroy on a hook-and-ladder play which was disrupted by Taylor whose hit on Harrison caused him to pitch the ball over McElroy's head and into the arms of Notre Dame defensive lineman Renaldo Wynn.

Wynn's recovery allowed the Irish to take a knee to run out the clock as Notre Dame would come away with the 24-21 win for their second straight win in the Cotton Bowl.

The loss would only drop the Aggies one place in the final Coaches poll and two places in the final AP poll as they would finish #8 and #9 respectively in what would be their final trip to the Cotton Bowl as members of the Southwest Conference as the conference would dissolve following the 1995 season as A&M would join the Big 12 conference in 1996.

As for the Irish, they would finish #2 in both the AP and coaches' polls despite Holtz's campaigning that Notre Dame be voted #1 as Florida State would defeat #2 Nebraska 18-16 in the Orange Bowl as the Seminoles be declared the national champion for 1993 despite their loss to the Irish.

Kevin Pendergast looks on as to see to his game-winning field goal sail through the uprights.

The Aggies would begin their ensuing possession at their 31-yard-line with a chance to drive down for a potential game-tying field goal or game-winning touchdown, only to turn it over on the first play from scrimmage as at the end of an 11-yard run by Thomas, Irish free safety Jeff Burris would hit Thomas so hard it jarred the ball loose.

Taylor wound up recovering the fumble to give Notre Dame the ball at the Aggies 42-yard-line, giving the Irish a chance to run out the clock and clinch the victory.

However, the Aggies would force a three-and-out as they would spend their last two timeouts as A&M would start their next possession at its 20-yard-line with 1:10 remaining.

Pullig would give the Aggies hope for a miracle as he completed a 32-yard pass to Schrop to give A&M a 1st down at the Notre Dame 48-yard-line only to be followed up with a quarterback sack and an incomplete pass to force a 3rd & 17 at the Aggies 41-yard-line.

That is when Pullig connected with Harrison for a 24-yard completion that the junior wide receiver hoped to make a bigger play as he tried to lateral the ball to McElroy on a hook-and-ladder play which was disrupted by Taylor whose hit on Harrison caused him to pitch the ball over McElroy's head and into the arms of Notre Dame defensive lineman Renaldo Wynn.

Wynn's recovery allowed the Irish to take a knee to run out the clock as Notre Dame would come away with the 24-21 win for their second straight win in the Cotton Bowl.

The loss would only drop the Aggies one place in the final Coaches poll and two places in the final AP poll as they would finish #8 and #9 respectively in what would be their final trip to the Cotton Bowl as members of the Southwest Conference as the conference would dissolve following the 1995 season as A&M would join the Big 12 conference in 1996.

As for the Irish, they would finish #2 in both the AP and coaches' polls despite Holtz's campaigning that Notre Dame be voted #1 as Florida State would defeat #2 Nebraska 18-16 in the Orange Bowl as the Seminoles be declared the national champion for 1993 despite their loss to the Irish.

NFL Old School Game of the Week: Vikings' First NFL Game is a Dominant Win over Bears

 

On January 28, 1960 the National Football League announced that they would be added a new franchise in Minneapolis, Minnesota that would begin play in 1961 and become to be known as the Minnesota Vikings.

For their first season, the Vikings hired Norm Van Brocklin as their first head coach despite the fact the former NFL quarterback who had no coaching experience as he had just retired after the 1960 season in which he led the Philadelphia Eagles to the NFL championship.

With the head coach vacancy being fulfilled, the Vikings began to fill out a roster through free agency, the expansion draft and NFL draft as Minnesota would sign quarterback George Shaw, the man Johnny Unitas replaced as starting quarterback in Baltimore, and acquire running back Hugh McElhenny from the San Francisco 49ers, who had run for 4,288 yards and caught 195 passes for 2,666 yards during his nine seasons with the Niners.

In the collegiate draft, the Vikings would easy the #1 overall pick to select running back Tommy Mason from Tulane, the first of a class of 20 players that included in the third round, the selection of quarterback Fran  Tarkenton from the University of Georgia.

Tarkenton would serve as the backup to Shaw as the Vikings prepared to host the Chicago Bears at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota on September 17, 1961 for the first ever NFL game played in the state of Minnesota.

The Bears entered the 1961 season hoping to bounce back from a losing season the year before as they finished with a a 5-6-1 record for only the sixth losing season since their inception back in 1920.

Led by head coach George Halas, the Bears came into the game with the Vikings as a two-touchdown favorite as many experts believed Chicago would easily dispatch of Minnesota to get the '61 season off to a good start for the "Monsters of the Midway".

 The Vikings would begin their first offensive possession in team history at their 24-yard-line with an incomplete pass that would become a 23-yard gain as Bears cornerback J.C. Caroline was called for pass interference to give Minnesota a 1st down at their 47-yard-line.

From there, the Vikings would drive to the Chicago four-yard-line until Mike Mercer came on to kick a 12-yard field goal(The goalposts were at the goal line in 1961)to give Minnesota a 3-0 lead.

The Bears get the ball at their 26-yard-line for their first drive of the game as they drove to the Vikings' 30-yard-line until a comedy of errors would push Chicago backwards.

First, Gallimore fumbled a handoff from Brown which resulted in a fumble which was recovered by the quarterback but not after a loss of 11 yards to set up 2nd & 21 when Brown was sacked for a 10-yard loss which was followed by a two-yard loss by Casares that would force the Bears to punt on 4th & 33 where  center Mike Pyle's snap sailed over the head of punter John Adams and was recovered by the Vikings at the Chicago 14-yard-line, giving Minnesota a golden opportunity to increase their lead.

However, the Vikings could only muster three yards on three plays, forcing them to settle for a 18-yard field goal by Mercer which would sail wide left of the goalposts and no good as the Bears would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line.

But just one play later, the Vikings would have the ball back as linebacker Clancy Osborne intercepted a Brown pass to give Minnesota the ball at the Chicago 20-yard-line to give the Vikings another chance to get into the end zone.

The Vikings would drive to the Bears' one-yard-line where they would face a 4th & goal when Van Brocklin decided to go for the touchdown instead of kicking a field goal as Shaw tried to sneak into the end zone only to be stopped for no gain to keep the score at 3-0 as the first quarter came to an end.

Following a Chicago three-and-out, the Vikings would take over at the Bears' 31-yard-line when Van Brocklin took out Shaw and inserted Tarkenton in as quarterback.

Fran Tarkenton would come off the bench to complete 17 of 23 passes for 250 yards and throw four touchdown passes while running it for another touchdown.

The change at quarterback would pay off as Tarkenton would complete a 15-yard pass to fullback Mel Trippett on 2nd & 8 which was followed by a 14-yard touchdown pass to Bob Schnelker, the first in Vikings history, to increase Minnesota's lead to 10-0 just 87 seconds into the second quarter.

The Bears would begin their next drive at their 34-yard-line where they would advance to the Vikings' 26-yard-line when on 4th & 6, Halas decided to go for the 1st down, which he got when Brown connected with wide receiver Johnny Morris for a 23-yard completion to give Chicago a 1st & goal at the Minnesota three-yard-line.

After he was stopped for no gain on 1st down, Casares would punch it in for a three-yard touchdown to cut the Vikings' lead to 10-6 as the extra point would not be attempted as holder Dick Norman would fumble the snap from center.

Following an exchange of punts, the Vikings would get the ball back at their 42-yard-line as a 26-yard pass from Tarkenton to Jerry Reichow and an nine-yard run by the rookie quarterback put Minnesota at the Bears' 23-yard-line until Tarkenton fumbled the football which was recovered by Chicago linebacker Roger LeClerc to end the drive and allow the Bears to run out the clock in the first half with the Vikings on top 10-6.

The Bears would get the ball to start the second half as they would start their ensuing possession at their 20-yard-line only for Gallimore to lose the football on the first play from scrimmage as Vikings linebacker Rip Hawkins would make the hit that would force the fumble that was recovered by strong safety Rich Mostardi to give Minnesota the ball at the Chicago 27-yard-line.

Tarkenton would complete two passes to McElhenny for 13 yards to give Minnesota a 1st down at the Chicago 14-yard-line when an incomplete pass followed by a quarterback sack by Bears linebacker Joe Fortunato for a 15-yard loss would set up 3rd & 25.

That is when Tarkenton connected with Reichow for a 29-yard touchdown that would increase Minnesota's lead to 17-6 with 12:37 to go in the third quarter.

After forcing the Bears to punt on their ensuing possession, the Vikings got the ball back at their 29-yard-line as four plays took Minnesota into Chicago territory to the Bears' 49-yard-line when Tarkenton hit Reichow again, this time for a 48-yard completion to give the Vikings a 1st & goal at the one-yard-line.

Three running plays that resulted in a cumulative loss of one yard would set up 4th & goal when the Vikings decided to go for the touchdown which they got when Tarkenton completed a swing pass to McElhenny, who was able to get into the end zone for two-yard touchdown to push the Minnesota lead to 24-6 with 3:10 left in the third quarter.

Things would go from bad to worse for the Bears on their next drive as Brown would be intercepted again, this time by Vikings free safety Charlie Sumner to give Minnesota the ball at the Chicago 49-yard-line.

Seven plays later, the Vikings were back in the end zone as Tarkenton ran it in for a three-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter to extend the Vikings' lead to 31-6.

Halas would insert Billy Wade at quarterback on the Bears' next possession which lasted only two plays as Wade would be intercepted by Vikings cornerback Jack Morris, whose 25-yard return gave Minnesota the ball at the Chicago 17-yard-line.

A pass interference penalty would push the Vikings back 15 yards to the Chicago 32-yard-line where they would face a 1st & 25 when Tarkenton found Dave Middleton for a 24-yard completion to set up 2nd & 1 where a three-yard run by Triplett gave Minnesota a 1st & goal at the Bears' five-yard-line.

Two runs by Doug Mayberry for three yards and an incomplete pass would bring up 4th & goal when Van Brocklin again went for the touchdown instead of the field goal as Tarkenton would find Middleton in the back of the end zone for the touchdown to push the Vikings' lead to 37-6 with 10:28 to go in the game.(The extra point was blocked by the way).

The Vikings celebrate in the locker room following their historic upset over the Bears.

The Bears would get into the end zone one more time before the end of the game, a 10-yard touchdown pass from Wade to Gallimore, as the Vikings came away with a stunning 37-13 win in their first game in team history.

The Bears would bounce back from the embarrassing loss to have a winning season as they would finish with an 8-6 record which included a 52-35 win over the Vikings in the final week of the regular season.

As for the Vikings, their win over the Bears would be the highlight of their inaugural season as they would finish with a 3-11 record as Minnesota would have only one winning season during Van Brocklin's tenure as head coach which lasted through the 1966 season.

Van Brocklin would be replaced by Bud Grant, who in his 19 seasons in Minnesota, would lead the Vikings 11 division titles and four trips to the Super Bowl, with Tarkenton as the quarterback for three of those four Super Bowl appearances.