NFL Old School Game of the Week: Andersen's Last Second FG Clinches Playoff Spot for Saints

Saints kicker Morten Andersen raises his arms in celebration after his game-winning field goal in the Saints' 1990 regular season finale with the Rams.

New Orleans, Louisiana is often one of the places to be on New Year's Eve as thousands of partiers go to Bourbon Street or the French Quarter to ring in the new year.

But the New Year's Eve in 1990 in New Orleans might be considered the greatest New Year's Eve in the history of the city as the Saints secured a spot in the NFL postseason for only the second time in team history.

The Saints came into the game with a 7-8 record in what had been a disappointing season up to this point after three straight winning seasons under head coach Jim Mora, who had become the team's head coach prior to the 1986 season and led the Saints to their first ever playoff spot in 1987.

Things got off to a rocky start during the offseason as the team was engaged in a contract dispute with starting quarterback Bobby Hebert that resulted in the "Cajun Cannon" sitting out the entire 1990 season.

The team would go back-and-forth at quarterback between veteran John Fourcade and second-year man Steve Walsh, who the Saints acquired in a trade early in the season from the Dallas Cowboys, as the offense struggled while the defense led by the "Dome Patrol" linebacker corps of Ricky Jackson, Vaughn Johnson, Sam Mills, and Pat Swilling kept New Orleans in the playoff race as they held offenses to 10 points or fewer six times during the 1990 season.

After a 2-5 start to the season, the Saints entered the regular season finale with a chance to clinch a Wild Card berth in the NFC if they could defeat the 5-10 Los Angeles Rams or if the game ended in a tie. 

If the Rams won, then the 7-9 Cowboys would become the first team to make the NFL playoffs with a losing record.

The Rams would get the ball to start the game as they began their first possession at their 20-yard-line with a three-yard run by Marcus Dupree followed by an incomplete pass to set up 3rd & 7 when quarterback Jim Everett went deep and hit Ellard, who made a diving catch, for a 32-yard completion and a 1st down at the Saints' 45-yard-line.

After the next three plays netted eight yards, the Rams were faced with a 4th & 2 at the New Orleans 37-yard-line when head coach John Robinson kept the offense on the field as they would go for the 1st down which they got when Everett completed a three-yard pass to tight end Pete Holohan.

On the next play from scrimmage, Everett would find Ellard again, this time for 25 yards to give Los Angeles a 1st & goal at the Saints' nine-yard-line as the drive would stall thanks in large part to a holding penalty on tight end Pat Carter which pushed the Rams back 10 yards.

Mike Lansford would come on to attempt a 30-yard field goal but his kick would sail wide left of the uprights to keep the game scoreless as the Saints would take over at their 20-yard-line.

The first two plays of the drive would gain seven yards to set up 3rd & 3 when Walsh completed a short pass to wide receiver Eric Martin, who took the pass and ran it down to the Rams' 39-yard-line after a 34-yard gain.

The Saints would pick up six more yards before calling on Morten Andersen to attempt a 51-yard field goal which was long enough but sailed wide left to keep it a 0-0 game as the Rams would take over at their 33-yard-line.

The Saints defense would force the Rams to go three-and-out as returner Vince Buck received the ensuing punt and returned it 33 yards to the Los Angeles 36-yard-line for the longest punt return of the season for New Orleans.

Following two runs for 10 yards, Walsh would find wide receiver Floyd Turner over the middle for a 26-yard touchdown for the first points of the game as the Saints took a 7-0 lead with 2:13 remaining in the first quarter.

The Rams would begin their next possession at their 20-yard-line as a 43-yard pass from Everett to Ellard would help led to a 26-yard field goal by Lansford which put Los Angeles on the scoreboard and cut the New Orleans lead to 7-3 early in the second quarter.

The Saints would get great field position for the second drive in a row as Gene Atkins returned the ensuing kickoff 50 yards to the Los Angeles 47-yard-line.

From there, the Saints would run the ball on 10 straight plays with running back Craig "Ironhead" Heyward getting the bulk of the work as he carried the ball seven times for 27 yards on the drive with his last carry being an one-yard touchdown to extend New Orleans' lead to 14-3 with 4:27 left in the second quarter.

Saints quarterback Steve Walsh completed 11 of 26 passes for 174 yards and threw one touchdown and zero interceptions.

The two teams would trade punts until 25 seconds remained in the second quarter when the Saints took over at the Rams' 41-yard-line after a poor punt LA punter Keith English as a nine-yard pass from Walsh to running back Gill Fenerty would give Andersen another chance at a field goal.

But once again Andersen could not connect as his 48-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right as the score remained at 14-3 in favor of the Saints as the first 30 minutes of play.

The third quarter would be a stalemate as both teams exchanged punts for the majority of the quarter with the exception of Rams possession midway through the quarter.

Starting at their 36-yard-line, the Rams would advance into Saints territory, thanks in large part to a 25-yard pass from Everett to Flipper Anderson, who had caught 15 passes for 336 yards in the Rams' last game in the Superdome(To read about that game, click on the link which is highlighted here:https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2018/10/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-flipper.html)as Los Angeles had a 1st down at the New Orleans 25-yard-line when Everett found over Ellard over the middle for a big gain.

Ellard appeared on his way to a touchdown until he was met by Atkins at the five-yard-line as the free safety would knock the ball loose as Mills would end up making the recovery at the Saints' nine-yard-line as the game would go into the fourth quarter with New Orleans holding on to a 14-3 lead.

The Rams would begin their first possession of the final quarter at their 33-yard-line as a 14-yard pass from Everett to Ellard followed by a six-yard run by Dupree would set up 2nd & 4 when Everett was able to hit Anderson in stride for a 47-yard touchdown to cut the Saints' lead to 14-10 with 13:31 to go in the fourth quarter.

Following an exchange of punts, the Saints would get the ball back at the Rams' 38-yard-line as three runs by Fenerty for 14 yards would set up a 41-yard field goal attempt by Andersen, which this time he made to increase the Saints' lead back to a touchdown at 17-10 with 5:59 to go in the final period.

The Rams would get the ball back at their 19-yard-line as Everett would complete a seven-yard pass to Holohan to begin the drive which was followed by a two-yard run by running back Robert Delpino and then a pass to Delpino that went for no gain to set up 4th & 1.

Once again, Robinson gambled and went for the 1st down which he got as Everett completed a two-yard pass to Holohan to move the sticks as the Rams had a fresh set of downs at their 30-yard-line.

Two plays later on 3rd & 9, Everett would find wide receiver Aaron Cox for a 32-yard completion to give Los Angeles a 1st down at the Saints' 37-yard-line which was followed up with an incomplete pass to bring up 2nd & 10 when running back Cleveland Gary bursted through the middle for a 26-yard run to give the Rams a 1st down at the New Orleans 11-yard-line as the two-minute warning hit.

After the timeout, Everett would hit Holohan for a 10-yard pass to give the Rams a 1st & goal when Everett found Delpino in the right corner of the end zone for the one-yard touchdown that with the extra point tied the game at 17 with 1:19 to go in regulation.

The game seemed destined for overtime especially since the Saints offense had gone quiet in the second half compiling only 70 yards of total offense over six possessions.

However, they would get good field position to start their attempt at a game-winning drive as Atkins returned the ensuing kickoff 27 yards to the New Orleans 44-yard-line.

Following an incomplete pass on 1st down, Walsh would hit wide receiver Brett Perriman for 11 yards and a New Orleans 1st down at the Los Angeles 45-yard-line where the threw another incomplete pass to bring up 2nd & 10.

That is when Walsh connected with Martin for a 34-yard completion to give the Saints a 1st down at the Rams' 11-yard-line as Walsh would take one knee before Andersen would come on to the field to attempt a 29-yard field goal that if successful would send New Orleans to the playoffs.

It looked the Rams had saved themselves when defensive tackle Alvin Wright was able to break through the Saints' line of defense to block the kick to send the game into overtime, only for Wright be called for being offsides, which negated the blocked kick, moved the Saints five yards closer but more importantly give Andersen another chance at a game-winning field goal.

This time, Andersen would make the kick from 24 yards out to give the Saints a 20-17 lead with two seconds left which meant the Rams had one more chance if they could return the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown.

Gaston Green would receive the kick at his six-yard-line as he would give the Saints a scare as he returned the kick into New Orleans territory until he was tackled by Buck at the Saints' 38-yard-line which ended the game with New Orleans on top 20-17 as the Saints had secured their second ever trip to the NFL postseason.

One week after their dramatic win over the Rams, the Saints would be eliminated from the postseason as they would be held to just 193 yards of total offense in a 16-6 loss to the Chicago Bears.

Hebert would return as the team's starting quarterback for the next two seasons as the Saints won their first ever division title in 1991 with a 11-5 record then clinched a Wild Card spot in 1992 with a 12-4 record, only for New Orleans to be eliminated in the Wild Card round in both seasons, first by the Atlanta Falcons in '91 and the Philadelphia Eagles in '92.

College Football Old School Game of the Week: Auburn Escapes Kentucky with Win on Walk-off FG

Auburn quarterback Cam Newton would run for 198 yards on 28 carries and score four touchdowns while completing 13 of 21 passes for 210 yards in the Tigers' win over Kentucky.

The 2010 season for the Auburn Tigers was perhaps the greatest season in school history as the team came out of nowhere to win the national championship as the team went 14-0 with seven of their victories having a margin of eight points or less.

One of the Tigers' close calls came midway through the season when Auburn traveled up to the Bluegrass state to take on the Kentucky Wildcats in a primetime showdown.

Auburn came into the game ranked #8 in the country with a 5-0 record under head coach Gene Chizik, who was in his second season as the Tigers' head coach who had led the Tigers to a 5-0 start the previous season only for Auburn to finish with a 8-5 record.

The Tigers' rise in the polls had coincided with the arrival of quarterback Cam Newton, who had joined the Auburn football program in the spring of 2010 after playing a year in junior college following dismissal from the University of Florida after he stole a laptop computer from a fellow student.

In the Tigers' first five games of the season, Newton had thrown for 928 yards and 12 touchdowns while running for 474 yards and five touchdowns in offensive coordinator Guz Malzahn's high octane no-huddle offense.

With narrow wins over Mississippi State, Clemson and South Carolina, the Tigers were starting to be seen as a national title contender as Auburn looked to avenge their 21-14 loss to Kentucky from the year before at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn.

The Wildcats came into the game with a 3-2 record as they looked to end a two-game losing streak following a 3-0 start to the season under head coach Joker Phillips, who was in his first season as the Kentucky head coach after taking over for Rich Brooks, who retired after the 2009 season.

Kentucky had its own dynamic player in Randall Cobb who after playing his freshman season at quarterback, moved to wide receiver in 2009 while lining up at quarterback from time-to-time in the "Wildcat" formation as he accounted for 15 touchdowns to help Kentucky earn its fourth straight bowl appearance.

The Wildcats would hope for a big performance from Cobb if they were going to upset the Tigers and end Auburn's chances at an undefeated season.

Kentucky would get the ball to start the game as the Wildcats would get great field position for their first drive of the game as Cobb returned the opening kickoff 36 yards to the Auburn 49-yard-line.

From there, the Wildcats would travel to the Tigers' two-yard-line when Cobb, lined up at quarterback, ran it for the touchdown to give Kentucky a 7-0 lead.

The Tigers would begin their first drive of the game at their 22-yard-line as Auburn would drive 78 yards in nine plays culminating with a 16-yard touchdown run by Newton to tie the game at 7 with 6:44 to go in the first quarter.

After forcing the Wildcats to go three-and-out on their next possession, the Tigers would get the ball back at their 22-yard-line as the drive would begin with a 27-yard run by Michael Dyer which was followed by a 12-yard pass from Newton to tight end Phillip Lutzenkirchen to put Auburn in Kentucky territory at the Wildcats' 39-yard-line.

Five plays later, the Tigers were back in the end zone as Newton ran it in from eight yards out to give Auburn a 14-7 lead with 1:17 left in the opening quarter.

Following a Kentucky punt, the Tigers would begin their next drive at their 20-yard-line as two runs by Newton for 34 yards and a four-yard pass to running back Mario Fannin moved Auburn to the Kentucky 42-yard-line when Newton was able to throw a pass downfield despite being dragged down by Wildcats cornerback Anthony Mosley, that was caught by Kodi Burns for a 33-yard gain and an Auburn 1st down at the nine-yard-line.

Fannin would run for four yards on the next play from scrimmage which was followed by Newton's third touchdown run of the game, a five-yard scamper that increased Auburn's lead to 21-7 early in the second quarter.

Kentucky looked to get things going on offense on their next possession but running back Derrick Locke would fumble the football at the end of a five-yard run as he was stripped of the ball by Auburn linebacker Daren Bates as fellow linebacker Craig Stevens would recover the fumble to give the Tigers' offense the ball at their 48-yard-line.

Three straight running plays gained 31 yards until two straight incomplete passes thrown by Newton forced the Tigers to settle for a 38-yard field goal by Wes Byrum which extended the Auburn lead to 24-7 with 7:12 left in the second quarter.

Locke would atone for his fumble by returning the ensuing kickoff 40 yards to the Kentucky 45-yard-line as the Wildcats would drive 55 yards in five plays to cut the Auburn lead to 24-14 as Cobb threw a six-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jordan Aumiller with 4:52 to go in the first half.

The Tigers would respond with a nine-play, 80-yard drive as Newton would complete a 34-yard pass to wide receiver Darvin Adams on a 3rd & 13, then ran for 35 yards to set up his fourth touchdown run of the game, this one from two yards out to push the Auburn lead back to 17 points at 31-14 with 1:06 remaining before halftime.

The Wildcats would take over at their 33-yard-line hoping to get some points before the end of the half as their regular starting quarterback Mike Hartline would complete four straight passes to four different receivers, totaling 43 yards to move Kentucky to the Auburn 24-yard-line with 12 seconds to go.

Hartline would throw his only incomplete pass of the drive which was followed by a 12-yard completion to Locke to set up a 29-yard field goal by Craig McIntosh as time expired in the first half with Auburn holding on to a 31-17 lead.

Kentucky's Randall Cobb complied 207 all purpose yards and accounted for four touchdowns.

The Tigers would get the ball to start the second half as Fannin would get two carries for 10 yards to give Auburn a 1st down at the Tigers' 32-yard-line when Newton was intercepted by Kentucky defensive back Winston Guy to give the Wildcats the ball at their 38-yard-line.

Hartline would connect with La'Rod King for 22 yards to begin the drive which would stall at the Auburn 39-yard-line as the Wildcats could not capitalize on the turnover and would punt the ball back to the Tigers.

The Kentucky defense would force a three-and-out to give their offense the ball back at the Auburn 48-yard-line as it took the Wildcats seven plays to get into the end zone as Cobb caught a screen pass from Hartline and ran it in for a 16-yard touchdown to trim the Tigers' lead to 31-24 with 8:18 to go in the third quarter.

After another Auburn three-and-out, the Wildcats got the ball back at their 43-yard-line as Donald Russell, taking over for Locke who left the game with a bruised shoulder, would get his hands on the ball on four consecutive plays as he carried the ball three times for 21 yards and caught a nine-yard pass to move Kentucky to the Auburn 27-yard-line.

Then it was when Cobb struck again as he lined up as quarterback when the Auburn pass rush forced Randall to retreat to the 50-yard-line before he was able to run down the sideline for a 26-yard gain to give Kentucky a 1st & goal where Cobb ran it for the touchdown that with the extra point tied the game at 31 with 4:03 to remaining in the third quarter.

Having seen their 17-point lead evaporate, the Tigers would take over at their 25-yard-line as Newton would complete passes of 17 yards to Terrell Zachery and 39 yards to Adams to help set up a 19-yard field goal by Byrum to give Auburn a 34-31 lead just 43 seconds into the fourth quarter.

Kentucky would get the ball back at their 30-yard-line as they would hold the ball for nearly seven minutes as the Wildcats drove 53 yards in 14 plays with the drive being capped off with a 35-yard field goal by McIntosh to tie the game at 34 with 7:31 to go in regulation.

Auburn would avoid disaster on the ensuing kickoff as Demond Washington, who caught the ball on the kick, tried to pitch it to Zachery only for the senior wide receiver to drop the ball as Terrell would land on the ball at the seven-yard-line as the Tigers would embark on one of if not the most important drives of the season.

Newton would run for four yards on 1st down, then threw an incomplete pass to bring up a 3rd & 6 where he completed a nine-yard pass to Adams to move the sticks and give Auburn a 1st down at its 20-yard-line.

Newton would then run for 10 yards on two straight carries to give the Tigers another 1st down at their 30-yard-line when on a reverse, Zachery fumbled the football after a hit by Kentucky linebacker Danny Trevathan as cornerback Randall Burden made the recovery but was ruled that he did not possess the fumble as he went out of bounds, allowing Auburn to keep the football at their 30-yard-line.

Following the near turnover, Newton would complete a 11 yards pass to Adams before handing it off to Dyer whose 11-yard run put the Tigers in Kentucky territory at the Wildcats' 48-yard-line.

After a nine-yard run by Newton, McCalebb would pick up the first down on a six-yard run to move the sticks to the Kentucky 30-yard-line as Dyer would get another carry, this one going for only three yards to set up a 2nd & 7.

From there, Newton would run the ball six straight times for a total of 25 yards before taking a knee to run the clock down to two seconds before Auburn called timeout as Chizik would send in Byrum to try and win the game with a chip shot field goal.

Byrum would calmly make the 24-yard field goal as time expired to give the Tigers a 37-34 victory to improve Auburn's record to 6-0 while dropping Kentucky's record to 3-3.

Auburn players mob Wes Byrum after his game-winning field goal 

One week after the heartbreaking loss to Auburn, the Wildcats would overcome a 28-10 halftime deficit to score 21 unanswered points to shock the #10 South Carolina Gamecocks 31-28 in what would be the high point of Kentucky's season as the Cats would finish with a 6-7 record after a 27-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Panthers in the BBVA Compass Bowl in Birmingham, Alabama.

As for the Tigers, their magic carpet ride would continue through the rest of the season as they finish the regular season with a 12-0 record as Auburn would rout South Carolina 56-17 in the SEC Championship Game to earn a spot in the BCS National Championship Game against the Oregon Ducks while securing the Heisman Trophy for Newton.

In the title game, Dyer was able to rip off a 37-yard run after he landed on top off of an Oregon defender without his knee touching the ground, to help set up the game-winning field goal by Byrum from 19 yards out as time expired to give the Tigers a 22-19 win and their first national championship since 1957.(To read about the championship game, click on the link which is highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2019/08/college-football-old-school-game-of_28.html).

NFL Old School Game of the Week: Manning & Romo's Epic Duel

Peyton Manning and Tony Romo meet after their classic duel in 2013.

 It was fitting that the Week 5meeting of the Denver Broncos and the Dallas Cowboys would take place in Texas a place known for shootouts as the two teams took part in a game that featured a combined 99 points and 1,039 yards of total offense.

The Broncos came into the game with a 4-0 records thanks to their red hot offense led by quarterback Peyton Manning who had signed with Denver before the 2012 season following a 14-year stint with the Indianapolis Colts.

In the Broncos' opening game of the season, Manning tied a NFL record for most touchdown passes in a game as he threw seven touchdown passes as he completed 27 of 42 passes for 462 yards to lead Denver to a 49-27 win over the Baltimore Ravens.

Manning would add another nine touchdown passes to bring his season total up to 16 as the Broncos won their first four games by scoring an average of 42.25 points per game as the defense was trying to cope with the losses of linebacker Von Miller, who was serving a six-game suspension for trying to cheat on mandated drug test, and cornerback Champ Bailey who had been sidelined with a foot injury.

While the Broncos were off to a great start, the Cowboys had been inconsistent through the first month of the season was they went 2-2 winning one game, then losing another, then winning again, and then losing again under head coach Jason Garrett.

On the field, the Cowboys were led by quarterback Tony Romo, who despite throwing for a team record 4,903 yards during the 2012 season, also throw a league-high 19 interceptions as the Cowboys missed out on the playoffs for the third year in a row.

Romo had thrown for just one interception in the team's first four games of the season as he throw eight touchdown passes during the first month of the season.

If the Cowboys were going to knock off the Broncos, they were going to need a big day from Romo and keep up with Manning and the Denver offense which lowest scoring output to this point of the season was 37 points.

The Cowboys would get the ball to start the game as Romo would complete all five of his passes for 64 yards on the 14-play, 79-yard drive that culminated with Romo finding Dez Bryant in the right corner of the end zone for a two-yard touchdown to give Dallas a 7-0 lead.

The Broncos would begin their opening possession of the game at their 20-yard-line with Manning completing a 40-yard pass to Demaryius Thomas only to have called back because of a holding penalty and push  Denver back to its 10-yard-line.

After an incomplete pass and a 16-yard run by Knowshon Moreno, Manning would find Eric Decker for a 16-yard completion that was going to give Denver a 1st down until Cowboys linebacker Ernie Sims jarred the ball away as cornerback Morris Claiborne would recover the fumble to give Dallas the ball at the Broncos' 45-yard-line.

It would take the Cowboys seven plays to get back into the end zone as two passes from Romo to Witten that totaled 39 yards would set up a four-yard touchdown run by Demarco Murray which increased Dallas's lead to 14-0 with 3:18 left in the first quarter.

Facing their largest deficit of the season, the Broncos would respond quickly as Manning would hit tight end Julius Thomas for 19 yards then connect with Decker for a 57-yard completion to give Denver a 1st & goal at the Dallas four-yard-line when Manning threw a shuffle pass to Julius Thomas who put into the end zone to cut the Cowboys' lead to 14-7 just 50 seconds after the Cowboys' previous touchdown.

 Romo would continued his hot streak on the Cowboys' ensuing possession as he completed passes of 19 yards to Bryant, 25 yards to tight end Gavin Escobar, and 17 yards to Witten to move Dallas to the Denver 25-yard-line as the first quarter came to an end.

Murray would then carry the ball on back-to-back plays as he ran for 22 yards to give Dallas a 1st & goal at the Denver three-yard-line when a false start penalty and a quarterback sack by Broncos defensive end Shaun Phillips for a 17-yard loss would force the Cowboys to settle for a 43-yard field goal by Dan Bailey to extend Dallas' lead to 17-7 early in the second quarter.

The Broncos would answer with a seven-play, 80-yard drive which ended with a two-yard touchdown pass from Manning to Decker to bring Denver to within a field goal at 17-14.

Dallas would start its next possession at its 19-yard-line when Romo was able to complete a 12-yard pass to Bryant only for Broncos cornerback Kayvon Webster to punch the ball out as strong safety Duke Ihenacho would recover the fumble at the Cowboys' 41-yard-line.

Manning would then connect with Julius Thomas three times for 30 yards on the Broncos' ensuing drive with the last completion being a nine-yard touchdown to give Denver a 21-17 lead with 5:27 to go in the second quarter.

The Broncos defense would then the first punt of the game to give their offense the ball back at their 36-yard-line as two runs by Moreno for 24 yards and a 21-yard pass interference penalty on Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee would help Denver move to the Dallas one-yard-line when Manning shocked the entire stadium as faked a handoff and ran it into the end zone on a quarterback bootleg to increase the Broncos' lead to 28-17 with 46 seconds to go before halftime.

Dallas seemed to content to run out the remaining time in the first half as Romo threw a short screen pass to Murray on their next play from scrimmage only for the clock to stop because of a Broncos injury.

It was there that Romo decided to take a shot down field as he completed a 30-yard pass to Terrence Williams, then ran up field to spike the ball which left four seconds on the clock which was enough time for Bailey to make a 48-yard field goal as time expired with the trim the Cowboys' deficit to 28-20.

Tony Romo became the 15th quarterback in NFL history to throw for at least 500 yards in a game as he threw for 506 yards and five touchdowns on 25-of-36 passing.

The halftime break did not slow down the Broncos' offense as they would drive 67 yards in 13 plays on a drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock as Manning would complete seven of eight passes for 59 yards hitting five different receivers including Wes Welker, who would catch a two-yard touchdown pass to end the drive and give  Denver its largest lead of the game at 35-20.

Having been outscored 35-6 over the last 25 minutes of play, the Cowboys desperately needed a spark and they would get it on the second play of their next offense possession as Romo hit Williams on a deep post pattern that would turn into a 82-yard touchdown and make it an one-possession game at 35-27.

Manning would respond on his next drive by completing a 29-yard pass to Julius Thomas and a 19-yard pass to running back Ronnie Hillman to move Denver to the Dallas' 35-yard-line until the Cowboys' defense was able to make a stop as they allowed only three more yards on the next three plays as the Broncos would settle for a 48-yard field goal by Matt Prater which increased their lead to 38-27 with 3:23 to go in the third quarter.

The Cowboys would begin their next possession at their 20-yard-line as Romo completed passes of 27 yards to Bryant and 23 yards to Cole Beasley to set up Tony's two-yard touchdown pass to Dez to make it a 38-33 game as Dallas would go for two following the touchdown.

The two-point try would be unsuccessful Romo would try to run it in himself but he was tackled short of the goal line to keep the score 38-33 with 14 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Denver would get the ball back at its 20-yard-line when on the first play from scrrimage, Manning would be picked off by Claiborne on a pass intended for Decker to give the Cowboys the ball at their 51-yard-line

From there, Romo and Witten would connect on three straight completions with the first going for 15 yards, followed by a 25-yard completion, and ending with a 10-yard touchdown to give the Cowboys the lead once again.

Dallas would go for two again after the touchdown which this time was successful as Romo found Williams in the end zone for the two points to give the Cowboys a 41-38 lead with 13:38 left in the fourth quarter.

Taking over at his 17-yard-line, Manning would complete five of nine passes for 42 yards on a 11-play, 51-yard drive that ended with a 50-yard field goal by Prater to tie the game at 41 with 9:37 to go in regulation.

A holding penalty on the ensuing kickoff would force the Cowboys to start their next possession at their 13-yard-line as the next two plays netted four yards to set up 3rd & 6 when Romo connected with Bryant for a 79-yard completion to give Dallas a 1st & goal at the Denver four-yard-line when Romo found Beasley in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown to give the Cowboys a 48-41 lead midway through the fourth quarter.

Needing to answer the Cowboys one more time, the Broncos would take over possession at their 27-yard-line as Manning completed passes of 13 yards to Moreno, eight yards to Hillman, 14 yards to Welker, 26 yards to Demaryius Thomas , and then back to Welker for 16 more to set up an one-yard touchdown run by Moreno that would help tie the game at 48 with 2:39 remaining in regulation.

It looked like whoever had the ball last was going to win the game and it seemed that could be the Cowboys as they begin their ensuing drive at their 20-yard-line with all three timeouts left and 2:39 left on the clock.

Following a quarterback sack by Phillips for a six-yard-loss, disaster would strike for the Cowboys as Romo was intercepted by Broncos linebacker Danny Trevathan, who made a diving catch on a pass intended for Escobar, to give Denver the ball at the Dallas 24-yard-line as the two-minute warning arrived.

After the timeout, Manning would hit Demaryius Thomas for 11 yards and a 1st down before handing the ball off to Moreno who gained one yard to set up 2nd & 9 when Manning found Julius Thomas for eight yards to set up a 3rd & 1 situation.

That is when Manning handed the ball off to Moreno again who would pick up the 1st down at the Dallas one-yard-line as the Cowboys spent their last timeout with 1:35 left on the clock.

Instead of punching it into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown and giving Romo and the Dallas offense a chance to respond, Manning would would take three knees to bleed time off the clock before calling timeout with two seconds left as Prater would come on to attempt the game-winning field goal.

Prater's kick from 28 yards out was true as time expired to give the Broncos a 51-48 win in a game that at the time was tied for the fifth highest scoring game in NFL history(It has since dropped to seventh place in the 12 years since the game has been played)as Manning and Romo combined for 920 passing yards and nine touchdown passes.

Peyton Manning finished with 414 yards and four touchdown passes on 33-of-42 passing.

The up-and-down season would continue for the Cowboys as they never had a winning streak of more than two games as they entered the final game of the regular season with a 8-7 record but a chance to win the NFC East if they could beat the Philadelphia Eagles.

Playing without Romo who herniated a disc in his lower back the week before, the Cowboys would fall to the Eagles 24-22 to finish the season with a 8-8 record and out of the postseason for the fourth year in a row.

As for the Broncos, they would continue their high-scoring ways throughout the regular season as the team would finish with a 13-3 record to earn home field advantage through the AFC playoffs as the Broncos would set the record for most points in a season with 606 or an average of nearly 38 points per game.

Manning would reclaim his records for most passing yards and touchdowns in a season as he finished the season with 55 touchdown passes and 5,477 yards as Manning would earn his fifth career MVP award.

However, the Broncos' season would end with a colossal loss in Super Bowl XLVIII as they were destroyed by the Seattle Seahawks 43-8 as Denver was held to just one touchdown in its lowest scoring output of the 2013 season.

Denver would return to the Super Bowl two years later led by its defense as the Broncos would beat the Carolina Panthers 24-10 to win their third Lombardi trophy in team history and send Manning out a winner in the final game of his NFL career.

College Football Old School Game of the Week: Boise State Outlasts Nevada in Shootout

Boise State running Ian Johnson ran for 205 yards on 28 carries while catching four passes for 51 yards as he accounted for three touchdowns.

On October 14, 2007, the Nevada Wolfpack traveled up to Boise, Idaho to take on the Boise State Broncos in a game that at the time was the highest scoring game in FBS(Football Bowl Subdivision)history.

Boise State came into the game with a 4-1 record led by second year head coach Chris Peterson, who had led the Broncos to a 13-0 season the year before that ended with the Broncos' improbable 43-42 win over the Oklahoma Sooners in the Fiesta Bowl in which the Broncos used a number of trick plays to help them pull off the upset.

Returning from that team was their leading rusher Ian Johnson, who had proposed to his girlfriend after the game, but not starting quarterback Jared Zabransky, who had graduated following the 2006 season with his replacement being senior Taylor Tharp, who had helped design the "Statue of Liberty" play that was the game-winning two point conversion in the Fiesta Bowl.

The Broncos' strength at this point of the 2007 season was their defense as they came into the game having allowed just 61 points and an average of 231.2 yards per game, good for #3 in total defense in the country.

Little did the Broncos know that their defense would be carved up by the Nevada Wolfpack, who came into the game with a brand new starting quarterback in Colin Kaepernick.

The redshirt freshman had taken over for an injured Nick Graziano the week before in which Kaepernick threw for 384 yards and four touchdowns in a losing effort for the Wolfpack as they came into the Boise State game with a 2-3 record.

The Wolfpack's head coach was Chris Ault, who was in the fourth season of his second tenure as the Nevada head coach as he directed the Wolfpack from 1976-1995 winning 170 games.

Since his return to the sidelines in 2004, Ault had used the "pistol formation" in which the running back lines up directly behind the quarterback who is in the shotgun formation which allows the quarterback to read the defense better and determine whether or not he should hand the ball off to the running back or keep it himself if he is a threat as a runner.

With Kaepernick at quarterback and sophomore Luke Lippincott as the running back, the Wolfpack hoped to use the pistol to help pull off an upset of the Broncos on the blue turf of Boise as Boise State had lost only two home games since the beginning of the 1999 season.

 Boise State would get the ball to start the game as the Broncos would drive 64 yards in eight plays as Johnson carried the ball four times for 31 yards on the drive that ended with Jeremy Avery running it in from nine yards out to give Boise State an 7-0 lead.

Following an exchange of punts, the Wolfpack had the ball at their 10-yard-line when Kaepernick began to find his rhythm throwing the ball as he completed passes of 18 and 26 yards to wide receiver Marko Mitchell on the 12-play drive that culminated with Kaepernick connecting with tight end Junior Pakula on a 16-yard touchdown that would tie the game at 7 with 1:10 left in the first quarter.

The Broncos would begin their ensuing possession at their 32-yard-line as two runs by Tharp gained 11 yards for a Boise State 1st down where Tharp appeared to have completed a 30-yard pass to wide receiver Jeremy Childs only for it to be nullified because of a pass interference penalty on Childs which pushed the Broncos back 15 yards to their 28-yard-line.

That is when Tharp handed the ball off to Johnson who took off on the longest run of his career, a 72-yard touchdown to give the Broncos a 14-7 lead just 35 seconds into the second quarter.

After another Nevada punt, the Broncos would get the ball back at their 38-yard-line as they would drive down to the Wolfpack 33-yard-line when they lined up for a field goal only for holder Tanyon Bissell to throw a pass for tight end Ryan Putnam, who had lined up all by myself near the sideline, who took it into the end zone for a 33-yard touchdown that extended Boise State's lead to 21-7 with 6:06 to go in the second quarter.

The Wolfpack would get the ball back at their 33-yard-line as the first two plays of the drive lost two yards to set up 3rd & 12 when Kaepernick completed a short pass to Mitchell, who then dodged a tackle attempt from Boise State cornerback Orlando Scandrick, and ran it down the field until he was tackled at the Broncos' nine-yard-line after a 58-yard gain.

Three plays later, the Broncos were in the end zone as Lippincott punched it in from one yard out to cut the Wolfpack deficit in half to 21-14 with 4:27 remaining before halftime.

The Broncos would respond with a 5-play, 66-yard drive as Tharp completed all three of his passes for 60 yards on the drive with the last completion being a 25-yard touchdown to tight end Sherm Blaser to push the Boise State lead back to 14 points at 28-14 with 2:33 to go in the first half.

It would not take long for the Wolfpack to get back into the end zone as Kaepernick completed passes of two yards to Lippincott and 14 yards to Adam Bishop before firing a 58-yard touchdown to Mitchell to make an one-possession game at 28-21 with 1:15 to go in the half.

Boise State seemed poised to add some points before the end of the half as they began their ensuing possession at their 42-yard-line only for Tharp to be intercepted by Nevada defensive tackle Mundrae Clifton to give the Wolfpack the ball at the Broncos' 48-yard-line.

However, the Wolfpack could not take advantage of the turnover as the clock ran out in the first half with Boise State ahead 28-21 as Nevada would get the ball to start the second half.

In his first collegiate start, Colin Kaepernick threw for 243 yards and three touchdowns while running for 177 yards and two touchdowns.

The Wolfpack's opening possession of the first half would begin with a 32-yard run by Lippincott that with a 15-yard face mask penalty on Boise State safety Austin Smith to give Nevada a 1st down at the Broncos' 33-yard-line.

After three straight runs by backup running back Brandon Fragger gained 22 yards, Lippincott would carry for six yards before punching it in for a five-yard touchdown that with the extra point tied the game at 28.

The Broncos would get the ball back at their 41-yard-line as they looked to recapture the lead as they drove down to the Nevada 18-yard-line until a holding penalty would help kill the drive and force Boise State to settle for a 40-yard field goal by Kyle Brotzman to give Boise a 31-28 lead midway through the third quarter.

After forcing the Wolfpack to punt on their ensuing possession, the Broncos would hold the ball for nearly six-and-a-half minutes as they drove 53 yards in 13 plays to set up a 31-yard field goal by Brotzman which extended Boise State's lead to 34-28 with 13:18 to go in the fourth quarter.

Nevada looked like it was going to have to punt it again as they faced a 3rd & 8 at their 31-yard-line when Kaepernick kept the ball himself and 28 yards to give the Wolfpack a 1st down at the Boise State 41-yard-line.

On the very next play, Kaepernick would connect with wide receiver Mike McCoy on a 41-yard touchdown that would tie the game at 34 as Nevada was set to take the lead when Boise State defensive tackle Dan Gore blocked the extra point to game tied.

The blocked extra point would come back to haunt the Wolfpack later in the game.

The Broncos would respond with a five-play, 63-yard drive as Tharp completed three of four passes for 60 yards on the drive which ended with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Tharp to Johnson to put Boise State back on top at 41-34 with 10:37 left in the fourth quarter.

It would only take the Wolfpack 25 seconds to get back into the end zone as Kaepernick started the ensuing drive with a 55-yard run, then ran it in for a nine-yard touchdown to tie the game once again at 41.

The Broncos would get the ball back at their 39-yard-line as it took them three plays to drive into Nevada territory until Johnson lost the football at the end of a 10-yard run as Wolfpack linebacker Ezra Butler forced and recovered the fumble to give the Wolfpack the ball at their 31-yard-line.

The Wolfpack would not put the ball back into the air as they ran the ball nine straight times for 51 yards to set up a 35-yard field Brett Jaekle that would give Nevada its first lead of the game at 44-41 with 3:40 to go in regulation.

Boise State would get great field position to start its next drive as Rashaun Scott would return the ensuing kickoff 55 yards to the Nevada 44-yard-line as the Broncos decided to bleed the clock as they drove down the field as they advanced all the way to the 10-yard-line before sending in the field goal unit to try and send the game into overtime with three seconds to go.

Nevada called timeout in hopes of freezing the kicker but to no avail as Brotzman would calmly make the 27-yard field goal to tie the game at 44 as time expired in regulation, sending the game into overtime.

Broncos quarterback Taylor Tharp completed 26 of 35 passes for 340 yards and threw four touchdown passes.

The offensive fireworks would continue in the extra period as it would take the Wolfpack only one play to get into the zone as Lippincott ran it for a 25-yard touchdown to give Nevada a 51-44 lead.

Not to be outdone, the Broncos only needed one play to score a touchdown as Tharp fired a 25-yard touchdown pass to Blaser to tie the game at 51 and send it to a second overtime period.

Once again, the Broncos would score a touchdown on the first play of their ensuing drive as Tharp found Childs for the 25-yard touchdown to give Boise State a 58-51 lead.

The Wolfpack would actually waste a play before scoring a touchdown as Kaepernick would throw an incomplete pass on 1st down then run it from 25 yards out on 2nd down to tie the game at 58 and send it to a third overtime period.

Lippincott would run for 16 yards to begin the third overtime period when the Boise State defense finally rose up and helped make a stop as Kaepernick would throw two incomplete passes, forcing the Wolfpack to settle for a 27-yard field goal by Jaekle to give Nevada a 61-58 lead.

Needing a touchdown to win the game, the Broncos would advance to the Nevada 10-yard-line on two runs by Avery for 15 yards until the freshman running back was dropped for a two-yard-loss which was followed by an incomplete pass to bring up 4th down when Bortzman came on to kick a 29-yard field goal to force a fourth overtime period with the game tied at 61.

It would take the Broncos five plays to get back into the end zone as Johnson would punch it in for a one-yard touchdown which was followed by Tharp completing a swing pass to Avery, who then took into the end zone for the two-point conversion, which was required if a team scored a touchdown beyond the third overtime period, to give Boise State a 69-61 lead.

After an incomplete pass to start the drive, the Wolfpack would keep the ball on the ground as Lippincott carried the ball twice for 11 yards, followed by a seven-yard run by Kaepernick and then a seven-yard touchdown run by Lippincott to make it 69-67 as the Wolfpack prepared to attempt a two-point conversion that if successful would force a fifth overtime period.

That is when Boise State linebacker Tim Brady was able to sack Kaepernick on the two-point conversion to end the game with the Broncos on top 69-67 in a game that featured a combined 136 points and 1,266 yards of total offense.

 Boise State would go on to win its next five games until the regular season finale when the Broncos lost to the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors 39-27 to end Boise State's run of five straight WAC conference championships as the Broncos would finish the season with a 41-38 loss to East Carolina in the Hawaii Bowl to finish with a 10-3 record.

As Nevada, they would keep Kaepernick as the team's starting quarterback as he helped lead the Wolfpack to a third straight bowl appearance, a 23-0 loss to New Mexico in the New Mexico Bowl, to finish the season with a 6-7 record.

However, brighter days were ahead for the Wolfpack as Kaepernick remain as the starting quarterback for the next three seasons which included a historic 2009 season in which he, Lippincott, and Vai Taua would all run for at least 1,000 yards, the first time in FBS history that three players from the same team had crossed the 1,000 yard rushing mark.

Then in 2010, the Wolfpack would get a matter of revenge for their 2007 loss as Kaepernick would lead Nevada to a 34-31 overtime victory over the Broncos in the final game of the regular season, which handed Boise State its first loss and ended their hopes of playing for a national championship.

NFL Old School Game of the Week: "The Hit" Propels Giants to Victory over Broncos

During the 1980s, the most famous New York Giants linebacker was Lawrence Taylor who almost single-handily transformed the Giants from a bottom feeder into a winner as New York ended a 18-year absence from the postseason in Taylor's rookie year which was followed five years later with the Giants winning their first Super Bowl.

Taylor was not the only Giants linebacker as he played alongside future Hall-of-Famer Harry Carson as well as all-pro Brad Van Pelt in the early part of the 80s and then Carl Banks in the later part of the decade.

Another name in the Giants' linebacker corps as Gary Reasons, who had been selected in the fourth round of the 1984 NFL Draft out of Northwestern State, who would go to be a member of the Giants' two Super Bowl championship squads in 1986 + 1990 as he played 122 games for the Giants with 80 of those as a starter.

Reasons' most famous moment would come in week 14 of the 1989 regular season when the Giants traveled to Denver to take on the Broncos on a snowy day in Denver where Reasons would etch his name in New York Giants lore.

The Giants came into the game with a 9-4 record but had lost three of their previous four games to fall behind the Philadelphia Eagles in the race for the NFC East division title.

The Giants were led by head coach Bill Parcells, who was in his seventh season as the New York head coach having led the Giants to their first NFL title since 1956 as he help guide New York to a win in Super Bowl XXI, ironically over the Broncos in a 39-20 triumph thanks in large part to quarterback Phil Simms MVP performance in which he completed 22 of 25 passes for 268 yards and threw three touchdowns.

However, ever since that win in January of 1987, the Giants had not made the playoffs as they finished with a losing record in 1987 then had their playoff hopes for 1988 dashed in the final game of the regular season as the New York Jets eliminated their crosstown rival from playoff contention(To read about that game, click on the link which is highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2023/10/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-jets-derail.html).

The Giants would go into the game with the Broncos a wounded animal as Taylor would be sidelined because of back spasms while running back Ottis Anderson was recovering from hemorrhoid surgery, though he would give it a go.

On the other side of the field were the Denver Broncos with a 10-3 record who were looking to secure the #1 seed in the AFC playoffs if they could defeat the Giants.

Led by one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in John Elway, the Broncos were hoping to return to the postseason after missing the playoffs in 1988 following two straight trips to the Super Bowl which both ended in defeat.

Strangely in 1989, it was not Elway that was the biggest reason for Denver's success as rookie running back Bobby Humphrey had given the Broncos the running game they had lacked in previous seasons as well as one of the top defenses in the league with the addition of another rookie in safety Steve Atwater.

With the absence of Taylor and the limitation of Anderson, the Giants were given a difficult task in defeating the Broncos which was made even more challenging with the game would be played in a steady snow with temperatures at 23 but with a wind chill of near zero.

The Broncos would get the ball to start the game as they would drive from their 25-yard-line to the Giants' 44-yard-line until they were forced to punt the ball to the Giants who would begin their opening possession of the game at their 15-yard-line.

Following a four-yard run by Anderson to start the drive, fullback Maurice Carthon would carry the ball on the next three plays as he gained 31 yards to move the Giants to the 50-yard-line as Anderson would catch a seven-yard pass from Simms to set up 3rd & 1 when Carthon get the ball again as he run for three yards to pick up a New York 1st down at the Denver 40-yard-line.

A holding penalty would push the Giants back to their 49-yard-line as Carthon would catch two straight passes for 16 yards to set up 3rd & 5 when Simms hit wide receiver Stephen Baker for 11 yards to move the sticks and give New York a 1st down at the Denver 24-yard-line.

Three straight runs by Anderson totaled 10 yards to give the Giants another 1st down as Lewis Tillman would carry the ball on the last play of the first quarter as he gained one yard to bring up a 3rd & 9 at the Broncos' 13-yard-line.

Simms would then complete a 10-yard pass to George Adams to give the Giants a 1st & goal situation when Anderson punched it in for a three-yard touchdown to end the 15-play, 85-yard drive that took nearly nine minutes off the clock and give New York a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter.

After forcing the Broncos to go three-and-out on their ensuing possession, the Giants got the ball back at their 46-yard-line as a 24-yard pass from Simms to Mark Ingram would put the Giants in Denver territory only for the drive to stall as Simms was sacked by Broncos defensive end Alphonso Carreker for a seven-yard loss that would force the Giants to punt the ball back to the Broncos.

The drive began with an apparent 50-yard run by Humphrey which was called back because of a holding penalty on left tackle Gerald Perry that would push the Broncos back 10 yards as they would go three-and-out to punt the ball back to the Giants, who would get great field position as rookie Dave Meggett returned the ensuing punt 26 yards to the Broncos' 36-yard-line.

However, the Giants would go backwards as a tripping penalty on center Bart Oates plus a quarterback sack by defensive end Ron Holmes that dropped Simms for a 12-yard-loss would put the Giants in a 3rd & 31 situation or as Parcells said after the game "3rd & Arkansas".

Seemingly content to punt the ball back to the Broncos, Simms threw a screen pass in the left flat for Meggett, who made the catch despite bobbling the ball at his 45-yard-line, then got two key blocks by Oates and left guard William Roberts to help spring Meggett loose as he dodged the tackle attempts of Atwater and Tyrone Braxton on his way for a stunning 57-yard touchdown that increased the Giants' lead to 14-0 midway through the second quarter.

The Broncos would get the ball back at their 23-yard-line for their next possession as it took Denver one play to get into Giants territory as Elway completed a 42-yard pass to Vance Johnson to give Denver a 1st down at the New York 35-yard-line.

After the next three plays netted five yards, the Broncos were faced with a 4th & 5 at the Giants' 30-yard-line when Reeves decided to go for the 1st down as he felt a field goal from 47 yards out would be difficult in the snowy conditions.

The gamble would not pay off as Elway would throw an incomplete pass to give the ball back to the Giants at their 30-yard-line with 4:14 left before the end of the first half.

It seemed that the Broncos had forced a three-and-out as the Giants lined up to punt at their 39-yard-line when Reasons had his first big moment of the game as he had the ball snapped to him on a fake punt that only gained two yards but enough for a 1st down at the New York 41-yard-line as the two-minute warning hit.

From there, the Giants would drive to the Broncos' 30-yard-line when with one second left, Parcells would send in the field goal unit in hopes of increasing the lead to 17 points after thirty minutes of play.

But Bjorn Nittmo's kick would sail wide right of the uprights to keep the score at 14-0 in favor of the Giants as the first half came to an end.

The third quarter would begin with the two teams traded punts until the Broncos got the ball at their 28-yard-line when they put together their best drive of the game as they drove to the Giants' 10-yard-line thanks to four straight 3rd down conversions as Denver seemed poised to get on the scoreboard.

An eight-yard run by Humphrey on 1st & goal would put the Broncos at the Giants' two-yard-line as fullback Mel Bratton tried to dive it into the end zone from the two-yard-line, picking up one yard to set up 3rd & 1 when Humphrey was stopped by Reasons for no gain to force a 4th & 1 at the one-yard-line.

The Broncos would go try for the touchdown as Elway would take the snap and handed off to Humphrey, who tried to dive into the end zone, only to be met mid-air by Reasons as the rookie running back was stopped in his tracks for an one-yard loss but more importantly gave the ball back to the Giants with their 14-0 still intact.

The Giants would go three-and-out to punt the ball back to the Broncos as a 18-yard return by Ricky Nattiel would put Denver at the New York 32-yard-line as the fourth quarter got underway.

After two straight incomplete passes, Elway would threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Michael Young to finally put Denver on the scoreboard as they cut the Giants' lead to 14-7 just 31 seconds into the fourth quarter.

The two teams would exchange punts until 5:27 remained in regulation when the Broncos took over possession at their 20-yard-line hoping for Elway to deliver another 4th quarter comeback.

The drive would began with Elway completing a 10-yard pass to Johnson, which was followed by an incomplete pass and then two consecutive completions to Johnson for 15 yards to put the Broncos at their 45-yard-line as Elway would hit tight end Clearance Kay for 13 yards to move Denver into Giants territory with a 1st down at the New York 42-yard-line.

Elway would then two passes to Humphrey for 24 yards to move the Broncos to the Giants' 42-yard-line as a three-yard run by Bratton would set up a 2nd & 7 as the two-minute warning hit.

Two incomplete passes later, the Broncos were faced with a 4th & 7 at the Giants' 15-yard-line when Elway threw a pass intended for Johnson in the end zone only for running back Steve Sewell to mistakenly think the pass was intended for him as he tried to catch the ball but ended being unsuccessful as Denver turned it over on downs.

Needing one 1st down to end the game, the Giants would go three-and-out as the Broncos spent all three of their timeouts to preserve as much time as possible as New York would punt the back to Denver who would take over at their 23-yard-line with 1:15 left in regulation.

After two incomplete passes to begin the drive, Elway would hit Young for 22 yards to give the Broncos a 1st down at their 45-yard-line as a five-yard run by Elway and a spike to stop the clock would set up 3rd & 5 at the 50-yard-line when Elway found Mark Jackson for 16 yards and a Denver 1st down at the Giants' 34-yard-line.

From there, Elway would threw two passes into the end zone but neither of them connected for what would be the game tying touchdown as time expired with the Giants on top 14-7 in what Parcells called one of the greatest wins he had ever had since he became the New York head coach.

Despite the loss, the Broncos would clinch home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs with a 37-0 rout of the Phoenix Cardinals in the penultimate week of the season as Denver would finish the regular season with a 11-5 record while the Giants would win their remaining two games of the regular season that cupped with a Eagles loss, gave the NFC East to New York with a 12-4 record.

In the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, the Broncos would slip past the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-23 while the Giants would be eliminated by the Los Angeles Rams 19-13 in overtime on Jim Everett's game-winning 30-yard touchdown pass to Flipper Anderson(To read about that game, click on the link which is highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2021/10/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-flippers.html).

The Broncos would go on to defeat the Cleveland Browns 37-21 in the AFC Championship Game to earn Denver its third trip to the Super Bowl in four years where they would be destroyed by the San Francisco 49ers 55-10 in the most lopsided game in Super Bowl history.

As for the Giants, they would redeem themselves one year later as they would win they second Lombardi Trophy in five years thanks in large part to a key contribution from Reasons in the Giants' 15-13 upset win over the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game as Reasons ran for 30 yards on a fake punt to set up a key field goal by Matt Bahr.

Reasons would be cut by the Giants after the 1991 season as the linebacker played one more season in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals before ultimately retiring following the 1992 season after a nine-year career.

College Football Old School Game of the Week: BYU Wins Holy War on Beck-to-Harline Walk Off Touchdown

 

Jonny Harline raises his rams in celebration after catching the game-winning touchdown in BYU's victory over Utah in 2006.

What makes college football so unique is that a player or players could earn a place in their school's football history with a singular play or moment in that can occur in a rivalry game.

Such is the case for BYU quarterback John Beck and tight end Jonny Harline for what they did on the final play of the Cougars' 2006 game against the Utah Utes that would become known as the "Answered Prayer" by BYU fans.

The Cougars came into their annual showdown with their rivals from Salt Lake City with a 9-2 record, the team's first winning season since 2001 as BYU had already wrapped the Mountain West conference championship and had accepted an invitation to play in the Las Vegas Bowl after the regular season.

The Cougars were led by head coach Bronco Mendenhall, who was in his second season as the BYU head coach after serving as the team's defensive coordinator in 2003 + 2004, and featured one of the country's most explosive offenses which averaged 37 points per game through the first 11 games of the season under the leadership of Beck, who had thrown for 3,135 yards and 26 touchdowns up to this point the season.

Beck's favorite target was Harline who had caught 42 passes for 636 yards and scored eight touchdowns in helping BYU go on an eight-game winning streak to earn the Cougars a #21 ranking in the AP and coaches polls as prepared for the 2006 version of the "Holy War".

Utah came into the game unranked with a 7-4 record in a up-and-down season under coach Kyle Wittingham, who was in his second season as Utah head coach after taking over for Urban Meyer who had led the Utes to a 12-0 season and Fiesta Bowl win in 2004.

On the field, the Utes were led by senior quarterback Brett Ratliff, who one year earlier made his first career start against BYU which he led Utah to a 41-34 overtime victory, and all-American cornerback Eric Weddle, who led the team with six interceptions.

Weddle and Ratliff were hoping to finish their college careers undefeated against BYU as the Utes was on a four-game winning streak in the "Holy War" as Utah hoped to make it five in a row in front of nearly 45,000 raucous fans at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City.

  BYU would get the ball to start the game as Beck come out firing as he would complete four of five passes for 83 yards on the 10-play, 83-yard drive that ended with a one-yard touchdown by running back Manase Tonga to give the Cougars a 7-0 lead.

After the Utes punted on their opening possession of the game, the Cougars got the ball back at their 19-yard-line when Beck threw a chest pass to wide receiver Zac Collie for a 21-yard gain to begin the drive.

After Curtis Brown was dropped for a two-yard loss on the next play from scrimmage, Beck hit tight end Daniel Coats for a 26-yard completion to put the Cougars in Utah territory when Beck connected with Harline for a 36-yard touchdown to extend BYU's lead to 14-0 with 6:48 left in the first quarter.

The two teams would exchange punts as the game moved into the second quarter when the Utes marched into BYU territory for the first time in the game when they drove from their 35-yard-line to the Cougars' 47-yard-line until they lined to punt on 4th & 6.

But the Utes would not punt the ball as kicker Louie Sakoda kept the ball and ran 18 yards for a Utah 1st down at the BYU 29-yard-line.

Two plays later, the Utes would once again go into their bag of tricks as defensive back Eric Weddle lined up at quarterback and threw a 18-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Brent Casteel to cut the Cougars' lead to 14-7 with 9:18 remaining in the second quarter.

Following a BYU three-and-out, the Utes got the ball back at their 48-yard-line as they were able to drive to the Cougars' 17-yard-line until a pair of incomplete passes and a quarterback sack pushed Utah back to the BYU 24-yard-line where Sakoda would come on to try a 41-yard field goal.

However, Sakoda's kick would sail wide left to keep the score at 14-7 in favor of BYU who would begin its next possession at its 24-yard-line.

Beck would throw three straight incomplete passes to force a BYU punt as Utah would take over at its 28-yard-line with 1:51 left before halftime.

The Utes would move to their 40-yard-line when it appeared disaster had struck as Ratliff appeared to fumble the ball after a hit by BYU linebacker Aaron Wagner as fellow linebacker Bryan Kell picked up the ball and ran it back for a touchdown.

However, the replay booth showed that Ratliff's arm was moving forward, making it an incomplete pass, as the call was overturned which allowed Utah to keep the football.

From there, Ratliff would lead the Utes to the BYU six-yard-line to set up a 24-yard field goal attempt by Sakoda, which he made as time expired to trim the deficit to four points at 14-10 as the first half came to an end.

Utah wide receiver Brent Casteel caught five passes for 100 yards and scored two TDs.

Utah would get the ball to start the second half as it only took the Utes one play to get into Cougar territory as Ratliff completed a 47-yard pass to wide receiver Brian Hernandez to put Utah at the BYU 26-yard-line.

The Utes would advance to the BYU seven-yard-line when on 4th & 1 they decided to go for the 1st down only for Ratliff to be stopped for no gain on a quarterback sneak as Utah would turn it over on downs.

After forcing the Cougars to punt on their ensuing possession, the Utes got the ball back at their 43-yard-line when Ratliff threw a pass for wide receiver Marquis Wilson, who made the catch at the BYU 40-yard-line and then outran the Cougar defense for the 57-yard touchdown to give Utah its first lead of the game at 17-14 with 8:24 left in the third quarter.

Following a BYU three-and-out, the Utes would begin their next possession at their 34-yard-line as two critical BYU penalties, a pass interference penalty on defensive back Ben Criddle and a roughing-the passer penalty on linebacker Kelly Poppinga, helped Utah moved down the field to set up its four-yard touchdown pass from Ratliff to tight end Colt Sampson to extend its lead to 24-14 with 1:41 to go in the third quarter.

Facing their biggest deficit of the year, the Cougars desperately needed a good drive to turn the momentum back in their favor after giving up 24 unanswered points.

Beck would complete his next three passes for 25 yards to lead the Cougars to the Utah 45-yard-line when facing a 3rd & 24, Beck threw a deep pass for Harline in the end zone where he drew a pass interference penalty on Utah free safety Steve Tate that would give BYU an automatic 1st down at the Utes' 30-yard-line.

From there, the Cougars would draw an offsides penalty on the Utes for a free five yards which was followed by a 23-yard pass from Beck to Collie to give BYU a 1st & goal at the Utah two-yard-line.

After Fui Vakapuna was dropped for a two-yard loss on 1st down, Beck found Harline in the end zone for the four-yard touchdown to cut the Utes' lead to 24-20 as the extra point would be blocked with 13:15 left in the fourth quarter.

Utah would pick up two 1st downs before punting the ball back to the Cougars, who took over at their 10-yard-line when they put together their longest drive of the game as they drove 90 yards in 13 plays on a drive that took up six minutes and thirty-seven seconds on the clock.

Beck would complete six of seven passes for 48 yards on the drive that culminated with a two-yard touchdown pass from Beck to Coats to give BYU a 27-24 lead with 3:23 to go in regulation.

BYU quarterback John Beck would complete 28 of 43 passes for 375 yards and throw four touchdowns.

Needing at least a field goal to tie, the Utes would begin their next possession at their 17-yard-line with an incomplete pass followed by a 16-yard pass from Ratliff to running back Daryl Poston that was  wiped out because of a holding penalty to push Utah back to its nine-yard-line where they faced a 2nd & 18 situation.

Two passes to wide receiver Derrek Richards for 16 yards set up a do-or-die 4th & 2 when Ratliff scrambled for six yards to give Utah a fresh set of downs at their 31-yard-line.

On the next play from scrimmage, Ratliff would hit Casteel for 37 yards to move the Utes to inside BYU territory as they had a 1st down at the Cougars' 32-yard-line.

Ratliff would then complete two more passes to Richards for 13 yards to put Utah at the BYU 19-yard-line when Ratliff completed a short screen to Casteel, who managed to zigzag his way through the BYU defense to get into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown and give the Utes a 31-27 lead with 1:19 to go in the game.

Curtis Brown would return the ensuing kickoff 25 yards to the Utah 25-yard-line as Beck and the BYU offense would come onto the field needing to score a touchdown instead of a field goal because of the blocked extra point earlier in the 4th quarter.

The drive would begin with a 15-yard pass from Beck to wide receiver Bryce Mahiuka to give BYU a 1st down at its 40-yard-line as Beck would complete one of his next three passes for six yards to set up a 4th & 4 situation at the Cougars' 46-yard-line.

That is when Beck found Harline for a 17-yard completion to give BYU a 1st down at the Utah 37-yard-line as Beck and Harline would connect again on the next play from scrimmage, this one for seven yards as the Cougars called timeout with 17 seconds to go and 30 yards away from the end zone.

Beck would then hit McKay Jacobsen for 19 yards and a 1st down at the Utah 11-yard-line when Beck was able to spike the ball and stop the clock with seven seconds to play.

With at best two chances to get into the end zone, Beck would throw a fade for Harline in the right corner of the end zone only for Utah cornerback Brice McCain to break up the pass as the ball fell to the ground with three seconds to go.

Lined up in the shotgun, Beck would take the snap as he drifted toward his left as he tried to point his receivers to find an open spot in the end zone until Utah linebacker Joe Jiannoni forced Beck to scramble back to the right side where he fired a pass across his body to a wide open Harline in the left corner of the end zone.

Falling to his knees, Harline would make the catch for what would be the game-winning touchdown to end the Cougars' four-game losing streak in the "Holy War" and give BYU a shocking 33-31 victory.

The heartbreaking loss to BYU would drop the Utes to a 7-5 record but still good enough to earn an invitation to play Tulsa in the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas where the Utes defeat the Golden Hurricane 25-13 to finish the season with an 8-5 record.

As for the Cougars, they would face the Oregon Ducks in the Las Vegas Bowl where Beck would throw for 375 yards and two touchdowns with Harline catching nine passes for 181 yards and a touchdown to lead BYU to a 38-8 rout to finish the season with a 11-2 record and #15 ranking in the final AP poll and #16 ranking in the final coaches poll.

NFL Old School Game of the Week: Chargers Knock off Dolphins in Another Playoff Thriller

 

Chargers cornerback Dwayne Harper celebrates after his team overcome a 15-point halftime deficit to beat the Dolphins in the 1994 Playoffs.

On January 2, 1982, the San Diego Chargers and the Miami Dolphins participated in one of the greatest games in NFL history as the Chargers came away with a 41-38 overtime victory in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs in a game had a combined 1,036 yards of total offense and push both teams to the brink of complete exhaustion under the hot, muggy conditions of south Florida.

Thirteen years later, the two teams participated in another postseason classic as the Dolphins traveled to San Diego to take on the Chargers once again in the divisional round of the AFC Playoffs.

The Dolphins were coming off a 27-17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs the week before as Miami quarterback Dan Marino completed 22 of 29 passes for 257 yards and threw two touchdowns in the game.

Marino, who was coming off a career-threatening Achilles tendon injury one year earlier, was hoping to lead the Dolphins back to the Super Bowl for the first time in a decade who would become the first team in Super Bowl history to play the championship game in their home stadium as Joe Robbie Stadium was set to host the Super Bowl that year.

Standing in their way were the Chargers, who were the #2 seed in the AFC playoffs with a 11-5 record which earned them the AFC West division title, the second division championship since Bobby Ross became the San Diego head coach in 1992.

On the field, the Chargers offense was led by quarterback Stan Humphries, who had arrived in San Diego the same time as Ross did, and running back Natrone Means who ran for 1,350 yards and scored 12 touchdowns during the regular season.

The defense was led by all-pro linebacker Junior Seau, who led the team in tackles with 155(124 of them solo), and defensive end Lesile O'Neal who led the team in sacks with 12.5 as San Diego won their first six games of the '94 season before going 5-5 during the rest of the season.

The Chargers were also looking for revenge as it was the Dolphins who had eliminated the Chargers two years earlier in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs as Miami defeated San Diego 31-0 to end the Chargers' first trip to the postseason in a decade.

The Dolphins would start the game on offense as it took Miami just one play to get into Chargers territory as Marino completed a 31-yard pass to tight end Keith Jackson to give the Dolphins a 1st down at the San Diego 35-yard-line.

But the Dolphins would move no further as two incomplete passes and a quarterback sack would force them to punt the ball to the Chargers, who would take over at their 20-yard-line.

After both teams went three-and-out, the Chargers got the ball back at their 14-yard-line as three runs by Means for 33 yards and a pair of completions by Humphries would move San Diego to the Miami 32-yard-line until Means caught a six-yard pass only to fumble when he was hit by Miami defensive end Marco Coleman as linebacker Jesse Soloman would make the recovery for the Dolphins at their 21-yard-line.

From there, the Dolphins would travel 79 yards in nine plays as Marino completed two passes to Irving Fryar for 37 yards on the drive which ended with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Jackson to give Miami a 7-0 lead with 2:24 to go in the first quarter.

The Chargers would get the ball back at their 26-yard-line as they hold the ball for nearly seven minutes as they drove 72 yards in 14 plays to set up a 20-yard field goal by John Carney that put San Diego on the scoreboard to make it a 7-3 game with 10:36 remaining in the second quarter.

The Dolphins would get great field position for their next possession as O.J. McDuffie would return the ensuing kickoff 42 yards to the Miami 48-yard-line as Marino would go a perfect 5-of-5 on the six-play drive which ended with another touchdown pass to Jackson, this one from nine yards out to extend the Dolphins' lead to 14-3 midway through the second quarter.

The Chargers next drive would start at their 27-yard-line as Humphries would complete a nine-yard pass to Mark Seay which was followed by two straight carries by Means for 38 yards to put San Diego at the Miami 26-yard-line.

Eric Bieniemy would give Means a breather as he carried the ball on the next two plays, gaining a total of 20 yards to give the Chargers a 1st & goal at the Dolphins' six-yard-line.

However, the Chargers could not punch into the end zone as they settle for another 20-yard field goal by Carney that cut the Dolphins' lead to 14-6 with 2:47 left before halftime.

The Dolphins would begin their next possession at their 30-yard-line as Marino would complete six of eight passes for 66 yards on the nine-play, 70-yard drive that culminated with Marino's third touchdown pass of the first half, a 16-yarder to wide receiver Mike Williams with 27 seconds left in the half to push Miami's lead back to double digits at 21-6.

The Chargers would try to get some more points before the end of the half but Humphries would be picked off by Miami defensive back Frankie Smith to end the first half with the Dolphins on top 21-6.

Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino completed 17 of 24 passes for 206 yards and threw three touchdowns in the first half.

San Diego would get the ball to start the second half as the Chargers would drive from their 28-yard-line to the Miami 25-yard-line until they were faced with a 4th & 7 situation when Ross decided to gamble and go for the 1st down.

The gamble would work as Humphries would complete a 15-yard pass to give the Chargers a 1st & goal at the Miami 10-yard-line as San Diego would advance all the way to the one-yard-line when they were faced with another 4th down situation as Ross once again went for it.

But this time the gamble would not pay off as Means would take it outside and get pushed out of bounds by Coleman and strong safety Michael Stewart to end the Chargers' 15-play, 71-yard drive that took nearly eight minutes off the clock only to result in zero points.

However, the Chargers would get two points on the Dolphins' next play from scrimmage as defensive tackle Reuben Davis would tackle running back Bernie Parmalee in the end zone for a safety to cut the Miami lead to 21-8 but more importantly give the ball right back to the Chargers following the Dolphins' free kick.

Starting at their 46-yard-line, the Chargers would drive to the Miami 24-yard-line until Means took a handoff from Humphries around the right side, broke through a few Miami tackles, then carried Dolphins cornerback J.B. Brown for the last seven yards into the end zone for an amazing 24-yard touchdown run that with the extra point cut the Dolphins' lead to 21-15 with 2:42 left in the third quarter.

The Chargers caught a break on the touchdown as replays showed that Means had stepped out of bounds at the two-yard-line but with no instant replay in the NFL in 1994 the touchdown stood.

After both teams traded punts, the Dolphins had the ball at their 15-yard-line when the most bizarre play of the game occurred as Marino completed a 20-yard pass to Jackson, who while being dragged down by Charger defenders, tried to lateral the ball to Fryar, only for the ball go forward and be recovered by the Chargers.

But instead of getting the ball in Miami territory with a chance to drive for the go-ahead touchdown, the officials ruled that Jackson had thrown an illegal forward pass which negated the fumble and allowed the Dolphins to keep the ball after a five-yard penalty and loss of down.

The Dolphins would end up punting the ball back to the Chargers who took over at their 19-yard-line with 8:03 left in the game and needing seven points to take the lead.

The drive would begin with two runs by Means for 13 yards followed by Humphries completing three of his next four passes for 31 yards to move San Diego to the Miami 37-yard-line when the game's next controversy occurred.

Humphries would threw deep for Shawn Jefferson in the end zone, who would make the catch and get both feet in bounds for an apparent touchdown only for the officials to say he did not get both feet in bounds to make the pass incomplete and bring up 2nd & 10 at the Miami 37-yard-line.

That is when disaster struck for the Chargers as Humphries would be picked off as Miami cornerback Troy Vincent would tip a pass intended for Martin that ended up in the hands of Stewart to give the Dolphins the ball at their 24-yard-line with 4:24 left on the clock and a chance to milk some time off the clock.

However, the Chargers' defense would force a three-and-out to give their offense the ball back at their 39-yard-line with 3:16 left to go in the game and all three timeouts in San Diego's pocket plus the two-minute warning.

Chargers running back Natrone Means ran for 139 yards on 24 carries and scored one touchdown.

The drive would begin with a nine-yard pass from Humphries to Ronnie Harmon, followed by a three-yard-run by Means to pick up a San Diego 1st down and then a 10-yard pass from Humphries to Martin for another Chargers 1st down at the Miami 39-yard-line as the two-minute warning hit.

Humphries would then complete a six-yard pass to Harmon on 1st down, throw an incomplete pass on 2nd down, and then hit Martin for 15 yards to give San Diego a fresh set of downs at the Dolphins' 18-yard-line with a little over a minute to go.

Harmon would get his hands on the ball on the next two plays, first catching a eight-yard pass from Humphries and then running for one yard to set up a 3rd & 1 when Means got the call as he was able to pick up the needed yard to give San Diego a 1st & goal at the Miami eight-yard-line.

That is when Humphries hits a wide open Seay, who catches the ball at the four-yard-line, then runs in untouched for the eight-yard touchdown that with Carney's extra point gave the Chargers their first lead of the game at 22-21 with just 35 seconds left in the game.

The Dolphins would get one last chance to win the game as Carney would squib the ensuing kickoff to give Miami good field position as they would take over possession at their 38-yard-line.

After an incomplete pass on 1st down, Marino would throw deep for Fryar, who drew a pass interference penalty on Chargers defensive back Eric Castle, resulting in a 32-yard gain to give Miami a 1st down at the San Diego 30-yard-line with 17 seconds remaining.

The Dolphins would travel no further as Marino would throw two straight incomplete passes before Shula sent in Pete Stoyanovich to go and try to win the game with a 48-yard field goal.

The snap from center Jeff Dellenbach was high but holder John Kidd was able to catch it and get a good hold for Stoyanovich, whose kick was long enough but sailed wide left and no good as the Chargers would come away with the 22-21 victory and advance to the AFC Championship Game for the first time in 13 years.

One week later, the Chargers' magical season would continue with a 17-13 upset over the Pittsburgh Steelers as linebacker Dennis Gibson would knock down Steelers quarterback Neil O' Donnell's pass intended for running back Barry Foster on 4th & goal late in the game to preserve the San Diego victory and send the Chargers to first ever Super Bowl.

However, the Chargers would be unable to lift the Lombardi Trophy as they were crushed by the San Francisco 49ers 49-26 in Super Bowl XXIX behind 49ers quarterback Steve Young's record six touchdown passes.