NFL Old School Game of the Week: White Shoes Sparks Falcons Comeback Win over Jets

 

Billy "White Shoes" Johnson had 226 all-purpose yards and scored two touchdowns in the Falcons' win over the Jets in 1983.

By the time the 1983 NFL season it looked like the best days of Billy "White Shoes" Johnson were over.

The player famous for his "Funky Chicken" dance after scoring 19 touchdowns for the Houston Oilers from 1974 through 1980, five of them via punt return, was not the same player as a devasting knee injury that he suffered in 1979 had limited his explosiveness as Johnson was now returning punts for the Atlanta Falcons.

But in Week 8 of the '83 season, Johnson began a career renaissance with a remarkable performance against the New York Jets.

The Falcons came into the game with a 2-5 record as they hoped to snap a four-game losing streak during head coach Dan Henning's first season as the Atlanta head coach after taking over for Leeman Bennett who had led the Falcons to their first three playoff appearances during his six-year tenure.

The Falcons had a strong offense led by quarterback Steve Bartkowski and running back William Andrews who came into the game as the second leading rusher in the NFL with 735 yards plus wide receiver Alfred Jenkins but had a weak defense that had given up an average of 20.7 points per game through the first seven games of the season.

The Falcons traveled to the Big Apple to take on the Jets at Shea Stadium, who were loooking to get back on track as the team had stumbled to a 3-4 start after playing in the AFC Championship Game the season before.

New York had a new head coach in Joe Walton, who had served as the team's offensive coordinator for the prior two seasons, following head coach Walt Michaels' retirement following the '82 season.

The team was led by its ferocious pass rush known as the "New York Sack Exchange" which featured Mark Gastineau and Joe Klecko that complied 66 quarterback sacks in 1981 as the Jets broke a 12-year playoff drought by making the playoffs in 1981 which was followed by their journey to the AFC Championship Game in 1982.

On offense, the Jets were led by veteran quarterback Richard Todd, who was trying to keep his job as the team's starting quarterback as New York had selected Ken O'Brien with their first round back in the 1983 NFL Draft.

With running back Freeman McNeil out with a dislocated shoulder, the Jets hoped for a big day from Todd, much like the one he had against the Los Angeles Rams when he threw for 446 yards in 27-24 overtime win(To read about that game, click on the link which is highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2024/12/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-jets-beat.html).

The Jets would get a short field to start the game as kick returner Preston Brown returned the opening kickoff 44 yards to the 50-yard-line as New York opened with four straight running plays that gained 20 yards to move the Jets to the Falcons' 30-yard-line.

Todd would throw his first pass of the game, an one-yard completion to tight end Jerome Barkum that turned into a turnover when Falcons linebacker Fulton Kuykendoll knocked the ball loose as free safety Bob Glazebrook would recover the fumble to give Atlanta the ball at their 29-yard-line.

The two teams would exchange punts until later in the first quarter when the Jets drove from their 42-yard-line to the Falcons' 19-yard-line as Todd completed three passes for 37 yards on the drive until he was picked off on a pass intended for wide receiver Wesley Walker in the end zone by Atlanta cornerback Bobby Butler to end the New York scoring threat and give the Falcons the ball at their 20-yard-line.

The Jets defense would force a three-and-out from the Falcons to give their offense the ball back at their 23-yard-line as two plays went nowhere as the Jets would face a 3rd & 11 from their 22-yard-line as the second quarter began.

It looked like the Falcons were going to force a three-and-out as Bruce Harper fell in the backfield after a handoff from Todd, only for him to get up as he was not touched and ran for a 78-yard touchdown to give the Jets a 7-0 lead.

After another Atlanta three-and-out, the Jets got the ball at their 37-yard-line as Todd completed two passes to Walker for 31 yards and connected with running back Scott Dierking for 11 yards to help move New York to the Falcons' 27-yard-line where Pat Leahy would come on to attempt a 44-yard field goal.

However, Leahy's kick would sail wide left of the uprights to keep the score at 7-0 as the Falcons would go three-and-out again on their ensuing possession as the Jets would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line with 5:31 to go in the second quarter.

Falcons quarterback Steve Bartkowski completed 25 of 36 passes for 313 yards and two touchdowns.

The Jets would again drive deep into Falcons territory as New York would drive 71 yards in 11 plays to set up another field goal attempt for Leahy, this one from 26 yards out, only for it to be blocked by Falcons linebacker Rich Dixon to give Atlanta the ball at their 20-yard-line with 1:14 left before halftime.

The Falcons would drive to the Jets' 21-yard-line as Bartkowski would complete five straight passes for 55 yards but Atlanta would fumble the football on the final play of the first half as wide receiver Alfred Jenkins coughed up the football at the end of a 19-yard catch as Jets defensive back Kirk Springs would make the recovery to end the first half with New York ahead 7-0.

The Falcons would get the ball to start the second half but they would go three-and-out as the Jets begin their first drive of the second half at their 47-yard-line as two runs by Dwayne Crutchfield gained four yards to set up 3rd & 6 when Todd completed a 10-yard pass to Dierking for a New York 1st down at the Atlanta 39-yard-line.

From there, Todd would complete three straight passes for 35 yards to put the Jets at the Falcons' four-yard-line when Dierking took a handoff and run up through the middle for the touchdown to extend the Jets' lead to 14-0 with 9:16 left in the third quarter.

It looked the wheels were coming off for the Falcons when on the second play of their ensuing possession, Bartkowski had a pass bounce off the hands of tight end Arthur Cox and into the arms of linebacker Lance Mehl to give the Jets the ball at the Atlanta 47-yard-line.

Todd would then complete an eight-yard pass to Derrick Gaffney, followed by a 30-yard pass to Lam Jones to move the sticks to the Falcons' nine-yard-line as Mike Augustyniak would carry the ball for six yards then get another carry which resulted in a three-yard touchdown as New York pushed its lead to 21-0 with 6:29 to go in the third quarter.

The Falcons would begin their next possession at their eight-yard-line as running back Gerald Riggs came into the game and seemed to provide a spark as he carried the ball four times for 30 yards to help drive Atlanta to the Jets' 44-yard-line until Bartkowski was intercepted again, this time by Jets cornerback Bobby Jackson to give New York the ball at their 38-yard-line.

The Jets would go three-and-out as they punted the ball back to the Falcons who took over at their 18-yard-line as Bartkowski would complete passes of 17 yards to Riggs, then 21 yards to Stacey Bailey to move Atlanta into New York territory at the Jets' 44-yard-line.

Following a three-yard run by Riggs, Bartkowski would go back to Bailey as the two connected for a 26-yard completion to move the Falcons to the Jets' 15-yard-line when "White Shoes" would begin his takeover of the game.

Bartkowski would complete a short pass to Johnson, who would then weave his way through the Jets' defense to get into the end zone for the 15-yard touchdown to cut the Falcons' deficit to 21-7 with four seconds to go in the third quarter.

The Jets would be forced to punt on their next possession as a holding on right tackle Marvin Powell nullified a 16-yard pass from Todd to tight end Mickey Shuler that would have given New York a 1st down in Falcons territory when "White Shoes" struck again as Johnson returned the punt 41 yards to the Jets' 25-yard-line 

It would take the Falcons just one play to get into the end zone as Bartkowski hit a wide open Andrews over the middle for the 25-yard touchdown to cut the New York lead to 21-14 with 12:23 to go in the fourth quarter.

With momentum on their side, the Falcons were set to get the ball back after their defense forced a three-and-out from the Jets' offense as they would punt the ball when Johnson would make his third and thus far biggest play of the game.

Johnson would catch the ball at his 29-yard-line and immediately break the tackle of the Jets' Johnny Hector as "White Shoes" would run down the left sideline before faking out punter Chuck Ramsey at the New York 20-yard-line and run into the end zone for the 71-yard touchdown, the Falcons' third touchdown in a span of four minutes and nine seconds to tie the game at 21 with 10:55 left in regulation.

The Jets looked to get back on track on their next possession which began at their 34-yard-line with a nine-yard pass from Todd to Harper followed by an apparent 26-yard pass to Shuler that was wiped out because of a holding penalty on left tackle Chris Ward as the Falcons would force the Jets another three-and-out.

New York would punt the ball back to Johnson, who would muff the punt but recover his own fumble as the Falcons would get the ball back at their 31-yard-line as Atlanta would drive 55 yards in 11 plays, the longest play being a 21-yard pass from Bartkowski to Johnson, to set up a 32-yard field goal by Mick Luckhurst to give the Falcons their first lead of the game at 24-21 with 3:37 left in regulation.

After another three-and-out by the Jets, the Falcons would begin their next possession at their 39-yard-line as a false start penalty and an incomplete pass would set up a 2nd & 15 when Johnson would strike one more time as he ran for 36 yards on an end-around to give Atlanta a 1st down at the New York 27-yard-line.

The Falcons would settle for a 40-yard field goal by Luckhurst to increase the Atlanta lead to 27-21 with 1:48 left in the game as the Jets would get one last chance to salvage from an embarrassing defeat.

But Todd would throw three straight incomplete passes to force a do-or-die 4th down situation where Todd was picked off by Falcons strong safety Tom Pridemore to seal the 27-21 win for the Falcons as they had pulled off the greatest comeback in team history by overcoming a 21-point deficit thanks to "White Shoes" who finished with four catches for 57 yards, three runs for 53 yards, and four punt returns for 116 yards.

The Jets would not return to the postseason as they would finish the season with a 7-9 record as Todd would be traded to the New Orleans Saints in the offseason, allowing for O'Brien to take over as the starting quarterback as would led New York to two playoff appearances in 1985 and 1986.

The Falcons would also finish with a 7-9 record as Johnson would be named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year as he would end the season with 64 catches for 709 yards and four touchdowns including a memorable game-winning Hail Mary touchdown catch on the final play of the Falcons' 28-24 win over the San Francisco 49ers(To read about that game, click on the link highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2017/11/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-white-shoes.html).

Johnson would play four more years for the Falcons, leading the team in receptions and yards in 1985 as he caught 62 passes for 830 yards, then would play one game for the Washington Redskins in 1988 which would be the final stop in "White Shoes" 14-year NFL career.