The New York Giants were a team in transition – and an
11-point underdog – as they faced the Philadelphia Eagles on September 26, 1965.
After winning the Eastern Conference for three straight years under Head Coach
Allie Sherman, they crashed to 2-10-2 in 1964. Gone were many of the star
players, such as QB Y.A. Tittle, flanker Frank Gifford, and MLB Sam Huff, who
had played key roles in the team’s success. While some aging veterans remained,
there were many new names on the roster. A group of running backs referred to
as “The Baby Bulls” had begun to emerge in ’64 and were now joined by first
draft choice FB Tucker Frederickson out of Auburn. A trade was swung with
Detroit for veteran QB Earl Morrall (pictured above). But the Giants also had four rookies
starting on defense and had been beaten badly by the Cowboys in their opening
game the previous week.
Another cause of concern was placekicking. The reasonably
dependable Don Chandler had been traded to the Packers in the offseason and no
clear alternative had emerged to replace him. One of the candidates, FB Chuck
Mercein, was unavailable due to a leg injury, leaving DE Andy Stynchula (pictured below), who
had not kicked since high school, and rookie Bob Timberlake, also the team’s
third-string quarterback. Stynchula had been a star lineman at Penn State and
was drafted third by the Redskins in 1960, moving on to New York in ’64 as part
of the deal that sent Sam Huff to Washington. The Giants were using him only
for short field goals and extra points, with Timberlake handling longer field
goal tries.
As for the Eagles, coached for the second year by Joe
Kuharich, they were coming off a promising 6-8 season in 1964 and had beaten
the Cardinals in Week 1. QB Norm Snead had ideal size and a strong arm, HB
Timmy Brown was an outstanding runner and receiver out of the backfield, and TE
Pete Retzlaff was one of the league’s best at his position.
There were 57,154 fans in attendance at Franklin Field. The
teams traded punts to start the game. On Philadelphia’s second possession, Norm
Snead finished off a 73-yard drive in the first quarter with a one-yard
touchdown carry. The big plays along the way were passes by Snead in
third-and-ten situations to FB Earl Gros for 27 yards and to Timmy Brown for
18.
The Eagles put together another promising drive in the
second quarter that also included a long third down conversion on a
Snead-to-Brown completion for 16 yards from deep in their own territory, but
they were backed up by a holding penalty and had to punt. The Giants got good
field position when safety Henry Carr, a rookie who was an Olympic 200-meter
champ, returned the kick 17 yards to the Philadelphia 45. With HB Steve Thurlow
and Tucker Frederickson (pictured below) running the ball effectively, the Giants scored in
seven plays. Flanker Joe Morrison took a pitchout and went 11 yards around left
end for a TD. Andy Stynchula added the extra point to tie the score at 7-7 with
just over a minute remaining in the half.
The Eagles went to the air in the time remaining. Snead
went long for flanker Ron Goodwin, but rookie CB Carl Lockhart leaped high and
batted the ball away to prevent a sure score. Sam Baker tried for a 43-yard
field goal on the last play before halftime but it was unsuccessful and the
score remained tied.
Early in the third quarter, the Giants got a break when Timmy
Brown fumbled and DT Mike Bundra recovered at the Philadelphia 25. The
resulting possession ended with Stynchula’s first pro field goal, from 24 yards,
and New York was in front by a 10-7 margin.
The Eagles responded by putting together a long drive
that covered 67 yards in 12 plays. At one point they were forced to punt but
King Hill was run into while kicking to draw a penalty and keep the series
alive. Snead threw to Pete Retzlaff for 14 yards to the one to set up another
quarterback keeper for a touchdown.
New York went 52 yards on its next possession that included
back-to-back completions by Earl Morrall of 20 yards to TE Aaron Thomas and 16
yards to HB Smith Reed. The series finally stalled at the Philadelphia 8 and
Stynchula booted a 20-yard field goal to make it a one-point game.
The teams traded punts before the Eagles moved into
scoring territory. Brown caught two key passes for 27 yards and, on a
third-and-one play, ran 18 yards to the New York 20. With 5:30 left to play,
the Eagles attempted a field goal but Baker’s kick from 26 yards was blocked by
Giants CB Dick Lynch and Carr returned it 19 yards to the New York 32.
A long pass completion was nullified by a penalty, but
Morrall came right back with a throw to split end Del Shofner for 31 yards. Four
plays later, and facing fourth-and-inches, Morrall sneaked two yards for a
first down and then threw to Thomas for 16 yards. Frederickson ran the ball
three times for 25 yards down to the four and from there, Stynchula kicked an
11-yard field goal to put the Giants ahead with 15 seconds left on the clock.
They held on to win by a final score of 16-14.
The Eagles outgained New York (296 yards to 280) and also
had the edge in first downs (18 to 14). Philadelphia suffered the game’s only
turnover but the Giants hurt themselves with ten penalties, to three flags
thrown on the Eagles. Ultimately, it came down to placekicking as the normally
dependable Sam Baker missed both of his field goal attempts, including the
crucial blocked kick in the fourth quarter, while Andy Stynchula was a perfect
three-for-three.
Earl Morrall completed 12 of 18 passes for 154 yards with
no touchdowns but also had none intercepted. Tucker Frederickson rushed for 76
yards on 17 carries. Aaron Thomas had three catches for 62 yards while Smith
Reed also pulled in three for 30 yards along with his 13 rushing yards on three
attempts and Joe Morrison, whose lone run was the 11-yard TD, gained 19 yards
on his three receptions.
For the Eagles, Norm Snead was successful on 17 of 32
throws for 238 yards, also with no TDs or interceptions. Timmy Brown (pictured at right) gained 45
yards on 11 rushing attempts and added 8 catches for 106 yards. Pete Retzlaff
contributed 68 yards on his four pass receptions.
“I always have practiced field goals, every day,” said
Andy Stynchula, “and with Don Chandler gone this year I went to camp hoping I’d
get the kicking job.”
The Giants broke even the rest of the way, finishing at
7-7 and tied with the Cowboys for second in the Eastern Conference.
Philadelphia had a disappointing 5-9 record and placed fifth in the conference,
along with the Cardinals.
Earl Morrall, in his tenth season, had a good year as he
ranked fifth in the NFL in passing with 2446 yards, averaging a healthy 8.1
yards per attempt, with 22 touchdowns as opposed to 12 interceptions. Tucker
Frederickson rushed for 659 yards and was named to the Pro Bowl.
As for Andy Stynchula, the three field goals against the
Eagles ended up being his only ones of the season. He missed on all four of his
remaining attempts while going 12-for-13 on extra point attempts. Bob
Timberlake was far worse – he was successful on only one of 15 field goal
attempts as the Giants ended up with only four for the entire year. It would
spur them to sign pioneering soccer-style PK Pete Gogolak away from the AFL’s
Buffalo Bills in the off-season, which dramatically improved their placekicking
but also was a key occurrence in the battle between the two leagues.
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