The New York Jets had won the 1968 AFL Championship and stunned the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III and were 4-2 as they hosted the Boston Patriots on October 26, 1969. Coached for the seventh year by Weeb Ewbank, the Jets were known primarily for their passing offense, and that centered around star QB Joe Namath and the outstanding wide receivers Don Maynard and George Sauer. With HB Emerson Boozer and FB Matt Snell (pictured above), they could run the ball, too. On defense they were sound on the line and at linebacker, but there were concerns about the defensive backfield.
Boston was 0-6 and had already lost to the Jets at home.
Their first-year head coach was Clive Rush, a former New York assistant, and
another ex-Jet was the starting quarterback, Mike Taliaferro. There were
promising young players such as HB Carl Garrett and G Mike Montler, but the defense
was missing star MLB Nick Buoniconti, dealt away to Miami. However, the strong
suit was the defensive backfield, and the Patriots hoped to disrupt New York’s
passing attack.
It was a sunny and pleasant day at Shea Stadium with
62,298 fans in attendance. The Patriots had the first possession and drove 82
yards in seven plays. QB Mike Taliaferro had completions of 16 yards to WR
Charley Frazier and 19 yards to Carl Garrett and connected with WR Bill
Rademacher, yet another ex-Jet, in the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown. Gino
Cappelletti added the extra point.
New York put together a scoring drive in response. Joe
Namath had a completion to George Sauer, but it was Matt Snell and Emerson
Boozer carrying the load and Snell ran 12 yards for a TD. Jim Turner’s extra
point tied the score at 7-7.
Boston came right back with a 74-yard series. FB Jim
Nance had a 16-yard run up the middle and, on a third-and-nine play, Taliaferro
threw to Rademacher for 17 yards to the New York 40. The series finally ended
with a Cappelletti field goal from 39 yards and the visitors took a 10-7 lead
into the second quarter.
The Jets continued to keep the ball on the ground,
although Namath did find Don Maynard open for a 20-yard gain at one point. The
drive stalled at the Boston 30 and Turner once again knotted the score with a
38-yard field goal.
The Patriots had to punt following their next series, but
made a big play on defense when safety John Charles intercepted a Namath pass
and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown. Cappelletti converted and the
visitors were again in the lead by 17-10.
A short series by the Jets that ended in a punt led to
Taliaferro being intercepted by CB Randy Beverly, who returned it to the Boston
33. However, Snell fumbled the ball back two plays later. The Patriots were forced
to punt and New York advanced into Boston territory, but with time running out
in the first half, Turner missed a 37-yard field goal attempt and the score
remained unchanged at halftime.
On the third play following the second half kickoff, the visitors
got a break when Boozer fumbled and DT Ray Jacobs recovered for the Patriots. The
turnover led to a field goal try by Cappelletti, but he was unsuccessful from
49 yards. The Jets reached midfield on their next possession, helped along by a
Namath pass to Sauer that picked up 25 yards, but had to punt. However, they
pinned the Patriots deep in their territory and, when forced to punt in turn,
Janik’s kick traveled only 29 yards to give the Jets good field position at the
Boston 41.
In a series in which Snell ran four times for 16 yards,
the Jets put points on the board with a 32-yard Turner field goal that narrowed
Boston’s lead to 17-13. The Patriots again had to punt and, in a possession
that extended into the fourth quarter, the Jets drove to another score. On a
third-and-ten play, Namath, finding his receivers covered, uncharacteristically
scrambled for 16 yards and New York picked up another 15 yards on a personal
foul by the Patriots. Now at the Boston 47, the Jets pounded down the field and
Boozer scored a touchdown from two yards out. Turner added the extra point and
New York was ahead by 20-17.
On the next series, Taliaferro fumbled when hit
attempting to pass and DT John Elliott recovered at the Boston 31. The Jets
kept the ball on the ground with Snell and Boozer carrying and added to the lead
when Turner kicked a 13-yard field goal. With time winding down, the Patriots
went three-and-out on their next series and punted. New York was able to run
out the last two minutes and won by a final score of 23-17.
The Jets had more total yards (318 to 211), with only 108
through the air but 210 on the ground, and also had the lead in first downs (21
to 10). New York was hurt by three turnovers, to two by the Patriots, but of
the seven penalties called during the game, six were on Boston.
Matt Snell rushed for 109 yards on 23 carries and Emerson
Boozer contributed 67 yards on 15 attempts, with each scoring a touchdown. Joe
Namath completed 10 of 21 passes for 115 yards and no touchdowns while giving
up one interception. George Sauer had four catches for 58 yards to top the
Jets.
For the Patriots, Mike Taliaferro (pictured below) was successful on 12 of
24 throws for 139 yards and a TD with one interception. Jim Nance rushed for 58
yards on 11 carries and Carl Garrett added 20 on 8 attempts and also had four
pass receptions for 40 yards. Bill Rademacher was the top receiver with 6
catches for 78 yards and a TD.
The Jets cruised to first place in the Eastern Division
with a 10-4 record but, in the expanded playoff format used in the AFL’s last
year before merging with the NFL, they lost in the Divisional round to the
Chiefs, second-place finishers in the Western Division. Boston won for the
first time the following week against the Oilers, the first of four wins in
five games, and ended up tied for third in the division with Buffalo at 4-10.
The combination of Matt Snell and Emerson Boozer
continued to be productive over the course of the season. Snell rushed for 695
yards on 191 carries (3.6 avg.) and was a consensus first-team All-AFL
selection as well as AFL All-Star. Boozer had 604 yards on 130 attempts (4.6
avg.) and gained more yardage as a receiver (222 on 20 receptions to 187 on 22
catches for Snell).
Mike Taliaferro had his most productive pro season,
throwing for 2160 yards and 19 touchdowns, which tied Namath for second in the
league. He was also named to the AFL All-Star game. Bill Rademacher’s
performance against the Jets was the best of his career. A backup who caught
just three passes during five years with New York, he had 17 receptions for 217
yards (12.8 avg.) and three TDs in ’69.
