1967: Eagles Defeat Steelers with Snead to Hawkins Combination

The Philadelphia Eagles were at 1-1 as they hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers on October 1, 1967. Coached by Joe Kuharich for the fourth year, the Eagles had looked impressive in an opening-week win against Washington but decidedly less so in being flattened by the Colts in their second game. QB Norm Snead was talented but inconsistent, although the arrival of two veteran receivers, split end Gary Ballman and TE Mike Ditka, helped and flanker Ben Hawkins (pictured at right), a disappointment as a rookie the previous year, was showing signs of improvement. The defense lacked a strong pass rush and had given up lots of passing yards in both contests.

The Eagles would not be seeing the likes of Washington’s Sonny Jurgensen or Johnny Unitas of the Colts lining up against them with Pittsburgh coming to town. With starting QB Bill Nelsen injured, backup Kent Nix would be making his first pro start for the Steelers. They would also be without TE John Hilton, further hampering the passing game. But Head Coach Bill Austin’s club had a tough defense and was also at 1-1, having whipped the Bears in the first week before losing to the Cardinals.

There were 60,335 fans in attendance at Franklin Field. The Steelers shuttled running backs to bring in plays in an effort to help the inexperienced quarterback, but the receiving corps was depleted further when flanker Roy Jefferson went out with a leg injury in the early going. Nevertheless, Pittsburgh scored first after flanker Chuck Hughes of the Eagles was nicked by a punt and FS Paul Martha recovered at the Philadelphia 43. Four plays later, FB Willie Asbury ran 25 yards for a touchdown and Mike Clark added the extra point for the early 7-0 advantage.

The Eagles responded with a 79-yard drive in seven plays. Norm Snead completed four passes and FB Israel “Izzy” Lang added an option toss to Gary Ballman for a gain of 26 yards to the Pittsburgh seven. Two plays later, Snead rolled to his right and connected with Lang in the corner of the end zone for a five-yard TD. Sam Baker added the game-tying point after.

Prior to the end of the period, Clark attempted a 36-yard field goal into the wind that fell short, but early in the second quarter, Baker was successful from the same distance to put the Eagles ahead by 10-7. Shortly thereafter, a Nix pass was intercepted by FS Joe Scarpati at the Pittsburgh 29. Snead immediately went long to Ben Hawkins, who outmaneuvered SS Clendon Thomas for a TD. Baker converted and the home team was up by 17-7.

The Steelers got a break on their next possession when, forced to punt, DE Mel Tom was flagged for roughing-the-kicker. A third down pass by Nix was complete to Asbury for 21 yards to the Philadelphia 25 and, with Hoak and Asbury carrying, the visitors ground away to another touchdown, this time on Hoak’s three-yard run. Clark added the extra point to narrow the score to 17-14.

The Eagles responded quickly, advancing 68 yards in six plays. Snead (pictured at left) threw to Hawkins for 40 yards to the Pittsburgh 28 and again on a third-and-10 play for 19. He then lobbed a throw to TE Jim Kelly, who caught it over LB Andy Russell for a four-yard touchdown. Baker converted, and with 33 seconds remaining in the first half Philadelphia was ahead by 24-14. Pittsburgh got one last shot to add points before halftime, but Clark missed a 52-yard field goal try and the tally remained unchanged.

The Eagles were forced to punt following their first series of the third quarter and Baker’s kick was shanked, traveling just 29 yards to give Pittsburgh the ball at the Philadelphia 49. The Steelers reached the 15 before Clark kicked a 24-yard field goal to make it a seven-point game.

Neither team scored again during the period. The Steelers missed two opportunities, the first after reaching the Philadelphia 34 when CB Jim Nettles picked off a Nix pass and the second when an apparent 76-yard scoring run by Hoak was nullified by a holding penalty. The Eagles also missed out when Snead barely overthrew Hawkins near the Pittsburgh goal line.

Heading into the fourth quarter, the Steelers put together their most impressive drive of the game, moving 93 yards as Nix completed two passes along the way and Hoak tossed an option pass to Asbury for 21 yards. The long series ended with Nix completing a TD throw to split end J.R. Wilburn, who made a leaping catch from 18 yards out. Clark converted to tie the score at 24-24 with 11 minutes to play.

With the game knotted, Hawkins returned the ensuing kickoff 41 yards to give the Eagles good starting field position in Pittsburgh territory. Snead threw to Hawkins for 19 yards and FB Tom Woodeshick ran the ball effectively on four plays before Snead connected with Hawkins once again on a post pattern for an eight-yard touchdown. Baker again booted the PAT and the Eagles were back in the lead at 31-24.

There was still time for the visitors but, following an interception of a Nix pass by LB Mike Morgan, Snead threw to Hawkins for 24 yards and the possession resulted in Baker adding a game-clinching field goal from 35 yards. Philadelphia came away with a hard-fought 34-24 win.

Total yards were almost even, with the Eagles having the edge (319 to 318) while Pittsburgh had more first downs (19 to 17). The Steelers were effective running the ball, gaining 153 yards, while Philadelphia accumulated just 48 yards on 29 carries. But the Eagles had far more net passing yards (271 to 165) and turned the ball over once, to three by Pittsburgh. Philadelphia mistakes on special teams proved beneficial to the Steelers and the Eagles were also hurt by committing eight penalties, at a cost of 71 yards, as opposed to three flags that were thrown on Pittsburgh.

Norm Snead completed 16 of 24 passes for 258 yards and four touchdowns while giving up no interceptions. Ben Hawkins had a huge performance with 8 catches for 187 yards and two of the TDs. Tom Woodeshick, who caught three passes for 33 yards, topped the Philadelphia runners with 30 yards on 16 carries.

For the Steelers, Kent Nix (pictured at right) had a respectable showing as he succeeded on 12 of 26 throws for 159 yards and a TD while giving up three interceptions. HB Jim “Cannonball” Butler rushed for 81 yards on 17 attempts and Willie Asbury contributed 54 yards on 7 carries that included a touchdown while also gaining 42 yards on two pass receptions. Split ends Dick Compton and J.R. Wilburn caught a team-leading four catches apiece, for 70 and 50 yards, respectively, and Wilburn scored a TD.

“They gave us single coverage on Hawkins and appeared to be more worried about (Gary) Ballman,” explained Norm Snead. “I called three-man patterns most of the time but ended up going to him (Hawkins) pretty much.”

“Nix ran the team well enough to win,” said Coach Bill Austin of his quarterback. “When you score 24 points, you should have enough to win.”

Philadelphia won again the next week to rise to 3-1, but could not do so consistently and finished at 6-7-1 and second in the Capitol Division of the Eastern Conference. The Steelers lost their next three games before edging the first-year Saints on the way to a 4-9-1 record that put them at the bottom of the Eastern Conference’s Century Division.

Norm Snead had the biggest statistical year of his long career, achieving career highs in pass attempts (434), completions (240), yards (3399), and TD passes (29). The big performance by Ben Hawkins proved to not be a fluke as he broke out with 59 catches for a league-leading 1265 yards (21.4 avg.) and 10 touchdowns. He had five hundred-yard performances and his 187 yards against the Steelers were not his highest total – thanks to an 87-yard TD catch, Hawkins compiled 197 yards on six receptions in a game at St. Louis (albeit one that the Eagles lost by a score of 48-14).

Kent Nix started a total of nine games for the Steelers , continuing to see action even after Bill Nelsen’s return. He completed 136 of 268 passes (50.7 %) for 1587 yards and 8 TDs, but also gave up 19 interceptions. The son of Emery Nix, who had a brief career with the Giants in the 1940s, he spent another two years with Pittsburgh, but saw decreasingly less action before departing for the Bears and Oilers.

1967: Eagles Win Back-and-Forth Opener Over Redskins

The Philadelphia Eagles were coming off of a 9-5 record in 1966 and had some new faces on the roster as they hosted the Washington Redskins on September 17, 1967. Head Coach Joe Kuharich had developed a reputation for being willing to deal since taking over the reins in ’64. In the most recent offseason, flanker Gary Ballman (pictured above) was obtained from the Steelers and star TE Mike Ditka of the Bears, who had worn out his welcome in Chicago following a contract dispute, was brought in to replace retired TE Pete Retzlaff. QB Norm Snead, who came to the Eagles from Washington in 1964 in a controversial trade for QB Sonny Jurgensen, had suffered through a miserable ’66 season and was benched for the last several games in favor of Jack Concannon and King Hill, but Concannon was traded to the Bears for Ditka, Hill was injured during the preseason, and Snead was now back firmly in the starting job and looking to rebound.

With the Redskins in town for the opening game, coached by Otto Graham for the second year, Snead once more faced Sonny Jurgensen, and the ex-Eagle had a Pro Bowl year in ’66 in which he threw for 3209 yards and 28 touchdowns for the 7-7 club. Charley Taylor, shifted from halfback to split end, led the NFL in pass receptions and, together with flanker Bobby Mitchell and TE Jerry Smith, was part of a formidable receiving corps. The running game was far less impressive, however, and FB Ray McDonald had been chosen in the first round of the draft to address that issue. There were questions regarding the defense, but star MLB Sam Huff was back for his 12^th season as well as a rising talent in OLB Chris Hanburger.

60,755 fans were in attendance at Franklin Field. Things started off with a bang for the Redskins when rookie flanker John Love returned the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown. Charlie Gogolak added the extra point and the visitors were ahead by 7-0 after less than 20 seconds of play.

The Eagles responded by going 80 yards in five plays on their initial series. Norm Snead (pictured below) threw to Mike Ditka for eight yards, FB Tom Woodeshick rushed for a total of five yards on two carries, and, after an illegal procedure call backed the Eagles up, HB Israel “Izzy” Lang ran 13 yards around end for a first down. Snead then went long for Gary Ballman, and it resulted in a 59-yard touchdown. Sam Baker successfully converted to tie the score.

Washington had to punt on its next possession, but got the ball back two plays later when Snead fumbled while being sacked and DE Bill Briggs recovered at the Philadelphia 13. Helped by a holding penalty, the Eagles were able to keep the visitors out of the end zone and Washington settled for a 30-yard Gogolak field goal to move back into the lead.

The Eagles moved the ball effectively on the ground, with Lang and Woodeshick carrying, but Lang fumbled and Sam Huff recovered at his own 38. A few plays later, FB A.D. Whitfield fumbled the ball back and Philadelphia put together a seven-play, 58-yard series. Lang had runs of 12 and 19 yards and Snead completed two passes, the second of which was for a 10-yard TD to Ballman. Baker’s extra point made the score 14-10 in favor of the Eagles.

Heading into the second quarter, Washington put together a promising drive as Sonny Jurgensen completed four passes for 45 yards, but Gogolak was short on a 37-yard field goal attempt. Philadelphia again moved the ball well, starting off with a Snead throw to Ditka for 25 yards, but after reaching Washington territory, a holding penalty and sack moved the Eagles back and they had to punt. The Redskins advanced 73 yards in six plays, four of them pass completions by Jurgensen. The longest was to split end Charley Taylor for 35 yards to the Philadelphia 13 and, two plays later, HB Joe Don Looney ran five yards for a touchdown. Gogolak added the PAT and Washington was now in front in the see-saw battle by a score of 17-14.

Following a 33-yard kickoff return by split end Ben Hawkins, there were just over three minutes left in the half as the Eagles started their next series. On a third-and-eight play, Snead connected with Woodeshick for 30 yards and, two plays later, Ballman caught a pass for a 22-yard gain to the Washington two. Snead scored on a quarterback sneak two plays after that, and with Baker’s kick, Philadelphia took a 21-17 lead into halftime.

The Eagles found themselves trapped deep in their own territory on the first series of the third quarter, and Baker’s punt from his end zone was short and gave the Redskins possession at the Philadelphia 33. Jurgensen immediately threw to Taylor for 10 yards and a first down, but after the possession bogged down at the 18, Gogolak’s 25-yard field goal attempt was blocked by LB Harold Wells.

Philadelphia again had to punt after a short series and this time the visitors didn’t come up empty. The Redskins drove 55 yards in seven plays, the biggest a Jurgensen throw to Taylor that picked up 36 yards. Jurgensen’s third completion of the series was to Jerry Smith for a four-yard TD and, adding Gogolak’s PAT, Washington was again in the lead by 24-21.

The Eagles came out throwing when they got the ball back, with Snead completing three passes before Woodeshick took a handoff on a draw play and broke away for a 40-yard touchdown. Baker converted and the five-play, 63-yard series had Philadelphia back again in front by a score of 28-24.

It was Jurgensen’s turn to fill the air with passes when Washington regained possession, and he connected with Bobby Mitchell for a 43-yard gain to the Philadelphia 32. Throws to Taylor and Smith picked up 12 yards apiece, but three straight passes into the end zone from the 12 yard line fell incomplete and the Eagles blocked another Gogolak try for a field goal on the final play of the period.

The Eagles went three-and-out on their next series and punted and, starting from their own 26, the Redskins again moved down the field. Looney and Ray McDonald ran well and Jurgensen completed three passes. But after reaching the Philadelphia eight, Love, in place of the injured Gogolak, missed on a 15-yard field goal attempt.

The teams traded punts before the Eagles added an insurance score. Snead fired long for Ben Hawkins and it was complete for a 68-yard gain to the Washington six. Three plays later, Woodeshick ran for a one-yard TD, Baker converted, and the home team was in front by 11 points with less than three minutes remaining on the clock. Jurgensen again went to the air and, at one point, completed five straight throws, but after reaching the Philadelphia 33, he was sacked on a fourth down play to effectively end the game. The Eagles came away winners by the score of 35-24.

Philadelphia compiled more total yards (426 to 388) although the Redskins had the edge in first downs (21 to 18). Each team recorded three sacks and the Eagles turned the ball over twice, to one suffered by Washington. The Redskins were hurt by a combined four missed field goals out of five attempts.

Norm Snead completed 18 of 27 passes for 301 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. Gary Ballman had four catches for 105 yards and both receiving TDs while Ben Hawkins, thanks to his long catch in the second half, gained an even 100 yards on 5 receptions. Mike Ditka also caught 5 passes, for 42 yards. Izzy Lang rushed for 75 yards on 13 carries and Tom Woodeshick was right behind with 74 yards, also on 13 attempts, with two touchdowns.

For the Redskins, Sonny Jurgensen (pictured below) was successful on 25 of 46 throws for 324 yards and a TD while having none picked off. Charley Taylor caught 8 of those passes for 144 yards and Jerry Smith also hauled in 8 receptions, for 81 yards and a score. Bobby Mitchell contributed 6 catches for 82 yards. Ray McDonald led the rushers by gaining 47 yards on 8 carries.

The Eagles got off to a 3-1 start before dropping four of their next five games on the way to a 6-7-1 record, which placed second in the Capitol Division of the Eastern Conference. Washington ended up third at 5-6-3.

Norm Snead had his most productive season as a passer for the Eagles, throwing for 3399 yards and 29 touchdowns while giving up 24 interceptions. Gary Ballman continued to perform well and caught 36 passes for 524 yards (14.6 avg.) and six TDs, but Mike Ditka missed five games with injuries and ended up with just 26 receptions for 274 yards and two scores. It was Ben Hawkins, in his second year, who broke out in a big way and led the NFL with 1265 yards on his 59 catches (21.4 avg.) that included 10 touchdowns.

Sonny Jurgensen went on to another big season, leading the league in pass attempts (508), completions (288), yards (3747), and TDs (31). Charley Taylor again led the circuit in pass receptions (70) and Jerry Smith (67) and Bobby Mitchell (60) ranked second and fourth. Ray McDonald proved to not be the answer at fullback, however, gaining just 223 rushing yards.