1991: Steelers Clinch Win Over Chargers With Stone’s 89-Yard TD

The NFL season-opening game on September 1, 1991 at Three Rivers Stadium featured, in the Pittsburgh Steelers and the San Diego Chargers, two teams hoping to improve on disappointing 1990 seasons. The Steelers had just barely missed the postseason with a 9-7 record in ’90 and were starting their 23^rd year under Head Coach Chuck Noll. While the defense had allowed the fewest yards in the NFL, the offense was far less adept at scoring points. The promising but inconsistent Bubby Brister was the starting quarterback and the team was in need of more skill at wide receiver and running back.

San Diego was coming off three straight 6-10 seasons, but was restructuring with second-year GM Bobby Beathard. Under Head Coach Dan Henning, the Chargers could run the ball effectively but lacked an experienced quarterback. Second-year QB John Friesz was making his second career start for the Chargers in the opening game. There were high hopes for the defense that included an established star in CB Gill Byrd and a rising talent in LB Junior Seau.

There were 55,848 fans on hand for the late afternoon game. On the first series, Friesz fumbled and LB Greg Lloyd recovered for the Steelers at the Chargers’ 27 yard line. RB Barry Foster took off for a 12-yard gain on Pittsburgh’s initial offensive play, but the San Diego defense held. Still, the early break was translated into points when Gary Anderson booted a 38-yard field goal.

Two three-and-out possessions by the Chargers surrounded a Pittsburgh series that ended when Gill Byrd intercepted a Bubby Brister pass near midfield. However, a second Byrd interception gave San Diego good field position at the Pittsburgh 29. The Chargers came up empty when John Carney was wide to the right on a 36-yard field goal try.

Heading into the second quarter, San Diego finally put together a sustained drive. Starting from their 30, the Chargers moved 49 yards in a 14-play possession that used up nearly eight minutes. Friesz completed four passes and this time Carney was successful on a 48-yard field goal attempt to tie the score.

The Steelers responded with an 80-yard drive of their own as Brister was good on all five of his pass attempts, including one of 33 yards to WR Chris Calloway for a touchdown just after the two minute warning. San Diego was unable to generate any threat in the remaining time and Pittsburgh took a 10-3 lead into halftime.

The Steelers added to their margin in the first possession of the third quarter. Barry Foster carried much of the load and, after moving 68 yards to the San Diego 12 yard line, Anderson kicked a 29-yard field goal to make it 13-3. Following a short series for the Chargers, Pittsburgh took eight plays to add another three points, this time on a 31-yard Anderson boot. There was no further scoring in the period, and when Anderson added his fourth field goal of the day from 39 yards early in the fourth quarter, it seemed as though the Steelers had the offensively-challenged Chargers firmly in check at 19-3.

Taking over at their 19 following the ensuing kickoff, an illegal use of hands penalty called on Pittsburgh gave the Chargers a first down in a second-and-10 situation, and they converted a third-and-ten play when Friesz threw to WR Anthony Miller for 16 yards. Shortly thereafter, RB Ronnie Harmon ran for 23 yards to the Pittsburgh 32 and, following a short gain by RB Marion Butts, Friesz again connected with Miller, this time for 18 yards to the 12. Two plays later, RB Rod Bernstine tossed an 11-yard touchdown pass to WR Nate Lewis on an option play and, with the successful extra point, it was a nine-point game with over ten minutes still on the clock.

During Pittsburgh’s next series, Brister was forced to leave the contest due to a mild concussion and second-year backup QB Neil O’Donnell took his place. The Steelers were forced to punt but immediately got the ball back when Friesz was intercepted by CB David Johnson on a long pass play at the Pittsburgh 21. The Steelers held the ball for only three plays, two of them incomplete passes by O’Donnell, before punting it back to San Diego.

Taking possession at the 50, the Chargers moved the ball 32 yards in 11 plays highlighted by a 14-yard Friesz completion to WR Shawn Jefferson in a third-and-11 situation. Carney kicked a 35-yard field goal, and with over two minutes remaining, San Diego was in striking distance at 19-13.

Following a touchback on the kickoff, the Steelers lost ground on a holding penalty and, after O’Donnell ran for five yards, a delay of game call put them back at their 11 yard line and facing a third-and-19 situation. It seemed likely that the Chargers would get another shot on offense from good field position. But lined up in the shotgun formation, O’Donnell threw a screen pass to WR Dwight Stone, who proceeded to go 89 yards for a touchdown - it was the game’s biggest play and sank San Diego’s hopes.

The Chargers scored once more at the end, with Friesz passing to Jefferson for a five-yard TD, but it had no effect on the outcome as Pittsburgh came away with a 26-20 victory.

The Steelers outgained San Diego (390 yards to 281) although the Chargers had more first downs (20 to 16). Each club turned the ball over twice.

Bubby Brister completed 13 of 21 passes for 189 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions before having to leave the game. Neil O’Donnell was successful on only one of his four pass attempts, but it was a huge completion for the 89-yard game-clinching TD. Thanks to the long scoring play, Dwight Stone gained 124 yards on his four catches. Barry Foster rushed for 78 yards on 17 carries.

For the Chargers, John Friesz went to the air 41 times and had 19 completions for 192 yards with a TD and an interception. Nate Lewis had 6 pass receptions for 74 yards and a touchdown and Anthony Miller was right behind with 5 catches for 54 yards. Rod Bernstine gained 50 yards on 12 rushes and also had the one touchdown pass.

Despite the opening win, it proved to be another disappointing season for the Steelers, who started off at 3-2 but then lost four straight games on the way to a 7-9 record in Chuck Noll’s last year at the helm. San Diego went a dismal 4-12 to fall to the bottom of the AFC West. Dan Henning was also replaced for ’92.

Bubby Brister returned to the starting lineup for the Steelers, but a knee injury cost him half the season. Neil O’Donnell was the statistically better quarterback and, in 1992, displaced Brister permanently from the starting lineup. Dwight Stone ended up catching 32 passes for 649 yards (20.3 avg.) and five touchdowns. 

1993: Eric Allen’s 94-Yard INT Return Caps Eagles Win Over Jets

The Philadelphia Eagles had gotten off to a good start in 1993, winning their first three games under Head Coach Rich Kotite. 30-year-old QB Randall Cunningham, in his second year back from a devastating knee injury that had cost him virtually the entire ’91 season, was in good form and coming off a 360-yard passing performance in a 34-31 victory over Washington. Wide receivers Fred Barnett and Calvin Williams were productive and while the defense had lost stalwart Reggie White to free agency, there was still plenty of talent remaining.

In Week 4, the Eagles traveled to the New Jersey Meadowlands to face the New York Jets on October 3 at Giants Stadium. The Jets, coached by Bruce Coslet, had a new quarterback in veteran Boomer Esiason (pictured below right), who was prospering in fresh surroundings while tossing passes to WR Rob Moore and TE Johnny Mitchell as the club got off to a 2-1 start.

The Jets scored on each of their first two possessions, with an opening 11-play, 78-yard drive that resulted in a seven-yard touchdown pass from Esiason to TE James Thornton. New York CB James Hasty then recovered a fumble by Barnett that he returned 30 yards to set up a 14-yard Esiason TD pass to Mitchell.


The score remained at 14-0 as the Eagles did nothing on their next two possessions. After veteran safety Ronnie Lott picked off a Cunningham pass early in the second quarter, it took just four plays to put New York up by a 21-0 margin as Esiason tossed another touchdown pass to Mitchell, this one covering 12-yards.

The Eagles offense came alive on the next series, moving 78 yards in eight plays that included runs of 9 and 10 yards by RB Herschel Walker and passes of 12 yards to RB James Joseph and 21 yards to Barnett. Walker finished the drive with an eight-yard touchdown run.

However, the series had been costly for the Eagles as Barnett suffered a torn knee ligament when tackled by Jets CB Eric Thomas and safety Brian Washington at the conclusion of his 21-yard reception - while he was able to walk off the field, he was in fact finished for the season. An even more devastating loss occurred on the next possession when Cunningham suffered a broken leg, also season-ending.

Backup QB Bubby Brister, who had played seven years with Pittsburgh before being released prior to training camp and signed by the Eagles, concluded the drive by tossing a 10-yard TD pass to TE Mark Bavaro with just seconds remaining in the half. The Jets lead was down to a touchdown at 21-14 as the teams left the field at halftime.

After Philadelphia went three-and-out to start the second half, Esiason immediately passed to Mitchell who gathered the ball in at midfield and eluded tacklers on the way to a 65-yard touchdown. However, the Eagles got a break later in the third quarter when Jets RB Johnny Johnson fumbled and LB William Thomas recovered at the New York 17 yard line. Three plays later Brister threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Williams and the Jets’ lead was cut to 28-21.

After New York punted, the Eagles put together a long, 87-yard drive in 13 plays that culminated early in the fourth quarter with a one-yard touchdown run by RB Vaughn Hebron. With the successful PAT, the score was now tied at 28-28.

The Jets struck back quickly. On their first play following the kickoff, Esiason fired a pass to WR Chris Burkett for a 60-yard gain to the Philadelphia 20. However, safety Rich Miano intercepted a pass two plays later to seemingly end the scoring threat. But Brister, fading back to the goal line, threw the ball away under heavy pressure and was called for intentional gounding in the end zone, which resulted in a safety. The Jets had regained the lead at 30-28.

RB Adrian Murrell returned the ensuing free kick to the 50 yard line, and it appeared that the Jets would drive to another score with the help of a roughing the passer penalty that moved the ball deep into Eagles territory at the 21. But two plays later Esiason’s pass intended for Burkett was intercepted by CB Eric Allen (pictured at top) at the six yard line. With a spectacular return, Allen went 94 yards for the touchdown that proved to be the game-winner. The Eagles came away with a 35-30 victory.

The win had been a costly one for Philadelphia – in addition to Cunningham and Barnett, special teams standout WR Jeff Sydner also went down with a season-ending injury.


The Jets outgained the Eagles with 412 yards to 303. Boomer Esiason passed for 297 yards while completing 19 of 33 passes and had four TDs along with two interceptions. Johnny Mitchell (pictured at left) had an outstanding day with 7 catches for 146 yards and three touchdowns, and Chris Burkett contributed four receptions for 103 yards. Johnny Johnson led the running attack with 36 yards on 9 carries, closely followed by RB Blair Thomas with 7 rushes for 33 yards and FB Brad Baxter, who gained 29 yards on 9 attempts.

Bubby Brister had a solid outing in relief, completing 11 of 17 passes for 108 yards with two TDs and no interceptions; Randall Cunningham was 10 for 13 with 89 yards and had one picked off before his injury. WR Victor Bailey had the most pass receptions for the Eagles, with 5 for 36 yards, while the veteran tight end Bavaro gained 60 yards on four catches with a TD. RB Heath Sherman was the team’s top rusher, gaining 37 yards on 12 carries.

From promising beginnings, both clubs suffered through disappointing seasons the rest of the way. The Eagles, without Cunningham and Barnett, lost their next six games and ended up with an 8-8 record to place third in the NFC East. New York, after winning five midseason games in a row, lost four of the last five contests to also end up at 8-8 and third in the AFC East. Coach Coslet was dismissed afterward.

Boomer Esiason passed for 3421 yards, but his production dropped off significantly in the last six games of the season following a neck injury. Johnny Mitchell’s production also fell off after he suffered a sprained knee and he ended up with just 39 catches for 630 yards (16.2 avg.) and six TDs.

Eric Allen’s long touchdown return was no fluke – he intercepted six passes in ‘93 and tied the league record by returning four of them for touchdowns. Not surprisingly, he also led the NFL with 201 yards in interception return yardage. He was selected to the Pro Bowl for the third consecutive year and fourth time overall, on his way to eventually being chosen six times in the course of his career.

Bubby Brister passed for a respectable 84.9 rating while tossing 14 touchdowns against just five interceptions in place of Cunningham. His 1.6 interception percentage was second lowest in the NFC.