1965: Cowboys Rally in Fourth Quarter to Defeat Steelers

On November 14, 1965 the struggling Dallas Cowboys hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers, who had beaten them two weeks previously. In their sixth season under Head Coach Tom Landry, the Cowboys had started the season with two big wins before dropping five consecutive games, finally breaking the streak with a win over the 49ers the previous week to be at 3-5. At the center of the storm was QB Don Meredith (pictured above), who had a bad elbow and delivered uneven performances, and was challenged by backups Jerry Rhome and Craig Morton. The running game lacked outside speed but rookie split end Bob Hayes provided plenty of that for the passing game and was one of several promising young players on the roster.

Pittsburgh’s season had gotten off to a bad start two weeks before it started when Head Coach Buddy Parker abruptly quit. Mike Nixon took his place and the team lost its first five games. Veteran FB John Henry Johnson went down with a knee injury, 37-year-old QB Ed Brown was ineffectual, and his young replacement, QB Bill Nelsen, was hampered by a bad knee. While the Steelers won two straight games, they were coming off of a loss the previous week and had a 2-6 record coming into Dallas.

A big crowd of 57,923 was in attendance at the Cotton Bowl on a warm afternoon. The fans booed Don Meredith during pregame introductions and he was a target of disaffection for much of the contest. The Steelers got the first break when safety Willie Daniel intercepted a Meredith pass and returned it nine yards to the Dallas 44. In a drive that took seven plays, HB Dick Hoak carried for the last three, gaining eight and five yards before scoring on a three-yard touchdown. Mike Clark added the extra point.

Bob Hayes returned the ensuing kickoff 37 yards to the Dallas 43 and the Cowboys took eight plays to advance the remaining distance. Meredith rolled out and threw to split end Frank Clarke in the left corner of the end zone for a one-yard TD and Danny Villanueva’s kick tied the game at 7-7.

In the second quarter, a promising Dallas series ended with an interception by DB Bob Sherman. The Steelers had to punt, with Frank Lambert’s kick sailing into the end zone for a touchback, and this time the Cowboys didn’t turn the ball over. Meredith completed passes to Hayes, FB Don Perkins, and rookie HB Dan Reeves to reach the Pittsburgh 13, but the advance stalled there and the home team settled for a 33-yard field goal by Villanueva to move ahead by 10-7.

The teams settled into a stalemate until late in the period. Bill Nelsen threw deep to split end Roy Jefferson for a gain of 45 yards and he nearly went farther before being tripped up by safety Obert Logan at the Dallas 21. Nelsen followed up with another completion, this time to flanker Gary Ballman at the two. Rolling to his left on the next play, the quarterback overthrew FB Mike Lind, who was open in the end zone, but the Cowboys were called for an offside penalty and the ball was placed at the one. Nelsen twice tried to sneak across the goal line but was stopped, and on fourth down Hoak was held to no gain.

Dallas was forced to punt on the ensuing series and safety Clendon Thomas, calling for a fair catch, muffed the kick and DB Don Bishop recovered for the Cowboys at the Pittsburgh 41. But the score remained unchanged at halftime when Villanueva’s 46-yard field goal attempt sailed to the right.

Pittsburgh had the first possession in the third quarter and drove to a 32-yard field goal by Clark that tied the score at 10-10. Late in the period, the Steelers’ punt return unit made a big play when Hayes fumbled a kick by Lambert and TE Lee Folkins, an ex-Cowboy, grabbed the bouncing ball and ran 18 yards for a touchdown. Clark added the PAT and the Steelers were ahead by 17-10.

In the fourth quarter, a Nelsen pass was picked off by CB Cornell Green at the Dallas 49. The Cowboys advanced 51 yards in five plays, the biggest a Meredith pass to Reeves that gained 47 yards. Reeves ran the last two yards for a TD and Villanueva knotted the score once again at 17-17.

Another interception of a Nelsen pass, this time by safety Mel Renfro, gave the Cowboys the ball once more near midfield, but Meredith fumbled when hit from behind and Pittsburgh LB John Campbell picked up the loose ball and ran to the Dallas 28. Helped by a penalty on the defense, the Steelers moved to the 17 with Ed Brown now in the game at quarterback. But Brown, throwing toward Jefferson near the goal line, gave up an interception to Logan instead.

The Steelers got another shot with less than three minutes remaining to play, and the result was yet another interception, this time by LB Dave Edwards. After HB Perry Lee Dunn ran for four yards to the Pittsburgh 28 just prior to the two-minute warning, Meredith connected with Hayes, who caught the ball at the 12 and broke away from CB Brady Keys for a 28-yard touchdown. Villanueva converted and the Cowboys won by a final score of 24-17.

Dallas had the lead in total yards (341 to 197) and first downs (15 to 12). The Steelers, who gained just 50 yards on the ground, hurt themselves with six turnovers, five of which were interceptions, although the Cowboys turned the ball over five times. Both teams recorded four sacks apiece.

Don Meredith completed 14 of 31 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns while being intercepted twice. Bob Hayes (pictured below) accounted for 5 catches for 95 yards and the game-winning TD. Perry Lee Dunn led the club with 47 rushing yards on 13 carries and added another 26 on two pass receptions. Dan Reeves ran for just 10 yards on 6 carries but gained 73 yards on three catches.

For the Steelers, Bill Nelsen was successful on 11 of 25 throws for 172 yards with no TDs and two were picked off. Ed Brown had no completions in four attempts, three of which were intercepted. Roy Jefferson had a big performance by catching four passes for 108 yards. Mike Lind led the rushers with 26 yards on 9 attempts and had four pass receptions for 25 yards.

The win put the Cowboys in a tie for third in the Eastern Conference at 4-5 and, while they lost their next two games, they finished strong with three victories to tie for second with the Giants in the Eastern Conference at 7-7, their first non-losing record. It set the stage for a first place showing in ’66. As for the Steelers, they failed to win again the rest of the way, typically being blown out as they ended up in the conference’s basement after compiling a 2-12 tally.

Don Meredith completed only 46.2 percent of his passes due to his slow start, but ended up throwing for 2415 yards and 22 touchdowns as adjustments to the offense allowed him to utilize his mobility to better effect. Bob Hayes had 46 catches for 1003 yards (21.8 avg.) and scored 12 touchdowns. He was named to the Pro Bowl.

1965: Eagles Intercept 9 Passes in Rout of Steelers

The December 12, 1965 game at Pitt Stadium was hardly a battle of powerhouse teams. The Steelers were 2-10 and had lost five straight games, although one of their wins had been at Philadelphia, which was only slightly better at 4-8. But on a day of significant achievements that included Bears HB Gale Sayers running for six touchdowns and Green Bay HB Paul Hornung scoring five TDs in a key win over the Colts, the Eagles defense managed to do its part to grab a place in the record book.

The Eagles, under second-year Head Coach Joe Kuharich, were more noted for their offense, which included fleet all-purpose HB Timmy Brown, TE Pete Retzlaff, and a line anchored by ex-Packer C Jim Ringo and second-year OT Bob Brown. QB Norm Snead, in his second year following a controversial trade that brought him to Philadelphia from Washington for QB Sonny Jurgensen, continued to show promise but could me maddeningly inconsistent. The defensive line, on the other hand, was mediocre and the Eagles tended to blitz heavily, making them prone to aerial assaults.

Pittsburgh was coached by Mike Nixon, who had been forced to take over when Buddy Parker quit the team two weeks prior to the opening game (similar to his abrupt departure from the Detroit Lions eight years before). Things didn’t get better when the 12th-year veteran FB John Henry Johnson was lost for the season in the first game. Promising third-year QB Bill Nelsen was inserted into the starting lineup, but was inexperienced and had a bad knee that hindered his mobility.

There were 22,002 fans at Pitt Stadium, the smallest turnout of the year for the final home game. It didn’t take long for the Eagles to take advantage of a Steeler turnover when SS Nate Ramsey (pictured above) grabbed a fumble by HB Dick Hoak. Philadelphia drove 54 yards to a two-yard touchdown by FB Earl Gros.

Ramsey struck again, intercepting a Nelsen pass, and once more the Eagles capitalized. This time they drove 58 yards with Snead passing to Retzlaff for a 13-yard touchdown. While the extra point attempt by Sam Baker was missed, Philadelphia was up by 13-0 (two of the seven PAT attempts failed).

Ramsey went down with an injury, but his replacement, rookie Jim Nettles, made the next big defensive play as he also intercepted a pass by Nelsen and returned it 28 yards to the Pittsburgh eight yard line. Two plays later, HB Ollie Matson, in for the injured Timmy Brown, ran eight yards for another Eagles TD.


Coach Nixon replaced the shell-shocked Nelsen with Tommy Wade, but the move didn’t slow down the pickoff parade. Of Wade’s first four passes, two were intercepted, the first by Pro Bowl LB Maxie Baughan (pictured at left), who ran 33 yards for a touchdown. The Eagles had a 27-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, thanks to the fumble recovery and three interceptions.

The second quarter proceeded much as the first as Nettles intercepted his second pass of the day and returned it 56 yards for yet another Eagles touchdown. However, the Steelers finally got on the board when Wade connected with flanker Gary Ballman for a 20-yard TD. They even scored on an interception return of their own as CB Marv Woodson picked off a Snead pass in the closing seconds of the first half and ran 61 yards for a touchdown. But they were still down by 34-13 at the intermission (the second PAT attempt was no good).

In the third quarter, DE George Tarasovic, a 35-year-old ex-Steeler, scored on a 40-yard interception return. It was the fourth pickoff of the game to be brought back for a TD (three by the Eagles, one by Pittsburgh), thus setting a NFL record for combined touchdowns on interception returns (tied by the Seahawks against the Chiefs in 1984).

There was one more record to add before the sloppy contest was concluded. In the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, CB Irv Cross intercepted a pass at his two yard line. It was the ninth by the Eagles, tying the record set by the Green Bay Packers against Detroit in 1943.

The Eagles drove 98 yards, highlighted by a 60-yard gain on a pass from Snead to FB Tom Woodeshick, to score their final TD on an eight-yard run by FB Israel “Izzy” Lang with two minutes left in the game. The final tally was 47-13.

The Steelers gave up 12 turnovers in all, with three lost fumbles in addition to the nine interceptions (Philadelphia turned the ball over twice, both on pickoffs). Intercepting passes for the Eagles were Jim Nettles, with three; FS Joe Scarpati, who had two; and Nate Ramsey, Maxie Baughan, George Tarasovic, and Irv Cross with one apiece. Nettles (pictured below right) also led by returning his for a total of 84 yards.


Offensively, Pittsburgh outgained the Eagles (324 yards to 302) and had more first downs (19 to 17), but of course the Steelers dug themselves into a deep hole with the turnovers and were throwing often as they sought to catch up.

Philadelphia gained 191 yards on the ground, with the 13th-year veteran Ollie Matson leading the way, gaining 80 yards on 11 carries with a TD. Norm Snead completed just 7 of 21 passes for 118 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Pete Retzlaff caught 5 passes for 52 yards and the touchdown, and in the process broke existing single-season franchise records for pass receptions and receiving yards (he ended up with 66 catches for 1190 yards).

The two Pittsburgh quarterbacks combined for 305 passing yards, although the club ran for only 58 yards on 25 attempts. Bill Nelsen was successful on two of five passes for 27 yards and the first two interceptions. Tommy Wade completed 22 of 38 throws for 278 yards with one TD but 7 interceptions (a team record). Lost in the deluge was Gary Ballman’s 9 catches for 163 yards and a touchdown. HB Jim “Cannonball” Butler was the team’s top runner with 26 yards on 10 carries.

The Eagles lost their finale to finish at 5-9 and tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference with the Cardinals. Pittsburgh also lost the following week to conclude its worst year since 1944 with a 2-12 record to finish at the bottom of the conference.

A Philadelphia sportswriter described Bill Nelsen and Tommy Wade after the game as “seated despondently next to each other like two old ladies whose purses had just been snatched.” Things would get better for Nelsen, especially after he was traded to Cleveland in 1968, and he had a solid ten-year NFL career. Wade, however, was finished after the ’65 season. For his two-season career, he threw 13 interceptions and fumbled six times while tossing two touchdown passes.

Nate Ramsey ended up leading the Eagles with six interceptions in 1965. The three for backup Jim Nettles were his only pickoffs of the year. An undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin, Nettles ended up playing eight years in the NFL – like Nelsen, his best years came after he was traded away which, in his case, was to the Rams in 1969.