1968: Sayers Runs for 205 Yards & Bears Defeat Packers on Free Kick

The Green Bay Packers had won three straight NFL Championships but were struggling at 3-3-1 as they hosted their biggest rivals, the Chicago Bears, on November 3, 1968. Vince Lombardi had stepped down as head coach in favor of long-time defensive assistant Phil Bengtson, and age and injuries were catching up to the once-great club. To be sure, QB Bart Starr was still formidable at age 34, if also more prone to injury, and flanker Carroll Dale a dependable receiver. The defense remained tough and contained familiar names like MLB Ray Nitschke, CB Herb Adderley, and FS Willie Wood. But there were holes inadequately filled and the lack of a dependable placekicker to succeed the retired Don Chandler was one of them.

The Bears had a new head coach as well in Jim Dooley, with George Halas having finally retired from sideline duty (he remained the owner). They had gotten off to a poor start but were winners of their last two games and had a 3-4 record coming into Green Bay. Young and mobile QB Virgil Carter was performing well since taking over the starting role initially vacated by the injured Jack Concannon, but the key to the offense was outstanding HB Gale Sayers (pictured above).

There were 50,861 fans in attendance at Lambeau Field. In the first quarter, the Packers had the first shot as Bart Starr threw to HB Donny Anderson, who gained 26 yards before being tripped up by SS Richie Petitbon. But they came up empty when, four plays later, Errol Mann missed a 44-yard field goal attempt. Green Bay missed another opportunity midway through the second quarter as Mann again failed on a field goal attempt, this time from 29 yards.

The Bears were not getting near scoring territory until, late in the second quarter, Gale Sayers broke away as he ran wide to the right and then cut against the grain for a 63-yard carry to the Green Bay 17. That set up a 10-yard Mac Percival field goal for the first points of the game and gave the Bears a 3-0 lead at halftime.

Sayers returned the second half kickoff 46 yards to give Chicago favorable starting field position at the Green Bay 44. Eleven plays later, Virgil Carter bootlegged the last two yards for a touchdown, taking advantage of the defense keying on Sayers. Percival added the extra point and the visitors were ahead by 10-0.

Down by ten points, the Packers put together an 81-yard drive in seven plays, culminating in Starr throwing long to Carroll Dale, who beat FS Roosevelt Taylor for a 50-yard TD. Chuck Mercein, normally a fullback but relieving the injured and ineffective Errol Mann, added the point after and the score was narrowed to 10-7. The Packers got a break when Chicago next had to punt and Jon Kilgore’s shanked 17-yard kick gave them the ball at their 41. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Mercein tied the score with a 19-yard field goal.

On the ensuing kickoff, WR Dick Gordon muffed the ball and had to scramble into the end zone to recover it. But while two officials initially signaled a safety, the play was ruled a touchback and the Bears started out at the 20. The Packers regained possession when CB Bob Jeter intercepted a Carter pass at midfield, but on the series that followed Anderson fumbled when hit by LB Dick Butkus and LB Jim Purnell recovered at the Chicago 42.

The Bears had the next opportunity when a 21-yard Sayers run moved them into scoring territory, but LB Lee Roy Caffey blocked Percival’s field goal attempt from 29 yards. Green Bay received a further break when, on the next possession by the Bears, Sayers fumbled at the Chicago 39 and Herb Adderley recovered and returned it to the 14. Anderson ran the ball three times and Mercein tried for a field goal from the 22, but it missed wide.

There was an exchange of punts before a Donny Anderson kick into the wind from deep in his own territory traveled only 28 yards. WR Cecil Turner of the Bears called a free catch at the Green Bay 43 and, with 26 seconds left on the clock, Chicago chose to attempt a rare free kick from the point of the catch. Percival came through with a 43-yard field goal and the Bears won by a final score of 13-10.

Chicago had the edge in total yards (328 to 242) and first downs (18 to 12). While completing only five passes, the Bears gained 291 yards on the ground. However, they also turned the ball over three times, to one by Green Bay, and were flagged for 10 penalties as opposed to two called on the Packers. Green Bay was also hurt by a combined three missed field goals in four attempts by Errol Mann and Chuck Mercein.

Gale Sayers had a big performance, rushing for 205 yards on 24 carries, with 118 on 10 attempts in the first half alone, although he also fumbled three times. Virgil Carter completed 5 of 14 passes for 51 yards and gave up two interceptions, but ran the ball 11 times for 56 yards and a touchdown. HB Brian Piccolo, who gained a modest seven yards on five rushing attempts, was Chicago’s leading pass receiver with a mere two catches for 19 yards.

For the Packers, Bart Starr was successful on 10 of 18 throws for 154 yards and a TD with no interceptions. HB Elijah Pitts ran for 43 yards on 10 attempts in addition to catching four passes for 33 yards. Carroll Dale gained a team-leading 74 yards on three pass receptions that included a touchdown.

“He’s fantastic,” said Green Bay’s Coach Bengtson of Gale Sayers. “I’ve seen him have good days, but this has to be the best.”

Sayers extended his NFL rushing total to 824 yards with his career-high performance against the Packers, but disaster struck the following week against the 49ers when he went down with a season-ending knee injury. The Bears faltered but remained in the Central Division race until suffering a one-point loss to Green Bay in the season finale that left them in second place with a 7-7 record. That was still better than the Packers, who suffered their first losing season in ten years, ending up at 6-7-1.

Highlighted Year: Virgil Carter, 1971

Quarterback, Cincinnati Bengals

Age: 26 (Nov. 9)

5^th season in pro football (4^th active), 2^nd with Bengals

College: Brigham Young

Height: 6’1”   Weight: 200

Prelude:

Carter set six NCAA, 19 Western Athletic Conference, and 24 school passing records in college. He was chosen by the Chicago Bears in the sixth round of the 1967 AFL/NFL draft and saw no action in his first year with the club. Carter got an opportunity to start in ’68 and led the Bears to four straight wins before suffering a broken ankle. While lacking a strong arm, he was mobile and rushed for 265 yards in addition to throwing for 769 yards and four TDs. However, he saw less action in 1969, voiced his displeasure, and was dealt to Buffalo in ’70, who in turn traded him to the Bengals. With Greg Cook, a sensation in his 1969 rookie season, sidelined, offensive coach Bill Walsh designed a passing offense that took advantage of Carter’s intelligence (he earned a master’s degree while playing for the Bears), accuracy, and mobility and compensated for his lack of size and arm strength. Operating in what would come to be known as the West Coast offense, Carter had a commendable performance as he threw for 1647 yards and 9 TDs and the Bengals, in just their third year of existence, came on strong in the second half of the season to top the new AFC Central Division with an 8-6 record.

1971 Season Summary

Appeared in 10 of 14 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Passing

Attempts – 222 [19]

Most attempts, game – 38 at Pittsburgh 9/26

Completions – 138 [13]

Most completions, game – 22 vs. Philadelphia 9/19, at Pittsburgh 9/26

Yards – 1624 [19]

Most yards, game – 273 vs. Philadelphia 9/19

Completion percentage – 62.2 [1]

Yards per attempt – 7.3 [8]

TD passes – 10 [17, tied with Bob Davis]

Most TD passes, game – 3 vs. vs. Philadelphia 9/19

Interceptions – 7

Most interceptions, game – 2 vs. Atlanta 11/7, vs. Pittsburgh 12/12

Passer rating – 86.2 [3]

200-yard passing games – 4

Rushing

Attempts – 8

Yards – 42

Yards per attempt – 5.3

TDs – 0

Scoring

TDs – 0

PATs – 1

Points – 1

Bengals went 4-10 to finish fourth in the AFC Central.

Aftermath:

Carter gave way to the younger and more talented Ken Anderson in 1972 and saw limited action. He missed all of the ’73 season due to a preseason injury and was traded to San Diego in 1974, but joined the Chicago Fire of the WFL instead. Carter performed well, throwing for 2629 yards and 27 TDs, until his season ended after 12 games due to a hand injury that required surgery. He spent 1975 with the Chargers and returned to the Bears in ’76, in both instances as a little-used backup in his final two pro seasons. Overall in the NFL, Carter passed for 5063 yards and 29 touchdowns, giving up 31 interceptions, with 3850 yards and 22 TDs (against 20 INTs) coming with the Bengals.

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Highlighted Years features players who were consensus first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the following statistical categories:

Rushing: Yards, TDs (min. 10)

Passing: Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating

Receiving: Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)

Scoring: TDs, Points, Field Goals (min. 5)

All-Purpose: Total Yards

Defense: Interceptions, Sacks

Kickoff Returns: Average

Punt Returns: Average

Punting: Average

*Leagues include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)

**NFC/AFC since 1970

1974: Fire Defeat Bell on Carter TD Pass in Last Two Minutes

The Chicago Fire was 4-1, but coming off a big loss to the Florida Blazers, as they faced the Philadelphia Bell in World Football League action on August 14, 1974.

The Fire, coached by Jim Spavital, had Virgil Carter at quarterback (pictured at right), a smart and experienced player who had been with the Bears and Bengals in the NFL. The running game was strong with HB Cyril Pinder, formerly of the Eagles and Bears, and unheralded but effective rookie FB Mark Kellar.

Philadelphia was coached by Ron Waller and featured an exciting and complex offense that was guided by QB Jim “King” Corcoran, an eccentric field general who had been around the minor league football circuit for nearly a decade. Running backs John Land and Claude Watts were also experienced minor league players who were proving to be productive, although Land was out for the game at Chicago. 

The Bell’s record stood at 3-2 and they were determined to keep pace with the New York Stars in the Eastern Division. But while the team had drawn huge crowds to JFK Stadium for its initial home games, it had recently been learned that many of the tickets had been distributed for free or at a substantial discount, casting a shadow over both the franchise and WFL.

There were 27,607 fans in attendance at Soldier Field for the Wednesday night game. The Fire, coming off the big loss the previous week, seemed flat during the early going. The Bell scored first in the opening period as Claude Watts ran for a six-yard touchdown. RB Alan Thompson added the action point for an 8-0 lead (in the WFL, touchdowns were worth seven points and were followed by an action point, which could not be kicked). Before the period was over, Chuck Ramsey booted a 26-yard field goal for the home team and the score was 8-3 after a quarter of play.

In the second quarter, Cyril Pinder caught a pass from Virgil Carter for a six-yard TD and Carter ran for the action point. Mark Kellar added a one-yard touchdown carry and although the try for the action point failed, Chicago held an 18-8 lead.

The Bell scored once again in the first half as Corcoran connected with Thompson for a two-yard TD. The pass for an action point was unsuccessful and the score stood at 18-15 in favor of the home team at the intermission.

The Fire took command and opened up a 25-15 lead in the third quarter as Pinder scored another touchdown, this time on a one-yard carry through the line. The action point attempt failed. Meanwhile, the Fire’s defensive line harassed Corcoran and the Bell could get nothing going offensively.

However, Chicago’s 10-point lead evaporated in the fourth quarter as the Bell scored twice. First, Chicago safety Barry Ruffner fumbled a punt at his own 10 yard line to set up a Philadelphia score. Corcoran ran for a TD from a yard out although the pass attempt for the action point failed.

Four minutes later, a shanked punt gave the Bell good field position at the Chicago 45. It didn’t take long for the visitors to capitalize. On the next play, Corcoran tossed a pass down the middle to Watts that resulted in a 45-yard touchdown. Again the action point try was unsuccessful, but Philadelphia led by 29-25 with 8:13 remaining in the contest.

Still behind with 3:34 left on the clock, the Fire drove 80 yards in nine plays. Carter completed five straight passes along the way, the last to WR Jack Dolbin from 11 yards out for a TD. The action point attempt was no good but the home team was back in front by three points with the clock down to 1:34. The lead held up and Chicago came away with a 32-29 win.

Chicago accumulated 394 yards on offense, to 346 for the Bell, with 275 of that total coming on the ground. The Fire also held a 23 to 15 advantage in first downs. Philadelphia turned the ball over three times, to two suffered by Chicago, and was hurt by 10 penalties.

Both Cyril Pinder (pictured at left) and Mark Kellar reached triple digits in rushing yards, with Pinder gaining 151 yards on 18 carries and Kellar running for 112 yards on 23 attempts. Each scored a rushing touchdown and Pinder added another on one of his two pass receptions. Virgil Carter completed 12 of 20 passes for 119 yards and two TDs with one intercepted. Jack Dolbin and Mark Kellar each caught three passes, for 26 and 13 yards, respectively. TE Don Burchfield gained 37 yards on his two receptions to top the club.

For the Bell, Jim Corcoran was successful on 17 of 34 throws for 256 yards and two touchdowns but with three interceptions. Alan Thompson paced the ground game with 49 yards on 16 carries and while Claude Watts ran for only 20 yards and a TD on 5 attempts, he also caught 5 passes for 144 yards and the one long score. Thompson also had five receptions, for 29 yards and including a TD.

The Fire appeared to be back on track and won two of their next three games, but reversed course and didn’t win again the rest of the season. Injuries, in particular to Virgil Carter, were the primary culprit as Chicago ended up at 7-13 and third in the Central Division. Philadelphia was 9-11 and third in the Eastern Division, although in bizarre fashion they made it to the postseason, falling in the first round.

Virgil Carter ended up ranking second in the WFL in touchdown passes with 27 – putting him behind Jim “King” Corcoran, the league leader with 31 – and also in completion percentage at 54.5. Cyril Pinder led the club with 925 rushing yards on 179 carries for a fine 5.2-yard average. He scored a total of 11 touchdowns, putting him second on the club to Mark Kellar with 15.

Claude Watts ended up leading the Bell in touchdowns with 18 (and was second in the WFL overall) as he rushed for 927 yards on 199 carries (4.7 avg.) and caught 46 passes for 584 yards. 

1970: Paul Brown’s Bengals Defeat Browns

Paul Brown (pictured above) had returned to pro football as a head coach (and GM and part owner) with the expansion Cincinnati Bengals of the AFL in 1968. He had been away from the game after being summarily fired by Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell following the ’62 season, ending a brilliant head coaching stint with the Browns going back to 1946 in the All-America Football Conference that included four AAFC titles and three NFL Championships. The parting had been a bitter one for Brown.

The AFL/NFL merger that culminated in 1970 made possible regular season meetings between the Bengals and Browns, particularly since both teams were now members of the new AFC Central Division. Cincinnati won a preseason contest between the clubs, but in their first meeting that counted in the standings the Browns had prevailed at Cleveland in Week 4. Now, on November 15, the clubs faced off once again in Cincinnati.

It had been a tough season thus far for the third-year Bengals. They were at 2-6 coming into the rematch with the Browns, having won their opening game before losing six straight contests and then thrashing the Bills the previous week. With the loss of their 1969 phenom, QB Greg Cook, to what would prove to be a career-ending shoulder injury, the Bengals were using the weak-armed but intelligent Virgil Carter under center. With the help of offensive assistant Bill Walsh’s redesigned offense that emphasized short passes, and with good mobility, Carter was improving and there was plenty of other promising young talent on the roster.

Cleveland, still coached by Brown’s successor Blanton Collier, had gotten off to a 4-2 start but lost its last two games to drop to an even 4-4. First-round rookie QB Mike Phipps out of Purdue was starting his first pro game against Cincinnati, in place of gimpy-kneed veteran Bill Nelsen, and Collier would be calling the plays from the sideline – a practice pioneered by Paul Brown.

There was a big crowd of 60,007 in attendance at Riverfront Stadium. The Browns went 77 yards in six plays following the opening kickoff, with the big play a 33-yard Phipps completion to TE Milt Morin. HB Leroy Kelly swept around left end for a nine-yard touchdown.

Near the end of the first quarter, an attempted screen pass by Carter to FB Jess Phillips bounced off of the running back’s hand and was ruled a lateral by the officials. Cleveland DT Jerry Sherk picked up the live ball and carried it 15 yards to the Cincinnati 20. A furious Paul Brown complained about the call, but to no avail. Seven plays later, Don Cockroft kicked a 15-yard field goal and the Browns held a 10-0 lead.

The turnover on the questionable call seemed to fire up the Bengals, however, and they went 80 yards in eight plays on the ensuing possession. Carter passed to Phillips for a 13-yard touchdown of which there was no doubt. Late in the second quarter Carter took off after rolling out for a 73-yard gain but fumbled at the Cleveland 10 when hit by CB Erich Barnes, who recovered to end the scoring opportunity. The tally remained 10-7 at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Bengals put together an eight-play, 85-yard drive. HB Paul Robinson finished it off with a one-yard touchdown carry. Meanwhile, the Bengals defense rose to the occasion and thoroughly bottled up the Cleveland offense during the second half.

The Browns were hurt in the fourth quarter when a Phipps pass was intercepted. However, they got a break in the closing minutes when CB Lemar Parrish, while calling for a fair catch, muffed a punt and WR Dave Jones recovered for Cleveland. Four plays later, rather than keeping the ball on the ground and relying on the strong running game, Phipps passed in a fourth-and-three situation at the Cincinnati 30 with less then four minutes remaining in the game. The throw was intended for Morin, but safety Al Coleman batted the ball away at the last second. As an unfortunate side note, Coleman suffered a major knee injury on the play when he fell while tangled with Morin and Parrish.

That was the last shot for the Browns as Cincinnati’s offense controlled the ball for the rest of the game. The Bengals came away with a 14-10 win. When the final gun went off, the usually calm Paul Brown leaped up and tossed his hat into the air, running across the field ahead of his players.

Cincinnati outgained the Browns (333 yards to 296) although Cleveland had the edge in first downs (15 to 14). In particular, the Bengals outrushed the Browns by 210 yards to 153. However, Cincinnati turned the ball over three times, to one by Cleveland, although the Browns hurt themselves with eight penalties, as opposed to three flags thrown on the home team.

QB Virgil Carter (pictured at left) completed 10 of 17 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions and was also the game’s leading rusher with 110 yards on nine carries - the running plays were part of the game plan and came in some typical passing situations. Paul Robinson added 63 yards and a TD on 14 rushing attempts. WR Chip Myers was the team’s top receiver with three catches for 67 yards. MLB Bill Bergey had a noteworthy performance for the Bengals, accounting for 11 tackles, five assists, and a deflected pass.

As for the Browns, Mike Phipps was successful on 11 of 25 throws for 170 yards with no TDs and one interception. Leroy Kelly led the running attack with 60 yards on 21 carries that included a touchdown. Milt Morin caught three passes for 78 yards.

“This is my best victory. This one made it all worthwhile,” said Paul Brown, who shed tears while congratulating his players afterward.

“I like a November football team – one that stays in there,” added Brown. “They (the Bengals) may not be 100 percent in a lot of ways, but they sure battle, and that’s for me.”

“Errors and penalties hurt us,” summed up Coach Collier for the Browns.

Despite their losing record, the Bengals were in the thick of the race in the new AFC Central and would make the most of it the rest of the way. They didn’t lose again during the remainder of the regular season, a total of seven straight wins, and topped the division with an 8-6 record – a big achievement for a third-year expansion team in the pre-free agency era.

For the Browns, it was the third straight loss – the first time they had lost that many in a row in 11 years. They ended up placing second to Cincinnati at 7-7 and Blanton Collier retired afterward.

Virgil Carter was solid if not spectacular, passing for 1647 yards with nine touchdowns and nine interceptions. He rushed for 246 yards on 34 carries for an average gain of 7.2 yards.

The new Ohio rivalry was sealed by the fans. Between the preseason encounter (57,112) and two regular season games (83,520 in Cleveland plus 60,007 for the contest at Riverfront Stadium), attendance totaled 200,639.