1958: Newly-Acquired Bobby Layne Leads Steelers to Win in First Game

On October 12, 1958 at Pitt Stadium, star quarterback Bobby Layne took the field with his new team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, after eight highly accomplished seasons in Detroit (he originally came into the NFL as a backup with the Bears and also spent a year with the short-lived New York Bulldogs). No one could say that the hard-driving, hard-drinking Texan threw picturesque passes, but Layne more than made up for it with his fiery leadership and ability in the clutch. Under the guidance of Head Coach Buddy Parker and with formidable offensive weapons at his disposal, he became the master of the two-minute drill and a feared deep passer. The Lions made it to three consecutive NFL Championship games from 1952-54, all against Paul Brown’s Cleveland Browns, and won the first two.

After a down year in 1955 (Layne suffered a shoulder injury in the off-season), the Lions just missed winning the Western Conference in ’56 when Layne was knocked out of the decisive encounter with the Chicago Bears by a late blind-side tackle by DE Ed Meadows. A veteran quarterback, Tobin Rote, was obtained from Green Bay for 1957 to add depth at the position, and then Coach Parker abruptly quit the team during the preseason. Under Parker’s successor, George Wilson, Layne and Rote split time, and when Layne suffered a broken leg late in the season, it was Rote leading the club the rest of the way to the NFL Championship.

With a quarterback controversy brewing and friction developing with Wilson, the 31-year-old Layne was dealt to the Steelers for third-year QB Earl Morrall and two draft picks following the second week of the 1958 season. In Pittsburgh, he was reunited with Buddy Parker. He was also with a club that had not posted a winning record in the past eight years (they went 6-6 under Parker in ’57).

The Steelers had lost their first two games with Morrall at quarterback and were badly embarrassed by the Browns in their last game prior to Layne’s joining the club. It was a different situation with Layne in the lineup for Week 3 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Eagles, after three straight losing seasons, were in transition under a new coach, Buck Shaw, and a new veteran quarterback, Norm Van Brocklin, who had been obtained from the Rams.

Early in the first quarter, Philadelphia FB Clarence Peaks fumbled and DT Joe Lewis recovered for the Steelers. On the first play, HB Tom Tracy (a former teammate of Layne’s in Detroit) scored a touchdown with a 31-yard carry on a reverse. The Eagles responded with a 36-yard field goal by Bobby Walston that made the score 7-3.

The Steelers got another TD before the end of the period after DT Frank Varrichione recovered a fumbled punt by Eagles DB Rocky Ryan which gave them the ball on the Philadelphia 30 yard line - a penalty moved it up to the 15. Layne hit end Dick Lucas with a nine-yard pass to set up a one-yard scoring run by FB Tank Younger.

In the second quarter, Pittsburgh recovered yet another fumble in Eagles territory, again at the 30 yard line. Tracy ran in from the one after a drive that featured an 11-yard run by Layne and the Steelers took a 21-3 lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, safety Gary Glick intercepted a Van Brocklin pass and returned it 23 yards to the Philadelphia 37. Layne and the Steelers kept the ball on the ground and Tom Miner kicked a 26-yard field goal to conclude the scoring. Pittsburgh won Layne’s debut by the decisive score of 24-3.

The opportunistic Steelers defense made the most of three Eagles fumbles and the interception. The Eagles gained just 59 yards on the ground, as opposed to 214 for the Steelers. Pittsburgh led in first downs, 19 to 16.

Bobby Layne completed 10 of 20 passes for 81 yards - two long passes were narrowly missed by Pittsburgh receivers. Norm Van Brocklin, playing from behind the entire game, completed 16 of 37 passes for 148 yards.

Said Layne afterward, “I never got the seat of my pants dirty when I went back to pass and that’s just one of the reasons I know the Pittsburgh Steelers are a good team.”

The Steelers lost their next two games, but then ran off five straight wins and ended up with a 7-4-1 record to place third in the Eastern Conference. The Eagles ended up tied at the bottom with the Cardinals at 2-9-1.

Bobby Layne led the NFL in yards per attempt (8.7) and yards per completion (17.6). His 2510 passing yards and low 3.7 interception percentage both ranked second. He tossed 14 touchdown passes and had 12 throws picked off. Rookie split end Jimmy Orr especially benefited from his presence, leading the league with a gaudy 27.6 yards-per-catch on 33 receptions for 910 yards with seven touchdowns.

Layne played another four seasons with the Steelers but, while still effective, he didn’t attain the level of success that he had in Detroit. A multi-talented player earlier in his career – he had been a good running quarterback (he led NFL quarterbacks in rushing three times) and placekicker – wear and tear were beginning to erode his skills. One of the last players to not wear a facemask, he also chose to take the field with minimal padding throughout his career (no hip or thigh pads and the thinnest possible shoulder pads). He retired as the NFL’s career leader in pass completions (1814), yards (26,768), and touchdowns (196).

1970: Joe Kapp Debuts with Patriots in Loss to Chiefs

QB Joe Kapp had led the Minnesota Vikings to the NFL Championship with a Pro Bowl season in 1969. The Vikings had then lost to the AFL-champion Kansas City Chiefs in the last pre-merger Super Bowl. In the offseason, the 32-year-old Kapp, who had played out his option, failed to come to terms with the Vikings for another contract. The dispute lingered into the 1970 season and on October 2 the veteran quarterback signed with the Boston Patriots for a reported $500,000.

The Patriots were coming off three straight losing seasons and had gone 4-10 in 1969 under first-year Head Coach Clive Rush. The team certainly had to be hoping that Kapp would bring his habit of winning to Boston. He had led the University of California to the 1959 Rose Bowl as an option quarterback. Foregoing the NFL (he was an 18th-round draft choice of the Washington Redskins) for the Canadian Football League, he was the quarterback for the British Columbia Lions when they appeared in back-to-back Grey Cup games in 1963 and ’64, winning the second one. Finally, he joined another CFL refugee, Head Coach Bud Grant, in Minnesota in 1967.

Kapp didn’t throw picturesque passes or display great technique as a quarterback, but what he lacked in skill he made up for with fiery, charismatic leadership. Sticking to his roots as a college option quarterback, he was a good (and very willing) runner and also threw well on the run.

The Patriots had won their opening game against Miami before losing the next two contests. With Kapp hurriedly learning the offense in preparation for his first action of the season, the team traveled to, coincidentally, Kansas City, where they took on the Chiefs at Municipal Stadium on October 11.

The defending-champion Chiefs were also 1-2 and playing without star QB Len Dawson, who had a knee injury, although as Head Coach Hank Stram said afterward, he could have played if necessary. Third-year backup Mike Livingston was behind center. Mike Taliaferro, the holdover quarterback from ’69, again started for the Patriots.

Boston scored first, late in the opening quarter, after DB Art McMahon recovered a fumbled fair catch by Kansas City HB Ed Podolak. The result was a 25-yard Gino Cappelletti field goal.

The first KC touchdown came in the second quarter following a 70-yard drive that was sustained by a roughing the kicker penalty on the Patriots and ended with FB Robert “The Tank” Holmes running in from a yard out. Later in the period Jan Stenerud booted a 42-yard field goal and the Chiefs held a 10-3 lead at halftime.

Kapp replaced Taliaferro in the second half. He might not have been very familiar with the plays, but he looked ready. As Chiefs DE Jerry Mays said, “When Joe came up for that first play, he looked like Reddy Kilowatt. His eyes were flashing and you could see the excitement on his face. He worried us. He has that ability to lift a team.”

The initial impression that Kapp exuded didn’t yield results. The third quarter was scoreless, and early in the fourth quarter, Kansas City drove 55 yards in seven plays after SS Jim Kearney intercepted a pass by Kapp at the Patriots’ 33 yard line. A clip on the return moved the ball back to the 45. But the resulting drive, highlighted by a 33-yard run by Podolak (making up for the earlier muffed punt), resulted in Holmes again scoring a short touchdown, this time on a two-yard run.

Another Kapp pass was intercepted by LB Bobby Bell at the Boston 25. Stenerud kicked a 24-yard field goal for a 23-3 KC lead. Kapp finally connected with WR Bake Turner for a 12-yard touchdown in the last two minutes and the final score was 23-10 as the Chiefs won handily.

After the game, Kapp said “It’s terrible to lose. I don’t like to lose, what else can I say?” Asked how familiar he was with Boston’s offense, he replied “it was pretty obvious out there – very little.”

Kapp completed two of 11 passes for 16 yards and was intercepted twice and sacked twice, although one of the completions was for a touchdown. Overall, the Chiefs intercepted six passes as Taliaferro’s numbers were also poor (three completions in 12 attempts for 30 yards with four interceptions). Wide receivers Turner and Ron Sellers combined for five receptions for 46 yards and a TD. HB Carl Garrett was a bright spot, rushing for 53 yards on 10 carries.

Boston managed just 105 yards of total offense, compared to 346 for Kansas City. 272 of those yards for the Chiefs came on the ground, as Mike Livingston went to the air just 14 times, completing 8 for 85 yards with one intercepted. Robert Holmes was the leading receiver with two catches for 28 yards while also contributing 35 yards on 13 carries, including the two touchdowns. Ed Podolak led KC with 81 yards on 10 carries and RB Warren McVea added another 71 yards on 8 attempts.

Of the six passes intercepted, Jim Kearney and CB Jim Marsalis each had two. In addition, Jerrel Wilson had an outstanding day punting, averaging 56.7 yards on his five kicks, with a long punt of 63 yards.

Kapp might have been frustrated by his performance, but Coach Rush had only praise for his new quarterback. “For his first game with us, he did well,” Rush said. “We're trying to feed him slowly as possible on our system.” Added Hank Stram, “Kapp will help Boston. He did extremely well having been in camp only a week. He'll give that team a great lift because he's an inspirational leader.”

Alas, the high hopes for Kapp in Boston didn’t work out. The Patriots ended up at the bottom of the AFC East with a 2-12 record and the eccentric Clive Rush was replaced halfway through the season by John Mazur. Kansas City went 7-5-2 for second place in the AFC West.

The Patriots had the lowest-ranked offense in the newly-expanded NFL and Joe Kapp was the lowest-ranked passer (Taliaferro was just ahead of him) as he completed only 44.7 percent of his throws (98 of 219) for 1104 yards (5.0 yards per attempt) with just three touchdowns against 17 interceptions. Kapp’s emotional leadership couldn’t begin to compensate for a weak supporting caste.

The 1970 season proved to be Kapp’s last – the Patriots wanted him back, but with a cut in pay, and he retired (he also filed an anti-trust suit against the NFL that failed).

With the first choice in the 1971 draft, the Patriots, with a rich quarterback class to choose from, took Heisman Trophy-winner Jim Plunkett from Stanford. They also moved to a new stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts for ’71 and were renamed the New England Patriots.

1999: Warner to Bruce TD Passes Propel Rams to Win Over 49ers

By Week 5 of the 1999 NFL season, the St. Louis Rams had already created a sensation. The Rams had not had a winning record in ten years and were coming off a dismal 4-12 campaign in ’98. Head Coach Dick Vermeil, who had made a comeback to the sideline in 1997 after a 15-year absence, had not been able to turn the club around and it appeared that things would not get better when Trent Green, the quarterback signed away from Washington as a free agent, went down for the year with a knee injury – Green had been playing well in the preseason, and so the blow was all the greater.

Into the starting job at quarterback came Kurt Warner (pictured above), a 28-year-old unknown out of Northern Iowa who had most recently been playing arena football and in the NFL’s developmental league, NFL Europe. The 6’2”, 220-pound Warner proved to have a quick release as well as a strong and accurate arm and was a comfortable fit in the wide-open passing offense installed by offensive coordinator Mike Martz.

After three games (the Rams already had a bye week), St. Louis was 3-0 and had run up convincing scores against the Ravens, Falcons, and Bengals. Warner had passed for 894 yards with 9 touchdowns against just two interceptions, taking advantage of an excellent group of wide receivers that included sixth-year veteran Isaac Bruce, rookie Torry Holt, second-year speedster Az-Zahir Hakim, and slow-but-steady Ricky Proehl.

On October 10, the Rams hosted the division rival San Francisco 49ers at the TWA Dome. The 49ers, under Head Coach Steve Mariucci, were 3-1 entering the contest. Moreover, they had dominated the Rams since 1990, when they were still located in Los Angeles, winning a total of 17 straight games. The 49ers were playing with Jeff Garcia at quarterback in place of veteran star Steve Young, who was out with a concussion (he would, in fact, never return).

The St. Louis offense maintained the established pattern of the first three games, with Warner tossing a 13-yard touchdown pass to Bruce to cap a seven-play, 83-yard drive midway through the first quarter. Along the way, Warner had connected with RB Marshall Faulk, a key offseason acquisition from the Colts, for a 23-yard gain in a third-and-six situation.

Just three minutes later, Warner tossed a second touchdown pass to Bruce, this one covering five yards. While the 49ers recovered as Garcia completed passes of 21 yards to WR Terrell Owens and 11 yards to WR J.J. Stokes in a six-play drive that resulted in a 42-yard Wade Richey field goal, WR Tony Horne returned the ensuing kickoff 54 yards and, on the next play, Warner hit Bruce once more for a 45-yard TD. The Rams were up by 21-3 after one quarter.

San Francisco responded with a nine-play, 80-yard drive that culminated in a two-yard touchdown run by RB Lawrence Phillips – a failed first round draft choice of the Rams who had behavioral issues that eclipsed his great talent and was roundly booed by the St. Louis fans. Along the way, Garcia had again done well, with two key passes that totaled 44 yards to RB Charlie Garner and a 19-yard completion to all-time great WR Jerry Rice in a third-and-13 situation.

The Rams extended their lead to 28-10 when Warner completed a nine-play drive that covered 89 yards with a 22-yard TD pass to TE Jeff Robinson. However, the 49ers got a break just before halftime when Warner fumbled in his end zone and it was recovered by DT Junior Bryant for a touchdown. The Rams’ lead at halftime was 28-17.

There was no more scoring until late in the third quarter. The Niners put together an 11-play drive that included a 31-yard run by Garner and ended with a 43-yard field goal by Richey to narrow the St. Louis margin to 28-20. It didn’t stay narrowed for long, though, as Horne returned the ensuing kickoff for a 97-yard touchdown.

For all intents and purposes, the game was over. The Rams scored one last touchdown in the fourth quarter, Warner connecting for the fourth time with Bruce on a scoring pass of 42 yards, and the final score was 42-20.

“I was happy more for the guys who were in Los Angeles with me and we went through a lot of trying times trying to beat this team,” Bruce said afterward. “I'm glad it's over.”

It was another convincing statement from Kurt Warner and the Rams offense. Warner completed 20 of 23 passes for 323 yards with five touchdowns and one interception. His 14 touchdowns in the first four games of the season were unprecedented in NFL history. Isaac Bruce caught 5 passes for 134 yards and the four touchdowns, while Torry Holt gained 67 yards on his three catches. RB Robert Holcombe gained 47 yards on six carries to lead the team, and RB Justin Watson was right behind with 46 yards on 11 attempts. Marshall Faulk was held to six yards on seven carries, but contributed 38 yards on four pass receptions.

Playing catchup throughout, Jeff Garcia went to the air 36 times with 22 completions for 233 yards, giving up three interceptions while completing no touchdown passes. Terrell Owens caught six passes for 60 yards while Charlie Garner added five receptions for 57 yards and led the team with 52 yards on 13 runs.

The Rams made it to 6-0 before losing two straight games, but then went 7-1 the rest of the way to finish first in the NFC West with a 13-3 record – the team’s best since 1975. They went on to defeat the Tennessee Titans in the Super Bowl by a 23-16 score. San Francisco went in the opposite direction, winning just once more to end up at 4-12 and in fourth place in the division. It was the first time the 49ers had finished under .500 since the 1982 strike season and was the worst tally since 1979.

Kurt Warner went on to have an MVP season (Associated Press, Pro Football Writers of America, Newspaper Enterprise Association, Bert Bell Award), leading the NFL with a 109.2 passer rating, 41 touchdown passes, 65.1 completion percentage, 8.7 yards per attempt, and 8.2 TD percentage. His 4353 passing yards ranked second.

Isaac Bruce (pictured below) had a Pro Bowl year (less surprising in his case – he was an established star who had previously been selected following the ’96 season), catching 77 passes for 1165 yards (15.1 avg.) and 12 touchdowns.

1949: Albert & Perry Star as 49ers Hand Browns Only Defeat of Season

Throughout the four seasons of the All-America Football Conference’s existence, the Cleveland Browns were clearly the best team, going 47-4-3 and winning the championship every year, and the San Francisco 49ers were second best at 38-14-2. Games between the two clubs were among the most highly attended in pro football history up to that time. While the 49ers were the first team to beat the Browns in 1946, they had lost the next five encounters, mostly by close scores, and missed out on postseason opportunities because both teams were in the Western Division.

On October 9, 1949 the 49ers hosted Cleveland at Kezar Stadium before 59,770 enthusiastic fans in their first encounter of the year. With the AAFC having dropped from eight teams to seven, division play had been done away with. The Browns, under Head Coach Paul Brown, came into the contest with a 4-0-1 record and had not lost since the sixth week of the 1947 season – including the postseason, a total of 29 straight games (they had been tied twice). San Francisco, coached by Buck Shaw, was 4-1 and had scored over 40 points in three of the wins.

The 49ers jumped off to a quick start with 21 points in the first 10 minutes of the game. QB Frankie Albert (pictured above) started off the scoring with a 16-yard touchdown pass to HB Johnny Strzykalski. Strzykalski scored a second TD a few minutes later on the next San Francisco possession with a short carry from inside the one.

Next, Albert threw his second touchdown pass, of 28 yards to FB Joe Perry, who made an outstanding one-handed catch. Before the first quarter ended, the Browns finally got on the board thanks to a 39-yard touchdown pass from QB Otto Graham to end Mac Speedie. It was followed in the second quarter by a Graham TD pass to end Dante Lavelli that covered 26 yards and Cleveland was down by just a touchdown at 21-14.

San Francisco came back as end Alyn Beals scored the 40th touchdown of his AAFC career on a 15-yard pass into the end zone from Albert. The Browns again closed the gap to seven points at 28-21 on a 13-yard Graham-to-Speedie pass. However, the 49ers scored once more before halftime as Albert tossed an eight-yard TD pass to end Nick Susoeff for a 35-21 lead.

After the high-scoring first half, there was only one score in the third quarter, but it padded the San Francisco margin as Albert threw his fifth touchdown pass of the game to HB Ed Carr.

Early in the fourth quarter, FB Marion Motley scored for the Browns on a 12-yard run down the center of the field, but the Niners responded with Perry scoring on a 49-yard run of his own. Carr iced the cake with a five-yard carry that finished off a 56-yard drive and the 49ers came away with a convincing 56-28 win.

The game was exceedingly physical, although no fights erupted. Both quarterbacks passed well, but the 49ers defense dominated the line of scrimmage and Graham was hit hard and sacked often. San Francisco ran up a season-high 507 total yards, to 367 for the Browns.

Key performers for San Francisco were Frankie Albert, who completed 16 of 24 passes for 249 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions, and Joe Perry, who ran for 155 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns. Cleveland’s Otto Graham was successful on 13 of 26 throws for 281 yards.

The win put the 49ers (5-1) in front of Cleveland (4-1-1) in the AAFC standings. However, the Browns recovered, not losing again the rest of the way, and finished with a 9-1-2 record. One of the wins came in the rematch with the 49ers in Cleveland, and San Francisco had also lost the week before to the New York Yankees. They once again came in second to the Browns at 9-3. However, in the single-division format of 1949, the top four clubs made it into the postseason. The Browns and 49ers each won their opening playoff game and the teams met for a third time in Cleveland, with the Browns prevailing 21-7 for the last AAFC title.


Joe Perry (pictured at left) was the AAFC’s leading rusher with 783 yards and also had the highest average gain per carry (6.8) on his 115 attempts with a league-leading eight touchdowns (tied with Cleveland’s Motley).

Frankie Albert, a mobile left-handed passer reminiscent of later 49ers star Steve Young, led the league in touchdown passes for the second straight year with 27 (his 88 TD passes were the most in the four-year history of the AAFC). His TD pass percentage of 10.4 was more than three yards higher than his nearest competitor, Otto Graham (6.7). However, he ranked second (behind Graham) in passer rating (82.2) and third in passing yards (1862), yards per attempt (7.2), and yards per completion (14.4). He also tossed 16 interceptions, which tied him for second in the AAFC with New York’s Don Panciera.

The demise of the AAFC after the ’49 season didn’t mean the demise of the Browns and 49ers. Along with the original version of the Baltimore Colts, they were absorbed into the NFL for 1950. The rivalry between the two teams diminished, however, as they played in different divisions and, from 1970 on, different conferences.

1989: Okoye Runs for 156 Yards as Chiefs Rally Past Seahawks

The Kansas City Chiefs were coming off of consecutive four-win seasons and, having revamped the front office and in their first year under new Head Coach Marty Schottenheimer, had started at 1-3 in 1989. Their Week 5 matchup on October 8 was against the Seattle Seahawks, under veteran Head Coach Chuck Knox. The Seahawks had made it to the postseason the past two years and, having lost their first two games in ’89, had won two straight on the road as they returned to the Kingdome.

Steve DeBerg battled Bill Kenney for the starting quarterback job in ’88 – Kenney was gone but DeBerg remained. Schottenheimer brought in 15-year veteran Ron Jaworski to compete with DeBerg, and it was Jaworski behind center at Seattle. Also present in the backfield was third-year fullback Christian Okoye (pictured above), a 6’1”, 253-pound Nigerian power runner who had battled injuries in his first two seasons but was finally beginning to realize his potential – he had gained over a hundred yards in each of the previous two games.

Seattle wasted no time getting on the board as CB James Jefferson returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. After the Chiefs and Seahawks traded punts, Kansas City scored on a 39-yard field goal by Nick Lowery. Okoye carried the ball on 10 of KC’s first 12 plays from scrimmage.

Late in the first quarter, the Chiefs began to diversify the attack as Jaworski completed a pass for 21 yards to TE Chris Dressel and RB Herman Heard ran for 17 yards. But a 17-yard Jaworski completion to WR Emile Harry ended up being fumbled into the end zone and recovered for a touchback by Seattle.

The Chiefs didn’t mount another threat in the second quarter, and the Seahawks added three field goals by Norm Johnson of 37, 26, and 37 yards to take a 16-3 lead into halftime. Neither team had particularly distinguished itself offensively, although Okoye had gained 51 yards on 12 carries.

Okoye continued to be the key player for Kansas City as he opened the team’s first possession of the second half with three runs for 21 yards. Jaworski hit on three passes on the KC drive and after 11 plays Okoye ended it with a 13-yard touchdown run. With the successful PAT, the Chiefs were now behind by only 16-10.

With time running down in the third quarter, Okoye again spurred another long Kansas City possession that resulted in a 25-yard Lowery field goal early in the final period. Krieg was promptly intercepted by safety Deron Cherry and five plays later Jaworski hit TE Alfredo Roberts for a two-yard touchdown and four-point Chiefs lead.

Seattle had two more possessions but couldn’t put points on the board. On the final drive from their own 17, Krieg completed five straight passes to the KC 35, also running for 12 yards at one point. But after getting down to the 23, two passes into the end zone were for naught, with Cherry intercepting the last one. The Chiefs came away with a 20-16 win.

Kansas City rolled up 303 yards to 288 for the Seahawks, with 199 of that coming on the ground. Christian Okoye gained 156 yards on 30 carries with the one TD and was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance. Ron Jaworski went to the air 18 times and had 12 completions for 104 yards and a touchdown with none intercepted. Emile Harry was the top receiver for the Chiefs with three catches for 41 yards, but also the one costly fumble.

For Seattle, Dave Krieg had completed 20 of 36 passes for 252 yards with no touchdowns and the two passes intercepted by Deron Cherry (the safety’s only two pickoffs of the season). Tellingly, Krieg was also the team’s leading rusher with 29 yards on three carries. RB John L. Williams was more productive through the air (5 catches for 32 yards) than on the ground (9 runs for 22 yards). WR Paul Skansi contributed another 5 receptions for 79 yards while WR Brian Blades gained the most receiving yards (86) on his four catches.


The Chiefs continued to make progress under the new head coach (and front office regime), winning four of their last five games to end up with an 8-7-1 record and second place in the AFC West. Seattle dropped off to 7-9 to end up fourth in the division.

It was a good beginning for Marty Schottenheimer (pictured at left), who succeeded in coaching the Chiefs back to respectability. They produced four straight 10-win seasons from 1990 to ’94 and made it to the postseason in seven of his 10 years at the helm. Unfortunately, as was the case for Schottenheimer in his other three head coaching stops, they didn’t make it to the Super Bowl.

Christian Okoye, who had never played American football prior to coming to college at Azusa Pacific on a track scholarship, led the NFL in rushing with 1480 yards on 370 carries and 12 touchdowns. The 156 yards against Seattle marked his third of an eventual eight 100-yard rushing performances for the year. He was a consensus first team All-Pro, as well as Pro Bowl, selection.

As a footnote, in his last season, 38-year-old Ron Jaworski (pictured below) started three games for the Chiefs and threw for 385 yards with two touchdowns and five interceptions. While Steve Pelluer also joined the quarterback mix during the season, Steve DeBerg ultimately prevailed as the starter.

1945: Packers Score 41 Points in 2nd Quarter Against Lions

The Green Bay Packers, defending NFL champions, won their first game of the 1945 season against the arch-rival Chicago Bears and now faced the Detroit Lions on October 7 at the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis. Still under the direction of founding Head Coach Curly Lambeau, Green Bay had coaxed the great end Don Hutson (pictured at right), who had wanted to retire, into coming back for another year.

The Lions, under third-year Head Coach Gus Dorais, had won six straight games, dating back to the ’44 season. An 0-11 doormat as recently as 1942, the Lions had improved under Dorais and gone 6-3-1. They had lost star tailback Frank Sinkwich to military duty (and afterward would lose him to the rival AAFC), thus diminishing the passing attack, but the Lions had compensated by beefing up the running game.

There was a capacity crowd of 23,500 in attendance for the key division matchup. They witnessed a scoreless first quarter. However, late in the period, a short punt by tailback Roy McKay gave the Lions the ball on the Green Bay 29. Tailback Chuck Fenenbock threw a pass to end Jack Matheson that covered 16 yards and followed up with a seven-yard run. Fenenbock started off the second quarter by running the remaining eight yards for a touchdown and 7-0 Lions lead.

For the remainder of the quarter, it was all Green Bay. Following the kickoff, McKay immediately hit Hutson on a 56-yard touchdown pass play. The Packers followed up with a 41-yard TD pass play from tailback Irv Comp to reserve end Clyde Goodnight.

It was McKay-to-Hutson again for a 46-yard touchdown completion and 21-7 Green Bay lead. Shortly thereafter, an interception by back Ben Starret set up another Hutson touchdown, this on a 17-yard pass from McKay. However, Hutson’s extra point attempt (he also typically handled the team’s placekicking) was blocked by the Lions.

Still, the onslaught continued as FB/LB Ted Fritsch intercepted a pass by Detroit tailback Cotton Price and returned it 69 yards for a touchdown. Before the half, Hutson scored his fourth touchdown of the second quarter on a six-yard pass from McKay. Green Bay led at the intermission by a score of 41-7, made all the more remarkable because all 41 points had been scored in one quarter.

Hutson accounted for a total of 29 of those points with five extra points in addition to the four touchdowns.

The second half was anticlimactic. The Packers got a safety in the third quarter when Goodnight tackled halfback Dave Ryan in the end zone on a punt return. However, Ryan connected with end John Greene on a 62-yard touchdown pass play late in the fourth quarter. The final score was 57-21.

Remarkably, the Lions had 15 first downs to Green Bay’s 7 and outgained the Packers on the ground, 137 yards to 53. They even had a slight edge in passing yards, 244 to 242. However, Detroit also turned the ball over six times, to just once for the Packers. And, of course, Green Bay’s second quarter bombardment easily determined the outcome. The 41 points remain the record for a single team in one NFL quarter.

The offensive stars for the Packers were Hutson, with six catches for 144 yards and four touchdowns, and Roy McKay, who completed 6 of 14 passes for 151 yards with the four TDs and none intercepted. Hutson also added two more extra points to give him a single-game point total of 31.

The strong start did not translate into season-long success for the Packers, who were swept by the eventual-champion Cleveland Rams in both of their meetings and ended up at 6-4 and in third place in the Western Division. The Lions, who beat the Packers when the clubs met again at the end of the year, came in second at 7-3.

In his final season, Don Hutson led the NFL in pass receptions (47) and was second in receiving yards (834), touchdown receptions (9), total touchdowns (10, tied with Frank Liebel of the Giants), and scoring (97 points). He retired as the all-time career leader in pass receptions (488 – the runner-up at the time had 298), receiving yards (7991), touchdown receptions (99 – which stood until 1989), total touchdowns (105), and scoring (823 points).

Roy McKay, typically splitting the tailback duties with Irv Comp, threw just one more touchdown pass the rest of the way (Comp threw 7) and had a total of 520 passing yards.

2003: Colts Rally From 21 Points Down in 4th Quarter to Beat Bucs in OT

The defending NFL champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers had started out the 2003 season at 2-1 and were coming off of the bye week as they faced the Indianapolis Colts in a Monday Night Football matchup on October 6. Under Head Coach Jon Gruden, the Bucs had finally made it to the Super Bowl after reaching the postseason in four of the previous five seasons, falling short each time.

The head coach who had built the Buccaneers into a contender after years of futility was Tony Dungy, fired after the 2001 season for his playoff failures and now returning to Tampa for the first time as coach of the Colts. Indianapolis had reached the postseason with a 10-6 record in 2002 and was undefeated after four games in ’03. However, they would be without the services of star RB Edgerrin James for a second week due to a back injury.

Dungy received a polite reception from the 65,647 fans at Raymond James Stadium. For most of the game, it appeared that the former coach’s homecoming would not be a pleasant one.

Tampa Bay scored on its second possession when QB Brad Johnson connected with WR Keenan McCardell on a 74-yard touchdown pass play. Then, later in the first quarter, the Bucs got a huge break. After a badly thrown pass by Johnson was intercepted by safety Mike Doss, Doss returned it 16 yards but fumbled; McCardell picked up the loose ball and ran 57 yards for a TD and 14-0 lead.

It was 21-0 in favor of Tampa Bay at halftime as WR Reggie Barlow scored on a three-yard pass from Johnson. The Buccaneer defense had been the team’s strength, and with the Colts offense stifled and the Bucs up by three touchdowns, there was plenty of reason for the home fans to feel optimistic.

Early in the third quarter, the Colts finally got on the board as QB Peyton Manning (pictured above) hit WR Marvin Harrison on a touchdown pass play that covered 37 yards. However, the Buccaneers methodically drove 85 yards in 12 plays that culminated in a 15-yard Johnson-to-McCardell touchdown pass and Tampa Bay again had a three touchdown lead at 28-7 after three quarters.

Indianapolis scored again early in the fourth quarter on a one-yard run by RB Ricky Williams to cap an eight-play possession. The Bucs were then forced to punt, but it seemed as though any hopes for a comeback by the Colts were snuffed out when CB Rhonde Barber intercepted a pass by Manning and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown. With 5:09 remaining on the clock, the 35-14 lead appeared impregnable.

However, WR Brad Pyatt returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards to set up a three-yard touchdown run by RB James Mungro. Now with the time remaining down to 3:37, DB Idrees Bashir recovered an onside kick and, six plays later on a fourth-and-six play, Manning tossed a 28-yard TD pass to Harrison.

The Tampa Bay margin had now been cut to 35-28 with 2:29 to play and the Colts again attempted an onside kick. This one was recovered by RB Aaron Stecker of the Buccaneers, but the Colts defense forced the Bucs to punt and took over on their 15 yard line with 1:41 now left on the clock.

A Manning completion had yardage tacked on after the quarterback was roughed by Tampa Bay DT Warren Sapp. From the Indianapolis 42, Manning connected with Harrison on a 52-yard pass play down to the Buccaneer six yard line. Shortly thereafter Williams scored on a one-yard run and, with 35 seconds remaining in regulation, the score was tied at 35-35.

The Buccaneers tried to score in the time remaining, but Martin Gramatica’s 62-yard field goal attempt on the final play of the fourth quarter failed when it was tipped at the line of scrimmage.

The Bucs had the first possession in overtime but had to punt. Taking over on their own 13, the Colts moved downfield with Manning connecting on third down passes of eight yards to Harrison, 16 yards to WR Reggie Wayne, and 9 yards to WR Troy Walters. With less than four minutes remaining in OT, it appeared that the Buccaneers had avoided defeat when Mike Vanderjagt’s 39-yard field goal attempt missed wide to the right. However, Tampa Bay DE Simeon Rice was penalized for leaping onto a teammate to attempt to block the kick and, with a second chance from 29 yards, Vanderjagt was successful and the Colts had capped their astounding comeback with a 38-35 win.

No team in NFL history had ever come from three touchdowns behind so late in the game to come out on top.

Peyton Manning completed 34 of 47 passes for 386 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Marvin Harrison caught 11 passes for 176 yards and two TDs. The Colts, without Edgerrin James, only ran for 74 yards and Ricky Williams was the leading ground gainer with 56 yards on 13 carries with two scores.


For Tampa Bay, Brad Johnson was successful on 26 of 39 passes for 318 yards with three touchdowns and one picked off. While TE Ken Dilger caught 6 passes for 63 yards, Keenan McCardell (pictured at left) was the most productive receiver with 106 yards on four receptions and two touchdowns. RB Michael Pittman gained 106 yards rushing on 16 carries.

Afterward, Coach Gruden said “A lot of those plays, I tip my hat to Manning. He made some miraculous throws, and they made some incredible catches.”

Indianapolis was knocked from the ranks of the undefeated the next week by Carolina but still went on to win the AFC South with a 12-4 record. The Colts made it to the AFC Championship game before losing to the New England Patriots. The Buccaneers, however, moved in a different direction. While they recovered to win at Washington in their next game, they ended up going 4-7 therafter for a disappointing 7-9 tally that placed them third in the NFC South and well out of playoff contention.

Peyton Manning led the NFL in pass completions (379), yards (4267), and completion percentage (67.0) and ranked second in passing (99.0 rating), pass attempts (566), and TD passes (29). He was selected to the Pro Bowl for the fourth time and was a consensus first-team All Pro selection for the first time in his illustrious career and also received MVP honors (Associated Press, NEA, Bert Bell Trophy).

Marvin Harrison (pictured below), at age 31 and after four consecutive 100-catch seasons, dropped off to 94 receptions for 1272 yards with 10 touchdowns – still respectable numbers for sure. He was named to the Pro Bowl for the fifth consecutive year, of an eventual eight straight.

Keenan McCardell remained a bright spot for Tampa Bay, putting together a Pro Bowl season at age 33 with 84 catches for 1174 yards (14.0 avg.) with eight TDs.