1991: Moon Passes for 423 Yards to Rally Oilers Past Jets

The Houston Oilers were well established by 1991 as the NFL’s most prolific passing team. Under second-year Head Coach Jack Pardee, they operated a run-and-shoot offense that had 34-year-old QB Warren Moon (pictured at right) throwing early and often to a talented stable of wide receivers that included Drew Hill, Haywood Jeffires, Ernest Givins, and Curtis Duncan. They were off to a 4-1 start as they took on the New York Jets on October 13.

The Jets, coached by Bruce Coslet, were 3-3 after having won their previous two games following three straight losses. QB Ken O’Brien, in his eighth season, was a steady if not spectacular performer and he had two good targets in wide receivers Al Toon and Rob Moore. RB Brad Baxter had outperformed the team’s 1990 first round draft choice, Blair Thomas.

There were 70,758 fans in attendance on a cloudy day at Giants Stadium in the New Jersey Meadowlands. They saw the Jets take the opening kickoff and roll 80 yards in 10 plays. O’Brien completed four passes, including one for a 34-yard gain to Baxter to the Houston three yard line. From there, Baxter ran up the middle for the final three yards and a touchdown.

The Oilers went three-and-out on their initial possession and the Jets came back to score again. O’Brien started the drive off with an 18-yard completion to Toon and later threw to WR Chris Burkett for 23 yards to the Houston seven. New York wasn’t able to punch in for another TD, but the 59-yard possession ended with Pat Leahy kicking a 21-yard field goal to make it 10-0.

In the second quarter, Houston finally got something going on offense. The Oilers converted a fourth-and-one play at the New York 31 with a Moon pass to Haywood Jeffires (pictured below) for nine yards. Throwing on every play, Moon finished off the 10-play, 54-yard series with a three-yard TD pass to a diving Curtis Duncan in the end zone. Ian Howfield missed the extra point attempt, however, and the score remained 10-6 in favor of the Jets.

Following a New York punt, the Oilers took over at their 17 and Moon immediately threw to Jeffires for 35 yards. The drive went 83 yards in 10 plays with Moon converting two third downs with a 21-yard completion to Jeffires on third-and-five at the New York 43 and a 14-yard pass to Drew Hill in a third-and-six situation that made it first-and-goal at the four. RB Lorenzo White finished off the possession by taking a pitchout for a one-yard touchdown. This time the point after was successful and Houston was in front at 13-10.

New York had to punt again following its next series but Moon was intercepted by DB Lonnie Young to give the Jets a last shot with 21 seconds before the half and the ball at the Houston 47. Two O’Brien completions got the ball to the 34, but Leahy’s 52-yard field goal attempt sailed wide to the right and the Oilers maintained the three-point lead at the intermission.

Starting at their own six yard line after a short kickoff return to start the second half, the Oilers moved the ball effectively with Moon hitting on passes of 16 yards to Hill, 13 yards to Jeffires, and 9 more to Jeffires again to start the drive. But after reaching the New York 44, Moon was intercepted by CB Mike Brim, who returned it 13 yards to not only stop Houston’s drive but also give the Jets good field position. New York made the most of it, moving methodically down the field in 14 plays that ended with Leahy booting a 31-yard field goal to tie the score.

Moon had the Oilers driving again as the third quarter came to an end, but the drive stalled at the New York 32 and the attempt to convert a fourth-and-seven situation ended with an incomplete pass intended for WR Ernest Givins that was broken up by Lonnie Young.

The Jets went three-and-out on their next possession and Houston again came out throwing with Moon going to Jeffires for gains of 14 and 35 yards to the New York 27. An apparent touchdown run by White was nullified by a holding penalty, but the Oilers scored on Howfield field goal of 23 yards to move back in front at 16-13.

New York was unable to move the ball on its next series, even after retaining possession when a punt hit Houston DB Marcus Robertson on the arm and was recovered by Burkett for the Jets. Still, a second Louie Aguiar punt went out of bounds at the Houston six, and with just under six minutes remaining there was still time for the Jets – if they could get the ball back.

White ran for a two-yard loss on Houston’s first play, but then Moon threw to Duncan for nine yards and, in a big third-and-three situation, hit Duncan again for 23 more yards. White ran for 11 yards and then Moon passed for eight before handing off to White three more times for short gains while the Jets used their first two timeouts. But on third-and-four, Moon threw to Hill on a crossing pattern and the wide receiver went all the way for a 37-yard touchdown.

It was the clincher for Houston – the Jets drove to a last-play touchdown as O’Brien passed to Burkett from 18 yards out, but time ran out on New York. The Oilers came away with a 23-20 win.

Houston significantly outgained the Jets (436 yards to 279) and had the edge in first downs (25 to 21). Neither team ran the ball effectively, with New York gaining 43 yards on 21 attempts and the Oilers compiling just 27 on 15 carries. The Oilers sacked O’Brien four times while Moon was sacked once by the Jets. Houston also turned the ball over three times while New York suffered just one turnover.

Warren Moon went to the air 50 times and had 35 completions for 423 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Haywood Jeffires led the receivers with 13 catches for 186 yards while Curtis Duncan added 8 receptions for 67 yards and a TD and Drew Hill (pictured below) pulled in 6 passes for 80 yards and a score. Lorenzo White led what there was of a running attack with 24 yards on 11 attempts that included a TD.

For the Jets, Ken O’Brien completed 24 of 42 passes for 269 yards with a TD and one intercepted. Chris Burkett caught 6 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown and Al Toon also had 6 receptions, for 51 yards. Brad Baxter had 31 yards and a touchdown on 10 rushing attempts.

“This should show people we are for real,” say Haywood Jeffires. “Now we can go to Miami and come up with back-to-back wins on the road. I think we will and people will consider us a Super Bowl contender.”

Houston did indeed win the next week against the Dolphins and made it to 7-1 before losing again. The Oilers did lose three of their last five games, but after having been a Wild Card team the previous four years, they won the AFC Central with an 11-5 record. In the postseason, they once again beat the Jets to get through the Wild Card round but lost a close contest at Denver in the Divisional round to once again come up short of a trip to the Super Bowl. New York was 8-8 on the year but still managed to finish second in the AFC East and qualify for a Wild Card spot.

Filling the air with passes on a regular basis, Warren Moon led the NFL in attempts (655), completions (404), yards (4690), but also interceptions (21). Still, his passer rating of 81.7 ranked only tenth and he was fifth in touchdown passes with 23. He was selected to the Pro Bowl for the fourth straight year.

Haywood Jeffires led the league with 100 pass receptions and ranked fourth with 1181 yards. He was a consensus first-team All-Pro and also was chosen for the Pro Bowl for the first of an eventual three consecutive times. Drew Hill ranked third by catching 90 passes and seventh in yards with 1109. 

1981: Carpenter & Simms Spur Giants to Win Over Cards

The New York Giants had been mired in mediocrity and out of the postseason for 17 consecutive years as they entered the 1981 NFL season. After winning two of their first three games in ’81, they lost two straight and were 2-3 as they prepared to take on the St. Louis Cardinals on October 11. But there was cause for optimism. The defense was strong, especially at linebacker where veterans Brad Van Pelt, Harry Carson, and Brian Kelley had been joined by first-round draft pick Lawrence Taylor, who was having an immediate impact. Third-year QB Phil Simms was still a promising work in progress. But a new factor was being introduced for the game against the Cardinals in the person of FB Rob Carpenter, who had just been received in a trade with the Houston Oilers with the hopes of improving the running game.

The fifth-year veteran Carpenter had labored in the shadow of Houston’s great RB Earl Campbell and, other than his rookie season in the pre-Campbell year of 1977 when he ran the ball 144 times for 652 yards, he had not carried more than 97 times in any one campaign. His rushing total in 57 games for the Oilers was 1788 yards while averaging 4.1 yards per carry, although he had caught 43 passes in 1980. In the first four contests of the ’81 season before being traded, Carpenter carried the ball just 18 times for 74 yards.

The visiting Cardinals, coached by Jim Hanifan, also came into the game at 2-3 after having beaten the Cowboys the previous week. RB Ottis Anderson was a well-established ground gainer in his third year and while 37-year-old veteran Jim Hart was still the starting quarterback, the promising Neil Lomax from Portland State had been drafted in the second round and was waiting in the wings. But while the offense had talent, the defense was a chronic source of problems.

There were 67,128 fans at Giants Stadium and they witnessed a scoreless first quarter before a New York fumble set up a 14-yard touchdown pass from Hart to TE Doug Marsh seven seconds into the second quarter.

The Giants responded with a 56-yard drive that ended with Joe Danelo kicking a 41-yard field goal to cut the St. Louis lead to 7-3. New York put together another scoring drive despite Simms being sacked twice along the way. He threw to WR Johnny Perkins for a five-yard TD to put the Giants in front.

An interception of a Hart pass by Brian Kelley set up another score before the half. Kelley returned the pickoff 16 yards to the St. Louis 33 and Simms again threw to Perkins for a touchdown, this time from seven yards out, with 31 seconds remaining in the second quarter. The Giants went into halftime with a 17-7 lead. Simms had thrown for 121 yards in the first half but was also sacked four times, at a cost of 22 yards.

The Giants scored again to start the third quarter as Danelo booted a 45-yard field goal to make it 20-7. New York then took control when Marsh fumbled after catching a pass from Hart and FS Beasley Reece recovered for the Giants at the New York 45. The Giants capitalized when Simms tossed a 22-yard touchdown pass to WR Earnest Gray and it was 27-7 heading into the final period.

The Cardinals narrowed the lead in the fourth quarter on a series highlighted by a Hart completion to WR Pat Tilley that picked up 34 yards. RB Theotis Brown capped the drive by running for a three-yard TD. But Carpenter crowned his debut with a 21-yard touchdown run that was set up in turn by a 24-yard carry by Simms. The Giants won handily by a score of 34-14.

New York outgained the Cardinals by 377 yards to 285 – most impressively, 198 of that total for the Giants came on the ground. The Giants also had the edge in first downs by 27 to 19. The St. Louis defense sacked Simms five times in all, to four sacks recorded by the Giants, but the Cardinals also turned the ball over four times to one suffered by the home team.

Rob Carpenter made an immediate impact with his new team by rushing for 103 yards on 14 carries that included a touchdown. Phil Simms (pictured below) completed 19 of 33 passes for 208 yards with three TDs and had none intercepted. Johnny Perkins led the receivers with 5 catches for 55 yards and two touchdowns.

For the Cardinals, Jim Hart, who was replaced late in the fourth quarter by the rookie Lomax, was successful on 17 of 26 throws for 195 yards with a TD and an interception. Ottis Anderson ran for 71 yards on 17 attempts and also caught a team-leading 5 passes for 47 yards. Doug Marsh gained 52 yards on his four pass receptions that also included a touchdown.

“It was the biggest game of the year for us,” summed up Phil Simms.

“It was a great victory, the greatest since I’ve been here,” echoed Head Coach Ray Perkins of the Giants.

“I was running behind a pretty good offensive line,” said Rob Carpenter. “It was the first time in two years that a line has given me the time to make a cut behind the line of scrimmage.”

With Carpenter adding a new dimension to the offense, the Giants went on to a 9-7 record to finish third in the NFC East and qualify for a Wild Card spot in the playoffs, thus making their first postseason appearance since 1963. They defeated the division-rival Eagles in the Wild Card round before succumbing to the 49ers in the Divisional playoff game. The Cardinals, with Lomax finishing out the year in place of Hart, ended up fifth in the division at 7-9.

Rob Carpenter had his best year, rushing the ball 190 times for 748 yards in his ten games with the Giants and catching 24 passes for 201 more yards (overall, adding in his statistics with Houston, he gained 822 yards on 202 carries). He went over a hundred yards rushing in four games and added 161 yards on 33 carries in the Wild Card win over Philadelphia.

Phil Simms also played well until a shoulder injury ended his season prematurely in the tenth game. He passed for 2031 yards with 11 touchdowns and 9 interceptions, but it was Scott Brunner behind center for the 4-1 run at the end of the regular season and the playoff contests. 

2010: McNabb Leads Redskins to Overtime Win Over Packers

The Washington Redskins were off to a 2-2 start as they hosted the Green Bay Packers at FedEx Field on October 10, 2010. The team had undergone a transformation following a miserable 4-12 record in ’09, bringing in GM Bruce Allen, Head Coach Mike Shanahan, and a new veteran quarterback in 33-year-old ex-Eagle Donovan McNabb (pictured above).

Green Bay, under Head Coach Mike McCarthy, was 3-1 and following up on an 11-5 record in 2009 that had put them in the playoffs. A young team, the Packers were retooling well, particularly at quarterback where Aaron Rodgers was proving to be a worthy successor to long-time star Brett Favre.

The Packers had possession first, but following a short kickoff return they turned the ball over on the second play from scrimmage. Rodgers passed to TE Donald Lee for 17 yards, but the tight end fumbled and safety Kareem Moore recovered and advanced 13 yards to the Green Bay 21. However, the Redskins moved backward rather than forward and ultimately were forced to punt from their 44.

Starting at their own 10, the Packers made a big play immediately as RB Brandon Jackson ran for a 71-yard gain to the Washington 19. Five plays later Rodgers threw to Lee for a five-yard touchdown and the early lead.

The teams traded punts for the remainder of the opening period, although a 35-yard pass from Rodgers to WR James Jones had the ball in Washington territory to start the second quarter. But after reaching the one yard line, the defense stopped two running plays and a Rodgers pass into the end zone was broken up on fourth down.

The Redskins advanced to their own 33 before being forced to punt and Hunter Smith’s kick was returned 52 yards by CB Tramon Williams right back to the line of scrimmage. Mason Crosby kicked a 52-yard field goal four plays later to make it 10-0.

After another exchange of punts, the Redskins appeared to be trapped back in their own territory before McNabb completed a pass to WR Santana Moss for 52 yards on third-and-18. Two carries by RB Ryan Torain gave the Redskins another first down at the Green Bay 25 and a McNabb shuttle pass to Moss gained nine more yards to the 16. A throw to TE Chris Cooley moved the ball inside the 10 and, with the clock down to 13 seconds, Graham Gano kicked a 26-yard field goal to conclude the 12-play, 78-yard drive and make the score 10-3 at halftime.

The Packers put together a 70-yard series in 9 plays in their first possession of the third quarter that featured a Rodgers pass to WR Donald Driver for 34 yards. Crosby was successful with a 36-yard field goal that put Green Bay back in front by ten points.

Following a short Washington possession, the Packers moved to the Redskins’ 29 in eight plays but Crosby missed a 48-yard field goal. The score remained 13-3 heading into the fourth quarter.

The teams again exchanged punts until the Redskins, who had largely been dominated by Green Bay’s defense, struck quickly as McNabb went deep down the middle to WR Anthony Armstrong for a 48-yard touchdown. With the successful extra point, Washington was just three points down with plenty of time on the clock.

After the Packers punted on their next series, McNabb went to Armstrong (pictured at right) on the first play for a 23-yard gain. When the drive stalled at the Green Bay 47, it was McNabb to Armstrong again for 13 yards and a first down on a third-and-10 play. But the Redskins could gain nothing further and Gano’s field goal attempt from 51 yards was wide to the right.

Green Bay failed to move the ball and punted back to the Redskins with just under four minutes remaining in regulation. With McNabb completing three passes, including 30 yards to Cooley, Washington went 53 yards in seven plays and this time Gano connected on a 45-yard field goal to make it a tie game at 13-13.

The Packers took over at their 21 with 1:07 on the clock and in three plays made it to the Washington 35, but Crosby’s 53-yard attempt at a game-winning field goal hit the upright and bounced away. There was time for one more play from the Washington 43 and a long pass by McNabb was intercepted by Tramon Williams at the goal line and returned 64 yards. The game went into overtime.

Characteristic of much of the game, the teams traded punts to start the extra period and then Rodgers was intercepted by diving safety LaRon Landry to give Washington the ball at the Green Bay 39. The Redskins advanced to the 15 with the help of two defensive penalties and Gano finished the contest with a 33-yard field goal to give them a 16-13 win at 6:54 into overtime.

Green Bay had more total yards than the Redskins (427 to 373), who punted on seven of their first eight possessions. Washington had the edge in first downs (21 to 17) as the Packers had difficulty moving the ball in the second half. Green Bay’s defense sacked McNabb five times, to four sacks of Rodgers by the Redskins, while the Packers turned the ball over twice – the last time fatally - to one suffered by Washington. In addition, Green Bay was penalized 9 times at a cost of 63 yards (to four for 28 yards on the Redskins).

Donovan McNabb completed 26 of 49 passes for 357 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Santana Moss caught 7 of those passes for 118 yards while Anthony Armstrong added 84 yards on three receptions that included the long TD. Chris Cooley also had 7 pass receptions, for 69 yards. The running game was mediocre for the Redskins, accumulating just 51 yards, and Ryan Torain led the way with 40 yards on 16 attempts.

For the Packers, Aaron Rodgers was successful on 27 of 46 throws for 293 yards with a TD and one intercepted; he also rushed for 30 yards on four attempts. With the long gain in the first quarter, Brandon Jackson rushed for 115 yards on just 10 carries and also led the team with 5 pass receptions that gained an additional 25 yards. James Jones had 65 yards on four catches and Donald Driver was right behind with 58 yards on his four receptions.

It was the second overtime win of the year for Washington, and the Redskins were now 3-2. However, after reaching 4-3 to match their win total of 2009, they lost seven of their last nine games to finish at the bottom of the NFC East with a disappointing 6-10 record.

It proved to be an especially disappointing season for Donovan McNabb, who ultimately clashed with Coach Shanahan, lost the starting job, and left after one year. He passed for 3377 yards with 14 touchdowns but also 15 interceptions.

The Packers moved in the opposite direction. Several players had to leave the game against the Redskins due to injuries, a chronic problem early on, and afterward it was revealed that Aaron Rodgers had suffered a concussion. But he and the team recovered and, following a sluggish start, Green Bay went 7-3 to close out the regular season, good for second place in the NFC North and a Wild Card slot in the postseason. They won four straight playoff games on the road, including the NFC Championship and the Super Bowl over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Aaron Rodgers performed ably, completing 65.7 percent of his passes for 3922 yards with 28 TDs against just 11 interceptions. His 101.2 passer rating led the NFC, as did his 8.3 yards per attempt.

1974: Danny White TD Passes Lead Memphis to Win Over Hornets

The Memphis Southmen (aka “Grizzlies”) were not only successful on the field but also one of the few World Football League teams that was financially sound. Owned by Canadian businessman John Bassett Jr., the Southmen were coached by John McVay, formerly of the University of Dayton, and had won nine straight games as they prepared to meet the Charlotte Hornets on October 9, 1974.

Rookie backup QB Danny White (pictured above) was filling in for injured veteran John Huarte for the third time, but it had not slowed the Southmen. The running game, featuring J.J. Jennings, John Harvey, and Willie Spencer was the new league’s best and WR Ed Marshall led an able group of receivers.

The team they were facing was only recently relocated and renamed. As the New York Stars, coached by Babe Parilli, the club played reasonably well and had an 8-5 record. However, their home venue was the substandard Downing Stadium, and they drew poorly in competition with the NFL Giants and Jets. The franchise was sold to Upton Bell, son of former NFL Commissioner Bert Bell, and moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. As the Charlotte Stars, they defeated the Chicago Fire on the road, but were now rechristened the Hornets as they faced Memphis in the first game at their new location.

There was a sellout crowd of 25,133 for the Wednesday night game at Charlotte’s Memorial Stadium, and with enthusiastic fans in attendance, the ex-Stars were clearly fired up. The teams traded fumbles in the first quarter before Memphis went 36 yards in five plays capped by J.J. Jennings scoring a one-yard touchdown. White passed to Ed Marshall to convert the action point to make it 8-0 (in the WFL, touchdowns counted as seven points and were followed by an “action point”, which could not be kicked).

Charlotte safety Ike Thomas returned the ensuing kickoff 56 yards to the Memphis 33. Ten plays later, the Hornets scored on a one-yard sneak by QB Tom Sherman that was greeted by a huge ovation from the home crowd. RB Jim Ford tied the score at 8-8 by running for the action point. The exchange of first quarter touchdowns remained the only points of the first half as White struggled in the early going, completing just four of his first 11 passes.

In the third quarter, Bob Etter put the Southmen back in front with a 28-yard field goal. In response, RB Don Highsmith ran for a four-yard touchdown to put the Hornets in the lead, although the action point attempt failed.

Charlotte was ahead by 15-11 heading into the fourth quarter, but two minutes into the final period White threw to Marshall for a 13-yard touchdown and Memphis was back in front. White then threw to WR Roger Wallace for the action point.

The lead increased when White connected with Marshall for another TD of 19 yards with 6:15 to play that gave the Southmen a 27-15 margin after John Harvey ran for the action point.

The Hornets fought back, driving 61 yards and Highsmith finishing the possession off by powering across the goal line from a yard out for a touchdown. They successfully added the action point as Sherman threw to WR Al Barnes, narrowing the Memphis lead to four points.

With just over two minutes to play, Charlotte executed a successful onsides kick as ex-Jets WR George Sauer recovered at the Charlotte 44. With the home crowd cheering wildly, Sherman completed a third down pass to Sauer that moved the ball to the Memphis 40. The Southmen were putting heavy pressure on Sherman, and after a bomb intended for Barnes fell incomplete, a screen pass was intercepted by CB David Thomas at the Memphis 11 with 1:10 remaining to snuff out the home team’s hopes and preserve the 27-23 win for the Southmen.

Memphis outgained the Hornets (369 to 211) and in particular outrushed them (242 yards to 69). The Southmen also had the edge in first downs (20 to 15). Charlotte turned the ball over three times, to two suffered by Memphis.

Danny White, recovering from the slow start, ended up completing 9 of 18 passes for 127 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Willie Spencer gained 109 yards on 17 carries and J.J. Jennings had 104 yards, also on 17 attempts. Ed Marshall (pictured at right) caught three passes for 44 yards.

For Charlotte, Tom Sherman was successful on 12 of 27 throws for 142 yards and no TDs with two intercepted. Jim Ford was the leading rusher with 49 yards on 17 carries. George Sauer had 5 pass receptions for 57 yards.

“The crowd was just great, wonderful,” said Hornets Coach Babe Parilli. “It was a great thing for the players…There were never that many people cheering for us before.”

“We won a very tough game over an excellent team,” said John McVay. “Charlotte is lucky to get a team of this quality. I know they’ll get their share of wins before it’s over.”

The Southmen lost only one more game on their way to a league-best 17-3 record, putting them atop the Central Division. They were upset by the Florida Blazers in their playoff game. Despite the enthusiastic new fan base, Charlotte won only one of its last six contests to end up at 10-10 and second in the Eastern Division.

Danny White completed 79 of 155 passes for 1190 yards with 12 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He also handled the team’s punting, averaging 40.9 yards on 80 kicks. Following the demise of the WFL in 1975, he moved on to the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys for 13 seasons.

2007: Long Kris Brown Field Goals Propel Texans Over Dolphins

The Houston Texans were 2-2 as they faced the Miami Dolphins at Reliant Stadium on October 7, 2007, having won their first two games of the season but then lost the next two. In their second year under Head Coach Gary Kubiak, the club had made changes, most notably acquiring QB Matt Schaub from Atlanta and 30-year-old ex-Packer RB Ahman Green. Schaub started off well, especially in combination with WR Andre Johnson in the first two winning contests, but when Johnson went down with a knee injury and Green was also slowed by injury, the Texans ran into trouble.

The Dolphins, coached by Cam Cameron following the departure of Nick Saban for Alabama, had lost all four of their games to date. They had also brought in a new quarterback in the offseason, ex-Chief Trent Green, who beat out Cleo Lemon for the starting job in the preseason. While second-year RB Ronnie Brown was a bright spot, there were few others.

The Texans had the first possession of the game and proceeded to drive 78 yards in 11 plays. Schaub misfired on his first two passes but then converted a third-and-ten situation with a completion to WR Kevin Walter for 16 yards. A personal foul penalty on Miami DE Jason Taylor turned a second-and-17 play into a first down along the way. Schaub connected with WR Andre’ Davis for 49 yards to the Miami two and while it took four straight handoffs to RB Ron Dayne to finally score, Houston had the early lead.

The Dolphins responded with a scoring series of their own after rookie WR Ted Ginn Jr. returned the ensuing kickoff 52 yards. Green scrambled around end for a 23-yard gain to highlight a 46-yard drive that ended with a 23-yard Jay Feely field goal to narrow Houston’s margin to 7-3.

Miami got the ball back quickly when a deflected Schaub pass was intercepted by CB Andre Goodman. Goodman returned the pickoff 18 yards to give the Dolphins excellent field position at the Houston 25. On the next play, a scary situation that turned ugly occurred when an aborted handoff was fumbled and Ginn, recovering, attempted to reverse field and advance. Green was knocked unconscious while attempting to block. While lying motionless on the field, the player he blocked, Houston DE Travis Johnson, taunted him and drew a 15-yard penalty (as well as plenty of negative comments afterward). Green was taken off the field on a stretcher and was finished for the day (and, ultimately, the year).

Cleo Lemon came into the game at quarterback and the Dolphins drove to a three-yard touchdown run by Ronnie Brown. With the successful extra point, they were ahead at the end of the first quarter by a score of 10-7. 

Early in the second quarter, and following a punt by the Texans, Miami scored again. Brown started the series with a 22-yard run and it was followed by a Lemon pass to Ginn that covered 36 yards. The Dolphins made it to the Houston 22 from where Feely booted a 40-yard field goal to make it 13-7.

The Dolphins got the ball back again in good field position when Schaub fumbled while being sacked by Taylor and DE Rodrique White recovered at the Houston 41. Seven plays and 26 yards later, Miami added to its lead as Feely was successful on a 33-yard field goal.

With time running down in the first half, the Texans put together an eight-play scoring drive. Schaub completed passes of 16 yards to Davis and 20 yards to RB Samkon Gado and, after the series stalled at the Miami 36, Kris Brown (pictured at top) boomed a 56-yard field goal to make it 16-10 at the half.

On Miami’s second play of the third quarter, FS C.C. Brown intercepted a pass by Lemon to give Houston good field position at the Miami 46. Seven plays later Brown kicked a 43-yard field goal to pull the Texans to three points behind. Following a punt by the Dolphins, Houston again drove to a long field goal attempt by Brown from 54 yards. It was successful to tie the contest at 16-16.

Miami moved back in front early in the fourth quarter thanks to a 10-play, 40-yard series that ended with Feely connecting on his fourth field goal, from 48 yards. The Texans came back with a 64-yard drive in 14 plays. They converted two third downs along the way, including a third-and-13 situation when Schaub threw to TE Owen Daniels (pictured below) for 15 yards. Another Schaub-to-Daniels pass gained 24 yards to the Miami four, and while the Texans couldn’t punch it in from there, Brown came through with his fourth field goal of the contest from 20 yards to again tie the score at 19-19.

The Dolphins took over possession with 5:25 left on the clock and short passes by Lemon got the ball into Houston territory. But after reaching the 38 yard line by the two minute warning, Lemon threw two incomplete passes and Miami punted. The 35-yard kick had the Texans starting their next series at the three.

On second down, Schaub passed to Daniels for a 19-yard gain to get out of the hole. Two plays later he hit Daniels again for 14 yards and then WR David Anderson for 19 yards to the Miami 44. The Texans having taken their second timeout, Schaub passed to Walter for six yards and then spiked the ball at the 38. The clock ran down to one second before Houston took its final timeout and Brown came through with a 57-yard field goal to give the Texans a 22-19 win.

Houston outgained the Dolphins (352 yards to 285) and had the edge in first downs (20 to 17). However, they hurt themselves with two turnovers, to one suffered by Miami. They also failed to run the ball effectively, gaining just 74 yards on 28 carries, and had difficulty reaching the end zone.

Kris Brown kicked five field goals in as many attempts, with a record three of them coming from 54 yards or longer, including the game-winner. All of that came after he had injured his foot on the opening kickoff. Matt Schaub completed 20 of 34 passes for 294 yards but with no touchdowns and one intercepted. Owen Daniels caught 6 passes for 96 yards while Andre’ Davis contributed 79 yards on his 4 receptions and Kevin Walter added 5 catches for 67 yards. Ron Dayne rushed for 40 yards and a TD on 16 carries.

For the Dolphins, Ronnie Brown was the offensive star with 23 rushes for 114 yards and a TD and a further 39 yards on 5 pass receptions. After replacing Trent Green, Cleo Lemon was successful on 15 of 27 throws for 151 yards and had one intercepted. WR Marty Booker was the top receiver with 45 yards on 5 catches. Jay Feely, overshadowed by Kris Brown, nevertheless had a good day as he booted four field goals in four attempts. Ted Ginn Jr., (pictured below) who caught one pass for 36 yards, also averaged 35.2 yards on his five kickoff returns.

The Texans lost their next three games but ultimately ended up at 8-8 for the first non-losing season in franchise history. It still placed them last in the highly-competitive AFC South (all three teams ahead of them went to the playoffs). Miami suffered through a dreadful 1-15 campaign, not pulling out a win until its fourteenth game.

Kris Brown was successful on 25 of 29 field goal attempts (86.2 %), including all five from over 50 yards. Injuries hindered Matt Schaub, who appeared in 11 games and passed for 2241 yards with 9 touchdowns as well as 9 interceptions.

Trent Green, who had missed half of the ’06 season after suffering a concussion in the opening game, never played again for the Dolphins in 2007, although he did play as a backup for the Rams in 2008, his last season. Ronnie Brown, who played so well for a poor team, went down with a season-ending injury in the seventh game. He rushed for 602 yards on 119 carries (5.1 avg.) and caught 39 passes for 389 yards.

1963: Bukich Comes Off Bench to Lead Bears to Win Over Injury-Depleted Colts

The Chicago Bears were 3-0, with all of their wins coming on the road, as they prepared to host the Baltimore Colts on October 6, 1963. Under 68-year-old head coach and owner George Halas, “The Papa Bear”, it was apparent that the team was ready to contend with the Packers, winners of the previous three Western Conference titles. Assistant coach George Allen had installed a zone defense, and as a result the defense was the key to Chicago’s success, being strong against both the run and the pass. The conservative offense was directed by QB Bill Wade, who had All-Pro TE Mike Ditka and flanker Johnny Morris as receivers, as well as a solid stable of running backs.

The Colts, under first-year Head Coach Don Shula, were 1-2 and clear underdogs coming into the game. While they still had star QB Johnny Unitas, his two best receivers, split end Raymond Berry and flanker Jimmy Orr, were both out with injuries and HB Lenny Moore was available but had been slow in recovering from an appendectomy. Defensively, both star DE Gino Marchetti and LB Bill Pellington were playing hurt.

There was a standing-room crowd of 48,998 in attendance at Wrigley Field on an unseasonably hot afternoon, and they saw the defenses dominate a scoreless first half. Wade failed to complete any of his first eight passes, and his first successful throw was to FB Rick Casares for just one yard. Bob Jencks missed a 44-yard field goal attempt for the Bears. Meanwhile, Unitas was exposed to a heavy blitz and Baltimore couldn’t sustain a drive against the attacking defense.

The Colts nearly scored at the end of the half, but after Unitas threw to Moore to advance to the Chicago 35, they couldn’t get a 42-yard field goal attempt by Jim Martin away in time.

In the third quarter, the Colts drove to the Chicago nine and finally put points on the board when Martin booted a 16-yard field goal. With Wade still ineffective, Halas made the decision to lift him in favor of backup QB Rudy Bukich (pictured at top).

The 31-year-old Bukich, a ninth-year veteran out of USC, was making his first appearance of the season. A career backup who was in his second stint with Chicago, he also had a very strong arm. In the first series with Bukich behind center, he handed off to Casares on a draw play that gained 30 yards and then passed to Ditka, bringing the crowd to life. Two more completions to split end Bo Farrington picked up another 37 yards. Chicago drove to the Baltimore 21 but Jencks again missed a field goal attempt, this time from 28 yards.

On Chicago’s next series, the offense again moved into Baltimore territory. With less than ten minutes remaining in the game, Bukich threw to HB Ron Bull (pictured below) across the middle and the halfback leaped over safety Andy Nelson and had clear sailing to score a 44-yard touchdown. He was helped by an outstanding block by Ditka on Baltimore CB Bob Boyd.

Five minutes later, after recovering a fumble by the Colts, Roger LeClerc capped the scoring with a 16-yard field goal. It was another fortuitous personnel shift by Coach Halas with LeClerc coming in to placekick instead of Jencks, and it was all the Bears needed as they came away with a hard-fought 10-3 win.

The Bears had the edge in total yards (281 to 210) and first downs (15 to 11). Chicago had the better running total, gaining 147 yards to Baltimore’s 45 on 22 attempts. While the Bears applied constant pressure on Unitas, they sacked him twice, compared to three sacks by the Colts. Baltimore turned the ball over two times to one given up by the Bears.

Bill Wade completed just 5 of 21 passes for 50 yards with one intercepted before he was relieved. Rudy Bukich was successful on 6 of 7 throws for 112 yards and the game’s lone TD. Rick Casares ran for 54 yards on 7 carries and Ron Bull added 39 yards on 13 attempts and also caught two passes for 44 yards and the TD. Bo Farrington had three pass receptions for 42 yards.

For the Colts, Johnny Unitas went to the air 36 times and completed 21 for 182 yards and had one intercepted. HB Tom Matte led the club with 7 catches for 56 yards but gained just 8 rushing yards on 5 carries. FB J.W. Lockett gained a team-leading 13 yards on 10 rushing attempts. Flanker Willie Richardson, filling in for the injured Jimmy Orr, pulled in 6 passes for 53 yards.

The win kept the Bears undefeated at 4-0 and a game in front of the 3-1 Green Bay Packers. It would be a close battle between the two clubs all year with Chicago winning the Western Conference with an 11-1-2 record (as opposed to Green Bay’s 11-2-1, with both losses coming against the Bears). Chicago defeated the New York Giants to win the NFL title. The Colts came in third in the Western Conference at 8-6.

Rudy Bukich returned to the bench as Bill Wade quarterbacked the Bears the rest of the way through the NFL Championship game. He appeared in six contests and completed 29 of 43 passes for 369 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Bukich supplanted Wade in 1964 and had his finest season in ’65 when he led the NFL in passing. But by the end of his 14-year pro career, he had returned to the backup role that he held during most of that time.

1980: Plunkett Replaces Injured Pastorini at QB for Raiders

Following back-to-back 9-7 seasons in 1978 and ’79, the Oakland Raiders made changes for 1980, most notably dealing QB Ken Stabler to the Houston Oilers for QB Dan Pastorini. While younger than “The Snake”, Pastorini was not nearly as accomplished and in the first four weeks of the year he threw eight interceptions as opposed to five touchdown passes and his yardage totals steadily decreased. The once-mighty Raiders, coached by Tom Flores, were 2-2 and viewed as a team in decline.

On October 5 the Raiders hosted the Kansas City Chiefs, a club they had beaten in the opening game. Kansas City was 0-4 under Head Coach Marv Levy and had been struggling with injuries to the offensive line. However, the defense came alive at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum to spur a 31-point explosion in the first half.

In the first quarter, Pastorini had fumbled when sacked by DE Dave Lindstrom and LB Gary Spani recovered and ran 16 yards for a touchdown. Two minutes later, Pastorini was hit after throwing a pass and suffered a fractured tibia plus damaged cartilage in his knee. He was done for the year.

Into the game came backup QB Jim Plunkett, a once-highly regarded prospect whose pro career had gone badly off course. The 1970 Heisman Trophy winner at Stanford had been the first overall pick of the ’71 NFL draft by the New England Patriots and had initially displayed great promise. At 6’3” and 220 pounds, he had ideal size plus a strong arm. But by 1975 he had taken a beating with a mediocre team and lost his starting job to the more mobile Steve Grogan. Dealt to San Francisco, Plunkett seemed to revive his career during the first half of the ’76 season, but again the team was not strong, collapsed during the second half, and sank further in 1977. He was let go by the 49ers during the ’78 preseason and signed by the Raiders, seeing no action during that first year and tossing just 15 passes in 1979. Frustrated after the club turned to Pastorini (and after not gaining the starting job even though he was the better quarterback during the preseason), Plunkett was very much an afterthought in Oakland – until the newcomer went down.

It was a tough initiation for Plunkett against the Chiefs, as he was forced immediately to play catch-up. He went to the air 52 times and completed just 20 for 238 yards, tossing two fourth quarter touchdown passes but also five interceptions. The Chiefs also recovered three Oakland fumbles, ran up six sacks, and scored two defensive touchdowns in all as they held on for a thumping 31-17 win.

It got better for Plunkett and the Raiders in the ensuing weeks. Plunkett tossed five touchdown passes in the next two games and, after getting off to the 2-3 start, Oakland won six straight and 9 of 11 contests to close out the regular season. To be sure, the tough defense that featured All-Pros in LB Ted Hendricks and CB Lester Hayes had a great deal to do with the surge. Rookie LB Matt Millen moved into the starting lineup and played above expectations. Castoffs like DE John Matuszak, LB Rod Martin, CB Dwayne O’Steen, and FS Burgess Owens all contributed. On offense, WR Bob Chandler came back from a knee injury to catch 49 passes for 786 yards and 10 touchdowns and 32-year-old TE Raymond Chester performed well all-around and contributed 28 pass receptions.

But Plunkett played well and was the biggest comeback story, throwing for 2299 yards and 18 touchdowns. The Raiders finished second in the AFC West with an 11-5 record and qualified for the postseason as a Wild Card. After handily beating the Houston Oilers (and Stabler) in the first round, they just got by the Browns on a frigid day in Cleveland that came down to an interception in the end zone and then defeated the division-rival Chargers for the AFC Championship. The crowning achievement was a dominating 27-10 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl. It was the first time a Wild Card team had reached the pinnacle.

Plunkett’s postseason numbers were 49 completions in 92 attempts (53.3 %) for 839 yards with seven touchdowns against three interceptions. He was at his best in the biggest game, completing 61.9 percent of his passes for 261 yards with three TDs and no interceptions in earning Super Bowl MVP honors. It was a stunning turnaround for the quarterback who had seemed all-but-forgotten when the season began.

Plunkett lasted another six years with the Raiders, who moved to Los Angeles in 1982. Things did not always go so well as in ’80 as his performances were sometimes uneven and he had difficulty holding the starting job. But he did lead the Raiders to another Super Bowl victory following the 1983 season, which certainly added luster to his career.