1999: Falcons Stun Vikings in Overtime for NFC Championship

The 1998 Minnesota Vikings certainly appeared to be a championship team in the making as they rode a powerful offense to a 15-1 record that easily topped the NFC Central and set a mark with 556 points scored along the way (since topped by the 2007 Patriots). Head Coach Dennis Green’s team had benefited from the revival of 36-year-old QB Randall Cunningham’s career; after a year’s retirement and a season as a backup, he took over for the injured Brad Johnson and proceeded to lead the NFL in passing, with 3704 yards and 34 touchdowns against just 10 interceptions. He had outstanding targets in veteran WR Cris Carter (78 catches, 1011 yards) and rookie sensation Randy Moss (69 receptions, 1313 yards, and a rookie-record 17 TD catches) at the other wide receiver spot. RB Robert Smith accounted for 1187 rushing yards as well.


The Vikings easily disposed of the upstart Arizona Cardinals in the Divisional round and hosted the Atlanta Falcons at the Metrodome on January 17, 1999 for the NFC Championship.

The Falcons had won the NFC West with a 14-2 tally under Head Coach Dan Reeves. They didn’t dazzle in the ways that Minnesota did, with a run-oriented offense keyed by RB Jamal Anderson (1846 yards). Veteran QB Chris Chandler had a steady season in which he achieved career highs in passing yards (3154) and touchdown passes (25) as well as a 100.9 passer rating. Wide receivers Terance Mathis and Tony Martin both had over 60 catches and 1100 yards. The defense was unspectacular but opportunistic, leading the league in takeaways (44). Atlanta defeated the 49ers in the Divisional round to move to the NFC Championship game, where they were an 11-point underdog.

The Falcons scored on their first possession, marching 76 yards in 15 plays and getting a touchdown on a five-yard pass from Chandler to Anderson. Minnesota came right back with a 31-yard TD pass from Cunningham to Moss, evening the score at 7-7 after one quarter. The Vikings appeared to take control of the game in the second quarter, taking advantage of fumbles by Atlanta RB Harold Green and TE O.J. Santiago as they added two field goals by Gary Anderson and a one-yard touchdown run by Cunningham for a 20-7 lead.

Momentum shifted back to the Falcons late in the second quarter, however, when Cunningham fumbled the ball away. Chandler threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Mathis on the first play after the turnover and the deficit was cut to 20-14 at the half.

Atlanta pulled closer in the third quarter thanks to a 27-yard Morten Andersen field goal. But the Vikings got on the board again early in the fourth quarter after a 15-play, 82 yard drive that ended with a 5-yard TD pass from Cunningham to WR Matthew Hatchette.

The Falcons came back quickly thanks to Chandler’s 70-yard pass to Martin that set up a 24-yard Andersen field goal. The Minnesota offense stalled in its next two possessions, but when they went 55 yards to set up a potentially game-clinching field goal with just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter, it appeared that they were on the way to the Super Bowl. However, Gary Anderson, who had not missed any of his 35 field goal attempts during the season or his four thus far in the postseason, was wide to the left on the 38-yard attempt.

Atlanta’s offense had shown great poise throughout the game, particularly in the loud Metrodome venue, and with the Vikings fans in full roar, proceeded to drive 71 yards in eight plays that culminated in Chandler’s 27-yard pass to Mathis that tied the score at 27-27 and sent the contest into overtime (pictured at top).

Minnesota received the kickoff in “sudden death”, but in two possessions was unable to effectively move the ball. Mitch Berger punted 52 yards to the Atlanta nine yard line after the second possession. Chandler, now limping from an ankle injury, provided more heroics as he hit Santiago on passes of 15 and 26 yards to move the Falcons to the Minnesota 48. The offense drove the ball in deliberate fashion down to the Vikings 21, and Morten Andersen kicked a 38-yard field goal (pictured at bottom) to give Atlanta a 30-27 win and the conference title.


The Falcons offense accounted for 427 yards to Minnesota’s 356 in the stunning victory. Chris Chandler (pictured at left) had an outstanding performance as he completed 27 of 43 passes for 340 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Tony Martin gained 129 yards on 5 pass receptions, while Terance Mathis caught 6 passes for 73 yards and two scores and Jamal Anderson, who also led the running attack with 67 yards on 23 carries, also caught 6 passes, for 33 yards and a TD.

Randall Cunningham (pictured above right) completed 29 of his 48 passes for 266 yards and two TDs, also having none picked off. Randy Moss and Cris Carter both caught 6 passes, with Moss gaining 75 yards and scoring once, and Carter accumulating 67 yards. Robert Smith rushed 21 times for 71 yards against the tough Falcon defense.

Afterward, many of the comments pertained to the shocking missed field goal attempt by Gary Anderson. “There's no such thing as a guarantee in football in any way, shape or form,” said Coach Dennis Green. “We had such tremendous expectations. That makes it ten times more disappointing,” added Anderson, who had not only had an outstanding season prior to the miss but was one of the great placekickers in NFL history over the course of his long career (the same could be said of Atlanta’s Morten Andersen).

Jubilant Atlanta LB Jessie Tuggle, leader of the defensive unit that performed so well, exclaimed, “We shocked the world! No one thought we would be where we are right now, playing in the NFC Championship. But not only did we come here to play in it, we came here to win it.”

The jubilation failed to extend into the Super Bowl against the Denver Broncos – the Falcons lost convincingly, 34-19. They dropped to 5-11 in 1999 and didn’t return to the playoffs until the 2002 season.

The stunning loss in the ’98 NFC Championship game cast a pall over what had arguably been the Minnesota franchise’s greatest season. The Vikings were back in ’99, but the team wasn’t as dominating and made it into the postseason as a wild card, losing in the Divisional round.

1972: Cowboys Finally Win Title, Defeat Miami in Super Bowl VI

The Dallas Cowboys joined the NFL in 1960 and, under Head Coach Tom Landry, steadily developed into a contending team. By 1966, they were in the postseason and battled the Green Bay Packers fiercely in two losing NFL Championship games. They continued to reach the playoffs, falling farther short before making it to their first Super Bowl appearance after the 1970 season and losing a close contest to the Colts. The Cowboys had outstanding personnel and were well coached, but had yet to win it all.

In 1971, Dallas went 11-3 in winning the NFC East. They had started slowly and were 4-3 at midseason, when Landry finally stopped alternating his two quarterbacks, Craig Morton and Roger Staubach, and handed the job exclusively to Staubach (pictured above). The Cowboys responded by winning their remaining seven games and vaulting past Minnesota and San Francisco to win the conference title. The running game was strong, especially when RB Duane Thomas ended his holdout. The defense was solid and included DT Bob Lilly, linebackers Chuck Howley and Lee Roy Jordan, CB Mel Renfro, and SS Cornell Green.

The team the Cowboys faced in Super Bowl VI was the Miami Dolphins, under Head Coach Don Shula. The Dolphins were in the postseason for the second consecutive year, had won a thrilling Divisional playoff in overtime at Kansas City (see Dec. 25), and then shut out the Colts for the AFC Championship. Bob Griese was developing into an elite quarterback and had an outstanding target to stretch defenses in WR Paul Warfield. FB Larry Csonka and HB Jim Kiick were solid runners, with HB Mercury Morris providing outside speed.

It was a cool, sunny day, and there were 80,591 fans at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans for the game on January 16, 1972. The Dolphins made the first mistake in the opening quarter when Csonka muffed a handoff and fumbled for the first time all season. Howley recovered for the Cowboys near midfield. Dallas proceeded with an 11-play drive that ended with a Mike Clark field goal from 9 yards out and a 3-0 lead.

On the next series, the Cowboys defense made a huge play when Griese, on third-and-nine at his own 38 yard line, couldn’t find an open receiver and began to scramble ever further back, finally being sacked by Lilly for a 29-yard loss. The Cowboys scored their first touchdown after a long second quarter drive of 76 yards in 10 plays, with Staubach passing to WR Lance Alworth for a seven-yard TD.

Miami was able to drive quickly down the field on their next possession and score on a 31-yard Garo Yepremian field goal with four seconds left in the half. The Dallas lead at the intermission was 10-3, but they had clearly dominated play.

The Cowboys essentially put the game away in their first drive of the second half, going 71 yards capped by Thomas running in for a TD from three yards out. It was a clear demonstation of Dallas’ ability to run the football effectively – all but one of the eight plays in the possession were runs, with one of them a 16-yard reverse by WR Bob Hayes.


The Miami offense was stymied in the third quarter, running 10 plays and gaining 13 yards. Early in the fourth quarter, Griese threw a pass at midfield intended for Kiick that was picked off by Howley and returned 41 yards to the Dolphins 9 yard line. TE Mike Ditka (pictured at right) scored on a seven-yard pass from Staubach three plays later.

Miami was able to enter Dallas territory on the following drive, for the only time in the second half, making it to the 16 yard line before Cowboys DE Larry Cole recovered a fumble by Griese to end the threat. Dallas came close to scoring again, controlling the ball for the next 6:40 and driving to the Miami four before RB Calvin Hill fumbled and DT Manny Fernandez recovered for the Dolphins.

Miami went nowhere in the remaining time and the final score stood at a convincing 24-3 win for the Cowboys.

Reflecting the score, the statistics showed conclusively that Dallas had controlled the game. The Cowboys outgained the Dolphins, 352 total yards to 185, with 23 first downs to 10 for Miami. 252 of those yards came on the ground, with Duane Thomas (pictured at bottom) leading the team with 95 yards on 19 carries with a touchdown. FB Walt Garrison also had solid numbers, with 14 rushes for 74 yards. Roger Staubach, the game’s MVP, completed 12 of 19 passes for 119 yards with two TDs and none picked off. Thomas was the leading receiver for the Cowboys, with three catches (for 17 yards) while Mike Ditka and Lance Alworth tied for most receiving yards with 28, each on two catches including a score.

Miami’s strong running game was held to 80 yards; Jim Kiick and Larry Csonka ran for 40 yards apiece. Bob Griese passed 23 times with 12 completions for 134 yards and an interception. Paul Warfield was the leading receiver with 4 catches for 39 yards, but was kept from burning the Cowboys deep throughout the game.

Said Don Shula afterward, “My biggest disappointment was that we never challenged. They completely dominated.”

The Cowboys finally had a championship, but while remaining contenders, lost the next two NFC Championship games. Miami was still on the rise and won the following two Super Bowls, with a particularly memorable season in 1972 (see Jan. 14).

1967: Packers Defeat Chiefs in 1st Super Bowl

The merger between the NFL and AFL that was announced in June of 1966 was set to take place in stages. Final merger into an enlarged National Football League was to take place in 1970; a common draft and interleague preseason games would occur in 1967. But the first major occurrence was to be a game between the league champions following the ’66 season.

What would officially come to be known as Super Bowl I was already being popularly referred to as the “Super Bowl” when the first was held on January 15, 1967. At the time, however, the proper name was the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. It was played on a sunny day at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles before a non-sellout crowd of 61,946 and was televised by two networks. It was also widely assumed that the NFL champion Green Bay Packers would likely defeat the AFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, but of course no one could truly know, adding to the element of curiosity.

Green Bay had led the Western Conference with a 12-2 record under Head Coach Vince Lombardi, and defeated Dallas in a close contest for the older league’s title. It was the second straight championship for the Packers and fourth of the Lombardi era that had commenced in 1959. QB Bart Starr led the NFL in passing and threw just three interceptions on the season. FB Jim Taylor and HB Paul Hornung were showing signs of age and wear (Hornung sat out the postseason), but were ably supplemented by HB Elijah Pitts and high-priced rookies HB Donny Anderson and FB Jim Grabowski. But the veteran core on both offense and defense provided a solid, stable team that was used to winning.

It was fitting that the Chiefs represented the AFL, since their owner, Lamar Hunt, was also the league’s founder. Coached by Hank Stram since the franchise’s conception, they handily won the Western Division with an 11-2-1 tally and defeated Buffalo, the team that had won the previous two AFL titles, in the Championship game. Solid on both sides of the ball, they also had their league’s top passer in QB Len Dawson. Flanker Otis Taylor and split end Chris Burford were dependable receivers, and rookie HB Mike Garrett provided speed to the outside to supplement FB Curtis McClinton and HB Bert Coan. Most notable on the defense were DT Buck Buchanan, LB Bobby Bell, and FS Johnny Robinson.

The first casualty of the day was Green Bay split end Boyd Dowler, who reinjured a sore shoulder while blocking on the second play of the game and didn’t return. However, veteran replacement Max McGee (pictured at top), who had caught only four passes during the ’66 season, scored the first touchdown in Super Bowl history about nine minutes into the first quarter when he reached back to snag an underthrown pass from Starr while running a post pattern and ended up with a 37-yard TD.

The Chiefs, effectively utilizing their “floating pocket” and play-action passes that kept the Packers defense guessing, drove 66 yards in six plays during the second quarter to even the score. Dawson threw key passes to Garrett and Taylor, and the touchdown came on a seven-yard pass to McClinton.

Green Bay came right back with an 11-play drive that included passes by Starr for 10 yards to McGee in a third-and-six situation, 15 yards to flanker Carroll Dale on third-and-ten, and 11 yards to TE Marv Fleming on third-and-five. Jim Taylor ran the final 14 yards around the left end for the touchdown and a 14-7 lead.

Kansas City wasn’t done yet, moving 50 yards in five plays that ended with a 31-yard field goal by Mike Mercer with 54 seconds remaining in the half. The score stood at a surprisingly close 14-10 at halftime. Moreover, the Chiefs had outgained the Packers (181 yards to 164) and also led in first downs (11 to 9).

The Packers made the decision to blitz heavily in the second half, and it paid off with the play that turned the tide decisively in their direction early in the third quarter. The Chiefs had moved briskly to their own 49 yard line after taking the second half kickoff. Dawson’s pass intended for TE Fred Arbanas was tipped by the heavy pass rush and intercepted by safety Willie Wood, who returned it to the Kansas City five (pictured below). Elijah Pitts scored on the next play, and the Chiefs didn’t mount a threat for the rest of the game, punting after each of their last six possessions.


Green Bay scored twice more, on a 13-yard pass from Starr to McGee and a one-yard run by Pitts that made the final score 35-10. Most satisfying to many of the Packers was when brash CB Fred “The Hammer” Williamson, who had been a non-factor in the game, was knocked out of action on a power sweep by Donny Anderson.

When it was all over, the Packers outgained Kansas City, 358 yards to 239. Bart Starr (pictured below), the game’s MVP, completed 16 of 23 passes for 250 yards with two TDs and an interception. Jim Taylor was the game’s top ground gainer with 56 yards on 17 carries and a score, while Elijah Pitts ran for 45 yards on 11 attempts and two touchdowns. Max McGee had an outstanding day in place of Dowler, catching 7 passes for 138 yards and two TDs.


For the Chiefs, Len Dawson (pictured at bottom) tossed 27 passes and completed 16 of them for 211 yards with a touchdown and the big interception. The team had just 72 yards on 19 rushes, with Dawson the top ground gainer with 24 yards on three carries; Mike Garrett and Curtis McClinton had 17 and 16 yards, respectively, each on six runs. Chris Burford led the receivers with 4 catches for 67 yards, while Otis Taylor was right behind at 4 for 57.

Afterward, Vince Lombardi said, “In my opinion, the Chiefs don’t rate with the top names in the NFL. They are a good football team with fine speed, but I’d have to say NFL football is better.”

Willie Wood perhaps best summed up the feelings of the Packers players when he said, “We didn’t play any bush leaguers, and we were happy to accomplish what we did. You could probably hear the giant sigh of relief in the dressing room when the game was over.”

Hank Stram saw his team’s weaknesses exposed by Green Bay and began making upgrades in the offseason. The Chiefs didn’t return to the Super Bowl until the 1969 season, but when they did, the result was very different. Green Bay was back again in ’67, in what would be Lombardi’s last year coaching the team.

1973: Dolphins Cap Perfect Season with Win Over Redskins in Super Bowl VII

From the advent of divisional play in 1933 until 1972, there had been NFL teams that had gone undefeated in the regular season only to come up short in the postseason – the 1934 and ’42 Bears had both been upset in the Championship game. There had been four undefeated teams in the NFL between 1920 and ’29, but they had all been tied at least once along the way, and of course didn’t have to run the playoff gauntlet. In other leagues, the 1937 Los Angeles Bulldogs of the second AFL had an 8-0 record for the season, and more significantly, the AAFC’s Cleveland Browns won every game, including the title contest, in 1948. But the NFL was still waiting for a team to achieve perfection.

The Miami Dolphins had come into the AFL as an expansion team in 1966 and accomplished little until Don Shula took over as head coach in 1970. They went to the playoffs for the first time that year, and improved to reach the Super Bowl in ’71, losing to the Dallas Cowboys. In 1972, they won the AFC East with a 14-0 mark. The Dolphins ran the ball superbly, with FB Larry Csonka and HB Mercury Morris becoming the first teammates to both run for a thousand yards in a season. When QB Bob Griese went down with a broken ankle at midseason, veteran backup Earl Morrall stepped in and led the AFC in passing. They didn’t throw much, but when they did they had a great deep threat in WR Paul Warfield and a dependable possession receiver in WR Howard Twilley. The so-called “No-Name Defense” was led by MLB Nick Buoniconti, DE Bill Stanfill, and the excellent safety tandem of Dick Anderson and Jake Scott.

Their opponents from the NFC were the Washington Redskins, who had won the NFC East with an 11-3 record. Head Coach George Allen preferred veteran players, and the Redskins “Over-the-Hill Gang” boasted plenty of pro football experience. With a predominantly run-based attack, HB Larry Brown led the NFC with 1216 yards. QB Sonny Jurgensen was injured for most of the season and 33-year-old Billy Kilmer filled in admirably and had able targets in wide receivers Charley Taylor and Roy Jefferson. The defense allowed the fewest points in the conference.

Miami won close contests against Cleveland in the Divisional round and Pittsburgh in the conference title game to advance to the Super Bowl, while the Redskins easily defeated Green Bay and Dallas, respectively. Despite Miami’s undefeated record, Washington was favored by three points.

Super Bowl VII was played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on January 14, 1973 under sunny skies with a temperature in the eighties and 90,182 fans in attendance. QB Bob Griese, who had returned to action in the second half of the AFC Championship game, was ready to start and led the Dolphins to a touchdown in their third possession of the game. Miami covered 63 yards in six plays capped by Griese’s 28-yard scoring pass to Twilley (pictured below left). The first quarter ended shortly thereafter with the Dolphins ahead, 7-0.


The Dolphins lost out on an apparent 47-yard Griese-to-Warfield TD pass in the second quarter when the other wide receiver on the play, Marlin Briscoe, was flagged for being offside. Instead, Miami had to punt and Washington took over on its 17 yard line. On a third down play, Kilmer, looking for Larry Brown on a play-action pass, was intercepted by Buoniconti, who returned the ball 32 yards to the Washington 27. After two running plays, Griese hit TE Jim Mandich with a 19-yard pass to the two yard line, and HB Jim Kiick followed by plowing in for the score and a 14-0 lead at halftime.

Miami put together a 79-yard drive in the third quarter to the Redskins five yard line, but a Griese pass intended for TE Marv Fleming was intercepted in the end zone by safety Brig Owens. Washington’s offense had done little, but finally put together a long drive in the fourth quarter that covered 79 yards and burned seven minutes off the clock. However, Jake Scott intercepted Kilmer’s pass in the end zone and returned it 55 yards to the Redskins 48 yard line (pictured at top).

Five plays later Miami lined up for a 42-yard field goal attempt by Garo Yepremian that turned into a bizarre misadventure and nearly gave the Redskins new momentum. The snap was low and so was Yepremian’s kick, which was blocked by Washington DT Bill Brundige. The ball bounced back to the startled placekicker, who, at 5’8” and 175 pounds, was no threat to run; he decided to pass but instead the ball slipped out of his hand and was grabbed in the air by Redskins CB Mike Bass, who ran 49 yards for a touchdown (pictured at bottom).

There were just over two minutes left and a perfect season on the line, but Griese calmly put together a six play drive that ran nearly a minute off the clock before the Dolphins punted the ball to the Washington 30. The Redskins could do nothing as Kilmer threw two incompletions, hit Brown with a pass that lost four yards, and then was sacked by Stanfill and DE Vern Den Herder on the game’s last play. There were still seconds on the clock, but the celebration of Miami’s 14-7 win and the completion of the perfect season had already begun.


The Dolphins defense had done a tremendous job of shutting down the Redskins, as signified by the selection of Jake Scott, who had two key interceptions, as the game’s MVP. The offense had relied on the outstanding running game to control the ball, accumulating a total of 184 yards on 37 rushes; Larry Csonka (pictured at right) led with 112 yards on 15 carries. Bob Griese threw the ball just 11 times, completed 8 for 88 yards, and had both a TD and an interception. Paul Warfield was the leading receiver with 3 catches for 36 yards.

Larry Brown was held to just 72 yards on 22 carries for the Redskins. Billy Kilmer completed 14 of 28 passes for 104 yards with three interceptions. Brown and Roy Jefferson both caught five passes, with the wide receiver compiling the most yards (50).

The win came as a great relief to Don Shula, who had rankled at criticism that, especially after losing twice in the Super Bowl (with the Colts in Super Bowl III as well as the previous year with the Dolphins), his teams came up short in big games. “The pressure’s off,” he said afterward. “I was aware of the reputation I had gotten…the losses were there; you couldn’t hide them. But that’s all in the past.”

Guiding his team to an undefeated season that culminated in a title certainly put an end to any speculation about Shula’s coaching ability, and moreover provided the ’72 Dolphins with a special place in pro football history.

Miami proved it was no fluke the next season by again winning the Super Bowl. The Redskins made it to the postseason the next two years but failed to advance as far as the conference championship game - the ’72 season would be the high water mark under George Allen.

2007: Adam Vinatieri Kicks Colts Past Ravens

The Indianapolis Colts were in the postseason for the fifth straight year following the 2006 season, but each prior appearance had ended in disappointment – most certainly for Head Coach Tony Dungy and star quarterback Peyton Manning – and from the team’s performance down the stretch, it didn’t seem likely that this season would be any different. To be sure, they won the AFC South with a 12-4 record, Manning led the NFL in passing overall and TD passes specifically (31) while throwing for 4397 yards, and the wide receiver tandem of Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne combined for 181 catches, 2676 yards, and 21 scores. But the defense had played poorly against the run, especially in losses at Tennessee, Jacksonville, and Houston. After a 9-0 start, the team had gone 3-4 the rest of the way.

After winning a Wild Card playoff game over Kansas City, the Colts played the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on January 13, 2007 in the Divisional playoff round. There were 71,162 fans in attendance, many of them still bitter over the departure of the Colts from Baltimore following the 1983 season.

The Ravens, under Head Coach Brian Billick, had gone 13-3 to finish atop the AFC North. As usual, the superb defense, ranked first in the NFL, provided the impetus. It prominently included LB Ray Lewis, defensive lineman Trevor Pryce, FS Ed Reed, and CB Chris McAlister. The offense had improved under the leadership of veteran QB Steve McNair, who had been obtained in a trade from Tennessee and RB Jamal Lewis ran for 1132 yards. As the number two seeded team in the AFC, they were coming off of a first round bye to face the Colts.

Both defenses rose to the occasion in this contest. The Ravens went three-and-out in their first possession, and the Colts responded with a 49-yard, 11-play drive. Adam Vinatieri (pictured above), who had been signed away from New England during the offseason where he had a well-established reputation for kicking reliably in clutch situations, capped the possession with a 23-yard field goal.

It was 6-0 later in the opening quarter after the Colts recovered a fumble by TE Todd Heap (initially ruled down, but successfully challenged by Dungy) and Vinatieri kicked his second field goal, of 42 yards, four plays later.


The Ravens finally got on the board early in the second quarter with a field goal of their own, from 40 yards out by Matt Stover. Baltimore then got a break when Reed (pictured at left) intercepted a Manning pass and the offense drove to the five yard line. However, safety Antoine Bethea intercepted a third down pass by McNair at the one to end the threat. The Colts proceeded to move the ball 65 yards over 13 plays in six minutes, with Vinatieri booting his third field goal from 51 yards that hit the crossbar but bounced through successfully. Indianapolis carried the 9-3 lead into halftime.

Vinatieri added a fourth three-pointer in the third quarter. Stover kicked a 51-yarder for Baltimore early in the fourth quarter, and once again Ed Reed followed it up by intercepting Manning at the Ravens 39 yard line. However, the offense failed to capitalize, with CB Nick Harper picking off McNair at the Indianapolis 23. The Colts managed to burn considerable time off the clock (over seven minutes) in driving 47 yards on 13 plays. RB Dominic Rhodes carried the ball 11 times and the Colts converted three third downs along the way. It all ended with Vinatieri’s fifth field goal of the game, from 35 yards, that provided the final margin of 15-6.


In the defensive struggle in which neither team scored a touchdown, Indianapolis outgained the Ravens by 261 to 244 yards. Peyton Manning (pictured at right) completed just 15 of 30 passes for 170 yards with two interceptions. Dominic Rhodes (pictured at bottom) led the Colts with 56 rushing yards on 14 carries. Reggie Wayne topped the receivers with 5 catches for 51 yards.

The Ravens ran for 83 yards in total, with Jamal Lewis leading the way with 53 yards on 13 attempts. Steve McNair completed 18 of 29 passes for 173 yards and two key interceptions. WR Mark Clayton was the top receiver with 6 catches for 73 yards.

It was the second time that Adam Vinatieri kicked a record-tying five field goals in a postseason game, on his way to becoming the all-time career playoff field goal kicker in league history with 42. Said Coach Dungy afterward, “You just feel like you're going to make it every time when he goes out there. In games like this, it's necessary.”

A disappointed Brian Billick said, “This football team is as disappointed as our fans are, which is matched tenfold by the players. (The fans) were deserving of better than that, but it just wasn't going to happen and we will move forward now.”

The Colts went on to win the AFC Championship game over arch-nemesis New England and defeated the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl – vindication for Dungy, Manning, and the Colts defense. The Ravens dropped off badly, going 5-11 in 2007, Coach Billick’s final season with the team.

1969: Jets Upset Colts in Super Bowl III

Certainly one of the most famous games in pro football history, the shocking upset in Super Bowl III by the AFL champion New York Jets over the Baltimore Colts, who had rolled over the competition in winning the NFL title, served as a coming-of-age for the younger league.

The first two Super Bowls, following the 1966 and ’67 seasons, had been fairly routine wins for the NFL champion Green Bay Packers, and there was some feeling that the AFL teams simply weren’t ready to compete with the established league at the highest level of play. The matchup between the 1968 league champions looked to be even more of a mismatch.

The Colts, under Head Coach Don Shula, had gone 13-1 in winning the Coastal Division and proceeded to win both the Western Conference title game over the Vikings and league championship over Cleveland with relative ease. They had lost their all-time great quarterback, Johnny Unitas, to a sore elbow early in the going, but veteran backup Earl Morrall had stepped in and delivered an MVP performance. The team was sound on both sides of the ball.


The Jets were under the direction of the same head coach who had built Baltimore into a champion in 1958 and ’59, Weeb Ewbank. QB Joe Namath (pictured at right) was flashy and a celebrity off of the field, but while his numbers were down from his 4000-yard passing performance of 1967, he had shown greater maturity in directing the offense in ’68. The running back tandem of FB Matt Snell and HB Emerson Boozer kept defenses honest, while Namath had excellent receivers in flanker Don Maynard and split end George Sauer. They defeated the Raiders in the AFL Championship game for the opportunity to play against the Colts.

While much has been made of Namath’s brash remarks prior to the game, in which he publicly degraded Morrall’s skills and guaranteed a win, it was Ewbank’s game planning that set the stage for the upset by the 17-point underdogs. The Colts had blitzed very effectively during the season in support of their zone defense, and the Jets planned to counter by running the ball straight ahead and utilizing simple hook and flare passes.

It was overcast with temperatures in the seventies at Miami’s Orange Bowl on January 12, 1969 as the two teams faced off. The Jets established the run in the first two plays from scrimmage, with Snell gaining 12 yards and knocking safety Rick Volk out of the game. Playing cautiously, they didn’t score in the first quarter, but set the stage for eventual success. Meanwhile, the Colts drove to the New York 19 yard line on their first possession, but Lou Michaels missed a 27-yard field goal attempt.

It was the first of many missed opportunities for Baltimore. A fumble by Sauer was recovered by LB Ron Porter at the Jets 12, but Morrall’s ensuing pass to TE Tom Mitchell hit the receiver in the shoulder and it resulted in an interception by CB Randy Beverly to end the threat. TE John Mackey dropped a potential TD pass at the New York 10, and Michaels followed up with another missed field goal attempt. A 58-yard run by HB Tom Matte (pictured below) that took the Colts inside the Jets 20 was shortly followed by an interception by CB Johnny Sample. Most notably, a flea flicker play (Matte faking a run and pitching back to the quarterback) in which split end Jimmy Orr was wide open in the end zone and waving frantically ended up being an interception when Morrall failed to see him, threw for FB Jerry Hill instead, and was picked off by safety Jim Hudson.


Meanwhile, the Jets put together the only scoring drive of the first half in the second quarter. They went 80 yards in 12 plays, with Snell carrying the ball six times and accounting for 35 yards, including the touchdown run of four yards. Namath completed four of five passes during the drive as well, for 43 yards. The score stood at 7-0 in favor of the Jets at halftime.

New York scored on two Jim Turner field goals in the third quarter, from 32 and 30 yards, and was up by 16-0 in the fourth quarter when he booted a nine-yarder. The Colts offense had turned the ball over on its first possession of the second half, leading to the first of the three-pointers by the Jets. Morrall was pressing and missing on his passes; Coach Shula finally decided that it was time to send the rusty, 35-year-old Johnny Unitas into the game (pictured directing the Colts offense below).


Now down by more than two touchdowns, it seemed as though the Unitas magic was working when he engineered an 80-yard drive in 15 plays that resulted in a one-yard TD run by Hill. There was only 3:19 on the clock at this point, but the Colts recovered an onside kick and Unitas completed three passes, leading the offense to the Jets 19. Any thought of a remarkable comeback ended there, however, as three straight passes went incomplete, including a last one on fourth-and-five that effectively ended the game. The final score was 16-7.

Statistically, the overall numbers were very close with the Jets barely edging the Colts in total yards (337-324) and net passing yards (195-181); Baltimore had a one-yard edge in rushing yardage (143 on 23 carries to 142 on 43), although 58 of their rushing yards came on the one run by Matte and the far greater number of carries by the Jets gives evidence to their ability to control the ball for extended periods. Perhaps most important of all, the Colts turned the ball over five times, the Jets just once.

While Joe Namath didn’t throw any touchdown passes, he also didn’t toss any interceptions and shrewdly ran the offense, completing 17 of 28 passes for 206 yards; he was named the game’s MVP. WR Don Maynard was playing injured and caught no passes while providing an effective decoy; George Sauer profited, catching 8 passes for 133 yards. Matt Snell (pictured at top) had an outstanding day running the ball, accumulating 121 yards on 30 carries that included the lone TD for the Jets.

Earl Morrall’s difficulties were reflected in his passing statistics: 6 completions in 17 attempts for 71 yards and three interceptions. In his quarter of action, Johnny Unitas completed 11 of 24 passes for 110 yards with one picked off. Tom Matte was the top rusher for the Colts, gaining 116 yards on 11 attempts. Flanker Willie Richardson was the team’s leading receiver with 6 catches for 58 yards.

Afterward, Don Shula summed up by saying, “We didn’t make the big plays we have all season. We just didn’t do it…They deserved the victory”.

For the Jets, it was the high point in the franchise’s history. Joe Namath had lived up to the hype and performed admirably in the biggest game of his career. Weeb Ewbank had prepared his team well to take on the Colts, capping his second successful building project as a pro football head coach. New York’s win was especially a triumph for those who had founded and built the American Football League; with full merger on the horizon, they had proved they could compete head-to-head with the NFL’s best teams.

1981: Wilbert Montgomery Spurs Eagles Past Cowboys for NFC Championship

The NFC Championship game on January 11, 1981 featured two fierce division rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys. The teams ended the 1980 season with identical 12-4 records, but the Eagles won the NFC East thanks to a better point differential in division games. They split the season series in two hard-fought contests, with each team winning in its home stadium (and the Cowboys trying hard to overcome the point differential in beating Philadelphia in the finale).

Under Head Coach Dick Vermeil, the Eagles had returned to respectability from a long dry spell after last winning a title in 1960. Now they were in the postseason for the third consecutive season, with progressively better records (9-7 in ’78, 11-5 in ’79). RB Wilbert Montgomery had emerged as an outstanding all-purpose back, and while his numbers were down in ’80 due to injuries, he was patched up for the postseason. QB Ron Jaworski had his best year, going to the Pro Bowl for the only time and achieving career highs in completions (257), yards (3529), and TD passes (27) and leading the conference in passing (91.0). 6’8” WR Harold Carmichael’s record consecutive game passing streak had finally ended at 127, but he was still the go-to receiver in clutch situations. The defense was very sound and featured NT Charlie Johnson, DE Carl Hairston, SS Randy Logan, and a strong set of linebackers that included Bill Bergey, Frank LeMaster, and Jerry Robinson.

The Cowboys, under Head Coach Tom Landry, were a perennial playoff participant and had won five NFC titles and two Super Bowls in the decade since 1970. Danny White had taken over the starting quarterback job from the retired Roger Staubach and performed well, while RB Tony Dorsett ran for 1185 yards and 11 touchdowns. The defense was led by DT Randy White and LB Bob Breunig, and benefited from the return of DE Ed “Too Tall” Jones after a one-year boxing hiatus.

In the postseason thus far, the Eagles dominated the second half in beating Minnesota in their Divisional playoff game, while Danny White had to lead the Cowboys from behind to get past the Atlanta Falcons.

It was bitterly cold at Philadelphia’s Veterans Stadium, with a temperature of 16 degrees that felt lower thanks to a brisk wind. 70,696 hopeful Eagles fans stuffed the stadium, and they were brought to their feet quickly as Montgomery took off on a 42-yard touchdown run on the second play of the game.

The Eagles dominated the first quarter, outgaining the Cowboys 117 yards to 28 and holding White to minus yards passing, but didn’t score again. Neither team was able to mount much of a passing attack in the wind and cold (at one point Jaworski threw ten straight incompletions), thus making it a ground-based battle for ball control. Dallas managed to tie the game in the second quarter with a 10-play, 68-yard drive that was highlighted by Dorsett gaining 18 yards on a swing pass from White and then scoring on a three-yard run. The Eagles came close to re-taking the lead before halftime, but an apparent Jaworski-to-Carmichael touchdown pass was called back due to a penalty.

In the second half, the Eagles got an apparent break on special teams when RB Billy Campfield recovered a fumble by Dallas punt returner James Jones at the Cowboys 27 yard line. However, LB Anthony Dickerson picked off a Jaworski pass three plays later, but Philadelphia got the ball back once again when Hairston forced White to fumble (pictured at bottom) and DE Dennis Harrison recovered at the Dallas 9. Two pass attempts into the end zone intended for Carmichael fell incomplete and the Eagles settled for a 26-yard field goal by Tony Franklin to move back in front, 10-7.

The Cowboys fumbled the ball away again (they fumbled five times during the game, losing three of them) as CB Roynell Young stripped Dorsett and Jerry Robinson recovered at the Dallas 38. This time the Eagles were able to reach the end zone as FB Leroy Harris scored on a 9-yard run.

The Eagles controlled the ball effectively as the game moved into the fourth quarter. After the Dorsett TD in the second quarter, the Cowboys never got closer than the Philadelphia 39 yard line the rest of the game. Philadelphia scored once more, on a 20-yard Franklin field goal after moving the ball 62 yards to the Dallas 3, and that provided the final tally of 20-7.

The story of the game came down to the Eagles running the ball far more effectively than the Cowboys, gaining a total of 263 yards on 40 carries to Dallas’ 90 on 22 runs, and committing fewer turnovers (two, to four by the Cowboys). Wilbert Montgomery gained 194 of those yards, on 26 attempts with the one TD. Harris accounted for another 60 yards on his 10 rushes. On the Dallas side, Tony Dorsett was held to just 41 yards on 13 carries and FB Robert Newhouse led the team with 44 yards on seven attempts.

The passing statistics reflected the poor weather conditions, with Ron Jaworski completing just 9 of 29 throws for 91 yards and two interceptions. Danny White went to the air 31 times, completed 12, for a total of 127 yards with one picked off. WR Rodney Parker led the Eagles with 4 catches for 31 yards (Harold Carmichael was held to just one reception for 7 yards) and Dorsett caught three passes for Dallas, for 27 yards, while RB Preston Pearson, typically brought in on passing situations, led with 32 yards on two catches.

The sense of joy among Eagles fans turned to despair as Philadelphia lost the ensuing Super Bowl to the Oakland Raiders, 27-10, and played poorly throughout. The Cowboys made it to the next two NFC Championship games, but lost them as well. Wilbert Montgomery ended up as the all-time rushing leader in Eagles history with 6538 yards, but the performance against Dallas remained the crowning achievement of his career.