1962: Sonny Randle Catches 16 Passes for 256 Yards vs. Giants

Split end Ulmo “Sonny” Randle came to the Chicago Cardinals out of the University of Virginia in 1959, and after spending a year learning his craft, broke out with an All-Pro season in ’60 (the franchise’s first year in St. Louis) in which 15 of his 62 receptions were good for touchdowns.

One of the fastest players in the NFL, his success was all the more impressive coming with a team that lacked an established quarterback. In an attempt to dramatically upgrade for 1961, the Cardinals signed 31-year-old Sam Etcheverry, an all-time great quarterback in the Canadian Football League, but he proved to be a sore-armed disappointment in the NFL. Randle’s numbers dropped to 44 catches and 9 TDs, but he was still chosen to the Pro Bowl.

St. Louis had a new head coach in 1962, Wally Lemm, and after a faltering start Etcheverry gave way to second-year QB Charley Johnson. The team was 2-4-1 and coming off of a win over the Cowboys as they took on the defending champions of the Eastern Conference, the New York Giants, at Yankee Stadium on November 4.

The Giants, under Head Coach Allie Sherman, were 5-2 and had just pulled off a big win over Washington in which QB Y.A. Tittle passed for 505 yards and seven touchdowns. They had already beaten the Cardinals convincingly in St. Louis (31-14), but that was with Etcheverry starting at quarterback and Johnson coming on in relief - they would find that Johnson was developing quickly.

New York took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 39-yard pass play from Tittle to flanker Frank Gifford. But the Cardinals responded with two touchdowns in the second quarter, an eight-yard pass from Johnson to TE Taz Anderson and a four-yard run by HB John David Crow. In between, Don Chandler kicked a 33-yard field goal for the Giants. But the Cardinals defense played well, New York’s offense seemed flat after the big performance the previous week, and it was St. Louis ahead at halftime by a 14-10 score.

In addition, Coach Lemm had moved Randle from his usual split end position to flanker, where he was defended by CB Dick Lynch rather than Erich Barnes, and it was paying off.

The Cardinals defense continued to stymie the Giants in the scoreless third quarter. New York was able to gain only 29 yards on its possessions and Tittle missed on 12 consecutive passes before finding Gifford again for a 32-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter. The Giants were back in front at 17-14, but the action began to heat up considerably.

St. Louis came right back, with Johnson throwing to Randle for a 55-yard touchdown and a 21-17 lead. New York fought back on the next drive, with a fake field goal being the key play. Facing a fourth down on the St. Louis 31, the Giants lined up for an apparent 38-yard field goal attempt by Chandler, but the holder, backup QB Ralph Guglielmi, instead fired a pass to DE Andy Robustelli, who was lined up as a receiver with the field goal unit, for a 26-yard gain to the five yard line. Two plays later, FB Alex Webster ran off tackle from three yards out for a TD and the Giants were back in front at 24-21.

The St. Louis offense wasn’t finished and drove 80 yards in 12 plays, four of which were passes to Randle. Johnson also ran for a 16-yard gain and capped the drive with a one-yard plunge. With 4:55 left on the clock, the Cardinals were back in the lead by 28-24.

The Giants struck quickly after the ensuing kickoff was returned 33 yards by HB Sam Horner. Tittle tossed a pass to HB Phil King that gained 37 yards to the St. Louis 20, and then followed up with a pass to Webster for the final 20 yards and a touchdown.

The Cardinals again battled back, but with under two minutes remaining Lynch, a talented player who had his hands full covering Randle, intercepted a pass by Johnson at the New York 27 to avoid the upset and nail down the 31-28 win.

In defeat, the big story was Sonny Randle’s performance as he caught 16 passes for 256 yards and a touchdown. It was the second-highest single-game pass receiving performance up to that time, and against one of the NFL’s most highly-regarded defenses.

The Cardinals rolled up an impressive 494 total yards and 29 first downs, to 266 yards and 15 first downs for New York. However, they also gave up five turnovers, to one by the Giants.

Charley Johnson (pictured below) completed 26 of 41 passes for 365 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. John David Crow was the leading rusher for St. Louis, gaining 56 yards on 19 attempts, including a TD. FB Prentice Gautt added 44 yards on 12 carries.


In winning, Y.A. Tittle was successful on only 8 of 31 passes for 172 yards, but three were for touchdowns against one interception. Phil King had three catches for 62 yards while Frank Gifford scored on both of his pass receptions that totaled 71 yards. Alex Webster was New York’s top ground gainer with 50 yards on 16 attempts, including a TD, and caught one pass for the game-winning touchdown.

The Giants, having survived the scare, went undefeated the rest of the way through the regular season to finish at 12-2 and again win the Eastern Conference, although they lost to Green Bay in the NFL title game once more. St. Louis ended up at 4-9-1 and in sixth place in the conference, but the stage was set for significant improvement over the next two seasons.

Sonny Randle finished second in the league in both receptions (63 – one ahead of teammate Bobby Joe Conrad) and yards (1158). His seven TD catches tied for seventh, and his 18.4 yards per catch was his highest to date. Randle was selected to the Pro Bowl for the third straight year. He played eight years with the Cardinals, going to one more Pro Bowl following the 1965 season, then was with the 49ers in 1967 and the start of his last year in ’68. Randle moved on to Dallas, where he ended his career – his final totals were 365 receptions for 5996 yards (16.4 avg.) and 65 touchdowns.

Charley Johnson ranked second in the NFL in yards per completion (16.3) as he threw for 2440 yards with 16 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. His emergence, aided by an outstanding receiving corps and Etcheverry’s tutelage, would correspond with the club’s improvement.

2002: Brad Johnson Throws for 5 TDs as Bucs Beat Vikings

Under the leadership of defensive-minded Head Coach Tony Dungy, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had gone from being perennial bottom feeders to contenders. However, while they made it to the postseason in four of the five seasons prior to 2002, they got as far as the NFC Championship game once and, in 2000 and ’01, had not gotten beyond the Wild Card playoff round. The problem had been that, while the defense was solid, the offense, directed by a series of coordinators, was conservative and tended to have difficulty scoring points – especially in the postseason. As a result, Dungy was fired following the 2001 season (and of course resurfaced in Indianapolis, where he enjoyed greater success) and was replaced by the more offense-minded Jon Gruden, late of the Oakland Raiders (and after being turned down by Bill Parcells).

Key to the offense was QB Brad Johnson (pictured above), a nine-year NFL veteran in his second season with Tampa Bay. While immobile and not much of a deep passer, he was very accurate on short passes, which made him a good fit in Gruden’s version of the West Coast offense. He also had good leadership skills and toughness. His abilities in the revamped offense were especially evident in a Week 9 matchup against Minnesota.

The Buccaneers were 6-2 as they hosted the Vikings on November 3, 2002 at Raymond James Stadium, but the defense was still largely carrying the club (they had scored just 11 offensive TDs in the eight games) and Johnson had missed the previous contest due to a rib injury. Minnesota, under Head Coach Mike Tice, lost its first four games and was 2-5 coming into the contest, although coming off a good win against Chicago.

Things got off to a good start for Tampa Bay very quickly as safety Jermaine Phillips recovered a fumble by Minnesota WR Nick Davis on the opening kickoff at the Vikings’ 21 yard line. Three plays later, Johnson tossed a 15-yard touchdown pass to WR Karl Williams for a quick 7-0 lead.

The Bucs went on to score on each of their first four possessions. A 12-play, 86-yard drive ended with Johnson completing a two-yard TD pass to TE Rickey Dudley and the score stood at 14-0 after one quarter. Early in the second quarter, Martin Gramatica kicked a 36-yard field goal, and Johnson threw another short touchdown pass of two yards to WR Keyshawn Johnson.

Down 24-0 and still in the second period, the Vikings finally got on the board thanks to a big play as RB Michael Bennett ran for an 85-yard touchdown. 43-year-old Gary Anderson kicked a 26-yard field goal before the quarter was over to cut Tampa Bay’s lead to 24-10 at halftime (Gramatica missed a 40-yard field goal attempt that would have added to the lead).

Brad Johnson tossed a third quarter touchdown pass to Keyshawn Johnson of 19 yards and FB Mike Alstott scored in the fourth quarter on a five-yard reception. The Vikings had two one-yard runs by RB Moe Williams, but Minnesota was never able to mount a credible comeback in the second half – even a successful onside kick led to failure when QB Daunte Culpepper was intercepted by DT Warren Sapp. The Buccaneers won convincingly, 38-24.

For a team that had been considered offensively-challenged, it was an impressive showing. Tampa Bay rolled up 446 yards, to 387 for the Vikings, and only punted once. They gave up no turnovers and Johnson wasn’t sacked (pass protection had been an issue in prior weeks). In addition, Minnesota was hurt by a total of 12 penalties.


Brad Johnson completed 24 of 31 passes for 313 yards and a club-record tying five touchdowns while not being intercepted. Keyshawn Johnson (pictured at left) caught 9 passes for 133 yards and two of the TDs (of his career-high 106 receptions in 2001, only one had been for a score). RB Aaron Stecker carried the ball just once, but it was for a 59-yard gain to lead the team in rushing. Mike Alstott ran for 55 yards on 26 carries and caught three passes for 16 yards, including a TD.

Daunte Culpepper went to the air 29 times for the Vikings, with 18 completions for 225 yards, but had no touchdown passes and surrendered two interceptions. Thanks to the long scoring run, Michael Bennett gained 114 yards on just 10 carries. Moe Williams had the two short rushing touchdowns while gaining 43 yards on 7 attempts, and also led Minnesota with 5 pass receptions, for 24 yards. TE Jim Kleinsasser gained 64 yards on three catches.

Tampa Bay lost only twice more the rest of the way and finished atop the NFC South with a 12-4 record. They finally broke through in the postseason, beating the Eagles in Philadelphia for the NFC Championship (the site of their losses in the preceding two playoff appearances) and defeating Oakland in the Super Bowl. Minnesota went 6-10 for second place in the NFC North.

Brad Johnson led the NFC in passing (92.9 rating) and was among the league leaders in completion percentage (62.3) and touchdown passes (22). He threw for 3049 yards and was intercepted only six times, for a league-low 1.3 INT percentage. Johnson was named to the Pro Bowl for the second time in his career (and only time in Tampa Bay).

While the Tampa Bay offense ranked 18th in the league, that was higher than at any time during the Dungy years. Combined with the NFL’s top-ranked defense, it was enough to win a championship.

1975: Terry Metcalf’s 3 TDs Lead Cardinals Past Patriots

After three straight 4-9-1 seasons, the St. Louis Cardinals improved dramatically in 1974 under second-year Head Coach Don Coryell. They not only had a winning record for the first time since 1970, but at 10-4 won the NFC East. Coryell was an offense-minded coach, and three of the major cogs were veteran QB Jim Hart, second-year all-purpose HB Terry Metcalf (pictured at right), and fleet WR Mel Gray. All three were selected to the Pro Bowl.

The Cardinals were off to a 4-2 start in 1975 as they played host to the New England Patriots on November 2 at Busch Memorial Stadium. The Patriots, coached by Chuck Fairbanks, were off to a slow start, having lost their first four games before winning the two most recent. However, starting QB Jim Plunkett was out with a shoulder injury, and rookie Steve Grogan was taking his place.

New England got an early break when Hart’s arm was hit by DE Julius Adams as he attempted to pass and LB Steve Nelson intercepted at the St. Louis 40. The Patriots capitalized to take the lead on a 32-yard field goal by John Smith. However, the Cardinals got on the board in spectacular fashion in the second quarter when Metcalf returned a punt for a 69-yard touchdown - the only TD on a punt return of his career.

But St. Louis wasn’t able to get anything going on offense against a tough Patriots defense. Meanwhile, Grogan played well, completing 8 of 14 passes in the first half, including one for an 11-yard touchdown to WR Randy Vataha that put the Patriots back in front. The Cardinals came back, converting a fourth-and-one situation at the New England 33 with a two-yard run by slow-but-rugged FB Jim Otis. They came up empty, however, when Patriots nose tackle Ray Hamilton blocked a 44-yard field goal attempt by Jim Bakken, who had been successful on his last ten straight.

New England had another shot at the end of the half, but CB Norm Thompson intercepted Grogan’s pass at the St. Louis two yard line on the last play of the second quarter. The Patriots led by 10-7 at the intermission.

The Cardinals managed to run for only 35 yards in the first half as Metcalf had just four yards in seven attempts while Otis gained 31 yards on 10 carries, and Hart was having difficulty completing passes (not helped when veteran TE Jackie Smith was forced to leave the game with an injury).

In the third quarter, the defense added to New England’s margin as Hamilton picked up a fumble by Hart, who was attempting to hand off to Otis, and rumbled 23 yards for a touchdown. The Patriots were now ahead by ten points at 17-7.

In response, the Cardinals offense came alive and Hart was successful on six straight passes, including a 12-yard throw to WR Earl Thomas to the New England 10, on a drive that finally stalled at the three yard line. The result was a 21-yard Bakken field goal to narrow the Patriots’ lead to 17-10.


New England was forced to punt on its next series, and Gray (pictured at left), only recently being used on punt returns, ran the kick back 19 yards to give the Cardinals good field position at the Patriots’ 45. St. Louis made the most of it, driving to a one-yard touchdown plunge by Metcalf early in the fourth quarter, set up by a pounding eight-yard run by Otis.

After CB Roger Wehrli made a great play to break up a long pass attempt from Grogan to Vataha, Mike Patrick punted again for the Patriots and Gray returned the kick 27 yards to the New England 33. Five plays later Metcalf ran for a seven-yard touchdown that proved to be the winning score with 6:15 remaining.

The St. Louis defense took control in the second half, but the Patriots managed one last drive down the field late in the game. However, LB Pete Barnes intercepted a fourth down Grogan pass at the St. Louis 13 to clinch the 24-17 win for the Cardinals.

The team statistics were remarkably even, with the Patriots having a one-yard edge in total yardage (274 to 273) and the Cardinals having one more first down (18 to 17). Both teams turned the ball over three times. The game was very physical, with the Patriots playing aggressively on defense, as manifested by their being penalized 11 times to six flags on St. Louis.

After a slow start, Jim Hart completed 20 of 32 passes for 158 yards with no TDs and one intercepted. Jim Otis gained 65 yards on 21 carries, and Terry Metcalf was held to 44 yards on 17 attempts, although he had the two rushing touchdowns in addition to the TD on the long punt return. Metcalf also caught 5 passes for 33 yards, making him the team’s co-leader with Earl Thomas, who had 5 receptions for 58 yards.

Steve Grogan’s passing numbers went in the opposite direction of Hart’s - after the solid first half, he ended up completing just 14 of 34 passes for 173 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. A mobile quarterback, he also gained 21 yards on three carries. HB Andy Johnson led the Patriots with 50 yards on 16 attempts, while FB Sam Cunningham added 42 yards on 11 runs and also caught a team-leading four passes for 41 yards.

The big punt returns had made the difference, either directly scoring or setting up all three St. Louis touchdowns. Said New England’s Coach Fairbanks, “I take my hat off to Metcalf and Gray for the returns they made against us. We tried to make adjustments but they didn’t work.”

Of his punt return touchdown, Metcalf said, “Their contain man (DB Ron Bolton) kind of overran his position. It was what we had seen on their films.” He also pointed out that Gray was the lead blocker. Added Gray, “Since the offense wasn’t clicking, the special teams had to get on the ball. I think the special teams won the game.”

The win put the Cardinals in a three-way tie atop the NFC East with Dallas and Washington, on the way to repeating as division champions with an 11-3 record. They lost to the Rams in the Divisional playoff round. New England limped to a 3-11 finish at the bottom of the AFC East.

Terry Metcalf’s performance against the Patriots highlighted the all-around skills that allowed him to break the year-old record by New England’s Mack Herron for all-purpose yards with 2462 (his record would last for ten years). He gained a career-high 816 yards on 165 carries for a 4.9-yard average with nine touchdowns, caught 43 passes for 378 more yards (8.8 avg.) and two TDs, had 285 yards on 23 punt returns (an NFC-leading 12.4 avg.) with a score, and 960 yards on 35 kickoff returns (27.4 avg.) that included a touchdown. He topped all of that off with 23 yards on a fumble recovery. Maligned for a tendency to fumble, Metcalf nevertheless was a versatile and flashy key to the club’s success.

Mel Gray didn’t return many more punts (7 in all, for a 7.6 avg.), but had another good season at wide receiver as he caught 48 passes for 926 yards and a league-leading 11 touchdowns (tied with Pittsburgh’s Lynn Swann). His 19.3 yards per catch ranked second in the NFC and he was a consensus All-Pro selection.

Jim Otis (pictured below), the complement to Metcalf as the plodding inside runner, led the NFC with 1076 yards on 269 carries for a 4.0 average gain and five TDs. In the best season of his nine-year career, he was selected to the Pro Bowl along with Metcalf, Gray, Hart, CB Wehrli, PK Bakken, C Tom Banks, OT Dan Dierdorf, and G Conrad Dobler.

1959: Jim Brown’s 5 TDs Overcome 4 Unitas TD Passes as Browns Beat Colts

The November 1, 1959 game at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium featured a showdown between the defending NFL champion Colts and their great quarterback, Johnny Unitas, and the Cleveland Browns with dominating FB Jim Brown. If anything, both players exceeded expectations.

The Browns, under the guidance of the highly innovative and successful Head Coach Paul Brown, were 3-2 coming into the contest. They had just missed winning the Eastern Conference in ’58, and a big part of their success was the 6’2”, 230-pound fullback from Syracuse. Jim Brown (pictured above) had exploded on the NFL in 1957, leading the league with 942 yards rushing and setting a new single-game record of 237 yards along the way. In 1958, he ran up 1527 yards, breaking Steve Van Buren’s single-season rushing record by 381 yards (he also broke the AAFC record of 1432 yards set by Spec Sanders in 1947).

The Colts, led by Head Coach Weeb Ewbank, had won the NFL championship in an epic contest over the Giants in ‘58 and were off to a 4-1 start as they sought to defend their title. Unitas was the centerpiece of a talented offense and had thrown touchdown passes in a record 30 consecutive games entering the contest against the Browns. Baltimore also had a solid defense that would be keying on Cleveland’s fullback – mammoth (6’6”, 284-pound) DT Gene “Big Daddy” Lipscomb commented that he had been “waiting a long time to get my hands on that Cleveland cat.”

There were 57,557 fans on hand as the teams matched field goals in the first quarter, Lou Groza connecting first for Cleveland from 16 yards and Steve Myhra booting a 23-yarder for the Colts. However, Jim Brown got things rolling for the Browns in the second quarter as he took a pitchout, ran off tackle, shook Colts safety Ray Brown off without breaking stride 30 yards downfield, and continued for a 70-yard touchdown.

The Colts came back to tie the score on a three-yard TD pass from Unitas to HB Lenny Moore, but Brown ran up the middle for a 17-yard touchdown to give Cleveland a 17-10 lead at the half.

Brown extended the Cleveland lead to 24-10 in the third quarter with a three-yard run, and also reached the end zone on a one-yard plunge after Unitas had responded with an eight-yard TD pass to flanker Jerry Richardson.

The Colts again closed the gap to seven points in the fourth quarter when end Raymond Berry scored on a 10-yard pass from Unitas to make it 31-24. But Brown plowed in from a yard out for his fifth touchdown of the game, and while Unitas threw a fourth TD pass of five yards to end Jim Mutscheller, it was the Browns winning the game by a 38-31 final score.

Baltimore gained the most yards (426 to 397) and had more first downs (28 to 22), but while the Colts defense was unable to contain Brown and Cleveland QB Milt Plum made clutch passes on third down to extend drives, the Browns defense shut down the Baltimore running game (45 yards on 19 carries) and stopped the Colts inside the ten yard line on four occasions.

Jim Brown ran for 178 yards on 32 carries, with all five touchdowns coming on the ground. Milt Plum completed 14 of 23 passes for 200 yards with no TDs, and while two were intercepted, 11 of the completions for 147 yards came on third down plays.


For the Colts, Johnny Unitas (pictured at left) went to the air 41 times and had 23 completions for 397 yards with four touchdowns against three interceptions. The loss negated outstanding performances by Raymond Berry, who caught 11 passes for 156 yards with a TD, and Lenny Moore, with 5 receptions for 115 yards and a score.

Weeb Ewbank sought out Brown after the game to shake his hand and say “Jimmy, you’re even greater than we heard you were. You played a wonderful game out there today.” A frustrated “Big Daddy” Lipscomb told reporters, “I’m still waiting to get my hands on that cat.”

In discussing his performance, Brown said, “Actually, the way I played today didn’t have anything to do with my ability. We had good play selection and most of the time I was going through gaping holes opened by our line.” Few, if any, in attendance would have agreed that Brown’s ability had nothing to do with it.

“Jim Brown was tremendous and Milt Plum did a really fine job,” summed up Paul Brown.

The loss dropped the Colts behind the San Francisco 49ers in the Western Conference, but, after losing the following week at Washington, they recovered to win five straight and closed out the regular season back atop the conference with a 9-3 record. They defeated the Giants once again for the NFL Championship. Cleveland won two more games before losing three straight (two of them by a single point) and finishing in a tie for second place in the Eastern Conference with Philadelphia at 7-5.

Jim Brown had 737 yards rushing following the big performance against Baltimore and led all NFL rushers once again in 1959 (as he would for eight of his nine seasons) with 1329 yards on 290 carries (4.6 avg.), including 14 touchdowns.

Johnny Unitas, with the four TD passes, had 17 for the year thus far and his consecutive game streak stood at 31, on the way to an eventual all-time record 47. For the ’59 season, he led the NFL in pass attempts (367), completions (193), yards (2899), touchdowns (32 – a record at the time), and percent of TD passes (8.7). He was named league MVP by The Sporting News and UPI, and received the Bert Bell Award from the Maxwell Club.

1999: Re-formed Browns Win 1st Game with Desperation TD Pass on Final Play

Cleveland was without NFL football for three years after the original Browns franchise was moved to Baltimore following the 1995 season. The team’s fans had been outraged when owner Art Modell announced that the club would be leaving the city it had called home since its debut in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in 1946. Not all of Modell’s fellow owners were pleased, either, but Commissioner Paul Tagliabue worked out a compromise in which the city would gain a new club in 1999 that would inherit the name and history of the exiting team. Modell’s team was renamed the Baltimore Ravens and continued on as though it was an expansion franchise.

The re-formed Browns took the field in 1999 under the ownership of Al Lerner and a front office led by Carmen Policy, team president, and Dwight Clark, director of football operations, that had been associated with a winning operation in San Francisco. Chris Palmer, most recently the offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars, was the new head coach, and symbolically there was a new playing field, Cleveland Browns Stadium, that was built upon the site of the old Municipal Stadium.

As an expansion team (in reality, if not in terms of inherited name and history), the Browns had the first overall pick in the ’99 NFL draft and took Tim Couch (pictured above), a 6’4”, 227-pound quarterback from Kentucky. Veteran QB Ty Detmer started the season, but Couch took over in the second week.

As has often been the case with expansion teams, the club got off to a rough start. The new Browns lost their first two games by a combined score of 69-9. Winless in their first seven contests, the club struggled to score points, only reaching double figures in two of those games (with a high of 17). Couch played as well as could have been hoped, but several of the veterans did not, particularly on the offensive line. The running game was not strong, and even when Couch had time to throw, there was no game-breaker among the wide receivers.

The Browns took on the New Orleans Saints at the Louisiana Superdome on October 31. Under Head Coach Mike Ditka, the team had stunned the pro football world at the NFL draft by trading all of its picks in order to move up and select RB Ricky Williams, the Heisman Trophy-winner from Texas. The controversial gamble had not worked, and the club was 1-5 as it played host to Cleveland before a crowd of 48,817.

New Orleans got on the board late in the first quarter after safety Rob Kelly recovered a fumbled punt by Browns WR David Dunn at the Cleveland 15 yard line. QB Billy Joe Hobert tossed a five-yard touchdown pass to WR Keith Poole for a 7-0 lead.

Cleveland’s defense set up a score midway in the second quarter when DE Roy Barker intercepted a pass and returned it 14 yards to the New Orleans 22. Couch connected with RB Marc Edwards for a 27-yard touchdown that tied the game. However, just before the end of the half, Doug Brien booted a 49-yard field goal for the Saints that put them back in front at 10-7.

The Browns defense set up another touchdown in the third quarter when the second Saints quarterback, Billy Joe Tolliver (replacing the injured Hobert), fumbled an attempted handoff in his own territory and DT Darius Holland recovered for Cleveland. Couch threw to fellow rookie WR Kevin Johnson for a 24-yard TD and 14-10 lead.

Before the third quarter was over, Brien kicked his second field goal from 22 yards out to narrow Cleveland’s margin to one point. It appeared that the Saints had an opportunity to take the lead midway in the fourth quarter, but Williams fumbled the ball away at the Browns’ 12 yard line with 5:27 remaining to play.

New Orleans got another chance, however, and looked set to kick a game-winning field goal with time running out. However, they called a timeout with 29 seconds still remaining, rather than letting time run all the way down. Brien was successful on the 46-yard kick for a 16-14 lead, but the Browns still had 21 seconds to work with.

Johnson returned the ensuing kickoff 25 yards. Couch threw an incomplete pass on the first play, but then was successful on a 19-yard pass to WR Leslie Shepherd, who quickly stepped out of bounds at his own 44 with two seconds remaining. With time for just one desperation play, Couch launched a long “Hail Mary” pass toward the end zone. The ball was tipped by two defenders, but Johnson managed to catch it and just stay inbounds for a stunning 56-yard touchdown. The new Browns had their first win by a score of 21-16.

The entire Browns team engaged in a wild celebration on the field, while the frustrated Saints could only walk off the field in disbelief. “I couldn't have thrown it another yard,” said Couch afterward. “I put everything I could into it and threw it as high as I could. It's a neat way to get your first one.”

“Sometimes you've got to be lucky, and we were lucky today,” summed up Coach Palmer.

The Saints outgained the Browns, 351 yards to 243, and had a significant advantage in first downs, 25 to 9. But they also turned the ball over five times, to just once by Cleveland. The Browns defense played well, and despite being without its best player, LB Jamir Miller, who was out with a shoulder injury.


Tim Couch completed 11 of 19 passes for 193 yards with three touchdowns against no interceptions. Kevin Johnson (pictured at left) caught 4 passes for 96 yards and the two TDs, while Leslie Shepherd contributed 4 receptions for 52 yards. As usual, the team was ineffectual on the ground (62 yards on 21 attempts), with RB Karim Abdul-Jabbar leading the way with 39 yards on 13 carries.

For the Saints, Ricky Williams ran for 179 yards on 40 attempts, but also fumbled three times. The two Billy Joes at quarterback combined for just 13 completions in 29 attempts and each gave up an interception; Hobert had a TD pass among his four completions, while Tolliver was successful on 9 of 20 passes for 92 yards. Williams and Keith Poole both caught three passes (for 8 and 23 yards, respectively) while RB Aaron Craver gained 32 yards on his two receptions.

It was the fifth loss of the season for the Saints when holding a fourth quarter lead, on the way to a miserable 3-13 finish at the bottom of the NFC West; a major housecleaning ensued. Cleveland won once more and ended up last in the AFC Central with a 2-14 record, but they had made their first win a memorable one.

Tim Couch had a respectable rookie season, completing 55.9 % of his passes for 2447 yards with 15 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. However, he led the league by being sacked 56 times, and his career in Cleveland was ultimately disappointing.

Kevin Johnson led the Browns in pass receiving for the year with 66 catches for 986 yards (14.9 avg.) and eight touchdowns.

1978: Mazzetti’s 5 Field Goals Lead Falcons Past Rams

Just three weeks prior to the October 30, 1978 contest between the Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Rams, 23-year-old PK Tim Mazzetti had been tending bar at Smokey Joe’s in Philadelphia. The University of Pennsylvania grad had failed to catch on with the Eagles, Cowboys, and Patriots and wondered if he would get another opportunity. But Atlanta’s placekicker, Fred Steinfort, had gotten off to a dreadful start and when the Falcons held a tryout to find a replacement, Mazzetti beat out two others to get the job. It didn’t take long for him to make a positive impression - he kicked a game-winning field goal in the final seconds to beat the 49ers in his second game. Now he would have the opportunity to kick before a Monday Night Football audience.

The Falcons were in their second season under the new organizational structure that most prominently included GM Eddie LeBaron, the former undersized star quarterback for the Redskins and Cowboys, and Head Coach Leeman Bennett. In 1977, they had gone 7-7 thanks to a dominating defense that allowed only 129 points all season while the offense was hindered by the frequent injuries to young QB Steve Bartkowski. Atlanta lost four of its first six games but had won the last two to be even at 4-4 going into the game against the Rams.

Los Angeles had been the dominant team in the NFC West for the past five seasons, but failed to make it to the Super Bowl. The head coach during that period, Chuck Knox, had run afoul of owner Carroll Rosenbloom and left for Buffalo, initially to be replaced by George Allen, who had been in LA from 1966 to ’70 before departing for Washington. However, Allen failed to last through the preseason and Ray Malavasi was now coaching the club. Despite the tumult in the front office, the team was off to an outstanding start on the field at 7-1 (including a shutout of the Falcons in LA); they had lost for the first time the previous week.

The crowd of 57,250 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium was fired up and the Falcons defense responded in kind. However, it was the Rams threatening in the first quarter as they drove to the Atlanta five. They were helped along by a 12-yard pass from QB Pat Haden to WR Willie Miller (with a roughing-the-passer penalty tacked on) and 17-yard run by RB Lawrence McCutcheon. But LA came up empty when TE Terry Nelson fumbled at the two and it was recovered by Falcons CB Rick Byas.

The Rams got another shot when FS Bill Simpson intercepted a Bartkowski pass and returned it 24 yards. Haden threw a 10-yard TD pass to WR Ron Jessie on the first play of the second quarter to give Los Angeles a 7-0 lead.

To further complicate things for Atlanta, Bartkowski was lost to a shoulder separation later in the second quarter and replaced by backup June Jones. But the special teams made a big play when Falcons defensive lineman Edgar Fields blocked a punt at the LA 23. It set up Mazzetti’s first field goal of the night, from 21 yards.

The Atlanta defense came through with another big play when Byas intercepted a Haden pass at the Los Angeles 33 to set up another field goal attempt of 37 yards into a stiff cross wind with 32 seconds left in the half. Mazzetti was again successful and the Falcons went into halftime down by just a point at 7-6.

At the start of the third quarter, the Rams drove to the Atlanta 32, but Frank Corral missed a 49-yard field goal attempt. They were still leading late in the period when they tried to convert a fourth-and-one situation at the 50 and RB Cullen Bryant was stopped for a loss of a yard. It proved to be the turning point of the game.

The Falcons made the most of the opportunity, and Mazzetti put them ahead 9-7 with a 33-yard field goal to start the fourth quarter. Shortly thereafter, CB Rolland Lawrence intercepted his second pass of the game and Atlanta drove 64 yards in 10 plays capped by Mazzetti’s fourth field goal, of 26 yards, for a 12-7 lead with 6:44 left to play.

Atlanta continued to take advantage of LA turnovers. Rams DB Jackie Wallace fumbled a Falcons punt and RB Mike Esposito recovered at the Rams 25 yard line. Just before the two-minute warning, Mazzetti kicked a 37-yard field goal - his fifth of the contest.

Rams Coach Malavasi had replaced Haden with backup QB Vince Ferragamo to try and ignite the offense, but it was to no avail. When Corral missed a 43-yard field goal attempt in the last minute, LA’s fate was sealed and the Falcons came away with a 15-7 win.

Los Angeles outgained Atlanta, 234 yards to 185, and had the edge in first downs, 14 to 9. However, the Rams gave up a crucial five turnovers, to two by the Falcons, and Atlanta’s defense had five sacks.

June Jones played well in relief of Steve Bartkowski, completing 7 of 11 passes for 87 yards with none intercepted (Bartkowski threw one). Neither team was able to run effectively on the other, and RB Haskel Stanback led the Falcons with 51 yards on 21 carries; FB Bubba Bean added another 44 yards on 15 attempts. WR Alfred Jackson was the most productive of the team’s receivers, gaining 40 yards on two catches.

For the Rams, Pat Haden completed 13 of 23 passes for 130 yards with one TD but also three interceptions (two of them by Rolland Lawrence); Vince Ferragamo was two of four for 50 yards in relief. Lawrence McCutcheon was the team’s top rusher with 50 yards on 12 carries, while Ron Jessie caught four passes for 44 yards and WR Billy Waddy gained 50 yards on three catches.

“We moved the ball pretty well at first and had good field position and then started making mistakes. In fact we made too many mistakes, mainly fumbles and interceptions," said Rams Coach Malavasi.

Atlanta’s Leeman Bennett took note of his defense’s strong performance, in particular the momentum-changing stop on fourth down in the third quarter. “That was a big play,” he said. “It knocked the wind out of their sails when they didn't make it.”

The win was one of five straight for the Falcons, who went on to finish at 9-7 and in second place in the NFC West. They qualified for the playoffs as a wild card team – the franchise’s first postseason appearance – and in the first NFC Wild Card game defeated the Eagles. They succumbed to Dallas in the Divisional round, although in a tight 27-20 contest. The Rams, who went on to finish first once again in the division at 12-4, won in the Divisional round but lost the NFC Championship game to the Cowboys.

Tim Mazzetti tied the existing club record with his five field goals (since broken by Norm Johnson in 1994) on his way to leading the NFC in field goal accuracy (13 of 16, 81.3 %). It was an outstanding performance, especially for a kicker who started the season as a bartender. Mazzetti played for three seasons in the NFL and also kicked for three in the USFL.

1973: Simpson Reaches 1000 Yards as Bills Beat Chiefs

The Buffalo Bills were making their first appearance on Monday Night Football on October 29, 1973, and a frenzied crowd of 76,071 fans was present at the new Rich Stadium. The Bills, a resurgent club in the second year of Lou Saban’s second stint as head coach, were off to a 4-2 start. They had not posted a winning record since 1966, the year after Saban quit the club following back-to-back AFL Championships, and now they were in the hunt for a playoff spot.

A big part of the resurgence was RB O.J. Simpson, who had underachieved for three seasons before Saban made him the centerpiece of the offense. The result had been a league-leading 1251 rushing yards in ’72 for a 4-9-1 team that was constantly reshuffling the offensive line. Thus far in ’73, the line had solidified and Simpson was chasing Jim Brown’s single-season rushing record of 1863 yards set ten years before. After six games, he had 868 yards on 138 carries (6.3 avg.) and had been held under a hundred for the first time by Miami the previous week.

The Chiefs, under Head Coach Hank Stram, had won the last AFL title in ’69 (not to mention the Super Bowl against the NFL champion Vikings) and been in the playoffs in 1971. They were coming off of an 8-6 record in ’72 that contained too many losses to bottom-dwelling teams and were 3-2-1 start coming into the Week 7 Monday night contest with the Bills.

Things began badly for the Chiefs on their first possession. They received the opening kickoff but, following an incomplete pass, KC fumbled the ball away on the second play from scrimmage. Bills LB Jim Cheyunski (pictured below left) recovered at the Kansas City 15. Simpson set the tone for Buffalo, running four straight times and scoring from a yard out for a quick 7-0 lead.


On the third play of Kansas City’s next possession, Cheyunski made another big play on defense as he intercepted a pass by QB Len Dawson and returned it 31 yards to the KC four yard line. Simpson took it in from there, giving him two touchdowns less than four minutes into the game.

Things got worse for the Chiefs when Dawson suffered a sprained ankle and was forced to leave the game. Pete Beathard, who had started his pro career in Kansas City and was back after spending time with the Oilers, Cardinals, and Rams, took over at quarterback.

The Chiefs got a break in the second quarter when Buffalo’s rookie QB Joe Ferguson fumbled on his own 43 and KC recovered. They scored four plays later on a run by FB Wendell Hayes from a yard out, set up by a screen pass to Hayes from Beathard that gained 27 yards. The score stood at 14-7 at halftime.

The Bills extended their lead in the third quarter, all with field goals by John Leypoldt of 31, 17, and 8 yards. Kansas City was able to take advantage of another Buffalo mistake late in the period when punter Spike Jones dropped a snap in his own territory and the Chiefs recovered at the Bills’ two yard line. Beathard sneaked in for a TD on the first play of the fourth quarter. But against the inspired Bills defense, and with the offense maintaining ball control by handing off to Simpson and FB Larry Watkins, Kansas City was unable to seriously threaten. Buffalo won, 23-14.

The score did not reflect the level of Buffalo’s domination of the game. The Bills outgained the Chiefs with 309 yards to 105 and had 21 first downs to KC’s eight. While both teams had modest net passing totals (67 yards for Kansas City, 63 for Buffalo) the rushing disparity told the story. The Bills ground out 246 yards on 65 rushes to just 38 yards on 17 carries by the Chiefs.

O.J. Simpson led the way with 157 yards on a then-NFL record 39 attempts that included the two scores, while Larry Watkins had 81 yards on 19 carries. As was typical during the season, Joe Ferguson went to the air just 11 times and had six completions for 63 yards with one intercepted. Wide receivers Bob Chandler and J.D. Hill accounted for all of the receptions, each catching three while Chandler outgained Hill with 35 yards to 28.

Kansas City’s two quarterbacks completed just eight passes, but on 29 attempts, with Pete Beathard accounting for six completions in 23 throws for 73 yards and no interceptions. HB Ed Podolak caught three passes for 27 yards in addition to leading the Chiefs with 29 rushing yards on seven carries. Thanks to the long reception on the screen pass in the second quarter, Wendell Hayes gained the most receiving yards with 33 on two catches; tellingly, he was able to run for only five yards on seven carries, including the one short TD. Only one pass was completed to a wide receiver - Otis Taylor for 13 yards – and TE Morris Stroud also had one catch for 13 yards as well.

Kansas City’s Coach Stram said afterward “Any time you're playing a squad that is in an emotional frenzy like Buffalo was – and motivated by their fans – and you give two touchdowns away right at the bat, you're in trouble.”

Players on the offensive line stepped up their game to put Simpson over the thousand-yard mark by the halfway point of the season, and they were successful; his total following the contest was 1025 yards.


“We got 1,000 in the first seven games and we'll go for another 1,000 in the next seven,” Simpson said afterward. It proved to be the case – the former Heisman Trophy winner out of USC not only ended up breaking Brown’s rushing record, but became the first NFL runner to cross the 2000-yard threshold in a season. Simpson totaled 2003 yards on 332 carries (also an NFL record at the time) for a 6.0 average gain and 12 touchdowns. The Bills as a team ran up a then-record 3088 yards on the ground, still the second highest total to date.


Two members of Buffalo’s solidified offensive line were selected to the Pro Bowl – left guard Reggie McKenzie (who also received All-NFL honors; pictured above right) and left tackle Dave Foley. Rookie Joe DeLamielleure (pictured at left), one of the team’s two first-round draft picks, started immediately at right guard and was outstanding (he would remain so, ending up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame). Center Bruce Jarvis was injured during the season and capably replaced by Mike Montler. Right tackle Donnie Green and rookie tight end Paul Seymour (the other first round draft choice and more an extra tackle than a receiver) rounded out the very good unit. The group would come to be known as The Electric Company – because they turned on “the Juice” (Simpson).

The Bills improved to 9-5 in ’73, finishing second in the AFC East but just missing the postseason. Kansas City ended up tied with Denver for second in the AFC West at 7-5-2.