2009: Chargers Defeat Colts in Overtime of AFC Wild Card Playoff

The San Diego Chargers had upset the Colts in Indianapolis in an AFC Divisional playoff game following the 2007 season, and on January 3, 2009 they again met the Colts, this time in a conference Wild Card playoff matchup at Qualcomm Stadium.

That the Chargers were in the postseason at all was a surprise. It wasn’t that Head Coach Norv Turner’s team hadn’t been considered a contender prior to the 2008 season, but they had gotten off to a slow start and stood at 4-8 at the end of November. Meanwhile, the Denver Broncos had started off at 4-1 and seemed likely to cruise to the AFC West title, but played erratically down the stretch. Still, they were three games ahead of San Diego with four to go and appeared to be a lock for first place. Instead, the Chargers rallied to win three straight and Denver went 1-2; when the teams met in the season finale at San Diego, it was a 52-21 blowout in favor of the Chargers. Both teams finished at 8-8, but San Diego went to the postseason on the basis of a better division record.

The Colts ended up in second place in the AFC South with a much more impressive 12-4 tally, a game behind the conference’s top-seeded Tennessee Titans (13-3). Moreover, Indianapolis was riding a nine-game winning streak. QB Peyton Manning, as usual, was the key to the offense – despite being hindered by a knee injury, he still ended up throwing for over 4000 yards (4002) for the third consecutive year and ninth time overall (up to that point) while completing 66.8 percent of his passes and tossing 27 for scores. WR Reggie Wayne, who emerged from the shadow of the declining Marvin Harrison as the top receiver, caught 82 passes for 1145 yards.

The Colts rolled to the first score of the game on an 81-yard first quarter drive that was capped by a one-yard run by RB Joseph Addai. Manning completed all six of his passes along the way. However, San Diego evened the score not quite five minutes into the second quarter on a three-yard TD run by RB LaDainian Tomlinson that was set up by a 30-yard pass play from QB Philip Rivers to TE Antonio Gates.

After Adam Vinatieri put Indianapolis back in front with a 43-yard field goal, the Chargers scored another touchdown on a 9-yard run by RB Darren Sproles with 42 seconds remaining in the half. By this point, Sproles was playing in place of the star running back Tomlinson, who had suffered a groin injury and would not return. Still, San Diego was in front at halftime, 14-10.

In the third quarter, Indianapolis regained the lead when Manning surprised the Chargers defense on a third-and-five play with a quick count and fired a pass to Wayne that resulted in a 72-yard touchdown, flying past CB Antonio Cromartie who was caught unprepared.

The Chargers responded by moving inside the Indianapolis 10 yard line late in the third quarter, but Sproles was hit at the two and fumbled into the end zone; Colts DT Raheem Brock recovered for a touchback. Another San Diego scoring threat was thwarted by the Colts defense with just over 12 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter as free safety Antoine Bethea intercepted a pass by Rivers at the goal line.


With time running down under three minutes, San Diego’s Mike Scifres boomed a punt 52 yards that went out at the Indianapolis one yard line. The Colts were unable to sustain a game-clinching drive, as Manning was sacked by LB Tim Dobbins – the only sack the Chargers registered all day – on a third down play that forced Indianapolis to punt from the one. San Diego got the ball back with excellent field position on the Colts 38 and Nate Kaeding tied the score with a 26-yard field goal with 31 seconds remaining.

The game went into overtime, and San Diego won the toss. With a ten-play drive that included three defensive penalties, the Chargers scored the winning touchdown on a 22-yard run by Sproles (making up for the earlier fumble). San Diego had thwarted Indianapolis in the postseason once again by a 23-17 tally.

The game marked the 25th overtime postseason contest in NFL history, going back to the 1958 Championship game; in this instance, the Colts lost by the same score that they won by on that day some 50 years earlier.

Darren Sproles (pictured at top) had an outstanding performance as he spelled Tomlinson and accumulated 328 total yards – 105 on 22 rushing attempts, 45 on five pass receptions, 106 on four kickoff returns, and 72 on three punt returns. Also noteworthy was the punter, Scifres (pictured above right), who punted six times for a 52.7-yard average and, more importantly, pinned the Colts inside their 20 yard line each time (51 yards to the San Diego 10, 58 to the 15, 50 to the 3, 67 to the 5, 38 to the 9, and 52 to the 1). As Colts RB Dominic Rhodes put it, “I think that their punter is the MVP of the game. He did a real good job of putting us deep in our territory, and their defense did a good job of keeping us there."


Also for the Chargers, Philip Rivers (pictured at left) completed 20 of 36 passes for 217 yards with one picked off. Antonio Gates, playing on a sprained ankle, led the team with 8 catches for 87 yards.

Peyton Manning (pictured leaving the field at bottom) threw 42 passes and completed 25 of them for 310 yards and a TD with no interceptions. Reggie Wayne, thanks to the long scoring catch, had 129 yards on four receptions. WR Anthony Gonzalez nearly reached the hundred-yard mark with 97 yards on 6 catches. TE Dallas Clark caught the most passes for the Colts with 7 (for 33 yards). The Chargers defense held the Colts running game to 64 yards on 22 carries; Joseph Addai led with 44 yards on 16 attempts.

The Chargers run ended the next week as they lost to Pittsburgh in the divisional round. For Indianapolis, it was the last game for Head Coach Tony Dungy, who chose to step down after seven years in which he accumulated a 92-33 record that included a 7-6 playoff tally with one Super Bowl championship.

1999: Cardinals Beat Cowboys for First Postseason Win Since ‘47

The Cardinals are the oldest NFL franchise, but not the most successful. Formed as the Morgan Athletic Club in Chicago in 1899, they were named the Racine Cardinals in 1901 (for the street where their playing field was located) thanks to the purchase of some faded maroon jerseys that were declared to be “cardinal red”. The team was a charter member of what became the NFL in 1920 and became known as the Chicago Cardinals. They won a championship in 1925, before there was such a thing as a postseason, and they defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1947 title game. But since that game, with moves to St. Louis and Phoenix (where they were first known as the Phoenix Cardinals before regionalizing the name to Arizona) along the way, they had appeared in four playoff games, losing all of them.

On January 2, 1999 the Cardinals appeared in an NFC Wild Card playoff against the Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium. Arizona had finished the 1998 season with a 9-7 record, putting them a game behind the division-winning Cowboys in the NFC East and qualifying them for the postseason for the first time since 1982. Under Head Coach Vince Tobin, the Cards boasted some young talent, starting with QB Jake “the Snake” Plummer (pictured above). WR Frank Sanders led the conference in pass receptions with 89, and along with WR Rob Moore provided a solid receiving tandem. RB Adrian Murrell ran for over a thousand yards (1042) and FB Larry Centers was an excellent receiver out of the backfield. The defensive line, which included DE Simeon Rice and the talented but oft-injured DT Eric Swann, was good and the secondary anchored by CB Aeneas Williams had talent.

Dallas had been as visible in the postseason over the course of over thirty seasons as the Cardinals hadn’t been. Most recently, they had won three Super Bowls in four seasons (1992-93, ’95) and had missed the playoffs for the first time since 1990 the previous year. But they had bounced back in ’98 under new Head Coach Chan Gailey to win the division at 10-6. They depended on their veteran nucleus of QB Troy Aikman, RB Emmitt Smith, and WR Michael Irvin on offense and DT Leon Lett , CB Deion Sanders (who missed several games with a toe injury), and SS Darren Woodson on defense.

The Cowboys had dominated the Cardinals in recent play, beating them in the nine previous games at Texas Stadium and 16 of 17 overall, including both meetings during the ’98 season.


The Cardinals made a big play in their second possession of the game as Plummer threw to Frank Sanders for 59 yards, setting up a 12-yard score on a shovel pass to Murrell. There was no further scoring until 19 seconds before the end of the half, as Chris Jacke kicked a 37-yard field goal to put the Cardinals up by a 10-0 score. Dallas had twice come close to getting on the scoreboard, but Richie Cunningham missed a 37-yard field goal attempt and, with a fourth-and-one situation on the Arizona nine yard line, Emmitt Smith was stopped for no gain.

Early in the second half, Murrell took off on a 74-yard run that set up a three-yard TD pass from Plummer to Centers. After Jacke kicked a 46-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, the score was 20-0 before Dallas finally scored on a six-yard pass from Aikman to WR Billy Davis after Deion Sanders had returned a punt 41 yards. It was too little, too late, with only 3:33 remaining in the game. The final score was 20-7 as Arizona came up a winner in the postseason for the first time in over 50 years.

Jake Plummer showed poise under pressure, completing 19 of 36 passes for 213 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Adrian Murrell (pictured below) led all runners with 95 yards on 12 carries. Rob Moore led the team with five pass receptions, for 41 yards, while Frank Sanders (pictured above left) gained the most yards (72) on his three catches.

For the Cowboys, Troy Aikman went to the air 49 times and completed 22 for 191 yards and a TD, but with three interceptions. Emmitt Smith had an ordinary game (for him) with 74 yards on 16 rushing attempts. WR Patrick Jeffers was the most productive receiver with 7 catches for 92 yards.

It was a frustrating day for Aikman, who said afterward, “It’s not the outcome we were expecting. They just clamped down on us.” Coach Gailey echoed the sentiment, saying “Arizona made big plays, and we didn’t. The defense hung in there, but we had too many dropped passes and penalties to hurt them on offense.”

On the other side, a happy Larry Centers said about winning at Texas Stadium, “This has been a house of horrors for us. This is great to finally get it off our back."

The win didn’t foreshadow a turnaround for the franchise, however – the Cardinals lost decisively the next week in the divisional playoff game against Minnesota, 41-21. Jake Plummer would ultimately prove too erratic to consistently lift the offense, the team fell back to 6-10 the next season, and Vince Tobin would be gone before the 2000 campaign was concluded. Arizona did not return to the playoffs again until the 2008 season.

The game did signal a period of decline for the Cowboys, who just made the postseason as a wild card entry with an 8-8 record in 1999 before missing out altogether the next three years.

1961: Oilers Defeat Chargers for First AFL Championship

The American Football League wound up its first season with the Houston Oilers hosting the Los Angeles Chargers in the championship game at Jeppesen Stadium on New Year’s Day, January 1, 1961.

The Oilers, under Head Coach Lou Rymkus, cruised easily to the Eastern Division title with a 10-4 record (the second place New York Titans were 7-7). They boasted the most significant rookie signing of the inaugural season in HB Billy Cannon, the 1959 Heisman Trophy winner out of LSU. 33-year-old QB George Blanda had come out of a year’s retirement from the NFL’s Bears to direct the offense, throwing for 2413 yards and 24 touchdown passes along the way; he was also the new league’s second leading scorer with 115 points thanks to his consistent placekicking. Flanker Charley Hennigan and split end Bill Groman came out of nowhere to become productive receivers (Groman led the AFL in receiving yards with 1473).

The Chargers were coached by Sid Gillman, an innovator in the development of the passing game. QB Jack Kemp led the AFL in passing and was second in yards through the air (3018) and completion percentage (52.0). They also had an effective running game led by HB Paul Lowe, the second leading rusher with 855 yards on a league-leading average gain of 6.3 yards-per-carry. Unfortunately, the team drew poorly in Los Angeles playing at the Memorial Coliseum and competing against the NFL’s Rams.

There were 32,183 fans present in 50 degree weather for what proved to be a good game to cap the inaugural season. Defense dominated the first quarter, with 41-year-old Ben Agajanian kicking field goals of 38 and 22 yards to stake the Chargers to a 6-0 lead (Agajanian had kicked with the Los Angeles Dons of the AAFC in 1947-48 and also played in the NFL as one of the earliest kicking specialists).

Houston scored the first touchdown of the contest on a 17-yard pass play from Blanda to FB Dave Smith after a 40-yard drive in which the veteran quarterback passed 8 times in 12 plays. Blanda and Agajanian traded field goals, and at halftime the score stood at 10-9 in favor of the Oilers.

Both offenses opened up more in the second half. Blanda continued to rely on his passing game while Lowe ran effectively for the Chargers. Groman hauled in a 7-yard TD pass from Blanda, and the Chargers responded with a long drive capped by Lowe’s two-yard scoring run. Houston was still ahead by a point after three quarters, 17-16.


The biggest play of the game came early in the fourth quarter with the Oilers facing a third-and-nine situation at their own 12 yard line. Blanda hit Cannon on a pass out of the backfield and the prize rookie halfback outran the San Diego secondary for an 88-yard touchdown. Twice the Chargers drove into Houston territory, only to lose the ball on downs on each occasion. The last time was at the 22 yard line with a minute remaining; had the Chargers been able to score a touchdown they would have had the opportunity to try for a two-point conversion (an option the NFL didn’t adopt until 1994) and tie the game, but it was not to be. The Houston Oilers won the 1960 AFL Championship by a score of 24-16.

George Blanda (pictured dropping back to pass at top) directed the Oilers well, completing 16 of 31 passes for 301 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Thanks to the long scoring reception, Cannon (pictured above left) had 128 yards on three catches and also led the team with 50 rushing yards on 18 carries. Dave Smith had the most receptions with five, for 52 yards. Hennigan had a solid four catches for 71 yards and Groman was three for 37 and a TD.


Paul Lowe (pictured at right) was the star for the Chargers, rushing for 165 yards on 21 carries and a TD. Jack Kemp completed 21 of his 41 passes for 171 yards with two picked off. Split end Don Norton and flanker Royce Womble both caught a team-leading six passes, although TE Dave Kocurek had the most receiving yards with 57 on three receptions (Norton had 55 and Womble 29).

Both teams repeated as division champions in 1961, but the Chargers were based in San Diego by then. After losing $900,000 and seeing his team play before far too many empty seats in the huge Memorial Coliseum, owner Barron Hilton responded to overtures to move the franchise down the Pacific coast where there was more fan potential and no NFL competition.

1967: Packers Win Third Consecutive NFL Title, Beating Dallas in “Ice Bowl”

Even by the standards of Green Bay, Wisconsin it was exceptionally cold on December 31, 1967. The temperature for the NFL Championship game at Lambeau Field between the hometown Packers and Dallas Cowboys was minus 13 degrees below zero. As if that weren’t enough, a brisk wind out of the north took the wind chill factor down to minus 38. The temperature had dropped so quickly the night before the game that the grid of underground wires, referred to as the “electric blanket”, that was to keep the field from freezing failed – the surface was hard and slick.

Head Coach Vince Lombardi had led the Packers to four NFL championships since arriving in 1959, including the previous two seasons, and was seeking a third in a row – something only the 1929-31 Packers had done (in the pre-postseason era). While the team had retooled along the way, some players were showing their age as well as wear and tear. QB Bart Starr suffered through an injury-plagued season. Rookie HB Travis Williams was sensational returning kickoffs, but journeymen like fullbacks Ben Wilson and Chuck Mercein had to play in the backfield due to attrition. In the new divisional format, the Packers won the Central Division with a 9-4-1 record and advanced to the title game by defeating the Coastal Division champion Rams convincingly, 28-7.

The Dallas Cowboys, under Head Coach Tom Landry, had lost to the Packers in the previous championship game – a close, hard-fought affair at the Cotton Bowl. Despite injuries to QB Don Meredith and HB Dan Reeves along the way, the team won the Capitol Division with a 9-5 record and annihilated Cleveland in the first round, 52-14. Defensively, they were built around five All-Pros in DT Bob Lilly, DE George Andrie, LB Chuck Howley, CB Cornell Green, and FS Mel Renfro.

The Packers were better adapted to playing in the extreme weather conditions, and showed it on their first possession as they drove 82 yards capped by an 8-yard touchdown pass by Starr to split end Boyd Dowler. Key penalties by the Cowboys helped move the Packers along to the early 7-0 advantage.

Green Bay made it 14-0 in the second quarter, again on a Starr to Dowler pass play, this one covering 46 yards (pictured at bottom). But Dallas got two breaks late in the first half. First, Starr was sacked by DE Willie Townes and fumbled, with Andrie picking up the skittering football and rumbling seven yards for a touchdown. Then safety Willie Wood muffed a punt at his 17 yard line, and the Cowboys again recovered. Danny Villanueva kicked a 21-yard field goal, and the Packers led by just 14-10 at halftime.

Green Bay’s offense turned as cold as the weather in the third quarter. CB Herb Adderley recovered a Meredith fumble on the Packer 13 yard line, which prevented a possible Dallas score but nothing more. The Cowboys finally struck with a big play in the fourth quarter, with Reeves successfully decoying the Green Bay defense and firing a halfback option pass to flanker Lance Rentzel that covered 50 yards and put Dallas ahead, 17-14.


For the next ten minutes, the momentum belonged to the Cowboys. They controlled the ball as Meredith (pictured at left) began to hit timely passes. The defense sacked Starr eight times, had not allowed the Packers to go farther than 14 yards in any of their last 10 possessions, and appeared to have the game in hand.

With 4:58 left to go, Green Bay got the ball back at its 31 yard line. Starr threw a screen pass to HB Donny Anderson for six yards, and then Mercein ran for seven and a first down. Starr hit Dowler down the middle for 13 yards. But then Anderson slipped and was tackled for a nine-yard loss. Starr went right back to Anderson, hitting him on consecutive passes to the Dallas 30.

Now it was Mercein catching a short pass and running to his left past Howley, who slipped and fell, and finally going out of bounds at the 11. Mercein ran again, and with Andrie slipping to the ground, went 8 yards to the Dallas three yard line. Anderson ran for two yards and a first down at the one. At this point, the Packers called their first time out. Now it was time for the Dallas defense to make a stand, and two running plays were stopped for no gain.

With 17 seconds left on the clock and stalled at third and goal on the one, the Packers took their last time out. In one of the most daring decisions in pro football history, Lombardi elected to pass up a game-tying field goal attempt and go for the all-or-nothing touchdown. Starr suggested a quarterback sneak on their 31-wedge play (normally a fullback dive). Guard Jerry Kramer had to make the key block on Cowboys DT Jethro Pugh – in the huddle, Starr told him, “Nothing short of the goal. It’s up to you, Jerry.”

Starr took the snap, Kramer made his block on Pugh (with help from C Ken Bowman), OT Forrest Gregg knocked Townes away, and the quarterback fell into the end zone (pictured at top). With Don Chandler’s extra point, the Packers were the champions once again by a score of 21-17.


Bart Starr completed 14 of 24 passes on the day, with two touchdowns and none picked off. Donny Anderson was the leading rusher, although at 18 carries for 35 yards he averaged less than two yards a carry. Chuck Mercein (pictured at right), who ran so effectively on the final drive, gained 20 yards on 6 attempts and caught two passes for 22 more. Anderson and Boyd Dowler both led the team with 4 pass receptions, with Dowler gaining the most yards (77) and scoring twice.

The Cowboys gained 109 yards through the air, with Dan Reeves accounting for 50 of that with his option TD pass. Don Meredith completed 10 of 25 throws for 59 yards with an interception. FB Don Perkins led the rushers with 51 yards on 17 carries, and Reeves added 42 yards on 11 attempts. Reeves also caught three passes for 11 yards, and the speedy split end Bob Hayes also caught three, for just 16 yards. Lance Rentzel, with the one long TD, gained 61 yards on two catches.

Green Bay went on to win the second Super Bowl over the AFL champion Oakland Raiders. But Lombardi stepped away from the sidelines, remaining in the front office for a year before leaving the Packers altogether. Phil Bengston would lead the aging team to a 6-7-1 finish in 1968. Dallas stayed a contender, making it to the postseason in each of the next three seasons until finally winning an NFC title in 1970, the first year of the merger, and a Super Bowl following the ’71 season.

But on a day when they battled the extreme cold as well as the Dallas Cowboys, the Green Bay Packers played inspired clutch football when they had to, and earned a third consecutive championship.

1995: Eagles Defeat Lions in High-Scoring NFL Postseason Game

The Detroit Lions came on strong in the second half of the 1995 season, winning their last seven consecutive games to finish at 10-6 and in second place in the NFC Central. They had a high-powered offense, directed by QB Scott Mitchell, who passed for 4338 yards and 32 touchdowns. He had excellent receivers, led by WR Herman Moore, who set an NFL record with his 123 pass receptions, and fellow WR Brett Perriman, who also reached triple figures with 108 catches. Together they accumulated 3174 yards between them (Moore with 1686, Perriman adding 1488). And they had the explosive Barry Sanders at running back (1500 yards rushing).

They certainly seemed to be on a roll, and veteran OT Lomas Brown guaranteed a win in the Wild Card playoff game, set for December 30, 1995 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. The Eagles had also finished at 10-6 and in second place in the NFC East. But while they had an outstanding running game featuring Ricky Watters (1273 yards rushing, 62 catches and 434 yards receiving) and change-of-pace back Charlie Garner, they had the NFL’s 29th-ranked passing offense and were outscored by their opponents over the course of the schedule (318-338). QB Rodney Peete (pictured above), formerly of the Lions, had taken over at quarterback for the benched Randall Cunningham and performed above expectations. The Eagles were a team that played at a high emotional level, as exemplified by first-year Head Coach Ray Rhodes (pictured below), and it had carried them into the playoffs.


The possibility of an offensive explosion in this playoff game was quite real, but no one, including the 66,099 fans in attendance, could have anticipated the number of points that went up on the scoreboard, or that it would be the Eagles scoring so prodigiously.

At the end of the first quarter, the game was tied at 7-7, but in the second quarter Philadelphia exploded for 31 unanswered points. Peete threw two touchdown passes, including a desperation pass on the last play of the first half that turned into a 43-yard scoring reception by WR Rob Carpenter; CB Barry Wilburn returned an intercepted pass 24 yards for a score; and Watters contributed a one-yard TD run. At halftime, the score was 38-7.

It was 51-7 before the Lions, with Don Majkowski having replaced the ineffective Mitchell at quarterback, finally got on the board again. Peete threw his third TD pass, of 45 yards, to Watters and Gary Anderson contributed his second and third field goals of the game. Majkowski then threw the first of his three touchdown passes, of 68 yards to Moore, and hit WR Johnnie Morton on a seven-yard pass play to make the score a slightly-more-respectable 51-21 at the end of the third quarter.

Eagles LB William Thomas capped the Philadelphia scoring with a 30-yard interception return in the fourth quarter, while Detroit put 16 more points on the board in a too-little, too-late effort that made the final tally 58-37.

The total of 95 points beat the previous record of 79 (accomplished twice) by 16 points [ADDENDUM: the record was broken on Jan. 10, 2010 when the Cardinals and Packers combined for 96 points]. The Eagles outgained the Lions, 452 to 422 yards. Rodney Peete showed up his former team as he completed 17 of 25 passes for 270 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. WR Fred Barnett caught 8 passes for 109 yards and a 22-yard TD. Garner led the rushers with 78 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown.

The two Detroit quarterbacks threw for 361 yards with four TDs and six interceptions. Moore caught 7 passes for 133 yards, while WR Aubrey Matthews, who caught just four passes all season but replaced the injured Perriman in the first quarter, also had 7 receptions (73 yards). Sanders was a non-factor, accumulating just 40 yards on 10 carries.

Coach Rhodes and defensive coordinator Emmitt Thomas used extra defensive backs, including safety Mike Zordich at linebacker, and it worked to fluster Mitchell and derail the Detroit offense (Mitchell pictured below being chased by DE Danny Stubbs).

Afterward, a chastened Lomas Brown said, “Any time you turn the ball over six times, you could play a high school team and you're not going to win. They had the better team today. They beat us convincingly.” (Actually, it was seven turnovers with a fumble added to the pickoffs).

Detroit Head Coach Wayne Fontes acknowledged that the Eagles had beaten the Lions at their own game: "Well, first it was 7-7 and then I turned around and it was 31-7. We're usually that type of team. We're used to getting up on teams like that."

The Eagles came back down to earth in the NFC Divisional playoff game, losing decisively at Dallas. Detroit dropped to 5-11 in 1996, although they made it to the postseason twice more in the following three years, again losing in the first round in each instance.

1963: Bears Exploit Turnovers to Defeat Giants for NFL Championship

It was a frigid day at Chicago’s Wrigley Field on December 29, 1963 as the Bears hosted the New York Giants in the NFL Championship game. The temperature at game time was 11 degrees. There were 45,801 fans in attendance to see which team would prevail – the home town club with its outstanding defense, or the visitors and their vaunted passing offense.

The Bears were coached by the 68-year-old “Papa Bear”, George Halas. With a zone defense installed by assistant coach George Allen, Chicago had put together an 11-1-2 record to edge out the Green Bay Packers in the Western Conference. The defensive line was anchored by DE Doug Atkins; the linebacking corps of Joe Fortunato, Bill George, and Larry Morris was the best in pro football; and the defensive backfield, led by free safety Roosevelt Taylor, who co-led the NFL with 9 interceptions, was excellent as well. The offense, led by QB Bill Wade, played conservatively but effectively.

The Giants, 11-3 under Head Coach Allie Sherman, featured an aerial attack directed by 37-year-old veteran QB Y.A. Tittle, who had been traded to New York from the 49ers prior to the 1961 season and proceeded to set passing records while leading the Giants to three consecutive Eastern Conference titles. In 1963, Tittle had broken his own record for TD passes, set just the previous year, with 36 (George Blanda had thrown the same number in the AFL in 1961) and led the league with a 60.2 completion percentage and 8.6 yards per attempt. He had a fine receiving corps led by split end Del Shofner and flanker Frank Gifford. The defense was aging but effective.

The Bears had the first possession of the game and ran the ball well until Wade, a good running quarterback, fumbled after a 12-yard carry at his own 41 yard line. CB Erich Barnes recovered for the Giants, and a few plays later Tittle threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Gifford. However, LB Morris rolled into Tittle’s left leg as it was planted to throw, tearing ligaments in his knee. The Giants led, 7-0, but the score would prove to be a costly one (pictured below, Tittle getting set to throw the scoring pass with #33 Morris about to roll into him; #31 is Joe Fortunato).


The teams exchanged punts, and then once again the Bears turned the ball over on a fumble, this time by HB Willie Galimore. With the ball on the Chicago 31, Tittle went for the touchdown on first down, firing to Shofner who had CB Dave Whitsell beaten by five yards in the end zone. The normally reliable All-Pro receiver jumped an instant too late and wasn’t able to make the catch. On second down, Morris intercepted a screen pass intended for HB Phil King and returned it 61 yards to the New York five yard line. Two plays later, Wade scored on a quarterback sneak, and instead of the Giants being up by two touchdowns in the first quarter, the score was tied at 7-7.

The Giants drove downfield once more, with the key play being a 36-yard pass from Tittle to TE Aaron Thomas. But with first and goal on the Bears three yard line, Chicago held and New York had to settle for a 13-yard Don Chandler field goal.

As the game continued through the second quarter, Chicago’s offense couldn’t move the ball against New York’s tenacious defense, but the Giants were unable to score again. Larry Morris once again hit Tittle and aggravated his knee injury to the point that he had to be helped off the field and didn’t immediately return. Chandler missed a field goal attempt, and the score remained 10-7 in favor of New York at the half.


The Bears defense turned another big play in the third quarter - they were on the lookout for screen passes, and DE Ed O’Bradovich cut in front of FB Joe Morrison to pick one off in Giants territory (pictured at right). Aided by a key third down pass completion to TE Mike Ditka, the Bears scored their second touchdown as Wade once again snuck over from a yard out.

After a missed field goal attempt by the Bears in the fourth quarter, Tittle and the Giants mounted one more major drive, moving from their 20 yard line deep into Chicago territory. But CB Bennie McRae intercepted a Tittle pass on third-and-five to end the threat. Still, the Bears were unable to mount a sustained drive to run out the clock and the Giants got the ball back once more at their 16 yard line with less than two minutes remaining.

Tittle connected for three passes that covered 30 yards, and in a third down situation hit Gifford for 15 yards to the Chicago 39. With 15 seconds left, Tittle threw a bomb intended for Shofner, but it was intercepted by strong safety Richie Petitbon and the Bears were league champions with a 14-10 win.

The day truly belonged to the Bears defense, as exemplified by the selection of Larry Morris as the MVP (pictured at top, stopping Joe Morrison) and the awarding of the game ball to George Allen. Of course, as Giants DE Andy Robustelli said afterward, “If Tittle hadn’t been hurt, we’d have won”. The Bears were outgained, 268 yards to 222, and their two touchdown possessions totaled 19 yards thanks to the excellent field position they were given through the interceptions by Morris and O’Bradovich. Bill Wade (pictured passing below left) completed just 10 of 28 passes for 138 yards, although to his credit he threw no interceptions. HB Ron Bull was the leading rusher for the Bears, with 42 yards on 13 carries; Wade was second, with 34 yards on 8 attempts and the two TDs. Ditka and FB Joe Marconi each caught three passes, with Marconi’s 64 yards leading the team (Ditka had 38 yards).


For the Giants, Y.A. Tittle, hampered by the injured knee, completed 11 of 29 passes for 147 yards with one TD and five interceptions. Frank Gifford topped the receivers with three receptions for 45 yards and a score. Joe Morrison also caught three passes (for 18 yards) and was the leading rusher with 18 carries for 61 yards. Most tellingly, Del Shofner caught no passes at all.

The loss was especially galling for Tittle, appearing in his last postseason game (he retired following the 1964 season), but never winning one. The Giants were on the verge of a long decline – this was their sixth championship game appearance in eight years (only the first, in 1956, resulted in a win), but they would not appear in the playoffs again until 1981. The Bears fell quickly from their perch as well, going 5-9 in 1964; they wouldn’t make the postseason again until 1977.

For Halas, it was his sixth – and final – NFL championship, stretching all the way back to 1921. On a frigid day at Wrigley Field, 42 years after leading the Bears to a title for the first time (before there even was a postseason), “the Papa Bear” and his team were back on top once more.

1958: Colts Defeat Giants in Overtime for NFL Title in “Greatest Game”

Perhaps no pro football game has received more attention than the NFL Championship game played at Yankee Stadium in New York on December 28, 1958. While it has been characteristically referred to as “the Greatest Game Ever Played”, such a statement is debatable – while it was certainly a very good game, there’s plenty of competition for that highly subjective title. But it was the most significant game in terms of fueling the rise of pro football and cementing its place on network television and in the national consciousness.

The host Giants, coached by Jim Lee Howell, had won the title two years previously and typically contended in the Eastern Conference. They had not had an easy road to the championship game, having won the last four contests of the season to end up in a tie with Cleveland. The last win had in fact been over the Browns in a nail-biting, must-win contest that came down to a late 49-yard field goal by Pat Summerall. The Giants had to then host the Browns once again in a tie-breaking playoff, and won once more, 10-0.

Baltimore was less well known nationally than the Giants, having only come into existence in 1953, and was in the postseason for the first time thanks to the coaching of Weeb Ewbank, who was in his fifth year. They boasted QB Johnny Unitas, who in his third season led the league in touchdown passes (19) and was already being referred to as one of the premier players at his position. Split end Raymond Berry tied for the NFL lead in pass receptions (56), and the Colts could run the ball formidably with FB Alan “The Horse” Ameche and halfbacks Lenny Moore (a great receiver out of the backfield as well) and L.G. Dupre.

There were 64,185 fans at Yankee Stadium and another 40 million watching on tv as the Giants took the early lead on a 36-yard Summerall field goal. But the Colts dominated play for the most part in the first half, and scored twice in the second quarter – on a two-yard run by Ameche and a 15-yard pass play from Unitas to Berry – to take a 14-3 lead into halftime.

It appeared that Unitas and the Colts were going to take decisive control of the game on their first possession of the third quarter, driving to the New York three yard line. But the Giants defense held at that point, and when the Colts went for it on fourth down, LB Cliff Livingston nailed Ameche for a four-yard loss. Momentum now shifted to the Giants, and QB Charley Conerly hit end Kyle Rote on a deep slant; he fumbled at the Baltimore 25, but HB Alex Webster, trailing the play, picked up the loose football and carried it down to the one. FB Mel Triplett scored from there to cut the Colts lead to 14-10.

On the next possession, Conerly connected on a pass to end Bob Schnelker for 46 yards, setting up the go-ahead touchdown on a 15-yard pass from Conerly to HB Frank Gifford. Less than a minute into the fourth quarter, New York led 17-14. The solid Giants defense stopped the next two Baltimore drives. With the clock dipping under three minutes, the Giants faced a third-and-four situation at their own 40 yard line; a first down would all but nail down the win. Conerly handed off to Gifford, who was hit hard by DE Gino Marchetti (who broke his leg on the play) and seemed very close to the necessary yardage; the officials placed the ball just short, and Coach Howell elected to punt.

Don Chandler’s punt was a good one that the Colts were forced to fair catch at their 14 yard line. Now it was Unitas driving the Colts down the field. On a third-and-ten play, he hit Moore for a first down at the 25. With the Giants double-teaming the multi-talented Moore, Unitas found Berry for a diving catch at the 35. Unitas kept going to Berry, who caught three passes for 62 yards on the drive to the New York 13. With the clock ticking down to 30 seconds, Steve Myhra kicked a 20-yard field goal (pictured below) to tie the game at 17-17 and set the stage for the first “sudden death” overtime in NFL history.


The Giants won the toss and received, but came up short on a third down Conerly bootleg and had to punt. Baltimore got the ball on their 20 yard line, and from there Unitas directed one of the most famous drives in pro football history. First, L.G. Dupre swept for 11 yards. After a pass intended for Moore was batted away by Giants defensive halfback Lindon Crow, Ameche gained two yards on a draw play. On third-and-eight, Unitas passed to Ameche who just made enough yardage for the first down.

Dupre ran again, but then Unitas was sacked by DT Dick Modzelewski. With a third-and-15 situation, Unitas found Berry on a 20-yard pass play to keep the drive going. Another big gain followed as Ameche rumbled for 23 yards on a trap play to the New York 21 yard line. After a short gain by Dupre, it was Unitas to Berry once again for 12 yards and a first down at the Giants 8. Ameche ran for a yard, and then Unitas surprised the Giants with a six-yard pass to end Jim Mutscheller that put the ball on the one. From there, Ameche ran in for the score (pictured at bottom) and the Colts had a 23-17 win and the championship.

Johnny Unitas completed 26 of 40 passes for 349 yards with a TD and an interception. Berry was the top receiver with 12 catches for 178 yards and a score, and Lenny Moore had 101 yards on 6 receptions (he had a 60-yard catch in the first half). Alan Ameche led the runners with 65 yards on 14 carries, including the two touchdowns.

For New York, Charley Conerly had a solid performance in completing 10 of 14 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown. Frank Gifford ran for a team-high 60 yards on 12 carries and also led the Giants with three pass receptions, for 14 yards and a TD, although he also fumbled the ball away three times. Kyle Rote accumulated the most pass receiving yards with 76 on two catches, and Bob Schnelker was right behind with 63 yards on his two receptions.

There was plenty of room for second-guessing with a game that was so close and turned on a few key plays. The decision to play for the touchdown rather than a field goal at the end particularly drew speculation, but the fact was that the pass to Mutscheller was a second down play and, with the team on a roll and Myhra not a sure bet to make the kick (the Giants blocked an attempt in the first half), Unitas was not inclined to be too conservative; in this instance, it proved to be a successful strategy and helped to confirm the lanky quarterback’s reputation as a daring field general and skillful clutch performer.

The close calls and second guesses have provided fuel for discussion over the years, but the outstanding performances – especially by Unitas – and the “sudden death” overtime element have long given the game an iconic status. And it surely generated interest in the sport at a time when television was ready to provide more exposure. Maybe, when you put all of the elements together, it truly was “the Greatest Game”.