2006: Delhomme & Smith Lead Panthers Past Boller & Ravens

Coming off of an 11-5 record in 2005 that ended with a loss in the NFC Championship game, the Carolina Panthers lost their first two contests in ’06. However, they won their next three games as they headed to Baltimore to take on the 4-1 Ravens on October 15 at M&T Bank Stadium.

Head Coach John Fox’s Panthers had been without WR Steve Smith (pictured at right) in the first two losing games due to injury, and his return had a positive impact on the offense’s performance. Smith gave the conservative, run-oriented unit a significant receiving threat. Meanwhile, Carolina had a strong defense, as did Baltimore. Under Head Coach Brian Billick, they had dipped to 6-10 in ’05 but made a significant upgrade at quarterback in acquiring 11-year veteran Steve McNair from the Titans. The Ravens entered the game with a six-game home winning streak.

McNair came out throwing, but not to great effect. The Ravens went three-and-out in the opening series, in which the veteran passed on each down, and the second possession was marked by his tossing an interception to safety Colin Branch on the third play.


QB Jake Delhomme (pictured at left) had thrown an interception to end Carolina’s first series, but after the pickoff of the McNair pass the Panthers drove 59 yards on nine plays, highlighted by pass completions of 32 and 16 yards to Smith, that culminated in a 21-yard field goal by John Kasay. On the first play of the next Baltimore possession, McNair was hit hard by LB Chris Draft and DE Mike Rucker - not only was he sacked, but the quarterback was forced to leave the game. He was replaced by backup Kyle Boller.

Boller, a fourth-year pro who had started nine games the previous season, had been relegated to the bench once McNair was obtained. However, after the teams traded fumbles and the Panthers punted early in the second quarter, Boller directed the Ravens on a 13-play, 73-yard drive that included a three-yard run in a fourth-and-one situation and ended with a touchdown pass of 14 yards to WR Mark Clayton. Baltimore was up by 7-3.

Carolina came back with an eight-play drive that also ended in a score as Delhomme connected with WR Drew Carter for a 42-yard touchdown. A 31-yard field goal by Kasay at the end of the half gave the Panthers a 13-7 lead at the intermission.

Both quarterbacks gave up interceptions in their teams’ initial second half possessions. Baltimore controlled the ball for most of the third quarter, but neither club scored. In the fourth quarter, after a long 15-play, 91-yard drive that ate up nearly eight minutes, Kasay kicked a 21-yard field goal to extend Carolina’s lead to 16-7. Along the way, Steve Smith gained 58 yards on three catches.

After the teams traded punts, the Ravens struck for a big play as Boller connected with Clayton for a 62-yard touchdown that narrowed the margin to 16-14. But the Panthers responded on the very next play from scrimmage with a 72-yard Delhomme-to-Smith TD pass, quieting the record crowd of 70,762.

Baltimore came back to score on the next possession, going 68 yards in seven plays highlighted by a 35-yard pass play from Boller to WR Demetrius Williams and capped with a seven-yard touchdown pass to TE Todd Heap. Once again, it was a two-point game with just over two minutes remaining in the game.

But while the Ravens had all three timeouts, they never got another chance on offense. On a key third-and-one situation at the Carolina 46, Delhomme completed a four-yard pass to Carter for a first down and the Panthers ran out the clock to win, 23-21.

Jake Delhomme completed 24 of 39 passes for 365 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Steve Smith was the recipient of 8 of those completions for 189 yards and the long TD. The aerial game had been crucial as the tough Baltimore defense held the Panthers to just 58 yards rushing on 30 attempts; RB DeShaun Foster accounted for all of the yards on 26 of the carries.


In relief, Kyle Boller (pictured at right) had a solid passing performance with 17 completions in 31 attempts for 226 yards with three touchdowns and one picked off. Mark Clayton caught 5 passes for 101 yards and two TDs; Todd Heap gained 55 yards on his 5 receptions and scored a touchdown. The Ravens were only a bit better running the ball, with a total of 80 yards, and RB Jamal Lewis accounted for 41 of that total on his nine carries; Boller took off and ran six times for 27 yards.

Overall, the Panthers gained 414 total yards, to 292 for Baltimore. Having come into the game ranked last in the league in third down conversions, Carolina converted a crucial 7 of 15, including the game-clincher at the end.

“It’s always frustrating when the other team converts third downs,” said Baltimore LB Terrell Suggs. “We wanted to get off the field, but they kept making big plays. I give them a lot of credit.”

DE Julius Peppers had two sacks and eight tackles for the Panthers and complimented the backup quarterback, Boller. “He did a good job when he came in. He got them some points and moved the ball.”

The win proved to be the high point of the season for Carolina – the Panthers lost six of their next eight games, including four straight at one point, and finished in second place in the NFC South with an 8-8 record. Baltimore went in the other direction, winning nine of their remaining ten contests to win the AFC North with a 13-3 tally. They lost to the Colts in the Divisional round of the playoffs.

Steve Smith caught 83 passes for 1166 yards (14.0 average) and eight touchdowns. He was selected to the Pro Bowl for the third time.

With Steve McNair returning to action, Kyle Boller went back to the bench and saw only limited time the rest of the way. He completed 33 of 55 passes for 485 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions.

1973: Harold Jackson Keys LA Win Over Dallas With 238 Yards & 4 TDs

Following a 6-7-1 season in 1972 (their first sub-.500 record since 1965), the Los Angeles Rams had a new look for 1973. Gone was Head Coach Tommy Prothro, successor to George Allen, and in his place was Chuck Knox, a long-time assistant with the Jets and Lions. Gone also was QB Roman Gabriel after 11 years with the Rams, traded to Philadelphia and replaced by another 11-year veteran, John Hadl, who was obtained from the San Diego Chargers.

The Eagles, desperate for a franchise quarterback, had given up much to obtain Gabriel. The Rams received two number one draft picks, a number two selection, RB Tony Baker, and most significantly, WR Harold Jackson (pictured above). The swift 5’10” (at most), 175-pound Jackson had led the NFL in both pass receptions (62) and receiving yards (1048) with the offensively-challenged Eagles. He had originally been drafted by the Rams in the 12th round out of Jackson State in 1968, was only active for two games, caught no passes, and was dealt to Philadelphia, where he quickly blossomed. His homecoming would prove to be a productive one.

The revamped Rams got off to a 4-0 start and on October 14 faced their biggest test to date as they hosted the Dallas Cowboys at the Memorial Coliseum. The Cowboys, perennial contenders under Head Coach Tom Landry, were 3-1 and coming off of a tough loss at Washington the previous Monday night.

There was a big and enthusiastic crowd of 81,428 present in the cavernous stadium. The Rams came out throwing as Hadl passed to FB Jim Bertelsen for a 12-yard gain on their first offensive play. Two plays later, Jackson caught his first touchdown pass of the game, speeding past FS Charlie Waters to go 63 yards.

Jackson caught a second scoring pass, of 16 yards, before Dallas got on the board thanks to a 30-yard interception return by CB Mel Renfro to make the score 14-7 at the end of the first quarter.

Turnovers put the Cowboys in a deep hole as they lost two fumbles by kick returner Les Strayhorn and had two passes intercepted in the first half, by CB Eddie McMillan and LB Isiah Robertson, that set up a touchdown and field goal, respectively.

Hadl connected with Jackson for two more long touchdowns, of 67 and 36 yards, in the second quarter. In addition, David Ray kicked field goals of 27 and 37 yards. Meanwhile, the Cowboys scored once, on an eight-yard run by RB Calvin Hill. The Rams had a 34-14 lead at halftime and Hadl had already completed 9 of 14 passes for 217 yards with the four TDs to Jackson.

However, Dallas made a strong comeback in the second half. QB Roger Staubach threw two touchdown passes, of six and 10 yards, to WR Otto Stowe. The Rams scored just once more, on a 35-yard field goal by Ray in the third quarter.

After the second Stowe touchdown, the Cowboys were at the LA one yard line and down by 9 points at 37-28 with five minutes left in the game; they elected to go for the short eight-yard Toni Fritsch field goal. Now behind by six points, Dallas got the ball back but DB Al Clark intercepted a Staubach pass at the LA 32 with 2:31 left on the clock. With the time running down to under two minutes remaining and the crowd cheering wildly, the Rams needed to maintain possession to run the clock out and seal the win; RB Larry Smith did the job as he gained five yards and a first down. Los Angeles held on for a 37-31 win.

The ground-oriented Rams had difficulty running against the number one-ranked “Doomsday Defense” of the Cowboys. Adding to LA’s running woes, RB Lawrence McCutcheon, second-leading rusher in the NFC coming into the game, suffered a pulled hamstring and didn’t play in the second half (he gained just 15 yards on three carries). McCutcheon was another new face who had contributed mightily to LA’s early success, having appeared in just three games – all on special teams – in his 1972 rookie season. Short-yardage specialist Tony Baker (12 rushes for 24 yards) also went down with a shoulder separation. Jim Bertelsen led the team with 52 yards on 17 carries.

However, the line protected Hadl well and allowed the passing game to compensate to devastating effect. While the Rams gained 104 rushing yards on 40 attempts (2.6 average gain), Hadl (pictured below) completed 12 of 22 passes for 279 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. Of that, Harold Jackson caught 7 passes for 238 yards and the four TDs.


For Dallas, Roger Staubach was successful on 15 of 25 throws for 173 yards with two TDs and three interceptions. Otto Stowe led the receivers with 6 catches for 86 yards and both touchdowns. Calvin Hill paced the team in rushing with 51 yards on 15 attempts and a TD.

“This is my finest hour in the NFL”, Harold Jackson said. “I feel I can run the deep post and just about get open every time. The key is I have to outrun the free safety. Charlie Waters told me after the game he made me look like I was All-World. He's a good player and I appreciate his saying that.”

Added John Hadl, “The two long touchdown passes were both off play action. Harold runs a post pattern and I just look for the last move he makes and try to throw it where I think he'll be."

“The Rams are a fine, great team with momentum,” said Dallas Coach Landry. “But the Rams beat a good football team. It's tough to come back from a Monday night game like we had to play. We wanted to win more than anything but we left everything on the field in Washington, particularly emotionally.”

Los Angeles went on to win the NFC West with a 12-2 record and the Cowboys recovered to win the NFC East at 10-4. The two teams met again in the postseason, in a Divisional playoff game, and Dallas came away the winner by a 27-16 score. The Cowboys went on to lose the NFC Championship game to the Minnesota Vikings.

Harold Jackson’s performance against the Cowboys came in the midst of a string of four games in which he caught a total of 13 passes for 422 yards for an impressive 32.5-yard average with 8 TDs. For the year, he had 40 receptions for 874 yards (21.9 average) and 13 touchdowns. He was a consensus first-team All-NFL selection (AP, NEA, Pro Football Writers of America, Pro Football Weekly) and went to the Pro Bowl for the third (of an eventual five) times. Upon his retirement, following the 1983 season, Jackson ranked second in career pass receiving yards (10,372) on his 579 catches, even though during his prime he played for a running team and in an era when zone defenses had largely curtailed the long passing game.

John Hadl ranked first in the NFL in percentage of TD passes (8.5) and yards per completion (14.9, tied with Atlanta’s Bob Lee), second in yards-per-attempt (7.8, again tied with Lee), and third in passing (88.8 rating) and touchdown passes (22). He, too, received All-Pro and Pro Bowl recognition, although in his case it was something of a last hurrah. Showing signs of decline the following year (and with the younger James Harris ready to take over), he was traded to Green Bay at midseason, and by his last two seasons (1976-77) was strictly a backup.

1963: Jim Brown Gains 209 Total Yards to Propel Browns Over Giants

The October 13, 1963 matchup between the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants at Yankee Stadium was a key showdown in the race for the Eastern Conference crown. The Browns, under new Head Coach Blanton Collier, were off to a 4-0 start while the Giants, winners of the conference the previous two seasons, had a 3-1 record.

The big story in Cleveland during the previous offseason had been the firing of Head Coach/GM Paul Brown, who had been an innovative and winning coach since the club’s founding in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in 1946. However, the team had not won a title since 1955 and some players on the talented club – most notably star FB Jim Brown – bridled under Brown’s strict coaching methods. Young owner Art Modell also clashed with the legendary coach, and finally dispatched Brown and elevated Collier, a long-time Browns assistant who had returned after a hiatus as head coach at the University of Kentucky. Collier brought a more relaxed style to coaching the team, and the players responded with the strong start.

Head Coach Allie Sherman’s Giants were a talented veteran team seeking to win an NFL championship – something the club hadn’t done since 1956 despite making it to the title game four times in the previous five seasons – before time ran out. QB Y.A. Tittle had directed the offense brilliantly in the previous two seasons since coming to New York in a trade with the 49ers, and the defense was regularly among the best.

As was to be expected in a game between these teams, the contest was intensely physical. The Giants scored first when CB Dick Lynch intercepted a pass by Browns QB Frank Ryan and ran 47 yards down the sideline for a touchdown. However, Cleveland came right back with an 11-play drive that culminated in a one-yard scoring leap by Brown.

The Giants responded with an 11-play drive of their own that covered 75 yards and was helped along by two personal foul penalties on the Browns. FB Alex Webster plowed into the end zone from a yard out to regain the lead for New York at 14-7.

In the second quarter, a poor 11-yard punt by Cleveland’s Gary Collins gave the Giants good field position, but they settled for a 25-yard Don Chandler field goal. DB Jim Shorter returned the ensuing kickoff 49 yards to midfield and the Browns followed up six plays later with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Ryan to split end Rich Kreitling. The score was 17-14 in favor of the Giants at halftime.

Jim Brown had a relatively quiet first half, by his standards, carrying the ball 13 times for 47 yards as the Giants defense – in particular MLB Sam Huff – keyed on him. But he broke loose in a big way early in the third quarter when Ryan tossed a screen pass to him and the great fullback sped 72 yards for a TD. The Browns were ahead for the first time at 21-17.

Before the third quarter was over, Brown struck again with a 32-yard touchdown run that all but nailed down the win for Cleveland. While the Giants scored once more on a 14-yard pass from Tittle to HB Phil King in the fourth quarter, the Browns countered with Ryan connecting once again with Kreitling for an 11-yard TD. The final score was 35-24.

Cleveland piled up 340 total yards to New York’s 211. Of that total, Jim Brown accounted for 209 yards as he gained 123 on 23 carries with two TDs and 86 on four pass receptions and another touchdown (he was the team’s leading receiver as well as rusher). Frank Ryan completed 12 of 16 passes for 169 yards with three touchdowns and the lone interception. HB Ernie Green contributed to the Browns’ total of 210 rushing yards with 69 on 12 attempts.

“It was a very rough game,” said Brown afterward. “No, I wouldn’t say dirty. I think they were just a little overanxious.” Sam Huff summed up Brown’s performance when he said “if he had run any harder, he’d have killed one of us.”

Y.A. Tittle was harassed throughout the game by the Cleveland defensive line but completed 17 of his 31 passes for 178 yards with a TD and none intercepted. Split end Del Shofner led the Giants with 5 catches for 54 yards. New York gained just 72 yards on the ground, with FB Joe Morrison leading the way with 38 yards on 9 carries.

The Browns remained undefeated for one more week before being dominated by the Giants in the re-match in Cleveland, 33-6. New York lost just once more the rest of the way and again came in first in the Eastern Conference with an 11-3 record; they lost the NFL title game to the Chicago Bears. Cleveland tailed off in the second half of the year and finished in second place at 10-4.

After just five games, Jim Brown had 787 yards rushing and went on to break his own single-season rushing record with 1863 yards on 291 carries (6.4 average per attempt) with 12 touchdowns. As the game against the Giants showed, he could also be effective as a receiver out of the backfield and added 268 yards on 24 catches with three TDs. He was named NFL MVP by UPI and the Newspaper Enterprise Association and received the Bert Bell Award.


Frank Ryan (pictured at left), in his seventh NFL season and second with the Browns, made great strides at quarterback. The fourth-ranked passer in the league (second by the current rating system, at 90.4), he ranked third in touchdown passes (25) and was tied for first with Tittle in percentage of TD passes thrown (9.8). He was also one of the most intelligent quarterbacks in the game – the product of Rice University earned a Ph.D. in mathematics.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1970: Joe Kapp Debuts with Patriots in Loss to Chiefs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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