2004: Jaguars Overcome Cold and Favre to Beat Packers

It was frigid at Green Bay’s Lambeau Field on December 19, 2004, with temperatures in the single digits and a wind chill of minus 12. Such conditions often proved too much for visiting teams from warm-weather parts of the country, and the Packers’ opponent on this day was the Jacksonville Jaguars. Moreover, Green Bay was 31-3 in home games after December 1 with Brett Favre at quarterback.

The Packers, under Head Coach Mike Sherman, were 8-5 coming into the game, and had won seven of their last eight. The key to the offense was the 35-year-old Favre, as had been the case since he took over as starting quarterback in 1992. WR Javon Walker provided a productive target for the veteran passer to throw to while RB Ahman Green was a solid runner, although occasionally fumble-prone and nicked by injuries. Defense was a nagging problem.

Head Coach Jack Del Rio’s Jaguars came into the contest at 7-6. They had gotten off to a 5-2 start but then lost four of five before beating the Bears at home the week before. Jacksonville had a second-year starting quarterback in big (6’5”, 245 pounds) Byron Leftwich, and he had an outstanding veteran target in WR Jimmy Smith. Explosive seventh-year RB Fred Taylor (pictured above) handled the bulk of the rushing. The team had run into problems with scoring, however – in the six previous games, they had reached 20 points in only two of them.

The Jaguars quickly scored first in the opening period. On the second play from scrimmage, Taylor ran 46 yards to the Green Bay 31 yard line, and from there Leftwich threw a touchdown pass to Smith.

Neither team was able to move the ball effectively for the remainder of the first quarter, but early in the second quarter Ryan Longwell put the Packers on the board with a 35-yard field goal. It was Longwell’s 45th consecutive field goal from within 40 yards, but the string was broken on the next Green Bay possession when, following an 11-play drive, the placekicker missed from 31 yards.

Green Bay went ahead thanks to a heads-up defensive play by safety Darren Sharper. Having been sacked on the previous play, Leftwich was hit and fumbled, but several players on both sides thought it was an incomplete pass and didn’t try to recover the ball. Jacksonville G Vic Manuwai picked it up, but Sharper alertly knocked it out of his hand, recovered, and ran 15 yards for a touchdown. The Packers took a 10-7 lead.

The Jaguars came right back, however, going 68 yards in four plays that culminated in Leftwich again tossing a TD pass to Smith, this time of 16 yards. Green Bay had an opportunity to score again before halftime, but after driving to the Jacksonville 23, Favre fumbled and LB Daryl Smith recovered to snuff out the threat. The Jaguars held a 14-10 lead at the intermission.

The Packers put together a six-play, 76-yard drive to start the third quarter that ended with Favre tossing a 32-yard touchdown pass to WR Donald Driver. But once again Jacksonville responded in kind as Taylor ran 37 yards for a TD that put the Jaguars back in front at 21-17.

Favre completed four passes in the next Green Bay drive, but after getting to the Jacksonville three he was intercepted by CB Rashean Mathis in the end zone. Again the teams traded punts, but in the fourth quarter, the Jaguars culminated a 10-play drive that covered 58 yards with RB Greg Jones scoring from a yard out on a fourth-and-goal play to increase the lead to 28-17.

Favre was intercepted twice more, including once deep in Jacksonville territory, before finally hitting WR Antonio Chatman for a seven-yard TD. The Packers narrowed the Jaguar lead to three points by successfully tacking on a two-point conversion on a Favre-to-Driver pass. But there was now just over a minute left to play, and an attempted onside kick was recovered by Jacksonville safety Nick Sorensen; the Jaguars were able to run out the clock and came away with a 28-25 upset win.

Green Bay outgained the Jaguars (444 yards to 312) and had 26 first downs to Jacksonville’s 19. But they were undone by five turnovers (to two by the Jaguars) and 12 penalties that cost 101 yards, as opposed to 7 for 85 yards against the visitors.

Both quarterbacks came away battered, although they made it all the way through, and there was a scary moment in the fourth quarter when Green Bay WR Robert Ferguson was clotheslined by Jaguars safety Donovin Darius (who was ejected) and suffered a sprained neck.

Jacksonville ran the ball especially well, gaining 197 yards overall on the ground. Fred Taylor led the way with 165 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown. Byron Leftwich completed 9 of 20 passes for 121 yards with two TDs and no interceptions. Jimmy Smith caught 4 passes for 87 yards and both scoring passes.

Brett Favre (pictured below) filled the air with passes, throwing 44 times and completing 30 for 367 yards. However, while two of them were good for touchdowns, three were intercepted (two by Rashean Mathis). Javon Walker caught 11 passes for 152 yards while Donald Driver had 4 receptions for 74 yards and a TD and Antonio Chatman also pulled in 4 passes, for 48 yards and a score. Ahman Green ran for 94 yards on 17 attempts.


“A team that plays in Florida in the 80s and 70s, you just can't condition your body for the temperatures you are going to feel,” Coach Del Rio said afterward. “But you can condition your mind and I felt we were ready from that standpoint.”

Mike Sherman complimented the Jaguars by saying, “They have the talent to play in any conditions.”

Despite falling to 8-6, the Packers clinched a spot in the postseason because the Bears, Cowboys, Panthers, and Giants all lost on the same weekend. Green Bay finished strong to win the NFC North with a 10-6 record, but lost to Minnesota in the Wild Card playoff. Jacksonville lost the following week and ended up at 9-7; it was an improvement and good enough for second place in the AFC South, but the Jaguars failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Fred Taylor rushed for over a thousand yards for the third straight year, and the fifth of an eventual seven seasons. He gained 1224 yards on 260 carries (4.7 avg.) with two touchdowns and caught 36 passes for another 345 yards and a TD. However, he missed the last two games in ’04 due to a knee injury that required arthroscopic surgery.

Brett Favre ranked fifth in the NFL with 4088 yards passing and fourth with 30 touchdown passes. He also tied for fifth by tossing 17 interceptions.


Favre wasn’t selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time in four years, but Javon Walker (pictured at left) was after catching 89 passes for 1382 yards (third in the NFL) and 12 touchdowns. However, he appeared in only one game in 2005 before going on injured reserve with a knee injury and ended an acrimonious relationship with the team when dealt to Denver in ’06.

1960: John David Crow Reaches Thousand Yards with 203 in Season Finale

The move from Chicago to St. Louis following the 1959 NFL season seemed to reinvigorate the Cardinals franchise. Not only did they have an enthusiastic new fan base, but the quality of play improved as well. Coming into the season finale on December 18, 1960 against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals were 5-5-1 and had a chance to post their first winning record since 1956.

While second-year split end Sonny Randle was having a breakout season, St. Louis was at its best running the ball (they led the league in that category). Head Coach Frank “Pop” Ivy favored a ground game that featured multiple sets and his best and most versatile runner was HB John David Crow.

Crow, in his third year, had come out of Texas A & M, where he was coached by the legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant and won the Heisman Trophy in 1957 (Bryant’s only Heisman winner). At 6’2”, 215 pounds, he was versatile as a runner with speed and power, as a receiver out of the backfield, and as a passer on option plays. He had been selected to the Pro Bowl in ’59 after gaining 666 yards rushing, plus another 328 on 28 catches, and was better in 1960 - going into the game against the Steelers he needed 57 yards to break Ollie Matson’s single-season team rushing record of 924 yards, set in that last winning season of 1956.

There were 20,840 fans present on a cold but sunny day. The Steelers, coached by Buddy Parker, were also 5-5-1 but, unlike the situation with the Cardinals, Pittsburgh appeared to be moving in the wrong direction. In 1958, Parker’s second season, in which Bobby Layne was obtained from the Lions early in the year to take over the quarterback duties, the club went 7-4-1. In ’59 they had been 6-5-1. But Layne was one of several players suffering through an injury-plagued campaign. After a 2-5-1 start, the Steelers had won their last three games.

The game started slowly, with neither team able to generate much offense due to fumbles and penalties. The battered Layne sat out the first 22 minutes as the strong-armed Rudy Bukich started (and eventually finished) at quarterback for the Steelers.

St. Louis finally scored in the last minute of the first half after recovering a fumble at the Pittsburgh 15. FB Frank Mestnik ran for a one-yard touchdown. However, Pittsburgh came right back to tie the score with just three seconds left in the second quarter on a 49-yard pass play from Layne to flanker Jimmy Orr.

On the first possession of the third quarter, Cardinals QB John Roach threw to Randle for a 57-yard gain to the Pittsburgh 20 that set up a 16-yard field goal by Gerry Perry. However, before the period was over, Roach threw two touchdown passes to Randle, of 14 and 8 yards, to effectively put the game out of reach.

Crow passed Matson’s franchise rushing record with a 57-yard run in the fourth quarter, part of a 98-yard drive by the Cardinals following a pass interception deep in their own territory. Roach scored from a yard out to make it 31-7.

A fumble recovery set up a last, late touchdown by St. Louis as Randle caught a 33-yard pass from Roach for his third score of the day that provided the final score of 38-7.

The season-ending win, of course, allowed St. Louis to finish over .500 with a 6-5-1 record that placed fourth in the Eastern Conference. Pittsburgh’s 5-6-1 tally ranked fifth.

The Cardinals gained 379 total yards to 180 for Pittsburgh, and also had a significant edge in first downs, 21 to 9. The Steelers ran the ball poorly, gaining just 30 net yards and one first down on 22 carries. They also turned the ball over four times, to just one suffered by St. Louis.

The Cardinals gained 271 yards rushing, with John David Crow not only setting a new single-season franchise record with 1071, but establishing a single-game mark with 203 yards on 24 attempts. He also caught two passes for 30 yards and completed an option pass for nine more.

Sonny Randle also had a big day, catching 5 passes for 115 yards and three touchdowns. John Roach completed 7 of 21 passes for 145 yards with three of them good for TDs and none intercepted.

Bobby Layne, who came on for Bukich but was injured in the fourth quarter, completed 4 of 8 passes for 92 yards and the lone TD; Rudy Bukich was successful on 6 of 12 passes for 81 yards and gave up two interceptions. Jimmy Orr led the receivers with 4 catches for 78 yards and a touchdown. HB Tom Tracy led the anemic running game with 33 yards on 13 carries.

“The boys really gave me some wonderful blocking - all of 'em,” Crow said afterward. “You have to have it for 203 yards in this league.”

Coach Ivy said Crow “can go inside or outside with as much power and speed combined as any back I've ever seen. What's more, he can receive passes well and throw that running halfback pass well.”


Sonny Randle (pictured at left) also set Cardinals club records with 62 catches and 15 touchdowns for the year. John Roach’s three TD passes gave him a total of 17, tying the franchise’s single-season high. But it was the big halfback who drew most of the attention.

For the year, in addition to the 1071 yards on 183 carries with six touchdowns, Crow also was the team’s second-leading pass receiver with 25 receptions for 462 yards and another three scores. He threw the ball often, completing 9 of 18 passes for 247 yards with two TDs against one interception. However, while Crow led the NFL with his 5.9 yards-per-carry and 1533 yards from scrimmage, he also led the league with 11 fumbles.

In summing up his regard for Crow, Frank Ivy said, “I believe he is at least the equal of Jimmy Brown (Cleveland's great runner who again led the NFL in rushing), although Brown has the advantage of a little better offensive line.”

At the time, the comparison to Jim Brown was not as outrageous as it would seem in retrospect. Unfortunately, after the outstanding effort in 1960 injuries, starting with a broken leg during the 1961 preseason, cut significantly into Crow’s playing time. He ran the ball only 48 times in ’61 and had nine attempts in 1963.

While there were other productive seasons, Crow was not able to consistently maintain the high level of performance that had made him one of pro football’s premier backs in 1960. His fumbling also became more of an issue, particularly in 1962 when he scored a career-high 17 touchdowns but again led the NFL in fumbles with 14.

The rushing numbers added up to 4963 yards on 1157 carries (4.3 avg.) with 38 touchdowns and the pass receiving totals were 258 catches for 3699 yards and another 35 TDs. Overall he scored 74 touchdowns, including one on a fumble recovery, certainly a respectable number considering the time lost to injuries.

Crow’s versatility was apparent to the end – dealt to the 49ers in 1965, where he continued to play halfback, he was switched to tight end in his final season of 1968, catching 31 passes for 531 yards and five touchdowns. He also threw an amazing 70 option passes over the course of his career, completing 33 for 759 yards with five touchdowns and five interceptions.

Crow was selected to four Pro Bowls – with the Cardinals in 1959, ’60, and ’62 and the 49ers in 1965.

1944: Packers Beat Giants for NFL Title on Two Fritsch TDs

By 1944, the manpower shortage in the NFL was acute due to World War II. It was apparent in the rosters of the teams that met for the NFL Championship on December 17 at the Polo Grounds in New York. The host Giants had former Packers star tailback Arnie Herber, who had come out of retirement at age 34, as well as one of their own past stars, 38-year-old fullback Ken Strong, back after a five-year absence to primarily handle the placekicking.

New York, under 14th-year Head Coach Steve Owen, went 8-1-1 to narrowly place first in the Eastern Division over the 7-1-2 Eagles. In addition to Herber’s passing, the Giants had FB Bill Paschal, who led the league in rushing (737 yards), carries (196), and touchdowns (9). They also featured wingback Ward Cuff, who ran for 425 yards and tied Philadelphia’s Steve Van Buren for the best average gain per carry at 5.6. 14-year center Mel Hein and All-Pro G Len Younce anchored the line.

Head Coach Curly Lambeau’s Green Bay Packers were a mix of young and old, but their key player remained end Don Hutson, the NFL leader in pass receptions (58), receiving yards (866), scoring (85 points) and, tied with Paschal, touchdowns (9). Second-year tailback Irv Comp led the league in passing yards (1159) and was second in TD passes (12, tied with Detroit’s Frank Sinkwich). The Packers won their first six games on the way to winning the Western Division with an 8-2 record, although one of the losses had been to the Giants a month before.

The Giants were at a disadvantage coming into the title game because Paschal had injured his ankle in the season’s last game, but they did have star tackle Al Blozis available, who had missed most of the year after going into the military but had been granted a pass to be able to play in the championship contest.

There were 46,016 fans present for what promised to be a tough defensive battle. The first quarter was scoreless, but early in the second period the Packers returned a punt to the New York 48 and followed that with two big runs, of 20 yards by HB Joe Laws and 27 yards by FB Ted Fritsch (pictured at top) that put them in a first-and-goal situation at the one. The Giants held on the next three plays, but finally Fritsch plowed into the end zone and, with Hutson’s successful extra point, Green Bay held a 7-0 advantage.

New York’s defense concentrated on disrupting Green Bay’s passing game and, more specifically, Hutson. Late in the second quarter, the great end finally got open and gathered in a Comp pass for a 24-yard gain to the Giants’ 30. Three plays later, with time running out, Hutson ran a crossing pattern that caused the defense to shift along with him. He was successfully being used as a decoy – Comp threw to Fritsch, who had looped out of the backfield and was all alone at the five yard line, easily able to complete the 28-yard touchdown play. Again Hutson added the extra point, and Green Bay led by a 14-0 margin at the half.

The Giants hadn’t been able to move beyond their 35 yard line during the first half, but late in the third quarter they put together a drive featuring a 41-yard pass from Herber to end Frank Liebel that took them into scoring position. Cuff, playing in the tailback position rather than his usual wingback spot, ran for a one-yard touchdown to start the fourth quarter and, with Strong’s PAT, the Green Bay margin was cut to seven points.

The Giants were unable to score again, however, as the Packers played conservatively on offense and, thanks to interceptions and good punts, kept New York from getting close. Late in the game the Giants threatened one last time, but a Herber pass was intercepted by back Paul Duhart at the Green Bay 20 to clinch the 14-7 win for the Packers.


Green Bay outgained the Giants, 237 yards to 199, and in particular outrushed them with 163 yards to 85 for New York. Joe Laws was the leading ground gainer with 74 yards on 13 carries while Ted Fritsch ran for 58 yards on 17 attempts, including a TD and also had the other Packer touchdown on his lone pass reception. Irv Comp (pictured at left) completed just three of 10 passes for 73 yards with the TD and three interceptions. Don Hutson caught two of those passes for 47 yards and, while he didn’t score any touchdowns, played a key role as a decoy.

For New York, Arnie Herber, with inadequate run support and a defense geared to shut down the aerial game, was able to complete just 8 of 22 passes for 117 yards. He had no TDs and was intercepted four times (Laws accounted for three of the pickoffs). Ward Cuff ran for 55 yards on 12 attempts, including a touchdown, and caught two passes for another 25 yards. Bill Paschal, forced to sit out most of the contest, ran the ball only twice, for three yards. Frank Liebel caught three passes for 71 yards.

The championship was the last for the Packers under their founder, Lambeau – after winning six titles (three prior to the advent of division play and the championship game in 1933), Green Bay would not win another until 1961.

The game was also the last for the 6’6”, 250-pound Al Blozis (pictured below). A consensus All-Pro in 1943, he rejoined his infantry unit after the title game. Six weeks later, he was killed in action during the Battle of the Bulge. His number 32 was retired by the Giants.

1979: Cowboys Come From Behind, Deny Redskins a Playoff Berth

The December 16, 1979 season finale between the arch-rival Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins at Texas Stadium had postseason ramifications for both teams. Both had 10-5 records, but due to the convoluted nature of the NFL’s tiebreaker system, the Cowboys were assured a playoff spot whatever the result, while Washington would clinch the NFC East title with a win but could conceivably be denied a playoff spot with a defeat.

The Cowboys, under Head Coach Tom Landry, had lost three defensive stalwarts before the season began when DT Jethro Pugh retired, DE Ed “Too Tall” Jones quit to pursue a boxing career (he returned in 1980), and SS Charlie Waters went down for the year with a knee injury in the preseason. That still left DT Randy White, DE Harvey Martin, MLB Bob Breunig, and FS Cliff Harris as a nucleus, and the offense, with QB Roger Staubach (pictured above), RB Tony Dorsett, wide receivers Tony Hill and Drew Pearson, was proficient. Dallas roared out to a 7-1 start, but then lost four of five games in a tumultuous period during which Landry cut LB Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson from the team for lack of effort. They had won their two most recent contests.

Washington, coached by Jack Pardee, had a ground-oriented offense led by RB John Riggins, but could pass effectively, too, with QB Joe Theismann ranking as the NFL’s second best passer (behind Staubach). Neal Olkewicz and Brad Dusek were the main components of an outstanding group of linebackers, and the defensive backfield that featured free safety Mark Murphy, strong safety Ken Houston, and cornerbacks Lamar Parrish and Joe Lavender was among the best.

The Redskins had beaten Dallas in Washington four weeks earlier, and had angered the Cowboys when they kicked a field goal with an 11-point lead and nine seconds remaining to play. Coach Pardee insisted that it was because of the possibility that point differential might play a part in determining a playoff berth (he proved to be on target), but many Dallas players saw it as the Redskins rubbing the loss in their faces.

However, it seemed as though Washington was well on its way to a division title when the Redskins opened up a 17-0 lead in the second quarter, helped along by Dallas turnovers. In the opening period, following a fumble by Cowboys RB Ron Springs (who was subbing for the injured Dorsett), Mark Moseley kicked a 24-yard field goal. After Dusek recovered a fumble by Dallas RB Robert Newhouse, Theismann hit WR Danny Buggs on a pass play that covered 39 yards and three plays later ran around end for a one-yard touchdown. Early in the second quarter, Theismann capped a seven play drive by tossing a pass to RB Benny Malone that covered 55 yards for a TD.

But the Cowboys fought back as, first, Springs scored from a yard out. Then Staubach, facing a third-and-20 situation, capped an 85-yard drive with less than ten seconds remaining in the half by throwing a touchdown pass to RB Preston Pearson that covered 26 yards. Washington’s lead was cut to 17-14 at the intermission.


Dallas took the lead in its first possession of the third quarter as Newhouse scored a two-yard touchdown. But Washington seemed to take decisive command in the fourth quarter. Moseley kicked another 24-yard field goal, and then Riggins (pictured at left) scored two touchdowns, one from a yard out and the other on a 66-yard jaunt. With just under seven minutes left to play, the Redskins held a formidable 34-21 lead.

The clock was ticking down to four minutes when Randy White recovered a fumble by Washington RB Clarence Harmon. The Dallas offense came alive as Staubach connected on three straight passes that covered 14 yards to WR Butch Johnson, 19 to Tony Hill, and 26 yards and a touchdown to Springs.

The Redskins sought to run out the clock on their next possession, but on a crucial third-and-two play at their own 32, Riggins was dropped for a two-yard loss by DE Larry Cole. Washington was forced to punt and the Cowboys took over at their own 25 with 1:46 left to play and two timeouts.

Staubach was an established master at pulling off comebacks, and he threw a 20-yard pass to Hill and then connected twice with Preston Pearson for 22 and 25 yards down to the Washington eight yard line. With the clock now down to 45 seconds, Staubach intended to throw to TE Billy Joe Dupree, but facing an all-out blitz by the Redskins, instead lofted a high, arching pass that Hill caught in the corner of the end zone. With the successful extra point, Dallas now held a one-point lead.

Washington still had one last shot, but in the final 39 seconds they got only as far as the Dallas 42 before time expired. The Cowboys came away with a stunning 35-34 win.

The Cowboys outgained the Redskins (434 yards to 373) although they turned the ball over three times to once by Washington. Roger Staubach completed 24 of 42 passes for 336 yards with three touchdowns against one interception. Tony Hill (pictured below) caught 8 passes for 113 yards and a TD, and Preston Pearson was right behind at 5 receptions out of the backfield for 108 yards and a score. Ron Springs ran for 79 yards on 20 carries in place of Tony Dorsett.


John Riggins was the top rusher with 22 attempts for 151 yards and two TDs. Joe Theismann went to the air 23 times and completed 12 for 200 yards and a touchdown with none picked off. Benny Malone was the pass receiving yardage leader with 55 on his lone catch that resulted in a score while Danny Buggs was right behind with 46 yards on his two receptions.

The win gave Dallas the division title with an 11-5 record (the Cowboys went on to lose to the Rams in the Divisional playoff round). Philadelphia, also 11-5, placed second and grabbed the first wild card spot due to having a lesser record in conference games than Dallas. Washington was third at 10-6, but lost out on being the second wild card team because the Chicago Bears, also 10-6, had beaten the Cardinals 42-6, thus beating out the Redskins on the point differential tiebreaker.

“It's a shame someone had to lose, because the Redskins played their guts out, but so did we,” said Staubach. “The Redskins played well enough to be in the playoffs. They deserved a better fate.” Staubach also called the game “the most exciting I’ve ever played in” which, in his case, was certainly high praise.

“There we were, divisional champions with 40 seconds to play, then nothing. I'm just heartbroken. Not just for myself but for the players,” said Jack Pardee afterward.

While no one knew at the time, it was the last regular season game for Roger Staubach, who retired during the offseason. In his final year, he led the NFL in passing (92.3 rating) while throwing for 3586 yards and 27 touchdowns (one behind the league co-leaders). His next stop would be the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Both Tony Hill and Drew Pearson gained over a thousand yards receiving, and Hill was selected to the Pro Bowl. In his third year, and second as a starting wide receiver, Hill caught 60 passes for 1062 yards and a career-high 10 touchdowns. Pearson, in his seventh season, pulled in 55 receptions for 1026 yards and 8 scores. 34-year-old Preston Pearson, who performed so well against the Redskins and was valued for his pass receiving ability out of the backfield, had 26 catches for 333 yards and a TD; the 108 yards against Washington were the second most of his 14-year career.

John Riggins rushed for a ninth-ranked 1153 yards on 260 carries with 9 touchdowns. The 66-yard scoring run against Dallas was the longest of his career.

1935: Lions Beat Grounded Giants for NFL Championship

The weather in Detroit for the NFL Championship game on December 15, 1935 was gray, wet, and windy. The field at the University of Detroit’s Titan Stadium was sloppy – good news for the ground-oriented Lions, but inauspicious for the visiting New York Giants.

Detroit, under the direction of Head Coach George “Potsy” Clark, didn’t throw the ball much (a total of 142 passes all season, second fewest in the league). But two of the top four rushers in the NFL played for the Lions - second-ranked wingback Ernie Caddel (450 yards) and fourth-ranked tailback Dutch Clark (427 yards), who also led the NFL in scoring (55 points). Bill Shepherd had come to the Lions from the Boston Redskins during the season and, between the two teams, came in fifth in rushing, right behind Clark (425 yards). Clark (pictured above), along with tailback/wingback Glenn Presnell, directed the offense and was known for his shifty running style. Caddel and Shepherd provided the speed. FB Ace Gutowsky supplied the power. After a slow start, the Lions finished out at 3-0-1 to accumulate a 7-3-2 record, thus beating out the Packers for the Western Division title.

The Giants, coached by Steve Owen, were the defending league champions and had won the Eastern Division in each of the first two years of division play. They had the NFL’s best passer in tailback Ed Danowski, who led the league in attempts (113), completions (57), yards (794), and touchdowns (10). Rookie end Tod Goodwin led the NFL with 26 catches and was second in receiving yards with 432. FB Kink Richards was the top runner, with a third-ranked 449 yards. New York went 9-3 during the regular season to again top the division and earn a spot in the title contest, which they were heavily favored to win.

There were 15,000 hardy fans on hand to see if the Lions, like major league baseball’s Tigers back in October, could bring a championship to Detroit. The Lions took the opening kickoff and drove down field. They were helped by two long passing plays, including one from Gutowsky that hit Danowski, playing defense, in the chest and was caught by end Ed Klewicki. Gutowsky capped the 61-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run and Presnell kicked the extra point for the 7-0 lead.


The Giants came back with a drive of their own, but came up empty when FB Ken Strong (pictured at left) missed a 34-yard field goal attempt. Even more costly, Goodwin suffered broken ribs when hit after making a catch and was lost for the remainder of the game. As the team’s next-most-productive receiver throughout the year, wingback Dale Burnett, was already out with a hand infection, New York’s aerial attack was hindered all the more.

The Giants got a break by recovering a Detroit fumble on the next possession, but once again failed to capitalize when they were held on downs. The Lions scored again when Clark slithered through the Giants defense for a 40-yard touchdown. While the PAT attempt failed, Detroit held a 13-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Lions came close to scoring again in the second quarter when end Harry Ebding blocked a Danowski punt but, after recovering and running to the Giants’ two yard line, fumbled the ball, which traveled through the end zone for a touchback.

Midway through the second quarter, New York finally got on the board. A Danowski pass was partially deflected by Gutowsky, but Strong managed to catch it with one hand and run for a 42-yard touchdown. Strong successfully kicked the extra point and the Lions’ lead was cut to 13-7 at halftime.


The third quarter was scoreless, but in the fourth quarter the Giants threatened, failing to get on the board in each instance. With three minutes remaining to play, Danowski attempted a quick kick that was too low and hit one of his blockers, and it was recovered by Detroit tackle George Christensen at the New York 26. The Lions ran five straight plays into the line and then, on the sixth, Clark faked a handoff to Gutowsky straight ahead and instead gave the ball to Caddel (pictured at right), who swept to the outside for a four-yard touchdown. With Clark’s kick, the Lions now held a commanding 20-7 lead.

Detroit scored once more when, after tailback Harry Newman returned the ensuing kickoff to the Giants’ 32, on first down Danowski went to the air and was intercepted by FB/LB Buddy Parker, the future head coach of the Lions, who returned it to the 10 yard line. Parker himself scored on a four-yard run on third down, although he missed the extra point. Detroit won by a final score of 26-7 for its first NFL Championship.

The Lions outgained the Giants with 303 yards to 194 and also had the edge in first downs, 16 to 9. 235 of Detroit’s yards came on the ground – the Lions threw only five passes and the two completions on the opening drive were it for the day. However, the Giants were able to complete just four of 13 passes for the one TD and gave up two interceptions.

1958: Summerall FG Lifts Giants Past Browns to Force Playoff

The battle for the NFL’s Eastern Conference had come down to the season finale on December 14, 1958 as the New York Giants hosted the Cleveland Browns at Yankee Stadium. The Giants were 8-3 and a game behind the 9-2 Browns. Thus, New York needed to win in order to force a playoff with Cleveland for the conference title. A loss or tie would propel the Browns into the championship game.

New York’s head coach was Jim Lee Howell, but he had two highly able assistants in Vince Lombardi to run the offense and Tom Landry to direct the defense. They were a solid, veteran club on both sides of the ball, featuring QB Charlie Conerly, halfbacks Frank Gifford and Alex Webster, OT Roosevelt Brown, and C Ray Wietecha on offense and DE Andy Robustelli, MLB Sam Huff, and safety Jim Patton on defense. However, they had played poorly in the preseason and got off to a 2-2 start in the regular season games before winning six of their last seven contests (one of their wins had been against the Browns in Cleveland).

As for Cleveland, Head Coach Paul Brown’s club featured second-year FB Jim Brown on offense, who had already broken the single-season rushing record. If teams concentrated too heavily on stopping him, rookie HB Bobby Mitchell made them pay with his outstanding outside running ability. Second-year QB Milt Plum was still something of a project, but the offensive line was a good one and the defense contained Pro Bowl-quality players in tackles Bob Gain and Don Colo, LB Walt Michaels, and HB Don Paul.

The Browns wasted no time in taking the lead as Jim Brown ran 65 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage. There was no further scoring until the second quarter, when Giants DE Jim Katcavage recovered a fumble at the Cleveland 38 by HB Lew Carpenter and the Giants capitalized as Pat Summerall kicked a 46-yard field goal.

The Browns responded with a 22-yard Lou Groza field goal that was set up by a 51-yard pass play from Plum to flanker Ray Renfro. Cleveland held a 10-3 lead at the half.

In their first possession of the third quarter, the Browns drove to the New York 13 yard line. But in a call that was heavily second-guessed afterward, Paul Brown chose to try a fake field goal. Holder Bobby Freeman attempted to run around left end but was tackled for a loss by LB Harland Svare. Instead of potentially taking a 13-3 lead (Groza had missed two earlier attempts, but this would have been from just 20 yards with the ball well placed at the center of the field), the margin remained seven points.

The teams traded punts after the failure on the fake. Now in the fourth quarter, and following a fumble by Plum that the Giants recovered on the Cleveland 45, New York came back with trickery of its own. End Kyle Rote had noted that the Browns were vulnerable to the halfback option pass because HB Don Paul and safety Junior Wren were quick to run up and defend against the sweep coming in their direction. On the first play following the fumble recovery, Conerly pitched to Gifford, who ran to his right on an apparent power sweep. The Browns defense shifted to stop the run, and Gifford fired a pass to Rote, who was finally brought down after a 39-yard gain to the six yard line. After two running plays into the line lost yardage, the Giants again ran the option play and Gifford threw to end Bob Schnelker in the end zone for an eight-yard touchdown (pictured below). Following Summerall’s extra point, the score was tied at 10-10.


The Browns, playing conservatively to run the clock down since a tie was as good as a win for their purposes, punted the ball back to the Giants. New York proceeded to drive from its own 30 to the Cleveland 25, but Summerall missed a 33-yard field goal attempt with less than five minutes to play.

The New York defense again forced the Browns to punt, but punter Dick Deschaine, who encountered a heavy rush, got off a poor 22-yard kick that went out at the Cleveland 43. The Giants misfired on three passes, including a long throw to Webster at the goal line that the halfback dropped and one to Gifford that was ruled an incomplete pass (although the Browns insisted afterward that it was a fumble).

With just over two minutes left, Summerall, who had suffered a knee injury in the previous contest against Detroit and was listed as doubtful in the week leading up to the game, kicked a 49-yard field goal through the snow for the winning points (pictured at top). The final score was 13-10, setting up the rematch at the same venue the following week.


The game had been a tough defensive struggle, and the two Cleveland turnovers, against none by the Giants, played a key role. The Browns outgained New York, 257 yards to 226. Jim Brown (pictured at right) accounted for 148 yards on 26 carries (bringing his record total to 1527), but other than the game-opening 65-yard score, the great fullback had been well defensed. Cleveland passed for just 107 yards, to 162 for the Giants.

“Imagine having to beat the Browns three times in one season to even get into the championship game,” said Jim Lee Howell. “Once is tough enough. Twice, and now again.”

In the rematch of the two 9-3 teams for the conference title the following week, the Giants defense shut the Browns down even more effectively and won, 10-0. They lost the NFL Championship game to the Baltimore Colts in a 23-17 overtime classic.

Pat Summerall, in his first year with the Giants after a season in Detroit and five with the Chicago Cardinals, was successful on 12 of 23 field goals in 1958, none bigger than the kick to beat the Browns. As he returned to the sideline following the climactic field goal, Vince Lombardi said to him, “You know you can’t kick a football that far, don’t you?”

1964: Lenny Moore Reaches 20 TDs as Colts Beat Redskins

During the spring and summer of 1964, the Baltimore Colts looked to see what sort of trade they could make for HB Lenny Moore. Moore, who had been drafted out of Penn State in the first round in 1956, had been a key player in winning back-to-back championships in 1958 and ’59. As a halfback who posted gaudy yards-per-attempt averages on his occasional runs from scrimmage and was perhaps even more dangerous as a receiver out of the backfield (often lining up at flanker), he was named to the Pro Bowl in five consecutive seasons and was a consensus first-team All-NFL selection from 1958 thru ‘61.

But injuries had dramatically reduced his effectiveness in 1962 and ’63. He fractured his kneecap in ’62 and went down with a rib injury in the 1963 preseason. Two days before the opening game of the ’63 season, he underwent an appendectomy. Returning to action for the third game of the year, new Head Coach Don Shula moved him to split end because of an injury to another of the offense’s stalwarts, Raymond Berry. After five games he was shifted back to halfback, but a week later suffered a head injury that cost him the remainder of the season (he had also suffered a head injury in 1961). Along the way, Moore got into feuds with both the Colts front office and Head Coach Weeb Ewbank (prior to his departure following the 1962 season).

Appearing in 10 games in 1962, Moore played more as a halfback than a flanker and accumulated over a hundred carries for the first time in his career (106) but also caught the fewest passes (18) since his rookie season. In ’63, making it into just seven games, he gained only 136 yards on 27 rushing attempts and caught 21 passes. At age 30, and with the younger Tom Matte showing promise at halfback, it appeared that he was on the way out.

However, while the Colts came close to dealing Moore to the Giants and Cowboys, they couldn’t get the price they wanted and the halfback remained with the team. On December 13, 1964 against Washington, Moore capped an amazing comeback by becoming the first player in NFL history to score 20 touchdowns in a season.

It had not looked promising for Moore when he started the ’64 season on the bench, with Matte in the starting lineup, in a loss to the Vikings. However, he did get into the game and scored twice, including his one pass reception of the day that covered 70 yards. Moore was back in the starting lineup the following week, and scored two more TDs in a 21-20 win over Green Bay. By the season finale against the Redskins, he had scored 18 touchdowns, putting him one short of Jim Taylor’s league record of 19 set two years earlier with the Packers. He also, counting the last three games that he appeared in during the ’63 season, had scored at least one TD in an NFL-record 16 straight games.

The Colts were doing well, too. After the opening game loss to Minnesota, they weren’t beaten again until the previous week against the Lions, giving them a record of 11-2. In combination with fullbacks Tony Lorick and Jerry Hill, Moore gave the club a potent running attack, thus improving the effectiveness of the passing game which, with star QB Johnny Unitas at the helm, was already formidable.

Washington, under Head Coach Bill McPeak, had an outstanding quarterback of its own in Sonny Jurgensen, a great receiver in flanker Bobby Mitchell, and exciting rookie halfback Charley Taylor. But there were too many holes, especially on the offensive line, and the Redskins were 6-7 entering the game at Baltimore.

Conditions were foggy at Memorial Stadium, and some of the 60,213 fans in attendance had difficulty seeing the action on the field. The Redskins scored first on a 17-yard run by HB Pervis Atkins thanks to a Baltimore fumble on the opening kickoff. Baltimore came back with a 25-yard Lou Michaels field goal and took the lead in the second quarter on a 30-yard pass play from Unitas to Berry.

Play was sloppy throughout as the Colts, no doubt looking ahead to the title game in Cleveland, fumbled the ball away four times. Moore coughed the ball up once, at his own 11, but Washington fumbled it back as DE Gino Marchetti recovered at the 20. However, Unitas fumbled and the Redskins’ Jim Martin kicked a 25-yard field goal to tie the contest at 10-10 at the half.

Baltimore took command in the second half. First, safety Jerry Logan recovered a Washington fumble at the Redskins’ 40, leading to a seven-yard Jerry Hill TD run. While Washington responded with a two-yard scoring run by Jurgensen, Unitas threw another TD pass, this time of 22 yards to TE John Mackey. It was all Colts the rest of the way as they outscored the Redskins in the second half by 35-7.

Moore scored twice in a five minute period in the fourth quarter. The first touchdown, a run of three yards, tied Taylor’s record for TDs and extended his streak. The second, from a yard out, was the record-setting 20th. Moore received a huge ovation from the home crowd after the record-breaking TD. With the game safely out of reach for the Redskins, Shula was able to rest most of his starters for the remainder of the game that the Colts won by a final score of 45-17.

Jerry Hill was the running star for the Colts – used effectively on trap plays in the second half, he scored one touchdown and set up another with a 56-yard run as he totaled 90 yards on 8 carries. Before backup Gary Cuozzo entered the game to mop up, Johnny Unitas completed 13 of 20 passes for 226 yards with two touchdowns against one interception. Also of note, Raymond Berry, by catching 5 passes for 89 yards, passed Billy Howton to become the NFL’s all-time career pass receiving leader (506, to Howton’s 503; Berry would eventually end up with 631).

The Colts ended up with the league’s best record at 12-2, but were upset by the Browns in the NFL Championship game. Washington finished at 6-8, tied with the Eagles for third in the Eastern Conference.

Other than setting the touchdown record, Lenny Moore had a rather ordinary day against Washington, running for just 22 yards on 13 carries. But there was no question as to his value to the Colts throughout the year, and he received the Jim Thorpe trophy as league MVP from the Newspaper Enterprise Association (Unitas was the consensus MVP choice, however) and was a consensus first-team All-NFL selection and Pro Bowl choice. Utilized more as a runner than a receiver, he scored 16 of the 20 touchdowns on the ground and gained 584 yards on a career-high 157 carries (he also scored one TD on a fumble recovery). To be sure, he was still an effective pass receiver and averaged 22.5 yards-per-catch on 21 receptions for 472 yards with three TDs. Moore was the NFL’s leading scorer with 120 points and his 1056 total yards from scrimmage ranked eighth.

Moore’s consecutive game touchdown streak finally ended at 19, in the second week of the 1965 season (it was eventually tied by the Chargers’ LaDainian Tomlinson in 2005). At the time of his retirement following the 1967 season, he ranked second to only Jim Brown in career touchdowns with 113. It is a testament to his versatility that 63 of those TDs came on the ground while 48 came through the air (in fact, from 1959 thru ’63, most of his touchdowns had come via pass receptions). He also scored on a kickoff return and the aforementioned fumble recovery.

The 6’1”, 190-pound Moore gained 5174 yards on 1069 carries (4.8 avg.) and 6039 yards on 363 pass receptions (16.6 avg.), making him the first player to gain 5000 yards both rushing and receiving. His versatility made him invaluable to the Colts, and their decision to not give him away in 1964 proved to be a good one. The five consensus first-team All-Pro selections and seven Pro Bowls attest to that value. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1975.