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The Pittsburgh Steelers and Oakland Raiders meet this week on the NFL schedule, and this week’s Throwback Thursday post will feature a game played from the past between these two old rivals. The most famous contest ever between these clubs was the “Immaculate Reception” game, but since we already featured that one last season, this year we’ll move a few years deeper into the 1970s and look at a game in which Steeler coach Chuck Noll, a pretty low-key guy and one of the all-time greats, became incensed at Oakland’s physical, and sometimes borderline dirty, style of play on defense. After a vicious hit on Pittsburgh receiver Lynn Swann by Raider safety George Atkinson, Noll complained that Oakland’s secondary, and their defense in general, were part of a “criminal element” in the league that needed to be dealt with.

Atkinson’s hit came in the opening game of the 1976 season. He leveled Swann with a forearm smash to the head on a play in which the ball wasn’t even thrown to him, leaving the future Hall of Fame Steeler receiver out with a concussion. The hit was bad enough, but the fact that Atkinson had done the same thing to Swann in the previous year’s AFC Championship game, also causing a concussion, led to Noll’s post-game reaction. This particular game, played on September 12, 1976, was a completely frustrating experience for Noll and the Steelers. The two clubs had evolved into bitter rivals as they had met in the two previous AFC title matches, with Pittsburgh winning both on their way to back-to-back Super Bowl wins. On this day, however, the Raiders extracted some revenge, not only with the Atkinson hit on Swann but by wiping out a 28-14 deficit and rallying to beat the vaunted Steelers 31-28.

The first half of the game was a defensive struggle, as expected between these two proud, hard-nosed defenses, while both clubs exploded in the second half, as 45 total points would be scored. Raider quarterback Ken “The Snake” Stabler led the furious Raider comeback by throwing for three scores (2 to Dave Casper and one to Fred Biletnikoff) and running for another, and also drove his team into position for kicker Fred Steinfort to boot the winning field goal. Stabler also threw 4 interceptions in the see-saw game, but kept his composure and led the comeback. The win was a huge boost for the Raider franchise, as they cruised through the ’76 season with only a single loss on their way to the first Super Bowl win in franchise history, finishing 16-1. Atkinson, who was a boy scout compared to his secondary teammate of that era, Jack “The Assassin” Tatum, wound up suing Noll for defamation of character for the “criminal element” comment, but lost the suit.

Bitter rivals in the 1970s, the Steelers and Raiders really didn’t like each other

This Thursday night, on this week’s NFL schedule, the Miami Dolphins take on the New England Patriots. We will feature a game from the past between these 2 franchises as this week’s Throwback Thursday game. It was played in 1972 – week nine of what was then a 14 game league season. The Dolphins didn’t know it yet, but they were more than halfway to their undefeated regular season at that point, entering the game with an 8-0 record. Veteran Earl Morrall had taken over for the injured Bob Griese at quarterback for the Fish, and despite being without a loss, Miami wasn’t necessarily dominating opponents in their wins. On this particular day, however, they certainly did, as they crushed the Pats, 52-0. It was the second of what would be three shutouts posted by their “No Name” defense on their way to a perfect 14-0 record for the year. They would then go on to win the Super Bowl to cap a perfect 17-0 mark.

The Dolphins normally played a grind-it-out style featuring their stifling defense and a pounding running game that would control the ball for long stretches of time, with fullback Larry Csonka and halfback Jim Kiick churning up yardage. On this particular day, however, it was Mercury Morris’ turn to shine. Morris was the third option of the three-headed monster that was Miami’s rushing attack of that era. He was the speed back, and in this game he sped for 90 yards on 16 carries and three touchdowns. Miami’s top pass receiver at the time (the few times they threw the ball) was future Hall of Famer Paul Warfield, but on this day it was Marlin Briscoe, a converted quarterback who was the number two pass catcher, who had the big day. He put up numbers that are routine in today’s Madden video game style of play, catching 4 passes for 128 yards and a pair of scores. The game got so far out of hand that the Dolphins’ backup QB, a little known entity named Jim Del Gaizo, got some action, throwing a pair of TD passes himself.

Miami’s tough defense forced the Patriots’ young signal caller, Jim Plunkett, into a frustrating day that saw him throw for only 66 yards, and two interceptions, before being yanked in favor of backup Brian Dowling, who didn’t fare much better. It was not a good time in Plunkett’s career. He had been a top overall draft pick and was on his way to becoming a major bust. Eventually he landed in San Francisco and didn’t have any success there either, but his story, unlike a lot of disappointing top draft choices, had a happy ending. He found a home with Al Davis’ Oakland Raiders and his career was rejuvenated, as he engineered a pair of Super Bowl titles for the Silver and Black in the 1980s, even winning the game’s MVP award in Super Bowl XV.

Dolphins’  QB Earl Morrall

On this week’s National Football League schedule, the St. Louis Rams take on the Cleveland Browns, and our Throwback Thursday feature harkens back to an NFL championship game that pre-dates the Super Bowl era, the 1950 title game between these two franchises. Played on Christmas Eve, the game featured a clash between the Rams, based in Los Angeles at the time and a league offensive juggernaut, and the Browns, who were a powerhouse in the old All America Football Conference and joined the NFL, along with the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Colts, for the 1950 season. The Rams, already a strong club, were made stronger when they added players from the defunct AAFC L.A. Dons. They averaged almost 39 points per game, and scored over 60 in two of their games, in racking up a 9-3 record to reach the title game, while the Browns went 10-2 but were underdogs in the game due to being the “new kids on the block” in the NFL.

Program from the 1950 NFL Championship, played on Christmas Eve

The Rams were loaded with offensive weapons – future Hall of Famers like Bob Waterfield, Norm Van Brocklin, Tom Fears and Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch, plus others – Deacon Dan Towler, Tank Younger and former Heisman Trophy winner Glenn Davis, who had a short-lived NFL career but had his best season in 1950. The Browns, under owner/coach Paul Brown, were a force in the AAFC, winning the title in all 4 years of the league’s existence.  However, owners in the NFL considered them to be a decent team in what they considered an inferior league. Those feelings looked like they were correct when the Rams opened the game with an 82 yard touchdown throw from Waterfield to Davis, giving L.A. a 7-0 lead. Cleveland, however, stayed the course and kept the game close behind the play of their star quarterback, Otto Graham. He threw for 298 yards and 4 scores, compared to Waterfield, who wound up passing for 312 yards, but only one TD with 4 interceptions. The Browns’ defense proved to be ballhawks that day with the four picks, two of which were pilfered by Warren Lahr. As the game wound down, the Rams clung to a 28-27 lead, which they held only because the Browns had missed an extra point on one of their touchdowns. At this point, Graham led his team on a drive from his own 31 yard line, with 1:28 left, to set up a field goal attempt by Lou “The Toe” Groza, which he made to send the Browns on to a 30-28 win, securing the NFL championship in the team’s first year in the league. After the game, NFL commissioner Bert Bell called the Browns “the greatest team ever to play football”, now that they’d proven they could handle the old NFL’s best. The win was also of great satisfaction for the city of Cleveland, since the Rams had abandoned the town and moved to the west coast. Now their new (and better) team beat the Rams, the best the NFL had to offer.

Lou “The Toe” Groza kicks the winning field goal for Cleveland

The Denver Broncos and Cleveland Browns meet on this week’s NFL schedule, and that matchup brings back memories of a contest between these two franchises that will be this week’s Thursday Throwback feature. It was a playoff game, the 1986 AFC Championship game, and was a game that was  a major contributor to the legacy of Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway. His Broncos were placed in an almost impossible position as the Browns had scored to take a 20-13 lead, then on the ensuing kickoff, Denver muffed the ball and wound up pinned at their own 2 yard line with about 5 minutes to play. So Elway was faced with the proposition of needing to drive his team 98 yards, almost the entire length of the field, on the road in the most hostile of environments – Cleveland’s Dawg Pound. Elway, who was a master of the two minute drill during his career, methodically drove his club downfield, mixing in short passes to his backs, Sammy Winder and Steve Sewell, a couple of scrambles for positive yardage, and a pair of completions to one of his favorite targets, wide receiver Mark Jackson. It was Jackson who hauled in the pass in the end zone to culminate “The Drive”, a five yard completion from Elway to tie the game with 37 seconds left, sending it into overtime.

The overtime session is mostly forgotten as Elway’s mastery on the game-tying drive immediately went into NFL folklore. In the extra period, Denver’s defense held the Browns on their first possession, and Denver took over for their first try. Elway was brilliant again, taking his club 60 yards to set up a game-winning field goal by Rich Karlis. A key play on the winning drive was a 28 yard completion from Elway to receiver Steve Watson on a third and 12 play. The loss was another chapter in Cleveland’s supposedly cursed professional sports history, and another chapter would be added the following year as the same two clubs would meet again for the right to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl, this time with running back Earnest Byner being the goat by fumbling the ball as he attempted to cross the goal line for a go-ahead score. That game would go down in league history as “The Fumble”. To this day, the Browns’ last NFL championship was accomplished in 1964, and in the modern era, they are one of a small group of teams that has yet to qualify for a Super Bowl.

Denver QB John Elway engineers “The Drive” in 1986

This week’s Throwback Thursday featured game (the Kansas City Chiefs and Chicago Bears meet this week) will be the first and most likely only one of it’s kind to be highlighted here – a preseason game. The preseason of 1967, however, was unique compared to any other season. It was the first year when established NFL teams played clubs from the upstart AFL after an agreed merger of the leagues took place. The first Super Bowl had taken place the previous year, and the NFL was pounding its’ collective chests after their representative in that game, the Green Bay Packers, had soundly beaten the AFL champion Kansas City Chiefs 35-10. Green Bay coach Vince Lombardi poured a little salt in the AFL’s wounds after the game, claiming that although the Chiefs were a fine club, there were more than a handful of NFL teams who were better. The Chiefs were looking for some redemption and respect in ’67, and the first chance they had to get back at the cocky NFL came in a preseason contest against George Halas’ Chicago Bears. Preseason games today can barely even be considered legitimate NFL contests, as they are mostly used as glorified scrimmages to evaluate young players while all the star players rest up for the regular year. But in 1967, things were completely different. The fact that the AFL clubs were going to get a chance to show how well they matched up with the established league meant that these games, even though they were exhibitions and the results didn’t count, were very important. How important was this game to the Chiefs? Their quarterback, Len Dawson, had been battling a virus all week leading up to the contest, but climbed out of the sick bed to play and throw 4 touchdown passes as coach Hank Stram’s forces totally befuddled the Bears. Can anyone imagine a sick player playing in an exhibition game in today’s game? Kansas City pulled out all the stops, emptying out their playbook with all sorts of offensive formations and defensive shifts and blitzes to crush the proud NFL Bears. The final score was a whopping 66-24. After Dawson was finished with his aerial display, K.C.’s backup signal caller, Pete Beathard, came into the game and fired a fifth scoring pass. In all, Gloster Richardson and Otis Taylor caught a pair of TD passes each, while Chris Burford hauled in the fifth. Gale Sayers, Chicago’s star back who was the “Kansas Comet” in his college career, had a rough homecoming as he was held to a paltry 35 yards. The Bears’ lone positive moment came when Dick Gordon returned a kickoff 103 yards for a touchdown. Of course, with all the scoring the Chiefs did, their kickoff coverage teams were probably pretty tired. Despite the fact that the Chiefs had their triumphant moment in manhandling the Bears in this game, in the 16 exhibitions played between AFL and NFL clubs that season, the NFL dominated play overall, winning 13 of the games.

Chiefs’ coach Hank Stram plots strategy with his QB, Len Dawson