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The NFL is entering week 10 of it’s regular season schedule beginning tonight, and a game featured on the slate is between the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots. We’ll throw it back to January 21, 2007 for this week’s Throwback Thursday post, for a contest that pitted 2 of the era’s top quarterbacks, the Colts’ Peyton Manning and the Pats’ Tom Brady, in a duel for the 2006 AFC Championship and a trip to the Super Bowl.

In the first of what would be a day full of freakish touchdowns, New England’s Logan Mankins recovered a fumble in the end zone to give his team a 7-0 lead. Former Patriot Adam Vinatieri got the Colts on the board with a field goal to close out the opening quarter, but the Patriots surged in the second. Corey Dillon scored on a 7 yard run, then Asante Samuel added another off the wall TD when he picked off Manning and returned it 39 yards to the end zone for a 21-3 New England lead. It was beginning to look like another case of Brady getting the best of Manning in their rivalry. After Vinatieri closed out the first half with another field goal, another odd scoring play got the Colts to within 21-13 when Manning scored on a play he never ran, a 1 yard sneak. Indy then tied the game with a 1 yard touchdown pass from Manning to defensive tackle Dan Klecko, of all people, who was a tackle eligible on the play, and a successful 2 point conversion.

New England went the traditional route to go ahead 28-21 when Brady found Jabar Gaffney open for a 6 yard touchdown pass, but the Colts squared the score again to start the fourth quarter on another freak play – center Jeff Saturday’s end zone recovery of a fumble. The placekickers took over at that point, with Vinatieri sneaking in a 36 yarder between a pair of three pointers from New England’s Steven Gostkowski from 28 and 43 yards out. With a minute left in the contest, the Colts completed the comeback when Joseph Addai ran in from 3 yards out to give his club a 38-34 win and a trip to the Super Bowl. Although he didn’t figure in any of the scoring, Colts’ tight end Dallas Clark was an unsung hero, catching 6 passes from Manning for 137 valuable yards. Indianapolis would finish the job with a rain-soaked 29-17 win over the Chicago Bears in the big game to give Manning and coach Tony Dungy their first titles.

QB Manning at work against Pats’ defense

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans clash on this week’s NFL schedule, and for Throwback Thursday we’ll travel back to the AFC Championship game of the 1979 season, played at Three Rivers Stadium on January 6, 1980 between these 2 franchises. The Steelers were defending champs and seeking their fourth trip to the Super Bowl in the decade of the ’70s, while their opponents were still located in Houston as the Oilers. The 2 teams were fierce division rivals at the time in the old AFC Central, and were meeting in the title game for the second straight year.

The Oilers were humiliated 34-5 in the previous season’s title game, and coach Bum Phillips and his squad were determined to get revenge this time. They got off to a rousing start when Vernon Perry picked off a Terry Bradshaw pass and returned it 75 yards for the opening touchdown. The teams traded field goals before Bradshaw got back on track and tossed scoring passes of 16 yards to tight end Bennie Cunningham and 20 yards to John Stallworth to lift his team to a 17-10 halftime lead.

The defenses stiffened in the third quarter, but late in that period a play occurred that would change the course of future NFL games. Houston quarterback Dan Pastorini hit receiver Mike Renfro with an apparent game tying touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone. None of the officials originally signaled a TD, or any other call for that matter. After one of their annoying little “conferences”, the call was made that the pass was incomplete because Renfro had not gotten both feet down inbounds. There was no official instant replay at the time, but television replays clearly showed that the play should have been a touchdown. Phillips vehemently argued the call but there was no recourse at the time, and the Oilers settled for a field goal to cut the lead to 17-13. The Steelers tightened up on defense after that, and the Oilers seemed to lose their momentum. Bradshaw engineered drives that led to another field goal and a 4 yard Rocky Bleier touchdown run to earn their Super Bowl trip 27-13.

The Renfro play wasn’t forgotten, however. It was the impetus for the league to begin serious discussion about using replay as a tool to get calls correct, and since change moves slowly among tradition-bound NFL owners, it was finally implemented in 1986.

Mike Renfro’s non-catch in AFC title game

This week’s Throwback Thursday feature game was played on a Monday night, October 8, 1980 between a pair of clubs who meet on this week’s NFL slate. They are the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins.

If you’re as old as I am, you’ve witnessed a number of “where were you when you heard the news?” moments in your life. The Kennedy assassination, the space shuttle Challenger explosion and of course, the 9/11 terrorist attacks. This week’s feature game was one of those “where were you when you heard the news” moments for a lot of football fans. The game itself was not a very memorable one. The first 3 quarters were a boring field goal fest, with New England’s John Smith hitting a pair of three-pointers in the second quarter, and Miami’s Uwe Von Schamann matching him in the third quarter. Both clubs finally found the end zone in the final quarter. The Patriots took a 13-6 lead when Matt Cavanaugh found tight end Russ Francis open for a 38 yard touchdown pass. Then Dolphin QB David Woodley hooked up with Nat Moore from 8 yards out to tie the game.

The shocking moment then came after the telecast returned from a commercial break, with Smith taking the field to try a winning field goal with 3 seconds left. Then play-by-play man Frank Gifford implored his counterpart, Howard Cosell, that he had to let the viewing public know the news they had just confirmed. Cosell reluctantly agreed:

“Remember, this is just a football game, no matter who wins or loses. An unspeakable tragedy confirmed to us by ABC News in New York City: John Lennon, outside of his apartment building on the West Side of New York City — the most famous, perhaps, of all the Beatles — shot twice in the back; rushed to Roosevelt Hospital; dead on arrival. Hard to go back to the game after that news flash, which, in duty bound, we have to take.”

It was a terrible moment that gets permanently etched in your memory. Watching the game myself, I remember my first thought was “why the hell would anyone shoot John Lennon? He was all about peace and love.” Lennon was a friend of the Monday night crew, and especially Cosell, having been present at an earlier game in 1975 where Cosell interviewed him at halftime. It was reported by MNF producers later that the crusty announcer struggled to break the news as he was overcome with emotion.

For the record, Miami blocked Smith’s field goal attempt to send the game to overtime, and Von Schamann eventually won it 16-13 for the Dolphins with, of course, a field goal. John Smith had a 10 year career as the Patriots’ placekicker, but his name will be forever linked in my mind to that tragic announcement on a Monday night in December of 1980.

Howard Cosell interviewing John Lennon on MNF (11/20/75)

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Los Angeles Rams clash on this week’s NFL schedule, and we’ve chosen a game played between these 2 long-time clubs to feature for this week’s Throwback Thursday post. The contest was played on October 2, 1955 at the L.A. Coliseum. In the ’50s, both teams had reputations. The Rams were known as an offensive powerhouse, led by their future Hall of Fame quarterback Norm Van Brocklin. The Steelers, on the other hand, were an annual bottom feeder but always played tough defensively. Both teams were coming off opening week victories, but the Rams were favored due to a better 1954 finish. After a scoreless first quarter Los Angeles took advantage of their home field to jump out in front 17-0 by halftime. Fullback Deacon Dan Towler ran in from a yard out to open the scoring, then after a Les Richter field goal Van Brocklin connected with Bob Boyd on a 74 yard bomb for another touchdown.

Pittsburgh regrouped in the second half. Lynn Chandnois scampered  into the end zone from 8 yards out, followed by a 1 yard quarterback sneak by Jim Finks . When Chandnois scored again on a 2 yard run, the Steelers took the lead. However, in what would come to haunt them later, they missed both extra points on the last 2 scores, and their lead was only 19-17. Van Brocklin righted the Rams’ ship in the fourth period, finding Tom Fears on a 17 yard touchdown pass to regain the lead at 24-19. The lead didn’t last long, however. On their next possession, Pittsburgh defensive back Richie McCabe, who had intercepted Van Brocklin earlier in the game, scooped up a Ram fumble and raced 50 yards to paydirt and suddenly the Steelers were back in front 26-24 and poised for an upset win.

Los Angeles refused to buckle and drove into position for Richter to kick a game winning 32 yard field goal in the waning seconds to pull out the victory 27-26. Boyd was the offensive catalyst for the Rams with 3 catches for 114 yards and his long touchdown. Obviously the missed extra points were costly for Pittsburgh. The teams’ fortunes went in opposite directions as the season progressed also. The Rams won the Western Division title while Pittsburgh languished to a 4-8 mark and a sixth place finish in the Eastern Division.

Rams’ Bob Boyd hauls in a Van Brocklin pass

For this week’s Throwback Thursday feature, we’ll highlight the Dallas Cowboys for the second week in a row, this time with a game played against a team they meet on the week 6 NFL schedule, the Los Angeles Chargers. It was played on November 5, 1972 at the Chargers’ old home in San Diego and was a match between the defending Super Bowl champion Cowboys and the sad sack Chargers, who were 2-5-1 under coach Harland Svare at that point. The new realignment of the merged leagues, the NFL and AFL, was only in it’s third year in ’72, so this was the first ever meeting between the 2 franchises.

There were no surprises for the first 2 1/2 quarters, as the Cowboys scored early. Mike Montgomery scooped up a fumble and returned it 54 yards for the opening touchdown. Then, after a Toni Fritsch field goal, Dallas’ offense took over. Walt Garrison rumbled 9 yards for a score, quarterback Craig Morton found Mike Ditka open from a yard out for another, then, early in the third quarter, Morton scrambled 7 yards to paydirt to give his club a commanding 31-0 lead over the overmatched Chargers.

It was at this point that San Diego signal caller John Hadl, one of the AFL’s top stars in the 1960s, regained some of that old AFL magic. He got his team on the board to wrap up the third quarter scoring with a 46 yard TD pass to Chuck Dicus, and carried that momentum into the final quarter. Hadl and the Chargers mounted a furious comeback as the balding QB fired 3 scoring passes, 42 yards to Gary Garrison, a second one to Dicus from 20 yards out and a 47 yard bomb to Dave Williams. Although the Charger comeback struck a little fear in the Cowboys, they did manage to sneak in another Fritsch field goal among the onslaught, and eventually extinguished the fire to pull out a 34-28 win. Amazingly, Hadl’s 4 scoring passes came on only 11 completions for the day, and he also was victimized for 3 interceptions. The Chargers outgained Dallas in both rushing and passing yards, but 4 turnovers sealed their fate. 1972 would be Hadl’s last year with the Chargers, as they traded him to the Los Angeles Rams prior to the ’73 season. He would earn All Pro honors with the Rams that year.

Walt Garrison churns out yardage (James Flores photo/Getty Images)

Two NFL franchises that have had epic battles over the years meet this week on the league schedule – the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers. We’ll feature them in this week’s Throwback Thursday post, with a divisional playoff game played on December 23, 1972 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Dallas, as defending Super Bowl champs, was favored over the NFC West Division champion 49ers despite being a wild card team. The 49ers used their home field advantage to jump out to an early lead as Vic Washington returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. Dallas settled down and got on the scoreboard as starting quarterback Craig Morton led a drive that resulted in a Toni Fritsch field goal to cut the margin to 7-3. In the second quarter veteran San Fran signal caller John Brodie engineered a pair of scoring drives, both ending in 1 yard Larry Schreiber touchdown runs to put his club up 21-3. Morton, although mostly ineffective,  got Dallas back in the game as he led the Cowboys on another drive that yielded a second Fritsch field goal, then hit Lance Alworth with a 28 yard TD throw to cut the lead to 21-13 at halftime.

Both teams’ defenses tightened in the third stanza with the only scoring coming on another 1 yard Schreiber run. The 49ers now entered the final quarter with a seemingly commanding 28-13 lead, made to look even more insurmountable by how poorly Morton was playing. After seeing his starter complete only 8 of 21 throws for a paltry 96 yards to go with a pair of interceptions, Dallas coach Tom Landry decided to insert Roger Staubach to lead the offense, and Captain Comeback delivered. The Cowboys scored 17 unanswered points in the final quarter, first adding another field goal before Staubach rifled a pair of touchdown passes – to Billy Parks from 20 yards out to bring the score to 28-23, then adding the winning points with a 10 yard toss to Ron Sellers to give the defending champs a 30-28 victory, earning a trip to the conference title game. Parks wound up catching 7 passes for 136 yards and the winning touchdown, but another major contribution to the win came on the ground from Calvin Hill, who provided 125 valuable yards on 18 carries.

Their success for the ’72 season would end on this day, however, as the Cowboys were manhandled the following week in the NFC Championship game by the archrival Washington Redskins, 26-3.That win by Washington’s “Over The Hill Gang” earned them a trip to Super Bowl VII, where they fell to the NFL’s only unbeaten team in history, the Miami Dolphins.

Roger the Dodger leading Cowboy Comeback

The Los Angeles Rams tangle with the Indianapolis Colts this week in the NFL, and we decided to take some liberties with the Throwback Thursday post by featuring a game that was played at the L.A. Coliseum on September 28, 1951. That day the Rams took on an NFL club called the New York Yanks. That New York franchise has a sketchy past, and here’s how it played out. After moving from Boston, the team had 2 less than successful seasons in the Big Apple, and in 1951 was sold to a group of Dallas businessmen who moved it to Dallas. That team failed after a single season, and what was left of the franchise was awarded to a group from Baltimore. They then started the Baltimore Colts franchise.  Even though the NFL doesn’t recognize this team as the ancestors of the current Colt team, we will for the sake of being able to feature this memorable game.

It was the opening week of the ’51 season, and in an era of three yards and a cloud of dust football, it turned out to be a record-setting passing day for one Norm Van Brocklin, the Rams’ quarterback. He torched the Yanks’ secondary for 554 yards and 5 touchdowns on 27 of 41 passing, with the yardage mark a record that still stands today, 72 years later. The Rams won the game 54-14, with a dominant display on both sides of the ball. They racked up 735 yards of offense and the 54 points despite turning the ball over 5 times, three times on interceptions to go with 2 lost fumbles. The Los Angeles club, known as an offensive powerhouse in the 1950s, was relentless with their attack all day. Three of their receivers totaled over 100 yards, with Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch leading the way with 9 catches for 173 yards and 4 TDs. Another future Hall of Famer, Tom Fears, grabbed 7 passes for 162 yards, while a guy named Vitamin Smith added some pep to the attack with 2 receptions for 103 yards and a touchdown. The Rams also had a pair of rushing touchdowns on runs from Dick Hoerner and Deacon Dan Towler to round out the scoring.

The L.A. defense actually pitched a shutout in the game also, as the Yanks’ 2 touchdowns came on a 79 yard punt return by Buddy Young and a 30 yard return of a recovered fumble by Art Tait. New York only amassed 166 yards of total offense, and the 569 yard difference between the 2 teams stood as a record yardage spread until 2009, when Tom Brady and the New England Patriots crushed Tennessee 59-0 and piled up 619 more yards than the Titans. The game turned out to be very indicative of the fortunes of the clubs in the 1951 season, as the Rams would go on to defeat Cleveland for the league title, and the Yanks would win only a single game before being sold to the new Dallas owners prior to the ’52 season.

Van Brocklin’s record day memorialized

The game we’re highlighting today on Rayonsports for the Throwback Thursday feature is an old American Football League game that took place on October 16, 1966 between the Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins, who meet on this week’s NFL schedule. 1966 was Miami’s inaugural season in the AFL, and this contest, which was played in week 6 of that year, was significant even though both clubs were league doormats. The Broncos, who never enjoyed a winning season in the 10 year history of the AFL, entered the game at 1-4 while the expansion Dolphins were winless in their first 5 games. Denver’s inept franchise represented Miami’s first real chance of breaking through into the win column, and they were ready for the challenge.

A pair of former Broncos exacted a bit of revenge in the opening quarter for the young Fish. Fullback Billy Joe, a Denver rookie in 1964, took a George Wilson Jr. pass 67 yards to paydirt, followed by a 35 yard field goal from another former Denver standout, Gene Mingo. The Broncos cut the lead to 10-7 on a 5 yard touchdown run by one of the AFL’s early and underrated stars, Abner Haynes. That lead held for the rest of the first half and Miami’s defense took charge in the second. They held Bronco quarterback John McCormick to 90 yards passing on 9 completions in 25 attempts, and intercepted him 4 times. Veteran Tobin Rote replaced McCormick and had no success either as the Dolphins sacked him 4 times.

The Dolphins’ offense, led by the head coach’s son, George Wilson Jr., wasn’t that impressive either, but did manage a short scoring run by halfback Joe Auer in each of the last 2 quarters. The final result was a 24-7 Miami victory, the first in franchise history. The Dolphins would go on to win the following week also, defeating the Houston Oilers, and would manage one more win to finish 3-11 for the year, tied for the basement of the Eastern Division with the Oilers. Denver went 4-10 and finished in their usual spot at the bottom of the Western Division.

Joe Auer takes the handoff from George Wilson Jr.

The Buffalo Bills host the Las Vegas Raiders this Sunday as week 2 of the NFL season gets underway, and we’ll feature these 2 clubs for Throwback Thursday this week. Let’s travel back to January 20, 1991, to then Rich Stadium, for the AFC Championship game. Buffalo was attempting to reach the Super Bowl for the first time, while the Raiders, based in Los Angeles then, were looking to spoil that party.

It was never even close to being a contest. Jim Kelly led a drive that ended with a 13 yard touchdown pass to James Lofton to open the scoring, and after a Raider field goal the Bills drove downfield again and scored, this time on a 12 yard run by Thurman Thomas. The defense then got in on the action as linebacker Darryl Talley intercepted a Jay Schroeder pass and returned it 27 yards to the end zone to give his team a 21-3 lead after a quarter. The Bills didn’t let up in the second quarter either. Kenny Davis spelled Thomas at running back and scored twice on short runs, followed by another short Kelly to Lofton TD throw of 8 yards. At some point the beleaguered Raiders called what amounted to a basketball timeout to catch their breath as the vaunted no-huddle K-Gun attack of the Bills overwhelmed them. When the dust settled Buffalo held a commanding 41-3 lead at halftime.

I was in the stadium at that game, and across the field from me some fans were spelling out “Hello Tampa” in the stands. (Where the Super Bowl was to be played the next week) I saw that and immediately thought “Holy s**t, the Bills are going to the Super Bowl!” Later that day at home after the game, they showed earlier clips of workers at Tampa Stadium painting the Bills’ logo in the end zone, at halftime of the game! It was just an incredible experience.

Happy Bills’ fans with a message

Coach Marv Levy called off the dogs somewhat in the second half. The Bills scored only 10 points, on another short Davis run and a Scott Norwood field goal, to account for the final score of 51-3, launching the team to the big game. Kelly wound up throwing for 300 yards and the 2 TDs, while Thomas, although leaving the touchdown runs to Davis, racked up 199 yards of total offense. Lofton’s 2 TDs were among his 5 catches for 133 yards. The beleaguered Shroeder was intercepted 5 times by the Buffalo defense before being replaced by Vince Evans, who threw another pick. Little did the Bills and their fans know that what came next was the ultimate heartbreak of “Wide Right” by Norwood in Super Bowl XXV.

Darryl Talley scores on a pick six

It was a long wait, but the 2023 NFL season is finally upon us, and that also marks the return of our weekly Throwback Thursday feature, in which we travel back in time to highlight a game from the past played between teams who are matched against each other that week on the league slate. For opening week, we chose a matchup of 2 historic franchises, played on October 20, 1957. It pitted the Chicago Cardinals against the Washington Redskins at old Griffith Stadium in Washington. Those teams go head to head on opening day this season, although the Cardinals are based in Arizona and Washington’s club is now known as the Commanders.

Neither of these teams was very good that season, as they finished fourth and last respectively in the Eastern Division standings. The lowly Cardinals, who would only win 3 games all year, did boast one of the league’s most dynamic stars – halfback Ollie Matson. On this day, they rode a dominating performance from their future Hall of Fame back to a rousing 44-14 victory. He wasted no time as he broke off a 56 yard scamper to the end zone to open the scoring. The Cards’ other 2 star offensive weapons on this day, quarterback Lamar McHan and end Woodley Lewis, provided the next points, hooking up on a 39 yard touchdown pass, followed by an 18 yard McHan run to paydirt to put Chicago ahead 21-0. Washington regrouped somewhat and cut the lead to 21-7 when Eddie LeBaron tossed a short TD pass to Ed Podoley, but McHan and Lewis regained the momentum by hooking up for another score. Kicker Pat Summerall, who we all know would go on to become one of the most beloved football broadcasters of all time, added a field goal, and the Cardinals now owned a commanding 31-7 lead at halftime over the future Commanders.

Showing no mercy, McHan struck for the big play again to start the second half scoring when he found Matson open for a 50 yard touchdown. Matson had now showcased his talents as both a runner and receiver. LeBaron engineered another scoring drive for the Redskins before the third quarter ended, but the game was pretty much over by then. In fact, Washington only added to their ineptness when they fumbled on their own goal line in the final quarter. Leo Sugar accepted the gift, recovering the loose ball and traveling the 1 yard into the end zone to finalize the scoring. On a historic note, despite the one-sided nature of the contest, Washington did have a play made from a future Hall of Famer of their own, as McHan’s otherwise perfect game of 8 completions on 13 passes for 182 yards and 3 TDs was spoiled when he threw an interception into the waiting arms of Redskin defensive back Don Shula.

Matson, although today a mostly overlooked star from the NFL’s past, was a much coveted player in his era. In fact, the Cardinals, in 1959, traded him to the Los Angeles Rams for what amounted to 9 players (7 players and 2 top draft picks). That deal was orchestrated by the Rams’ general manager at the time, future NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle.

Ollie Matson (second from left) with his HOF classmates of 1972