1971: Colts Beat Cowboys in Super Bowl V with FG in Last Seconds

It has been referred to as the “Blooper Bowl” for the sloppiness of much of the play, yet Super Bowl V was also a closely-fought contest that came down to the final seconds. It was the first to be played in the newly-restructured NFL and, unlike its four predecessors, was no longer a contest between champions of rival leagues – it now served as the NFL Championship game.

The American Football Conference (AFC) was the remnant of the American Football League that had merged into the NFL for the 1970 season, although its Super Bowl representative was one of three existing franchises from the older league that was moved into the AFC in order to provide two balanced 13-team conferences. The Baltimore Colts had gone 11-2-1 in 1970 to win the AFC East, and had beaten the Bengals in the Divisional round and Raiders for the conference title.

The Colts were an aging club with a new head coach in Don McCafferty, who had replaced Don Shula when he departed for Miami. 37-year-old QB Johnny Unitas still guided the offense, with occasional relief from 36-year-old backup Earl Morrall. The running game was mediocre due to injuries, while wide receivers Eddie Hinton and Roy Jefferson were primary targets for the passing game. The defense was solid, however, featuring DE Bubba Smith, MLB Mike Curtis, OLB Ted Hendricks, and safeties Rick Volk and Jerry Logan.


Representing the National Football Conference (NFC), the old NFL minus the three transferred clubs, were the Dallas Cowboys. Under Head Coach Tom Landry, the Cowboys were in the postseason for the fifth consecutive year and topped the NFC East at 10-4 before beating the Lions and 49ers to advance to the Super Bowl for the first time. QB Craig Morton (pictured at right) fended off a challenge from second-year backup Roger Staubach and the running game didn’t suffer when RB Calvin Hill was injured and replaced by rookie FB Duane Thomas. Like the Colts, defense was the key to the team’s success and included such stalwarts as DT Bob Lilly, DE George Andrie, MLB Lee Roy Jordan, OLB Chuck Howley, CB Mel Renfro, and safeties Cliff Harris and Charlie Waters.

The game was played at the Orange Bowl in Miami on January 17, 1971 with 80,055 fans in attendance on a pleasant day under clear skies. Dallas got the initial break of the game in the first quarter when Howley intercepted a Unitas pass. The Cowboys weren’t able to move the ball and had to punt, but got it back when Baltimore DB Ron Gardin fumbled the kick and Harris recovered at the Colts’ nine yard line. Dallas couldn’t score a touchdown, with Morton overthrowing WR Reggie Rucker in the end zone on third down, but Mike Clark kicked a 14-yard field goal to put the Cowboys ahead at 3-0.


Late in the opening period, the Cowboys commenced a drive that covered 57 yards in eight plays, featuring a 41-yard pass play from Morton to WR Bob Hayes, and, just into the second quarter, culminated in another Clark field goal, from 30 yards. The Colts responded quickly as, on the third play of the ensuing possession, Unitas fired a pass intended for Hinton that the wide receiver tipped and, after Renfro of the Cowboys also got a hand on it, TE John Mackey (pictured at left), who had been trailing the play, grabbed the ball at the Dallas 45 and ran unmolested the rest of the way for a 75-yard touchdown. The extra point attempt was blocked by DB Mark Washington, leaving the score tied at 6-6.

The Cowboys got another break halfway through the period when Unitas, forced to run out of the pocket, was hit hard by Jordan and fumbled; DT Jethro Pugh recovered for Dallas at the Baltimore 28. Three plays later, Morton connected with Thomas on a swing pass for a seven-yard touchdown.

Unitas left the game due to a rib injury and Morrall took over at quarterback for the Colts. Morrall started off well, completing two passes as Baltimore’s offense drove quickly down to the Dallas two yard line. However, three straight runs gained just a yard and on fourth-and-goal at the one, Coach McCafferty chose to go for the touchdown rather than attempt an easy field goal. Morrall’s pass intended for TE Tom Mitchell was incomplete and the Colts came away empty. The Cowboys led by 13-6 at halftime.

It looked as though Dallas might take decisive control of the game when the Colts fumbled away the second half kickoff at their own 21 yard line and the Cowboys proceeded to drive down to the one. But Thomas fumbled when hit by Baltimore’s Logan and CB Jim Duncan recovered for the Colts. Baltimore drove to the Dallas 44 in 11 plays, but Jim O’Brien was short on a 52-yard field goal attempt.

Baltimore failed to capitalize on a couple more opportunities as the second half progressed. Still in the third quarter, Morrall threw a pass to FB Tom Nowatzke that covered 45 yards to the Dallas 15 before the slow-footed back was pulled down from behind by CB Herb Adderley (pictured below). Following two running plays, Morrall threw into the end zone on third-and-six and was intercepted by Howley.


On their next possession, and now into the fourth quarter, the Colts tried a flea-flicker play, with Morrall pitching out to HB Sam Havrilak. However, due to Bob Lilly’s presence in the backfield near the quarterback, Havrilak didn’t toss it back and threw downfield. Eddie Hinton had broken into the clear and hauled in the pass at the Dallas 20 and appeared to be on his way to a score when he was hit hard by safety Cornell Green at the five and fumbled. The loose ball bounced through the end zone for a touchback despite the pursuit of several players.

Finally, three plays later it was Baltimore’s turn to benefit from a turnover. A pass from Morton intended for FB Walt Garrison was intercepted by Volk, who returned it 30 yards to the Dallas three. Two plays later, Nowatzke scored from two yards out, and with the successful PAT the score was tied at 13-13 with 7:35 remaining on the clock.

The teams traded punts, and with just inside of two minutes remaining, the Cowboys gained possession at the Baltimore 48. Thomas lost a yard on the first play and Morton was sacked by DT Fred Miller for a nine-yard loss on the second. To make matters worse, a holding penalty on the Cowboys took the ball all the way back to the Dallas 27 with the time down to 1:09. Morton threw a pass intended for HB Dan Reeves, but the ball bounced off the halfback’s hands as he was being hit by Logan and was intercepted by Curtis, who ran it back 13 yards to the Dallas 28.

The Colts ran two plays to the Dallas 25, running 50 seconds off the clock and setting up the field goal attempt. O’Brien, who had missed an extra point and a long field goal earlier, was successful from 32 yards (pictured at top) and the Colts came away as champions by a score of 16-13.

Baltimore outgained the Cowboys (329 yards to 217) and led in first downs (14 to 9). However, the numbers that drew the most attention were the 11 turnovers (7 by the Colts on four fumbles and three interceptions, 4 by Dallas on a fumble and three interceptions) and 14 penalties (10 called on the Cowboys, 4 on Baltimore).

Johnny Unitas completed just three of nine passes for 88 yards, with the TD on the deflected pass and two interceptions. Earl Morrall (pictured below), who gained some measure of vindication after having a poor performance in the Super Bowl III upset loss to the Jets, was successful on 7 of 15 throws for 147 yards with one picked off. Neither team was able to move the ball well on the ground, and of the 69 rushing yards for the Colts, Tom Nowatzke accounted for 33 on 10 carries with a TD while rookie RB Norm Bulaich, who had run well in the prior playoff games, carried 18 times for just 28 yards. Roy Jefferson caught three passes for 52 yards while John Mackey, with the long TD, gained a club-leading 80 yards on two receptions.


For the Cowboys, Craig Morton went to the air 26 times and completed 12 for 127 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions. Walt Garrison ran for 65 yards on 12 attempts while Duane Thomas was held to 35 yards on 18 carries. Dan Reeves led the team with 5 pass receptions for 46 yards out of the backfield - only one completion wasn’t to a running back, and that was the 41-yard reception by Hayes in the first half.

Among the contest’s oddities, Chuck Howley (pictured below) became the first member of a losing team to be named MVP of the game. “It’s nice, but I wish we had won the game,” he said.


“The big play was in the third period,” said Tom Landry. “That was when Duane Thomas fumbled on the Colt goal line. If he had scored, we would have had a 20-6 lead and the Colts would have had to do a lot of catching up. After that, it was nothing but errors for us.”

While John Mackey commented afterward, “We were lucky and I’d rather be lucky than good”, veteran OT Bob Vogel said, “So what if we were lucky? I’ve had luck decide against us so many times that I’m sick of it…The way I look at it, we’re getting the Super Bowl ring because we won the games that counted. We deserve it.”

For the Colts as a team, as well as Morrall personally, the win laid to rest the ghost of the Super Bowl upset two years before. It was also a last hurrah for many of the older players who had made the club an annual contender for several seasons, including Unitas, Morrall, Vogel, Mackey, Logan, and DT Billy Ray Smith. While Baltimore advanced to the AFC Championship game in ’71, most of those veterans were gone soon thereafter and the next time the franchise played in a Super Bowl, it was representing Indianapolis following the 2006 season.

The defeat added to the perception of the Cowboys as a team that came up short in big games, which was not eradicated until the next year when they dominated the Dolphins to win their first championship in Super Bowl VI.

1974: Jets Defeat Giants in Overtime After Namath Runs for Tying TD

Any game between New York City’s two NFL teams can’t help but generate interest, no matter how the clubs rank in the standings. The NFL-AFL merger in 1970 had made possible regular season play between the long-established Giants and the comparative newcomers from the rival league, the Jets. On November 10, 1974 the two clubs met for the second time at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut - the temporary home of the Giants, with Yankee Stadium under renovation and the new stadium in the New Jersey Meadowlands still two years from completion (they shifted to Shea Stadium for ’75).

The Giants were under a first-year head coach, Bill Arnsparger, and had finished with a winning record just twice in the previous ten years. The situation was no better in ’74 as they came into the contest with the Jets at 2-6. However, they had made a major switch at quarterback two weeks before, dealing away underperforming veteran Norm Snead to the 49ers while trading a first draft choice to the Dallas Cowboys for Craig Morton. Morton, once a promising starter in Dallas who had lost out to Roger Staubach, played well in a win at Kansas City in the Giants’ previous game. Snead, Carl Summerell, and Jim Del Gaizo had failed to throw a touchdown pass to a wide receiver in six games, but Morton managed to do that much in his second game with the club.

The Jets had a new head coach as well in Charley Winner, designated successor to the retired Weeb Ewbank, but there was no question at quarterback for the Jets, as long as Joe Namath (pictured above) was healthy enough to play – even if he and the club were off to a poor start. The Jets had been 4-10 in ’73, with Namath missing most of the season, and were 1-7 thus far in 1974 while Broadway Joe had been intercepted 17 times.

There were 67,740 fans at the Yale Bowl for the battle of the New York teams. The Jets started off the scoring in the first quarter as Namath connected with WR David Knight for a 19-yard touchdown. Pete Gogolak kicked a 26-yard field goal for the Giants later in the period, and the older club took the lead in the second quarter when Morton threw a two-yard TD pass to TE Bob Tucker.

Pat Leahy, in his first NFL game with the Jets following an injury to Bobby Howfield, booted a 34-yard field goal to tie the score, but it was 13-10 in favor of the Giants at the half after Gogolak kicked a second field goal of 22 yards.

The Jets launched the third quarter with a drive that used up the first ten minutes and ended with a 22-yard field goal by Leahy. In their next possession, the Giants struck quickly with Morton throwing a 12-yard touchdown pass to WR Bob Grim, and maintained a 20-13 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Jets put together another long possession, using 14 plays to drive down to the Giants’ three yard line. With a third-and-goal situation, Namath tied the score with a three-yard touchdown run (more accurately, a hobble) that surprised everyone, including his teammates. Originally, the play was to be a handoff to HB Emerson Boozer, but Namath saw the Giants’ weak-side LB, Brad Van Pelt, move inside and decided to keep the ball. With Leahy’s extra point, the game was tied at 20-20.

The Jets had an opportunity to win in regulation, but with 12 seconds left Leahy’s 29-yard field goal attempt was blocked by CB Jim Stienke.

1974 was the first season in which regular-season games ending in a tie went into an overtime period. The Giants won the toss and RB Joe Dawkins returned the kickoff 53 yards to give them good field position. They drove to the Jets’ 25 but, after coming up a yard short on a third-and-three play, Gogolak missed the resulting 42-yard field goal attempt.

Starting from his own 25, Namath completed consecutive passes of 42 yards to TE Rich Caster and 12 yards to WR Jerome Barkum. From the Giants’ 21, Boozer ran for back-to-back six yard runs and then RB Jazz Jackson took a pitchout for four yards to the five. From there, Namath lobbed a pass to Boozer, who had beaten Van Pelt, in the left corner of the end zone for the winning touchdown at 6:53 in overtime. The final score was 26-20.


The Jets outgained the Giants (425 yards to 340) and had the edge in first downs (27 to 22). There were no turnovers and game had few penalties – the Jets were flagged twice for a total of 15 yards, and the Giants just once for five yards.

Joe Namath completed 20 of 31 passes for 236 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. RB Bob Burns, who played only one season and gained a total of 158 yards on the ground, had the best game of his brief career filling in for the injured FB John Riggins with 101 yards on 21 attempts. Emerson Boozer (pictured above left) added 58 yards on 13 carries and had four pass receptions for 43 yards and the game-winning TD. Jerome Barkum caught 5 passes for 24 yards, while Rich Caster gained the most yards receiving with 68 on three catches.

Craig Morton had a solid outing for the Giants in defeat, with numbers that were almost identical to Namath’s – 21 of 32 passes completed for 237 yards with two TDs and none picked off. Joe Dawkins led the club in rushing with 49 yards on 11 carries and caught 6 passes for 37 yards. WR Walker Gillette gained 83 yards on his five receptions.

“It was a great victory for us when we really needed one,” said Namath afterward. “Emotionally, it has to rank with the Oakland game in 1968 when we won the AFL title, it was a big game for us. You lose one to the other guys in town and you have to take a lot of heat from a lot of people.”

Of the decision to keep the ball on the game-tying touchdown run rather than hand off, Broadway Joe added, “I didn’t tell Boozer, I didn’t tell anybody. The fake always works better that way.” Said Boozer, “I didn’t know what to think. When I didn’t get the ball, I thought fumble.”

Since the first regular season game to go into overtime (between Denver and Pittsburgh) ended in a tie, the Jets became the first NFL team to win a regular season overtime game. It also gave the club a big lift as it proved to be the first of six straight wins (following six consecutive losses) to end the season. The Jets finished at 7-7 and tied with the Patriots for third in the AFC East. The Giants lost the remainder of their games to end up at 2-12 and at the bottom of the NFC East.

Joe Namath’s statistics improved along with the team’s fortunes. While he still ended up leading the NFL by throwing 22 interceptions, only five of those came during the season-ending winning streak. His 2616 passing yards and 20 touchdowns both ranked second in the NFL, as did his 361 attempts.


Craig Morton (pictured at left) threw for 1510 yards in eight games for the Giants with 9 TD passes and 13 interceptions. His 29.6 pass attempts per game ranked second in the NFL and his averages of 188.8 yards and 15.3 completions ranked third. But taking over in the midst of the season and with a mediocre supporting cast, the resulting record in his starts was 1-6.

The new placekicker, Pat Leahy, made the most of his opportunity with the Jets. He ended up playing for them through 1991, a total of 18 seasons, and ended up as the franchise leader in points (1470) and field goals (304).

1977: Broncos Intercept Stabler 7 Times and End Raiders Winning Streak

In the seven seasons following the merger of the NFL and AFL in 1970, the Oakland Raiders had pretty much dominated the AFC West. Under Head Coach John Madden, they won the division title in six of those seven years through 1976, and finished a strong second in 1971. Most recently, in ’76, they had gone 13-1 on the way to winning the Super Bowl for the first time. Four weeks into the 1977 season, the Raiders were 4-0 and in the midst of a 17-game winning streak, counting the postseason.

The club they faced on October 16, 1977 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum was the Denver Broncos, also off to a 4-0 start. As successful as the Raiders had been for over a decade (going back to the late-60s American Football League), the Broncos were a team new to being a contender. After never posting a winning record in any AFL season, Denver finally went over .500 in 1973 and ’74 under Head Coach John Ralston, and was a franchise-best 9-5 in 1976.

Ralston, who had relinquished the post of general manager, was forced to resign as head coach by his successor, Fred Gehrke. It was a controversial move, following the improvement in record, but Ralston had bred a great deal of dissension among the players along the way. Hired to replace him was Red Miller, most recently the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots (Ralston had also taken criticism for running an uninspiring offense). The other major offseason move occurred when mediocre QB Steve Ramsey was dealt to the New York Giants for 34-year-old QB Craig Morton (pictured above). Morton, who had lost out in the competition for the starting job with Roger Staubach in Dallas at the beginning of the decade, had been a disappointment with the Giants but was nevertheless a big improvement over Ramsey.

The game against Oakland was a major test for the rising Broncos, and one they had been anticipating since long before the season began. However, the Raiders started off with a 70-yard scoring drive that culminated in a nine-yard touchdown pass from QB Ken Stabler to TE Dave Casper.

But on the second Oakland possession, a Stabler pass intended for WR Cliff Branch was tipped by the receiver to LB Joe Rizzo for an interception. From the Raiders’ 29 yard line, the Broncos drove to the tying score on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Morton to TE Riley Odoms.

Midway through the second quarter, Denver punter Bucky Dilts pinned the Raiders down with a kick to the one yard line. Oakland couldn’t advance and had to punt, giving the Broncos good field position at the Raiders’ 42. Seven plays later, HB Lonnie Perrin ran for a 16-yard touchdown to put the Broncos ahead, 14-7. Along the way, Morton connected with Odoms for a 14-yard gain on a third-and-nine play to keep the drive going.


Rizzo intercepted two more of Stabler’s passes and LB Randy Gradishar one. Following the Gradishar pickoff, and with about a minute to go in the half, the Broncos had the ball at the Oakland 32. Unable to gain ground, they lined up for a 42-yard field goal attempt, but faked the kick. Backup QB Norris Weese, the holder, first looked for Odoms but then fired to wide-open PK Jim Turner at the 16 who lumbered the rest of the way for a 25-yard touchdown. It was the only touchdown ever scored by the 36-year-old placekicker, in the 14th of an eventual 16 seasons with the Jets and Broncos (Turner pictured kicking at left). Denver took a 21-7 lead into halftime.

The Raiders put together a good drive in the third quarter, but on third-and-one at the Denver 45 LB Tom Jackson stuffed FB Mark van Eeghen for no gain and Oakland punted. On the next Oakland series, Stabler hit Branch for a 44-yard gain, but on the following play at the Denver 20, RB Pete Banaszak fumbled and Denver DE Lyle Alzado recovered to end the threat.

Again a Dilts punt pinned the Raiders deep in their own territory, at the four yard line, and CB Louis Wright intercepted a Stabler pass shortly thereafter and returned it for an 18-yard touchdown. Turner missed the extra point, but the Denver lead was now an insurmountable 27-7.

One last time the Raiders drove into Denver territory, but Banaszak was stopped decisively for no gain on a fourth-and-one play by Jackson and safety Bill Thompson.

Before it was over, Stabler threw his seventh interception of the game, to DE Paul Smith. The Broncos had the ball at the Oakland 16 but settled for a 32-yard field goal by Turner with just over seven minutes left to play. That provided the stunning final score of 30-7.

The Raiders outgained the Broncos, 326 yards to 200, and accumulated 21 first downs to Denver’s eight. However, Oakland also turned the ball over eight times, to none by the Broncos.

Craig Morton completed just 7 of 16 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown, with none intercepted; Norris Weese, of course, added the 25-yard TD pass on the fake field goal attempt. Only two Denver receivers caught as many as two passes, with the star tight end Riley Odoms (pictured below) gaining 24 yards with a TD on his pair (RB Rob Lytle caught two passes for 18 yards; WR Jack Dolbin had one 34-yard reception and was the leader in receiving yardage for the club). Staying conservative offensively, the Broncos ran 37 times for 102 yards and Lonnie Perrin was the leading rusher with 37 yards on 10 attempts, including a TD.


Ken Stabler was forced to go to the air often and completed 20 of 40 passes for 274 yards with one touchdown and the seven interceptions. Ten of Stabler’s passes hit receivers in the hands and bounced away, accounting for three of the pickoffs. The lefthander had thrown just five interceptions in all of the preceding games.

Dave Casper caught six passes for 58 yards and the lone TD, while Cliff Branch gained 92 yards on his four receptions. Mark van Eeghen was the leading rusher with 61 yards on 20 carries.

Denver’s “Orange Crush” defense had largely controlled the game (as would be the case throughout most of the season). Joe Rizzo accounted for three of the interceptions of Stabler. They also sacked Stabler four times (Morton was sacked five times).

Said Denver’s Randy Gradishar afterward “We’ve been playing together a long time now and we’re getting good coverage and good pressure. Stabler’s not used to getting pressure. Sometimes he’ll just throw the ball out there and hope somebody comes up with it. Today wasn’t his day.”

“There’ll be another day,” said Oakland’s All-Pro guard Gene Upshaw after the game, “and we don’t have to wait a month. It’s just in two weeks.”

Oakland did indeed beat the Broncos in Denver two weeks later, but the Broncos didn’t lose again until the season finale. They finished atop the AFC West with a 12-2 record while the Raiders came in second at 11-3 and qualified for a wild card spot. The teams met one more time, in the AFC Championship game, and Denver won at home, 20-17. However, the Broncos’ dream season turned into a nightmare in the Super Bowl loss to Dallas.

As the game against the Broncos exemplified, Ken Stabler had a down season (by his previous standards), but was still among the league leaders in touchdown passes (20 – matching his interception total), completion percentage (57.5), and percentage of TD passes (6.8) and was selected for the Pro Bowl for the fourth (and last) time. Craig Morton, operating in a conservative offense, didn’t have overwhelming numbers but provided steady leadership, minimized mistakes (his 3.1 interception percentage was second lowest in the conference), and came away with an AFC title.