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).

1975: Bert Jones & Colts Overwhelm Jets & Joe Namath

The Baltimore Colts had fallen on hard times since winning the Super Bowl following the 1970 season. Outstanding players like QB Johnny Unitas, HB Tom Matte, TE John Mackey, WR Jimmy Orr, DT Billy Ray Smith, DE Bubba Smith, and safety Jerry Logan were gone. Joe Thomas had been brought in as general manager in order to deconstruct and rebuild, and the rebuilding was moving along far too slowly for Colts fans used to winning. The club had gone 11-31 from 1972-74, and was off to a 1-4 start in 1975 under new Head Coach Ted Marchibroda as they traveled to New York to take on the Jets at Shea Stadium on October 26.

The Jets had fallen on hard times as well. Since winning the AFL title in 1968 and upending the Colts in the Super Bowl, and then making it to the postseason again in ’69, New York had only twice done as well as .500 (including their 7-7 tally in ’74). Weeb Ewbank, the head coach and GM who had built the team into a winner, retired following the ’73 season, and was succeeded by Charley Winner. Franchise QB Joe Namath had suffered through injury-riddled years in 1970, ’71, and ’73, but when healthy he was still productive. He had played out his option and flirted with the World Football League, but Broadway Joe was back for an 11th season at age 32. The club was 2-3 thus far in 1975.

HB Carl Garrett fumbled on each of New York’s first two possessions, thus helping to put the Jets behind by two touchdowns early on. Garrett fumbled initially on the first play from scrimmage, and three plays later Colts QB Bert Jones (pictured above) ran for a 15-yard TD with just over a minute run off the clock. On the fourth play of the next possession, Garrett lost the ball again to set up a two-yard touchdown run by Baltimore RB Don McCauley five plays afterward. The score remained 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Early in the second period, the Jets got on the board as Namath tossed a 42-yard touchdown pass to WR Jerome Barkum. However, Jones brought the Colts right back and, on a play in which he scrambled to buy time, hit rookie WR Marshall Johnson with a 15-yard TD pass (it was Johnson’s first NFL catch as well as score).

On the next possession, Namath hit WR Eddie Bell for a 22-yard gain. A pass interference penalty on Colts CB Nelson Munsey gave New York a first down on the one yard line, and Namath threw a short TD pass to Barkum.

With just 24 seconds left in the half, Jones passed the Colts into scoring position and on the last play Toni Linhart booted a 36-yard field goal. Baltimore went into halftime with a 24-14 lead.

In the third quarter, the Colts extended the lead to 31-14 when Jones connected with Johnson again for a 68-yard touchdown. Not to be outdone in the big-play department, the Jets responded with a 91-yard pass play from Namath to TE Rich Caster to the New York one yard line (it was the longest play from scrimmage in the franchise’s history). From there, FB John Riggins fumbled into the end zone where TE Willie Brister recovered for a TD. The Colts led by 31-21 after three quarters.

Namath threw his only interception early in the fourth quarter, and it was a costly one as Colts safety Jackie Wallace returned it 38 yards for a TD and 38-21 lead that essentially sealed the game. Namath threw one more TD pass, of 22 yards to Bell. But later the Jets failed to get a first down on fourth-and-one at their own 20 and the Colts put the final nail in the coffin as RB Lydell Mitchell ran for a touchdown from there. The final score was a decisive 45-28 in favor of Baltimore.

The Colts gained 400 total yards to 341 for the Jets, who were undone by the three key turnovers while Baltimore suffered none. A gritty performance by Joe Namath was wasted – while he completed 19 of 28 passes for 333 yards with three touchdowns and the one interception, he was sacked seven times for 74 yards.

The Jets gained just 82 yards on 28 rushes, as Carl Garrett led the club with 33 yards on 10 carries (which hardly made up for the two early fumbles). John Riggins, who was held to 23 yards on 11 attempts, led the team with 6 catches, for 66 yards. Rich Caster gained 115 yards on three catches while Jerome Barkum added 71 yards on four receptions with two TDs.


Third-year QB Bert Jones gave notice of his steady improvement as he completed 17 of 25 passes for 209 yards with two touchdowns against no interceptions; he also ran for 27 yards on three carries that included a TD. Marshall Johnson (pictured at left) caught three passes for 105 yards and the two scores, while WR Glenn Doughty grabbed 5 for 44 yards and Don McCauley four for 22.

The Colts ran all over the Jets, gaining 212 yards. Lydell Mitchell led the way with 98 yards on 14 attempts and the one TD.

“I threw the ball perfectly today,” said Bert Jones afterward. “The offensive line is the key. It's enabled me to do a lot of things that I want to do. It gives me all sorts of opportunities to throw what I want...and today I did it.” As to Namath, he added, “Joe is the best there is. In fact, I think he's the best there ever was.”

For his part, Namath said, “I was impressed with their front four,” Referring specifically to DE Fred Cook and DT Mike Barnes, he added, “I thought two of them were part of my backfield.”

“We got in a hole early, but the defense has to rise to the occasion, doesn't it?” said a disgusted Coach Charley Winner. “When you have your backs to the wall you have to stop them once in a while and make them settle for a field goal at least. We just simply didn't stop anyone.”

The two teams moved in markedly different directions over the remainder of the year. Baltimore didn’t lose again for the rest of the regular season, a total of nine straight, to win the AFC East with a 10-4 record. The Colts lost to Pittsburgh in the Divisional playoff round. Meanwhile, the Jets won only once more to go 3-11 and tie for last in the division with the Patriots. Charley Winner was dismissed and replaced by Ken Shipp before it was all over.

For Bert Jones, it was a breakout season as he responded well to ex-quarterback Marchibroda’s coaching and the solidifying of the offensive line. He passed for 2483 yards with 18 touchdowns and just 8 interceptions; his 2.3 % interception percentage ranked as the lowest in the NFL. His completion percentage of 59.0 ranked third.

Joe Namath (pictured below) threw for 2286 yards and 15 touchdowns. While his 14.6 yards per completion topped the NFL, so did his 28 interceptions. The weaknesses of the team around him, exposed by the Colts, were too much to overcome.

Marshall Johnson caught just one more pass in 1975 and totaled only five for his three-year NFL career, all with the Colts. He was primarily used as a kick returner in the end.

1972: Namath & Unitas Engage in Epic Passing Duel as Jets Beat Colts

By the 1972 season, QB Johnny Unitas of the Baltimore Colts was 39 years old and in the twilight of his great career. Joe Namath of the New York Jets (pictured above) was ten years younger but had missed most of the previous two seasons due to injuries. After winning the Super Bowl following the ’70 season, the Colts had gone 10-4 in 1971 to make the playoffs as a wild card team, but were now in a transition under a new owner, Bob Irsay, and vice president and general manager, Joe Thomas. New York had fallen under .500 in both 1970 and ’71 without Namath, following the ’68 season that had resulted in an AFL title and Super Bowl victory over the Colts and a division championship in ’69. Age and injuries had taken their toll on both the teams in general and starting quarterbacks in particular.

The Colts and Jets, division rivals since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger, met at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium on September 24, 1972. New York had won its opening game the previous week at Buffalo handily, but more due to the running of second-year FB John Riggins (125 yards on 26 carries) than Namath’s passing (5 completions in 14 attempts for 113 yards with a TD and an interception). Baltimore, meanwhile, had lost dismally to the Cardinals – while Unitas passed for 257 yards, the Colts couldn’t get in the end zone and two passes were intercepted while PK Jim O’Brien misfired on three field goal attempts.

Expectations could not have been great for a high-scoring passing display, but that is what the 56,626 fans in attendance got. Namath set the tone in the first quarter by connecting with diminutive (5’10”, 160-pounds) WR Eddie Bell for a 65-yard touchdown. The extra point attempt was missed, and Unitas responded with a touchdown pass of his own that covered 40 yards to WR Sam Havrilak. O’Brien was successful on the PAT and the Colts held a 7-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Baltimore tacked on six more points in the second quarter as O’Brien booted field goals of 14 and 32 yards. The pace of the scoring sped up as the Jets responded with a 67-yard touchdown pass play from Namath to Riggins that was quickly followed by Baltimore’s RB Don McCauley returning the ensuing kickoff 93 yards for a TD. Namath struck again to knot the score at 20-20 with a 28-yard touchdown pass to WR Don Maynard. Broadway Joe’s fourth TD pass of the half, a mere 10-yard toss to TE Rich Caster, provided the Jets with a 27-20 lead at halftime.

The tide receded a bit in the third quarter, which was marked only by Bobby Howfield kicking a 14-yard field goal to put the Jets ahead by 10 points. But in the fourth quarter, McCauley ran in for a Colts TD from a yard out to make it a three-point game. Namath followed with a 79-yard touchdown pass to Caster. Unitas connected with HB Tom Matte for a 21-yard touchdown, but Namath iced the cake by again throwing to Caster, this time for an 80-yard TD that provided the final score of 44-34.

“I know it sounds dumb, but I’ve had better days throwing the ball,” said Namath afterward. While he completed just 15 of his 28 passes, they went for an astounding 496 yards with six touchdowns against one interception.

Rich Caster gained 204 yards on six catches with three touchdowns. Eddie Bell added another 197 yards on 7 receptions with a score. Don Maynard and John Riggins each caught one pass apiece, for touchdowns of 28 and 67 yards respectively; Riggins also was the leading rusher with 87 yards on 21 carries.


It all overshadowed an outstanding effort by Johnny Unitas (pictured at left), who completed 26 of 45 passes for 376 yards with two TDs and no interceptions. Tom Matte was the leading rusher, with 42 yards on nine carries, and also caught the most passes, with 9 for 69 yards and a TD. The converted halfback Sam Havrilak gained 115 yards on four receptions with a touchdown, and TE Tom Mitchell was right behind with 114 yards on 8 catches.

The game proved to be the last great performance for Unitas in Baltimore. While the Colts shut out Buffalo the next week, they proceeded to lose the next four games. After a 21-0 loss to the Cowboys in Week 5, GM Thomas fired Head Coach Don McCafferty, who had refused to bench Unitas – John Sandusky, the interim head coach, was ordered to do so and the nondescript Marty Domres started at quarterback ahead of the all-time great for the remainder of the year. It was the conclusion of an outstanding era for Unitas and the Colts. Baltimore ended up with a 5-9 record for third place in the AFC East.

The Jets finished second in the division with a 7-7 tally. Joe Namath stayed healthy enough to start all but one game and led the NFL in passing yards (2816), touchdown passes (19, tied with Washington’s Bill Kilmer), yards per attempt (8.7), and yards per completion (17.4).

1977: Joe Namath Signs with LA Rams

Joe Namath had brought attention to the New York Jets from the moment he signed with them as a high-priced rookie first draft choice in 1965. Under the tutelage of Head Coach Weeb Ewbank, he had developed into an outstanding quarterback; the high point of his career came when the Jets won the AFL championship in 1968 and then upset the NFL champion Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.

But after reaching the postseason again in ’69, Namath missed significant time and the Jets fell into mediocrity. While the condition of his knees was an issue from the beginning of Namath’s pro career, he never missed a game due to injury in his first five seasons. But that changed in 1970 and ’71 as he missed a total of 19 contests – to a broken wrist in ’70 and torn knee ligaments in 1971. While he missed just one game (the season finale) in ’72, Namath missed eight games due to a shoulder separation in ’73. He made it through complete 14-game seasons in 1974 and ’75, but missed three more games in 1976. Moreover, while his presence continued to lend respectability to a mediocre team, the physical beating was taking a toll on his performance (he threw 28 interceptions to just 15 TDs in ’75).

The Jets had dropped to 4-10 in 1970 and failed to rise above .500 in any of the ensuing six seasons. Ewbank had retired following the ’73 campaign, but his designated successor, Charley Winner, failed to last through a second season and Lou Holtz, who had been hired away from North Carolina State in ’76, decided to forego the last two years of his contract to return to college coaching at Arkansas.

Richard Todd, like Namath a product of legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant’s program at Alabama, had been drafted in the first round in ’76. With a new quarterback available (who split time with Namath in his rookie season) and new head coach in Walt Michaels, it appeared time for the 34-year-old veteran to move on. Waived so that he could work out his own deal with another team, Namath signed with the Los Angeles Rams on May 12, 1977.

The Rams had been coached since 1973 by Chuck Knox, who had been offensive line coach with the Jets during Namath’s early years with the club. Knox had been successful in LA, leading the Rams to a 44-11-1 record and division titles in each of his four seasons. However, the team had not made it to the Super Bowl (they had lost the last three NFC title games) and instability at quarterback had been a nagging issue.

Veteran John Hadl had been obtained from the Chargers and performed well in ’73, but was traded away during the 1974 season in favor of James Harris. Ron Jaworski, who led the Rams to a divisional playoff win in ’75 after Harris was injured, joined the mix, as did Pat Haden, a USC product, Rhodes scholar, and WFL refugee who started seven games in 1976.

The team was winning, but the competition at quarterback created problems both on and off the field. Jaworski refused to sign a contract extension, determined to play out his option, and was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles. Harris bridled at being benched in favor of Haden and there was talk of racism among African-American players and fans alike at a less experienced white quarterback replacing a black one with a 21-6 record in his starts (not to mention leading the NFC in passing in ’76). Harris also was dealt away in a trade to San Diego.

Namath was initially listed second on the depth chart behind Haden, but entered the season as the starting quarterback. Alas, any hopes that the brittle veteran could provide the missing element that would take the Rams to a championship were dashed by the fourth week of the season. The team started off 2-1 with Namath directing the offense, but on a cold and rainy Monday night in Chicago he was intercepted four times in a 24-23 loss to the Bears and took a significant beating along the way. It was the final appearance of his Hall of Fame career.

For his last year, Namath ended up with 50 completions in 107 attempts (46.7 %) for 606 yards with three touchdowns and five interceptions. It was an inglorious end for a quarterback who brought so much talent to the football field that, mixed with his off-field exploits and celebrity, made his career a legendary one.