1986: Patriots Take Advantage of Raider Turnovers, Win Divisional Playoff Game

The odds of the New England Patriots making it to the Super Bowl following the 1985 season were not good. They had finished 11-5 for third place in the AFC East, qualifying for the playoffs but needing to go on the road to advance. In the Wild Card round, the Patriots beat the team that had finished with the same record as theirs in the division, the New York Jets (awarded second place - and the higher wild card seeding - due to the conference record tiebreaker), but next had to take on the Los Angeles Raiders at the Memorial Coliseum on January 5, 1986.

The Patriots, guided by Head Coach Raymond Berry, had an opportunistic defense that led the AFC by generating 47 turnovers. LB Andre Tippett was the UPI Defensive Player of the Year in the AFC and LB Steve Nelson, CB Raymond Clayborn, and FS Fred Marion all were selected to the Pro Bowl. The offense ran the ball well, led by RB Craig James (pictured above; gained 1227 yards), and behind an offensive line anchored by G John Hannah and OT Brian Holloway. Quarterback was a question mark, however, as third-year QB Tony Eason, the club’s first draft choice in 1983, had gone down with a separated shoulder six games into the season and was replaced by 32-year-old veteran Steve Grogan. Grogan led the club to five straight wins but suffered a broken leg that put Eason back in the lineup.

The Raiders, coached by Tom Flores, were in the postseason for the fourth straight year and had been NFL champions in ’83. The defense was top-ranked in the conference and included consensus first-team All-Pros in DE Howie Long and CB Mike Haynes. RB Marcus Allen ran for 1759 yards and was the consensus NFL MVP. Sixth-year QB Marc Wilson took over for injured 38-year-old veteran Jim Plunkett. LA had won six straight to close out the regular season and finished atop the AFC West with a 12-4 record; in addition, they had beaten the Patriots earlier in the year.

New England benefited from an early turnover by the Raiders. The Patriots were forced to punt following the first possession of the game, and LA safety Fulton Walker muffed the catch. Safety Jim Bowman recovered for New England at the Los Angeles 21 and two plays later, Eason completed a 13-yard touchdown pass to TE Lin Dawson.


On LA’s ensuing possession, Wilson was intercepted by CB Ronnie Lippett (pictured at right), but after driving to the Raiders’ 41 the Patriots had to punt. The Raiders manufactured a break of their own as DE Greg Townsend blocked Rich Camarillo’s kick, giving them the ball at the New England 16. After a four-yard run by Allen, Wilson threw two incompletions and Chris Bahr kicked a 29-yard field goal. The score was 7-3 after one quarter of play.

Bahr missed a 44-yard field goal attempt early in the second quarter, but the Patriots were unable to move against LA’s defense. Following another New England punt and a 16-yard return by Walker, the Raiders drove 52 yards in six plays that culminated in Wilson tossing a 16-yard touchdown pass to WR Jessie Hester. The Raiders had a 10-7 lead, and they built upon it when, on the Patriots’ next play from scrimmage, RB Mosi Tatupu fumbled and Howie Long recovered for Los Angeles at the New England 19. Allen ran for an 11-yard touchdown and the score was now 17-7.

The Patriots responded with an 80-yard drive highlighted by Craig James running the ball for 27 yards and catching a pass for another 24 while Tatupu, making up for the earlier fumble, had a 22-yard run to the Los Angeles 15. James finished off the drive with a two-yard scoring run on third down out of the shotgun formation, and LA’s lead was cut to 17-14.

New England got the ball back as Lippett intercepted a Wilson pass at the Los Angeles 28 yard line. Four plays later, Tony Franklin kicked a 45-yard field goal to tie the score. However, with 1:40 left in the half, the Raiders commenced a 10-play drive to the New England 14, highlighted by a 17-yard run by Allen and 31-yard pass from Wilson to TE Todd Christensen. Bahr booted a 32-yard field goal with six seconds remaining on the clock, and the Raiders took a 20-17 lead into halftime.

Following an Allen fumble midway through the third quarter, the Patriots drove to the LA 14, where Franklin’s 32-yard field goal again tied the game at 20-20. In the biggest play of the game, Raiders CB Sam Seale fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Bowman recovered in the end zone for a New England touchdown.

There was still a quarter to play, but the Raiders were unable to advance beyond the New England 41 in their final three possessions of the game. The first ended in a punt, the second lasted just three plays as Wilson was intercepted by Marion, and the last drive fizzled out when Wilson threw incomplete on a fourth-and-17 play from his own 13 with a minute left to play. The Patriots held on to win, 27-20.

The Raiders outgained New England (287 yards to 254) and had the edge in first downs (17 to 15), but also gave up six turnovers, to two by the Patriots. New England turned those turnovers into 17 points, and that was the difference in the game.

Craig James was the star on offense for the Patriots, gaining 104 yards on 23 carries with a touchdown and also leading the receivers with three catches for 48 yards. Tony Eason completed just 7 of 14 passes for 117 yards and a TD, but threw no interceptions.


For the Raiders, Marcus Allen (pictured at left) ran for 121 yards on 22 attempts, including a score. But Marc Wilson was successful on only 11 of 27 passes for 135 yards and threw for one TD against three interceptions. Todd Christensen led the club’s receivers with 4 catches for 78 yards.

“It's unbelievable to come out here into Raider territory and come out with a win,” said Coach Raymond Berry. “It's a tribute to this club. It has true staying power and it never quits.”

“I'm not taking anything away from the Patriots, because they are a good football team,” said a disappointed Tom Flores, “but you just can't play in a game of this magnitude and make the mistakes we made today. We fumbled the ball, we threw interceptions, and those are the types of things that kill you.”

The Patriots went on to upset Miami for the AFC Championship, capping a dramatic run to the Super Bowl in which they won three playoff games on the road. But there was no storybook ending as they were demolished by the Chicago Bears for the league title.

1987: Bo Jackson Runs for 221 Yards as Raiders Beat Seahawks

After a Heisman Trophy-winning career at Auburn, RB Bo Jackson followed a different path than usual in proceeding into the pro ranks. He was drafted first overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1986, but opted to sign with major league baseball’s Kansas City Royals instead. After playing minor league baseball and getting a brief call-up by the Royals in ’86, he played for KC in 1987. He also was eligible for the NFL draft again, having never signed with the Bucs, and the Los Angeles Raiders took him in the seventh round.

Unlike the Buccaneers, who insisted on his making a choice between football and baseball, the Raiders offered a unique arrangement in which Jackson could play football once his baseball season was concluded. The 6’1”, 225-pound outfielder/running back agreed, and seven games into the 1987 NFL season, Jackson debuted with the Raiders.

Los Angeles had won its first three games and then lost three by the time Jackson joined the team (due to a players’ strike, three of the contests were played with replacement players – those wearing Raiders uniforms went 1-2). The club had plenty of problems, but it already had an outstanding running back in Marcus Allen. The rookie split time in his first few games, and after four games he had gained 254 yards on 41 carries for a healthy 6.2-yard average gain and two touchdowns. On November 30, 1987, Jackson’s 25th birthday, he broke out in a big way.

The Raiders had continued to lose, although the last two had been by close scores, and were now at seven straight defeats by the time they took on the Seattle Seahawks at the Kingdome in the Week 11 Monday night contest. The Seahawks were 7-3 under Head Coach Chuck Knox and still had a solid core on offense with QB Dave Krieg, WR Steve Largent, and RB Curt Warner behind an aging but effective line. However, the defense was vulnerable against the run, and that would prove to be a significant factor against the Raiders.

Things didn’t start auspiciously for Jackson when he lost a yard on his first carry and then fumbled the ball away on his second. Following the fumble, the Seahawks drove 64 yards on nine plays that concluded with Kreig throwing to WR Daryl Turner for a 19-yard touchdown.

The Raiders came back in short order as QB Marc Wilson completed passes of 21 yards to TE Todd Christensen, 17 yards to WR Dokie Williams, and 46 yards and a TD to WR James Lofton. Jackson didn’t play much of a role in this drive, carrying once for four yards, but after LA took over again near the end of the opening period following a Seattle punt, he took off for a 15-yard gain to start the possession. The Raiders drove to another touchdown early in the second quarter, with Jackson catching a 14-yard pass from Wilson in the corner of the end zone for a 14-7 lead.

On the third play following another punt by the Seahawks, Jackson took a handoff at his own nine yard line and sprinted 91 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown – the longest run in Raiders history. That was it for the rookie in the first half, as Marcus Allen handled the running in the last two series of the half. Los Angeles added two field goals by Chris Bahr, of 23 and 47 yards, to take a stunning 27-7 lead at halftime (Seattle’s Norm Johnson missed a 54-yard attempt on the final play of the half). Bo Jackson had gained 122 yards on seven carries and a score and had the one catch for the 14-yard TD.

The Raiders took the second half kickoff and drove 75 yards in seven plays, highlighted by two Jackson carries – the first, a 42-yard run to the Seattle 22 and then, taking a pitchout at the two yard line, a touchdown in which he ran over the Seahawks’ highly-touted rookie linebacker, Brian Bosworth.

LA scored once more, on a possession that started with safety Vann McElroy intercepting a Krieg pass, as Bahr booted a 23-yard field goal to extend the lead to 37-7. Seattle finally scored again, on a three-yard touchdown pass from Krieg to TE Mike Tice near the end of the third quarter, but the outcome had long been decided. The final score was 37-14 in favor of the Raiders.

The statistics reflected LA’s domination of the Seahawks as the Raiders accumulated 507 total yards to 167 for Seattle. Of the Los Angeles total, 356 came on the ground, and Bo Jackson accounted for 221 yards on 18 carries with two TDs – while his 12.3-yard average gain was impressive enough, he had actually rolled up 202 on his first 11 attempts, before the Raiders turned conservative in the fourth quarter while running out the clock, an 18.4-yard average. The yardage total was a single-game franchise record that was eventually exceeded by Napoleon Kaufman in 1997.

Marcus Allen also carried the ball 18 times, for 76 yards - in addition, he threw a key block from the fullback position that launched Jackson on his 91-yard run. Marc Wilson completed 11 of 18 passes for 159 yards with two TDs and no interceptions. Dokie Williams was the leading receiver with 4 catches for 47 yards (James Lofton’s 46-yard TD reception was his only catch of the night).

The Seahawks were far less successful running the ball, gaining just 37 yards on 16 carries. Curt Warner led the way with 26 yards on 11 attempts. Dave Krieg went to the air 31 times and completed 17 for 170 yards with two touchdowns and two intercepted. WR Paul Skansi caught 4 passes for 54 yards.

“He’s awesome…he’s just awesome,” said veteran Raiders LB Rod Martin of Jackson afterward. “I mean, with the talent he has, I don’t know why he’d be looking for a curveball to hit.”

Bo Jackson would keep making it look easy, and would impress both football and baseball observers with his talent before a devastating hip injury curtailed both careers. In 1987, over the course of seven games he ended up running for 554 yards on just 81 carries for a 6.8-yard average and four touchdowns; Jackson added a career-high 16 catches for 136 yards and two scores.

As for the Raiders, it was a highlight in an otherwise gloomy year. In the 15-game season (the players’ strike resulted in the loss of one week of play), they finished with a 5-10 record, their worst since 1962, for fourth place in the AFC West. Seattle went 9-6 to place second in the division and secure a wild card spot in the postseason. The Seahawks lost to Houston in the first round.

1983: Redskins Overcome Raiders in 37-35 Thriller

The Washington Redskins, defending NFL champions, were off to a 3-1 start in 1983 as they hosted the undefeated Los Angeles Raiders on October 2 at RFK Stadium. Washington, under third-year Head Coach Joe Gibbs, had an outstanding offense built around power-running RB John Riggins operating behind an excellent line and the passing of QB Joe Theismann (pictured at right) to wide receivers Charlie Brown, Art Monk, and Alvin Garrett.

The Raiders, in Head Coach Tom Flores’ fifth season and the second year in LA, were led by 36-year-old QB Jim Plunkett, second-year RB Marcus Allen, and a tough veteran defense that included a colorful band of characters such as DE Lyle Alzado, linebackers Ted Hendricks and Matt Millen, and CB Lester Hayes. Combined with rising young stars like DE Howie Long and FS Vann McElroy, the Raiders defense had given up no more than 14 points in any of the first four games.

Sloppy play on the part of the Raiders offense, which was handicapped by not having Allen available due to a hip pointer, highlighted the first quarter. Plunkett tossed an interception in LA’s first offensive series that the Redskins capitalized on as Riggins ran for a two-yard touchdown. The turnovers continued as the veteran quarterback was picked off a second time and RB Kenny King fumbled the ball away, but the score stood at 7-0 after the opening period as the normally-reliable Mark Moseley missed on a 36-yard field goal attempt for Washington.

Moseley was successful on his next field goal attempt, from 28 yards out early in the second quarter. The teams traded punts, and it appeared that the Redskins had the Raiders offense boxed in after a Jeff Hayes kick was downed on the one yard line. But Plunkett immediately went long to WR Cliff Branch, who gathered in the pass at his 44 yard line and proceeded to tie the league record with a 99-yard touchdown.

Despite all of the errors, the Raiders were down only 10-7, but Washington came back with an 80-yard, seven-play drive that ended with Theismann throwing a five-yard TD pass to RB Joe Washington. The first half ended with the Redskins ahead, 17-7.

The second half didn’t start off any better for LA as the offense went three-and-out and Washington padded its lead with a 29-yard field goal by Moseley. But two possessions later, the passing game came alive as Plunkett connected with TE Todd Christensen for a 41-yard gain and, two plays later, tossed to WR Calvin Muhammad for a 35-yard touchdown.

After the Redskins were forced to punt, the Raiders drove to another score with Plunkett again throwing a TD pass to Muhammad, this time covering 22 yards. With the successful extra point, Los Angeles was now ahead by 21-20.

Riggins fumbled the ball away on the second play of Washington’s ensuing possession, and ten plays later, now in the fourth quarter, Plunkett hit Christensen for a three-yard touchdown and 28-20 lead.

Theismann and the Redskins came out passing, with consecutive completions to Charlie Brown that covered 25 yards. However, the drive stalled at the Washington 43 and Jeff Hayes punted it away. His 54-yard kick was fielded by RB Greg Pruitt at his own three yard line, and he proceeded to return it 97 yards for a touchdown; the Raiders were up by 35-20.

Just as it seemed that the momentum had shifted overwhelmingly to LA, the Redskins fought back with a Theismann pass to Joe Washington that covered 67 yards and set up an 11-yard touchdown pass to Brown three plays later.

With 6:15 left to play and the Redskins down by two scores, the Raiders were watching for an onside kick. What they got was a low and hard kick by Hayes that made it through the front line, hit a player’s foot, and spun wildly away. WR Dokie Williams initially fell on the ball for the Raiders but couldn’t hold on and safety Greg Williams finally recovered it for Washington at the LA 32. Moseley kicked a 34-yard field goal five plays later to narrow the Raiders’ lead to five points.

Hayes kicked deep for the Redskins with 4:28 remaining on the clock. Los Angeles went three-and-out and was forced to punt after a third-and-11 pass from Plunkett to Christensen gained nine yards. Starting at his own 31 and with just under two minutes to play in the game, Theismann completed three consecutive passes to Brown that covered a total of 63 yards. From the LA six yard line, Theismann found Washington in the end zone for a diving touchdown catch, and the Redskins ended up with a wild 37-35 win.

The statistics reflected the wildly shifting momentum of the game. Both teams accumulated over 400 yards, with the Redskins slightly ahead (as with the score) by 459 yards to 431. Washington also led in first downs (25 to 19) while the Raiders led in rushing yards (105 to 98) and sacks (six to five). However, LA also suffered six turnovers, to just one for the Redskins.


Joe Theismann passed for 417 yards as he completed 23 of 39 passes with three TDs and none intercepted. Charlie Brown caught 11 of those passes for 180 yards and a touchdown while Joe Washington (pictured above), seeing a great deal of action in the second half as the preferred running back in passing situations, grabbed 5 passes for 99 yards and the two TDs. John Riggins gained 91 yards rushing on 26 attempts with a score.

For the Raiders, after the shaky start Jim Plunkett ended up completing 16 of 29 passes for 372 yards with four touchdowns and four interceptions. Calvin Muhammad caught 5 passes for 112 yards and two TDs while Todd Christensen added 70 more yards on his 5 catches. Cliff Branch gained 99 yards on his one long reception of the day. In place of Marcus Allen, RB Frank Hawkins led the team on the ground with 64 yards on 15 carries.

Afterward, Washington guard Mark May said “I wouldn’t be surprised if we met them again in January.” He proved to be a good prophet. The Redskins lost just one more game the rest of the way as they finished atop the NFC East with a 14-2 record. While they were at it, they set a new league team scoring record with 541 points (since broken). The Raiders topped the AFC West with a 12-4 tally. Both clubs won their respective conference championships and met in Super Bowl XVIII where the Raiders got the last laugh with a stunning 38-9 upset victory (Marcus Allen’s presence was very much in evidence, as he gained 191 yards rushing and scored two touchdowns).


Joe Theismann ranked second in the NFL in passing (97.0 rating) and touchdown passes (29, tied with Danny White of the Cowboys) while throwing for 3714 yards. He received All-Pro honors and was selected to the Pro Bowl, along with Charlie Brown (pictured at left), who caught 78 passes for 1225 yards and 8 TDs.

John Riggins set a new record for touchdowns (24) while rushing for 1347 yards on 375 carries. Mark Moseley scored 161 points (at the time, the record for scoring by placekicking alone) while hitting on 33 of 47 field goal attempts.

Todd Christensen led the NFL in pass receptions with 92 while accumulating 1247 yards and 12 touchdowns. Jim Plunkett, in an up-and-down season, lost his starting job to Marc Wilson, regained it, and finished with 2935 yards, 20 TDs, and 18 interceptions; he was also sacked 42 times and was second in the league in yards lost due to sacks (363), but in the end was a championship quarterback for the second time.