1948: Buffalo’s Running Game Prevails Over Brooklyn’s Passing Attack

The November 7, 1948 All-America Football Conference (AAFC) game at Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field featured a matchup between two Eastern Division teams, the host Dodgers and visiting Buffalo Bills.

Brooklyn had done well neither on the field nor at the gate in its first two seasons, going 3-10-1 in each and averaging just over 11,000 fans per home game in ‘47. For 1948, the team had been purchased by its baseball counterpart and was run by Branch Rickey, an outstanding major league baseball executive.

Rickey believed that the key to football success was speed and a good passing game, and to that end the Dodgers outbid the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers for Bob Chappuis, an All-American passing tailback who had just led Michigan to a smashing Rose Bowl triumph over USC (Rickey also had to trade three draft choices to the Cleveland Browns for the rights to Chappuis, who had been drafted by the Browns in the AAFC’s draft of college talent).


Chappuis (pictured at left) seemed a good choice to operate in Brooklyn’s single-wing attack. However, he was three weeks late reporting to the team due to participation in the annual College All-Star game and encountered injury problems early on that limited his playing time. While third-year tailback Bob Hoernschemeyer played well, the Dodgers had a 2-7 record (their only two wins coming against the even-more-dreadful Chicago Rockets) coming into the game with Buffalo and Rickey was expressing concern that he had not gotten much return on his $55,000, two-year investment in Chappuis.

The Bills were 4-5 under Head Coach Red Dawson, but in the mediocre Eastern Division that was enough to put them in contention. Second-year QB George Ratterman ran their T-formation offense, which had performed well in wins the previous two weeks, most notably due to the young quarterback’s passing and the play of HB Chet Mutryn (pictured at top).

There was a typically sparse crowd of 7805 at Ebbets Field as Buffalo moved out to an early lead. Mutryn started off the scoring with a 68-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, and FB Lou Tomasetti added a 15-yard carry for a TD. The extra point attempt failed after the first score, but not the second, and the Bills were up by 13-0 after the opening period.

Brooklyn narrowed the margin in the second quarter to 13-7 as FB Mickey Colmer, another of the few bright spots on the club, ran for a two-yard touchdown. Buffalo extended its lead to 19-7 in the third quarter as Mutryn ran for a second touchdown, of nine yards, although again the extra point attempt failed.

The game ultimately came down to a contest between Buffalo’s relentless ground attack against Brooklyn’s aerial assault in a bid to keep up. The Bills added another seven points in the fourth quarter, taking advantage of the Dodgers’ need to go to the air, when DB Carl Schuette returned an interception 55 yards and lateraled to end Vince Mazza, who ran the last five yards to score. However, Chappuis filled the air with passes and connected with end Saxon Judd for a touchdown. Wingback Ray Ramsey returned a punt 70 yards for a TD as well, but ultimately the Bills held on and prevailed by a score of 26-21.

George Ratterman completed only 3 of 13 passes for the Bills, but it hardly mattered as Buffalo gained 419 yards on the ground. Chet Mutryn gained 185 yards on 17 carries with two touchdowns and Lou Tomasetti had 141 yards on 15 attempts, including a TD.

The Dodgers went to the air a total of 53 times and had only 15 rushing plays. Bob Chappuis was the headliner in defeat as he completed 26 of 51 passes, both AAFC records (previously set by Glenn Dobbs, also with Brooklyn, in 1946). He accounted for all but 12 of the team’s 265 total yards, with 211 passing and 42 rushing on four carries, and threw for one TD. He played in all but 10 minutes of the game, his best pro performance to date.

“That was as fine an individual performance I have ever seen on a football field," Dodgers Head Coach Carl Voyles said after the game regarding Chappuis.

With the win, the Bills took the lead in the Eastern Division at 5-5, on the way to a 7-7 finish and tie with the Baltimore Colts for first place. Buffalo came from behind to defeat the Colts in the resulting playoff, but was decimated by the undefeated Cleveland Browns, the Western Division champions, in the AAFC Championship game.

Brooklyn finished a dismal 2-12 to rank last in the Eastern Division. Branch Rickey and the baseball Dodgers threw in the towel and sold the franchise back to the league, which in turn combined the team with the New York Yankees for the 1949 season.

Bob Chappuis ended up completing 100 of 213 passes for 1402 yards with 8 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in ’48 while splitting time with Hoernschemeyer (who had identical totals for TDs and INTs with fewer pass attempts). The records he set for attempts and completions against the Bills were broken a few weeks later by Dobbs, now with the Los Angeles Dons. With the demise of the Dodgers, he and Hoernschemeyer both played for the Chicago Hornets (the re-named Rockets) in 1949. Chappuis saw little action with the 4-8 Hornets behind Hoernschemeyer and Johnny Clements and, with the team and league going out of existence following the season, retired from pro football (Hoernschemeyer went on to have a successful career as a halfback with the NFL’s Detroit Lions).

Chet Mutryn ended up ranking third in the AAFC in rushing with 823 yards on 147 carries for a 5.6-yard average and a league-leading 10 touchdowns (tied with San Francisco’s Joe Perry). Lou Tomasetti was fifth with 716 yards on 134 attempts (5.3 avg.) with seven TDs. Despite his poor passing effort against the Dodgers, George Ratterman placed second in the league in passing yards (2577), and while he tossed 16 TD passes, he also led the AAFC with 22 interceptions.

1934: Eagles Roll Up 64-0 Win Over Cincinnati Reds

Two teams that had entered the NFL in 1933, the Philadelphia Eagles and Cincinnati Reds, met on November 6, 1934 on a muddy field at Philadelphia’s Temple Stadium. Neither club had been very successful thus far. The Eagles, coached by Lud Wray, had gone 3-5-1 in their inaugural season and carried a 1-5 record into the game against the Reds. Moreover, they had been shut out in each of their last three contests.

The situation was even worse with Cincinnati, which debuted at 3-6-1 in 1933 and was 0-7 thus far in ’34. Led by player/coach Algy Clark, they had scored a grand total of 10 points in the seven games. The team was on financially shaky ground and on the brink of being disbanded.

There were approximately 2000 fans present for one of only two Eagles home games played at Temple Stadium (they typically played at the Baker Bowl). It didn’t take long for the tone of the contest to be set. On the fifth play, back Ed Storm ran 36 yards for a touchdown. By the end of the first quarter, the Eagles had a 26-0 lead on their way to a 64-0 shellacking of the Reds.

Star HB Swede Hanson (pictured above), an outstanding open-field runner who was provided with plenty of opportunities to show off his talent, scored three touchdowns (two rushing, one on an interception return) and gained 190 yards rushing on 18 carries. End Joe Carter also scored three TDs, all on pass receptions. Hanson, Carter, and tailback Ed Matesic each had scoring plays of over 40 yards. The Eagles were effective both running the ball and passing - of their ten touchdowns, four came on runs, five on passes, and one on an interception.

While the records are sketchy (Hanson’s rushing total may include pass receptions or kick returns, as there are discrepancies in some accounts), Philadelphia did set a league record for most points by the winner of a shutout in which both teams were NFL members (the Rochester Jeffersons defeated a non-league-affiliated Fort Porter team 66-0 in 1920). No Eagles team since has run up as many points in a game, shutout or otherwise.

The disastrous defeat marked the end for the Cincinnati franchise, which promptly folded. It was replaced by a team called the St. Louis Gunners that completed the season – and won its first game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-0. Six players from the Reds played for the Gunners, a club made up of local talent and castoffs from other NFL teams. St. Louis went 1-2; the combined Reds/Gunners record was 1-10 for a last-place finish in the Western Division. The Gunners did not return for the 1935 season.

Oddly enough, Cincinnati’s player/coach Clark joined the Eagles (as a player only) for the remainder of the season. Philadelphia returned to earth the following week, losing to Brooklyn by a 10-7 score, although they won their last two games and were 4-7 for the year, tying with the Dodgers for third in the Eastern Division. They scored a total of 63 points in their other ten contests, but all four of their wins were shutouts.

The big game against Cincinnati helped Swede Hanson put together his best of eight seasons in the NFL (five with the Eagles). He ranked second in rushing (805 yards) on a league-leading 146 carries (tied with Detroit’s Ace Gutowsky) and his 5.5 yards per attempt ranked fourth. His eight touchdowns (7 rushing, one on the INT return) put Hanson in a tie for second with Dutch Clark of the Lions (one behind leader Beattie Feathers of the Bears). The 190-yard (or so) rushing performance was one of three that he had in 1934 – the first three in franchise history – and Hanson was a 2nd-team All-NFL selection by the league and the Green Bay Press-Gazette.

Joe Carter also had a notable season, co-leading the NFL in pass receiving with 16 catches (along with Red Badgro of the Giants). His 238 receiving yards ranked second, as did his four receiving touchdowns.

1995: Expansion Panthers Stun Defending-Champion 49ers

The Carolina Panthers were one of two NFL expansion teams for the 1995 season, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jerry Richardson, who had played for the Colts before going on to build the Hardee’s restaurant chain, was the owner; Bill Polian, who built a winning club in Buffalo, the GM; and Dom Capers, an assistant under Jim Mora with both the Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars of the USFL and Saints in the NFL and most recently the defensive coordinator in Pittsburgh, was the franchise’s first head coach.

The Panthers had gotten off to the usual slow start typical of new teams, losing their first five games, but had then done something very atypical by winning three straight. On November 5, they faced the defending league champions, the 49ers, at San Francisco’s 3Com Park.

The 49ers, under Head Coach George Seifert, were 5-3 as they sought to defend their Super Bowl title, but had lost three of their last five contests. Star QB Steve Young was injured and second-year QB Elvis Grbac would be starting his third consecutive game. San Francisco was also missing RB Ricky Watters, who had left for Philadelphia as a free agent in the offseason and not been adequately replaced.

The 49ers opened the game on offense and drove steadily downfield, but TE Brent Jones, after catching a Grbac pass at the Carolina 38, fumbled when hit hard by 36-year-old veteran LB Sam Mills. Mills recovered for the Panthers and a 12-play, 40-yard drive ensued that ended with a 39-yard field goal by John Kasay.

The 49ers came back strong on their next possession and, with Grbac connecting on back-to-back passes of 26 yards to WR J.J. Stokes and 27 yards to WR Jerry Rice, made it to the Carolina three yard line. But after an incomplete pass, Grbac’s next attempt was intercepted by CB Tim McKyer a yard behind the line of scrimmage, who proceeded to return it 96 yards for a touchdown. Rather than the 49ers scoring, the Panthers now led by 10-0.

San Francisco got a break early in the second quarter when Panthers rookie QB Kerry Collins fumbled and 49ers DE Dennis Brown recovered at the Carolina 20. But three plays later Rice was hit by CB Tyrone Poole (pictured at top) after gaining 11 yards to the one and fumbled. The ball went out of the end zone for a touchback and the Panthers regained possession.

Carolina put together a 14-play drive that covered 51 yards and resulted in another Kasay field goal, of 47 yards, for a 13-0 lead. The 49ers’ last possession of the half ended with a punt and the Panthers ran out the clock to take their lead into halftime.

Collins was intercepted by 49ers CB Tyronne Drakeford on the third play from scrimmage of the third quarter, but a 40-yard pass completion from Grbac to WR John Taylor was for naught when Poole again forced a fumble inside his own five yard line that Mills recovered at the one.

The Panthers held onto the ball for the next eight minutes, but finally had to punt, and the 49ers drove from their 20 yard line to the Carolina 10 as the third quarter came to an end. Three plays into the fourth quarter, RB Derek Loville ran for a one-yard touchdown and the Niners were finally on the board.

However, San Francisco was frustrated the rest of the way. The Panthers went three-and-out on their next possession, but Grbac was intercepted by safety Pat Terrell at the Carolina 39. Again the Panthers went three-and-out and punted, and Grbac passed the 49ers back into Carolina territory with a 39-yard completion to Jones. But after driving to the 14 yard line, Tony Zendejas missed a 32-yard field goal attempt.

San Francisco never again came close in the remaining time, and the Panthers came away with a surprising 13-7 win. It was the first time an NFL expansion team had beaten a defending champion. It was also an unprecedented fourth straight win for a first-year club.


The 49ers outgained the Panthers by 404 yards to 204, but the five turnovers forced by the tough Carolina defense made the difference. There were plenty of defensive stars for the Panthers, including Sam Mills, who forced a fumble and recovered two; Tyrone Poole, with two critical forced fumbles near the goal line as well as a team-leading 11 tackles, and ex-49er Tim McKyer, with the long interception return for a score.

On offense, Kerry Collins (pictured above left) completed 17 of 30 passes for 150 yards with an interception. WR Mark Carrier caught 6 passes for 59 yards, and the other wide receiver, Willie Green, was right behind with 58 yards on 5 receptions. RB Derrick Moore was the leading rusher, but gaining just 42 yards on 18 carries.

For San Francisco, Elvis Grbac was successful on 26 of 37 passes for 327 yards with no scores and two interceptions. Jerry Rice caught 8 passes for 111 yards. Derek Loville ran for 40 yards on 12 attempts with a TD and also had 6 pass receptions for another 55 yards.

Carolina’s winning streak came to an end the next week, and when the Panthers faced the Niners a second time at home, San Francisco came out on top easily at 31-10. Still, the Panthers went 7-9, easily the best record of any NFL expansion team, and were tied for third in the NFC West with the Rams and Saints. The 49ers finished atop the division for the fourth straight year at 11-5, but failed to repeat as champions, losing to Green Bay in the Divisional playoff.


Defense carried the Panthers in their inaugural season as the club permitted an average of just 20.3 points per game. Sam Mills (pictured at right), the old pro who had started his career in the USFL, was the biggest star of a relatively old unit. But while the offense only averaged 18 points a game, Kerry Collins became the first rookie quarterback since Miami’s Dan Marino in 1983 to post a winning record in his starts, going 7-6.

1962: Sonny Randle Catches 16 Passes for 256 Yards vs. Giants

Split end Ulmo “Sonny” Randle came to the Chicago Cardinals out of the University of Virginia in 1959, and after spending a year learning his craft, broke out with an All-Pro season in ’60 (the franchise’s first year in St. Louis) in which 15 of his 62 receptions were good for touchdowns.

One of the fastest players in the NFL, his success was all the more impressive coming with a team that lacked an established quarterback. In an attempt to dramatically upgrade for 1961, the Cardinals signed 31-year-old Sam Etcheverry, an all-time great quarterback in the Canadian Football League, but he proved to be a sore-armed disappointment in the NFL. Randle’s numbers dropped to 44 catches and 9 TDs, but he was still chosen to the Pro Bowl.

St. Louis had a new head coach in 1962, Wally Lemm, and after a faltering start Etcheverry gave way to second-year QB Charley Johnson. The team was 2-4-1 and coming off of a win over the Cowboys as they took on the defending champions of the Eastern Conference, the New York Giants, at Yankee Stadium on November 4.

The Giants, under Head Coach Allie Sherman, were 5-2 and had just pulled off a big win over Washington in which QB Y.A. Tittle passed for 505 yards and seven touchdowns. They had already beaten the Cardinals convincingly in St. Louis (31-14), but that was with Etcheverry starting at quarterback and Johnson coming on in relief - they would find that Johnson was developing quickly.

New York took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 39-yard pass play from Tittle to flanker Frank Gifford. But the Cardinals responded with two touchdowns in the second quarter, an eight-yard pass from Johnson to TE Taz Anderson and a four-yard run by HB John David Crow. In between, Don Chandler kicked a 33-yard field goal for the Giants. But the Cardinals defense played well, New York’s offense seemed flat after the big performance the previous week, and it was St. Louis ahead at halftime by a 14-10 score.

In addition, Coach Lemm had moved Randle from his usual split end position to flanker, where he was defended by CB Dick Lynch rather than Erich Barnes, and it was paying off.

The Cardinals defense continued to stymie the Giants in the scoreless third quarter. New York was able to gain only 29 yards on its possessions and Tittle missed on 12 consecutive passes before finding Gifford again for a 32-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter. The Giants were back in front at 17-14, but the action began to heat up considerably.

St. Louis came right back, with Johnson throwing to Randle for a 55-yard touchdown and a 21-17 lead. New York fought back on the next drive, with a fake field goal being the key play. Facing a fourth down on the St. Louis 31, the Giants lined up for an apparent 38-yard field goal attempt by Chandler, but the holder, backup QB Ralph Guglielmi, instead fired a pass to DE Andy Robustelli, who was lined up as a receiver with the field goal unit, for a 26-yard gain to the five yard line. Two plays later, FB Alex Webster ran off tackle from three yards out for a TD and the Giants were back in front at 24-21.

The St. Louis offense wasn’t finished and drove 80 yards in 12 plays, four of which were passes to Randle. Johnson also ran for a 16-yard gain and capped the drive with a one-yard plunge. With 4:55 left on the clock, the Cardinals were back in the lead by 28-24.

The Giants struck quickly after the ensuing kickoff was returned 33 yards by HB Sam Horner. Tittle tossed a pass to HB Phil King that gained 37 yards to the St. Louis 20, and then followed up with a pass to Webster for the final 20 yards and a touchdown.

The Cardinals again battled back, but with under two minutes remaining Lynch, a talented player who had his hands full covering Randle, intercepted a pass by Johnson at the New York 27 to avoid the upset and nail down the 31-28 win.

In defeat, the big story was Sonny Randle’s performance as he caught 16 passes for 256 yards and a touchdown. It was the second-highest single-game pass receiving performance up to that time, and against one of the NFL’s most highly-regarded defenses.

The Cardinals rolled up an impressive 494 total yards and 29 first downs, to 266 yards and 15 first downs for New York. However, they also gave up five turnovers, to one by the Giants.


Charley Johnson (pictured at left) completed 26 of 41 passes for 365 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. John David Crow was the leading rusher for St. Louis, gaining 56 yards on 19 attempts, including a TD. FB Prentice Gautt added 44 yards on 12 carries.

In winning, Y.A. Tittle was successful on only 8 of 31 passes for 172 yards, but three were for touchdowns against one interception. Phil King had three catches for 62 yards while Frank Gifford scored on both of his pass receptions that totaled 71 yards. Alex Webster was New York’s top ground gainer with 50 yards on 16 attempts, including a TD, and caught one pass for the game-winning touchdown.

The Giants, having survived the scare, went undefeated the rest of the way through the regular season to finish at 12-2 and again win the Eastern Conference, although they lost to Green Bay in the NFL title game once more. St. Louis ended up at 4-9-1 and in sixth place in the conference, but the stage was set for significant improvement over the next two seasons.

Sonny Randle finished second in the league in both receptions (63 – one ahead of teammate Bobby Joe Conrad) and yards (1158). His seven TD catches tied for seventh, and his 18.4 yards per catch was his highest to date. Randle was selected to the Pro Bowl for the third straight year. He played eight years with the Cardinals, going to one more Pro Bowl following the 1965 season, then was with the 49ers in 1967 and the start of his last year in ’68. Randle moved on to Dallas, where he ended his career – his final totals were 365 receptions for 5996 yards (16.4 avg.) and 65 touchdowns.

Charley Johnson ranked second in the NFL in yards per completion (16.3) as he threw for 2440 yards with 16 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. His emergence, aided by an outstanding receiving corps and Etcheverry’s tutelage, would correspond with the club’s improvement.

2002: Brad Johnson Throws for 5 TDs as Bucs Beat Vikings

Under the leadership of defensive-minded Head Coach Tony Dungy, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had gone from being perennial bottom feeders to contenders. However, while they made it to the postseason in four of the five seasons prior to 2002, they got as far as the NFC Championship game once and, in 2000 and ’01, had not gotten beyond the Wild Card playoff round. The problem had been that, while the defense was solid, the offense, directed by a series of coordinators, was conservative and tended to have difficulty scoring points – especially in the postseason. As a result, Dungy was fired following the 2001 season (and of course resurfaced in Indianapolis, where he enjoyed greater success) and was replaced by the more offense-minded Jon Gruden, late of the Oakland Raiders (and after being turned down by Bill Parcells).

Key to the offense was QB Brad Johnson (pictured above), a nine-year NFL veteran in his second season with Tampa Bay. While immobile and not much of a deep passer, he was very accurate on short passes, which made him a good fit in Gruden’s version of the West Coast offense. He also had good leadership skills and toughness. His abilities in the revamped offense were especially evident in a Week 9 matchup against Minnesota.

The Buccaneers were 6-2 as they hosted the Vikings on November 3, 2002 at Raymond James Stadium, but the defense was still largely carrying the club (they had scored just 11 offensive TDs in the eight games) and Johnson had missed the previous contest due to a rib injury. Minnesota, under Head Coach Mike Tice, lost its first four games and was 2-5 coming into the contest, although coming off a good win against Chicago.

Things got off to a good start for Tampa Bay very quickly as safety Jermaine Phillips recovered a fumble by Minnesota WR Nick Davis on the opening kickoff at the Vikings’ 21 yard line. Three plays later, Johnson tossed a 15-yard touchdown pass to WR Karl Williams for a quick 7-0 lead.

The Bucs went on to score on each of their first four possessions. A 12-play, 86-yard drive ended with Johnson completing a two-yard TD pass to TE Rickey Dudley and the score stood at 14-0 after one quarter. Early in the second quarter, Martin Gramatica kicked a 36-yard field goal, and Johnson threw another short touchdown pass of two yards to WR Keyshawn Johnson.

Down 24-0 and still in the second period, the Vikings finally got on the board thanks to a big play as RB Michael Bennett ran for an 85-yard touchdown. 43-year-old Gary Anderson kicked a 26-yard field goal before the quarter was over to cut Tampa Bay’s lead to 24-10 at halftime (Gramatica missed a 40-yard field goal attempt that would have added to the lead).

Brad Johnson tossed a third quarter touchdown pass to Keyshawn Johnson of 19 yards and FB Mike Alstott scored in the fourth quarter on a five-yard reception. The Vikings had two one-yard runs by RB Moe Williams, but Minnesota was never able to mount a credible comeback in the second half – even a successful onside kick led to failure when QB Daunte Culpepper was intercepted by DT Warren Sapp. The Buccaneers won convincingly, 38-24.

For a team that had been considered offensively-challenged, it was an impressive showing. Tampa Bay rolled up 446 yards, to 387 for the Vikings, and only punted once. They gave up no turnovers and Johnson wasn’t sacked (pass protection had been an issue in prior weeks). In addition, Minnesota was hurt by a total of 12 penalties.


Brad Johnson completed 24 of 31 passes for 313 yards and a club-record tying five touchdowns while not being intercepted. Keyshawn Johnson (pictured at left) caught 9 passes for 133 yards and two of the TDs (of his career-high 106 receptions in 2001, only one had been for a score). RB Aaron Stecker carried the ball just once, but it was for a 59-yard gain to lead the team in rushing. Mike Alstott ran for 55 yards on 26 carries and caught three passes for 16 yards, including a TD.

Daunte Culpepper went to the air 29 times for the Vikings, with 18 completions for 225 yards, but had no touchdown passes and surrendered two interceptions. Thanks to the long scoring run, Michael Bennett gained 114 yards on just 10 carries. Moe Williams had the two short rushing touchdowns while gaining 43 yards on 7 attempts, and also led Minnesota with 5 pass receptions, for 24 yards. TE Jim Kleinsasser gained 64 yards on three catches.

Tampa Bay lost only twice more the rest of the way and finished atop the NFC South with a 12-4 record. They finally broke through in the postseason, beating the Eagles in Philadelphia for the NFC Championship (the site of their losses in the preceding two playoff appearances) and defeating Oakland in the Super Bowl. Minnesota went 6-10 for second place in the NFC North.

Brad Johnson led the NFC in passing (92.9 rating) and was among the league leaders in completion percentage (62.3) and touchdown passes (22). He threw for 3049 yards and was intercepted only six times, for a league-low 1.3 INT percentage. Johnson was named to the Pro Bowl for the second time in his career (and only time in Tampa Bay).

While the Tampa Bay offense ranked 18th in the league, that was higher than at any time during the Dungy years. Combined with the NFL’s top-ranked defense, it was enough to win a championship.

1975: Terry Metcalf’s 3 TDs Lead Cardinals Past Patriots

After three straight 4-9-1 seasons, the St. Louis Cardinals improved dramatically in 1974 under second-year Head Coach Don Coryell. They not only had a winning record for the first time since 1970, but at 10-4 won the NFC East. Coryell was an offense-minded coach, and three of the major cogs were veteran QB Jim Hart, second-year all-purpose HB Terry Metcalf (pictured at right), and fleet WR Mel Gray. All three were selected to the Pro Bowl.

The Cardinals were off to a 4-2 start in 1975 as they played host to the New England Patriots on November 2 at Busch Memorial Stadium. The Patriots, coached by Chuck Fairbanks, were off to a slow start, having lost their first four games before winning the two most recent. However, starting QB Jim Plunkett was out with a shoulder injury, and rookie Steve Grogan was taking his place.

New England got an early break when Hart’s arm was hit by DE Julius Adams as he attempted to pass and LB Steve Nelson intercepted at the St. Louis 40. The Patriots capitalized to take the lead on a 32-yard field goal by John Smith. However, the Cardinals got on the board in spectacular fashion in the second quarter when Metcalf returned a punt for a 69-yard touchdown - the only TD on a punt return of his career.

But St. Louis wasn’t able to get anything going on offense against a tough Patriots defense. Meanwhile, Grogan played well, completing 8 of 14 passes in the first half, including one for an 11-yard touchdown to WR Randy Vataha that put the Patriots back in front. The Cardinals came back, converting a fourth-and-one situation at the New England 33 with a two-yard run by slow-but-rugged FB Jim Otis. They came up empty, however, when Patriots nose tackle Ray Hamilton blocked a 44-yard field goal attempt by Jim Bakken, who had been successful on his last ten straight.

New England had another shot at the end of the half, but CB Norm Thompson intercepted Grogan’s pass at the St. Louis two yard line on the last play of the second quarter. The Patriots led by 10-7 at the intermission.

The Cardinals managed to run for only 35 yards in the first half as Metcalf had just four yards in seven attempts while Otis gained 31 yards on 10 carries, and Hart was having difficulty completing passes (not helped when veteran TE Jackie Smith was forced to leave the game with an injury).

In the third quarter, the defense added to New England’s margin as Hamilton picked up a fumble by Hart, who was attempting to hand off to Otis, and rumbled 23 yards for a touchdown. The Patriots were now ahead by ten points at 17-7.

In response, the Cardinals offense came alive and Hart was successful on six straight passes, including a 12-yard throw to WR Earl Thomas to the New England 10, on a drive that finally stalled at the three yard line. The result was a 21-yard Bakken field goal to narrow the Patriots’ lead to 17-10.


New England was forced to punt on its next series, and Gray (pictured at left), only recently being used on punt returns, ran the kick back 19 yards to give the Cardinals good field position at the Patriots’ 45. St. Louis made the most of it, driving to a one-yard touchdown plunge by Metcalf early in the fourth quarter, set up by a pounding eight-yard run by Otis.

After CB Roger Wehrli made a great play to break up a long pass attempt from Grogan to Vataha, Mike Patrick punted again for the Patriots and Gray returned the kick 27 yards to the New England 33. Five plays later Metcalf ran for a seven-yard touchdown that proved to be the winning score with 6:15 remaining.

The St. Louis defense took control in the second half, but the Patriots managed one last drive down the field late in the game. However, LB Pete Barnes intercepted a fourth down Grogan pass at the St. Louis 13 to clinch the 24-17 win for the Cardinals.

The team statistics were remarkably even, with the Patriots having a one-yard edge in total yardage (274 to 273) and the Cardinals having one more first down (18 to 17). Both teams turned the ball over three times. The game was very physical, with the Patriots playing aggressively on defense, as manifested by their being penalized 11 times to six flags on St. Louis.

After a slow start, Jim Hart completed 20 of 32 passes for 158 yards with no TDs and one intercepted. Jim Otis gained 65 yards on 21 carries, and Terry Metcalf was held to 44 yards on 17 attempts, although he had the two rushing touchdowns in addition to the TD on the long punt return. Metcalf also caught 5 passes for 33 yards, making him the team’s co-leader with Earl Thomas, who had 5 receptions for 58 yards.

Steve Grogan’s passing numbers went in the opposite direction of Hart’s - after the solid first half, he ended up completing just 14 of 34 passes for 173 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. A mobile quarterback, he also gained 21 yards on three carries. HB Andy Johnson led the Patriots with 50 yards on 16 attempts, while FB Sam Cunningham added 42 yards on 11 runs and also caught a team-leading four passes for 41 yards.

The big punt returns had made the difference, either directly scoring or setting up all three St. Louis touchdowns. Said New England’s Coach Fairbanks, “I take my hat off to Metcalf and Gray for the returns they made against us. We tried to make adjustments but they didn’t work.”

Of his punt return touchdown, Metcalf said, “Their contain man (DB Ron Bolton) kind of overran his position. It was what we had seen on their films.” He also pointed out that Gray was the lead blocker. Added Gray, “Since the offense wasn’t clicking, the special teams had to get on the ball. I think the special teams won the game.”

The win put the Cardinals in a three-way tie atop the NFC East with Dallas and Washington, on the way to repeating as division champions with an 11-3 record. They lost to the Rams in the Divisional playoff round. New England limped to a 3-11 finish at the bottom of the AFC East.

Terry Metcalf’s performance against the Patriots highlighted the all-around skills that allowed him to break the year-old record by New England’s Mack Herron for all-purpose yards with 2462 (his record would last for ten years). He gained a career-high 816 yards on 165 carries for a 4.9-yard average with nine touchdowns, caught 43 passes for 378 more yards (8.8 avg.) and two TDs, had 285 yards on 23 punt returns (an NFC-leading 12.4 avg.) with a score, and 960 yards on 35 kickoff returns (27.4 avg.) that included a touchdown. He topped all of that off with 23 yards on a fumble recovery. Maligned for a tendency to fumble, Metcalf nevertheless was a versatile and flashy key to the club’s success.

Mel Gray didn’t return many more punts (7 in all, for a 7.6 avg.), but had another good season at wide receiver as he caught 48 passes for 926 yards and a league-leading 11 touchdowns (tied with Pittsburgh’s Lynn Swann). His 19.3 yards per catch ranked second in the NFC and he was a consensus All-Pro selection.

Jim Otis (pictured below), the complement to Metcalf as the plodding inside runner, led the NFC with 1076 yards on 269 carries for a 4.0 average gain and five TDs. In the best season of his nine-year career, he was selected to the Pro Bowl along with Metcalf, Gray, Hart, CB Wehrli, PK Bakken, C Tom Banks, OT Dan Dierdorf, and G Conrad Dobler.

1959: Jim Brown’s 5 TDs Overcome 4 Unitas TD Passes as Browns Beat Colts

The November 1, 1959 game at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium featured a showdown between the defending NFL champion Colts and their great quarterback, Johnny Unitas, and the Cleveland Browns with dominating FB Jim Brown. If anything, both players exceeded expectations.

The Browns, under the guidance of the highly innovative and successful Head Coach Paul Brown, were 3-2 coming into the contest. They had just missed winning the Eastern Conference in ’58, and a big part of their success was the 6’2”, 230-pound fullback from Syracuse. Jim Brown (pictured above) had exploded on the NFL in 1957, leading the league with 942 yards rushing and setting a new single-game record of 237 yards along the way. In 1958, he ran up 1527 yards, breaking Steve Van Buren’s single-season rushing record by 381 yards (he also broke the AAFC record of 1432 yards set by Spec Sanders in 1947).

The Colts, led by Head Coach Weeb Ewbank, had won the NFL championship in an epic contest over the Giants in ‘58 and were off to a 4-1 start as they sought to defend their title. Unitas was the centerpiece of a talented offense and had thrown touchdown passes in a record 30 consecutive games entering the contest against the Browns. Baltimore also had a solid defense that would be keying on Cleveland’s fullback – mammoth (6’6”, 284-pound) DT Gene “Big Daddy” Lipscomb commented that he had been “waiting a long time to get my hands on that Cleveland cat.”

There were 57,557 fans on hand as the teams matched field goals in the first quarter, Lou Groza connecting first for Cleveland from 16 yards and Steve Myhra booting a 23-yarder for the Colts. However, Jim Brown got things rolling for the Browns in the second quarter as he took a pitchout, ran off tackle, shook Colts safety Ray Brown off without breaking stride 30 yards downfield, and continued for a 70-yard touchdown.

The Colts came back to tie the score on a three-yard TD pass from Unitas to HB Lenny Moore, but Brown ran up the middle for a 17-yard touchdown to give Cleveland a 17-10 lead at the half.

Brown extended the Cleveland lead to 24-10 in the third quarter with a three-yard run, and also reached the end zone on a one-yard plunge after Unitas had responded with an eight-yard TD pass to flanker Jerry Richardson.

The Colts again closed the gap to seven points in the fourth quarter when end Raymond Berry scored on a 10-yard pass from Unitas to make it 31-24. But Brown plowed in from a yard out for his fifth touchdown of the game, and while Unitas threw a fourth TD pass of five yards to end Jim Mutscheller, it was the Browns winning the game by a 38-31 final score.

Baltimore gained the most yards (426 to 397) and had more first downs (28 to 22), but while the Colts defense was unable to contain Brown and Cleveland QB Milt Plum made clutch passes on third down to extend drives, the Browns defense shut down the Baltimore running game (45 yards on 19 carries) and stopped the Colts inside the ten yard line on four occasions.

Jim Brown ran for 178 yards on 32 carries, with all five touchdowns coming on the ground. Milt Plum completed 14 of 23 passes for 200 yards with no TDs, and while two were intercepted, 11 of the completions for 147 yards came on third down plays.


For the Colts, Johnny Unitas (pictured at left) went to the air 41 times and had 23 completions for 397 yards with four touchdowns against three interceptions. The loss negated outstanding performances by Raymond Berry, who caught 11 passes for 156 yards with a TD, and Lenny Moore, with 5 receptions for 115 yards and a score.

Weeb Ewbank sought out Brown after the game to shake his hand and say “Jimmy, you’re even greater than we heard you were. You played a wonderful game out there today.” A frustrated “Big Daddy” Lipscomb told reporters, “I’m still waiting to get my hands on that cat.”

In discussing his performance, Brown said, “Actually, the way I played today didn’t have anything to do with my ability. We had good play selection and most of the time I was going through gaping holes opened by our line.” Few, if any, in attendance would have agreed that Brown’s ability had nothing to do with it.

“Jim Brown was tremendous and Milt Plum did a really fine job,” summed up Paul Brown.

The loss dropped the Colts behind the San Francisco 49ers in the Western Conference, but, after losing the following week at Washington, they recovered to win five straight and closed out the regular season back atop the conference with a 9-3 record. They defeated the Giants once again for the NFL Championship. Cleveland won two more games before losing three straight (two of them by a single point) and finishing in a tie for second place in the Eastern Conference with Philadelphia at 7-5.

Jim Brown had 737 yards rushing following the big performance against Baltimore and led all NFL rushers once again in 1959 (as he would for eight of his nine seasons) with 1329 yards on 290 carries (4.6 avg.), including 14 touchdowns.

Johnny Unitas, with the four TD passes, had 17 for the year thus far and his consecutive game streak stood at 31, on the way to an eventual all-time record 47. For the ’59 season, he led the NFL in pass attempts (367), completions (193), yards (2899), touchdowns (32 – a record at the time), and percent of TD passes (8.7). He was named league MVP by The Sporting News and UPI, and received the Bert Bell Award from the Maxwell Club.