Drives That Helped Shaped NFL History

oldecapecod11 · Post by **oldecapecod11** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 6:11 pm

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Drives That Helped Shaped NFL History
Started by TouchdownTimmy, Mar 22 2014 02:59 PM

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#1 TouchdownTimmy
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Posted 22 March 2014 - 02:59 PM

Ok, let's think of some drives by NFL teams which helped shape the course of history. The only criteria is that it has to be something that we can look back on and say truly made legacies and mark a significant turning point that is still being felt today. The drive does not have to be successful just significant.

I'll start with the Cleveland Browns game winning drive against the Los Angeles Rams in the 1950 NFL championship game. Not only did the Browns drive lead to a game winning field goal which validated them after four years of AAFC dominance, they showed us the future with their two-minute drill. With 1:48 to play, Cleveland drove from their 32 to the Rams 11 in six plays to set up a game winning field goal by Lou Groza. Most people credit John Unitas with the first real two minute drill in the 1958 championship, but Otto Graham was the man who really pulled it off before anyone else in a title game.

The Browns drive helped shape the way that the game is played today, validated head coach Paul Brown as one of the brightest minds in football history and as mentioned proved to every doubter that Cleveland was a great team no matter what league they were in.

I'll add an example of a failed drive which shaped history. The Cowboys failure to score against the Packers in the 1966 championship game. Trailing 34-27 Dallas drives to the Green Bay two. With time running out they fail to score in four plays. The only things that were at stake were the NFL championship, a birth in the first Super Bowl, the chance for Packers coach Vince Lombardi to continue his quest for three consecutive championships and a chance for the Cowboys to play the Kansas City Chiefs (formerly the Dallas Texans) in said Super Bowl. If Dallas scores and wins in overtime a lot of legacies change and as Bill Curry says in the '66 Packers "America's Game" clip, Lombardi's name my not be on the Super Bowl trophy.

#2 Bob Gill
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Posted 22 March 2014 - 03:18 PM

Very good point about the Browns' two-minute drive in the 1950 game.

#3 97Den98
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Posted 22 March 2014 - 03:48 PM

The drive that the 49ers had in the 1981 NFC Title Game that led to "The Catch". Good play calling by Bill Walsh on that one.

Elway's Drive in Cleveland. He started his comeback legend, and it started Marty down the path that he went on.

#4 Mark L. Ford
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Posted 22 March 2014 - 04:40 PM

It's debatable about whether it shaped NFL history, but the second 49ers-Bengals Super Bowl (1989, SB XXV for Roman numeral fans) cemented the 49ers' dynasty and the legends of Joe Montana and Bill Walsh, who closed his career with this game with a repeat and four Lombardi trophies. At the same time, I think the last minute loss altered the destiny of the Cincinnati Bengals and Boomer Esiason.

My feeling also is that it set a new standard for clock management, with Montana and company pinned down on their own 8 yard line with a little more than three minutes left, then driving the 92 yards for the winning touchdown instead of a tying field goal, and eating up enough time to leave Cincinnati in the hopeless position of needing to somehow make a touchdown with only 40 seconds left. Would a 16-13 or 19-16 Bengals win have changed their last 25 years?

#5 Rupert Patrick
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Posted 22 March 2014 - 04:42 PM

97Den98, on 22 Mar 2014 - 3:48 PM, said:
The drive that the 49ers had in the 1981 NFC Title Game that led to "The Catch". Good play calling by Bill Walsh on that one.

I view that game as the passing of a torch, from Landry and Dallas and Staubach and the 70's to Walsh and San Francisco and Montana and the 80's.

One could also say the Bengals drive in Super Bowl XVI that the Niners stopped at the one-yard line as having a historical impact. We don't know how the rest of Super Bowl XVI would have unfolded if the Bengals had scored, but the momentum was in their favor, and I think they would have pulled it out. Leading the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history would have been enough, in my opinion, to make Anderson the MVP of the game, and would have put him into the HOF. As for San Francisco, with a loss in the game, maybe Walsh would have left after 1982, maybe they would have won Super Bowl XIX, but it would not have been the same.

I would also nominate the Bills drive at the end of Super Bowl XXV that ended in the Norwood FG miss; it set the tone for the Bills coming up short in the following three Super Bowls.

But one could say the Giants drive at the beginning of the third quarter of Super Bowl XXV that ate up nine and a half minutes of the clock was the most important drive of the game, as Kelly never really recovered until the very end of the game after being inactive for over an hour. I think this drive was also historic in that teams who win the coin toss in the Super Bowl in the years since will often defer, and let the other team receive the opening kickoff to start the game, and take advantage of the halftime show to keep the opposing QB on the sidelines longer, especially if they can put a ball control drive together for much of the third period. This is why I feel Super Bowl XXV was the most compelling of all the Super Bowls, it was steeped in strategy and turning points, with great performances.

The Packers drive late in the 1967 NFL Championship game should also be considered among the historic drives in history, along with the Colts OT drive to win the 1958 NFL Championship.

I would also think the New England drive in the final two minutes of the Tuck Rule game was historic, in that (1) the Tuck Rule play occurred and (2) that Adam Vinatieri nailed a 45-yard FG in a blizzard to tie the game and send it to OT. The two toughest FG's in pro football history, I believe, were Vinatieri's FG in the Tuck Rule game and Pat Summerall's 52-yarder in the snow to beat Cleveland in 1958, which has to be another of the great historic drives. The Tuck Rule game was also historic in that it was the final game in the history of Schaefer Stadium, and Gruden's final game with the Raiders, and it also became connected with the 1976 Divisional game between these teams where the Raiders won on a controversial roughing call.

#6 TouchdownTimmy
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Posted 22 March 2014 - 07:55 PM

97Den98, on 22 Mar 2014 - 3:48 PM, said:
The drive that the 49ers had in the 1981 NFC Title Game that led to "The Catch". Good play calling by Bill Walsh on that one.

Elway's Drive in Cleveland. He started his comeback legend, and it started Marty down the path that he went on.
I think the second part of your statement about Elway's drive is more important, because of it's affect on the Browns and their future. Comebacks not withstanding,I don't know if Elway really validated himself until after he won the Super Bowl. As for the Browns, that drive and the one the following season which ended in Earnest Byner's fumble may have helped lead to the team's move to Baltimore after the 1995 season. If the Browns win either of those games and make it to the Super Bowl maybe Art Modell gets the stadium he wants and the team stays while Baltimore gets the expansion team.

BTW sorry about the title to this post. "Shaped" looks like something Mushmouth would say to Fat Albert.

#7 conace21
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Posted 22 March 2014 - 08:10 PM

Scenario: 1992 NFC title game. 4 minutes to play. Dallas holds the ball and a 24-20 lead over SF, but the 49ers have momentum following a 95 yard drive. Most teams would have tried to literally run out the clock, especially with the the rushing champion in the backfield. Jimmy Johnson showed his gambling streak, telling Nov Turner to get first downs and that he didn't care how they got him. Dallas came out throwing. Aikman hit Alvin Harper on a slant and after CB Don Griffin slipped in the mud, Harper raced 70 yards. On 3rd and goal, Aikman hit Kelvin Martin for the game clinching TD pass. That drive was the launching pad for Dallas as the Team of the 90 ' s and exemplified how Jimmy Johnson was not to be behold by traditional coaching manuals.

#8 Todd Pence
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Posted 22 March 2014 - 08:37 PM

I'm surprised no one has yet mentioned the Jets' 80-yard drive to their first touchdown in Super Bowl III. It was probably one of the greatest "statement" drives of all time, allowed the Jets to take an early command in the most historic upset in NFL history, and resulted in the first-ever AFL lead over an NFL team.

#9 MatthewToy
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Posted 22 March 2014 - 10:01 PM

Steelers game winning drive in Super Bowl 43

#10 74_75_78_79_
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Posted 23 March 2014 - 03:44 AM

Dolphins' opening drive vs Vikings in SBVIII. Perhaps not shaping of league history but with limited argument the solidifying moment in that team's SB-run along with Csonka's legendary status. Believe it was Bud Grant and/or Alan Page who said afterward they knew they weren't going to win after that drive.

#11 evan
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Posted 23 March 2014 - 07:35 AM

74_75_78_79_, on 23 Mar 2014 - 03:44 AM, said:
Dolphins' opening drive vs Vikings in SBVIII. Perhaps not shaping of league history but with limited argument the solidifying moment in that team's SB-run along with Csonka's legendary status. Believe it was Bud Grant and/or Alan Page who said afterward they knew they weren't going to win after that drive.

I believe the Dolphins also scored TDs on their first drives of their other two 1973 NFL playoff games against Cincinnati and Oakland, probably engendering similar feelings among their opponents.

#12 97Den98
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Posted 23 March 2014 - 09:49 PM

I think that a drive that came up short changed history.

I am talking about the 1994 AFC Title Game, and how the Steelers came three yards short.

If they pulled that out, it would have been Steelers-49ers. Great offense vs. Great defense.

The Niners were explosive that year, but the Steelers had a great D, with Rod Woodson, Carnell Lake, Levon Kirkland, Greg Lloyd, Kevin Greene, and Joel Steed. They also had a solid offense, with Eric Green, Barry Foster, and an emerging Yancey Thigpen. That was the best of the three teams that Cowher took to the AFC Title Game in the 90's.

I'm not saying that the Steelers would have won, but if they did, it would have altered NFL history to some degree, at least.

#13 TouchdownTimmy
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Posted 23 March 2014 - 10:01 PM

Todd Pence, on 22 Mar 2014 - 8:37 PM, said:
I'm surprised no one has yet mentioned the Jets' 80-yard drive to their first touchdown in Super Bowl III. It was probably one of the greatest "statement" drives of all time, allowed the Jets to take an early command in the most historic upset in NFL history, and resulted in the first-ever AFL lead over an NFL team.

This is what I'm looking for. Drives that have helped shape all of AFL/NFL history and created the game that we know today. This drive not only gave the Jets and the AFL its first lead in the Super Bowl, it was the first rushing TD scored by the AFL. And the AFL would not relinquish that lead for the next two Super Bowls.

So far what I'm looking for are the two drives I mentioned at the top:

- The '58 title game, because it led to the first sudden death, helped make the NFL a TV staple and in many ways led to Lamar Hunt's creation of the AFL
- The '67 NFL championship, because it set the standard for championships by coach and QB in Lombardi and Bart Starr with five. And the three in a row is an accomplishment never done before or since in the playoff era.
- Super Bowl III as stated above.
- The '81 NFC championship, because the Niners were the first team to take full advantage of the passing rules put in place in 1978. They showed us what offensive football of the future would look like.
- The '86 and '87 AFC title games, because they may have led to the Browns move to Baltimore and what has become a 32 team league.

I think that the number of drives that have shaped football history are rare, but if anyone else knows of any feel free to chime in.

#14 BD Sullivan
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Posted 24 March 2014 - 08:32 PM

*The 1971 drive by Miami that ended in a game-winning FG in double overtime, and gave the first hint of Miami's dynasty.

*The 1975 Hail Mary play, since this strategy had a nickname that still resonates.

#15 Teo
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Posted 25 March 2014 - 01:57 AM

I immediatily recall the start of the third quarter of Super Bowl VI when "Bouniconti rugged in and Manny Fernandez stepped over center". Then Dallas ran 7 sweeps, including a reverse by Bob Hayes. The Cowboys culminated the drive with Duane Thomas' touchdown run. It's one of the earliest drives that John Facenda narrated, and it's still one of my favorite NFL Films moments.

#16 Bryan
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Posted 25 March 2014 - 08:01 AM

TouchdownTimmy, on 22 Mar 2014 - 2:59 PM, said:
I'll start with the Cleveland Browns game winning drive against the Los Angeles Rams in the 1950 NFL championship game. Not only did the Browns drive lead to a game winning field goal which validated them after four years of AAFC dominance, they showed us the future with their two-minute drill. With 1:48 to play, Cleveland drove from their 32 to the Rams 11 in six plays to set up a game winning field goal by Lou Groza. Most people credit John Unitas with the first real two minute drill in the 1958 championship, but Otto Graham was the man who really pulled it off before anyone else in a title game.

The Browns drive helped shape the way that the game is played today, validated head coach Paul Brown as one of the brightest minds in football history and as mentioned proved to every doubter that Cleveland was a great team no matter what league they were in.

I've wondered how both the Rams and Browns of that era would have been remembered had the Rams won the 1950 title game (which they very easily could have). If we assume everything else happens the same, the Rams would have been in 3 straight title games while winning back-to-back in 50 and 51, while the Browns would have opened their NFL existence with 4 consecutive title game losses. The Browns would then go on to win titles in 54 & 55, so I don't think they would have "Buffalo Bills status"...but its interesting how easily history could have been changed.

That said, I think the Paul Brown and the Browns already made their mark on the NFL during the 1950 regular season. The manner in which they dominated the Eagles put the rest of the NFL on edge, as in "we better pool our intellectual resources and figure out a way to stop these guys...otherwise they might go undefeated". Other teams and coaches saw the validity of Paul Brown's ideas first-hand.

I'm not an expert on that era, but it seems like the Browns were a very precise, timing-based offense. Paul Brown's pass-blocking concepts were necessary to give Graham the time to make the passes when they needed to be made. The Rams seemed to be more of a "spread the field/multiple pass targets" team, trying to get 1-on-1 matchups and then winning those matchups. Teams with good pass-rushes (like the Eagles and Browns) could stop the Rams' offense. I think the big difference between the Browns and Rams (at least offensively) is the Browns had a much better concept of pass protection and better offensive linemen. Otto Graham was a great QB and a great athlete, but after watching film I am very impressed with both Waterfield and Van Brocklin. Many times 3 of the 5 Rams OLs would miss their blocks, and Waterfield would have to dodge a few defenders before unleashing a strike to Fears. Van Brocklin was even more amazing...he'd be backpedaling with defenders grabbing his legs and with his arm alone Van Brocklin could throw a 50-yard pass on a line with pinpoint accuracy. Graham always seemed to have a cleaner pocket to work with.

#17 jackfu
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Posted 25 March 2014 - 08:56 AM

I like the Bucs’ 69-yard drive to a field goal defeating the Chiefs 3-0, in week 16, saving the season for the Bucs in ’79.
This one may not truly qualify as history-shaping, but it certainly looms large in Tampa Bay legend. The Bucs, having started the ’79 season with a 5-0 bang, were on a 3-game losing streak when they played the Chiefs in week 16 in the (in)famous “Monsoon” game. In the 4th quarter, the Bucs put together a 13-play, 63-yd drive which Neil O’Donohue caps with a 19-yd field goal and the Bucs then hold on to win 3-0. They thus edge out the Bears for the NFC Central Division title, defeat the Eagles in the Bucs first playoff game ever and then lose a squeaker to the Rams in the NFC championship game, thus fulfilling John McKay’s promise and (at least for a while) shed their legacy of being, as John Facenda might have said “Lovable losers”.

#18 evan
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Posted 25 March 2014 - 09:40 AM

jackfu, on 25 Mar 2014 - 08:56 AM, said:
I like the Bucs’ 69-yard drive to a field goal defeating the Chiefs 3-0, in week 16, saving the season for the Bucs in ’79.
This one may not truly qualify as history-shaping, but it certainly looms large in Tampa Bay legend. The Bucs, having started the ’79 season with a 5-0 bang, were on a 3-game losing streak when they played the Chiefs in week 16 in the (in)famous “Monsoon” game. In the 4th quarter, the Bucs put together a 13-play, 63-yd drive which Neil O’Donohue caps with a 19-yd field goal and the Bucs then hold on to win 3-0. They thus edge out the Bears for the NFC Central Division title, defeat the Eagles in the Bucs first playoff game ever and then lose a squeaker to the Rams in the NFC championship game, thus fulfilling John McKay’s promise and (at least for a while) shed their legacy of being, as John Facenda might have said “Lovable losers”.

The headline on the front page of Pro Football Weekly for that Bucs-Chiefs game was one of my favorites: "Bucs don't s(t)ink after all"

After the Bucs lost to the woeful 49ers (leading to the Candlestick fans charging the field and I think tearing down the goalposts), the prevailing thought was that Cinderella struck midnight and the Bucs had reverted back to their punchline days. Not many people saw them beating KC and nearly no one saw them beating Philly.

#19 byron
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Posted 25 March 2014 - 01:23 PM

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The '81 NFC championship, because the Niners were the first team to take full advantage of the passing rules put in place in 1978.

Ironic because that drive featured numerous sweeps and runs since Dallas was in a Dime defense throughout.

#20 TouchdownTimmy
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Posted 25 March 2014 - 02:06 PM

Yes, but the thing was Dallas had to go to that defense because of the new rules and how San Francisco had set them up with the pass in this game and the regular season game won by the 49ers. In watching the championship game we see that Dallas had no answers for anything that the Niners did in that final drive. Every play the Niners called was the right one. And on "The Catch" this was the first time that I can recall a team having a backup plan in place for if a pass play broke down.

The Niners had taken 7 1/2 quarters of head to head competition against Dallas and in five minutes used all of that knowledge to drive for the winning score.

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oldecapecod 11

Drives That Helped Shaped NFL History
Started by TouchdownTimmy, Mar 22 2014 02:59 PM

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#21 TouchdownTimmy
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Posted 25 March 2014 - 02:23 PM

The Giants game-winning drive in Super Bowl XLII denied the Patriots a chance to finish with the greatest single season record of all-time, 19-0. If the Patriots hold on, then the drive before it by Brady which gave New England a 14-10 lead would have led many to think that Brady is the greatest quarterback of all-time and maybe Bill Belichick the greatest coach. There is almost no question that the 2007 Patriots would be considered the greatest team. Eli Manning and New York wiped out all of that.

The undefeated,17-0, 1972 Miami Dolphins would no longer be able to pop champagne every season when the last undefeated team goes down (I hope that they get to do it forever). Maybe the 2009 Indianapolis Colts decide to try for an undefeated regular season instead of sitting their starters.

What would have been ironic about all of the undefeateds is the Cleveland connection. Paul Brown coached the 1948 Browns to an undefeated 14-0 season. The '72 Dolphins were coached by one of Brown's former players, Don Shula. And Belichick's first head coaching job was with the Browns.

#22 Bob Gill
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Posted 25 March 2014 - 04:25 PM

Good point about the Giants' drive. That definitely changed NFL history, if just because it prevented the Patriots from making history.

#23 Rupert Patrick
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Posted 25 March 2014 - 05:41 PM

How about the Cowboys drive at the end of the 1979 Week 16 game against Washington, the double comeback game? Dallas drove for the winning score with less than a minute to play to win 35-34. A Washington win in that game would have given them home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, while Dallas would have been the wild card along with the Eagles and the Bears would have been out of the postseason. With a win in that game, and Washington being the number one seed in 1979, it is doubtful that Jack Pardee would have been fired after the 1980 season (even if he went 6-10 like he did in reality), which ushered in the Joe Gibbs era. Perhaps Gibbs winds up in Houston or New Orleans to start the 1981 season, where he doesn't have the talent on hand that he had in Washington, and he fails in his shot at being a HC and winds up being an offensive coordinator again, or winds up coaching in the USFL. It also would have impacted the career of John Riggins, who retired after the 1979 season and came back in 1981 when Gibbs talked him into returning.

#24 byron
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Posted 25 March 2014 - 05:54 PM

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Paul Brown coached the 1948 Browns to an undefeated 14-0 season.

15-0 with the championship game. That was a heck of a team.

#25 97Den98
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Posted 25 March 2014 - 06:26 PM

Rupert Patrick, on 25 Mar 2014 - 5:41 PM, said:
How about the Cowboys drive at the end of the 1979 Week 16 game against Washington, the double comeback game? Dallas drove for the winning score with less than a minute to play to win 35-34. A Washington win in that game would have given them home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, while Dallas would have been the wild card along with the Eagles and the Bears would have been out of the postseason. With a win in that game, and Washington being the number one seed in 1979, it is doubtful that Jack Pardee would have been fired after the 1980 season (even if he went 6-10 like he did in reality), which ushered in the Joe Gibbs era. Perhaps Gibbs winds up in Houston or New Orleans to start the 1981 season, where he doesn't have the talent on hand that he had in Washington, and he fails in his shot at being a HC and winds up being an offensive coordinator again, or winds up coaching in the USFL. It also would have impacted the career of John Riggins, who retired after the 1979 season and came back in 1981 when Gibbs talked him into returning.

Good point, man. Riggins didn't come back in 1980 because of that game.

As for Gibbs, I don't think he ends up in Houston or NO because the Oilers wanted to promote Ed Biles, and the Saints were dead set on the Bum. Maybe he waits to get a job for a few years, and either goes back to Tampa in 1985, or is promoted as Charger HC sometime in the mid-80's.

#26 Rupert Patrick
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Posted 25 March 2014 - 09:08 PM

97Den98, on 25 Mar 2014 - 6:26 PM, said:
Good point, man. Riggins didn't come back in 1980 because of that game.

As for Gibbs, I don't think he ends up in Houston or NO because the Oilers wanted to promote Ed Biles, and the Saints were dead set on the Bum. Maybe he waits to get a job for a few years, and either goes back to Tampa in 1985, or is promoted as Charger HC sometime in the mid-80's.

If Gibbs were not offered an NFL HC job by the end of the 1982 season, I'm sure one of the USFL teams would have made him their coach when they started up in the spring of 1983.

#27 Teo
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Posted 26 March 2014 - 12:04 AM

Rupert Patrick, on 25 Mar 2014 - 9:08 PM, said:
If Gibbs were not offered an NFL HC job by the end of the 1982 season, I'm sure one of the USFL teams would have made him their coach when they started up in the spring of 1983.

I think that Gibbs could've landed at New England, who had good offensive players.

#28 luckyshow
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Posted 26 March 2014 - 03:39 PM

1934 championship game
Ken Strong runs in the go ahead TD on a 42 yard run by Ken Strong, Giant post game record until Joe Morris in 1986, Giants score 27 in 4th quarter to upset the up to then undefeated Bears. The 27 is still a record I think. So it was 4 drives, I guess...The Bears 31 game undefeated streak ends. I believe this game was once thought of as similar to the later 1958 championship game, in increasing the popularity of the NFL.

#29 TouchdownTimmy
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Posted 29 March 2014 - 01:03 AM

byron, on 25 Mar 2014 - 5:54 PM, said:
15-0 with the championship game. That was a heck of a team.

Yup. The record would have gone from 15 to 17 to 19.

#30 97Den98
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Posted 29 March 2014 - 04:50 AM

The game winning drive that the Cowboys had in the 1980 NFC Divisional Playoff Game is a good candidate.

That loss turned out to be the beginning of the end for Leeman Bennett in Atlanta, which ushered in an era of bad football for the better part of 17 years before the organization finally made it to the Super Bowl in 1998.

Also, in Week 16 of the 2008 season, a drive that ended in a missed FG may have altered the course of NFL history.

With two minutes left in the half, and the Broncos up 13-3, Matt Prater missed a 54-yard FG. The Bills took the ball and marched 56 yards in nine plays to pull to within three points on a two-yard TD run by Beastmode.

If Shanahan punts the ball and pins them back around the 10 instead of having a struggling Prater try a long FG (the winds were 16 MPH that day according to Pro Football Reference), maybe they go up 13-3 at the half, or more, and go on to win.

The Bills hadn't really done anything offensively up until that point. That TD drive got them going, and they went on to win 30-23.

If Denver won, they are in the playoffs (and get their doors blown off by Indy at home in Round 1), Shanahan doesn't get fired, and in turn, he either trades or releases Brandon Marshall in the offseason. Also, Peyton may be in another city today, depending on how long Mike stays.

#31 BD Sullivan
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Posted 29 March 2014 - 11:20 AM

It didn't necessarily shape NFL history, but the Bears' drive in the final minutes of the 1983 regular season finale that ended with a Bob Thomas game-winning FG against the Packers set off a crazy chain-reaction of coaching changes:

*Bart Starr was finally fired by the Pack after nine years of mostly mediocre teams.
*Forrest Gregg then resigned as Bengals coach and took the Packer job.
*Sam Wyche quit as head coach at Indiana to take over the Bengals.
*Bill Mallory quit as Northern Illinois head coach to take the Indiana job.
*Lee Corso was hired as Northern Illinois head coach

#32 Todd Pence
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Posted 29 March 2014 - 11:46 AM

In a 1992 contest between the two worst teams in the NFL, New England is driving for the winning touchdown when Hugh Millen is picked off at the goal line in the game's closing moments by Patrick Hunter. Hunter's late-game heroics enable the Seahawks to win the game but lose the first-round draft pick and the rights to Washington native Drew Bledsoe, the draft's top prospect. The 'Hawks are forced to settle for Rick Mirer. Bledsoe goes on to blossom into one of the league's top quarterbacks; while Mirer regresses into mediocrity after a promising rookie season and wins just twenty games in four years in Seattle.

#33 TouchdownTimmy
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Posted 29 March 2014 - 06:24 PM

Rupert Patrick, on 25 Mar 2014 - 5:41 PM, said:
How about the Cowboys drive at the end of the 1979 Week 16 game against Washington, the double comeback game? Dallas drove for the winning score with less than a minute to play to win 35-34. A Washington win in that game would have given them home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, while Dallas would have been the wild card along with the Eagles and the Bears would have been out of the postseason. With a win in that game, and Washington being the number one seed in 1979, it is doubtful that Jack Pardee would have been fired after the 1980 season (even if he went 6-10 like he did in reality), which ushered in the Joe Gibbs era. Perhaps Gibbs winds up in Houston or New Orleans to start the 1981 season, where he doesn't have the talent on hand that he had in Washington, and he fails in his shot at being a HC and winds up being an offensive coordinator again, or winds up coaching in the USFL. It also would have impacted the career of John Riggins, who retired after the 1979 season and came back in 1981 when Gibbs talked him into returning.

Yes, that drive definitely had repercussions (as painful as it is to remember. Still change the channel when I see it).

#34 Rupert Patrick
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Posted 29 March 2014 - 08:20 PM

BD Sullivan, on 29 Mar 2014 - 11:20 AM, said:
It didn't necessarily shape NFL history, but the Bears' drive in the final minutes of the 1983 regular season finale that ended with a Bob Thomas game-winning FG against the Packers set off a crazy chain-reaction of coaching changes:

*Bart Starr was finally fired by the Pack after nine years of mostly mediocre teams.
*Forrest Gregg then resigned as Bengals coach and took the Packer job.
*Sam Wyche quit as head coach at Indiana to take over the Bengals.
*Bill Mallory quit as Northern Illinois head coach to take the Indiana job.
*Lee Corso was hired as Northern Illinois head coach

A Packer win in that game would have put them in the playoffs as a wild card instead of the Rams, which would have saved Starr's job for at least one more season, but Starr hung on in Green Bay for a number of years just due to the fact he was Bart Starr.

Also, Sam Wyche replaced Corso as Indiana HC after the 1982 season.

#35 97Den98
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Posted 30 March 2014 - 08:57 AM

Rupert Patrick, on 29 Mar 2014 - 8:20 PM, said:
A Packer win in that game would have put them in the playoffs as a wild card instead of the Rams, which would have saved Starr's job for at least one more season, but Starr hung on in Green Bay for a number of years just due to the fact he was Bart Starr.

Also, Sam Wyche replaced Corso as Indiana HC after the 1982 season.

If the Pack go to the playoffs in 83, and beat Dallas in the WC game, they get a re-match with Washington. Those teams combined for 97 total points on MNF earlier in the season.

Also, if Starr is able to lead them back to the playoffs in 84 (they were only one game out of a WC spot, and only finished two games behind Chicago), he probably stays until the end of the 86 season, at least, which may have butterflied the Wolf-Favre-Holmgren-Reggie White era away.

#36 Rupert Patrick
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Posted 30 March 2014 - 10:02 AM

Another drive that I think has a significant impact on pro football history is the second Broncos's drive in Super Bowl XXII against Washington. The Broncos went up 7-0 on their first offensive play from scrimmage, the bomb to Ricky Nattiel. After a Washington punt, Denver moved to the Redskins 13 after the pass from Steve Sewell to Elway. On third-and-three from the six, Elway scrambled for the first down but Dave Butz stopped him for a one-yard loss, followed by a Rich Karlis FG to make it 10-0 after less than six minutes of play. If Denver had gone up 14-0, I think the rout would have been on and Denver might have won 42-10, but Washington got a victory when they kept the Broncos out of the end zone, and the game turned their way.

If Denver had won this game big, I think it would have significantly impacted Joe Gibbs's status as one of the great coaches of all time, and may have kept him out of the HOF. Without this Super Bowl, Gibbs would have still had the 1982 and 1991 Super Bowl victories, two winners nine years apart, and it's hard to put him ahead of a Tom Flores, who won two Super Bowls in four years, when it comes to HOF consideration. It might have also affected the HOF argument for Russ Grimm and Art Monk, especially Monk. Also, every football fan knows that Doug Williams is the first African American QB to win a Super Bowl, but what they don't realize is that Doug Williams remains to this day the only African American QB to win a Super Bowl. A big loss in this game would have set back the cause of the African American QB significantly, and we would likely be treated to endless editorials about how they can't win the big one.

#37 97Den98
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Posted 30 March 2014 - 11:22 AM

Rupert Patrick, on 30 Mar 2014 - 10:02 AM, said:
Another drive that I think has a significant impact on pro football history is the second Broncos's drive in Super Bowl XXII against Washington. The Broncos went up 7-0 on their first offensive play from scrimmage, the bomb to Ricky Nattiel. After a Washington punt, Denver moved to the Redskins 13 after the pass from Steve Sewell to Elway. On third-and-three from the six, Elway scrambled for the first down but Dave Butz stopped him for a one-yard loss, followed by a Rich Karlis FG to make it 10-0 after less than six minutes of play. If Denver had gone up 14-0, I think the rout would have been on and Denver might have won 42-10, but Washington got a victory when they kept the Broncos out of the end zone, and the game turned their way.

If Denver had won this game big, I think it would have significantly impacted Joe Gibbs's status as one of the great coaches of all time, and may have kept him out of the HOF. Without this Super Bowl, Gibbs would have still had the 1982 and 1991 Super Bowl victories, two winners nine years apart, and it's hard to put him ahead of a Tom Flores, who won two Super Bowls in four years, when it comes to HOF consideration. It might have also affected the HOF argument for Russ Grimm and Art Monk, especially Monk. Also, every football fan knows that Doug Williams is the first African American QB to win a Super Bowl, but what they don't realize is that Doug Williams remains to this day the only African American QB to win a Super Bowl. A big loss in this game would have set back the cause of the African American QB significantly, and we would likely be treated to endless editorials about how they can't win the big one.

Also, you wouldn't have idiots on message boards (I have encountered some on this one board that I go on) saying that John Elway is overrated.

And, with a SB title together, you have to figure Elway's and Reeves' relationship moving forward may be a lot better. I think I heard something about how the SB losses were a reason that their relationship got more and more strained over time.

#38 byron
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Posted 30 March 2014 - 10:27 PM

Another consideration is whether Elway hangs it up before the 97 and 98 seasons. No back-to-back Superbowls? Who would represent the AFC? Would the Packers have won 97? The Falcons won 98? A lot of possibilities open up.

#39 Rupert Patrick
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Posted 30 March 2014 - 10:47 PM

byron, on 30 Mar 2014 - 10:27 PM, said:
Another consideration is whether Elway hangs it up before the 97 and 98 seasons. No back-to-back Superbowls? Who would represent the AFC? Would the Packers have won 97? The Falcons won 98? A lot of possibilities open up.

The Chiefs would have won the AFC in 1997 if Elway had retired after the 1996 season. Super Bowl XXXII between KC and GB is close, like the Denver GB game. According to my analysis, I would rate the Packers a one-point favorite over the Chiefs.

In 1998, I think the Jets would have gone to the Super Bowl if Denver did not have Elway. I think Atlanta would have beaten the Jets by a FG.

#40 97Den98
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Posted 31 March 2014 - 06:33 AM

byron, on 30 Mar 2014 - 10:27 PM, said:
Another consideration is whether Elway hangs it up before the 97 and 98 seasons. No back-to-back Superbowls? Who would represent the AFC? Would the Packers have won 97? The Falcons won 98? A lot of possibilities open up.

I think it depends on how many more titles he wins between 1988 and 96. He may come back in 97 if he only had one ring because he lost a SB in 86. And, after beating GB like they did, he may even try again in 98 because winning two SB's in a row and having three SB rings may have been enticing to him.

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oldecapecod 11

Drives That Helped Shaped NFL History
Started by TouchdownTimmy, Mar 22 2014 02:59 PM

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#41 jackfu
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Posted 31 March 2014 - 11:28 AM

I mentioned this before in a different thread, I think, but what about the Vikings’ non-drive with ~5 minutes left in the 1st quarter of Super Bowl XI? After McNeill blocked Guy’s punt and recovered it on Oakland’s 3-yard line, the Vikes have the opportunity to draw first blood, but McLanahan fumbles, the Raiders recover, and then drive to a field goal. You could just feel the momentum change and Minnesota never recovers. Had they scored do you think the game turns out differently?

#42 conace21
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Posted 31 March 2014 - 12:05 PM

Rupert Patrick, on 30 Mar 2014 - 10:02 AM, said:
Another drive that I think has a significant impact on pro football history is the second Broncos's drive in Super Bowl XXII against Washington. The Broncos went up 7-0 on their first offensive play from scrimmage, the bomb to Ricky Nattiel. After a Washington punt, Denver moved to the Redskins 13 after the pass from Steve Sewell to Elway. On third-and-three from the six, Elway scrambled for the first down but Dave Butz stopped him for a one-yard loss, followed by a Rich Karlis FG to make it 10-0 after less than six minutes of play. If Denver had gone up 14-0, I think the rout would have been on and Denver might have won 42-10, but Washington got a victory when they kept the Broncos out of the end zone, and the game turned their way.

Excellent point Rupert. The only disagreement I have is the category: significant drives. There were so many other individual plays besides this drive that took place before Washington's explosion: the fumbled kickoff, Walton's 18 yard sack after Denver had driven to the 30, and Williams' dropping the ball without being touched but being deemed down. One or two of these plays go Denver's way and we may have a Broncos blowoutn or at least a competitive shootout. Washington was bound to score some on the banged up and undersized Bronco defense but being down 3 scores could have forced them to turn away from the run.
One other drive was just as important. At the end of the first quarter, Denver moved (with two Washington penalties) to the 36 before an incomplete shovel pass. Dan Reeves elected to punt, even though Karlis has kicked a 48 yard FG the year before. The punt went into the end zone, Denver gained a whopping 16 yards of field position. Washington got that all back and more on the very first play...

#43 BD Sullivan
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Posted 31 March 2014 - 12:34 PM

In the 1974 AFC title game, multiple key drives played a major role in helping establish the cornerstone of the Steeler dynasty. The Raiders took a 10-3 lead late in the third quarter when Stabler and Branch hooked up for a 38-yard TD pass. Pittsburgh then drove down the field and scored on an 8-yard Harris run to start the fourth. Pittsburgh scored another TD to give them a 17-10 lead, and Oakland subsequently moved down the field and had 2nd-and-6 at the Pittsburgh 8. Marv Hubbard was stopped after a one-yard gain, and the next play saw Stabler throw the ball away under a heavy rush, with Oakland then forced to settle for a field goal. With just 1:25 left, the Raiders then had first down at their 38 with all three time outs remaining. However, Stabler was sacked, and then was picked off trying to throw to Charlie Smith down the sideline. The Steelers ran it back into Oakland territory, and Harris scored a clinching touchdown with 47 seconds left.

If Oakland stops them on either drive, do they hold on for the win, and does the Steeler dynasty ever take shape?

#44 97Den98
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Posted 31 March 2014 - 01:06 PM

conace21, on 31 Mar 2014 - 12:05 PM, said:
Excellent point Rupert. The only disagreement I have is the category: significant drives. There were so many other individual plays besides this drive that took place before Washington's explosion: the fumbled kickoff, Walton's 18 yard sack after Denver had driven to the 30, and Williams' dropping the ball without being touched but being deemed down. One or two of these plays go Denver's way and we may have a Broncos blowoutn or at least a competitive shootout. Washington was bound to score some on the banged up and undersized Bronco defense but being down 3 scores could have forced them to turn away from the run.
One other drive was just as important. At the end of the first quarter, Denver moved (with two Washington penalties) to the 36 before an incomplete shovel pass. Dan Reeves elected to punt, even though Karlis has kicked a 48 yard FG the year before. The punt went into the end zone, Denver gained a whopping 16 yards of field position. Washington got that all back and more on the very first play...

There is a documentary on You Tube called 18 Plays that deals with this Super Bowl, and in it, they talked about Washington's first TD, and how Ricky Sanders adjusted his route because Mark Haynes was playing press coverage on him. Sanders said that, if Haynes would have played off of him, he would have ran a hitch route or something like that. Could have been a different game.

Also, I watched that game again, and there was a play in the second quarter (I think it was 14-10 Skins, but I am not sure) where Elway is scrambling around Washington's 40, and he throws a pass to a spot where he thought that Vance Johnson would be. Vance zagged the other way. If he zagged the right way, it may have been a TD, and would have stopped Washington momentum.

#45 SixtiesFan
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Posted 31 March 2014 - 07:58 PM

jackfu, on 31 Mar 2014 - 11:28 AM, said:
I mentioned this before in a different thread, I think, but what about the Vikings’ non-drive with ~5 minutes left in the 1st quarter of Super Bowl XI? After McNeill blocked Guy’s punt and recovered it on Oakland’s 3-yard line, the Vikes have the opportunity to draw first blood, but McLanahan fumbles, the Raiders recover, and then drive to a field goal. You could just feel the momentum change and Minnesota never recovers. Had they scored do you think the game turns out differently?
I think the Raiders would have bore down and still won the game handily.

#46 conace21
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Posted 31 March 2014 - 11:15 PM

97Den98, on 31 Mar 2014 - 1:06 PM, said:
There is a documentary on You Tube called 18 Plays that deals with this Super Bowl, and in it, they talked about Washington's first TD, and how Ricky Sanders adjusted his route because Mark Haynes was playing press coverage on him. Sanders said that, if Haynes would have played off of him, he would have ran a hitch route or something like that. Could have been a different game.

Also, I watched that game again, and there was a play in the second quarter (I think it was 14-10 Skins, but I am not sure) where Elway is scrambling around Washington's 40, and he throws a pass to a spot where he thought that Vance Johnson would be. Vance zagged the other way. If he zagged the right way, it may have been a TD, and would have stopped Washington momentum.
I think if Denver had scored to retake the lead, the game might have evolved into a shootout, but Denver was too beat up on defense to prevail.

I don't know of any other game that came so close to being a blowout for Team A, but then turned around and became a blowout for Team B. The Broncos' best chance would have been going up 20-0 or 24-0 and forcing the Redskins to get away from their running game. Williams might well have still put up some points, but Gibbs and his staff worried during the week about his tendency to press and take on too much of the load.

I agree regarding the Raiders and Vikings. Ken Stabler was in a zone during the last practice before the game. He threw passes for an hour, and as I recall had one bad throw and one drop. Every other pass was caught. Oakland still would have won even if Minnesota had gone up 7-0.

#47 97Den98
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Posted 01 April 2014 - 04:38 AM
The drive that Staubach engineered to beat San Fran in the 72 NFC Playoffs was pivotal.

Staubach had already won a Super Bowl, but that comeback win taking over for Craig Morton completely clinched him being the man in Big D, and it was one more star in the cap of his growing legend.

Also, that loss signaled the end of SF's little NFC West run in the early-70's. They wouldn't return to the playoffs for nine years.

Another drive that changed history was the fake spike game in 1994 when Marino led Miami to a comeback win over the Jets.

The Jets were 6-5 at the time, but after that loss, they didn't win a game the rest of the year.

At the end of that year, Carroll allegedly said something to Boomer Esiason about making changes to the team that he was going to love. However, the Leon Hess Full Retard plan went into affect, Rich Kotite came in, and that started the Jets down the path to what they are today, which is being one of NE's three whipping boys in the AFC East.

#48 SixtiesFan
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Posted 01 April 2014 - 11:45 AM

The CBS broadcast of the 1975 Cowboy-Viking Hail Mary playoff game is scheduled for 3 am ET early Wednesday morning on the NFL Network. I set my DVR.

#49 TouchdownTimmy
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Posted 05 April 2014 - 10:14 PM

Ok let's put it the way that the hall of fame does. Can you write the history of the game without including this drive? What impact does it have on all of pro football history? I know that every drive is a part of history, but some hold a lot more significance than others.

Call me stupid, but I think that very few drives have shaped pro football history. Very few and we may have named too many.

#50 PowderedH2O
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Posted 10 April 2014 - 05:17 PM

The Tennessee Titans final drive in the Super Bowl against the Rams ended on the one yard line. If the Titans score, there is a reasonable chance that they win the Super Bowl, since they would have been on a 23-7 roll with all of the momentum. This would have been the first ever overtime Super Bowl game. If the Titans win, McNair's HOF chances get boosted enormously. The same could also be said for Jeff Fisher. And what would have happened to the Rams after blowing a 16-0 second half lead? Dick Vermeil would be seen in a totally different light. Maybe he doesn't retire and give the Rams over to Mike Martz. And maybe the Rams get to the Super Bowl against the Patriots and win it to send Dick Vermeil out as champion, which means Tom Brady is just another young quarterback that doesn't win the big one. Are all of these feasible based upon one tackle, one yard from the end zone?

#51 Rupert Patrick
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Posted 10 April 2014 - 05:29 PM

PowderedH2O, on 10 Apr 2014 - 5:17 PM, said:
The Tennessee Titans final drive in the Super Bowl against the Rams ended on the one yard line. If the Titans score, there is a reasonable chance that they win the Super Bowl, since they would have been on a 23-7 roll with all of the momentum. This would have been the first ever overtime Super Bowl game. If the Titans win, McNair's HOF chances get boosted enormously. The same could also be said for Jeff Fisher. And what would have happened to the Rams after blowing a 16-0 second half lead? Dick Vermeil would be seen in a totally different light. Maybe he doesn't retire and give the Rams over to Mike Martz. And maybe the Rams get to the Super Bowl against the Patriots and win it to send Dick Vermeil out as champion, which means Tom Brady is just another young quarterback that doesn't win the big one. Are all of these feasible based upon one tackle, one yard from the end zone?

Even with a win in Super Bowl XXXIV, I think McNair comes up short of the HOF. HOVG perhaps, but not HOF; there are at least a half dozen QB's I would put in line in front of McNair in the HOF line (Ken Anderson, Ken Stabler, Phil Simms, Jim Plunkett to start with), and of those I think only Ken Anderson is a truly worthy candidate. Fisher also comes up well short of the HOF; he is a weaker candidate in my opinion as he has had a long career but only six above .500 seasons, five seasons at .500 and seven full seasons below .500.

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