What's Longer Than 'Once in a Blue Moon?' - UPDATE

Our friend at Uni Watch, Phil Hecken, posted some breaking news earlier.

On Thanksgiving Day the Dallas Cowboys will not wear white jerseys at home.

On Thanksgiving Day the Dallas Cowboys will not wear their fauxback navy jerseys at home.

Instead, they will wear their beautiful, navy jerseys that...wait for it....wait for it...MATCH!

For the first time, they will wear their regular road navy (the road jerseys didn't actually become navy until 1981 and were basically royal blue before that) jerseys at home. The regular blue/navy jersey has not been worn at home since 1963 when they last wore their standard royal blue home jersey - their original uniform.

10/13/1963 -  Detroit at Dallas - courtesy of Getty Images

11/21/1993 - NFL's first throwback uniform - courtesy of Getty Images

During the NFL's 75th Anniversary Season in 1994, teams began the trend of wearing what would become known as throwback jerseys/uniforms. The New York Jets actually wore a throwback uniform the previous year in honor of their Super Bowl III triumph, however, they wore their regular green helmets instead of a white throwback design. In 1994, the Cowboys assembled a fairly accurate throwback to their early 1960s design, except they chose to wear the normal silver helmet instead of using a white one. They only wore the combination once for a Monday Night game against Detroit.

9/19/1994 - Detroit at Dallas

In 1994 the Cowboys also designed a white, alternate 'fauxback' jersey.  A navy, alternate 'fauxback' jersey followed in 1995 (worn again in 2001).

Left - 1994 NFL 75th Anniversary white 'fauxback' - courtesy of Getty Images
Center - 1995 navy 'fauxback' styled alternate jersey - courtesy of Getty Images
Right - 2004-2012 navy 'fauxback' styled alternate jersey - courtesy NFL.com

From 2004-2012 the Cowboys utilized a different 'fauxback' uniform. This one was basically a navy version of the Cowboys' first uniforms worn from 1960-63 replacing the royal blue that was used back then.

Anyways, I got to thinking about how infrequently the Cowboys actually use their gorgeous navy jerseys - rarely more than once or twice per year in recent years. Then I began to wonder...how many teams are there in the League that have never faced the Cowboys in their navy jerseys?

Since the end of the 1963 season, the Cowboys have essentially had the same home and road white and blue combos, with the aforementioned change from royal to navy in 1981. We are talking about 50 years of Dallas Cowboys football!

Here's what I found for teams making the Cowboys wear the regular, non-throwback, non-fauxback, blue jerseys...

Washington (29) - 1964, 1981-94, 1996-2000, 2002-09
                           * - twice in 1982 including NFC Championship Game
St.Louis/Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals (26) - 1964-66, 1970-83, 1989-94, 1997, 2000, 2002
Philadelphia (16) - 1971, 1973, 1980, 1983, 1985-89, 1992-93, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2006-07
                            * - 1980 was the NFC Championship Game
Cleveland (10) - 1964-70, 1979, 1988, 2008
New York Giants (7) - 1980-81, 1983-87
Carolina (5) - 1996, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2012
                   * - both 1996 and 2003 were playoff games
Los Angeles/St.Louis Rams (4) - 1969, 1978, 2008
                                                 * - twice in 1978 including NFC Championship Game
Miami (3) - 1978, 1996, 2007
New Orleans (3) - 1967-68, 1971
Pittsburgh (3) - 1966-67, 1969
San Diego (3) - 1983, 1986, 2013
Tampa Bay (3) - 1990, 2003, 2009
Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts (2) - 1970, 1981
                                                     * - 1970 was Super Bowl V
New England (2) - 2003, 2011
Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans (2) - 1974, 1982
Atlanta (1) - 1989
Buffalo (1) - 1984
Denver (1) - 1980
Houston (1) - 2002
Jacksonville (1) - 2006
New York Jets (1) - 1987
San Francisco (1) - 1979

That's 123 times in about 50 years, averaging a little more than twice per year. This also means that there are nine teams that have never faced the vaunted, navy jerseys. That list will drop to eight should the Cowboys follow through and wear the navy jerseys this Thursday against the Raiders.  Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, Green Bay, Kansas City, Minnesota, and Seattle would remain.

This list could remain intact for a while as most of these teams are not known for wearing white jerseys at home too often. The most likely to do so would probably be Baltimore or maybe Cincinnati. The others, not so likely.

The most the navy/blue jerseys have been worn in a single season is five times in 1983. They have been worn on four occassions in a season ten times (1966, 1978, 1980-82, 1986-87, 1989, 1996, & 2003).

It's odd. Watching Cowboy games in Dallas, when the cameras pan the audience, I usually see a lot more navy jerseys than white. (I actually see the same thing viewing Dolphin home games, too, with their fans opting for the aqua jerseys. Look for it!)

One thing is certain, if it happens, the uniform match-up Thursday afternoon will be a pairing never before seen in the history of regular or post-season NFL games.  Who knows. Maybe wearing these navy jerseys at home will bring the team luck and may start a trend of Dallas wearing them more often at home next year. One can only dream.

Bill Schaefer

***UPDATE***
It seems I beat our Timmy B. to the punch as he was in the middle of organizing the same type of article. He passed on to me the following photo of the last time the Cowboys wore their regular blue jerseys for a home game...December 8, 1963, at the Cotton Bowl, against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Road Blues of the Dallas Cowboys

Most teams have their "road whites" and their home colors.  Even teams like Miami and Cleveland that prefer to wear white at home (and generally have to wear white on the road as most teams do wear color at home) still occasionally break out their color jerseys at home, whether it be for a prime time or otherwise special game.  The Dallas Cowboys are identified with their iconic white uniforms (and the - as one commenter called them - mint pants) but this week they are travelling to Charlotte to play the Carolina Panthers and we will get to see the Cowpokes in the rarely seen blues.   Along with the Dallas blues, we will also be treated to two other of my favorite uniforms, the New England Patriots' red throwbacks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' orange throwbacks.  The Patriots and Bucs have been wearing their throwbacks once a year for the last few years, while the Cowboys have sort of a tradition of not wearing the blues.  So opponents, even those that regularly don't wear white at home sometimes will, just to make the Cowboys wear blue.

Some say it started in the sixties, when they lost two NFL divisional playoffs¹ to the Cleveland Browns in 1968 & 1969, that the blue jerseys were cursed, some say it's even further back than that as they've wore white at home since the beginning of the 1964 season.  They wore blue in Super Bowl V and lost to the Colts.  In the 1978 season, the L.A. Rams wore white at home to force the Cowboys to wear blue in the NFC Championship Game (although the Cowboys prevailed to go to Super Bowl XIII), but Philadelphia also did it two years later, and the Eagles won and went to the Super Bowl.  Through out the 1990s both the Eagles and Redskins wore white at home to force the Cowboys to wear blue, and the Patriots did it last year.  On opening day 2009, the Bucs wore white at home against Dallas, however the Bucs usually wear white at home early in the season.  The Cowboys will wear a blue Thanksgiving throwback at home, however they never wear the regular blue uniforms there.

The Panthers, too, wear white at home early in the season, however by Week 7 we are getting close to the time when the early season WAH teams generally switch to their colors, and one can't help but wonder if the Panthers chose to stick with white this late just to make the Cowboys wear their unlikely blues.  I was actually expecting Baltimore to wear white last week, but they went with their normal colors, allowing the Cowboys to don their favored white unis.

The Cowboys and Panthers have met eleven times, including twice in the postseason.  In their second season, the Panthers surprised the football world by going 12-4 in the NFC West and they hosted Dallas in a divisional playoff and defeated them 26-14 in the two teams' first ever meeting.  The Panthers would beat the Cowboys in Dallas during the 1997 regular season in their second meeting and again in the 2003 playoffs on their way to Super Bowl XXXVIII, but other than those three games, the Cowboys would own this series, having won the other eight meetings, including the last four in a row from 2005 through 2009.

I happen to like the Cowboys' blue uniforms, and wish we would see them more.  They are certainly a favorite among fans, if you look at a crowd shot in new Cowboys stadium, you always see a lot of them, especially considering the team never wears them there.

One factor, we are still in pink breast month, I do think that shade of pink that they NFL has been promoting this month looks good with the Cowboys' dark blues.  This is the first time the Bucs' throwbacks have been worn in October, and I'm not exactly sure how well the creamsicles are going to look with pink accountrements.  We can only hope the Buccaneers follow the 49ers lead and keep the pink trim to a minimum, for I don't think we want too many Bucs' fans gouging their own eyes out.  (Enough of them did that during the final ten games of last season.)

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One last thing I wanted to mention, I came across an interesting thread over at Chris Creamer's Sports Logos site discussing possible throwbacks that teams could wear in 2019 when the NFL celebrates it's 100th anniversary.  There's a lot of interesting cross-franchise concepts that have been suggested, for instance this one of the Cincinnati Bengals as the Dayton Triangles.  I don't agree with all of the executions of them, but all in all it's a pretty neat thread with many neat concepts.  

Check it out here: http://boards.sportslogos.net/topic/89181-nfl-100th-anniversary/

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¹- I initially had those games listed as "Conference Championships", and not "divisional playoffs" because that is how the NFL Record & Fact Book has those games listed: 

Why is that? Is it just because they were at the "final four level" -- wouldn't the pre-merger AFL & NFL League Championship Games correspond to post-merger Conference Championships?

Matching Rivals: Lions & Cowboys

Silver and blues.

Beginning in 1968 the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys had an uncanny resemblance that lasted 10 seasons. They got there from a series of gradual modifications and and one significant color change, then diverged through another series of small changes and the addition of a secondary color palate.

When a football fan thinks of the Detroit Lions, usually two things immediately come to mind: Thanksgiving and Honolulu Blue. Probably cool throwbacks too. Those plain silver helmets and basic medium blue jerseys are one of the NFL's iconic looks, and it has served the Lions well over time, making Detroit's team instantly recognizable, no matter if its Calvin Johnson, Barry Sanders or Doak Walker wearing them. In fact, this uniform served as inspiration for Al Davis when he outfitted his Oakland Raiders in the early 1960's, combining the silver with the West Point Military Academy's black.

The Lions heyday took place in the 1950's, when Bobby Layne's Lions served as a thorn in the side of Paul Brown's Cleveland team, besting them three times for the NFL title. Northwestern stripes were added to the white jersey in 1957, the year of Detroit's last championship team. The NW stripes were added on the blue jersey and socks in 1963, the same season the blue lion appeared on the silver helmet. A pair of blue stripes running down the pants and helmet completed the template for the modern Lions uniform for the next 40 years.

Through the late 60's and early 70's, white gradually became an accent color on the uniform. First as the center stripe on the helmet, then the pants. Eventually white trim bordered the silver numbers and Northwestern stripes on the blue jerseys and socks.

Silver, blue and white were in abundance at the Cotton Bowl in September 1968 when the Lions visited the Dallas Cowboys. Although Detroit saw an opponent that looked strikingly similar - silver pants and helmets with blue and white stripes - that wasn't always the case.

The Dallas NFL franchise was born eight years earlier and they looked quite different than they do today. The Cowboys wore a white helmet with royal blue strips and a star on either side. The jerseys were royal blue with white shoulders also sporting a star. The pants were white too, as silver did not appear until a complete uniform overhaul in 1964. This season the Cowboys began a white-at-home trend that still holds true today (excepting the occasional alternate jersey or throwback uniform.)  Dallas visionary and architect Tex Schramm was behind both decisions, noting that the new silver helmets and pants looked better on color TV, and the hot Texas weather played into their home field advantage. "When the Chicago Bears were over on the sunny side of Texas Stadium wearing those navy blue jerseys, it was about 20 degrees hotter. The visiting team had to sit in the sun and they just cooked."

Showing more symmetry with the Lions, in 1967 the Cowboys joined Detroit as the only NFL teams to annually host a Thanksgiving Day game. When the number of stripes on the Dallas jerseys and socks reduced from three to two, and a blue boarder was added to the helmet star in 1967, the Cowboys were as sharp as Tom Landry in his fedora and their classic look was set. There are the same uniforms Roger Staubach wore as the Cowboys were the NFC's powerhouse team throughout the 1970's, appearing in a then record five Super Bowls.

On the Cowboys march to their first Super Bowl appearance in 1970 they met the Lions in an NFC Divisional Playoff game that statistically seemed more fitting to the leather helmet era. The defenses so dominated the contest that the two teams combined for a mere 21 total first downs and a meager 130 yards passing. A first quarter field goal and fourth quarter safety were all the Cowyboys would need to advance to the first ever NFC Championship Game. As was the case for all five meetings during this era, the Cowboys wore their white jerseys and the Lions their Honolulu blue. 

Beginning in 1978 the Cowboys began subtly alter their appearance. The first change was to the tone of silver used for their pants, to what they called "metallic silver-blue", although the helmets stayed the same. In 1981 the Cowboys made a radical change to their away uniforms, actually introducing a unique color palate. The pants returned to a true tone of silver, but the blue jerseys, socks and pants stripes were now navy blue, and they added the player's uniform number to the hip of the pants.  This new, albeit brief, trend showed up on the home silver-blue pants the following year in 1982 and stayed through 1988. 

The Cowboys white uniform has basically remained consistent up to the present time, while their road uniform has gone through several iterations on progressively darker tomes of blue and striping and number font changes. Alternate jerseys with starred shoulders were also worn during the mid '90's. The Lions changed very little, through the 80's and 90's as well. Silver numbers on the blue jerseys became white in 1982 and the Northwestern stripes were removed from the socks in 1989. For one season they wore blue pants with the white jerseys in 1998. Adding black as an accent color in 2003 (and unfortunately as an alternate jersey in 2005) Detroit diverged from their Thanksgiving counterparts completely.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sep 15 1968 Det @ Dal
Dec 26 1970 Det @ Dal (NFC Divisional Playoff)
Oct 30 1972 Det @ Dal
Oct 6 1975 Det vs Dal
Oct 30 1977 Det @ Dal

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In a couple of weeks we'll be back with a slightly different twist to the "Matching Rivals" series. In 1969 imitation was indeed the highest form of flattery when a coach moved from a successful franchise to a struggling one, and brought his own uniform design with him to help change their fortunes.

Wait, What... Don't Tell Me! I Messed Up Again!

Somehow a week ago on January 15, I messed up, by writing about Super Bowl XIII as being played on January 15, when even in the graphic I had the correct date of January 21, 1979.  The list I was looking at had the calendar year, not the season, so when I saw '1978' I should have realized it was the '1977' season's Super Bowl that was played on that day.

So, nonetheless, since the On This Day... for January 21st Super Bowl has already been added to the database, we shall today cover the Super Bowl from the day that we missed, Super Bowl XII.

Super Bowl XII
by Rob Holecko

America's Team the Dallas Cowboys captured their second Vince Lombardi trophy on January 15, 1978 when they defeated the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII 27 to 10.  The summary from Wikipedia:

Super Bowl XII was an American football game played on January 15, 1978 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion following the 1977 regular season. It was the first Super Bowl played inside a domed stadium.

The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys (15-2) defeated the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos (14-3), 27–10. The Cowboys defensive team dominated most of the game, forcing 8 turnovers and allowing only 8 pass completions by the Broncos for just 61 yards.

For the first and only time, two players won Super Bowl MVP honors: defensive tackle Randy White and defensive end Harvey Martin. For White, the honor was won on his 25th birthday. This was also the first time that a defensive lineman was named as the Super Bowl MVP.

We are proud to add this game to our database, and you can see it along with other Super Bowls that have been added on our new Super Bowl page.

Visit us tomorrow here at the Gridiron Uniform Database Blog where we'll preview the AFC and NFC Championships and also take a look back at a couple great Super Bowls from the 1980s played on January 22.

The Stupor Bowl

The Stupor Bowl
by Rob Holecko

Yesterday we told you about America's Team, the Dallas Cowboys, and how their dynasty began with a Super Bowl VI win over the Dolphins.  Well, they made it to the Super Bowl the year before that as well, losing to the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl V, forty-one years ago today.

Super Bowl V was the first Super Bowl played after the completion of the AFL-NFL Merger. As per the merger agreement, all 26 AFL and NFL teams were divided into 2 conferences with 13 teams in each of them. The NFL's Colts, the Cleveland Browns, and the Pittsburgh Steelers agreed to join the 10 AFL teams to form the AFC. The remaining 13 NFL teams formed the NFC. This explains why the Colts represented the NFL in Super Bowl III, but not the NFC for Super Bowl V.

Super Bowl V was a sloppy, poorly executed display of football.   The game is sometimes called the "Blunder Bowl" or the "Stupor Bowl" because it was filled with poor play, penalties, turnovers, and officiating miscues. The two teams committed a Super Bowl record 11 combined turnovers in the game, and the Colts' 7 turnovers are currently the most ever committed by a winning team in a Super Bowl. Dallas also set a Super Bowl record with 10 penalties, costing them 133 yards. Bubba Smith refused to wear his Super Bowl V ring because of the "sloppy" play.

It was finally settled with five seconds left when Colts rookie kicker Jim O'Brien kicked a 32-yard field goal. In order to win the game, Baltimore had to overcome a 13–6 deficit at the half, losing their starting quarterback in the second quarter.

It is also the only Super Bowl in which the Most Valuable Player Award was given to a member of the losing team: Cowboys Linebacker Chuck Howley, who intercepted two passes. Sacks and tackles were not yet recorded. It was the first time a QB didn't win the award. Howley refused to accept the award because it was meaningless to him after his team lost.

Even though it is one of the least memorable Super Bowls, in fact it is possibly the Millard Fillmore of Super Bowls, we are still proud to add it to our database of matchups.

America's Team

America's Team
by Rob Holecko

 Forty years ago today, the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VI at Tulane Stadium in  New Orleans.  After coming up short in NFL Championships to the Green Bay Packers and losing a sloppy Super Bowl V to the Colts the year before, the Cowboys finally got a championship for the man in the fedora, Tom Landry.  They would add another six years later against the Broncos, and while they would possibly be remembered as the foil of the team of the 70s, the Steelers, losing twice to them in Super Bowls, the 70s Cowboys, America's Team could make an argument for being the team of that decade as well.  They appeared in one more Super Bowl than Pittsburgh, and while (2-3) is worse than (4-0), their period of excellence lasted from 1966 through 1981, much longer than the Steelers.  The 1981 NFC Championship was that team's swan song, as they would fall into mediocrity in the mid-1980s, before Jerry Jones would buy the team, hire Jimmy Johnson and build a new, 1990s dynasty.

Super Bowl VI would be the last game the Dolphins would lose before going undefeated the following year and winning the next two Super Bowls.

We are proud to add Super Bowl VI to our database of game matchups included here at the Gridiron Uniform Database.

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The last time the Ravens won a home
playoff game, a 2000 Wild Card
game against the Broncos, they
went on to win Super Bowl XXXV.

Yesterday, the New York Giants went into Lambeau Field and defeated the #1 seed 15-1 Green Bay Packers, setting up a 1990 NFC Championship Game rematch, one previewed by bigbluelarry a few days ago.  The Giants outplayed the Packers in every phase of the game, and even overcame a few bad calls that went in the Packers favor.  They are hot right now, similar to 2007, when they upset the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.  But they will face a strong 49er team that also played a great game Saturday beating the Saints.  It should be a great game Sunday.

In the AFC, the Ravens won their first home playoff game in eleven years, defeating the Texans and will face the Patriots next Sunday in the AFC Championship.  The Ravens will face a tough task against a Patriots team that, despite a below-league-average-defense, appears to be hitting on all cylinders.

Will Super Bowl XLVI be a Super Bowl XLII rematch?  Or how about "The Harbaugh Bowl"?  Or maybe a Super Bowl XXXV rematch between the Ravens and Giants.  Or how about Tom Brady going for his fourth Super Bowl to tie Bradshaw and Montana against Montana's team, the 49ers.

Any of the four combinations that could reach the Super Bowl look to be an exciting matchup, by after watching that game yesterday, I'd have to say the Giants are the hottest team right now, and as of now, I pick it's going to be the Giants over the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI.  Later this week Bill and Tim will be bringing you their picks as well.

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Speaking of past great NFC Championships, yesterday was the 17th anniversary of the 1994 NFC Championship.  This was the third straight NFC Title game featuring these two teams.  It was also the first NFC Championship on FOX.

1994 was the NFL's 75th anniversary season, and many teams wore throwback uniforms during the year, the 49ers and Cowboys in this game included.  The Cowboys were two-time defending Super Bowl champions, but this time the 49ers got the best of them and defeated Dallas 38-28, and went on to the Super Bowl and defeated the Chargers, and Steve Young finally got the monkey of the back.
 

This game was requested by Villaroman Santos, and we are proud to add it to our database as well.  If you would like to request any game to be added, be feel free to email us.

Tony Dorsett Ninety-Nine Yard Touchdown

Tony Dorsett Ninety-Nine Yard Touchdown
by Rob Holecko

On This Day... twenty-nine years ago Tony Dorsett of the Dallas Cowboys ran the length of the field for a 99 yard touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings on the season finale of Monday Night Football.  Because of the strike-shortened season, the regular season went into January for the first time...

More to come on this exciting game later today as we add this game to our database of past NFL matchups.

The Ice Bowl

The Ice Bowl
by Rob Holecko

On This Day... 44 years ago, December 31, 1967, what some would say the greatest game ever (1958 Colts-Giants NFL Championship not withstanding) was played in cold frigid conditions.  The Cowboys and Packers met for the NFL title for the second year in a row, and the second time in the calendar year.  On January 1, they met for the 1966 title at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, and now on the last day of the year they again met for the 1967 title.  This would be the Packers defining moment of their 1960s dynasty.  It would be their fifth NFL title in seven years, and their eleventh overall, having previously won six titles in an earlier era, from 1929 through 1944.

From the Pro Football Hall of Fame's website, here is the write-up of the game:

Pro football fans in Green Bay, Wisconsin have always been recognized as a loyal and hearty bunch. But one wouldn’t have faulted even the most loyal "Packer Backer" if he’d decided not to attend the 1967 NFL Championship game between the Packers and Dallas Cowboys. Played at Lambeau Field on December 31, the temperature at game time registered a frigid 13 degrees below zero. Nonetheless, more than 50,000 parka-clad fans braved the elements that New Year’s Eve and watched in awe as the Packers claimed their third consecutive NFL title, with a 21-17 victory.

From the start, Green Bay fans felt their team had a distinct advantage over the warm-weather Cowboys, After all, the Packers lived and practiced in the cold Wisconsin climate. Green Bay’s early 14-0 lead probably convinced fans that they were right. However, the severe weather affected the Packers too. Dallas scored a touchdown and a field goal after two Packer fumbles and added a second touchdown in the fourth quarter. Suddenly, with 4:50 left in the game the Packers were behind, 17-14.

The Packers literally and figuratively "kept their cool." Behind the leadership of future Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr, they marched down field. With sixteen seconds remaining and the temperature down to eighteen below zero, the Packers found themselves about two feet away from victory. Starr called time out. The field was like a sheet of ice. The two previous running plays had gone nowhere. With no time outs left, a running play seemed totally out of the question. A completed pass surely would win it. Even an incomplete pass would at least stop the clock so the Packers could set up a field goal to tie the game and send it into overtime. After consulting with Packers coach Vince Lombardi, Starr returned to the huddle.

Starr took the snap from center Ken Bowman. Bowman and guard Jerry Kramer combined to take out Dallas tackle Jethro Pugh. With Pugh out of the way, Starr surprised everyone and dove over for the score. "We had run out of ideas," Starr said of the play. However, Lombardi put it another way, "We gambled and we won."

We are proud to add this remarkable game to our database of head-to-head matchups in the Gridiron Uniform Database.  So for the final time in 2011, we at the Gridiron Uniform Database will bid you adieu and look forward to seeing you next year, with more head-to-head matchups, more weekly uniform rankings, more On This Day... and much, much more to be added to the database in 2012.

Record Setting Night

Record Setting Night
by Rob Holecko

Last night, Saints QB Drew Brees broke Dan Marino's 1984 single-season passing mark of 5,084 yards on his final throw of the night, a touchdown that gave him 5,087 yards for the season, with one more game still to play.  The Saints beat the Falcons and clinched the NFC South title.

Throughout the night, during the telecast they referred to the record, giving a countdown of how many yards Brees needed.  They flashed back to 1984 and the Monday Night game at the end of the year against the Cowboys when Marino set the record.  They talked about the evolution of the record, from Sammy Baugh and John Unitas, and then in 1967, in the AFL, Joe Namath became the first to pass for 4,000 yards in a season.  Dan Fouts broke that record three consecutive years, in 1979, 1980 and 1981, and then Marino in 1984 passed for 5,084, a record that has stood since then.

In 2008, Brees got close to breaking the record a first time, throwing an incomplete pass on the final play of the season against the Carolina Panthers and winding up at 5,069 yards.

But this time he closed the deal, and he'll get to add to it next week, possibly they won't rest their starters in the season finale as the Saints still have a chance at a first-round bye, if they can win although they'll need the 49ers to lose to the Rams, possibly a tall order.

It was an exciting night in the Louisiana Superdome Allstate Car Carriers Big Old Round Building Mercedes Benz Superdome, possibly the biggest since the 2009 Super Bowl run, a with it being a Monday Night against the Falcons, it was reminiscent of the 2006 Week 3 game against the MNF Falcons when the Saints re-opened the dome after losing the 2005 season to Hurricane Katrina.

The Saints that year, after a dismal 2005 season went all the way to the NFC Championship game where they lost to the Bears, and three years later won Super Bowl XLIV.

Tom Brady has 4,897 yards going into his finale against Buffalo, so he also has an outside chance of passing 5,000 yards and Marino's mark.

Next week Brees also has a chance of passing Peyton Manning's record of 450 completions in a season, he finished last night with 440.

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"On This Day..."

Last week all the talk (in and around New York anyway) was the Giants-Jets game, but today we will look back to another day where the focus of the NFL was all on the New York teams.  On December 27, 1981, the two NFL Wild Card games were played as the Bills and the Jets faced off at Shea stadium in the early AFC game, and the Giants and Eagles faced off in the NFC game in Philadelphia.

Here's a quick summary of this game from Wikipedia:

Bills defensive back Bill Simpson's interception at the Buffalo 1-yard line with 2 seconds left in the game preserved a 31-27 victory and gave Buffalo their first playoff win since 1965.

The Bills jumped to a 24-0 lead by the second quarter. First New York's Bruce Harper fumbled the opening kickoff while being tackled by Ervin Parker, and Charles Romes returned the ball 26-yards to the end zone. Then after a punt, quarterback Joe Ferguson completed a 50-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Frank Lewis, while interceptions by Simpson and linebacker Phil Villapiano led to a 29-yard field goal by Nick Mike-Mayer and a 26-yard scoring reception by Lewis. However, Jets quarterback Richard Todd threw a 30-yard touchdown to tight end Mickey Shuler, and kicker Pat Leahy added two field goals to cut Buffalo's lead, 24-13.
With about 10 minutes left in the game, running back Joe Cribbs ran for a 45-yard touchdown, increasing the Bills lead to 31-13. But Todd then led the Jets 80 yards in 8 plays and completed a 30-yard touchdown to Bobby Jones. Then after forcing a punt, New York drove for another score, aided by a pass interference call against Bills defensive back Mario Clark that nullified an interception. Kevin Long finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to cut the score to 31-27. The Jets got the ball back with 2:36 remaining and then drove 69 yards to the Buffalo 11-yard line, aided by a holding penalty that wiped out an interception by defensive back Steve Freeman. However, Simpson's interception at the 1-yard line halted New York's comeback with 2 seconds left.

Simpson recorded 2 interceptions, while Lewis caught 7 passes for a franchise postseason record 158 yards and 2 touchdowns. Shuler caught 6 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown. Todd threw for 377 yards, while Ferguson threw for 268. Both quarterbacks threw 2 touchdowns and were intercepted four times.

Larry Schmit reports to us in the forum that in this game the Bills' Joe Cribbs wore a gray facemask, while the other Bills wore the correct white facemasks. (see pictures)  Thanks, Larry.

In the other game, the Giants and Eagles faced off.  Here's the Wikipedia run down of that game:

The Giants jumped to a 20-0 lead in the first quarter, but had to withstand an Eagles comeback at the end to hold on to a 27-21 win. In the first quarter, Eagles kick/punt returner Wally Henry fumbled a punt and Beasley Reece recovered the ball at the Philadelphia 26-yard line. A few plays later, quarterback Scott Brunner then threw a 9-yard touchdown to running back Leon Bright (the extra point attempt failed). Later in the first period, Brunner threw a 10-yard touchdown to wide receiver John Mistler, Henry then fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Mark Haynes recovered the ball in the end zone to give New York a 20-0 lead.

In the second quarter, Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski completed a 15-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Harold Carmichael, but it was countered by Brunner's 22-yard touchdown to wide receiver Tom Mullady to give the Giants a 27-7 halftime lead. However, New York was shut out in the second half, while the Eagles opened the third period by marching 82 yards to score on running back Wilbert Montgomery's 6-yard rushing touchdown. Montgomery added another touchdown with 2:51 left in the game, but the Giants were able to run out the rest of the clock to preserve the victory. It marked the Giants first post season victory since 1956.

The Bills and the Giants both scored their first post-season victories in decades that day, and while they would both go on to lose to the eventual Super Bowl participants, the 49ers and the Bengals, the following week, for one day the New York teams were the center of the football world.

Back When A Bucs' Primetime Game Was Exciting

For those of you who watched the Bucs dismal performance on NFL Network against the Cowboys last night (not talking to those of you who have Time Warner or Bright House) it may seem like a long time since the Bucs played an exciting primetime game.  Earlier this year the Bucs beat the Colts on Monday Night Football, and while a win is a win (and was much better for Buccaneers' fans than the historical 2003 MNF collapse to the same Colts) it was a boring game.  But if we go back eleven years to a Monday Night game between the Bucs and the Rams, you will recall one of the most exciting primetime games in recent memory, as we go... "On This Day..." back to 2000:

"On This Day..."
On December 18, 2000, the Bucs and Rams played a thrilling Monday Night game, so good in fact, the fact that Dennis Miller was announcing it didn't even detract from it.  In the crowded NFC playoff chase, the two teams from the previous year's NFC Championship met in a game they both needed.  The winner would clinch a spot, while the loser would be in danger of missing the playoffs altogether.   Trailing 35-31, with under 2:00 to play, RB Warrick Dunn caught a screen pass and was wrapped up fifteen yards behind the line of scrimmage on a key third down and it seemed like the Bucs hopes were dwindling.  Just before being whistled down, however, Dunn lateralled the ball back to QB Shaun King who improbably ran thirty yards for a first down, and the Bucs drove down the field for the winning score.

The Bucs went on to miss a field goal on Christmas Eve at Lambeau Field the following week and had to settle for a wild card, where they lost to the Eagles, and the Rams beat the Saints the next week and made the playoffs anyway, but then lost to the Saints in the first round.  The Rams made it back to the Super Bowl the next year, losing to the Patriots, while the Bucs (after another wild card loss to the Eagles after the 2001 season, fired Tony Dungy and hired Jon Gruden and got their Lombardi trophy the following year.)  But for one exciting December night in 2000, these two teams played an epic MNF battle.

To read a complete recap of the game, click here.

We are proud to add this historic Monday Night football game from eleven years ago today to our matchup database.

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Speaking of yesterday's dismal Bucs-Cowboys game (well, dismal if you are a Bucs' fan anyway), what was up with the bias on the NFL Network's coverage?  While this was the fourth consecutive year that the Cowboys have been on NFLN's Saturday Night special broadcast, this was the first time the Bucs have ever been on NFL Network, I believe.  It would have been a perfect time for them to showcase the Bucs.  I know they are playing awful -- in the midst of a seven-game (now eight-game) losing streak, but that was no excuse for the bias-ness of the NFL Network's coverage.  Yesterday on their network they aired, leading up to the game: "America's Game: 1992 Cowboys", "America's Game: 1995 Cowboys", a replay of the Cowboys-49ers game from earlier this year, "Tom Landry: A Football Life", and Top Ten Dallas Cowboys of All-Time.   C'mon, is this a national network, or am I watching a local Dallas-Fort Worth station?  They could have at least mixed in an "America's Game: 2002 Buccaneers" instead of 10 straight hours of this Cowboys-love fest.  The game was all-Cowboys, at least they could have shown the Bucs a little love during the programming all day leading up to it.  Even FOX News thinks that violates equal time guidelines!  Even ESPN is less biased when showing a Red Sox-Yankees game!

And then to top it all off, they rubbed salt in the wound at halftime, the Bucs were trailing 28-0, and they put the Bucs' score not just as "0", but "00":

What, one "zero" wasn't enough?