The Gridiron Uniform Database

Week 14 Weekly Uniform Rankings

Timmy B back atcha. Thanks to Rob for pinch-hitting for me while I was "on assignment." Much appreciated. We are now hitting the home stretch for 2012. I thought I'd list those teams that - so far - appear to have shelved some uni elements for 2012:

Cardinals: red pants. Quite disappointing.
Bears: orange pants. Then again, I'm not sure they actually have these.
Browns: brown pants. Think I heard that they still have these available, but thankfully, have kep them in the closet.
Broncos: white pants with orange stripes.
Texans: red pants.
Dolphins: aqua pants. Far and away the biggest disappointment of 2012.
Vikings: purple pants (on the shelf since Week 10 of 2010. And the throwbacks.
Seahawks: gray jersey alternates. Perhaps because the NFL doesn't know how to treat them...a dark jersey or a white/light top?
Buccaneers: white pants. Sad, because the pewter/red/white/black combo is bangin.

With that, let get to business:

Note that for this week and next week, ALL teams are sporting commemorative patches for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's 50th Anniversary. These will not be noted below.

#16: Cardinals-Seahawks: ARZ in all white, SEA in all navy. Too much mono. This game practically begged for some red pants and gray pants. But the Cardinals locking the red pants in the equipment trunk for 2012 and the Seahawks insisting on the mono-navy for all home games leaves me so glum.

#15: Broncos-Raiders: DEN in all white, OAK in black/silver. Would like to see a little more orange here, but a matchup seen every season since 1997, hasn't yet dulled my senses.

#14: Falcons-Panthers: ATL in the all white, CAR in black/silver. As you likely know by now, the Falcons all white road look bores me, and after the electric all black look of the Panthers a few weeks back, this outfit is a let down. I think changing the socks from black to carolina blue would juice this up loads.

#13: Dolphins-49ers: MIA in all white, SF in red/gold. OK, we know where I stand with the Dolphins. The Niners, looking their usual radiant self in bright scarlet and boss gold just can't do it alone with the Dolphins in all whitey, then.

#12: Eagles-Buccaneers: PHI in all white, TB in red/pewter. The wrong teams in the wrong pants. Put the Eagles in green pants and the Bucs in white pants, and you might have this week's winner. BUT...noo. So this becomes a fair-middlin matchup.

#11: Jets-Jaguars: NYJ in white/green, JAX in all black. Jets rock the brilliant white-green combo for the first time in 2012 and it is so long overdue, and trust me, it is desparately needed against the Jags' all black shame. Saves this from certain bottom of the heapism.

#10: Rams-Bills: STL in all navy, BUF in all throwback white. Bills going WAH again courtesy of the 60's era throwbacks. Rams going with the best they could do, all navy. The Bills all white throwbacks doesn't compare to their recent blue throwbacks. Having said that, this is OK, but not a disaster.

#9: Saints-Giants: NO in white/black, NYG in blue/gray. Don't get me wrong, I really like the Saints black slacks. But now and then, we do need to see the gold trousers, too. This game marks - amazingly - the 10th straight week of the Saints in black. Matched up against the Giants standard, it still works well.

#8: Ravens-Redskins: BAL in white/black, WSH in burgundy/yellow. Really, not that bad. Apart from the mandated white (Ravens white jerseys), rather nice. Black with gold and purple trim, and burgundy with yellow. I think this one is a nifty matchup.

#7: Texans-Patriots: HOU in white/navy, NE in navy/silver. The navy pants of the Texans look darker than the navy jerseys of the Patriots. Actually, despite the similar color motifs of these two, the design elements carry this one off. All the navy makes the red jersey numbers of the Texans jump. And the Patriots silver stands out a little more than normal.

#6: Titans-Colts: TEN in white/columbia blue, IND in blue/white. A lot of blue and a lot of white. Unlike the last time these two got it on though, I am liking this matchup mucho. The right amount of the various shades of blue; columbia, straight and navy that compliment rather than hamper.

#5: Lions-Packers: DET in white/silver, GB in green/yellow. Traditional to be sure, but a nice standard to continue. Silver, yellow, honolulu, green, and a touch of black. When the Pack go green as here, this matchup will never hit the bottom.

#4: Bears-Vikings: CHI in white/navy, MIN in purple/white. Playing for the second time in three weeks, no real surprises on the clothing end. I would have liked the Vikes to pop out the purple pants here. Wow, it would have been a stunner. But still a nice visual with navy, purple, orange and yellow.

#3: Chargers-Steelers: SD in white/navy, PIT in black/yellow. I always liked this uni matchup and this time it's no different. plenty of old-school black and a bit of new school navy. Certainly in the top half of the week's matchups.

#2: Cowboys-Bengals: DAL in standard white/mint, CIN in alternate orange/white. Bengals break out the orange jerseys and socks. Might have been a good idea to unleash the black pants with the orange for a knockout punch. Still, the orange plays off the Cowboy myriad of shades of blue in a very good way.

#1: Chiefs-Browns: KC in white/red, CLE in brown/white. This one is sweet. Chiefs red pants and the orange, brown and white of the Browns is a beauty. That red/orange/yellow palette is stunning.

Week 13 Weekly Uniform Rankings

Tim's been a little busy this week, so Rob here pinch-hitting. My uniform sensibilities may not be exactly the same as Tim's, but I'll give it my best. As Tim says, this is only one man's impression of how the games looked to me this week, and may rank entirely differently if viewed at a different time. One thing that is one of my pet peeves when it comes to uniforms is I prefer pants and jerseys to contrast (no mono-looks) and I hate when both teams wear the same color pants. The perfect matchup for me is a classic looking color-over-white for the home team and white-over-color for the road. And as a avowed Bucs fans, I hate the Bucs' pewter pants, and really like the red-over-white look for them, but if they went back to orange full-time, I wouldn't hate that either.

First of all lets acknowledge the dreadful news out of Kansas City. Our heart goes out to all affected by what happened there. A lot of people (media pundits and what-not) compared the Chiefs playing Sunday with the NFL's decision to play after JFK's assassination 49 years ago, but I think that no one can criticize the Chiefs for their decision to play. Apparently they left the decision up to the team captains and if the team wanted to play and they felt that it helped them take their minds off of the tragedy for a few hours, I believe no one outside of the organization has any place in telling them otherwise. Sam thing if they had decided not to play, as well. With that being said, let's go on to the rankings....

#16. Jaguars-Bills: Both teams in white pants and a boring mono-white look from the Jags, means that even with the Bills' new unis, this matchup came in last.

#15. Texans-Titans: Both teams in dark blue pants drop this down in the rankings, and the Titans using only the two combos they've used this year (as opposed to as many as seven in 2006) make this matchup less than stellar.

#14. Colts-Lions: Well at least this matchup had contrasting pants, and I can't really fault either team -- it was the Colts' standard road fare against the Lions' standard home fare, so no surprises here. It just was kinda blah to me.

#13. Cardinals-Jets: Thirteen out of sixteen is probably three higher than this game would rank if you ranked it on the merits of the game rather than the uniforms. None-the-less, this game could have looked better if Cards wore red pants, instead of the mono-white.... Come to think of it this game would have been better in 1991 both uniform wise and QB wise with Ken O'Brien vs Timm Rosenbach, too.

#12. Bengals-Chargers: Two teams not really going anywhere out of the AFC (even if the Bengals grab a Wild Card, it'll be one-and-down) both wearing white pants in a late start that not much of the nation saw. Ho-hum.

#11. Panthers-Chiefs: Another game with both teams wearing white (don'tcha think against a color-over-white home team, Carolina would look better in the silver pants like they wore once at Indy in 1998?) Even with a good-looking classic Chiefs uniforms, this matchup still misses out on the top ten.

#10. Seahawks-Bears: I actually like the Seahawks mono-white look (preferably against a dark-colored pantsed team, however) and while I wouldn't have wanted the Bears to go mono-navy to accomodate them, I think this game would have looked great in Seahawks white-over-navy.

#9. Saints-Falcons: The Falcons went throwback on Thursday night, but due to the Saints over doing the white-over-black this year, this matchup comes in at #9. I like this outfit of the Saints, but not every week. I like this Falcons throwback, but for the fourth year in a row, it no longer is a "blast from the past" I'd like to see a red-helmet gray-pants 1981 Steve Bartkowski era throwback from them in the future.

#8. Vikings-Packers: What can one say about the classic Packers' green-over-yellow at Lambeau. It even makes the Vikings look good in mono-white, although had they gone with the purple pants (sorry Paul Lukas), this matchup may have been even a slot or two higher.

#7. Patriots-Dolphins: Just what is expected these days from these two teams. The Patriots (outside of an occasional Pat The Patriot throwback) never stray from their standard, and the Dolphins are apparently allergic to their aqua pants this year.

#6. Eagles-Cowboys: Another typical look, in fact we usually see this one twice a year, since the Cowboys always wear white at home. I guess unless they meet on Thanksgiving or the Eagles man-up and wear white at home like Vermeil and company did in the 1981 NFC Championship Game to force the cowpokes into their under-rated blue duds. Or maybe the NFL will schedule Dallas to play at Philly in September one of these years and they'll go white at home for weather's sake. Otherwise it's more of the same to come in this divisional matchup.

#5. Steelers-Ravens: Call me crazy, but I like the Ravens' black alt (when paired with white pants, that is) and against the Steelers' road unis, this game looked good! Even if I still haven't forgiven the Steelers for going to the slanty-numbers fifteen years ago.

#4. Buccaneers-Broncos: For two teams that both used to wear orange at home, this is the first game between these two with an orange jersey since they played in Denver in 1996 on Sunday Night TNT. (When the Broncs had their old orange jerseys and the Bucs wore orange pants.) This game looked good too, as sharp as a Peyton Manning touchdown pass.

#3. 49ers-Rams: A couple Rams' throwback snafus aside, this game looked good as well. It's good to see the Rams in their true colors again, the only thing better would have been to have played this game outdoors, like in Anaheim or even the L.A. Coliseum.

#2. Browns-Raiders: Another classic matchup, again the Raiders in their silver pants redeems the Browns all-white. Although, personally I prefer the Brian Sipe-era orange pants, I can see the merits of this classic look, both for the Browns and the Raiders.

...and that leaves as our number one matchup for this week...

#1. Giants-Redskins: This was a great looking game... the Giants in their road white-over-gray, the 'Skins in the maroon-over-yellow. The colors were vibrant, the game was under the lights, it was an exciting game with RGIII playing like Michael Vick did in this very stadium a couple years ago on MNF, throwing and running for scores, before Michael Vick started playing like Jeff Blake.

Well, there it is.... Tim should be back next week with Week 14's rankings, and we'll see how he likes the Hall Of Fame patches all the NFL teams will be wearing this week and next.

Week 12 Weekly Uniform Rankings

So the end of pro football's longest weekend has come. Here then, are the rankings:

#16. Bills-Colts: BUF in all white, IND in blue/white. The Bills blue pants would have been a big plus for this matchup. Would have given a near perfect balance of blues and whites. But the Bills go all white against the Colts standard blue jersey and white pants. No. Darn. Downgrade.

#15. Titans-Jaguars: TEN in white/columbia blue, JAX in all black. Well, here come the Jags, all dressed in black. The Titans respond in white and light blue. Not one of the better ones. Not much else to say here.

#14. Broncos-Chiefs: DEN in all white, KC in red/white. No surprises whatsoever here. That doesn't make this a bad matchup, it's not exceptional either. But, that brilliant Chief red jerseys and the Broncos blue trimmed whites is good standard fare.

#13. Panthers-Eagles: CAR in all white, PHI in green/white. This could have been a wild one had the Panthers gone with black pants and/or the Eagles rocked some green trousers. But the two play it close to the vest for a Monday night. While the white pants worn by both sides don't hurt this matchup, it doesn't necessarily help, either.

#12. Vikings-Bears: MIN in all white, CHI in navy/white. Another predictable set-up. Traditional. While white dominates here, the navy, purple, yellow and orange gives a colorful trim to the scene.

#11. Raiders-Bengals: OAK in white/silver, CIN in black/white. I must give the Bengals credit. Could have gone all black and that - I believe - would have been a bad move here. This makes the Raiders silver helmet and pants shine a bit more. Better than I would have expected.

#10. Falcons-Buccaneers: ATL in all white, TB in red/pewter. The Bucs' red jerseys really pumps this one up against the rather blah all whites of the Falcons. I have always liked the Bucs red jerseys, which have basically been unchanged since the Bucs 1997 overhaul. This matchup is where it saves the day.

#9. Seahawks-Dolphins: SEA in navy/gray, MIA in all white. Good on ya, Seahawks! Going with the gray pants actually adds a little spark to this one that not even the sprinklers could dampen. The Seahawks gray pants do appear to be following a pattern of being worn for all the Seahawks road games, while the navy pants are saved for the home games. The Dolphins stay in their all white homes.

#8. 49ers-Saints: SF in white/gold, NO in black/black. Eight games in a row for the Saints in black pants. And this is a good thing. Offsets a gold rush with just that right amount of auric. The Niners red trim adds just the right touch. Nice one.

#7. Texans-Lions: HOU in white/navy, DET in honolulu blue/silver. No Lions throwbacks, and that's probably just as well as the Texans really don't have any. While this was a rather blue encounter, it was a very good blue one. Nice tints of the blue coupled with silver and red accoutrements made this a good prelude to a Thanksgiving feast.

#6. Patriots-Jets: NE in white/navy. NYJ in green/green. While this game turned into a farce, the uni matchup was anything but. For the first (and I hope, not the last) time, the Jets bust out the green pants. This gives this game a much needed boost of color. Looked really sweet from these eyes, and that's all that matters!

#5. Packers-Giants: GB in white/yellow, NYG in blue/gray. The two rivals matchup well with varying colors. Gray, blue, red, green, yellow. One of the better ones for Week 12.

#4. Ravens-Chargers: BAL in white/black, SD in alternate powder blue/white. The Chargers wearin' of the powders always rachets up their game in the rankings. It's just such a good looking outfit in my eyes. Ravens in white jerseys and black pants do add a tad to the proceedings, but it's the Chargers who take center stage here.

#3. Steelers-Browns: PIT in white/yellow, CLE in brown/white. For many years, these rivals played with the Browns normally in all white with the Steelers in black jerseys and yellow pants. But when the role reverses and the Steelers wear white and the Browns wear brown, to me it is very eye appealing. It just opens up an autumnal array of color; black, orange, yellow, brown. Pumpkin pie goes well with this matchup!

#2. Redskins-Cowboys: WSH in white/yellow, DAL in throwback dark blue/white. This is a bit on the splendid side. Redskins whip out the yellow pants and the Cowboys rock their annual ode to the team's origins in blue and white. Because of this, of course, the Cowboys wear dark at home. Always a plus. One of the better matchups for the week.

#1. Rams-Cardinals: STL in white/dark blue, ARZ in red/white. As long as one team went with dark pants, it would be a plus for me. And the Rams obliged. Come to think of it, they were the right team. I have been moaning about the Cardinals not breaking out red pants all season long. Not this time. This is a plus matchup. A perfect blend.

A Head-to-Head History: The Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints

The Falcons and Saints joined the NFL a year apart during the transitional, pre-merger phase of the league. Prior to Atlanta joining in 1966 and New Orleans in 1967, the southernmost team on the coast had been in Washington DC. They became natural rivals, as bus loads of fans venture on seven-hour road trip between the cities when they play one another. A further non-geographic bond is the fact that the franchises share the same all-time leading scorer - Morten Andersen (New Orleans 1982 - 1994, 1,318 points; Atlanta 1995 - 2000, 2006 - 2007; 806 points.)

Although they currently reside in the NFC South Division, the Dixie Rivalry began in the post-merger NFL's NFC West in 1970. They usually battled with one another to stay out of the division's basement, as the Rams and 49'ers more often that not finished at the top. Prior to 1970 the Falcons resided in the NFL Coastal Division while the Saints rotated between the Capital and Century Divisions.

Like most expansion teams, the Falcons and Saints struggled on the field with roster mostly stocked with young players and veteran cast-offs, as there were no quick fixes available via free agency. The first meeting between the teams took place in Week 11 of the 1967 season, where the 1-8-1 Falcons visited the 1-9 Saints in Tulane Stadium. Billy Kilmer lead New Orleans on a touchdown drive in the fourth quarter for a 24-20 win. Two minute drives and comeback victories would become a recurring theme over the years.

That was not the case in 1973 though. In the midst of a nine-game win streak against their Southern rivals, the Falcons set a team record for points in a remarkable one-sided rout. After the end of a 0-0 first quarter, Atlanta went on a scoring rampage that saw them rack up 62 points. The Falcon offense was unstoppable, moving the chains with 32 first downs on the strength of 218 rushing yards, while the Saints offense was error prone, turning the ball over eight times, including five interceptions by Archie Manning.

The balance of the 70's saw the rivalry achieve competitive balance, with many of the signature moments occurring in New Orleans Super Dome. In 1978 Atlanta became the first of the two teams to qualify for the post season, and a signature win over the Saints in November helped them get there. The 5-5 Saints carried a 17-6 late into the fourth quarter against the 6-4 Falcons. Atlanta quarterback Steve Bartkowski lead the Falcons on a touchdown drive that closed the gap to 17-13 with 0:57 on the clock. After recovering the attempted on-sides kick, New Orleans attempted to run out the clock. Coach Dick Nolan elected to run a play on fourth-and-two, but halfback Chuck Muncie was stopped short of the line to gain and the Atlanta offense came back onto the field with 19 seconds left. Bartkowski lined up under center with three receivers split out wide to the right of the formation. The Saints were deployed in a prevent package featuring seven defensive backs. Bartkowski heaved a desperation pass toward the end zone, where his receivers attempted to get under the pass in heavy traffic. At least a dozen hands from both teams reached up to either grab or bat the ball down, but Falcon receiver Alfred Jenkins came away with possession off a tip, avoided several defenders and crossed the goal line for the decisive and dramatic 57-yard score. The "Big Ben" play lead highlight programs across the country and the momentum seizing win not only propelled Atlanta on a playoff run, they produced a win over the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card round before losing to the eventual NFC Champion Dallas Cowboys in the Divisional playoffs.

The schedule makers didn't do the New Orleans faithful any favors by schedule a visit from Atlanta on opening day the following season. The back-and-forth shootout saw the teams combine for over 1,000 yards of offense, with stars from both teams rack up impressive offensive numbers: Muncie and Atlanta rookie William Andrews each eclipsed 160 rushing yards, Jenkins had seven catches and a touchdown for the Falcons, while Wes Chandler produced 205 yards on just six catches, including a 40-yard score on an option pass from Muncie. Late in the game, then into overtime, New Orleans rookie kicker/punter Russel Erxleben experienced the highs and lows of his dual profession. Manning lead the Saints on a late drive that was capped with Erxleben's 38-yard field goal knotting the score at 34-34 with 44 seconds remaining. Midway through the extra period, Erxleben had the ball snapped over his head in the punt formation from the New Orleans 32 yard line. He scooped it up near his own goal line, then hurried a two-handed pass under pressure into the hands of Falcon James Mayberry who scored from six yards out for the stunning 40-34 win. Atlanta finished the 1979 season a disappointing 6-10, while the Saints recovered somewhat, finishing a then franchise best 8-8.

1991 saw a reversal of fortunes in the NFC West. the Saints finished in first place at 11-5 and the Falcons qualified as a Wild Card at 10-6, marking the first time either the 49'ers or Rams were left out of the post season since 1982. Three second half lead changes were capped by Michael Haynes 61-yard touchdown pass from Chris Miller with 2:41 remaining. New Orleans took possession on their own 17, and advanced to Atlanta's 35 with 1:10 to play. Bobby Hebert's pass was intercepted by Tim McKyer, who lateraled the ball to Deion Sanders, who ran around before lateraling to Joe Fishback who finished the play with an apparent touchdown. Following instant replay, it was determined Sander's exchange with Fishback was a forward pass, disqualifying the touchdown but the Falcons retained possession and ran the clock out. The loss was especially tough for New Orleans to take. Having made the post season three of the previous four seasons, each had ended with a one-game exit without a victory. The Falcons lost the following week to the eventual Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins.

Morten Andersen made one of his final game winning kicks for the Saints against his future team in 1994. The offensive game was remarkable in the fact that New Orleans was able to pull off the victory despite turning the ball over five times. the Falcons were unable to capitalize, despite churning out almost 400 yards of offense, they settled for six Norm Johnson field goals. The kicking duel was settled in the final two minutes of the game. Johnson booted a 30-yard field goal to put Atlanta ahead 32-30 with 1:44 remaining, but Andersen's fifth field goal of the day came from 39-yards out and just 0:08 left on the clock decided the outcome, 33-32.

New Orleans probably regretted letting Andersen leave via free agency following the 1994 season, as he signed with the Atlanta and was directly responsible for a Falcon sweep of the Saints in 1995. During his return to the Super Dome in September, Andersen booted four field goals, including a 21-yarder in overtime for the 24-21 Falcon win. In the December meeting at Georgia Dome, Andersen again was the deciding factor for the Falcons offense, but this time from long range. He set an NFL record with three successful attempts from 50 yards out - 51 and 55 twice - as Atlanta won 19-14.

The most poignant meeting, though albeit not the greatest game, was the Saints return to the Super Dome on September 25, 2006. After spending the 2005 season playing their "home" games at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX and Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, LA in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Saints returned home with a new head coach and quarterback and a 2-0 record. Atlanta was also 2-0, but were unable to match the intensity of the Saints or their fans in the raucous dome. After surrendering a touchdown on a blocked punt, the Falcons managed an Andersen field goal and nothing more. The inspired New Orleans defense dominated, yielding just 10 first downs to Atlanta while holding Michael Vick to 12-31 passing for just 137 yards. Drew Brees' debut in New Orleans was modest statistically, but he was efficient and the Saints went on to a 23-3 win, a 10-6 record and NFC South Title and a trip tot eh NFC Championship game, where they ultimately lost to the Chicago Bears. changes would soon be in store for the Falcons as well, but the groundwork had been prepared for the Saints and Falcons to finally emerge as contenders at the same time.

The meeting at the Super Dome in Week 3 was a key meeting between the two rivals. The 1-1 Saints were defending Super Bowl Champions while the Falcons were coming off the first back-to-back winning seasons in franchise history. The game featured four lead changes as quarterbacks Brees and Matt Ryan moved their respective offenses up and down the field. Lance Moore's 16-yard touchdown reception at the end of the third quarter gave the Saints a 21-17 lead. Ryan responded by leading Atlanta on a 10-play drive that was capped by a 22-yard touchdown pass to Roddy White to regain the lead 24-21. Following an exchange of punts, Brees guided New Orleans to a tying field goal with nine seconds remaining, sending the game into overtime. The Falcons received the kickoff and punted after three plays. Four Brees completions moved New Orleans from their own 32 to the Atlanta 11. Seemingly in safe position, the Saints elected for a 29-yard field goal attempt on first down, but Garret Hartley pulled the ball wide left despite kicking from the right hash mark. Ryan and the Falcons capitalized, methodically advancing the ball from their own 20 to the Saints 23 in 12 plays. Matt Bryant's 46-yard attempt was good for the 27-24 win. Atlanta finished atop the NFC South with a 13-3 record with New Orleans second at 11-5, however both teams lost their first post season contests.

Tonight the Falcons off look to get revenge on the Saints who handed them their first lost three weeks ago, while the Saints try to stay in the playoff hunt after a 0-4 start.

A Head-to-Head History: The Chicago Bears and the Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings joined the NFL's Western Division as an expansion team in 1961 and wasted no time making their mark with a surprising upset in their very first game, a 37-13 whipping of their new Western Division rival Chicago Bears in Metropolitan Stadium. Possibly even more unique than their rookie scrambling quarterback Fran Tarkenton was the fact that the Viking's uniforms featured purple as their primary color, the last team to do so was the 1933 Portsmouth Spartans. Tarkenton had a magnificent afternoon in his debut, throwing for 250 yards and four touchdowns against George Halas' normally stout defensive unit that featured future Hall of Fame members Bill George and Doug Atkins.

Normalcy returned in their second match-up that year as the established team Chicago rolled to a 52-35 win at Wrigley Field. That win set off a period of domination where the Bears record against the Vikings would be 11-2-2, which included and NFL Championship for the Bears in 1963.

Butkus and the Bears captured the 1963 NFL Title, while Marshall and the Vikings
got theirs in 1969, before losing to the Chiefs in Super Bowl IV.

Payton carries against
Minnesota in 1983

In 1984 the Bears emerged as the divisions dominant team and had one of the great season in NFL history in 1985 when the 15-1 Bears ran roughshod over the NFL on their way to a dominant victory in Super Bowl XX. By the time Chicago came to visit Minnesota in Week 7 of the 1986 season, the Bears had won 12 consecutive games, which included six-in-a-row against their divisional foes. The most recent came just two weeks earlier in Soldier Field where the Bears bullied Minnesota quarterback Tommy Kramer with seven sacks in a miserable 11-for-30 performance in a 23-0 rout. Things were quite the opposite in the Metrodome however. Kramer was six for six for 134 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter, giving Minnesota an early lead and allowing his defense to return the favor on Bears signal caller Steve Fuller with seven sacks of their own. The Vikings out-gained Chicago 263-56 in total yards in the first half as they built a 16-0 lead. The final tally ended 23-7 as the stout Minnesota defense limited Payton to 28 yards on nice carries. The Vikings finished in second place in the division with a 9-7 record but did not qualify for the playoffs. Chicago went on to a 14-2 record but were upset at home in the Divisional Round by the Washington Redskins.

Harbaugh and Ditka get into it in 1992

The division rivals met in Week 14 of the 1994 season with the NFC Central title on the line. The 8-4 Bears and 7-5 Vikings exchanged the lead four times through the first three quarters as the Bears lead 24-16. Warren Moon lead Minnesota on scoring drives for a field goal, then a touchdown capped with a two-point conversion to retake the lead for Minnesota 27-24 with 4:12 remaining. Steve Walsh then lead the Bears on a drive that tied the game with a 33-yard Kevin Butler field goal at 1:55 tying the score 27-27. Butler had a chance to win the game with a 40-yard attempt in overtime but the ball sailed wide left. From their own 35, Moon lofted a pass to Chris Carter at mid-field, who had made a double-move, and outraced the Bears secondary the final 50 yards for the deciding 65-yard touchdown for a stunning 33-27 win. Minnesota went on to win the division at 10-6 and the Chicago finished second at 9-7. The two met again at the Metrodome in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Chicago took the rematch with an opportunistic defense, intercepting Moon twice and recovering two fumbles, while limiting the Vikings to only 49 yards on the ground in a 35-18 win. The Bears would lost to the eventual Super Bowl Champion San Francisco 49ers the following week.

Although most Vikings-Bears meetings were fairly typical uniform-wise, in 2007 in the Metrodome, the Vikings went mono-purple, while the following year they
went retro and the Bears went mono-white...

...and in the second game in 2008 in Chicago, the Bears broke out the Orange Alts...

...and two years later in November 2010, the Bears went retro themselves,
while the Vikings donned purple pants

The Vikings won the next two meetings in Minnesota, while the Bears then won the following two meetings in Chicago. The second meeting, in late 2010, after a winter storm collapsed the Metrodome roof, was played in frigid temperatures at University of Minnesota's TCF Bank stadium. It would be memorable for being the final appearance of Brett Favre's career, and the Vikings would lose 40-14.
The arrival of head coach Bud Grant from the CFL and the Purple People Eaters front four featuring Alan Page, Carl Eller, Jim Marshall and Gary Larsen turned the tide of the series. From 1969 through 1983 the Vikings record against Chicago was 22-6. This period included 10 Division Titles and many epic playoff contests with the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams. Unfortunately, all four Super Bowl appearances for the Vikings ended with disappointing losses.

In the midst of this Minnesota NFC Central domination, came a record setting performance from a remarkable player. In Week 10 of the 1977 season the 6-3 Vikings visited the 4-5 bears. Halfback Walter Payton was ill with the flu, but coach Jack Pardee knew his star back was Chicago's only chance against Minnesota's strong defensive front. Chicago's first play on the cold, damp, windy afternoon at Soldier Field was an end run where Payton charged ahead for 29 yards. The all rush drive ended in Minnesota territory on a failed fake field goal attempt, but Payton would fin the end zone in the second quarter on a one yard plunge, and a Bob Thomas field goal gave the Bears a 10-0 halftime lead. The weather conditions were so foul that Bears quarterback Bob Avellini attempted just one pass in the half, a six-yard completion to Payton, who had 26 carries for 144 yards - an impressive total for a full game! The first Bears possession of the third quarter resulted in a punt being blocked for a Viking touchdown, cutting the lead to 10-7. Both defenses clamped down and yards were at a premium. When the Bears received the ball at their own 20 yard line with 5:38 Payton had 201 yards on 36 carries. After picking up a first down, Payton gained 58 yards on his 38th carry, being tackled at the Vikings nine-yard line. Two rushes and a sack gave Chicago a fourth-and-goal and coach Pardee did not have confidence in a field goal attempt, even from short range. Payton rushed for six and was tackled at the two, giving him 275 yards, breaking O.J. Simpson's record of 273. The Bears defense held on for the victory, evening Chicago's record at 5-5. Both teams finished the season at 9-5. The Bears qualified for the post season for the first time since 1963 but lost to Dallas in the Wild Card Round. Minnesota won the Central Division, defeated the Rams in the Divisional round but lost to the Cowboys in the NFC Championship Game.

One of the series most unforgettable moments occurred in the fourth quarter of a game at the Metrodome in October 1992 with Chicago nursing what seemed like a comfortable 20-0 lead. Bears quarterback Jim Harbaugh had played well, leading four scoring drives, throwing for a touchdown and running for another. On a first down he called an audible, but telegraphed a pass that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Coach Mike Ditka was apoplectic, and met Harbaugh on the field, screaming, cursing and gesturing wildly. After the game, Ditka did not back down, and told the press, "I'll just say this...if it happens again, there will be changes made and they will be definite and they will be permanent. I'm not going to put 47 players' futures in the hands of one player who thinks he knows more than I do." The sudden change in momentum was palpable. The Chicago offense stagnated, gaining only two first down the rest of the way, while the Minnesota offense capitalized. Quarterback Rich Gannon was a perfect 7-7 in leading two touchdown drives to complete the improbable comeback. This was the beginning of the end for Coach Ditka in Chicago. The Bears struggled to a 5-11 record, their worst in a decade. The Vikings won the NFC Central title with an 11-5 mark but exited the playoffs in the Wild Card round with a loss at home to the Washington Redskins.

Chicago and Minnesota had a memorable meeting in 2007 when the teams traded scores six times in nine possessions during a back-and-forth, fourth quarter scoring barrage. The Vikings broke a 14-14 tie with a 73-yard touchdown run by rookie Adrian Peterson in the third quarter (who had also scored from 63 yards out in the second quarter.) and extended the lead to 24-14 following a Ryan Longwell field goal at the start of the fourth. Chicago answered with a field goal on the next possession to cut the lead to seven, but Petersen swept around left end from the Bears 35 and raced for his third touchdown of the game to extend the Minnesota lead to 31-17 at 4:20. Brian Griese had a deep pass intercepted, but the Bears defense bailed him out by forcing the Vikings to go three-and-out. A three play 53-yard drive finished with a Griese-to Mushing Muhammed touchdown cutting the Viking lead to 31-24. The onside kick attempt failed, but the Vikings again went three-and-out, punting the Bears deep. On second-and-ten, Griese lofted a deep pass to Devin Hester, who caught the ball at the Chicago 35, juked a defender and raced into the end zone for the tying score to complete the 81-yard play at 1:49. Peterson returned the kickoff 53 yards for Minnesota, setting the Vikings up at the Chicago 38. After three plays netted just one yard, Longwell was good on a 55-yard field goal attempt, the longest of his career, for the 34-31 Vikings victory, their first in Chicago in seven years. Peterson finished the game with a Minnesota club record 224 yards rushing on only 20 carries.

Special teams played a pivotal role for the Vikings in the 2008 Soldier Field meeting, but this time it was to the Bears benefit. Chicago scored twice on punt plays, but surprisingly neither involved return ace Hester. With the game tied 7-7 in the first quarter, Chris Kluwe bobbled the snap and had his punt blocked. Kluwe illegally kicked the ball a second time while it was on the ground right to defender Garret Wolfe who returned it 17 yards for a touchdown (second picture above). Midway through the second quarter with the score tied at 17, Viking returner Charles Gorman had the ball bounce off his leg inside his own 10 yard line, which Chicago's Zackary Bowman recovered in the end zone for the touchdown. The back-and-forth scoring continued through the half and third quarters, which included a 51-yard touchdown catch by Marty Booker. After a one-yard rush by Matt Forte opened the lead to 17 points, Minnesota attempted a comeback attempt. Gus Frerotte lead the Vikings to a field goal and touchdown to close the gap to 48-41, but with a chance to tie the game his final pass was intercepted and the Bears ran the clock out. The 41 points were the most Chicago has ever surrendered in a victory.

Last year, the 8-8 Bears swept the 3-13 Vikings, winning in October on Sunday Night Football at Soldier Field and again in Minnesota for the season finale in December. The 2012 Bears are 7-3 and are reeling having lost two straight primetime games with QB Jay Cutler being injured. Cutler should be back today, but the Vikings are revitalized this year behind QB Christian Ponder and at 6-4 are in the thick of the NFC Wild Card race. In just two weeks these two teams will meet again in the Metrodome, possibly with the Division title on the line, although the 7-3 Green Bay Packers also figure to have in say in that as well.

Which Super Bowl XXI combo do you prefer?
	Actual (DEN white, NYG blue)
	Alternate (NYG white, DEN orange)

pollcode.com free polls

Which Super Bowl XXII combo do you prefer?
	Actual (WAS white, DEN orange)
	Alternate (DEN white, WAS burgundy)

pollcode.com free polls

Which Super Bowl XXIII combo do you prefer?
	Actual (CIN white, SF red)
	Alternate (SF white, CIN black)

pollcode.com free polls

Which Super Bowl XXIV combo do you prefer?
	Actual (SF white, DEN orange)
	Alternate (DEN white, SF red)

pollcode.com free polls

Which Super Bowl XXV combo do you prefer?
	Actual (BUF white, NYG blue)
	Alternate (NYG white, BUF blue)

pollcode.com free polls

Week 14 Weekly Uniform Rankings

The "Super Sundays" That Could Have Been...21-25

Week 13 Weekly Uniform Rankings

The "Super Sundays" That Could Have Been...16-20

Week 12 Weekly Uniform Rankings

A Head-to-Head History: The Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints

The "Super Sundays" That Could Have Been...11-15

A Head-to-Head History: The Chicago Bears and the Minnesota Vikings

Twitter

Blog Archive

Tags

Which Super Bowl XVI combo do you prefer?
	Actual (SF white, CIN black)
	Alternate (CIN white, SF red)

pollcode.com free polls

Which Super Bowl XVII combo do you prefer?
	Actual (MIA aqua, WAS white)
	Alternate (WAS burgundy, MIA white)

pollcode.com free polls

Which Super Bowl XVIII combo do you prefer?
	Actual (WAS white, LA black/silver)
	Alternate (LA white, WAS burgundy)

pollcode.com free polls

Which Super Bowl XIX combo do you prefer?
	Actual (MIA white, SF red)
	Alternate (SF white, MIA aqua)

pollcode.com free polls

Which Super Bowl XX combo do you prefer?
	Actual (CHI white, NE red)
	Alternate (NE white, CHI navy)

pollcode.com free polls

Which Super Bowl XI combo do you prefer?
	Actual (OAK white, MIN purple)
	Alternate (MIN white, OAK black)

pollcode.com free polls

Which Super Bowl XII combo do you prefer?
	Actual (DAL white, DEN orange)
	Alternate (DEN white, DAL blue)

pollcode.com free polls

Which Super Bowl XIII combo do you prefer?
	Actual (PIT black, DAL white)
	Alternate (DAL blue, PIT white)

pollcode.com free polls

Which Super Bowl XIV combo do you prefer?
	Actual (LA white, PIT black)
	Alternate (PIT white, LA blue)

pollcode.com free polls

Which Super Bowl XV combo do you prefer?
	Actual (OAK white, PHI green)
	Alternate (PHI white, OAK black)

pollcode.com free polls