Today in 1994 - Green Bay vs Minnesota

October 20, 1994 – Today in 1994, the Minnesota Vikings hosted their NFC Central rival Green Bay Packers at the Hubert Humphrey Metrodome in a Week 7 contest.

Anthony Parker scored for the Vikings’ defense with a fumble recovery for the touchdown, which was the only score in the first quarter.  In the second quarter, Chris Jacke got the Packers on the board with a 50 yard field goal.  Backup quarterback Mark Brunell scored on a 5 yard touchdown run and Green Bay led at halftime 10-7.

After a scoreless third quarter, Fuad Reveiz kicked a 29 yard field goal to tie the game in the fourth quarter.  At the end of regulation, the score was 10-10 and the game went to overtime.

In the overtime period, Minnesota drove to Green Bay’s 20 yard line and set up a field goal attempt by Reveiz.  The field goal was good and the Minnesota Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers 13-10.

For the Packers, Brett Farve passed 6-10 for 32 yards and an interception.  Mark Brunell passed 11-24 for 79 yards.  He had 4 rushing attempts for 9 yards and a touchdown.  For the Vikings, Warren Moon passed 31-50 for 271 yards and two interceptions.  Cris Carter had 10 receptions for 68 yards.  Jake Reed had 8 receptions for 95 yards.

Sean Jones got 2 sacks for the Packers.  Reggie White and Steve McMichael each had a sack.  James Willis and Terrell Buckley had a pick for Green Bay.  James Harris and Ed McDaniel each had half a sack for the Vikings, and John Randle had 2 sacks.  Harris also had an interception.

The Packers fell to 3-4 with the loss.  They finished the season at 9-7 and lost to the Dallas Cowboys in a divisional playoff game.  The Vikings went to 5-2 and finished the season at 10-6, winning the NFC Central division.  They lost to the Chicago Bears in a wild card playoff game.

Trivia

• There were 4 Hall of Famers present: Warren Moon, Randall McDaniel, and John Randle for the Vikings, and Reggie White for the Packers.
• This was Mike Holmgren’s third season coaching the Packers.  He coached the team from 1992-98 and led them to two Super Bowl appearances, one of them a championship.  He never had a losing season with Green Bay.
• This was also Dennis Green’s third season coaching the Vikings.  He coached the team from 1992-2001.  He only had one losing season with the team, in 2001.
• There were two future head coaches on Green’s staff.  Brian Billick coached the Baltimore Ravens from 1999-2007 and led them to a Super Bowl victory.  Tony Dungy coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1998-2001 and the Indianapolis Colts from 2002-09.  Dungy led the Colts to a Super Bowl championship.
• There were four future head coaches on Holmgren’s staff.  Dick Jauron coached the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, and Buffalo Bills.  Steve Mariucci coached the San Francisco 49ers from 1997-2002 and Detroit from 2003-05.  Jon Gruden coached the Oakland Raiders from 1998-2001 and took over for Dungy in Tampa Bay from 2002-08.  He led the Bucs to a Super Bowl title over his former team the Raiders.  Andy Reid is the only one of the four who is still coaching.  He has been the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles since 1999 and led them to a Super Bowl appearance.
• Minnesota linebacker Jack Del Rio is now the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars and has coached the team since 2003.
• Tony Dungy and Dick Jauron were divisional opponents as players in 1978.  Jauron played for the Cincinnati Bengals and Dungy played for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Here are some historical scores on this day for teams facing each other this week, on October 20,

1968 – Kansas City 24 – Oakland 10

1985 – Pittsburgh 23 – St. Louis Cardinals 10

2002 – Baltimore 17 – Jacksonville 10

2003 – Kansas City 17 – Oakland 10

Game stats can be found on Pro-Football-Reference.com at Green Bay Packers vs Minnesota Vikings - October 20, 1994.

Today in 1978 - Cincinnati Bengals vs Cleveland Browns

September 10, 1978 – Today in 1978, the Cincinnati Bengals took on the Cleveland Browns in a Week 2 game at the Dawg Pound in Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

The Bengals got on the board first with a 51 yard touchdown pass from John Reaves to Don Bass.  At the end of the first quarter, Cincinnati led 7-0.

Chris Bahr kicked a 37 yard field goal in the second quarter to increase the Bengal lead.  Cincinnati led 10-0 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Cleveland got on the board with a 32 yard field goal by Don Cockroft.  At the end of the quarter, Cincinnati led 10-3.

Cleveland tied the game in the fourth quarter on a 13 yard touchdown pass from Brian Sipe to Reggie Rucker.  The game was tied 10-10 after regulation and went to overtime.

In the overtime period, Don Cockroft kicked a 27 yard field goal and the Cleveland Browns beat the Cincinnati Bengals 13-10.  The Browns went to 2-0 and the Bengals fell to 0-2.

John Reaves passed 15-26 169 yards 1TD 1 Int for the Bengals.  Brian Sipe passed 16-32 219 1TD 1 Int and Greg Pruitt rushed 22-120 yards for the Browns.  

Notables

• One Hall of Famer played in this game, Cleveland tight end Ozzie Newsome.
• Long time players Ozzie Newsome and Clay Matthews were rookies in 1978.  Newsome was a starter at the time, but Matthews wasn’t.
• Matthews is the father of Green Bay Packer linebacker Clay Matthews.
• This was Bill Johnson’s third and last season coaching the Bengals.  He would be replaced after five games by Homer Rice.
• Johnson played for the San Francisco 49ers from 1950-56.

• This was Sam Rutigliano’s first season coaching the Browns.  He would coach the team from 1978-84.  He would be replaced in 1984 by defensive coordinator Marty Schottenheimer.
• This was future NFL head coach Dick Jauron’s first season with the Bengals.  He was previously with the Detroit Lions for five seasons.  He spent his last three seasons with Cincinnati.

Game stats and other data can be found on Pro-Football-Reference.com at Cincinnati Bengals vs Cleveland Browns - September 10, 1978.