Today in 1995 - Miami Dolphins vs Buffalo Bills

Today in 1995, the Miami Dolphins went to the frigid cold of Rich Stadium to take on the Buffalo Bills in a Week 16 contest.

Buffalo provided the only scoring in the first quarter on a Steve Christie 24 field goal.  He kicked a 20 yard field goal in the second quarter to increase Buffalo’s lead to 6-0.  Miami responded with a 50 yard field goal by Pete Stoyanovich.  Thurman Thomas ran 2 yards for a touchdown to give Buffalo the halftime lead 13-3.

Miami scored first in the third quarter with a 30 yard Stoyanovich field goal.  The Dolphins tied the game on a 25 yard pass from Dan Marino to Eric Green.  The Bills took the lead again on an 11 yard pass from Jim Kelly to Thurman Thomas.

In the fourth quarter, the Dolphins tied the game 20-20 on a 5 yard run by Bernie Parmalee.  But Buffalo would not be denied.  The Bills took the lead for good on a Christie 25 yard field goal.  The Buffalo Bills beat the Miami Dolphins 23-20.

For the Dolphins, Dan Marino passed 17-27 for 244 yards with a touchdown and an interception.  O.J. McDuffie had 4 receptions for 79 yards.  Eric Green had 4 receptions for 38 yards and a touchdown.  Jeff Cross had a sack and Calvin Jackson had an interception.

For the Bills, Jim Kelly passed 16-28 for 139 yards with a touchdown and an interception.  Thurman Thomas rushed 35 times for 148 yards and a touchdown.  He also had a reception for 11 yards and a touchdown.  Phil Hansen and Bryce Paup each recorded 1.5 sacks and David White had an interception.

Miami fell to 8-7 with the loss.  They finished the season at 9-7, second in the AFC East.  They lost their rematch in Buffalo in the Wildcard Round of the playoffs 37-22. 

Buffalo went to 10-5 with the win.  They finished the season at 10-6 and were AFC East Champions.  The Bills lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 40-21 in the Divisional Round of the playoffs.

Trivia

• There were 6 Hall of Famers present: Dan Marino and head coach Don Shula for the Dolphins, and Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Bruce Smith, and head coach Marv Levy for the Bills.
  
• This was Don Shula’s last season as head coach of the Miami Dolphins.  He coached the team from 1970-95 and led the Dolphins to five Super Bowl appearances and two Super Bowl championships.
  
• This was Marv Levy’s 10^th season as head coach of the Bills.  He coached the team from 1986-97 and led the team to four consecutive Super Bowl appearances.  He was also the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs from 1978-82.
  
• Shula was also the head coach of the Baltimore Colts from 1963-69.  He led the team to the fated Super Bowl III, losing to the New York Jets.
  
• Shula played defensive back for the Cleveland Browns (1951-52), Baltimore Colts (1953-56), and Washington Redskins (1957).  He wore the number 25 with the Colts.  Defensive back Jerraud Powers wears that number for the Colts today.
  
• Miami’s Terrell Buckley played one season in the Atlanta Braves farm system.
  
• Buffalo’s defensive coordinator was Wade Phillips.  His career has been featured in other entries.
  
• Miami backup quarterback Dan McGwire is the brother of St. Louis Cardinal slugger Mark McGwire.
  
• Buffalo backup quarterback Alex Van Pelt was the team’s offensive coordinator in 2009.

Here are some historical scores on this day for teams facing each other this week, on December 17, 2011

1966 – Cleveland 38 – St. Louis Cardinals 10

1972 – Denver 45 – New England 21

1977 – Miami 31 – Buffalo 14

1983 – Washington 31 – New York Giants 22

1988 – Denver 21 – New England 10

2006 – Buffalo 21 – Miami 0

Game stats can be found on Pro-Football-Reference.com at Miami Dolphins vs Buffalo Bills - December 17, 1995.

Last Place Update

December 13, 2011 – Welcome to this week’s Last Place Update.  Once again, the 0-13 Indianapolis Colts maintain their two game lead as Kings of the Cellar.  They were easy pickings for the Baltimore Ravens, losing 24-10.  Their magic number is now two.  Two more losses guarantee the Colts the first pick in the 2012 draft.

This week’s first honorable mention goes to the 2-11 St. Louis Rams.  They went into Seattle and laid an egg, losing 30-13.  This is their fourth straight loss with no relief in sight.  Their last three games are against teams with a winning record.

The second honorable mention goes to the 4-9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who can’t seem to win, even when they’re supposed to.  This is a game they should have won, but instead were blown out 41-14.  You can’t have seven turnovers and win.  Just ask the 1977 Denver Broncos.  They had eight turnovers while losing to the Dallas Cowboys 27-10 in Super Bowl XII.

Next Loss

Indy hosts the Tennessee Titans, fresh off their loss to the New Orleans Saints.  The Colts lost at Tennessee 27-10, but the Titans have not beaten a team with a winning record since Week 2, when they beat the Baltimore Ravens 26-13.  This could be an upset special, if only Indy could defend the run.  The last time Indy lost a season series against Tennessee was in 2002.  Titans should win an easy one and win the season series.

The Rams host the Cincinnati Bengals.  Cincy leads the series 6-5.  The Rams lost their last meeting in 2007, the first time they lost to the Bengals since 1993.  St. Louis has a shot at an upset special, but this could be a toss-up.  The Rams will make a game of it, but the Bengals will hand the Rams their 13^th loss.

The 2-11 Minnesota Vikings take on the New Orleans Saints at home.  Last week, Jared Allen said on a local TV show that the two cities he hated to play in most were Detroit and New Orleans.  He even said New Orleans was like a third world country.  As the saying goes, never give an opposing team an additional incentive to beat you.  The Saints are not the Lions.  Although the Vikings made a game of it, Minnesota still lost to an undisciplined Detroit team.  In addition, this is not the same Vikings team who almost went to the Super Bowl in 2009.  Adrian Peterson is Minnesota’s best chance for a win, but his efforts won’t be enough.  The Vikings won’t avenge their 2009 NFC Championship loss against New Orleans.  Instead, the Saints will easily hand Minnesota its 13^th loss.

Here are a few historical scores on this day for teams facing each other this week: December 13,

1959 – New York Giants 24 – Washington 10

1980 – Washington 16 – New York Giants 13

1997 – New York Giants 30 – Washington 10

Today in 2003 - Carolina Panthers vs Atlanta Falcons

Today in 2003, the Carolina Panthers invaded the Georgia Dome to take on the Atlanta Falcons in a Week 14 divisional contest.

After a scoreless first quarter, T.J. Duckett got Atlanta on the board in the second quarter with a 9 yard touchdown run.  Carolina answered with a 16 yard touchdown pass from Jake Delhomme to Jermaine Wiggins.  The score was tied 7-7 at halftime.

Stephen Davis provided the only score in the third quarter with a 1 yard touchdown run.  The Panthers led 14-7.

In the fourth quarter, the Falcons also had the only score on a 1 yard touchdown run by Michael Vick.  The game went to overtime.

In the overtime period, Carolina had possession, but Kevin Mathis intercepted a Delhomme pass and scored the winning touchdown.  The Atlanta Falcons beat the Carolina Panthers 20-14.

For the Panthers, Jake Delhomme passed 12-25 for 153 yards, with a touchdown and 2 interceptions.  Stephen Davis rushed 24 times for 81 yards and a touchdown.  Steve Smith had 7 receptions for 66 yards.  Deon Grant, Julius Peppers, and Dante Wesley each recorded a sack.

For the Falcons, Michael Vick passed 16-33 for 179 yards and an interception.  He ran 14 times for 141 yards and a touchdown.  T.J. Duckett had 17 rushes for 59 yards and a touchdown.  Alge Crumpler had 5 receptions for 57 yards.  Peerless Price had 4 catches, also for 57 yards.  Ellis Johnson had a sack and Kevin Mathis had the winning Pick 6.

Atlanta went to 3-10 with the win.  They finished the season at 5-11, fourth in NFC South.  Carolina fell to 8-5 with the loss.  They finished the season at 11-5, NFC South Champions.  They went on the play in Super Bowl XXXVIII, losing to the New England Patriots on a last minute field goal.

Trivia

• This was Wade Phillips’ first game as interim head coach of the Falcons, because Dan Reeves was fired earlier that week.  Phillips went 3-1 in that stretch.
  
• This was John Fox’s second season coaching the Panthers.  He was head coach from 2002-10 and is now the head coach of the Denver Broncos.
  
• This was Phillips’ second time as an interim coach.  He was first an interim coach with the New Orleans Saints in 1985 after his father, Bum Phillips resigned.  Wade went 1-3 that year. 
  
• As featured in other posts, Phillips was the head coach of the Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, and Dallas Cowboys.  Today, he is the defensive coordinator of the Houston Texans.
  
• Panthers offensive coordinator Dan Henning was the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 1983-86 and the San Diego Chargers from 1989-91.  He never achieved more than seven wins in any given season.
  
• Henning was a backup quarterback for the San Diego Chargers in 1966.
  
• Carolina defensive back Ricky Manning played in the Minnesota Twins’ farm system from 1999-2002.
  
• The Panthers went to overtime five times that season, including the playoffs.  This was their only overtime loss.
  
• The Falcons went to overtime twice.  They won this game and lost to the New Orleans Saints three weeks earlier.

Here are some historical scores on this day for teams facing each other this week, on December 7,

1975 – Pittsburgh 31 – Cleveland 17

2003 – San Francisco 50 – Arizona 14

2006 – Pittsburgh 27 – Cleveland 7

2008 – Minnesota 20 – Detroit 16

Game stats can be found on Pro-Football-Reference.com at Carolina Panthers vs Atlanta Falcons - December 7, 2003.

Last Place Update

December 6, 2011 – Welcome to this week’s Last Place Update, where the 0-12 Indianapolis Colts continue their reign as Kings of the Cellar.  They lead the 2-10 St. Louis Rams and Minnesota Vikings by two games and show no signs of relinquishing that lead anytime soon.

Although the Colts lost again, unlike their total collapse against the New Orleans Saints, they trailed the New England Patriots 31-3 going into the fourth quarter and fought back.  They put up three touchdowns in the face of a beatdown and lost 31-24.  Way to keep fighting, Indy!!

This week’s honorable mention goes to the St. Louis Rams.  When they beat the New Orleans Saints, they could have turned the season around and ended strong.  Instead, they went 1-4 since then and got blanked by the San Francisco 49ers 26-0.

The Minnesota Vikings and San Diego Chargers get a pass on the second honorable mention this week.  San Diego won last night and Minnesota took Denver to the last second and never rolled over.

So this week’s second honorable mention goes to the 4-8 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  The Bucs got dominated by the 4-8 Carolina Panthers 38-19, making this their sixth straight loss.  Tampa Bay started the season at 3-1, tied for first in the NFC South and even beat the New Orleans Saints at home two weeks later.  But the bottom fell out.  After going 3-1, the Bucs went 1-7.  They play the Jacksonville Jaguars this week.  Can they win?  We’ll see.

Next Loss

The Colts go to Baltimore to face the Ravens.  No upset special here.  The Ravens should win easily, unless Joe Flacco has a bad day and Indy makes a game of it…nah, Baltimore will win.

The Rams go visit Seattle to take on the Seahawks on Monday night.  Seattle has been beating teams they should lose to, so nothing should change here.  It won’t be a blowout, but St. Louis should get loss number eleven.

Minnesota has to go to Detroit to face a Lions team fresh off a humiliating Sunday night loss to New Orleans.  Upset Special?  Maybe.  Either Detroit will take Sunday night’s loss out on the Vikings or the Lions will collapse.  Detroit should win, but if they act like they did in New Orleans, then the Vikings will get the upset.

Here are a couple of historical scores on this day for teams facing each other this week: December 6,

1981 – Buffalo 28 – San Diego 27

2009 – New York Giants 31 – Dallas 24

Philadelphia Eagles vs Seattle Seahawks - Some Series Trivia

December 1, 2011 – The Seattle Seahawks host the Philadelphia Eagles tonight.  Philly leads the series 7-5 and won their last meeting in 2008.  They first played each other in 1976 in the final game of Seattle’s inaugural season.  The Eagles won 27-10 and Seattle finished that season at 2-12.

The highest scoring game in the series came in 1980, when Philly won 27-20.  Seattle finally got its first victory against the Eagles in 1986, winning 24-20.  Seattle also owns both shutouts in the series.  The Seahawks shut out the Eagles 38-0 in 1998 and 42-0 in 2005.  They only went to overtime once, in 1992, where Philly won 20-17.

The Eagles are 5-2 playing in in Seattle, including their last meeting.  Although they struggled lately, this is Philadelphia’s game to lose and they should win this one.

 

Here are some historical scores on this day for teams facing each other this week, on December 1,

1963 – Los Angeles Rams 21 – San Francisco 17

1985 – New England 38 – Indianapolis 31

1996 – Oakland 17 – Miami 7

1996 – Carolina 24 – Tampa Bay 0