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NFL historical oddities, weird facts, stats and trivia


Todd Pence

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30 minutes ago, base615 said:

Saw this on NFLN when Alex Smith broke his leg. Same injury, same day of the year, same score, same field position and sacked by the only 2 players in history with 3 DPOY awards. Spooky.

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Joe Theismann's third (current) wife's maiden name is Smith (Robin Smith). Alex Smith's third wife will have the maiden name Theismann (taking a leap with that one, probably more likely to be named Joe)

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One of the most bizarre division races in modern NFL history was the hotly-contested AFC East of 1977. With two weeks left in the season, the Baltimore Colts and the Miami Dolphins led the field with 9-3 records. Right on their backs were the New England Patriots at 8-4. With the Oakland Raiders having sewn up the (at the time) only conference wild card slot, only the division winner would represent the AFC East in the playoffs.
Despite being a game behind, the Patriots had reason for optimism. Their final two games were against Miami and Baltimore, and it seemed that they would control their own destiny. If the Patriots could win both games, and Baltimore and Miami took care of  the heavy underdogs they faced in their other two games (Detroit and Buffalo, respectively) then all three teams would finish with 10-4 records - and the Patriots would hold the edge in the three-way tiebreaker.
Inspired, the Patriots went out and defeated the Dolphins in week 13. But something unexpected happened that same Sunday. The Colts were upset by the Lions on a blocked punt recovered for a touchdown in the game's final seconds.
Normally, in the last weeks of a division race, having your chief rival for the crown lose a game to a heavy underdog would be a godsend.
But, as incredible as it may sound, the Colts' loss to the non-conference Lions would prove a crippling blow to the Patriots' playoff hopes.
Entering the final weekend of the season, the situation was this. The Dolphins faced a terrible Buffalo team in a game which they were almost certain to win. And the Patriots squared off against the Colts. Had Baltimore won against Detroit the previous week, it would have been a simple matter. Beat the Colts and you win the division, regardless of whatever else happens.
But the Colts loss to the Lions had created the following situation: With a loss to the Patriots in the final game, the Colts would drop out of a three-way tie for the division title. And in the two-way race (assuming Miami beat Buffalo), unlike the three-way scenario (because of NFL tiebreaking rules too complex to go into detail here) it was the Dolphins who had the edge over the Patriots!
To summarize the situation: By losing to Detroit in the second to last game, Baltimore had effectively robbed New England of their chance to control their own playoff destiny!
In the final week of the season, Miami rolled over Buffalo. By the time the Patriots took the field in the late afternoon against the Colts, they already had the news that they had been eliminated from the playoffs. What psychological effect this may have on them may never be known. The only thing they had to play for was eliminating the rival Colts and handing the division title to the Dolphins. The Patriots held a 14-point lead in the second half, but the Colts rallied to take the game and the 1977 AFC East title.
Thus it was that the 1977 Baltimore Colts became perhaps the only team in NFL history to improve their playoff chances by LOSING a game!
 

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  • 2 years later...
On 11/22/2018 at 11:25 PM, Todd Pence said:

One of the most bizarre division races in modern NFL history was the hotly-contested AFC East of 1977. With two weeks left in the season, the Baltimore Colts and the Miami Dolphins led the field with 9-3 records. Right on their backs were the New England Patriots at 8-4. With the Oakland Raiders having sewn up the (at the time) only conference wild card slot, only the division winner would represent the AFC East in the playoffs.
Despite being a game behind, the Patriots had reason for optimism. Their final two games were against Miami and Baltimore, and it seemed that they would control their own destiny. If the Patriots could win both games, and Baltimore and Miami took care of  the heavy underdogs they faced in their other two games (Detroit and Buffalo, respectively) then all three teams would finish with 10-4 records - and the Patriots would hold the edge in the three-way tiebreaker.
Inspired, the Patriots went out and defeated the Dolphins in week 13. But something unexpected happened that same Sunday. The Colts were upset by the Lions on a blocked punt recovered for a touchdown in the game's final seconds.
Normally, in the last weeks of a division race, having your chief rival for the crown lose a game to a heavy underdog would be a godsend.
But, as incredible as it may sound, the Colts' loss to the non-conference Lions would prove a crippling blow to the Patriots' playoff hopes.
Entering the final weekend of the season, the situation was this. The Dolphins faced a terrible Buffalo team in a game which they were almost certain to win. And the Patriots squared off against the Colts. Had Baltimore won against Detroit the previous week, it would have been a simple matter. Beat the Colts and you win the division, regardless of whatever else happens.
But the Colts loss to the Lions had created the following situation: With a loss to the Patriots in the final game, the Colts would drop out of a three-way tie for the division title. And in the two-way race (assuming Miami beat Buffalo), unlike the three-way scenario (because of NFL tiebreaking rules too complex to go into detail here) it was the Dolphins who had the edge over the Patriots!
To summarize the situation: By losing to Detroit in the second to last game, Baltimore had effectively robbed New England of their chance to control their own playoff destiny!
In the final week of the season, Miami rolled over Buffalo. By the time the Patriots took the field in the late afternoon against the Colts, they already had the news that they had been eliminated from the playoffs. What psychological effect this may have on them may never be known. The only thing they had to play for was eliminating the rival Colts and handing the division title to the Dolphins. The Patriots held a 14-point lead in the second half, but the Colts rallied to take the game and the 1977 AFC East title.
Thus it was that the 1977 Baltimore Colts became perhaps the only team in NFL history to improve their playoff chances by LOSING a game!
 

maybe, just, maybe if they win the afc east brady never is drafted

because they drafted steve grogan in '78 and then tony eason in '85 then bledsoe in '93 then brady in '01 so if they won the division they probably would not have drafted grogan so that means none of the others got drafted 8 years after 

Edited by fantasy football GOAT
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On 8/20/2018 at 8:43 PM, ShupacTakur said:

Bobby Layne once cursed the Detroit lions following a trade dispute, stating the team wouldn’t win for 50 years. Exactly 50 years later was the Lions’ infamous 0-16 season, which landed them the #1 overall pick. They used that pick to select Matthew Stafford, who attended the same high school as.....Bobby Layne. 

highland park high school and they grew up on the same street

 

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