The 1983 Seattle Seahawks: Beating Back Elway & Marino In The Playoffs
…it was a satisfying run in the Pacific Northwest, one that saw the Seahawks tell two future Hall of Famer quarterbacks to wait their turn.
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Two Memorable Divisional Round Games In The 1981 AFC Playoffs
The 1981 AFC playoffs produced two games that deserve to be on the short list in any discussion of great NFL playoff games.
The Blaze And Fade That Was The 1978 Washington Redskins
The 1978 Washington Redskins were starting a new era in franchise history. The had a new coach in Jack Pardee and were moving forward with Joe Theismann as their quarterback after going on-again, off-again between Theismann and veteran Billy Kilmer in 1977. The first year of Pardee & Theismann got off to a fantastic start, but it had an all-too-familiar ending.
1977 Washington Redskins: George Allen’s Last Ride
George Allen had arrived in the nation’s capital prior to the 1971 season and he made the Washington Redskins a winner. The next five seasons saw Allen go 58-25-1, make the playoffs four times (at a time when only one wild-card per conference qualified) and reach the 1972 Super Bowl. But Allen was clashing with ownership and the 1977 Washington Redskins team would be the coach’s last ride.
The Playoff Teams Of The 1980 NFL Season
No team had ever won four postseason games prior to the 1980 NFL season, although was just the third year of the wild-card round, so the opportunities to do so had been pretty limited. It was the 1980 Oakland Raiders that were the first team to do what is now fairly common, as they took the long path to a Super Bowl win.
The Road To The Playoffs In The 1979 NFL Season
It was a little tougher than the previous year, but for the second straight year—and the fourth time in six years—the 1979 NFL season ended with the Pittsburgh Steelers winning the Super Bowl
The Roller Coaster Ride Of The 1978 New England Patriots
The 1978 New England Patriots entered the season with a dark cloud hanging over them. Wide receiver Darryl Stingley suffered a horrific injury in the preseason, a broken neck that left him paralyzed for life. After an inspiring season that saw them exceed expectations, the Patriots managed to end the year with a series of self-inflicted wounds.
The 1987 Indianapolis Colts Give Football Relevance In The Hoosier State
Indianapolis’ playoff run might have ended in the second round, but the 1987 Indianapolis Colts had finally given their still fairly new home city a taste of postseason football. In the ensuing years, with the greatness of Peyton Manning and now the potential emergence of Andrew Luck, it’s something that’s taken for granted. But in ’87, just getting there was a big deal and the achievement of Meyer, Dickerson & Co., should not be forgotten.
The 1987 Washington Redskins & A Strange Path To Making History
Russell Wilson became the second African-American quarterback to win the Super Bowl when he led the Seattle Seahawks past the Denver Broncos on Sunday. The first one to do it was Doug Williams—oddly enough it was also against the Broncos, back in 1987 when Williams quarterbacked the Washington Redskins.
But Williams had a more interesting path—he spent the bulk of the year as the backup and didn’t become the starter on the playoffs. It was an interesting path in an interesting year—to put mildly—in the NFL. Let’s look back on the 1987 Washington Redski
1984 Chicago Bears: Ditka Puts A Proud Franchise Back On The Map
The Chicago Bears had spent the better part of the Super Bowl era being irrelevant, at least when the early 1980s dawned. Other than a playoff appearance and quick exit in 1977, the Bears had never even been on the national radar. The organization shook things up prior to the 1982 season by hiring one of its legends, Hall of Fame tight end Mike Ditka, to be the head coach.
Ditka went 3-6 in the strike-shortened year of 1982, but improved to 8-8 in 1983 and finished that year off with a win over the Green Bay Packers that kept the Bears’ archrivals out of the playoffs. The 1984 Chicago Bears were the team that took the next step, and put their franchise back into the postseason.
The 1984 Denver Broncos: John Elway’s First Rodeo
This post is part of a series of sports history articles commemorating under-the-radar teams and moments in a given year. The 1984 Denver Broncos marked the first year that John Elway was unequivocally the starting quarterback and he scaled great heights, before suffering a final disappointment that prepared him for the future.
The 1978 Atlanta Falcons & The Grits Blitz
Monday Night Football was in Atlanta on October 30, 1978 and the up-and-coming Falcons were looking to make their mark. This was a franchise that had produced just two winning seasons since its inception in 1966 and never made the playoffs. But coming off consecutive wins, they were 4-4 coming into this game and were playing host to one of the traditional powers of the 1970s, the Los Angeles Rams. It was time for the 1978 Atlanta Falcons to take the next step.