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 1981 AFC playoffs produced two games that deserve to be on the short list in any discussion of great NFL playoff games.
The great fan base of the Washington Redskins had endured some heartache in both 1977 and 1978. Each season saw the Redskins miss the playoffs on the final week of the season, in the latter case after giving away a 6-0 start to the year. What the fans couldn’t have guessed, nor would they have wanted to, was that the 1979 Washington Redskins would lift the season-ending anguish to a new level.
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.
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.
Defense was the real calling card though, and Belichick orchestrated a unit built around one of the best linebacking groups ever to play the game. Lawrence Taylor was still the league’s most feared blitzing linebacker after ten years in the league and his counterpart on the outside, Carl Banks, was one of the most underrated. On the inside was veteran Pro Bowler Pepper Johnson.
The 1989 San Francisco 49ers came into the NFL season as a rare breed—a defending champion in a transitional state. Under the leadership of Bill Walsh and the quarterbacking of Joe Montana, they won the Super Bowl in 1981, 1984 and again in 1988. Even though Walsh had retired after the come-from-behind win over the Cincinnati Bengals to cap the previous year’s title run, the expectations at Candlestick Park were the same—to repeat. George Seifert had been elevated from defensive coordinator to head coach.
It’s hard to imagine a year with more wild ups and downs than what the 1986 New York Jets experienced. The season didn’t end the way the fans wanted, but no one could say it was boring.
Expectations were sky high for the 1980 Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles were coming off two consecutive playoff appearances that saw progressive improvement. They lost in the wild-card round in 1978, giving up a fourth-quarter lead in Atlanta. The following year, Philadelphia went one round further, beating Chicago in the first round before losing to Tampa Bay in the divisional playoff.
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 1985 Chicago Bears came off their 1984 run to the NFC Championship Game knowing they needed to keep quarterback Jim McMahon mostly healthy. They not only did that, but their already great defense rose to new levels of dominance and the Bears absolutely owned the 1985 NFL season from start to finish
Madden’s Raiders saw their season stop in the AFC Championship Game in 1970. They lost the “Immaculate Reception” play in the divisional round in Pittsburgh in 1972. Then came three straight AFC Championship Game losses from 1973-75, the last two to the Steelers who were en route to Super Bowl wins. Even in the relatively calmer media climate of the 1970s, the “can’t win the big one” tag was being hung on Madden and quarterback Ken Stabler. One can only imagine how intense the media shouting would be toda
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