The Roller Coaster Ride Of The 1986 New York Jets
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.
NFL history
1980 Philadelphia Eagles: A Blazing Comet & A Surprising Fade
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 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 1985 Chicago Bears Do The Super Bowl Shuffle
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
1976 Oakland Raiders: John Madden Finally Wins The Biggest One
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
The 1998 Minnesota Vikings & The Worst Championship Game Loss
This post is part of a series of sports history articles commemorating under-the-radar teams and moments in a given year. This article focuses on the 1998 Minnesota Vikings and the ecstasy that was their dominating regular season, along with the agony that was their NFC Championship Game loss.
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.