Best cross-conference regular season division matchings

[74_75_78_79_]

Yes, my response to Rupert’s post (massive wealth of stats) on the other thread inspired this.

The AFC Central matching with the NFC East in ’79 may be my favorite. Three winning teams in each division. First off, I always liked when both divisions would match up and always felt it was worth the three-(now four)-year wait; especially Steelers/Cowboys (which we didn’t get in 2000 due to the now-31-teams scheduling glitch). As I mentioned previously in a couple posts elsewhere, it was a bummer what interdivision games between both were missed out on in ’82. I also think it’s a shame we didn’t see Tuna’s G-men go against Bengals/Browns/Oilers in ’88.

Anyway, as for ’79, AFC Central-vs-NFC East, you had...

Oilers at RFK, opening week, in a thriller over Wash, overcoming three more-than-a-TD deficits to pull it off in the end

Dallas (in those blue ‘jinx’ jerseys) at Cleveland on MNF

Steelers at Eagles

Redskins over Browns at Cleveland, 13-9

Cowboys at Steelers (billed as ‘SB XIII and 1/2’)

Browns overcoming 9-pt-deficit in the 4th to beat Eagles at Vet

The ‘Battle of Texas’ Turkey Day classic, Campbell-vs-Dorsett, NFL Films giving us those memorable silhouette images of Phillips and Landry with help of the hole in the roof.

Quite a shame Eagles@Oilers in the final week was the late game being Oilers were already locked into top wild-card by kickoff (Steelers 28 Bills 0, the early game).

The odd-men-out in each division, Bengals & Cardinals, pulled off upsets over both Eagles & Oilers respectively.

Go figure, Eagles beat both AFCC-participants while Dallas loses to both (and also Clev; Cowboys 1-3 vs AFC Central) yet they get the division nod instead. I guess Philly should have won an extra game in their own conference or extra game-period.


Any other matchings that come to mind?

[BD Sullivan]

The Browns managed to blow that Redskins game since the Redskins were on their own 20 with 1:55 left and drove the length of the field to score the winning touchdown with 27 seconds left.

[74_75_78_79_]

There are two in the “could’ve been” category...

One is ’81 between both East divisions. Of course you had playoff teams in Miami, Jets, and Bills. In the other you had three playoff teams as well - Dal, Phi, NYG. Just one problem though, both G-men and Jets finished in 5th-place the year prior which means, yes, they still at least got to play against each other but each missed out on playing Mia/Buf and Dal/Phi respectively. Any of those four matchups that year would have been intriguing.

The other one is ten years later (’91) between both West divisions: Den/KC/LAR and NO/Atl/SF. Problem there, of course, is that Broncos finished 5th the year prior (a year sandwiched between a SB and another CC-appearance) thus avoiding those three winning teams cross-conference.