3 Most Perplexing Losses By Your Fav Team (60s, 70s, 80s)

[vikingsfan1963]

Since I'm a Vikings fan here I go:
1969: 10-3 loss to Falcons in the "Sunny South" during a mud bowl. Last game of the season with nothing on the line, but still!!! Falcons only TD on a fumble return. Falccons go 6-8.
1970: 20-10 loss to a 4-10 Jets team in week 11 quarterbacked by Al Woodall! Horrible QB play (which was the Vikings Achilles heel in 70 and 71). 20 points was the most the D gave up in a game that season.
1971: 30-14 loss to San Diego in week 12. The 30 points was easily the most the Vikes gave up that season. Chargers finished 6-8.
I only used 60, 70 and 80s cause I didn't want to get started on the NFL title game loss to Atlanta!

[SeahawkFever]

Since I'm a Vikings fan here I go:
1969: 10-3 loss to Falcons in the "Sunny South" during a mud bowl. Last game of the season with nothing on the line, but still!!! Falcons only TD on a fumble return. Falccons go 6-8.
1970: 20-10 loss to a 4-10 Jets team in week 11 quarterbacked by Al Woodall! Horrible QB play (which was the Vikings Achilles heel in 70 and 71). 20 points was the most the D gave up in a game that season.
1971: 30-14 loss to San Diego in week 12. The 30 points was easily the most the Vikes gave up that season. Chargers finished 6-8.
I only used 60, 70 and 80s cause I didn't want to get started on the NFL title game loss to Atlanta!

Other than the 98 NFC Championship Game, what would get your vote for the 90's outside of that? How about the 00's and 10's?

As for 98 NFC Championship Game, one thing I will say is that the 98 Vikings faced a team with a really good running game, and if I'm not mistaken their lone regular season loss to Tampa Bay was against another team that was built on the run offensively. How good was their run defense out of curiosity?

Asking that because whenever that team is talked about, I don't see the run defense mentioned much, and those are the two team they lost to.

I'm sure there's more to it than that though.

[CSKreager]

Since I'm a Vikings fan here I go:
1969: 10-3 loss to Falcons in the "Sunny South" during a mud bowl. Last game of the season with nothing on the line, but still!!! Falcons only TD on a fumble return. Falccons go 6-8.
1970: 20-10 loss to a 4-10 Jets team in week 11 quarterbacked by Al Woodall! Horrible QB play (which was the Vikings Achilles heel in 70 and 71). 20 points was the most the D gave up in a game that season.
1971: 30-14 loss to San Diego in week 12. The 30 points was easily the most the Vikes gave up that season. Chargers finished 6-8.
I only used 60, 70 and 80s cause I didn't want to get started on the NFL title game loss to Atlanta!

As for 98 NFC Championship Game, one thing I will say is that the 98 Vikings faced a team with a really good running game, and if I'm not mistaken their lone regular season loss to Tampa Bay was against another team that was built on the run offensively. How good was their run defense out of curiosity?

Asking that because whenever that team is talked about, I don't see the run defense mentioned much, and those are the two team they lost to.

I'm sure there's more to it than that though.

Atlanta actually got outrushed in that NFC CG. Jamal Anderson averaged 2.9 YPC vs MIN

[7DnBrnc53]

Broncos

1960's: No losses were perplexing. They were awful.
1970's: After opening the 1973 season with a home win over the eventual division champ Bengals, the Broncos lost their next three games (36-34 to SF, 35-14 to CHI, and 16-14@KC). It is the second one that is the most perplexing. That Bear team finished 3-11, and the Broncos were on the rise. They should have taken care of business here, and they didn't even show up. The Bears would lose @NO the next week before getting blown out @ATL 46-6 the week after.
1980's: Going into Week 16 of the 1981 season, the Broncos needed to win at Soldier Field to clinch the AFC West. However, they got beat 35-24 by another crappy Bears team.
1990's: Going into the next to last week of the 1993 season, the Broncos were 9-5, and needed a win to stay in the AFC West race. Their opponent that week was the 4-10 Buccaneers. However, the Broncos couldn't take care of business, losing 17-10, and clinching the West for KC.

[Citizen]

Green Bay:

12-26-60: Eagles 17, Packers 13. The Lombardi Pack repeatedly tightens up in its first championship test. Three early red zone possessions amount to only six points; Hornung misses a 14-yard field goal as the first half ends; stopped on downs at the Eagles’ 25; after Philly takes the lead in the fourth quarter, three Green Bay possessions amount to naught; on last-ditch play, Starr unaccountably passes underneath to Taylor instead of to the end zone.

11-14-71: Vikings 3, Packers 0. Despite outgaining Minnesota 245-66 on the ground (and 301-87 overall), five trips inside the Vikings’ 20 result in: a blocked 23-yard field goal try; a failed run on fourth-and-goal from the 1; an interception at the 3; a fumble at the 10; and an end zone interception by Charlie West, whose return sets up the winning/only points.

9-13-81: Falcons 31, Packers 17. Poised to start the season 2-0, the youthful Packers hold a 17-0 lead as the fourth quarter starts. Then: a seemingly harmless Falcons field goal; a line-drive punt from the Packer 12, resulting in a 53-yard return that sets up a touchdown; a 30-yard reception by Alfred Jenkins that ties the game; and a 20-yard scoring interception return by Fulton Kuykendall on the next play from scrimmage. The 24-point burst takes place in 4:24 of playing time. Joel Williams clinches the comeback by returning a fumble 57 yards for a touchdown with 1:34 left.

[Halas Hall]

The Cowboys losses to the Browns in the 1968 and 1969 were always perplexing to me. But Blanton Collier was a terrific coach.

[Ten Minute Ticker]

Can't speak to the 60s or 70s because I wasn't around, but the Packers of the 80s specialized in perplexing results. Although, I don't know how perplexing any result can be when you were constantly 8-8, but ...

1981 - The Falcons fall-from-ahead loss was mentioned. A week later, the Packers went to Anaheim and led by two in the third quarter before conceding 21 straight points in short order to the Rams. Not a vintage Rams team either, and that day, Jeff Rutledge did the majority of the QB'ing. Packers win either of those games and they're in the playoffs.

1982 - Not a loss, and it ultimately didn't matter in the final balance, but a 20-20 tie against a horrid Colts team certainly felt like a big loss at the time.

1983 - The zenith of the all-offense, no-defense Packers of the time. Packers lead by 10 at Atlanta in the fourth quarter when all hell breaks loose. The Falcons score 17 straight points to take the lead only to have Gerry Ellis score a late TD to force overtime. Then Kenny Johnson gets his second pick-six of the game to win it for Atlanta, dealing the Packers a 47-41 loss they couldn't afford in the tight NFC Central race. Atlanta's QB was Mike Moroski. It seemed the Packers were good to have a backup quarterback rinse them about once a decade. See Paul Justin in the 1990s.

1985 - Two no-show efforts cost them realistic playoff aspirations. A 43-28 loss (it wasn't that close, Cardinals led 33-7 at their peak) at St. Louis and a 37-10 blowout defeat at Indianapolis. The one to the Cardinals didn't seem putrid at the time as the competition was concerned, it was an early season game against a Cardinals team that was predicted to do well after their near-miss in 1984, but those Cardinals finished 5-11. The Colts game was bizarrely sandwiched between the two Bears wars, the first of which was a MNF game, so the Pack was playing on short rest, but still, they allowed Matt Bouza and Wayne Freaking Capers to both have 100-yard receiving games against them.

[SeahawkFever]

Since I'm a Vikings fan here I go:
1969: 10-3 loss to Falcons in the "Sunny South" during a mud bowl. Last game of the season with nothing on the line, but still!!! Falcons only TD on a fumble return. Falccons go 6-8.
1970: 20-10 loss to a 4-10 Jets team in week 11 quarterbacked by Al Woodall! Horrible QB play (which was the Vikings Achilles heel in 70 and 71). 20 points was the most the D gave up in a game that season.
1971: 30-14 loss to San Diego in week 12. The 30 points was easily the most the Vikes gave up that season. Chargers finished 6-8.
I only used 60, 70 and 80s cause I didn't want to get started on the NFL title game loss to Atlanta!

As for 98 NFC Championship Game, one thing I will say is that the 98 Vikings faced a team with a really good running game, and if I'm not mistaken their lone regular season loss to Tampa Bay was against another team that was built on the run offensively. How good was their run defense out of curiosity?

Asking that because whenever that team is talked about, I don't see the run defense mentioned much, and those are the two team they lost to.

I'm sure there's more to it than that though.

Atlanta actually got outrushed in that NFC CG. Jamal Anderson averaged 2.9 YPC vs MIN

That does make it sound a bit more perplexing now that you bring that up.

[slats7]

The Cowboys losses to the Browns in the 1968 and 1969 were always perplexing to me. But Blanton Collier was a terrific coach.

1966 @ Eagles: Tim Brown had two long kickoff returns for touchdowns in a 24-23 defeat.

1975 Green Bay: inexplicably lost at home to a terrible Packer team.

1984 @ Bills: Bills were 0-11 coming into the contest. Nuff said.

[Brian wolf]

Mine are of course, Cowboys postseason losses.

1966 NFL Championship vs GB ... With a first and goal at the GB one yard line and a chance to tie, the Cowboys never give the ball to Don Perkins, as they turn the ball over to GB on 4th down

1975/76 SB vs Pitts ... The Cowboys run the most conservative offensive game-plan I have ever seen in a game coached by Tom Landry

1981/82 NFC Championship ... The Cowboys defense forces six turnovers but an offensive fumble ends their chance to win