Professional Football Researchers Association Forum
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nicefellow31 wrote:25 years (1979-2004) between appearances for the Green Bay Packers in Washington D.C.
Colts at Cards, Jets at Cards, Raiders at Cards, and Jets at Philly also have 25+ year gaps.
Interesting how the Colts keep showing up on these lists.
Probably because they were more often than not the 5th place team in the AFC East, which meant that their non-conference sked was much different from their divisional brethren.
20 years - Chiefs vs. Eagles - 10/22/1972 - 10/11/92
18 years - Cards vs. Jets, already noted
17.8 years - Dolphins vs. Giants - 12/10/1972 - 9/23/90
17.1 years - Seahawks vs. Bucs - 10/16/77 - 11/20/94
13.9 years - Colts vs. 49ers - 11/12/72 - 10/5/1986
Six more matchups of 13-ish years....
Didn't spot check.
Chiefs/Eagles...such an historic rarity pre-2002. I remember their matchup at Arrowhead in '92 - Marty handing 4-0 Philly their first loss of the year after Birds flexed some SB-expectations by annihilating Dallas the week before on MNF. Had no idea at the time it was only their 2ND meeting ever. After avoiding each other yet again on the next go-around ('95), they would have their first ever date at the Vet/Philly in general in '98 (28 years after the merger).
Last edited by 74_75_78_79_ on Mon Aug 31, 2015 9:21 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Ivan Urena's book on NFL Schedules has all those lists on longest times between two teams meeting, longest droughts between a team visiting another team's stadium, things like that. The most interesting one to me is that between Elway and Marino, they never met between 1985 and 1998. In fact, Denver and Miami met in 1975, 1985, and 1998 (regular season and playoffs), which are the kinds of oddities today's balanced schedule corrects.
"Every time you lose, you die a little bit. You die inside. Not all your organs, maybe just your liver." - George Allen
20 years - Chiefs vs. Eagles - 10/22/1972 - 10/11/92
18 years - Cards vs. Jets, already noted
17.8 years - Dolphins vs. Giants - 12/10/1972 - 9/23/90
17.1 years - Seahawks vs. Bucs - 10/16/77 - 11/20/94
13.9 years - Colts vs. 49ers - 11/12/72 - 10/5/1986
Six more matchups of 13-ish years....
Didn't spot check.
Chiefs/Eagles...such an historic rarity pre-2002. I remember their matchup at Arrowhead in '92 - Marty handing 4-0 Philly their first loss of the year after Birds flexed some SB-expectations by annihilating Dallas the week before on MNF. Had no idea at the time it was only their 2ND meeting ever. After avoiding each other yet again on the next go-around ('95), they would have their first ever date at the Vet/Philly in general in '98 (28 years after the merger).
For more details on these rare matchups, please see the article "Long Time, No See: Rare Meetings in the NFL" in the May/June 2013 issue of the Coffin Corner (Volume 35, Number 3). The article explains the effects of the fifth-place schedule and how it resulted in many scheduling quirks and rare meetings throughout the years, including Kansas City vs. Philadelphia. There's also a breakdown of the four interconference and the four intraconference matchups that had the longest stretch between meetings and why these teams did not meet for many years based on the 1978-2001 scheduling formula.
Teo wrote:I've always want to know the reverse side of it, which two non-division teams played the most consecutive seasons since the 1970 merger. I would think Raiders-Steelers, Cowboys-Rams, Colts-Patriots (this last one since 2002) as the longest, but I know I miss many.
New Orleans and Tampa Bay played each other 12 consecutive seasons from 1981-1992.
IvanNYC wrote:
For more details on these rare matchups, please see the article "Long Time, No See: Rare Meetings in the NFL" in the May/June 2013 issue of the Coffin Corner (Volume 35, Number 3). The article explains the effects of the fifth-place schedule and how it resulted in many scheduling quirks and rare meetings throughout the years, including Kansas City vs. Philadelphia. There's also a breakdown of the four interconference and the four intraconference matchups that had the longest stretch between meetings and why these teams did not meet for many years based on the 1978-2001 scheduling formula.
