Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Teo wrote:Of the post-1978 my favorite is 1980:

AFC: All 5 teams (Buffalo, Cleveland, Houston, San Diego and Oakland) were 11-5.

NFC: Three teams with 12-4 mark (philadelphia, Dallas and Atlanta), one 11-5 (Los Angeles) and the only weak link, Minnesota at 9-7.

And the Vikes needed a Cleveland collapse in Week 15 and a hail mary to make it.

Take that hail mary away, and Cleveland would have been 12-4, getting the home field outright. That would have sent the Chargers to Buffalo (where the max temp would have been 12 degrees on 1-3-81 according to Farmer's Almanac) because the Bills beat them that year.

Teo wrote:Of the post-1978 my favorite is 1980:

AFC: All 5 teams (Buffalo, Cleveland, Houston, San Diego and Oakland) were 11-5.

NFC: Three teams with 12-4 mark (philadelphia, Dallas and Atlanta), one 11-5 (Los Angeles) and the only weak link, Minnesota at 9-7.

The Patriots were the AFC team left out of the mix...they went 10-6 and had the best point differential in the conference. That was probably the Patriots best team of that era other than their 1976 team...an interesting pass catching group of Stanley Morgan, Harold Jackson & Russ Francis. A HOVG trio.

1992 not a bad one. In the AFC the top-seed was 11-5 with the 6th being 10-6. SF and Dallas were your top-seeds in the NFC at 14-2 & 13-3 respectively. Saints and Eagles were 12-4 & 11-5 wild cards. Gibby's last stand under Cooke getting in at 9-7 yet beating 11-5, 3rd-seed Vikes 1st round.

Bryan wrote:

Teo wrote:Of the post-1978 my favorite is 1980:

AFC: All 5 teams (Buffalo, Cleveland, Houston, San Diego and Oakland) were 11-5.

NFC: Three teams with 12-4 mark (philadelphia, Dallas and Atlanta), one 11-5 (Los Angeles) and the only weak link, Minnesota at 9-7.

The Patriots were the AFC team left out of the mix...they went 10-6 and had the best point differential in the conference. That was probably the Patriots best team of that era other than their 1976 team...an interesting pass catching group of Stanley Morgan, Harold Jackson & Russ Francis. A HOVG trio.

Two late season back-to-back road losses killed them: a 21-17 loss at 4-8 San Francisco, and a MNF loss at Miami against the 6-7 Dolphins (aka "The John Lennon Game"). In the SF game, Grogan was absolutely brutal in what was a Candlestick swamp, throwing six interceptions (two of them deflections)--to a team that only had nine coming into the game. The Niners could have had four more, but couldn't hold on to the ball. Against Miami, the offense was again a disaster, holding only a 6-0 lead (via two John Smith FG's) at halftime, and continually stumbling through the game before losing in OT.

They had started out 6-1, then went 2-5 in their next seven games.

7DnBrnc53 wrote:

Teo wrote:Of the post-1978 my favorite is 1980:

AFC: All 5 teams (Buffalo, Cleveland, Houston, San Diego and Oakland) were 11-5.

NFC: Three teams with 12-4 mark (philadelphia, Dallas and Atlanta), one 11-5 (Los Angeles) and the only weak link, Minnesota at 9-7.

And the Vikes needed a Cleveland collapse in Week 15 and a hail mary to make it.

Take that hail mary away, and Cleveland would have been 12-4, getting the home field outright. That would have sent the Chargers to Buffalo (where the max temp would have been 12 degrees on 1-3-81 according to Farmer's Almanac) because the Bills beat them that year.

It definitely would have made a difference in the AFC as you stated but, pretty much, not at all in the NFC. Lions would have had that divisional date with Philly instead.

BD Sullivan wrote:
Two late season back-to-back road losses killed them: a 21-17 loss at 4-8 San Francisco, and a MNF loss at Miami against the 6-7 Dolphins (aka "The John Lennon Game"). In the SF game, Grogan was absolutely brutal in what was a Candlestick swamp, throwing six interceptions (two of them deflections)--to a team that only had nine coming into the game. The Niners could have had four more, but couldn't hold on to the ball. Against Miami, the offense was again a disaster, holding only a 6-0 lead (via two John Smith FG's) at halftime, and continually stumbling through the game before losing in OT.

They had started out 6-1, then went 2-5 in their next seven games.

From 1977-80, the Patriots inability to win on MNF destroyed them.

Todd Pence wrote:

BD Sullivan wrote:
Two late season back-to-back road losses killed them: a 21-17 loss at 4-8 San Francisco, and a MNF loss at Miami against the 6-7 Dolphins (aka "The John Lennon Game"). In the SF game, Grogan was absolutely brutal in what was a Candlestick swamp, throwing six interceptions (two of them deflections)--to a team that only had nine coming into the game. The Niners could have had four more, but couldn't hold on to the ball. Against Miami, the offense was again a disaster, holding only a 6-0 lead (via two John Smith FG's) at halftime, and continually stumbling through the game before losing in OT.

They had started out 6-1, then went 2-5 in their next seven games.

From 1977-80, the Patriots inability to win on MNF destroyed them.

Patriots record (1977-80) on Sunday: 37-15
Patriots record at night (1977-80): 2-8 (1-7 on Monday, 0-1 on Thursday, 1-0 on Sunday)