Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

A bunch of great responses gang! Rupert mentioned the greatest game that he has ever seen. I don't know. That 3-0 Vikings win over the Packers in the middle of the 1971 regular season sure was outstanding. Okay, I'm being sarcastic. But you guys chimed in with a lot of really great games!

Joe Zagorski

Joe Zagorski wrote:A bunch of great responses gang! Rupert mentioned the greatest game that he has ever seen. I don't know. That 3-0 Vikings win over the Packers in the middle of the 1971 regular season sure was outstanding. Okay, I'm being sarcastic. But you guys chimed in with a lot of really great games!

Joe Zagorski

I would put the 1981 Dolphins Chargers number one and 1979 Washington Dallas Week 16 number two on the greatest games I have ever seen list. Number three might be Super Bowl XLIII between Pittsburgh and Arizona just off the top of my head.

Rupert Patrick wrote: Washington - I would say 1982 NFC Championship vs Cowboys. That game made up for a lot of heartbreaking losses (1979 Week 16, 1974 Thanksgiving game to name a few) Washington had endured to Dallas over the years and it came in front of their home crowd and put them in the Super Bowl.

It seems to me that the 1972 NFC Championship win over Dallas would be even more significant since Washington was tasting major success for the first time since the Baugh era.

Rupert Patrick wrote:

BD Sullivan wrote:Browns--1950 championship, since it proved the team was good enough to defeat the best the NFL had to offer.

I might be inclined to argue the week 1 game against Philadelphia, where they beat the defending NFL Champs 35-10. I think a lot of people expected the Eagles to beat them soundly and demonstrate that the Browns were at best a mediocre NFL team but the Browns destroyed them.

Browns: 1954 championship game 56 to 10 win over the Detroit Lions. I don't know how this compares with the 1950's wins against the Rams and Philadelphia, but it was big. The 1948 championship was big as James said and also the 1946 championship game that the Browns won despite being behind and going against a strong wind in the 4th quarter. The 1946 championship got Cleveland started in the right direction.

The 1954 championship and the 1955 title the next year stamped the Browns as a great power in the NFL as well as the old AAFC.

Too bad that they lost the 1951 and 1953 championship games which were close. Cleveland Had the best record both years with only one loss but had to play the title games on the road and lost.

Rupert Patrick wrote:

74_75_78_79_ wrote:Jags & Panthers?

Jags would have to be their '96 divisional win at Denver (overshadows what they did one week prior at Buffalo). Panthers? Could it be beating Dallas the following day? Or is demolishing Cards in last year's NFCC better?

How about Oilers/Titans?

For Oilers/Titans I would say the 1979 Divisional game when they shut down Fouts and won 17-14 without Pastorini and Earl Campbell. However, most would go for the fluke and say the Music City Miracle game.

I know techinically it's (Tennessee) 'Oilers', but for Titans I'll forego the obvious 'Music City Miracle' and pick their 2nd victory in three weeks over the 'Burgh in '98 which pretty much signaled NFL playoff football to come in Nashville under Fisher.

Rupert Patrick wrote:Eagles - Tossup between 1948 and 1960 NFL Championship games because both were classics. I would go with 1960 because the game was in doubt until the very end, and it was the last game of Van Brocklin's career.

Gotta be 1960. The 1948 game was played in a miserable snowstorm.

As far as the first game of the 1950 season for the Browns, even that ass-kicking didn't convince Greasy Neale, who grumbled later about how "all they do is pass the ball." After the Rams win in the title game--where Otto Graham had the first instance of "The Drive" at Cleveland Stadium, there was no doubt.

Buffalo Bills: 51-3

Chicago Cardinals: 1947 NFL title game vs Philly
Arizona Cardinals: 2008 NFCCG, also vs Philly

Chicago Bears, during Halas' first two tenures as coaches: 1925 vs NYG
Chicago Bears, during Halas' last two tenures as coaches: 1963 title game, also vs NYG

conace21 wrote: Chicago Cardinals: 1947 NFL title game vs Philly
Arizona Cardinals: 2008 NFCCG, also vs Philly

St. Louis Cardinals: 2nd 1974 game against Redskins, a 23-20 win that gives them a sweep in the season series and the tiebreaker for the division title.

49ers - Has to be the Catch game, I would think. Some might say the early season whipping of the Cowboys.

Another candidate could be the late-season comeback win over the Saints in 1980.

That year, the Niners started 3-0 before losing eight straight games. During that losing streak, Bill Walsh had thoughts of quitting at different times. Then, they were on the way to losing big to the Saints in December when they pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in regular season history. I don't know for sure, but maybe Walsh quits if the Saints go on and blow them out.

I'll go with the obvious: Patriot's win in 2001 Super Bowl.

They'd been the gang that couldn't shoot straight for so long. Even when they got a good coach, they still couldn't avoid cocking it up.