The NFL's weirdest games of all time

[Todd Pence]

On another thread, a poster on this forum referred to the 1984 game between the Rams and the Giants (in which the Rams scored three safeties) as being the strangest NFL game of all time. Here's some other candidates that I submit for your approval:

1950. Opening Day at Pittsburgh, Giants defeating the Steelers by a score of 18-7. The Giants' first two scores came on safeties, which means that at one point they had the score of 4 on the board. Their two touchdowns both came on fumble recoveries. The first of these plays actually featured three turnovers on one play - the Giants intercepted a pass, fumbled it back to the Steelers, and the Steeler lineman who got the ball wound up fumbling to future HOF Cowboy coach Tom Landry who took it back all the way to paydirt. As strange as that scoring summary is, it pales in comparison to the Steelers' individual and team statistics. Pittsburgh ran the ball 32 times and yet gained a grand total of just 34 yards. That aggregate total includes three players with negative rushing yardage: Bob Gage's 3 for -5, Jerry Shipkey's 4 for -9 and Jerry Nuzum's mind-numbing line of EIGHT for MINUS EIGHTEEN. But the Steelers topped that with their individual passing stats: No less than six players on the offense are credited with pass attempts on the afternoon, with five of those registering completions! Possibly a record.

In 1967, the Packers turned the ball over eight times to the Bears one, and still managed to escape with a 13-10 win. Worst turnover margin ever by a winning team.

A 1968 game between the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills saw the Jets outgain Buffalo 427-197. But Joe Namath threw three pick sixes and the Bills upset the Jets 37-35. It would be the Bills' only win of the year, and it came against the eventual Super Bowl champions. It would also be the only win of beleaguered Bill QB Dan Darragh's career.

In 2001, the Chiefs outgained the Raiders 447 yards to 264 AND had a 5 to 1 turnover differential. Yet somehow, they lost 28-26.

A 1986 game between Kansas City and San Diego featured three interception returns for touchdowns (two by Lloyd Burruss) and a fumble return for a touchdown . . . all in the second quarter.

In 1983 Seattle managed just two passing yards against the LA Raiders (153 total), yet put up 38 points.

In a 1970 game against the Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay quarterback Don Horn went one-for-eight. His lone completion went for an 89-yard game winning bomb in the final minutes.

In an early 1980 contest, Dan Fouts' San Diego Chargers turned the ball over on SIX consecutive possessions against the Oakland Raiders. Despite this catastrophe, the Chargers managed to hang on for an overtime win. (Even weirder the Chargers later in the season would also turn over the ball on six consecutive possessions, but this time they got buried by the Cowboys.)

In their expansion season of 2002, The Houston Texans got outgained by a count of 422 yards to just 47, but blasted the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-6. The Texans three touchdowns came on two interception returns (both by Aaron Glenn) and a fumble return.

In the Bills’ 16-12 win over the Jets in 1974, only two passes were completed in the game, both by the Jets. The Bills only ATTEMPTED two passes in the game. Joe Namath’s three picks means the game had more INTs than completions.

In a 1975 game, the Denver Broncos beat the San Diego Chargers 13-10 despite throwing six interceptions (three each by Steve Ramsey and John Hufnagel). This is the only time in the Super Bowl era that a team has thrown six interceptions and won the game.

In 1998, playing the San Diego Chargers the Oakland Raiders had their first sixteen drives of the game end in a punt. On their seventeenth and final drive (save for a last play kneeldown) backup quarterback Wade Wilson found receiver James Jett on third-and-ten for a 68-yard touchdown and the Raiders won 7-6. (Totally unrelated, but I once was enrolled in a college class with Jett. He was a no-show).

[sheajets]

Jets seem to have this happen to them. Alot

I remember a 2009 game at home, we outgained Miami 378-104 in total yards...and lost 30-25 due to TWO Ted Ginn kickoff returns for TD's

There was also a game that year we rushed for 318 yards against the Bills but lost 16-13 in OT due to 5 interceptions by Sanchez

[Todd Pence]

And yet you guys made the AFC title game that year!

[Bryan]

In 1967, the Packers turned the ball over eight times to the Bears one, and still managed to escape with a 13-10 win. Worst turnover margin ever by a winning team.

They actually brought this up (sort of) in the Steelers-Bengals game today. Steelers had a +5 turnover differential and were on the verge of losing to the Bengals, and they mentioned that is was the largest TO margin for a losing team in 20 years (or something like that).

The game itself was one of the weirdest ones I've seen. The refs were really struggling at the end. At the end of regulation, there was a very questionable personal foul that bailed out the Bengals and gave them 1st down on the 1 with 9 seconds left (instead of a 3rd and long with 9 seconds left). Announcers didn't really say what happened, and there wasn't any replay shown on TV. The real fun began at the end of OT.

On 3rd down, Burrow is sacked and fumbles the ball. A Bengals RB picks up the fumble and starts running with it. Rules Question #1: in this situation of a fumble in the last two minutes, when the Bengal RB possesses the ball is the play immediately whistled dead, or is the play allowed to continue until its conclusion (what if the Bengal RB fumbles himself, or what if he zigzags backwards another 20 yards)?

The refs allow the play to continue, the Bengal RB gains about 10 yards and is then tackled with a minute left on the clock and neither team possessing a time out. The announcers are typically clueless about what is going on, saying "what a heads up play by the Bengals RB, they can try a FG now". Here is where it gets weird...the refs stop the clock to announce the rule about not being allowed to advance a fumble in the last two minutes. The announcers were talking over the refs, don't hear this, and still are bewildered about what's going on. Rules Question #2: does anyone know why the clock was stopped in that situation? Is that part of whistling the play dead (which didn't happen)?

Anyways, as the teams are getting ready to line up for 4th down, the refs again stop the action and huddle up. In my view, the clock never should have been stopped, the ball should have been spotted where the Bengals RB first scooped up the fumble, and play proceeds with the play clock starting for the Bengals with 55 seconds left. If the Bengals have any sense, the run the play clock all the way down and the Steelers are pinned in their own territory with like 15 seconds and no timeouts.

Instead, the refs decide that the play should have been whistled dead when the Bengal RB got the fumble, so they decide to reset the game clock to like 1:18, and the ref then says the play clock and game clock will start on his whistle. Don't know why this is so difficult. But then the Bengals punt the ball with 16 seconds still left on the play clock. None of it made any sense. But it really helped the Steelers in that they got the ball with a minute left instead of 15 seconds.

[Brian wolf]

Bengals make a 59 yd FG but get an extra point for the win blocked. Chase could have scored on two other TDs but couldnt control his body. Lots of combacks today with defenses not closing ...

[RRMarshall]

Along their way to to their first postseason appearance in 1966 the Dallas Cowboys lost one of the more bizarre games that season to the Eagles in Philly. Despite holding the Eagles to only 113 yards of total offense they lost 24-23 by allowing THREE kick returns for TDs. Two KO returns for a TD by the great returner Tim Brown (93 and 90 yards) and a 67-yard punt return for a score by Aaron Martin. I believe this remains the only game in NFL history to have 3 kicks returned for a TD by one team in one game. I have a feeling if this happened in today's game the Special Teams coach might by fired on the spot....

[sheajets]

And yet you guys made the AFC title game that year!

Rex Ryan did a remarkable job with that defense and the running game was legit. We were able to work around Sanchez. A few times in big spots when we needed him to make throws (to Keller on a crucial 3rd and goal in SD) he did make them. But in the AFC Title Game in Indy when we needed him to stabilize the game, he was incapable

[74_75_78_79_]

I brought this game up right here a couple years back!

The game? Chargers 35, Saints 0 from 1979! NO were coming off that MNF collapse vs Raiders. SD was also coming off a loss! Their down-the-stretch four-game win-streak (of course highlighted by obvious '35-7' in Wk#12) was snapped the previous week vs NFC playoff-qualifier from a year prior/next year's NFC top-seed, Atlanta! They lost to them at the Murph, 28-26.

Guess that got the Chargers MAD! They belt NO, at the Superdome, 35-0!

The "weird" parts?

ALL 35 points were scored in the first half, but Archie didn't throw a single INT the entire game. Gets sacked just once, but Fouts gets sacked FOUR times (a fifth sack was recorded by NO against...James Harris)! Game's MVP? I'd say Hank Bauer! That very tough-guy special-teams-guru had himself just ONE YARD rushing overall! But THREE touchdowns!!

If Saints simply avert that collapse to Raiders one week earlier, even if they still lose this one, we have ourselves a pretty fun 'NFC West Championship Game' for Week #16!

[Todd Pence]

Bauer had eight TDs on just 28 yards rushing for the year.

[sheajets]

Yesterdays Jets game. Nick Chubb doesn't go down where the Browns could take a knee and run the clock out.

The Jets down 13, 82 seconds to go have the ball on their own 34 yard line. No time outs. And they win