Willie Shelby's Kick Return Clinches Championship for 76 Bengals

Cincinnati fought back from the loser's bracket to win 5 straight and steal the championship form the 1991 Eagles. The Bengals' offense did nothing most of the game. Their first TD came at the close of the first half on a 19 yard scoring strike from Kenny Anderson (7-18-95) to Isaac Curtis (3-65-1) on a play which would have ended the half had it not been in the end zone. Cincy actually began that drive just intending torun out the clock to end the half and avoid a turnover. Ten plays and 80yards later they had a 10-6 lead.

Philly had ripped off a beautiful 14 play, 74 yard drive just prior to that (and folks you don't know how hard that was to do with these defenses). Unfortunately a 3rd and goal play from the 1 ended in a sackand the Eagles were forced to settle for a FG.

The second half was scoreless until a 40 yard FG by Roger Ruzek with4:10 to play moved the Eagles to within a point, 10-9. The Eagles coach was counting on his defense to stop the Bengals when he elected to kick the FG on 4th and 1. Since Cincy had only ten first downs all game the decision seemed quite logical. Philly didn't count on Wilie Shelby returning the ensuing kickoff 88 yards for the score and a 17-9 lead.

Four minutes remained and a TD and 2 point try would force an overtime.It was not to be. Philly made one first down then failed on a 4th and 2. Archie Griffin bolted off tackle for a 44 yard TD on the Bengals first play after the change of possession to make the final score a very unrepresentative 24-9. Philly's last possession ended with Jeff Kemp buried under Coy Bacon.

This was an ugly game and I was EXTREMELY fortunate to win it. Bill dominated TOP 38:37 to 21:23. The Eagles had 238 yards to 202 for Cincy.There were also 17 penalties, 9 against Philly. Each team turned theball over twice. I lucked out in the first game when Anderson completed 30+ yard TD pass with 2 secs to play and won this one on kick return.I have to give Bill credit as he was very gracious in defeat. Oh yea, I would also be remiss if I didn't mention that I was fortunate to face Jeff Kemp twice in these games instead of the better Jim McMahon.Finally, let's not forget Roy Green's premature celebration in the first game which changed a 70+ yard TD for Philly into a touchback for Cincy

-contributed by Wayne Poniewaz-

'76-Bengals rally to force rematch vs '91-Eagles for Championship

This is football the way it was meant to be played. Two tough defenses facing some average offenses. Cincy had medium pass ratings in the low30s while Philly's were in the low 40s. Philly had single digit running ratings - mid single digits. No one might ever score.The Bengals actually moved into Philly territory 4 times in the first quarter, they were short drives started with good field position, but they did get into Philly territory. The result was zero points for the Bengals. meanwhile Midway through the quarter Philly struck with a medium pass that speedster Roy Green broke for a big gain - past the 50,the 40..he's gone. The Cincy coach was probably wondering how he would ever even score 7 points to match this. Then a miracle happened...Green was celebrating early and Tommy Casanova caught up from behind and punched the ball away ...into the end zone for a touch back. It was still 0-0. That's how the first quarter ended.Philly did manage a short drive and FG midway through the 2nd quarter.Freak play number 2 happened later in the quarter. Cincy punted from their own 20 and Rod Harris caught it a t midfield and returned it 26yards to the 24...then fumbled...but Eric Allen recovered for Philly and rambled the last 24 yards for the score and a 10-0 lead.Cincy took advantage of a fumble early in the second half as they"drove" 39 yards to make it 10-7. Philly came back with a FG, 13-7.Cincy kicked a 24 yard FG late in the 3rd and it was now 13-10. Fast forward to late in the 4th quarter with teh score still 13-10.After a short punt and nice return the Bengals start at their own 48with 4:51 to play. Fals start makes it 1st and 15. Two runs produce afirst down. Two more runs produce zero yards. A screen pas goes incomplete. 4th and 10 at the Philly 41 with 1:51 to play. Another screen yields a measurement...first down. Anderson then hits Curtis for19 yards. This is looking like OT and a FG. Griffin runs for 3 and fumbles. Philly recovers. Game, set and match. Well, maybe not. 52 secs remain and Cincy has all their TOs. A kneel and a couple of runs yield little. Philly must punt and a 14 yard return by Casanova means Cincy takes over at the 34. Sixteen seconds remain. The first pass is incomplete..a medium pass was incomplete on a dice roll of15, that's the kind of defense that was being played in this game. Anderson drops back again and sees Chip Myers in single coverage on a medium pass. Myers has it...he's free...20...10...touchdown! Cincy scores with 2 secs to play to win 17-13. Rematch is set for Monday morning at 11 am.
-contributed by Wayne Poniewaz-

Elimination Bracket Finals: '76-CIN 24, '86-MIA 17

76 Cincy defeats 86 Miami, 24-17. THis was a rematch of a winner's bracket game won by Miami 24-21. THis game hinged on a few big plays.The first came right near the end of the first half with Miami trailing7-3. They went for it on 4th and 2 inside the Cincy 10 yard line and failed to convert. The second key play game early in the 4t quarter with Miami 17-10. Cincy had a similar 4th and 2 from the 3 but Boobie Clark(14-82) pushed it in for the score. The 3rd key play when Cincy had the ball on 1st and 10 at their own 26 with just 3:51 to play. They had just completed a 15 yard pass to get out of a deep hole. Miami played aggressive going for the pick and Anderson found Trumpy on a medium-short pass for 47 yards. It was a good time to get lucky. From the 27yard line Cincy just ground down the clock until Clark took it in from 7yards out for his 3rd TD with 25 secs to play.

Marino had a nice day (18-34-253 1 int) but got no help from his ground game (18-50). Cincy rushed 38 times for 163 yards and while that sounds like a lot, the Miami defensive coordinator did a great job compensating for the poor Dolphin run D.

Cincy must now beat 91 Philly twice. I look at the game already and this one is going to be LOW scoring unless someone gets good field position off some turnovers.

-contributed by Wayne Poniewaz-

The wind and '76-Cincy blows away '05-SD

The 2005 Chargers coached by Mark Miller came to Cincy (1976) andmiserable weather. The Bengals coach (Wayne Poniewaz) was ecstatic whenhe saw the forecast: 24 mph winds and 22*. I knew it would help to slowdown the SD passing offense. The Chargers took a 7-3 lead in the leadand in the first quarter then it completely unraveled in the second.Cincy scored a TD on a drive which started in the 1st quarter then theBengals too advantage of 3 Charger turnovers (two picks and a fumble ona sack) to score 16 more points. That made it 26-7 at the half and itwasn't likely San Diego would be able to generate the kind of offenseneeded to come back. They didn't. The only score was a 54 interceptionreturn by Marvin Cobb. Final: 30-7 Cincy.All told the Chargers committed 8 turnovers in the game. The generatedjust 208 yards of total offense. Brees was 11-21 for 90 yards with 4picks. Tomlinson ran for 97 yards on 21 carries but a lot of that wasagainst Cincy pass defenses in the second half. Cincy only had 215 yardsbut committed just 2 turnovers. Anderson was 6-16 for 107 yards andthey ran 37 times for 108 yards.As Mark commented, those southern California boys just couldn't handlethe weather.Cincy moves on to face 86 Miami in a rematch won 24-21 by the Dolphins. -contributed by Wayne Poniewaz-

'76-CIN eliminates '67-BAL

The 76 Bengals were fortunate they missed 67 Baltimore at the start of the tournament but they didn't avoid them for long. This tourney is coming down to the wire and the loser of this one goes home. There's a simple story line in this one. The Bengals were able to run the football(44-206) while the Colts could not (16-65). That meant over 38 minutesof possession time. It also meant Cincy could sit back on the pass. That meant a sub-par game for Unitas: 13-26 for 139 includuing four big picks. The last one came in the 4th quarter with Cincy leading 14-7. It was returned to the Baltimore 9 and Anderson (11-22-120) found Curtis onthe first play from scrimmage for a huge 21-7 lead. That's how it ended.

My hats off to Stu for staying remarkably calm in a game where very little went his way. He had two big intentional grounding calls go against him, 4 picks, a blocked FG at the end of the half when he was leading 7-6, a missed FG from 22 yards in the 3rd quarter, 3 fumbles by Cincy but 2 were recovered by Cncy, and well, little in the way of good dice rolls. I was fortunate to advance in this one.

Round 4: '02 Chiefs Skate by '91 Niners in Slugfest

SAN FRANCISCO (CNN) -- The powerful '91 49'ers welcomed the '02 Chiefs to Candlestick Park in a NPT elimination game in what promised to be a night of offensive fireworks. It did not disappoint. KC marched 56 yards in 7 plays on the opening possession. The 'Niners responded with a 12-play, 86-yard drive to make it 7-7. KC moved 53 yards to the SF 22, but early in the 2Q Green was picked off on a flare pass (INT odds 102, rolled a 100). Amazingly, KC held and forced a punt.

KC them covered 70 yards in 7 plays, as Green hit Gonzalez on a 37-yard slant for a 14-7 lead midway through the 2Q. The game then got really, really bizarre. SF committed a penalty on the KO return and took over on its 9. Facing 4th and 4 at its 15, the 'Niners went for it, and Young's medium-long pass to Carter was broken up. However, after failing to be stopped by anything but a turnover on its first three possessions, KC could not capitalize on the great field position. Three plays netted eight yards, and on 4th and 2 at the 7, KC faked the field goal, but Collins was nailed for a loss. The third bizarre possession in a row then transpired as the 'Niners faked a punt from their own 32, and the pass was incomplete. With 1:53 left in the half, KC covered 32 yards for the TD, and it was 21-7 KC at the half. The Chiefs were simply shocked that they had held SF to 7 first-half points and under 150 yards. But they knew it would be tough to repeat that success in the second half.

How right they were. SF's implosion continued at the start of the 3Q, as the 'Niners fumbled it away on their third play at their own 9. Green immediately found Hall for the TD, and it was a 28-7 game early in the 3Q. SF only needed 7 plays to cover 69 yards and make it 28-14 on Keith Henderson's run. Trent Green was shaken up on the next KC play, and the unstoppable Todd Collins came on and directed an 80-yard drive to paydirt, making it 34-14 midway through the 3Q as the PAT was deflected. Young hit Henderson for 29 on the next drive, that covered 80 yards in 7 plays and found Henderson running it in again to make it 34-21 late in the 3Q. Dante Hall finally earned his money in this tourney by returning the kickoff 99 yards for a TD. The Chiefs converted the 2-pointer to make it 42-21.

SF methodically marched 77 yards on 11 plays to make it 42-28 with 12:40 to play. KC then ate up five minutes of clock in going 80 yards for a TD to make it 49-28. KC faced 4th and 1 at the SF 34, and instead of trying the long FG, they gambled, and Green hit Priest Holmes on a slant that resulted in a 34-yard TD against the full blitz. 7:01 rewained as SF was still 3 TDs away. 7 minutes is a Louisiana lifetime to the 'Niners. KC got its hopes up when the 'Niners took almost 4 minutes to go 49 yards and score. For some reason, SF went for two and got it, making it 49-36 with 3:14 to go. Still, KC figured to be able to eat up enough clock to hang on to the 2-TD lead. No dice. SF converted the onsides kickoff at the SF 46. It took a full two plays for SF to score, with Young hitting Rice for 35 and Taylor for 19. It was 49-43, and a full 2:57 remained. The next onsides kickoff failed and KC took over at the SF 45. Against the run defense, Green looked to hit short passses, but failed on three in a row, consuming only :22. KC punted to the SF 10 and fans covered their eyes.

SF had all three timeouts. A holding penalty pushed SF back to the five. With fatigued receivers making double-coverage slightly easier, Young missed on a play-action bomb to Rice. Carter picked up 10 yards on a draw to the 15. young hit Carter on a flare for 13 to the 28 with 1:17 to go. Young then was sacked for an 11-yard loss to the 17 as SF used its first timeout with 1:07 to play. Young found Carter for 17, but Carter fumbled. Taylor picked it up for SF and lost a yard. 3rd and 5 at the SF with :58 left. Young went medium-long to Rice, incomplete. Penalty on SF for holding. KC declined, making it 4th and 5 with :51 left. Biggest play of the game. Young looked medium-long, but the double-covered Taylor could not haul it in, and KC held on for the wild win.

-contributed by Chris Howell-

Round 4: MVP's

Round 4 had the Winner's bracket championship game and 2 elimination games:

OFFENSE	DEFENSE	Special Teams
Steve Young	Reggie White	Dante Hall
1991-SF	1991-PHI	2002-KC
26-38-376-3td	1 sack / 2 FF's	KR 3-118-td

DEFENSE CARRIES EAGLES INTO CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Brick walls, mountains, steel tanks, bulldozers, and sledge hammers are just a start to describe the play of the Philadelphia Eagles defense tonight. The Miami Dolphins weren’t too shabby themselves in the defensive department. It was a night in which both defenses came to play and with each and every hit a message was sent. That message was quite simply, “you better strap that helmet on good because if you don’t it won’t be on your head long”. The hitting was so fierce that Miami put the ball on the ground 5 times after one jarring hit after another. In fact on Miami’s second series alone, Dan Marino was blindsided Reggie White so hard that Marino said afterwards “I wasn’t even sure I had any teeth left much less the ball” as he fumbled but Miami was fortunate enough to get the ball back. One play later, Woody Bennett after receiving a two yard pass from Marino received another Eagle vicious hit that jarred the ball lose but one again the fortune was on the Dolphins side. The 3rd play though in this series the Dolphins wasn’t as fortunate as Reggie White and his counterpart was bearing down on Marino causing him to release the ball early and right into the hands of Eagles Rich Miano setting the Eagles up at the Miami 21. The Eagle offense though being led by backup QB Brad Goebel (14-22-4-203) who was starting due to a thumb injury to Jim McMahon sustained in last weeks San Diego win, wasn’t able to even get a first down.

Roger Ruzek would kick a 22 yard FG to give the Eagles the early 3-0 lead. On Miami’s next possession, the fumble bug would once again hit the Dolphins. “The ball felt like it was slick as grease” said Tony Nathan. Nathan would take in a short pass from Marino and the ball would pop out as DE Reggie White put a bone crushing hit on him. The ball would once again stay with the Dolphins though as Marino would fall on it. Marino on the next play would hook up with James Pruitt for 9 yards but even Pruitt couldn’t hang on to the ball, but again the Eagles did not get the ball. Marino on the next play would be sacked for a 7 yard loss by Seth Joyner and it would only mark the second time in this tournament that the Dolphin offensive line had allowed a sack. The first came earlier in the game when Reggie White got the sack. The hit must have affected the all pro QB as on the next play once again he was intercepted this time by Otis Smith and he would go untouched all the way for the touchdown. Bam, the defense was shining and put the Eagles up 10-0.

In the second quarter on Philadelphia’s 2nd possession the Eagles would start at their own 37 and six plays later after Goebel found Calvin Williams for a 40 yard connection to the Dolphins 26 it looked as if they would increase its lead. This time though it was time for the turnover bug to hit Goebel, Roy Green would make the pick at the Dolphins 14 yard line and give its offense a spark. After 2 straight incomplete passes, Marino went to work. 17 yards to Clayton, 35 yards to Moore then a 26 yard strike to Mark Clayton to put the Dolphins on the board and trailing 10-7. “That drive gave us confidence” said Marino. On Philadelphia next possession, Goebel once again must have thought he was suppose to throw to the opposing team as he was picked again, this time by Mike Kozlowski. Starting at the Eagles 32 and in great scoring possession the Eagles sent the blitz package again and Marino for the 3rd time found himself looking up into some of the Eagles defenders eyes. “That is the toughest pass defense that I have ever faced” said Marino later. They would end up settling for a Reveiz 53 yard FG and just like that the 10 point lead had been erased. “We have got to be able to do better than that when we get the ball that deep in the Eagles territory” said Miami’s offensive coordinator and coach George Stanton. “ All game long we had some great calls against the aggressive defense but never seemed to get any good results out of them.” When the Eagles got the ball back, offensive coordinator and coach Bill Vogt said “ I was almost afraid to let Goebel pass anymore since the last two times he threw INT’s.”. Even though the Eagles offensive ground game was being productive as Joseph (9-43) and Byers (9-48) a decision had been made to try to catch the Dolphins off guard and call a play action. “I just about was ready to ask coach if he wanted to put in White at QB” said Goebel as it appeared that for the 3rd straight time the Dolphins would pick him off. A stupid roughing the passer penalty would erase the INT, and give the ball back to the Eagles. Ruzek at the 00:22 second mark would attempt a 56 yard FG that would fall short and the Dolphins then just took a knee to go in at halftime tied at 10. “With our early fumbles this game could have gotten ugly real quick’ said Marino.

After a exchange of punts in the 3rd quarter the next 3 series of this game was as bizarre as it gets. It all started at the 9:20 mark when Brad Goebel would throw his 3rd interception as Blackwood would give Miami the ball at the Eagles 35. You could hear the fans in the stands hollering “Hey GOOBER, those aren’t your receivers”. Marino would then go long for Mark Clayton and his 1st play after the turnover and it would be the Eagles turn to get the interception as Hopkins would go up and get it. I can’t repeat what words were mouthed by Marino here, but you get the picture. Not wanting to be out done, Goebel returned the favor 4 plays later as Blackwood got his 2nd int of the day setting Miami up at Philadelphia’s 26 yard line. “I wanted to find a rock to climb under” said Goebel. A rock was also what some fans was thinking about, but not one for Goebel to hide under but some to throw at him. Evidently Miami just didn’t feel right about what they had just done so in a kind gesture they give the ball right back to the Eagles when Jerome Brown recovered a Davenport fumble. “Strange series of events” said McMahon from the sidelines.

With the way the game was going, both coaches knew that it would be the big turnover or big play that would decide this game. It would be the Eagles who would get that big break when Marino was forced to scramble and the ball was knocked loose on his way to the ground. Clyde Simmons would put Phi in business at the Dolphins 36. At his point the coaching staff of Philadelphia was thinking about just running the ball and some clock and giving Ruzek the opportunity to kick a FG which would give them the lead. Instead the staff decided to gamble knowing that the worse that could happen would be for Goebel to throw his 5th int of the game. On play action they caught Miami in a run defense and Goebel hit Barnett in stride for 36 yards to put them up 16-10. Ruzek ( some fans have been heard as calling him, MR guaranteed to miss 1 XP a game dork) did exactly that. It marked the 3rd straight game that a XP being missed could have cost the Eagles the game. With over 11 minutes still left to be played the Eagle fans were worried as they always are. The Dolphins would put together a nice drive but after a 52 yard FG attempt failed the clock was starting to run against them. The icing on the cake came during the Eagles next possession as they drove deep into the Dolphins side of the field using almost 6 minutes of the clock and Ruzek redeemed himself by hitting the 38 yard game clinching FG. Turnovers killed both teams and neither team played well enough to win. Someone had to win though and the SAT gods shined on the Eagles.



-contributed by Bill Vogt-

Round 3: MVP's

Offense	Defense	Special Teams
Trent Green	James Booty	James Pruitt
2002-KC	1991-PHI	1986-MIA
30-42-415-2td-int	3 tackle/INT /TD	92yd TD PR

Round 3: '86-Miami 24, '76-Cincinnati 21

Miami receives the opeing kickoff and will start their first possession on their own 33. 4 plays later that are at the Bengal 39 and knocking on the door. Marino drops back and looks for Duper on the fly but the ball is tipped at the line and intercepted by Reggie Williams. Coach Staton wonders if this is the dreaded 4 int game that he knows Marino will have someday! The Bengals start the drive at their own 42 and go on a 10 play, 7 minute TD scoring drive that is capped off by a 1 yard Boobie Clark run. Miami's next drive turns out to be their longest of the day, a 10 play 73 yarder that ends with a 12 yard toss to Nat Moore for 6 points. The Bengals next drive ends after 8 plays and they are forced to punt. James Pruitt takes the kick and scampers 92 yards down the sideline for a quick 6.

These are unexpected points and they loom large in the end as Miami only wins by 3. Cincinnati begins their 2nd 10 yard drive and goes 74 yards for the score when Ken Anderson finds Lenvil Elliot in the endzone on a 10 yard toss. It is now 14-14 and 2:46 until half. Do the Dolphins run out the clock or go for a score? Well Coach Staton wants to get this offense into gear because Cincinnati will start the second half with the ball and his defense has showed no signs of stopping the powerful Bengals running game. The Miami offense cannot find the next gear and promptly go 3 and out, doh! This gives the Bengals the ball at their own 37 with a little over 2 minutes to work with. Coach Staton is conceding the 3 points but hopes his defense can keep them out of the endzone. His fear turns to hope as Anderson fumbles the ball on the first play and Mark Brown recovers for the Dolphins. 2 plays later Miami has it 1st and goal from the 10 but Marino throws his 2nd INT as he is picked at the 5 yard line by Ken Riley. A costly turnover that sends Miami into the locker room very demoralized.

Both sides start the second half very sluggish with 3 and outs and sees the Bengals start the next drive on their own 32. 3 plays later and it's 1st and goal from the 9 thanks to a 43 yard bomb to Isaac Curtis.

Looking to go up by 6, Anderson seeks out Bruce Coslet in the endzone but the pass is intercepted by John Offerdahl. The whole stadium breathes a collective sigh of relief as a dejected Bengals offense heads back to the sideline. Miami cannot make them pay for the turnover and goes 3 and out again. The Bengals next drive will only last two plays as Anderson never gets the snap and Miami's Bob Baumhower makes the recovery at the Cincinnati 27. Miami will make them pay this time as Marino finds Tony Nathan for a short 11 yard toss and run. A Reveiz extra point makes it 21-14 Miami. Starting at their own 20 the Bengals drive to the Miami 40 and are faced with a 4th and 2.

Already down a score and knowing that a two touchdown deficit would be almost impossible to overcome the Bengals braintrust goes for it and Anderson is stopped for a 1 yard loss. 8 plays later and Reveiz tacks on 3 points with a 45 yard field goal. Miami now has some breathing room with a 24-14 lead. Cincinnati's last scoring drive sees them march 80 yards uncontested down the field and ends on a 1 yard Clark touchdown plunge. 24-21 with 10 minutes left. Miami's next drive travels 25 yards and ends with a Marino pick near midfield by Ron Pritchard. Is this the break the Bengals have been looking for? Sadly the Bengals pick a bad time to go 3 and out and have to punt the ball back to Miami. Thirty yards later and Miami has driven to the Cincinnati 35. It seems fate has smiled on the Bengals once more because Marino throws his 4th pick of the game. Marvin Cobb intercepts it at the 2 yard line and the Bengals will start from their own 4 with 4:30 to go. Using over 3:30 to gain 36 yards leaves Cincinnati facing a 4th and 16 thanks to a Mike Smith sack back on first down. The do not make it and Miami runs out the last 47 seconds to hold on for the victory."

-contributed by George Staton-

Round 3: '91-Eagles hold off '05-Chargers and head to semi's

There is an old saying in football, “Defense wins championships”. That statement couldn’t have had more truth to it than it did tonight. The San Diego Chargers came into the game knowing that the Eagle defense would be a challenge and points would be hard to come by. From the opening kickoff though, the mindset would change dramatically on the Eagle sidelines as they also felt comfortable that they had the defense to shut down the Chargers high octane offense. On the opening kickoff the Chargers would start at their own 20 yard line after the kick sailed past the end line. The Eagles defense knew that coming in to the game that if they could shut down LaDanian Tomlinson and make the Chargers one dimensional that it would make things much easier on them. With that in mind the Eagles came out with run defense and keyed on the star running back. The Chargers though had other idea’s as Drew Brees (17-29-170-1TD-1INT) came out with play action and found Antonio Gates for a 19 yard gain. Two plays later after Tomlinson’s run netted 0 yards on first down, Brees went play action again and this time burned the Eagle defense by connecting up with Keenen McCardel for a 46 yard gain all the way down to the Eagles 10 yard line. 2 plays later, Tomlinson took a Brees 4 yard flare pass in for he score to give the Chargers the quick lead 7-0. “We were shocked that they moved down the field with so much ease” said all-pro DE Reggie White.

Both teams exchanged punts for the rest of the 1st quarter as the Charger defense was out performing the Eagle D. In fact so much so, that the Eagles did not make a 1st down until its 3rd series of the game. “We felt like we were trying to move a mountain out of our way” said QB Jim McMahon about the Charger defense. In the second quarter the Chargers would turn the ball over at their own 39 when Wes Hopkins would recover a Lorenzo Neal fumble. Once again the mountain could not be moved and Philadelphia had to punt. A series later after another Charger punt that was equivalent to me going out there and punting gave the ball to the Eagles at the Charger 36. Philadelphia would get as far down as the 14 and the drive stalled. Ruzek would kick a 31 yard FG to put the Eagles on the board. The half would end at 7-3.

During half time adjustments were made by the Eagle coaching staff and they knew that if they had any chance at all to win it would have to come by way of the passing game as the running game did not exist. In fact the running game was so poor that Tomlinson had more yards (56) for the game than the Eagles did the entire game (53). Philadelphia would put together a nice 10 play 56 yard drive to start the second half that would again result in a Ruzek field goal to get them within 7-6. “With a game like this, every opportunity to score you take it” said McMahon. San Diego would take the kickoff and give the ball right back to the Eagles on the 17 yard line when Seth Joyner recovered the Turner fumble on the return. “Damn, I should have secured that ball better” said Turner after the game. Again that brick wall defense of the Chargers would not give ground and once again the Eagles had to settle for a Ruzek field goal of 22 yards. For the first time of the game the Eagles led 9-7. “Cashing in on mistakes is so important” stated McMahon.

At this point no one in the stands or on the field thought that 9 points would win this game. The Eagle defense started flexing its own muscles and once again forced a punt. The Eagles would start at its own 28. Ruzek would kick his 4th FG of the day later on in this drive and now the Eagles led 12-7 with a quarter to play. After another Charger punt on its next possession, McMahon would make his first and only mistake of the day. Drayton Florence would step in front of a pass intended for Micky Shuler at the Eagle 24 give the Chargers the break they needed. It was now the Eagles defense’s time to turn up the heat.

Expecting a pass play on 1st down Reggie White sacked Brees for an 13 yard loss all the way back to the Eagles 44. Two plays later they had moved back to the Eagle 35 and faced a 4th and 8. The Chargers sent in the FG unit as the clock still had plenty of time to go. The fake was on, and it ended up costing the Chargers dearly. Phillip Rivers would make a nice pass down field but the ball would pop up in the air and John Booty would race 79 yards to pay-dirt to give the Eagles a 19-7 lead with still almost 10 minutes to play. “I just ran as hard as I could” said Booty. “No one was going to touch this Booty if I could help it”. San Diego got the ball back two more times after that and each time the Eagle D rose to the occasion. For the game, the Eagles had 239 yards total offense compared to 229 for the Chargers. LT missed almost half the game when he left late in the 2nd. His injury at the time was not told to anyone. Great defensive battle and now the Eagles advance and wait on the winner of the Cincinnati-Miami winner.
-contributed by Bill Vogt-

Round 3: '02-Chiefs stun '06-Jax with late comeback

After being victimized by mysterious SAT bugs at halftime late last night, sub Marc Miller was subbed for by Marc Weiss, and an instant classic ensued.
Instant Classic in J-Ville

JACKSONVILLE (AP) —In an third-round elimination game, the high-powered Chiefs invaded Jacksonville to take on the defensive-minded Jaguars.
The Chiefs took the opening kickoff and assembled an 11-play, 80-yard drive consuming 6:53 to take an early 7-0 lead.

Fifteen seconds later, it was 7-7. Maurice Jones-Drew returned Andersen’s kickoff 91 yards for the score. “I’m a moron,” Dick Vermeil would later say. “I knew I should’ve squibbed it. Dumb***.”

Sixty seconds later, it was 14-7 KC. Dante Hall returned the kickoff to the KC 46, and Trent Green hit Kennison for 15 and Gonzalez for 37 for the score.

After giving up 137 yards on the first two series, Jacksonville would allow zero on the next two, and only 69 in the next quarter and a half. Meanwhile, the Jags put Josh Scobee to good use, calling on him three times in the second quarter, giving Jacksonville a 16-14 halftime lead. KC did win a ‘bend but don’t break award’ for holding the Jags to field goals after two long drives, and the middle field goal was the result of an interception of Green at the KC 22. With :05 left in the half at the KC 47, Green beat the prevent defense and hit Kennison on a flag, but he was hauled down at the 14 as time expired.

Jacksonville continued to frustrate KC’s offense in the third quarter. After the first two drives, KC reached a streak of five straight possessions with no points, spanning 33 minutes of the game. Meanwhile, Garrard got hot midway through the third. Well, hot for two plays, which is all it took to move the Jaguars 88 yards for a score. Garrard hit Matt Jones for 41 from the Jax 12, then, avoiding a heavy rush and looking off his first choice, hit Jones again for a 47-yard TD strike. A hot Garrard coupled with the devastating rushing tandem of Taylor and Jones-Drew would spell defeat for KC.

However, the Chiefs responded, finally emerging from the doldrums of ineptitute they habitated for two quarters. Green engineered a 10-play, 85-yard drive for a TD to cut the Jacksonville lead to 23-21 late in the third quarter. The drive was aided by a defensive holding penalty on a 4-yard gain on 3rd and 9 at the KC 16. A couple of plays later, Gonzalez hauled in a short post and rambled 44 yards, and on 3rd and 4 from the Jax 18, Green hit Morton on a slant for the TD.

The next four series fell into a pattern of one or two first downs and then a punt. Jacksonville pinned KC at the five with 1:43 left in the third quarter, but after one first down, Stryzinksi dug out of the hole with a 50 yard, non-returned punt. Jacksonville got one first down and then pinned KC at its 10 with 11:00 to play. The chiefs could not amass a first down or even positive yardage. On 3rd and 13 at the 7, Green was crushed by McCray at the goal line, and fortunately for KC, the ball was spotted at the one. Stryzinski’s punt was taken by Pearman at the 40 and returned to the 23, setting up Jacksonville to build its lead.

However, Reggie Williams fumbled an 11-yard pass, and Corey Harris pounced on it for KC at the six with 9:29 to go. Three straight possessions began at or inside the 10 yard line for the Chiefs.

Yet again, the Chiefs could muster but one first down, and Stryzinski punted for the third stright drive, as Jax fair caught the punt it at their 32 with 7:58 left.
Jones-Drew picked up 16 yards on two plays, and the Jags seemed bent on putting it away. However, Garrard was flagged for a 13-yard intentional grounding penalty, and Taylor could only recoup 9 of that on the next two plays. The Jags punted and KC amazingly took over on their 27 with 4:37 left.

Green then picked a fine time to get hot. He hit Hall for 9, then scrambled for 10 and then 16, making fans wonder if Vick had escaped prison and donned Green’s uniform. From the Jax 38, Green hit Holmes for 7. Holmes busted inside for two. On 3rd and 1 at the Jax 29 with 3:16 left, Jacksonville nailed the play, keying on Holmes and trapping him for a four-yard loss. It was not enough to push Andersen out of field goal range, however, as he nailed the 50-yarder to give KC a 24-23 lead, its first lead since the second quarter, with 2:40 left.

Needing only a field goal to win, Jax took over on their 34 with 2:32 left after the squib kick. Garrard went to Chief-killer Jones for 47 to the KC 19, as Jones was singlehandedly destroying KC and the hopes of its fans. Now, Jax could eat some click and call on Scobee to deliver the win with little time remaning. However, two plays later from the KC 18 with 1:42 left, Garrard hit Wrightster for an 18-yard TD.

“I was almost relieved with that TD,” remarked Vermeil, “since we would not have had much time left if they milked the clock.” Nonetheless, the Jags were elated to re-assume the lead, which is what mattered.

KC over on its 20 with 1:45 left and one timeout. Green was sacked for a 10-yard loss on first down, and KC’s hopes took a crushing blow. "That sack seemed devastating," Green would later say. "The field looked really long with 4 minutes and 50 yards to go for a field goal against that defense, and even longer at 80 yards and 1:45, but it looked miles long with 90 yards to go and 1:18 left." Green found the answer for the long field by connecting with Holmes on a flare pass, and watching as the big guy would not go down. He rumbled and rambled for a whopping 72 yards, finally being tracked down at the Jacksonville 18 with :46 left.

Green was then sacked again for a six-yard loss to the Jax 24 as the Chiefs used their final timeout with :38 left. Green then found Kennison on a flag for 15 yards to the Jax 9. Kennison went out of bounds to stop the clock with :30 left. On 3rd and 1 at the 9, Green rolled away from pressure, looked off his primary receive and hit Kennison on a square in at the one, and Kennison lunged over the goal line for the TD with :23 left! At 29-23, Green looked for Gonzales on the two-point try, was flushed from the pocket, and scooted around end, diving over the goal line to make it 32-29. After returning the squib to the Jags’ 28, Jax could not cover 72 yards in the final :17. The teams had combined for two TDs in the final 1:52, and 17 points in all in the final 2:47.

“Wow, I’m floored,” remarked an exhausted and typically emotional Vermeil. “Green was just amazing, both in passing and running, and of course, we owe our continued existence to Holmes. That 72-yard catch-and-run was a work of art. Jacksonville played great, and just shut us down for huge chunks of the game. My hat's off to them for a well-played game”

-contributed by Chris Howell-