I watched the 49ers vs Packers 1998 NFC Wild Card Game tonight for the first time, otherwise known as "The Catch II". Pretty damn good game. TO's catch was pretty great but two or three plays before that Jerry Rice lost a fumble and they called him down, that was a fumble bigger than shit. Packers should have won that game.

I found a 2003 Houston Texans vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers game on Youtube and watched it this morning. This was later in the season where the Texans had a ton of injuries(they led the NFL that year with 19 players on injured reserve). Aaron Glenn and Gary Walker were out so the Bucs ate the Texans defense up with the running game. Fucking Jamie Sharper was one of the all time great workhorses, he was carrying one hell of a workload in this game, dude had like 12 tackles before halftime. The Bucs defense completely brutalized Dave Ragone, sacked him 5 times and hit him pretty hard a few other times. Dominick Davis was who the Bucs went after and he had some runs where he fought his ass off against the excellent Tampa defense(Warren Sapp was out though), he just wasn't able to do much though.

Dom Capers poor head coaching was on full display on this game, just a terrible game called from him here. My mind was blown when I recently read that both Gary Kubiak and Wade Phillips were candidates for that Texans coaching job in the beginning in 2001-2002, they went with Capers instead. I wonder how much different that team would have been if they chose either one of those guys over Capers, I got to believe they would have been better off. 

But with that said I think this 2003 Dom Capers team was substantially tougher than this last year's Texans team. Both teams were ravaged by injuries but that 2003 squad had it far worse in that regard. Even though the 2003 team finished with 1 more win(5-11 in 2003, finished 4-12 last year) they also played a far tougher schedule in 2003(they had the toughest schedule in the NFL that year with a +1.9 SOS rating that year, the 2017 Texans had a -0.3 SOS rating according to Pro Football Reference.com) and the games they did lose they fought their asses off until the very end. Last year's Texans didn't even have half the heart of that 2003 squad. 

Been watching some old games on Youtube. I'm fucking pissed I found the Packers vs Falcons game from 1983 but it was blocked by NFL. Fucking cunts if you don't want anyone else to upload it THEN UPLOAD IT.

I found a 1984 NFL Record And Fact Book a few months back. I enjoy these old books because I like reading through the old game summaries through the season, it's great toilet reading material. I think they stopped putting the game summaries in them after sometime after the 2003 edition(that was the last one I had that had them). This 1984 one is very interesting with the game summaries for the 1983 season, a very interesting season that had quite a few all time great games. Maybe thereallt knows a little more about this season. I've heard that there was a lot of bad media about the league as if the NFL was dying or something, ratings were falling and attendance was dwindling. I don't have the book near me right now but there were some pretty small crowds for NFL games that year. It's crazy because if you read through the game summaries it looks like a really fun season.

Also found Texans at Steelers opening day 2008. The Texans were still such a young team looking back, that Steeler team was fucking legit(they won the Super Bowl that year) and they laid a beat down on the Texans here. This was Duane Brown and Chris Myers first games, we had really nobody on defense other than Mario Williams and we had no running back. The tone of the game was set in the Texans first drive, they moved the ball with Andre Johnson but the drive stalls with 4th and 1, they do a QB sneak and Schaub clearly gets it but the referees give them a terrible spot, from there this rigged bullshit game was over. Even though Pit layed a beat down Andre still had nearly a dozen catches for probably 120 something yards receiving against that defense that tried to knock him out several times through the game. G.O.A.T.

And this morning I think I may have watched one of the worst NFL games of all time, Broncos at Chiefs week 3 1993, So. Many. Penalties. Every fucking play was a penalty, the commentators were fucking miserable was what made it funny. The crowd was red hot for Montana's Arrowhead debut but man they totally lost interest in the game. I think this may have set a record for penalties.

Finally caught the 1985 Bears vs Dolphins Monday Night game where Marino ends Chicago's bid for an undefeated season, I believe this is still to this day one of the most watched regular season games in NFL history. Wasn't all that great of a game though because Miami pretty much blew them out. Once Chicago fell behind they completely collapsed in on themselves. My favorite part about this game was Miami Center Dwight Stephenson handling up on that Bears interior defensive line, fun to watch, Stephenson was one of the all time greats. What a real shame we didn't get to see a rematch in Super Bowl XX, that would have been something. 

Fuck college football, I found a rare gem on Youtube, 1997 Seahawks vs Raiders:

This is one of Warren Moon's greatest games, threw for 409 yards and 5 touchdown passes to bring the Seahawks back from a 31-18 third quarter deficit. That 1997 season in Seattle was one of Moon's best seasons playing with a not so talented team(surely not as much talent on that squad as the late 80's/early 90's Oilers had around him) and played way better than anybody thought he would since everybody thought he was washed up and done, he came in as a backup that year after the starter was lost for the season early and he ended up almost getting them to the playoffs, threw for over 3,600 yards and 25 touchdown passes in 14 games, they lost some key guys on defense to injury and finished 8-8 playing in a stacked AFC West division when KC and Denver were beasts(the two best teams in the league that year).

Would love to see the Seahawks game against Denver the week after this. This was the year Denver beat Green Bay in the Super Bowl, Moon took them to their limits and almost beat them in a great back and forth duel with Elway. Elway went 19 of 30 for 252 yards and 2 touchdowns, Moon went 28 of 46 for 256 yards and 3 touchdowns, neither threw any interceptions in the game, Denver ended up winning it on a field goal halfway through the fourth quarter to take a 30-27 lead and Denver's defense stopped Seattle to hold on and win it. 

Pretty great season for a guy that a lot of teams who DESPERATELY needed a quarterback going into that season passed on because they all thought he was too old. 

Holy shit somebody uploaded both of the 1995 Redskins vs Cowboys games:





Two phenomenal games, HUGE upsets. Dallas was 92 and 93 Super Bowl Champs, lost in the 94 NFC Championship game but they got back and won another Super Bowl that 95 season, Redskins were terrible during that stretch from 93 to 95, Dallas owned them in all 4 of the games leading up to these so nobody gave them a chance in hell in these 95 games they took Dallas down twice that year. Two of my favorite games I ever saw.

I watched the first one earlier today, not as great as I remembered. Aikman was lost for the game early on, also Cowboys didn't have Deion either, Skins took a 27-10 lead but Emmitt and Irvin brought them back to 27-20 with a huge goal line stand in the final 5 minutes, Darrel Green saved the game tying touchdown and forced them to kick a field goal, Washington held on to win it 27-23, seems like Dallas should have gone for it on 4th down there at the goal line at the end. Still at the time this was a great upset and I rubbed it in to every dickhead Cowboys fan I knew at the time. All you heard about up until the rematch was how much of a fluke this game was. The rematch they had everybody healthy and it was played in Dallas so this was big time.

I'm up to the third quarter of the rematch. All defense early on. My god this is a glorious blast to the past, Madden and Summeral with 90's FOX presentation, the full complete broadcast with all commercials including the hype for the Tyson fight on Fox which I remember very well, that halftime show was glorious too with some clips of the all time greats, a beautiful bomb from Warren Moon, great touchdown by Eric Metcalf and the comeback by Marino in the Falcons vs Dolphins highlight. Beautiful video, god bless Youtube

I spoke in the Sports Highs/Low threads about the 1993 Oilers season and what it was like for me as a kid living in Houston living through that season, well I just shat my pants because look what I found on Youtube tonight, just in time for the 25 year anniversary:




Anytime the story of this team is told they always leave out one of the biggest pieces of the story, that Christmas night game against the 49ers. This was a season where defense completely dominated the NFL, there were only 4 teams that year that scored over 350 points, I was looking into this recently and the 1993 season really sticks out:

Number of teams to score over 350 points in the 16 game schedule era

1978: 6
1979: 9
1980: 10
1981: 9
1982: Strike(only 9 games)
1983: 14
1984: 11
1985: 12
1986: 13
1987: Strike(only 12 games, 3 with scabs)
1988: 9
1989: 11
1990: 9
1991: 5
1992: 6
1993: 4
1994: 8
1995: 13
1996: 9
1997: 11
1998: 10
1999: 11

The NFL Record And Fact Book that I have at my desk to look this up only goes up to 2013, which there were 20 teams to score over 350 that year, I'm sure you get the point. 1993 was really an interesting season because of how dominant defense was in the NFL that year(they made rules changes in 1994 to create more scoring, even adding the 2 point conversion).

So only 4 teams in the NFL scored over 350 that year, Denver(373), Dallas(376), Houston(368) and the 49ers were the top offense in the NFL that year with a whopping 473 points, so for the Oilers to go on the road and hold them to just 3 points really legitimizes that 1993 Oiler defense as one of the best of all fucking time. This was our 10th win in a row, the week before we beat Pittsburgh on the road, and keep in mind this is the time when it was widely considered that Dallas and San Fran were the 2 best teams in the NFL, for the Oilers to go beat them holding them to 3 points like that I can't even tell you the level of hype there was for them going into those 1993 playoffs, EVERYBODY in Houston was talking about an all Texas Super Bowl.

I'm absolutely thrilled this game is on Youtube, can't wait to rewatch it. This was me and my little brother that night before the game started, opening our brand new Houston Oilers Warren Moon helmet/uniforms:

Finally just watched the Dwight Clark episode of A Football Life, damn that was deep.

Interesting coincidence on the eve of the Eagles vs Bears playoff game coming up this weekend, yesterday was the 30 year anniversary for The Fog Bowl, Eagles vs Bears 1988 NFC Divisional Playoff game where fog filled the stadium and nobody could see anything.



Pretty big game at the time because this was Buddy Ryan's Eagles, 2 years after he left the Bears after helping guide them to Super Bowl XX victory, so this was Buddy Ryan vs Mike Ditka. I have never seen the game but I downloaded it a while back, I need to check it out.

But right now I stumbled upon the 2001 NFC Divisional Playoff game, the last time these two teams met in the playoffs. This was the year the Bears finished 15-1 if I remember correctly, I wanted to see them play the Rams in the NFC Championship so bad(man it would have been such a great matchup) I was so disappointed when the Eagles took them out in this game. I'm up to the end of the first half and what a great game it has been so far, super-physical hard hitting defensive battle, Hugh Douglas separates Bears qb Jim Miller's shoulder early but then Bears center Olin Kruetz charges him up for it a little later, super intense game in Soldier Field, great stuff.

^I actually watched the Fog Bowl with my dad when it happened. It certainly was different. Definitely a memorable game.

My brother texted me about some NFL show he watched either today or yesterday. The hosts were counting down the best defenses in NFL History. The 2000 Ravens & 1985 Bears were #2 & #3 in some sort of order. Then his mind was blown when #1 was revealed to be the 1977 Atlanta Falcons. He had never even heard of their famed "Gritz Blitz" defense. So he texted me to get some more info. I honestly had very little to tell, though at least I had heard of them before. So I did a little research of my own. They were definitely a flukey one year wonder squad. Their biggest 'name' was Claude Humphrey, who I never heard of until a few years ago. Turns out my man Jerry Glanville was one of their defensive coaches. The more you know....

I knew the Eagles lost that Fog Bowl, but man, did Randall Cunningham put up some numbers in that one. How are you able to get over 420 yards in the air, in the middle of that thick-as-thick fog?

Down to the end of this 2001 NFC Divisional playoff between Philly and Chicago(they were actually 13-3 that year not 15-1). Man what a violent game, here is a small clip of some of the violence in just the first half, then things get brutal in the second half as Philly's defense takes out both of Chicago's receivers here then here. Then the next punt there was this hit on Brian Mitchell. What a game they played.

Chicago's defense put up a good fight and kept it close going into the final minutes, they were only down 23-17 until Chicago running back lost a fumble with about 10 minutes to go, Philly converted to a FG to go up 26-17 and it was over, Chicago's offense was totally eliminated via physical injury. Eagles end up winning 33-17 but man this was a battle up until the last 10 minutes or so.

I remember this whole playoff tournament in 2001-2002 being one of the better tournaments I can remember, every team in those playoffs was excellent. I remember all season that year the hype for me was building to see Rams vs Bears and Raiders vs Steelers in conference championships, Andy Reid and Tom Brady screwed all that shit up. Crazy that both of those guys are still in the playoffs in 2019.

Jan 1, 2019 23:26:45 GMT Baker said:

^I actually watched the Fog Bowl with my dad when it happened. It certainly was different. Definitely a memorable game.

My brother texted me about some NFL show he watched either today or yesterday. The hosts were counting down the best defenses in NFL History. The 2000 Ravens & 1985 Bears were #2 & #3 in some sort of order. Then his mind was blown when #1 was revealed to be the 1977 Atlanta Falcons. He had never even heard of their famed "Gritz Blitz" defense. So he texted me to get some more info. I honestly had very little to tell, though at least I had heard of them before. So I did a little research of my own. They were definitely a flukey one year wonder squad. Their biggest 'name' was Claude Humphrey, who I never heard of until a few years ago. Turns out my man Jerry Glanville was one of their defensive coaches. The more you know....

They were good but I think that's overdoing it putting the 77 Falcons at #1 as GOAT defense. They played a pretty easy schedule. According to Profootballreference there was only 1 team that played an easier schedule that year. Either way though that defense was an interesting anomaly, something like 9 points allowed per game average is impressive. That was the last year before they changed all the rules.

Since the Texans season is now over I've already broke out the Super Bowl box set that I have, I've been watching one of the highlight films each morning at roughly 4 AM while getting ready to go to the gym to get a workout in before work. I made it through the first 5 films this week.

Looking closer at Super Bowl I it really says a lot between the gap between NFL and AFL at that time. That Chiefs team was so good in the AFL but when you compare them to that Packer team to a man they were so outmatched. That Packers defense was just ridiculous. Chiefs had to be kinda shitting their pants a little before that game, like holy shit this is really happening we're about to play the fucking Packers for real. I think this is what kinda hit the Raiders the next year too, that was a bad ass team and they just completely laid down for the Packers in Super Bowl II like one of Tyson's opponents when he was in his prime in the 80's, the match was over before the bell even rang. I imagine that was a pretty imposing sight for an AFL head coach to see Lombardi standing across the field from you.

Super Bowl V, Cowboys vs Colts this really SHOULD have been the NFL Championship Game two years earlier, 1968 when the Cowboys really dominated with a really impressive offense(one of the best ever up to that point). Cowboys finished 12-2 that year while the Colts had the best defense in NFL history up to that point finishing 13-1. Cowboys ended up having to travel to Cleveland where they got upset by the Browns in the first round(Colts went on to smash the Browns to earn the trip to Super Bowl III). This ended up being Don Meredith's last game.

But Super Bowl V is just weird all the way around. This was the first year of the AFL/NFL merger and what a buzzkill it must have been to have 2 NFL teams in the Super Bowl. It just didn't have the same luster without an AFL team going against an NFL team. One of the talking heads in the superb AFL Full Color Football documentary on Showtime had a brilliant idea when he said they should have kept the 2 leagues separate like baseball does(and added the expansion teams to the AFL side to even it out over the years).

Super Bowl V is also weird because it was like it wasn't enough to erase the failure of Super Bowl III for the Colts team. It's weird hearing those guys talk about that Super Bowl in hindsight like it didn't even matter to them. Should have been a major redemption for the Colts to win Super Bowl V but they didn't win it in very convincing fashion and then choked against Shula's Dolphins the next year in the AFC Championship and it was like the black cloud of Super Bowl III just continued to linger over the whole franchise.

Something I never realized until recently was the big difference in the Chiefs team that lost Super Bowl I and the Chiefs team that won Super Bowl IV, the Super Bowl I team that lost to Green Bay didn't have Willie Lanier or Curley Culp yet. They drafted Lanier the year after they lost Super Bowl I, then Culp two years later in 68, both would be Hall Of Famers and both would have huge impact on Chiefs winning Super Bowl IV over a truly awesome Vikings team from the NFL. Culp in particular was really dominant in that game disrupting the Vikings running game inside, without that they had nothing.

I actually watched a Steelers vs Oilers game from 1978 fairly recently with Culp playing for Houston going toe to toe with the legend Mike Webster the whole game. It was an excellent game up until Pittsburgh took Earl out. Donnie Shell buried his helmet into Earl's ribs and he was done, it was all Pittsburgh from then on out.

Oh joy! My favorite time of the year is here. The annual NFL Films Super Bowl Marathon begins after the Senior Bowl tonight.

I renewed my subscription to NFL Game Pass last weekend. The Roku app for NFL sucks so bad there is no way to access any of the Game Pass content, and the games you can rewatch only go back to 2017. The desktop version you can watch games as far back as 2009. So I've been making my way through the 2009 Houston Texans season watching a little bit at a time a little before I go to the gym and at night when I'm going to bed. This is the reason why I haven't been posting on PW much since my laptop has been hardwired to my TV(technology in 2019 is SO fucking overrated).

It's crazy that this was 10 years ago. Looking back 2009 really was a fun and interesting season. Rewatching some games its notable how much different the sport was just 10 years ago, it's remarkable how much the game has changed in just a decade.

Really enjoying watching these old games though. Man I miss Andre Johnson so much. He will just forever be the original Houston Texan to me and the base foundation for this whole franchise. Was very pleased to read that he has been signed to the team in some capacity here recently the man should have a job here for life.

But yeah, this was an interesting season for the Texans. You got to think we had never had a winning season ever, this was Kubiak's third year with Alex Gibbs involved in his staff with Kyle Shannahan as offensive coordinator. We finished 8-8 in back to back years in the years prior, the end of 2008 we won like 5 of our last 6 games including one on the road in the frozen tundra in December and a victory over the 11-1 Titans. So the hype for 2009 was substantial for me, this was the year I believed in my heart we would FINALLY make a run at the playoffs...

Then week 1 happened and we were completely dominated by Blindy's Jets in Mark Sanchez's first game. Texans just laid such an egg in this game, the crowd really let them have it before emptying the stadium early.

Week 2 against the Titans was such an awesome game. Chris Johnson led the NFL in rushing that year and Andre led in receiving so you had the 2 best offensive weapons in the whole NFL really showing out in this game. This was also definitely one of the most heated games between these two teams as they were wound up super tight(both were 0-1) and there were quite a few fights and late out of bounds hits. Andre had one of his best catches in this game and the Texans pulled off a fantastic win on the road in Tennessee in one of my favorite games of all time.

Week 3 against the Jags at home was a disaster. What the hell happened to Steve Slaton? He was great in his rookie year in 2008 running for over 1,000 yards but man he was terrible to start this 2009 season. He fumbles a lot in these games and they de-emphasize him in the offense splitting carries with a back up who's name I can't remember right now. Then later in the season was when Arian Foster took his spot and the kid was gone. This Jags game should have been a win but a fumble in the red zone shot us in the foot, sending Texans to 1-2 start.

Week 4 was an epic game against the Kurt Warner/Larry Fitzgerald Cardinals, this the same team that had the legendary shoot out with Green Bay in those 2009 playoffs(before being dismantled by the Bounty Gate Saints in the next round). This was the game where Andre trucked the two dudes for the touchdown, single handily bringing the Texans back from like a 21-7 deficit to tie the game with 2 touchdowns. Then Shaub threw the game away with a pick six in the end. Unfortunately this game was unavailable on NFL Game Pass, I was so fucking pissed. I scanned through and there are actually quite a few games from the 2009 season that are unavailable(though this was the only Texans game from that season missing).

Then there was the win over the Jamarcus Russell Raiders. I forgot that this was Brian Cushing's rookie season, and man what a season he had that year. I think he won NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year if I'm not mistaken. And he earned it. He really flew around the ball that year and rewatching the games now it's like he was involved in every defensive play for the Texans.

Also it's forgotten just how great Mario Williams was. It's almost a shame his career with the Texans will forever be overshadowed by JJ Watt coming in and putting up freak numbers. Make no mistake about it though Williams was a freak himself, he was definitely better than Clowney is(and he's been really good). I forgot just how good he was but I'm reminded by watching these 2009 games. It is a shame that we lost him for those 2011 playoffs, oh what could have been, and I still kinda think we should have kept him another year or two longer than we did.

Also Owen Daniels, unlike Mario Williams I did not appreciate Owen Daniels nearly enough in real time back then. Watching these games now he was so money in the red zone, fucking phenomenal tight end, I'd do anything to have a TE like him on the Texans now 10 years later.

So we start the season 2-3 with 2 of those losses coming down to turnovers in clutch moments, the Shaub pick six against Arizona and the fumble in the red zone against Jacksonville. Then we go on the road to take out the 4-1 Cincinnati Bengals(a playoff team that year) in dominant fashion. I just finished this game actually and it was really interesting because Jonathan Joseph was playing for the Bengals here and covering Andre Johnson for much of the game. So you are seeing 2 of the all time great Texans going head to head here, with both guys having their moments(Joseph dropped a sure fire pick six late in the game). The Texans just completely dominated a playoff bound team here in this game in this 28-17 win over the Bengals on the road. Looking back it just kinda blows my mind that this team still didn't make the playoffs that year, with all the talent they had, the all star coaching staff, Schaub playing great(they said on commentary that from some point late in the 2008 season up to early 2009 Schaub had the highest passer rating in the NFL), you had Andre dominating the NFL, I try to figure out what was missing and I'm kinda left scratching my head. This team should have been way better it seems.

Still making my way through the 2009 Texans season on NFL Game Pass this week. They got off to a 5-3 start(at that time, only the 8th season in Texans existence, this was the best record they ever had) and then the ensuing 4 game collapse has got to be one of the more underrated collapses in recent NFL history(if you consider a decade ago recent). Nobody was really paying much attention to the Texans back then so this collapse kinda flew under the radar I think. Also I believe this was the year the Broncos went 8-0 and then missed the playoffs so it was a bit overshadowed by that epic historic collapse.

The week 9 game in Indy against the 7-0 Colts I feel was the turning point of that whole season. We came out and shot ourselves in the foot with some really dumb turnovers and a ridiculous amount of penalties, giving the Colts a 13-0 lead early in the 2nd quarter. It's interesting to me looking back at these games against Peyton Manning now that he's been gone for a few years, our biggest foe was one of the all time greats and he fucked us up SO MANY fucking times it's insane. It just made those times we took him down that much sweeter though. These 2 games against Manning in 2009 are notable because the Colts were unstoppable that year, they started like 14-0 and went on to win the AFC Championship(got beat by the Saints in the Super Bowl). So we were going toe to toe with the 1B best team in the NFL that year. This Texans team got their shit together and overcame a 13-0 deficit against this Colts team on the road to take a 17-13 lead going into the 4th quarter. The defense looked really good on Indy's next possession, Mario Williams sacked Manning and then he was intercepted so it looked like we were going to end their undefeated streak.

After a 3 and out Manning took them right down the field to retake the lead 20-17. Matt Schaub put together a phenomenal drive from Houston's own 15 yard line to put them into field goal range to put it into overtime but the kicker missed it JUST BARELY with no time left. This was such a brutal loss, had he made that field goal I think we had a strong chance to win it in OT, that would have been MASSIVE to end the Colts undefeated run, would have put them at 7-1 and put us up to 6-3 going into the bye week. Instead this loss was just crushing.

Not as crushing as the next game though. Week 11 at home on Monday Night football against the Vince Young Titans. Man this was a great game to rewatch, Vince Young always brought it when he came back home. This was a really hot crowd too, at the time it was the biggest crowd for a Texans game ever. After a 14-14 tied up halftime it was ALL defense in the second half. It ended up tied 17-17 until the last minute where Young and Chris Johnson took the Titans down the field to take the lead with a FG with 47 seconds left. Once again Schaub gets us down into field goal range to tie the game and once again the kicker misses the last second field goal. This was so fucking disheartening. I really think this ripped the heart right out of this team. Just rewatching it now it still makes my stomach turn still 10 years later.

Still I think the Texans vs Titans rivalry from that second game in 2008 up until the Andre vs Finnegan fight in 2010 was one of the most heated and underrated rivalries in recent NFL history, some really intense games with a lot of dirty/late/cheap shot hits back and forth and a lot of fighting, interesting upon rewatch that the Andre vs Finnegan incident wasn't just a random incident it was about 3 years in the making.

From there we had to play the Colts again just 3 weeks later, this time they were 10-0. We came out strong playing about as good as they did all year to take a 17-0 lead. We were up 20-7 going into the half. The wheels fell off in the second half. Matt Schaub led the NFL in passing in 2009 and when he was on he was a borderline elite NFL qb, but it's always these games like this that I'll remember him for more than anything else. He completely threw this game away with some terrible interceptions and a really unforgivable fumble. Manning makes the comeback to finish it off 35-27. The next week Schaub got injured and we played terrible with Rex Grossman, by the time Schaub got back into the game we were down 17-0 and it was already over. Just like that we went from our best record ever at 5-3 to being 5-7 after losing 4 in a row. This was one hell of a fucking collapse looking back at it now.

Some factors into it though, we lost Owen Daniels for the year in week 8, and up to that point he was on pace to have over 80 catches and over 1,000 yards receiving. Remarkable how good Daniels was this year before he got hurt, and this was the year we led the NFL in passing offense WITHOUT him those last 8 games, just think if he didn't get hurt. It would have been a different story.

Another factor was the collapse of Steve Slaton the running back. He ran for over 1,200 yards his rookie year in 2008 then suffers one of the most intense cases of fumblitis in NFL history in 2009, fumbled like 7 times in the first 5 games and just like that we had no running back after Kubiak lost faith in him.

There is a sudden influx of old Texans games been uploaded to Youtube lately, some great ones. I'm too lazy to post links now but the 2008 win over the Packers in Lambeau in -3 degree frozen tundra is on there. The Packers were 5-7 but still that was a great moment for my young team, great game that came down to the wire with Andre Johnson at his finest on hallowed ground stadium in hostile weather. Last summer I did a remodel job for a CPA office, there was a bunch of great Texas history memorabilia all around the office, old maps and stuff, then on the big bosses desk I noticed a pic of him and his buddies wearing Houston Texans gear at this game outside of Lambeau stadium, I was like holy shit, you was there!?

Also the 2010 game against the Ravens on Monday Night Football is there, this was a marvelous game where we almost pulled off a massive comeback(only to fall short).

And the 2010 game against Washington is also there now. This is one of my favorite games of all time(I ranked it as my 2nd favorite Texans game ever in my recent countdown), a game where Andre Johnson was a motherfucking BEAST!

And I found the 2002 game against the Eagles. Man I have so much nostalgia for that 2002 expansion season, I love finding those games. The AAF blitzing rules are fucking ridiculous to me because I lived through this team's season, Texans offensive line was a patch job thrown together from scratch at the last minute, the whole offense had 6 rookies STARTING!! And in this game they played one of the best defenses of that era, it sure wasn't pretty but that's football man.

Finally got to enjoy a desperately needed day off today and used it to mostly relax and watch a few old football games on Youtube. I started with the 2008 Texans vs Packers game in -3 degree weather at Lambeau. This was a really good one. Both teams were 5-7 and were still just barely in the playoff hunt so this was essentially a defacto playoff eliminator, whoever lost the game was done for the year. Of course this wouldn't matter in the end because neither team made the playoffs but still, in this moment these teams were still alive. Matt Schaub and a young Aaron Rodgers dueling it out on a literally frozen tundra. The Texans had a lot of turnovers. Sometimes it's remarkable looking back how much better this team really should have been. If not for all of the turnovers this wouldn't have even been close, but Green Bay took advantage of the mistakes to put points on the board and tie it up at 21-21 with 5 minutes left in the game.

Schaub led the Texans from their own 2 yard line to win the game with a field goal as time expired. The crowd just got quieter and quieter as they watched Schaub and the Texans drive closer and closer to field goal range to essentially eliminate them from playoff contention.

This win was a part of a three week span where the Texans looked about as good as they ever did. It started with their first ever Monday Night Football appearance where they smashed the Jaguars, then this win over Green Bay at Lambeau Field, and then the next week they took down the 12-1 Titans, in all they won 5 of their last 6 in the end of 2008.

Also watched 1993 Pittsburgh Steelers at Houston Oilers in the sold out Astrodome on ESPN Sunday Night Football. What a great matchup this was, we're talking Warren Moon vs Rod Woodson, Bruce Matthews and Mike Munchak vs Greg Lloyd and Kevin Greene!

This was a blast to the past for real, those cue ball white Oiler helmets just give me the 90's Houston feels, fuck man. Both these teams were 6-4 going into this game. I fell asleep and napped through most of this one but did catch some good stuff, including classic 1993 commercials(Madden 94!) and Ray Childress fucking DOMINATING. Buddy Ryan's 46 defense was on full display here in this game as they really looked like the fucking 85 Bears, it just gives me goosebumps to watch it in action again. When this team got rolling on that 11 game win streak that year they were one of the best ever, emotions were running high for this one and the Astrodome was packed with their biggest crowd of the season at that point.

Also I've noted before in this thread the anomaly of the 1993 NFL season with how thoroughly dominant the defenses of the league were that year. It was interesting as they showed the scores from that week on the ticker on the bottom of the screen only maybe 1 or 2 teams scored more than 20 points that week! Take a look:

Miami 16
Dallas 13

Chicago 10
Detroit 6

Cleveland 14
Atlanta 17

LA Raiders 10
Cincinnati 16

Tampa Bay 10
Green Bay 13

Buffalo 7
Kansas City 23

New Orleans 17
Minnesota 14

NY Jets 6
New England 0

Phoenix 17
New York Giants 19

San Francisco 35
LA Rams 10

Denver 17
Seattle 9

Philadelphia 17
Washington 14

San Diego 31
Indianapolis 0

Houston 23
Pittsburgh 3

Holy shit! 1993 is so interesting, after all that innovation in offense in the 80's, all those records broken with Marino and Eric Dickerson, all those numbers put up with the Run N Shoot and the West Coast being introduced, all of a sudden in 93 it was like the NFL was transformed to 1973 NFL! Look at those scores, just a random week pulled up from that season and only 4 teams scored more than 20 points! It also further illustrates my point/emphasis of the Oilers vs 49ers game that Christmas, the 49ers were dropping 30-40 point a week that year and the Buddy Ryan 46 Oiler defense held them to 7, they were legit.

The rematch in Pittsburgh two weeks later is also on Youtube and it is even better, I'll watch that tomorrow if I can, I remember that one well, that was the week that Jeff Alm wrecked his car and killed his passenger(he flew out of the car and off of a 50 foot overpass, I remember seeing it all over the news) before killing himself with a shotgun on the spot. Somehow that team got through all of that and took out Pittsburgh on the road in that rematch, it was big time win that has been forgotten.

So I finished my 2009 Texans season watch through tonight. I've been making my way through this season on NFL Game Pass for a few weeks now, watching bits and pieces of games in the morning or whenever I can. Still crazy this was 10 years ago now, nobody from this team is still playing for us, the team has completely turned over since then. Interesting to me to look back on things with 20/20 hindsight sometimes.

After that 5-3 start the 4 game collapse really tore the heart right out of this team. Other factors into the collapse was the loss of Owen Daniels for the year in week 8(he was having a fucking magnificent season up to that point) and the sophomore slump of Steve Slaton, who was stricken down with acute fumblitis before being lost for the year to injury by week 14. Another significant factor was the collapse of kicker Kris Brown, who had won quite a few games for us going back to the inaugural season. Brown missed 2 crucial last second field goals in that 4 game losing streak and in total led the NFL with like 11 misses. The season finale against the Patriots the crowd lynched him after he missed two field goals and an extra point, they just let him have it whenever he came out to kick the extra points it was bad.

But other than that Matt Schaub led the NFL in passing and Andre Johnson led the NFL in receiving, becoming what was at that time only the 2nd man in NFL history with back to back 1,500+ receiving yards seasons. Also Brian Cushing had what has got to be one of the best seasons any Texans player has ever had, as a rookie(he ran away with Defensive Rookie Of The Year Award). I forgot how good he was that year until this rewatch, man he was such a killer,

So after the 4 game collapse dropping them to 5-7 there were major rumblings about Kubiak's job being on the line. But he rallied the team and led them on a 4 game win streak to close out the season with the very first ever winning season in the Texans 8 year history to that point, saving his job in the process.

I watched those 4 wins recently. The streak started against Jim Mora Jr.'s Seahawks, a complete smashing 34-7 in what was essentially a playoff eliminator knocking Seattle out of the race. Andre was just unstoppable in this game with 11 catches for 193 yards and 2 touchdowns, unfucking believable how good he was. This game was also notable since it was Arian Foster's Texans debut game, they signed him up from the practice squad after Steve Slaton was put on IR with nerve damage in his neck/shoulder(irc).

The next win in the streak came against the 1-12 Rams, what an ugly fucking game against what has got to be one of the worst teams in NFL history, my god. Steven Jackson and Bernard Pollard really went at it in this game, this lowly Rams team almost beat us but Kris Brown booted the game winner in the final 5 minutes for a 16-13 win.

The 3rd win was another playoff eliminator against Miami, with both teams at 7-7 fighting to stay alive, Andre Johnson's homecoming game in Miami with his family in the stadium watching him. It was interesting watching this because Ricky Williams was playing for the Dolphins(they showed Andre's uncle in the stands wearing a Ricky Williams Texas jersey!). The Texans put a whoopin on the Dolphins in the first half of this one, at one point we were winning 27-0 but Miami fought there way back and almost made a comeback before losing 27-20.

And I just finished watching the 2009 season finale against New England, one of my personal favorite Texans games. It had been so long since I seen this I forgot how good of a game this was and how sentimental of a win this was for my favorite sports team. The Patriots had already locked up their playoff spot and were resting Vince Wilfork. Houston was still alive in the playoff race at 8-7 but they needed a bunch of help(which they did not get). Also what is interesting about this game is that Bill O'Brien was assistant for this Patriots staff.

The Pats lost Wes Welker to knee injury on the first drive of the game. This was weird how Belichick played this because he pulled Tom Brady near the end of the second quarter and put in Brian Hoyer(who was a rookie) but at some point midway through the third quarter he put Brady back in the game. New England took a 27-13 lead early in the 4th quarter and the Texans pulled off a really great emotional comeback in front of an excellent home crowd. I got goosebumps watching the defense fuck Tom Brady up in the Patriots final two possessions, Mario Williams was all over him getting a sack and forcing an interception. Arian Foster had his break out game with 120 yards and 2 touchdowns. Houston came back to take the lead and Belichick pulled Brady and benched him for the final minute of the game. Hoyer took New England down into scoring range but the defense came up with the stop to deliver the first winning season in Texans history. I forgot how great this feeling was to win this game and it put me in a super mood to rewatch it tonight.

It's a shame the cards didn't fall right for us to make the playoffs that year, just like in 2008 they were playing so fucking well in the last few games I can easily imagine them suprising some folks in the playoffs. I feel like the beating the Texans put on New England in this game was directly responsible for their 1 and done performance in the playoffs the next week against Baltimore.

Down to the final minute of 1990 NY Giants vs Minnesota Vikings game I found on Youtube, was a really good one, excellent showcase of why Lawrence Taylor is one of the all time greats, he was absolutely phenomenal in this game. I think he must have had like 15 tackles and maybe 4 sacks, I lost track. The Giants came into this game on a 2 game losing streak and the Vikings were riding a 5 game win streak, so this was a critical game in NY's Super Bowl run. Vikings were leading until the final few minutes then LT really took things into his own hands on defense, New York was able to pull away with some brute ground and pound running.

I never realized Everson Walls was on this 1990 Giants Super Bowl team, I wasn't really familiar with him until recently, he may be one of the most underrated corners there is. Belichick brought him along with him to the Browns in 92-93 at the tail end of his career.

My real rabbit hole right now though has been the 1993 season as a whole. It's such an interesting season. I believe it is the lowest scoring season in modern times, it was like the whole league started playing NFC East football(after NFC East teams won the Super Bowl 90-91-92), I don't think there was ever a season where the defenses of the NFL were so good across the board, all of the flashy offensive schemes that came about in the 80's where stopped cold in 93 and it was like the league took a time machine back to the 1970's for 1 season. Also it was the first year for free agency, which COMPLETELY shook up the league overnight. I'm pretty deep into this rabbit hole.

Sept 15, 2018 17:54:16 GMT shinobimusashi said:

Fuck college football, I found a rare gem on Youtube, 1997 Seahawks vs Raiders:

This is one of Warren Moon's greatest games, threw for 409 yards and 5 touchdown passes to bring the Seahawks back from a 31-18 third quarter deficit. That 1997 season in Seattle was one of Moon's best seasons playing with a not so talented team(surely not as much talent on that squad as the late 80's/early 90's Oilers had around him) and played way better than anybody thought he would since everybody thought he was washed up and done, he came in as a backup that year after the starter was lost for the season early and he ended up almost getting them to the playoffs, threw for over 3,600 yards and 25 touchdown passes in 14 games, they lost some key guys on defense to injury and finished 8-8 playing in a stacked AFC West division when KC and Denver were beasts(the two best teams in the league that year).

Would love to see the Seahawks game against Denver the week after this. This was the year Denver beat Green Bay in the Super Bowl, Moon took them to their limits and almost beat them in a great back and forth duel with Elway. Elway went 19 of 30 for 252 yards and 2 touchdowns, Moon went 28 of 46 for 256 yards and 3 touchdowns, neither threw any interceptions in the game, Denver ended up winning it on a field goal halfway through the fourth quarter to take a 30-27 lead and Denver's defense stopped Seattle to hold on and win it. 

Pretty great season for a guy that a lot of teams who DESPERATELY needed a quarterback going into that season passed on because they all thought he was too old. 

Found it:



This is a hidden gem. One hell of a quarterback duel between Elway and Moon. Moon in Seattle that year has one of the most underrated seasons at like 40 years old and Elway at 37 of course goes on to win the Super Bowl that year with the famous helicopter play.

Oh man this Denver vs Seattle '97 game is phenomenal hard hitting physical battle. What a great game!

First half is kind of a grind, mostly all defense, some critical fumbles by Denver keeps Seattle in it with Broncos leading 13-10.

Second half is where business really picks up. My god this Denver defense in 97 was such a hard hitting unit.

Denver jumps out to a 20-10 lead after recovering a fumble for a TD in the third. Seattle answers with a field goal to trim Denver's lead to 20-13. Then Seattle gets a fumble on the ensuing kickoff.

The poise of Moon in this game at this point where he drives down the field to tie it is pretty remarkable, on the road in hostile Mile High Stadium against that year's Super Bowl winning defense that stopped Green Bay from repeating as Champs, Moon orchestrates a 70 yard drive and this was such a cool little moment before he throws the touchdown that ties the game at 20-20 early in the 4th, and what a great pass too.

Denver's next possession Elway rockets a beautiful 59 yard strike to put Denver up 27-20. Also Elway has a few really gutsy runs and takes some good hits in this game, what a performance all around and a nice preview of his Super Bowl performance. Elway really just gave it all he had to give that year and you could see how bad he wanted the ring.

Then Moon puts together quite possibly one of his greatest drives against one of the unquestionably one of the greatest defenses he ever played against. Moon takes Seattle 81 yards down the field, completing 6 huge passes to tie the game 27-27.

Then Denver takes it right back down the field with 2 phenomenal plays, a huge Elway to Shannon Sharpe play followed by an epic run by Terrell Davis to get Denver to the 1 yard line.

At which point Seattle puts up a fucking EPIC goal line stand to hold Denver to a field goal. Denver takes the 30-27 lead with this. Seattle gets two more chances to tie the game and Moon makes some great throws that get dropped.

Major gaffe by Seattle coaching pretty much lost this game, they drove into field goal range for a 53 yarder but they chose to punt. The punter botched the punt for like a 12 yard punt.

Seattle's defense still holds and they get another chance. It comes down to the final 4th down for them and Moon's pass gets tipped at the line and dropped by Joey Galloway and Brian Blades going after the ball at the same time. That was it. Denver went on to 8-1 and Seattle dropped to 5-4 and went on to miss the playoffs at 8-8(which was still one of their best seasons of the 90's up to that point).

Outstanding game.

Watched the 1985 AFC Divisional Playoff game between the Raiders and Patriots yesterday morning. This was a phenomenal video I found on Youtube, was really impressed with how well the quality of the video has held up for being so old, one of the most crystal clear 80's NFL games I've come across. Also its the complete television broadcast with all the cut ins and recaps and all those gloriously cheesy 80's beer commercials. It was like every single commercial for everything was exactly the same. :lol:

This was just a sensational football game that I found so intriguing. They touch on the rivalry between these two teams in the pregame show, bringing up the royal screwjob the Patriots endured in the playoff loss to the Raiders in 76 when they had them beat until a complete bullshit roughing the passer call kept Oakland's game winning drive alive. They also talk about something I had never heard before, the rivalry between Al Davis and then Patriots owner Sullivan, which goes back to when AL Davis was named commissioner of the AFL back in the 60's, Sullivan was strongly against it and was instrumental in him being replaced later on(they went behind Al's back and negotiated the merger with the NFL in secrecy). Years later both guys testified against each other in various lawsuits that they were involved in. These two guys really didn't like each other. So this game had tremendous backstory.

Played in front of over 88,000 in the LA Coliseum, one of the Raiders' biggest crowds they ever had in that venue.

Raiders were 12-4 and I believe had the #1 seed in the AFC. Marcus Allen was MVP that year with over 1,700 rushing yards(he had well over 2,000 yards from scrimmage that year).

The Patriots had just won their very first ever playoff game since the merger in defeating the Jets in the Wild Card.

John Hannah was playing in one of his final games of his career and man what a game he played here. Seeing him pull on a sweep was a thing of beauty. I've never really seen much of him because he was before my time but it was a real treat seeing him in action watching him closely against this stout Raider defense.

This was a close back and forth game that I really enjoyed. Patriots never held the lead until late in the 3rd quarter but they kept it close all the way through. Raiders quarterback Marc Wilson was lynched by the LA crowd throughout this game. Patriots ran the ball right down the Raider defenses' throat and took a 27-20 lead into the 4th quarter. Raiders had a chance to tie it in the final minute with a phenomenal catch and run by Marcus Allen to get them past mid field but it was called back on a holding penalty and then time ran out. Life was sucked out of the LA Coliseum. Watching this I think it's a safe bet to say that this was the moment where the Raiders lost LA. The city just never got back behind the team it seems.

This Patriots team gets known for getting killed by the Bears in Super Bowl XX but they were quite an interesting team, they've been my latest rabbit hole. I'd like to watch the AFC Championship Game against Miami soon if I can find the time.

Oh my god I'm watching the 2010 Monday Night Football game with the Baltimore Ravens vs Houston Texans on Youtube right now. Ravens jump out to big lead and the stadium empties out. Texans were down 21-0 at one point, they were down 28-13 with like 6 minutes left and they pull off a phenomenal comeback. I do not remember this game but holy shit this was so great. Vintage Andre Johnson here. They were down 28-20 and proceeded to march 95 yards down the field in the final minute against a Raven's defense that had Ngata, Suggs, Ed Reed, and Ray Lewis. This was an extremely rare time where Matt Schaub really played with a lot of passion, he had a few good runs on this last drive, he looked like John Elway at times. :lol:

Phenomenal catch by Andre to tie the game with no time left, then a fucking amazing catch by Jacoby Jones for the 2 point conversion to send it to OT. I know we end up losing it in OT but man that drive to tie the game was one of the best drives I've ever seen. Andre Johnson was the fucking man.

EXCELLENT game. Highlights

Damn, I should have known. Texans D comes up with brilliant stop on Ravens first possession in OT then Schaub throws a pick six to end it all, after a fucking masterful performance in the 2 drives that tied the game and throwing for almost 400 yards, this sums up Schaub's whole career right here, sad shit. Great game though.

Talking about that Raiders/Patriots playoff game, I think that was also the game where Al Davis's love affair with Marcus Allen reached a crossroads.

After the following the year, where the Raiders missed the playoffs, Davis drafted Bo Jackson, likely to be Allen's replacement. Then when Bo got hurt and had to retire, did he go back to Marcus? No. Davis acquired Roger Craig from the 49ers. When that didn't work, did Al finally give Marcus the ball? NO! Eric Dickerson was the next to steal Allen's spot.

I wonder whether Marcus Allen would be the league's all-time leading rusher, had Al Davis not fucked around with him with his vendetta?

Can’t believe y’all let this thread die, had to dig it back up for future use. My current rabbit hole= examining how and why Dan Marino never got back to a Super Bowl, I’m obsessed with the 1990 Dolphins right now I’ll share some thoughts later, I downloaded a few of their games to watch when I get time.

So it turns out that Michael Strahan's tainted 22.5 sack season was never really the single season record to begin with! PFR charted back to 1960 (rather than 1982 when sacks became an official NFL stat) and Al "Bubba" Baker recorded 23 sacks in his DROY season of 1978. He's an incredibly underrated player historically (which really shows what an impact statistics have on how we view players) as he has the most sacks over a player's first three seasons, and with 131 career sacks he's 21st all time which is more than some HOFers like Derrick Thomas.