NFL 100: A Spotlight
For the past few days it has been snowing where I live. So I began to think of NFL games that have been played in the snow. There has been quite a few snow games throughout the history of the NFL, none too quite greater than the 1948 NFL Championship Game when the Chicago Cardinals visited the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Chicago Cardinals won the NFL championship in 1947 (where their opponent was the Philadelphia Eagles) and finished 1948 with a 11-1 record. They had such stars like Ray Mallof, Paul Christman, Charley Trippi, and Red Cochran. The Cardinals heading into the championship game looked to repeat.
The Philadelphia Eagles hadn't found much success prior to 1948. At one point in their history they merged with the Pittsburgh Steelers due to roster shortages due to World War II, being dubbed the "Steagles." In 1947 they finally made the playoffs and would easily handle the Pittsburgh Steelers in a tie-breaker playoff game. Despite losing the 1947 championship game to the Cardinals, the Eagles looked to build off their success. The Eagles finished 1948 with a 9-2-1 record. They had such stars like Tommy Thompson, Pete Pihos, Ernie Steele and of course Steve Van Buren.
The game, dubbed "The Philly Blizzard" began shortly before kickoff. NFL Commissioner Bert Bell had considered postponing the game due to the large amount of snowfall. The tarp had to be removed by players of both teams. The kickoff time was moved to 2:00 pm Eastern time to help clear more snow. More than 28, 864 fans would pack Philadelphia's Shibe Park to watch their Eagles play. The gametime temperature was 27 degrees Farenheit (or -3 celsius).
The passing game was very limited due to the harsh weather conditions. Both teams would combine for five completions out of 23 attempts, Eagles quarterback Tommy Thompson would complete three of those five. It would be a game where running the football was important, and to hold onto it.
When it comes to scores, there was only one. It would take until the 4th quarter when Steve Van Buren would score the only touchdown of the game on a five-yard run. Nonetheless, as long as you score more points than the other team, you would win.
The Cardinals wouldn't recover from the game, they wouldn't win 11 games until 1975 when they were the St. Louis Cardinals. They wouldn't get back to a championship game until Super Bowl XLIII (yeah that long) more than 60 years after the 1948 championship game.
The Eagles would continue to have championship success the next season when they beat the Los Angeles Rams in 1949 and win another championship in 1960. After 1960, they would endure one of the longer championship droughts for a franchise until the Eagles would win their first Super Bowl in 2017, beating the New England Patriots.
Enjoy the nostalgia as well as black and white footage of old-school football:
Week 10 Recap
LA Chargers 24, Oakland 26: TW: Chargers; CV: Chargers
The Chargers had a chance to win it despite mistakes from Philip Rivers. Rivers probably turned in one of his worst performances of the season with 207 yards passing with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Melvin Gordon did well with his 108 yards rushing and a touchdown. Derek Carr continued his comeback season with 218 yards passing with a touchdown. Josh Jacobs continued his Rookie of the Year resume with 71 yards rushing with a touchdown. Erik Harris would have a pick-six in the game, a 56-yard return for a touchdown.
All-time series: Raiders lead 64-54-2
Next week: LA Chargers: @ Kansas City; Oakland: vs Cincinnati
TW: 0-1; CV: 0-1
Buffalo 16, Cleveland 19: TW: Bills; CV: Bills
Congrats Browns! The good news: you won your third game this season. The bad news: the win came in Week 10. Josh Allen did fine with his 266 yards passing but threw for zero touchdowns. Allen would provide the only touchdowns for Buffalo with two rushing while compiling 28 yards from the ground. Devin Singletary would be the leading rusher with 42 yards. Baker Mayfield would have his best game in a long time with 238 yards passing with two touchdowns. Nick Chubb would carry the load for the Browns with his 116 yards rushing on 20 carries, despite not getting a rushing touchdown. You just might salvage your sorry ass season yet, Browns.
All-time series: Browns lead 13-9
Next week: Buffalo: @ Miami; Cleveland: vs Pittsburgh
TW: 0-2; CV: 0-2
Detroit 13, Chicago 20: TW: Bears; CV: Lions
Matthew Stafford would be ruled out of the game but the Lions held their own. Jake Driskell threw the ball for 269 yards with a touchdown but would throw an interception in the game. Driskell would be the leading rusher with 37 yards, a poor effort for Detroit's running game despite not having Kerryon Johnson. Mitchell Trubisky and the Bears offense got it going compared to last week. Trubisky would finish with a 173 yards passing total but would do better with three passing touchdowns. Devin Montgomery would rush for 60 yards. Poor Lions.
All-time series: Bears lead series 100-74-5
Next week: Detroit: vs Dallas; Chicago: @ LA Rams
TW: 1-2; CV: 0-3
NY Giants 27, NY Jets 34: TW: Giants; CV: Giants
The Battle of New York... or New Jersey! Daniel Jones had a pretty good game throwing the ball, getting 308 yards passing with four touchdowns. Daniel Jones was the leading rusher for the Giants with 20 yards, Saquon Barkley would only get a yard from 13 carries. Sam Darnold would throw for 230 yards with a touchdown, while scoring a rushing touchdown with 25 rushing yards. Le'Veon Bell would get a rushing touchdown as well but could only get 34 yards rushing. Jets kicker, Sam Ficken, would hit 2 of 3 field goals.
All-time series: Giants lead 8-6
Next week: NY Giants: Bye; NY Jets: @ Washington
TW: 1-3; CV: 0-4
Baltimore 49, Cincinnati 13: TW: Ravens; CV: Ravens
The Ravens complete the season sweep of Cincinnati in a rather convincing fashion. Lamar Jackson threw the ball for 223 yards with three touchdowns while compiling 65 yards rushing with a touchdown. Mark Ingram would have 34 yards rushing with a touchdown. Ryan Finley would be starting for Cincinnati in Andy Dalton's place. Finley did fine despite the circumstances, with 167 yards passing with a touchdown but also an interception. Joe Mixon would have a 100-yard+ day with 116 yards but scored zero touchdowns. Just remember Cincy, you have a chance to get a win against Miami in Week 16.
All-time series: Ravens lead 25-23
Next week: Baltimore: vs Houston; Cincinnati: @ Oakland
TW: 2-3; CV: 1-4
Kansas City 32, Tennessee 35: TW: Chiefs; CV: Chiefs
I don't get it. Patrick Mahomes out, defense plays well; Patrick Mahomes in, defense lapses. Mahomes would make his return for the first time in a few weeks and wouldn't disappoint with 446 yards passing with three touchdowns. Damien Williams rushed the ball for 77 yards with zero touchdowns. Tyreek Hill would get 157 yards receiving with a touchdown. Ryan Tannehill threw the ball for 181 yards with two touchdowns. Derrick Henry would finish with more yardage than his quarterback with 188 yards rushing with two touchdowns of his own. Ryan Tannehill would hit Adam Humphries for a 23-yard score to give the Titans the lead with :23 left in the game. Chiefs defense is not that good and will need to play well if they want a chance to dethrone the Patriots and win a championship.
All-time series: Chiefs lead 29-24
Next week: Kansas City: vs LA Chargers; Tennessee: Bye
TW: 2-4; CV: 1-5
Atlanta 26, New Orleans 9: TW: Saints; CV: Saints
One of the biggest upsets of the season so far. Matt Ryan would start for the Falcons, and he would throw the ball for 182 yards with two touchdowns while throwing an interception. Brian Hill would run the ball for 61 yards with zero touchdowns. Younghoe Lee would hit 4/4 in field goals. Drew Brees would get 287 yards passing with zero touchdowns. One of the rare games that Brees would have zero passing touchdowns. Alvin Kamara wouldn't get a lot of yardage on the ground with 24 yards. Wil Lutz would hit 3/3 in field goals.
All-time series: Falcons lead series 53-48
Next week: Atlanta: @ Carolina; New Orleans: @ Tampa Bay
TW: 2-5; CV: 1-6
Arizona 27, Tampa Bay 30: TW: Buccaneers; CV: Cardinals
It was a long time coming but Jameis Winston would finally come away with a winner for the first time since Week 4. Kyler Murray did well in the game despite throwing an interception. Murray would finish the game with 324 yards passing with three touchdowns. He would also have the leading rusher honors with 38 yards while Kenyan Drake finished with 35 yards. Jameis Winston threw the ball for 358 yards with a touchdown while throwing two interceptions. Peyton Barber would get 43 yards rushing with a touchdown while Ronald Jones got 29 yards rushing with a touchdown as well. Pretty ugly win but I'm sure Tampa will take it.
All-time series: Cardinals lead series 11-10
Next week: Arizona: @ San Francisco; Tampa Bay: vs New Orleans
TW: 3-5; CV: 1-7
Miami 16, Indianapolis 12: TW: Colts; CV: Colts
Another upset this week! Ryan Fitzpatrick would provide the only touchdown for the Dolphins this game. Fitzpatrick would throw the ball for 169 yards with an interception. He would run the ball for 23 yards while scoring the only touchdown for Miami. Kalen Ballage would get 43 yards from the ground. Brian Hoyer would get the start for Indy while getting 203 yards passing with a touchdown and three interceptions. Marlon Mack would get quite a bit of production on the ground with 74 yards rushing but wouldn't score a touchdown. Adam Vinatieri would be 2/2 for field goals in the game.
All-time series: Dolphins lead series 48-27
Next week: Miami: vs Buffalo; Indianapolis: vs Jacksonville
TW: 3-6; CV: 1-8
Carolina 16, Green Bay 24: TW: Packers; CV: Panthers
Aaron Rodgers didn't have the bestest of games but the Packers are 8-2 heading into a long-awaited bye week. Kyle Allen was productive in the game with 307 yards passing with a touchdown but also threw an interception. It could've been much worser for Allen as he was pressured quite a lot in the game. Christian McCaffrey was fairly productive as well with 108 yards rushing with a touchdown, while compiling 33 yards receiving. Aaron Rodgers would get 223 yards passing for the game with zero touchdowns. Another Aaron would give the Packers all the scoring that they would need as Aaron Jones ran the ball for 93 yards for three touchdowns.
All-time series: Packers lead 10-6
Next week: Carolina: vs Atlanta; Green Bay: Bye
TW: 4-6; CV: 1-9
LA Rams 12, Pittsburgh 17: TW: Rams; CV: Rams
The trade for Minkah Fitzpatrick has paid off dividends for the Steelers. Jared Goff didn't look all that great with 243 yards passing with zero touchdowns but would throw two interceptions. Todd Gurley would finish the game with 73 yards rushing but wouldn't get a touchdown. Dante Fowler would get the only touchdown for the Rams from a fumble-six. Mason Rudolph finished the game with decent stats with 242 yards passing with a touchdown. Minkah Fitzpatrick would score a touchdown on a fumble-six. Overall, the game wasn't that well played as there were lots of turnovers.
All-time series: Rams lead series 15-10-2
Next week: LA Rams: vs Chicago; Pittsburgh: @ Cleveland
TW: 4-7; CV: 1-10
Minnesota 28, Dallas 24: TW: Vikings; CV: Vikings
The Cowboys wasted a pretty good game from Dak Prescott. Kirk Cousins threw the ball for 220 yards with two touchdowns. A decent game for him. Dalvin Cook would end up being the better running back with 97 yards rushing with a touchdown. Dak Prescott finished the game with 397 yards passing with three touchdowns while throwing an interception. Ezekiel Elliot was pretty quiet this game with only 47 yards from the ground. What's wrong with Dallas?!
All-time series: Cowboys lead 16-15
Next week: Minnesota: vs Denver; Dallas: @ Detroit
TW: 5-7; CV: 2-10
Seattle 27, San Francisco 24 (F/OT): TW: 49ers, CV: 49ers
San Francisco is undefeated no more. Russell Wilson threw the ball for 232 yards with a touchdown while throwing an interception. The Seahawks running game was pretty effective as Chris Carson ran the ball for 89 yards with a touchdown, Wilson would have 53 yards. Jimmy Garoppolo would throw the ball for 248 yards with a touchdown as well as an interception. The Seahawks defense kept the Niners running game from going as Tevin Coleman's 40 yards rushing was the leading rusher for San Fran. Pretty good game safe to say.
All-time series: Seattle leads series 26-16
Next week: Seattle: Bye; San Francisco: vs Arizona
TW: 5-8; CV: 2-11
The Records (By Week & Year):
Cardinal Viking:
2017: 167-89
2018: 156-98-2
2019:
Week 1: 11-4-1
Week 2: 10-6
Week 3: 10-6
Week 4: 7-8
Week 5: 9-6
Week 6: 7-7
Week 7: 10-4
Week 8: 11-4
Week 9: 8-6
Week 10: 2-11
Overall: 85-62-1
My record:
2012: 164-90-2
2013: 162-92-1
2014: 172-83-1
2017: 164-92
2018: 156-98-2
2019:
Week 1: 12-3-1
Week 2: 10-6
Week 3: 11-5
Week 4: 8-7
Week 5: 5-10
Week 6: 9-5
Week 7: 7-7
Week 8: 14-1
Week 9: 8-6
Week 10: 5-8
Overall: 89-58-1
See you guys on Wednesday for the Week 11 picks!
-Tom
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