Special Teams

We talk about 'bests' all the time. But how about what was probably the worst defense in a single season in NFL history? The numbers you will hear are absolutely stunning. Almost as stunning as the fact that things got so bad for the 1981 Baltimore Colts, the owner got so fed up he went to the booth to call plays during one game. Yep. It happened. From there we jump to the NBA, where the 1981 Western Conference Finals took place be...

What would happen if fans threw snowballs on the field during a football game? Well, now you'll be able to find out. This week on Special Teams we look back at three of the biggest football games in history that were affected by those special spheres of winter fun. Snowballs ruined a field goal that could've won a game between the 49ers and Broncos in 1985. Ten years later, fans at the Chargers-Giants game were so out of control wi...

The AFC Championship game for the 1982 season between the Jets and the Dolphins is known more for it's weather than it's play on the field. "The Mud Bowl" was a shocking display of offensive ineptitude on a field better suited to swim in than play football on. The game has been shrouded in conspiracy theories for nearly 40 years, and it will probably stay that way forever. It had one great play to hang it's hat on, and all sorts of...

The Dolphins and Patriots met under frozen and snowy circumstances late in the 1982 season in a game immortalized due to a snowplow. Yes, you may know the story of Mark Henderson, who cleared a path for the Patriots field goal to beat Miami. But how about the Dolphins almost winning the game after the plow's appearance by doing the impossible? Don Shula trying to get the Commissioner to reverse the outcome? Then there's the people ...

On January 10th, 1981, the Bengals hosted the Chargers in the AFC Championship Game - a contest that would go down as the coldest football game in NFL history, with temperatures reaching -39 degrees Fahrenheit (with wind chill). Hear all the crazy stories that came out of this game, (which included burnt referees) as players still feel the effects of this contest nearly 40 years later. What sunk the Chargers in what would turn out ...

The Miracle Bowl. Without a doubt, the 1980 Holiday Bowl is one of the top three college football bowl games of the past 40 years. Eric Dickerson and Craig James, the 'Pony Express' of SMU, owned the first 56 minutes. And then Jim McMahon led BYU on a once-in-a-lifetime comeback, complete with a touchdown that probably shouldn't have counted, a Hail Mary that defies explanation, and the beginning of a college football debate that w...

The Buccaneers-Rams battle for the Super Bowl is one of the most underrated playoff games of the past 30 years. Strength against strength: The Rams Greatest Show on Turf offense never met a defense that stifled it as much as the Buccaneers did this day. It was shocking, nail-biting, and it came down to the Rams offense making their only play of the day thanks to a wide receiver who hadn't scored a touchdown all season. Oh, and the ...

No one knew how MLB would return from the strike year of 1994. Well, it actually involved the most recently forfeited game in baseball history, the passing of the game's biggest legend, one player stepping up to bring the sport all the way back from the brink, something we hadn't seen in over 100 years, and a post-season we had NEVER seen. And it all culminates with the best single season team in baseball history who didn't win the...

On today's episode, Jason explains why he believes Luka Doncic's 43 point, 17 rebound, 13 assist performance in the Dallas Mavericks' Game 4 win over the Los Angeles Clippers will go down in history as one of the seminal individual playoff performances of the last 40 years, tells us why 'Playoff P' Paul George could be one of the worst postseason performers in recent history, and wonders aloud why Kawhi Leonard and Doc Rivers aren'...

1991 Lions & Browns. 1991 was simply the best year in the history of the Lions franchise, as they accomplished things they hadn't done before (or since). Overcoming injuries and tragedy, they finished one painful step short of the Super Bowl. Meanwhile for the Browns, it was the first year in the head coaching career of Bill Belichick. As you'll hear, he's very much the same head coach now he was back then - except his surprisi...

This may have been the best AFC Championship game of the past 30 years. In 1996, the solid-but-unspectacular Colts nearly upset the Steelers in a game that had it all: Controversial officiating, unlikely heroes (Willie Williams? Ernie Mills?), and a last-gasp play that stopped hearts across the NFL. We spotlight players like budding superstar Kordell Stewart and Captain Comeback Jim Harbaugh. Oh, and the drama for the Colts was jus...

The Broncos were headed to the Super Bowl. The Jaguars were the fun new kid on the block. It wasn't supposed to be a fair fight. But after ending the Bills careers of Jim Kelly & Marv Levy, the Jaguars shocked the football world behind QB Mark Brunell as they derailed Denver's championship run. How did they do it - and why didn't the Jaguars turn into the expected dynasty fans thought they'd be? Meanwhile, Denver lost more than...

Two years after the Padres & Rockies extra-inning Game #163 thriller, the Tigers and Twins went at it in a tie-breaking game to decide the American League Central title. A tight-battle became a 12-inning roller-coaster in the blink of an eye. When is a hit-by-pitch that could’ve won the game not a hit-by-pitch despite evidence to the contrary? Just what was one manager thinking leaving his closer in as long as he did? And how d...

In 2007 the Padres & Rockies engaged in a game for the ages, as after 162 games the two teams were tied for the National League Wild Card. A tie-breaking contest raged into 13 innings of punch-counter punch - and still, 13 years later, the winning run never touched home plate. How did that happen - and how did Jason turn into the person who broke that news to one of the teams? The second-best closer we’ve ever seen had the wors...

The last time the Browns were in the playoffs was so long ago, there had only been one Spider-Man movie. But oh what a game it was. The 2003 post-season thriller between the Steelers and Browns had it all: Backup QB’s ascending to glory and then quickly flaming back out, a potential hero who saw his fame turn on one dropped pass, and had the Browns had just one more second on the clock things could’ve been different. It’s Kordell S...

Sometimes NFL games are so famous they get a name. Hence why the 2016 playoff classic between the Seahawks and the Vikings is known as the Blair Walsh Game. The stunning miss on the short field goal gave an unexpected win to Seattle, and began an epic odyssey for Minnesota. The game featured a boss move by an 88-year old former head coach, a broken nose, an Odell Beckham-like catch and one jaw-dropping sequence you could point to a...

Nearly a decade after instant icon Tim Tebow’s fifteen minutes of NFL fame, we look back at the playoff victory he piloted the Broncos to in one of the most memorable NFL games of the new millennium. Winning an overtime thriller against the Steelers could’ve been the springboard to NFL super-stardom - instead it was the last big moment of his career. How did Tebow do it against a great Steelers defense? Part of it had to do with th...

The Rams Greatest Show on Turf thrilled and excited football fans everywhere at the turn of the 21st century, as their offense was like nothing we had seen in the NFL in years. But like everything else in life, it had to come to an end. But, whew - how it did so is worthy of it’s own five-act play. A season of seismic change at QB for the Rams culminated with a head coaching decision in the showdown against the Panthers that is sti...

Dan Marino and the Fake Spike Game. It sounds like a Harry Potter title, but it’s one of the most iconic moments in NFL history. This week we look at the Special Teams involved in the 1994 mid-season NFL classic. The Jets get more criticism than they deserve for this play, and the promising head coaching career of Pete Carroll took a huge detour due to the fallout from it. An even bigger debate: does Dan Marino’s career still have ...