Namath's greatest statistical game

BALTIMORE (Sept. 24, 1972) - A couple of hours after the New York Jets had flown past the Baltimore Colts, 44-34, in a classic shootout at Memorial Stadium, Jets defensive end Gerry Philbin decided to have a little fun at the expense of quarterback Joe Namath.

"At the airport in Baltimore waiting for the plane, Gerry came over to me," Namath recalled. "He said `Damnit, we come out of the game after they score, but when you score on the first play, we have to go right back in. Damnit, give us a rest."'

There was a brief moment when Namath wondered if his rugged teammate was serious. Only when Philbin and everyone standing in the vicinity who had heard the outrageous comment began laughing did Namath, too, join in the revelry.

Although Philbin was joking, he actually had every right to be just a little perturbed at Namath, the sore-kneed, rocket-armed, motor-mouthed leader of the Jets who had just thrown for 496 yards and six touchdowns.

All day long, Philbin traded blood, sweat, spit and helmet paint with the physical Colts, and after each bruising Baltimore possession, Philbin dragged himself to the sidelines huffing and puffing and in need of a break. But Namath wouldn't let Philbin rest. He'd saunter onto the field, rear back, throw a touchdown bomb over the Colts' feeble zone defense, and before Philbin could even catch his breath, he was back in his three-point stance face-to-face with Baltimore's imposing 6-foot-5, 260-pound right tackle Dennis Nelson.

WHILE PHILBIN ENDURED A TOUGH AFTERNOON, it couldn't compare to what the Colts' defenders were going through as Namath put on a passing clinic nearly unrivaled in NFL history. Namath's yardage total was the third-highest in league annals, and was a Jets team record. And with Baltimore's Johnny Unitas countering with 376 aerial yards, the two quarterbacks set a new NFL mark for combined passing yards with 872.

"So many times it looked like we were going to overtake them," said Colts coach Don McCafferty. "But you'd turn your head and New York would have another seven points on the board."

NFL offenses had suffered through a lackluster 1971 season as scoring went down due in large part to the rising popularity of the zone defense. Teams were shying away from man-to-man schemes - which pinpoint passers were able to pick apart - and were laying back in zones to protect against the long pass.

Unitas, even before the 1971 season began, had said: "There is no percentage in throwing long into the zone."

So before the start of the 1972 season, league officials - ever aware that fans love offensive football - thought of ways to give the paying customers more scoring. What they came up with at the annual league meetings in March was moving the hash marks 3 1/2 yards closer to the center of the field, making them 70 feet, 9 inches from each sideline. The theory was that offenses would have more room to operate and defenses would be forced to cover more territory on the short side of the field, which, as Detroit quarterback Greg Landry pointed out, no longer existed.

As it turned out, scoring went up only microscopically in 1972, and the zone defense continued to be an effective weapon. A record 10 running backs surpassed 1,000 yards rushing as teams found the best way to attack the zone was to run at it.

BUT EARLY IN THE SEASON, when the defenses were still trying to adjust to the new field alignment, there was a veritable offensive explosion. On opening day, 13 of 26 teams scored at least 30 points, led by the Jets who rolled past Buffalo, 41-24. And then in Week 2, the Jets and Colts put on the type of offensive display that the league's braintrust thought was going to be a regular occurence in NFL stadiums.

This was a dreamy matchup of future Hall of Fame quarterbacks Namath and Unitas. Since Namath had guaranteed his Jets would shock the world and beat Baltimore in Super Bowl III - and then delivered on the bold proclamation in January 1969 - things had not gone very well for Broadway Joe.

He led the Jets into the playoffs in 1969. the final AFL season, but since the two leagues had merged in 1970, Namath had seen both the 1970 and '71 seasons end prematurely due to wrist and knee injuries, respectively. During those two years, the man who had become the first quarterback in pro football history to pass for more than 4,000 yards in one season (1967) had completed 118 of 238 passes for just 1,796 yards with 10 touchdowns and 18 interceptions.

But with his health reasonably good - his surgically scarred knees notwithstanding - Namath had opened the year with a solid performance in the victory over Buffalo and was clearly primed for a big year.

Unitas was playing in what would be the last of his 17 seasons in Baltimore. The 38-year-old master - who with his crew cut and black high top cleats was the polar opposite of the long-haired, white-shoed Namath - was coming off a disappointing 1971 season. Unitas had shared the quarterback duties with fellow crew-cutter Earl Morrall during the regular season, but in the playoffs, Unitas got the call. After leading a 20-3 victory over Cleveland, Unitas had thrown three interceptions in a 21-0 AFC Championship Game loss to Miami. One of the picks was returned 62 yards for a touchdown by Dick Anderson in the third quarter which blew the game open.

Unitas had struggled in a season-opening 10-3 loss to St. Louis, and rumors abounded that new general manager Joe Thomas was pressing McCafferty to bench Unitas in favor of young Marty Domres, who Thomas had acquired in a trade from San Diego a month earlier. Ultimately, Unitas did go to the bench when the Colts lost four of their first five games, and he was dealt to San Diego after the season, so in effect this was his last shining game in a Baltimore uniform.

WHEN THE AFL MERGED WITH THE NFL, Baltimore agreed to be placed in the new AFC and as fate would have it, the Colts landed in the Eastern Division along with the Jets, meaning the teams would play twice annually. Since the stunning Super Bowl loss to New York, Baltimore had whipped the Jets four straight times, but Namath hadn't played a complete game against the Colts since 1970 when he set team records for completions (37) and attempts (62) in throwing for 397 yards during a 29-22 loss. Sixteen Colts who played in the Super Bowl were still on the roster on this day, and while they had had the upper hand in the four games since, Jets fullback Matt Snell - one of 14 Jets still with the team - was quick to remind, "Yeah, but they're still not even."

After an exchange of punts to start the game, Namath got the fireworks going when he lofted a 65-yard touchdown pass to little Eddie Bell. As Bell made the catch, Colts safety Rick Volk made a lunging attempt at a tackle, but Bell slipped through, and then he outran Jerry Logan to the end zone. Bobby Howfield missed the conversion, leaving the score 6-0.

After another punt exchange, the Colts marched 77 yards, the last 40 coming on a flea flicker touchdown pass as Unitas hit a wide open Sam Havrilak for the score. Jim O'Brien was able to convert, putting the Colts ahead.

Four plays later, Roy Hilton sacked Namath and forced a fumble which Fred Miller recovered at the Jets 27, leading to O'Brien's 13-yard field goal.

Jim Bailey blocked a 48-yard field goal attempt by Howfield on the Jets next series, and the Colts proceeded to drive 53 yards to O'Brien's 32-yard field goal for a 13-6 advantage. The key play was a 34-yard Unitas strike to Tom Mitchell on a third-and-10 play from the Colts 45.

It was at this point that Namath, trying to live up to a new two-year, $500,000 contract which made him the highest-paid player in pro football, caught fire, throwing three TD passes in 89 seconds.

"That's amazing, it really is," Namath said. ``I was lucky. Some days you got it and some days you don't. We noticed in the films that we might be able to beat them with some long stuff, but so much depends on your receivers and how they're covered. Today, our guys were great."

AFTER COMPLETING A NINE-YARD PASS to Rich Caster on third-and-7, Namath sent John Riggins on a fly route from the backfield. The fullback got past cornerback Lonnie Hepburn, caught Namath's perfect pass at the Colts 41, and sprinted untouched the rest of the way for the tying touchdown.

This play underscored one of Baltimore's chief problems - the Colts were playing without superstar defensive tackle Bubba Smith, out with an injury. Riggins wasn't the primary receiver, but Namath's offensive line had given him enough time to find the rookie.

"I had good time, but Bubba Smith not being there for the Colts was a factor in me having time, a titanic factor," Namath said. "I'm not taking anything away from their defensive ends, they're outstanding players, but our interior line was giving me the time I needed to look at that zone."

Howfield's kickoff flew into the end zone for a touchback, but the Jets were penalized for being offsides. Don McCauley made New York pay for that miscue, catching Howfield's re-kick at the 7 and racing 93 yards for a touchdown that might have emotionally crushed other teams. But not the Namath-led Jets. Three plays later, staring at third-and-10 with a fired up crowd roaring in his ears, Namath connected with Bell for a 43-yard gain to the Colts 28, and on the next snap, Don Maynard broke free in the Colts secondary and hauled in a Namath missile at the 3 and carried it into the end zone to tie the game at 20.

"Some people say the quarterback isn't all that important to a team," Maynard said, "but they're not analyzing the situation correctly. Especially with us. Joe is so great, he makes up for any weaknesses we have in other spots. Without Joe, we're like a car without gas."

After Howfield's kick was downed for a touchback, Philbin broke through and sacked Unitas on first down, forcing a fumble which Mark Lomas recovered at the 10, and on the first play, Namath hit Caster with a TD strike for a 27-20 lead.

There was just 1:08 remaining in the half, but the Colts refused to go quietly to the locker room. Unitas hit five passes in a row totaling 78 yards, including a 39-yard connection with Havrilak to the Jets 4. But Cotton Speyrer was called for offensive pass interference in the end zone, a 15-yard penalty that moved the ball back to the 19, and McCafferty sent in O'Brien for a 26-yard field goal attempt, which he shanked wide right, ending the half.

The teams took a break in the third quarter as the defenses controlled play, but the Jets did manage a 14-yard Howfield field goal 21 seconds before the period ended to make it 30-20. Bruce Laird's 49-yard kickoff return on the last play of the quarter set the Colts up at their own 44, and served as the segue to a frenetic final 15 minutes.

UNITAS USED 13 GRIND-IT-OUT PLAYS before McCauley crashed in from the 1 on third-and-goal, cutting Baltimore's deficit to 30-27 with 8:05 left, but 39 seconds later, with Philbin still doubled over on the sideline, Namath probed the Colt zone and found Caster streaking down the middle behind Volk and linebacker Ted Hendricks for an 80-yard touchdown.

"All you do is send one or two people deep in one area and another deep underneath, and that man underneath should be open," Namath said, describing the play.

Said Bell: "Rich was the key today. They were double-teaming Don and me, and you can't cover Rich one-on-one."

Undaunted, Unitas had his team back in the end zone 1:14 later. Aided by three Jet penalties, two that resulted in first downs, the Colts moved 83 yards with Unitas capping the series with a 22-yard TD aerial to Tom Matte that made it 37-34 with 6:12 left.

But Namath's right arm delivered another dagger to the Colts' heart as he hooked up with Caster on a 79-yard lightning bolt on the first play after the kickoff. This time, Namath saw that second-year cornerback Rex Kern had entered the game, and he went after him immediately.

"I was thinking about another long pass to Caster on the first play, but I wasn't sure if I should risk it, only three points ahead," Namath said. "But then I said to myself, `If you ain't confident, you don't belong here.' So I decided to try and score again quick because I knew there ain't no way we're going to use up the clock running in that situation.

"I knew the Colts would be storming the walls, and on the first play they were blitzing, but I had it picked up. I knew Caster had to be one-on-one, so I just hustled the hell back there, set up, let it go and it was just right. I had two receivers open, but when I saw those two clean white numbers (Kern's No. 44) I knew where I was going." Unitas, clearly worn out by this shootout, could not answer Namath's last salvo. Baltimore's final two possessions ended meekly, and the scoreboard operator's long day was finally over, the numbers reading Jets 44, Colts 34.

"It hurts when it takes you 13 plays to score and only one play for them," Unitas said. "We did just about what we wanted to do against the Jets, but Namath was that much better."

Namath, never one to mince words, had to agree.

"I'M CONVINCED THAT I'M BETTER than anybody else," Namath said. "I've been convinced of that for quite a while. I haven't seen anything out there that I couldn't do and do well. When you go back to Sammy Baugh, guys like that, they were great, sure, but it wasn't the game it is now. Johnny Unitas is great, but I just like to believe that I'm better."

When asked about the pressure of living up to the richest contract in the NFL, Namath didn't even flinch.

"I got paid for it, I'm supposed to do the job, it's cut and dried," he said. "I want to be convinced myself that I earned that money. So far, I have."

POSTSCRIPT: Namath went on to lead the NFL in passing yards (2,816) that season, but he completed just 50 percent of his passes and offset 19 TD passes with 21 interceptions. The Jets lost four of their final five games to finish at 7-7. The Colts started 1-4 and McCafferty was fired, replaced by John Sandusky, and Unitas was benched in favor of Domres. Baltimore wound up 5-9, its first losing season since 1956, Unitas' rookie year.

Nothing the Jets or Colts did mattered in 1972, because fellow AFC East inhabitant Miami went 14-0 in the regular season, the NFL's first perfect record, and the Dolphins completed their remarkable run with three playoff victories, including a 14-7 triumph over Washington in Super Bowl VII.

Boxscore

Jets     6  21  3  14  -  44
Colts    7  13  0  14  -  34

NYJ - Bell 65 pass from Namath (kick failed), 6:12.
Bal - Havrilak 40 pass from Unitas (O'Brien kick), 12:53.
Bal - O'Brien 14 field goal, 1:58.
Bal - O'Brien 32 field goal, 10:41.
NYJ - Riggins 67 pass from Namath (Howfield kick), 12:23.
Bal - McCauley 93 kickoff return (O'Brien kick), 12:47.
NYJ - Maynard 28 pass from Namath (Howfield kick), 13:23.
NYJ - Caster 10 pass from Namath (Howfield kick), 13:52.
NYJ - Howfield 14 field goal, 14:39.
Bal - McCauley 1 run (O'Brien kick), 6:55.
NYJ - Caster 79 pass from Namath (Howfield kick), 7:34.
Bal - Matte 21 pass from Unitas (O'Brien kick), 8:48.
NYJ - Caster 80 pass from Namath (Howfield kick), 9:36.
        Att - 56,626.

TEAM STATISTICS         NYJ        Bal
First downs              19         28
Rushes-yards          25-83      27-80
Net passing yards       490        332
Total net yards         573        412
Passes              15-28-1    26-45-0
Sacked-yards            1-6       6-44
Punts-Avg.           3-43.3      5-45.0
Fumbles-lost            2-1        2-2
Penalties             10-78       5-55

 
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING - New York: Riggins 21-87, Namath 1-1, 
                McLain 3-(-5). 
          Baltimore: Matte 9-42, Nottingham 16-35, 
                Unitas 1-2, McCauley 1-1.

PASSING - New York: Namath 15-28-1 - 496. 
          Baltimore: Unitas 26-45-0 - 376.

RECEIVING - New York: Bell 7-197, Caster 6-204, 
                Riggins 1-67, Maynard 1-28.
            Baltimore: Matte 9-69, Mitchell 8-114, 
                Havrilak 4-115, Spreyer 3-57, 
                Nottingham 2-21.