Every week, we’ll take a look at one of the week’s matchups and reminisce about a previous meeting between the teams.

Steelers 35, Cowboys 31 (Super Bowl XIII)

As the Giants and Patriots prepare to square off in the Super Bowl for the second time in 5 seasons, it evokes memories of the very first Super Bowl rematch, a contest that lived up to its billing thanks to some big plays (and miscues) by some of the greatest players to ever suit up and 2 of the best head coaches to ever roam the sidelines–many of these men enshrined in Canton, Ohio.

A mere 33 years ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys met in Super Bowl XIII at Miami’s Orange Bowl, their second clash in the Big Game in 4 seasons. Three years earlier (also at the Orange Bowl) Chuck Noll’s then-defending champions rallied in the fourth quarter then held off a young Cowboys’ team, 21-17. The hero was then second-year WR Lynn Swann, who pulled in just 4 passes but for 161 yards, including a 64-yard touchdown from QB Terry Bradshaw with 3:02 to play that proved to be the difference in the game. Continue reading →

Every week, we’ll take a look at one of the week’s matchups and reminisce about a previous meeting between the teams.

Patriots 27, Ravens 24 (Week 13, 2007)

As the Ravens and Patriots prepare for their second playoff meeting in 3 seasons, perhaps their most memorable encounter took place on a blustery Monday night at Baltimore 4 seasons ago prior to the beginning of the John Harbaugh/Joe Flacco Era in the land of crab cakes.

This evening, it would former first-round pick QB Kyle Boller leading the way for head coach Brian Billick’s club as the 11-0 Pats came to town. Following a 4-2 start, the defending AFC North champions were in the midst of a 5-game losing streak but a win over unbeaten New England would take the sting of what had become a very long season. Continue reading →

Every week, we’ll take a look at one of the week’s matchups and reminisce about a previous meeting between the teams.

Giants 23, Packers 20 (OT) (’07 NFC Championship Game)

As the Giants and Packers prepare for their seventh postseason meeting, the previous 6 in either the NFL (5) or NFC (1) Championship Game, it’s the most recent of those 6 previous encounters that offered plenty of drama.

Tom Coughlin’s 10-6 upstarts had already pulled off road playoff wins at Tampa and at Dallas, the latter against the top-seeded Cowboys and a team the Giants had lost twice to during the regular season. Like the Pokes, the Packers also finished 13-3 and were coming off a 42-20 win over the Seahawks at snowy Lambeau Field in which RB Ryan Grant (a former New York Giant) ran for 201 yards and 3 touchdowns. Continue reading →

Every week, we’ll take a look at one of the week’s matchups and reminisce about a previous meeting between the teams.

Broncos 34, Steelers 21 (1977 AFC Divisional Playoffs)

This Sunday, the Steelers and Broncos will meet in the playoffs for the seventh time. Only the storied series between the Bears and Giants, as well as the Cowboys and Rams–those clubs squaring off against each other the postseason 8 times each–have met in the playoffs more often than Denver and Pittsburgh. But it was the first of those postseason encounters (which was also the first-ever playoff game in the history of the Broncos) that was one of the most significant games for the denizens of the Mile High City. Continue reading →

Every week, we’ll take a look at one of the week’s matchups and reminisce about a previous meeting between the teams.

Jets 40, Dolphins 37 (OT) (Week 8, 2000)

The 2011 NFL season has had a pair of definitive themes: the year of the quarterback and the comeback. We’re seeing eye-popping numbers passing numbers and with regularity, teams rallying from big deficits to win games (just ask the Detroit Lions).

Of course, when you think of great comebacks, few top that October night at Giants Stadium when the 5-1 Dolphins and 5-1 Jets squared off in a battle for first place in the AFC East. And for those fans who lasted that long evening at the Meadowlands and didn’t leave the game early (and I personally know a few who fall in the latter category), it ranks as one of the more thrilling games in recent memory and one of the highlights of the 42-year Monday Night Football series. Continue reading →

Every week, we’ll take a look at one of the week’s matchups and reminisce about a previous meeting between the teams. This week, we’ll vary from protocol in honor of the holidays…

Dolphins 27, Chiefs 24 (2 OT) (1971 AFC Divisional Playoffs)

It remains one of the legendary games in National Football League history. And 40 years later, it also remains the longest game in the league’s 92-year history.

For the first time, there would be NFL games on Christmas and in fact, a pair of playoff matchups. In the first game that afternoon, the eventual Super Bowl VI champion Dallas Cowboys would defeat the Vikings at since-demolished Metropolitan Stadium, 20-12. But it’s the tilt later that day in what would be the final game at Municipal Stadium that would be engrained in many football fans memories. Continue reading →

Every week, we’ll take a look at one of the week’s matchups and reminisce about a previous meeting between the teams.

Raiders 38, Lions 31 (Week 14, 1990)

On a December Monday night at the Pontiac Silverdome, the L.A. Raiders and Detroit Lions were a pair of teams headed in opposite directions. The Men from Motown would finish 6-10 in the NFC Central, while Art Shell’s edition of the Silver and Black (in his first full season as the team’s head coach) would win the AFC West with at 12-4 but the season would conclude with a less-than-memorable 51-3 setback in the AFC Championship Game at Buffalo. Continue reading →

Every week, we’ll take a look at one of the week’s matchups and reminisce about a previous meeting between the teams.

Steelers 36, Browns 33 (2002 AFC Wild Card Playoffs)

Since returning to the NFL in 1999 following a three-year hiatus of sorts (aka the franchise relocating to Baltimore), the Cleveland Browns has been from successful and that’s being kind. These current Browns have lost twice as many games (136) as they’ve won (68) in 13 seasons and even if they run the table this season, it still amounts to only 2 winning seasons and 1 playoff appearance since ‘99. Continue reading →

Every week, we’ll take a look at one of the week’s matchups and reminisce about a previous meeting between the teams.

Raiders 28, Dolphins 26 (1974 AFC Divisional Playoffs)

In some NFL historians’ opinions, it remains the greatest postseason game in NFL history. And whether you agree or not, it certainly remains in the discussion nearly 37 years after it was played.

Similar to the last 10 years in the AFC, where starting in 2001 it’s been the Patriots (4), Steelers (3) and Colts (2) representing the conference in 9 of the 10 Super Bowls, there was a 10-year run starting in 1971 where the Steelers (4), Dolphins (3) and Raiders (2) went to the Big Game for the AFC. It began with Miami, who became the first franchise to reach 3 consecutive Super Bowls, first losing to the Dallas Cowboys, then winning consecutive titles following the 1972 and ’73 season. The last of those was a 24-7 victory over the Minnesota Vikings which was preceded by a 27-10 win over the Raiders in the AFC Championship Game at the Orange Bowl. Continue reading →

Every week, we’ll take a look at one of the week’s matchups and reminisce about a previous meeting between the teams.

Falcons 30, Vikings 27 (OT) (1998 NFC Championship Game)

Although the Atlanta Falcons have yet to make consecutive playoff appearances during the franchise’s 40-plus years of existence (a streak that could end this season), they have been to the Super Bowl. And their path to Miami that season (which resulted in a loss to the Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII) proved to be one of the bigger upsets in recent postseason history. Continue reading →