Author Archives: bboyd31573

About bboyd31573

I'm a resident of Mission, SD, which is in the south-central part of the state along the Nebraska border. I am a literature teacher at my hometown high school. I just retired from 25 years a very successful coaching career - basketball and football. I have two children. My daughter is a physical therapist living in Phoenix, AZ, and my son recently graduated from Notre Dame and is working in Wisconsin in the political arena. I am an owner of the Green Bay Packers, and I am a huge LA Lakers fan. I have a beautiful husky dog named Oakley. I have been playing APBA football since I was 13 and my first set was the 1985 NFL season.

1997 Game 186 (Week 14) New Orleans at Carolina

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Saints hold off Panthers to stay in the playoff hunt

Mike Ditka won the NFL Coach of the Year in 1985 after his destructible Bears tore through the NFL to a World Title. He is on the short list for this year’s COTY honors as his New Orleans Saints has defied all the naysayers and are in the middle of the playoff picture in the NFC with another victory Sunday afternoon. The Saints beat the Panthers 24-19 in Ericsson Stadium and are now 8-5 on the season. Ditka has transformed the Saints from last year’s 3-13 team into a contender.

Saints’ QB Billy Jo Hobert had a great three quarters in the victory where he was 11 of 22 for 157 yards and 3 TDs, which gave the Saints a 24-10 lead. Then Hobert nearly threw the game away in the fourth quarter. He went 1 of 5 for 10 yards and three interceptions in the final period. Luckily, the Saints’ defense held off the Panthers for the win.

The Saints got a strong running effort in this one. They rushed for 147 yards as a team and RB Ray Zellars paced the Saints with 88 individual yards. Troy Davis chipped in with 60 yards on the ground.

Defensively, the Saints showed up again. They sacked Panther QBs six times and intercepted backup Steve Beuerlein twice.

The Saints will try to position themselves into a wildcard spot next week as they host the St. Louis Rams. The Panthers, now 3-10, will travel to Big D to take on the Cowboys on Monday Night Football.

1997 Game 186 Stats

1997 Game 185 (Week 14) New England at Indianapolis

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Bledsoe rips the Colts

The New England Patriots are the defending AFC Champions, and they are beginning to look like they will contend for it again as they came back to defeat the Indianapolis Colts, 28-24, Sunday afternoon at Foxboro behind a big performance from Drew Bledsoe.

Trailing 24-21 midway through the 4th quarter, Drew Bledsoe showed why he is a contender for the league’s MVP. He zipped a 15-yard pass to TE Ben Coates and then connected with WR Shawn Jefferson for another 17 yards. Another completion to Jefferson and the Patriots were at the Colt 27-yard line. With the Colts in man-to-man coverage, Bledsoe found a matchup he liked. RB Dave Meggett was matched up with a linebacker and Bledsoe took advantage of it. Meggett went on a wheel-route and Bledsoe hit him in stride for a 27-yard touchdown! The Patriots took a 28-24 lead.

The Patriot defense stepped up on the Colts next possession and forced a punt. They never saw the ball again. With 4:10 on the clock, Bledsoe and the Patriots ran an awesome 4-minute offense and kept the ball away from the Colts. RB Curtis Martin kept the chains moving and the Patriots ran out the clock to secure the victory.

Martin rushed for 103 yards on 24 carries on the day. Bledsoe threw for 306 yards on 20 of 32 passing with four touchdowns.

The Colts got a big passing day from QB Jim Harbaugh. He passed for 341 yards on 23 of 37 passing with two touchdowns and an Interception.

The Patriots have control over the AFC East with a 10-3 record with three games remaining. Next week, they travel to Jacksonville, while the Colts (4-9) travel to New York to play the Jets.

1997 Game 185 Stats

1997 Game 184 (Week 14) Cincinnati at Philadelphia

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Bengals win their fifth straight

The hottest team in the NFL is the Cincinnati Bengals. With a 38-28 win over the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday at Veteran’s Stadium, the Bengals have now five in a row and eight of their last nine games. They lead the AFC Central with a 9-4 record, despite losing their starting quarterback to injury.

QB Boomer Esiason is reliving his glory days in Cincinnati. He has taken over from Jeff Blake and has been on fire. On Sunday, he was the benefactor of a tremendous running game as the Bengals pounded the Eagles for 160 yards on the ground. Esiason threw for 207 yards on 18 of 29 passing with an interception.

As for their running game, the Bengals got a career-day from RB Corey Dillon, who rushed for only 88 yards but scored four rushing touchdowns! Dillon now has 12 rushing TDs on the season. The Bengals got another rushing touchdown from WR Darnay Scott on an end around.

As for the Eagles, they got a big rushing day as well. They rushed for 183 yards as a team with 85 coming from RB Ricky Watters. QB Bobby Hoying threw for 216 yards on 16 of 37 passing with three touchdowns and an interception.

The Bengals are in a divisional race with the Pittsburgh Steelers and will put their first-place spot on the line next week when they host the Tennessee Oilers. The Eagles are now 5-8 and will host the New York Giants next Sunday.

1997 Game 184 Stats

1997 Game 183 (Week 14) Baltimore at Jacksonville

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Jaguars take a bite out of the Ravens

Jacksonville Jaguars’ QB Mark Brunell had his best game of the season in a Jaguar 38-10 win over the Baltimore Ravens Sunday at Alltel Stadium.

Brunell threw for 334 yards on 20 of 28 passing with four touchdowns on the day. He and WRs Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell were in sync all game long. Smith caught seven passes for 158 yards and a TD, while McCardell caught five passes for 63 yards and a TD.

The Jaguars also got 81 yards rushing from RB Natrone Means on 25 carries and a touchdown. RB James Stewart rushed for 23 yards on 10 carries.

As for the Ravens, they lost QB Vinny Testaverde in the second quarter with an injury. Eric Zeier replaced him and got his first action of the season. Zeier threw for 166 yards on 17 of 30 passing with a TD and an interception.

The Jaguars are now 5-8 on the season and they host the New England Patriots next Sunday. The Ravens are now 5-8 also and they will host the red-hot Seattle Seahawks next week.

1997 Game 183 Stats

1997 Game 182 (Week 14) Tennessee at Dallas

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Aikman leads Cowboys to thrilling win on Thanksgiving!

The Dallas Cowboys and the Tennessee Oilers gave the American viewers a heck of a game in the 2nd game on Thanksgiving Holiday. Nothing like turkey and football! The Cowboys showed their Championship Moxey as they came-from-behind to beat the Oilers 26-25 in the final seconds at Texas Stadium.

The Oilers took the lead, 25-20, with 3:30 in the fourth quarter when QB Steve McNair hooked up with WR Chris Sanders on a 16-yard touchdown. McNair was fabulous on the drive as he used his legs and his arm to put the Oilers into position to win the game.

With 3:30 on the clock, future Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman went to work. On the first play of the drive, Aikman hooked up with little used tight end David LeFleur for 23 yards. On a second down play, Aikman rifled a shot to the other tight end Eric Bjornson for 14 yards and then a 16-yard pass to RB Hershal Walker that set the Cowboys up at the 20-yard line. On a second down play, Aikman threw the ball to the corner of the end zone where WR Anthony Miller plucked the ball out of the air for the game-winning touchdown with just four seconds remaining. The Cowboys failed on their two-point try and won the game 26-25 in thrilling fashion.

The Cowboys are now 6-7 and face the struggling Carolina Panthers on Monday Night Football next week in Charlotte. With three games to play, the Cowboys have an outside shot at winning the NFC East. As for the Oilers, the loss hinders their chances in the AFC playoffs as they are now 5-8. The Oilers will travel to Cincinnati next Thursday night.

1997 Game 182 Stats

1997 Game 181 (Week 14) Chicago at Detroit

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Lions’ offensive explodes on Turkey Day!

The #1 offense in the NFL didn’t disappoint in the first game of Thanksgiving as the Detroit Lions defeated the Chicago Bears, 35-14. The Lions racked up 472 total yards and got outstanding games from their own version of the Triplets.

RB Barry Sanders continued his historic pace as he rushed for 150 yards on the day on 22 carries and two touchdowns. On the season, Sanders has rushed for 1827 yards on the season. If he keeps his current pace, he will rush for 2,249 yards, which would smash the single-season rushing record currently held by Eric Dickerson in 1984. The first player to rush for 2,000 yards was OJ Simpson in 1973, when he rushed for 2003 yards in 14 games. Sanders needs 177 yards in his next game to break Simpson’s mark.

QB Scott Mitchell is having the best season of his career too. Mitchell threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns against the Bears. With the opponent defenses concentrating on Sanders, Mitchell and the passing game has been on fire. Mitchell has thrown for 3,286 yards on a 59% completion percentage with 24 TDs and only 4 INTs. He has a 100 quarterback rating which is only behind Steve Young in the NFC.

WR Herman Moore had a sensational game as well on Turkey Day. He caught 7 passes for 192 yards and 3 touchdowns. On the season, Moore has 86 receptions for 1,193 yards and 11 TDs. His counterpart, Johnnie Morton has 85 catches for 1,291 yards and 8 TDs.

On the defensive side, the Lions are getting a great season from DE Robert Porcher. He had 1.5 sacks on Thursday and now is tops in the NFL with 17 sacks on the season.

The Lions are now 10-3. They sit behind the Packers in the Central standings and are the #4 seed right now in the NFC playoffs. Next week, they travel to Miami to take on the Dolphins. As for the Bears, their dismal season continues as they fell to 1-12. They will host the Bills next Sunday.

1997 Game 181 Stats

1997 Game 180 (Week 13) Oakland at Denver (Monday)

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Broncos and Raiders put on an offensive display on Monday Night

The 9-2 Denver Broncos hosted the 3-8 Oakland Raiders on Monday Night Football and the two teams showed their offensive firepower. The Broncos won the game 41-27 and piled up 462 yards of total offense, while the Raiders racked up 353 with an awesome game from QB Jeff George.

Broncos’ QB John Elway had one of his best games of the season when he threw for 268 yards on an efficient 20 of 27 passing with three touchdowns and a 126.8 QB rating. All three of the TDs were thrown to TE Shannon Sharpe, who caught six passes for 111 yards and the three TDs.

Raiders’ QB Jeff George is having the best season of his career, and he improved on that Monday Night. George threw for 309 yards on 22 of 31 passing with four TDs and a 142.3 QB Rating. George threw to WR Tim Brown, who is having the best season of his career. In this game, Brown caught ten passes for 170 yards and a score. On the season, Brown has caught 91 balls for 1,302 yards and six TDs.

The difference between the teams was the Broncos’ running game. They rushed for 194 yards on 42 carries. RB Terrell Davis rushed for 143 yards and two TDs in the game.

The Broncos are now 10-2 on the season with the only two losses coming via their divisional rival the Kansas City Chiefs. Next week, the Broncos will travel to San Diego to take on Chargers on Sunday Night Football. The 3-9 Raiders will host the Miami Dolphins.

1997 Game 180 Stats

1997 Game 179 (Week 13) NY Giants at Washington

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Redskins take control of the East

The Washington Redskins won the big NFC Showdown on Sunday Night Football at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium as the Skins defeated the New York Giants, 24-16, to take control of the division with four weeks of the season to go.

In the battle of division rivals, it was the Redskins who came up with the big plays to win the game and none bigger was when Brian Mitchell took the second half kickoff 101 yards for a touchdown to give the Skins a 17-13 lead. With the return, Mitchell tied an NFL record with the most kickoff returns in a season with 4. Only two other players accomplished this feat. Cecil Turner of the Bears did it in 1970 and Travis Williams of the Packers in 1967.

Redskin running back Stephen Davis didn’t have many rushing yards on the night, five, but had the most impact in the running game as he scored two red zone TDs. RB Terry Allen was held to 44 yards rushing on 19 carries.

The Giants just couldn’t take advantage of scoring opportunities. They missed a field goal in the red zone and then took the ball down inside the Redskins’ five-yard line with seconds to play but couldn’t convert to tie the game. The Giants outgained the Redskins, 296 to 208, but they couldn’t convert on the scoring plays to win the game.

The two teams will meet up again in three weeks in Washington, but in the meantime, the Giants, 7-5, will take on the Tampa Buccaneers at home next week, while the Redskins, 8-4, will host the Rams next Sunday.

1997 Game 179 Stats

1997 Game 178 (Week 13) San Diego at San Francisco

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49ers shutout Chargers

The San Francisco 49ers’ defense is on an historic pace. They have allowed just 189 yards per game this season to their opponents, which would be the fewest since 1991 when the Eagles allowed 221.8. They have also allowed just 10.5 points per game to their opponents the season, which would be the lowest since the Rams allowed 10.4 in 1977.

The 49ers defense was absolutely dominant on Sunday as the 49ers shutout the San Diego Chargers 36-0 at 3 COM Park at Candlestick. The 49ers allowed 156 total yards to the Chargers including just 39 on the ground. The Niners sacked Charger QB Craig Whelihan eight times. They sacked him for a safety and forced him to throw an interception.

As for the 49ers’ offense, QB Steve Young had another impressive day. The was 21 of 26 for 202 yards and 3 TD passes. The Niners also rushed for 144 yards on 34 carries. RB Garrison Hearst had 75 yards on 20 carries.

The Niners have now won ten in a row and have a huge showdown next Sunday as they face the 11-1 Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chargers are now 1-11 and will host the Broncos on Sunday Night Football.

1997 Game 178 Stats