Tag Archives: APBA Football Replay

1997 Game 245 – AFC Divisional – Denver at New England

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Defense takes Broncos to AFC Title game!

Strong Safety Steve Atwater made the play of the season so far for the Denver Broncos. His second quarter interception and 94-yard return for a touchdown lifted the Broncos to the AFC Championship game next weekend.

The Bronco defense was dominant. They forced the Patriots into a one-dimensional team. The Patriots were without All-Pro running back Curtis Martin and could not run the ball. The Patriots rushed for 30 yards on the day and that forced Bledsoe to make plays in the passing game; however, the Broncos were relentless. They sacked Bledsoe six times on the day (Alfred Williams had 3 of them) and forced him to throw two interceptions.

With the defense dominating, the Bronco offense focused on the running game. RB Terrell Davis had 137 yards on the ground on 25 carries. QB John Elway didn’t make any mistakes. He was 13 of 23 passing with 135 yards and no interceptions but could not get the Broncos in the end zone.

Because the Bronco offense was forced to kick two field goals, the Patriots still had an opportunity to win the game. Bledsoe led a drive for a field goal early in the 4th quarter and then hooked up with WR Shawn Jefferson on a 13-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 13-10 with 1:30 left in the game. The Broncos shut the door on the game when they recovered the ensuing onside kick.

The Broncos will now go to the AFC Championship game. They will have to wait to find out who and where that will take place. The Chiefs host the Seahawks in the other Division Round game. If KC wins, the game will take place at Arrowhead, but if the Seahawks spring the upset, the title game will be played in Mile High in Denver.

1997 Game 245 Stats

1997 Game 244 – NFC Wildcard – New Orleans at Detroit

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Sanders breaks another rushing record as Lions advance

Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders continues to have the greatest season in a running back’s career. Sanders broke Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record during the regular season with 2,127 yards, and now Sanders broke Dickerson’s single-game rushing record as well.

Against the New Orleans Saints in the Wildcard game in the Silverdome, Sanders rushed for 255 yards, which broke Dickerson’s 248 yards that he set in 1984 against the Dallas Cowboys. Sanders rushed 32 times to get those 255 yards and he also scored the Lions’ two touchdowns.

It wasn’t easy for the Lions though. The best offense in the NFL moved the ball in the first half but trailed 7-3 at halftime. The Saints broke through first when QB Billy Jo Hobert took advantage of a Lions’ blitz and connected with WR Eric Guliford for a 33-yard touchdown in the first quarter to give the Saints a 7-0 lead.

The Lions moved the ball up and down the field in the first half, generating 190 yard of offense, but could only manage a 30-yard Jason Hanson field goal in the first half.

In the second half, the stars showed out for the Lions. Sanders ran all over the Saints and WR Herman Moore demanded the football in the second half. As a result, the Lions racked up 253 yards of offense in the second half and 20 points. In fact, the Lions controlled the ball as they had 20:45 of time of possession compared to 9:15 for the Saints.

Hobert was harassed by the Lions in the second half and the Saints only managed 59 yards in the half. Hobert was picked off twice, one of them thwarting the only promising drive the Saints mustered up.

Besides Sanders, Moore caught 12 passes for 133 yards. WR Johnny Morton caught six for 61 yards and Scott Mitchell threw for 208 yards on 20 of 35 passing with an interception.

The Lions will now travel to Candlestick Park next weekend to take on the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round of the playoffs. It will be a matchup of the best offense in the league against the best defense in the league.

1997 Game 244 Stats

1997 Game 243 – AFC Wildcard – Seattle at Cincinnati

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Seahawks hold off Bengals to advance to conference semis

The Seattle Seahawks brought in veteran quarterback Warren Moon to take this young franchise into the playoffs. He did that. Now, he gave the Seahawks their first playoff victory since 1984 when they knocked off the LA Raiders.

Moon wasn’t at his best Sunday afternoon in the AFC Wildcard game at Pro Cinergy Field in Cincinnati, but he did enough to secure a victory. Moon threw for only 164 yards but threw a crucial 8-yare touchdown pass to WR Joey Galloway late in the first half to give the Hawks a 13-6 lead.

The Bengals climbed back into the game with their own veteran QB Boomer Esiason, who had a chance to win the game. With the score 16-12 and 2:15 on the clock, Esiason mounted a fierce drive that took the Bengals down to the Seahawks’ 5-yard line. On a fourth and goal play, Esiason threw to the pilon towards WR Darnay Scott, but the throw was off target and fell incomplete. The Seahawks escaped with a 16-12 win.

The Seahawks will advance to the AFC Divisional Round and will face the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. In the other AFC matchup, the Denver Broncos will take on the New England Patriots at Foxboro Stadium.

1997 Game 243 Stats

1997 Game 242 – AFC Wildcard – Pittsburgh at Denver

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Denver holds on to win a wild and crazy game!

The most anticipated Wildcard game of the weekend occurred in Mile High Stadium in Denver as the Pittsburgh Steelers took on the Denver Broncos on Saturday. When you think of these two teams, you think of the stars like John Elway, Kordell Stewart, Terrell Davis, Jerome Bettis, Shannon Sharpe and Yancy Thigpen. Although the superstars showed out, but the stars of the game were two unheralded players… the Broncos Darian Gordon and the Steelers Will Blackwell.

Gordon made the biggest impact in the game as he gave the Broncos are near insurmountable lead. With the game tied at 7, Gordon caught a line-drive punt from Steeler punter Josh Miller and raced through the Steeler coverage team for a 53-yard touchdown to give the Broncos a 14-7 lead that they never relinquished. Then in the second quarter, Gordon picked off a Kordell Stewart pass and zig-zagged through Steeler offensive players for a 27-yard interception return for a touchdown. That gave the Broncos a 24-10 lead going into halftime.

On the Steeler side, Will Blackwell caught the kickoff 1-yd deep in his end zone. He blazed through the Bronco coverage unit and returned the kickoff 101 yards for a touchdown to start the second half. Blackwell cut the Bronco lead to 24-17 15 seconds into the second half.

With the Broncos leading 27-23, the Steelers went on a drive to possibly steal a win. Stewart hit Yancy Thigpen on a huge 3rd down for 30 yards to put the Steelers inside the Broncos’ 20-yd line. Then Stewart drilled a pass to Blackwell to set the Steelers up at the Bronco 11-yard line. On the next play, the Steelers handed off to Bettis. He plunged through the Bronco defense, but as he stretched for more yardage, he was drilled and fumbled. Bronco linebacker John Mobley secured the fumble and secured the Bronco victory!

1997 Game 242 Stats

1997 Game 241 – NFC Wildcard – Tampa Bay at Washington

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Redskins lose on a bad long snap

The Washington Redskins had the game going their way midway through the 4th quarter of Saturday’s NFC Wildcard game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium. The Redskins led 10-9 and were lining up for a punt to possibly put the Bucs deep in their own territory…but that’s when tragedy hit.

The Redskins’ long snapper sailed the ball over punter Matt Turk’s head, and it rolled to the Redskins’ 25-yard line where safety Charles Mincy fell on the ball. The Buccaneers drove the ball to the one-yard line but had to settle for a 20-yard field goal, because of a great Redskin goal line defense, which gave the Buccaneers a 12-10 lead.

Redskin QB Jeff Hostetler tried to rally the Redskins, but the Buccaneer defense was just too tough on this day. The Buccaneers got the ball back and then ran out the clock with a great 3-minute offense to secure the 12-10 win. The Buccaneers will now travel to Lambeau Field to take on division rival and defending Super Bowl Champions in the Green Bay Packers.

The story of this game was defense. Both the Buccaneers and the Redskins defenses rose to the occasion. The Redskins popped FB Mike Alstott in the first quarter and caused him to fumble. The Redskins recovered, capitalized, and took a 7-0 lead when Hostetler hit FB Larry Bowie on a 1-yd TD pass.

From that moment on, it was a field goal fest. The Buccaneers didn’t score a touchdown and kicked four Mike Husted field goals to win the game. The Redskins managed only 203 total yards on the day and turned the ball over three times. The Buccaneers only had 255 total yards and turned it over twice.

The Buccaneers did get a solid running game from HB Warrick Dunn and Alstott. They along with QB Trent Dilfer combined for 161 yards on the ground. The Redskins got injured RB Terry Allen back and he rushed for 52 yards and the Redskins only managed 92 as a team.

1997 Game 241 Stats

1997 Game 240 (Week 17) New England at Miami

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Block Punt energizes Dolphins; Marino completes comeback!

The New England Patriots seemed in control of the final game of the 1997 regular season as they had the Miami Dolphins down 13-3 at the start of the 4th quarter of Monday Night’s game at Pro Player Stadium. Then the Dolphins got a huge blocked punt that spurred their comeback to win 17-13.

The Dolphins blocked Tom Tupa’s punt and recovered the ball at the Patriot 5-yd line. A few plays later, newly acquired running back Lawrence Phillips plunged in for a 1-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 13-10.

The Dolphins then took over with six minutes to go and Dan Marino gave us another magical moment in his brilliant career. Marino, on a 3rd and 15, zipped a pass to WR OJ McDuffie, who raced down to the Patriot 9-yard line on a 36-yd connection. The referees tacked on five more yards for a roughing the passer on the play and the Dolphins had the ball at the Patriot 4-yard line.

On a 4th and 1 from the 1-yd line, head coach Jimmie Johnson decided to go-for-it, instead of kicking the field goal to tie the game. The Dolphins tried two plays from the 1, but couldn’t get the ball in, so Johnson called Marino’s number on 4th down. Marino took a short sprint to his right and fired a pass to WR Bret Perriman, who secured the catch and the touchdown! The Dolphins took the lead 17-13.

With 1:15 left to play, Patriot QB Drew Bledsoe had one more opportunity and zipped passes all the way down the field. He hit TE Ben Coates on three consecutive passes and took the Patriots to the Dolphins 24-yard line. On the final play, Bledsoe zipped a short pass to WR Terry Glenn, but the Dolphins made the tackle to secure the 17-13 victory!

Despite the loss, the Patriots (12-4) are still the #2 seed in the AFC. They will have a first round bye and wait for the results of Wildcard weekend to determine who they will play in the divisional round at Foxboro. As for the Dolphins, they finished their season with a disappointing 7-9 record and missed the playoffs.

1997 Game 240 Stats

1997 Game 239 (Week 17) San Francisco at Seattle

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Seahawks beat Niners to take last playoff spot!

The Seattle Seahawks needed to defeat the San Francisco 49ers Sunday Night to earn a spot in the AFC playoffs and they did it with a 17-6 victory in the Kingdome.

The New York Jets opened the door earlier in the day when they lost to the Detroit Lions, so the Seahawks had a chance to win and get in. With the win, the Seahawks earned the #6 seed in the AFC playoffs and will travel to Cincinnati.

Coming into the game, the 49ers defense allowed only 82 yards on the ground on average. On Sunday, the Seahawks pounded the 49ers with 177 yards rushing, which is the most the 49ers gave up all season. Chris Warren rushed for 99 yards, while Lamar Smith rushed for 49 yards on six carries and had a back-breaking 26-yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter to give the Seahawks a 14-3 lead.

For the 49ers, they still have the #2 seed in the NFC, despite the loss. They finished with the same record as the Washington Redskins, 11-5, but earned the tie breaker by having a better record against common opponents. They will have a bye in the Wildcard round of the playoffs.

The 49ers have been without running back Garrison Hearst the past three weeks and the 49ers were 1-2. Hearst led the 49ers in rushing with 1,067 yards and 10 TDs. According to reports, the 49ers could get Hearst back if they make it to the conference championship game.

1997 Game 239 Stats

1997 Game 238 (Week 17) San Diego at Denver

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Broncos stomp the Chargers

The Denver Broncos are going to be a force in the AFC playoffs. They blew out the San Diego Chargers on the final day of the 1997 season, 31-7, at Mile High Stadium and finished with a 12-4 record. The Bronco defense is punishing opponents, and they have a top tier running game behind the sensational Terrell Davis.

Davis rushed for 124 yards on 18 carries on Sunday with three touchdowns. He finished first in the AFC in rushing with 1,746 yards and 17 touchdowns this season. He also caught 37 passes for 301 yards and a touchdown.

QB John Elway didn’t have one of his spectacular seasons but did just enough to make the Broncos dangerous. On Sunday, Elway threw for 204 yards on 17 of 28 passing with two interceptions. With 1997 complete, Elway threw for 3,462 yards with 21 touchdowns and 24 interceptions.

The Bronco defense is what they are going to rely on in the playoffs. On Sunday, they shut the Chargers down to 212 yards of total offense. The Broncos intercepted QB Criag Whelihan three times and sacked him three times. LB John Mobley picked him off in the third quarter and raced 51 yards for a touchdown to blow the game open.

The Bronco defense is at or near the top in just about every defensive category. They limited opponents to 277 total yards and intercepted them 22 times. DB Ray Crockett had ten interceptions on the season.

The Chargers finished at a league-low 1-15. They will receive the first overall pick in the draft. (Peyton Manning?)

1997 Game 238 Stats