Today In Patriots History January 26: Big Losses in the Big Easy

[jmt57]

Today in Patriots History
Magical 1985 Dream Season turns into Nightmare
No "Berry the Bears"; Pats suffer worst SB loss ever at that point in time
Patriots embarrassed by Chicago in Super Bowl XX, 46-10​

Sunday January 16, 1986 at 5:00
Super Bowl 20 at the Louisiana Superdome
Chicago Bears 46, New England Patriots 10
Head Coaches: Raymond Berry, Mike Ditka
Quarterbacks: Tony Eason, Steve Grogan; Jim McMahon
Odds: Bears favored by 10
Weather: no factor, indoors
Game MVPs: Patriots - none; Bears - Richard Dent
Bears finish 18-1, winning their first championship since 1963
Patriots finish the 1985 season with a record of 13-5

For a brief moment it looked like the Patriots might pull off an improbable upset over the juggernaut Bears, New England set a record with the quickest score in super bowl history, taking a 3-0 lead 1:19 into the game. That was the pinnacle of the game for Pats fans though, as the clock struck midnight on the Patriots' Cinderella season.

Fun Fact I: the Bears did not take the lead in this game until less than two minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Fun Fact II: Many people still hold a grudge against Ditka for rubbing it in by giving the football to 'The Fridge' Perry to score at the goal line for Chicago's final touchdown, rather than to Walter Payton.

Key Stats: too many to count.
* Tony Eason: 0-6, one fumble lost, 3 sacks for -28 yards
* Six turnovers by the Patriots
* Bears: 167 yards rushing, 4 TD; Pats: 11 rushes for 7 yards
* Total Yards: 408 to 123
* Time of Possession: 39:15 to 20:45
* Offensive plays: 73 to 47
* First Downs: 23 to 12
* Bears D: 7 sacks for a loss of 61 yards; Pats D: 3 for 15 yards

The Patriots had already won their Super Bowl the previous week in the Squish the Fish Game. This Bears team lost only one game - ironically, to Miami. They annihilated their opponents, outscoring them by a ridiculous margin of 456–198. The Bears entered the game on a roll, shutting out both of their NFC playoff opponents; they held 14 out of 19 teams to 10 or fewer points that season.

The Bears set or tied super bowl records for sacks (seven), fewest rushing yards allowed (seven), and margin of victory (36 points, since broken). The Pats were held to negative yardage (-19) in the first half, and finished with just 123 total yards from scrimmage - the second lowest total yards in super bowl history.

Chicago had Buddy Ryan's 46 defense, something that the NFL had not yet figured out how to counter. Those other teams would do so within two years, and Ryan quickly became a loudmouth has-been.




On a separate note, this was the start of a less-than-stellar 1986.

Two days later the Challenger disaster happened.

Ten months later Boston sports fans felt like Charlie Brown attempting to kick the ball that Lucy was holding, when a weak ground ball went through Bill Buckner's legs.

At least the Celtics beat Houston for the 1985-86 NBA championship. It was their 2nd in three seasons and 3rd in six years, following the short-term Heinsohn to Fitch transition (with a couple of bad seasons in between, including Dave Cowens as one of the last pro sports player-coaches).

Then a few months after the NBA championship the Celtics drafted Len Bias.

None of us at that time would have ever imagined the Celtics would not win another championship for 22 years.

John Y Brown trading three first round picks for Bob McAdoo - all because his trophy wife Phyllis George said she liked McAdoo.

Uggh.

Just how crazy good was the 1985 Chicago Bears defense?

Buddy Ryan was the mastermind behind the Chicago Bears' dominant defense in 1985. Here's where they rank in NFL history.

www.espn.com

46 Bear Defense | Football | Chicago Bears | Buddy Ryan

The Bear 46 Defense is an attacking 8 man front that has its roots, like Tom Landry’s 43 Defense, the Eagle defense of the early and mid 50’s era. Buddy Ryan sought to correct the mistakes of the old Eagle scheme and developed perhaps the most dominating defense in NFL Football history with the...

www.xsosfootball.com

How Buddy Ryan and his 46 defense changed the NFL forever

If I was putting together a Mount Rushmore featuring the fathers of modern NFL offenses, it would include Sid Gilman, Don Coryell, Bill Walsh and Buddy Ryan. The architect of the 1985 Bears defense may seem like an odd pick for such a monument. After all, he seemed to…

ftw.usatoday.com

Eason tops worst SB quarterback list

There have been ugly performances by QBs in the Super Bowl, but none uglier than these 10.

www.espn.com

Super Bears: Highlights of Super Bowl XX
22:41 Highlight Video
​

Super Bowl XX - Chicago Bears vs. New England Patriots - January 26th, 1986 | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Chicago Bears 46 vs. New England Patriots 10 on January 26th, 1986 - Full team and player stats and box score

www.pro-football-reference.com

 

[Pape]

so glad the then fine folks at sports illustrated used a pic of eason lying on the carpet instead of Grogan... much more fitting an image...

and to this day i still feel bad for Walter Payton... guy lost his chance to score a TD in a super bowl in favor of a DT gimmick play

 

[jmt57]

Today in Patriots History
Why did New England kickoff to Desmond Howard?
In his final game with Pats, a distracted Bill Parcells makes poor decisions
Pats lose their second-ever Super Bowl, 35-21 to Green Bay​

Sunday January 26, 1997 at 6:30
Super Bowl 31 at the Louisiana Superdome
Green Bay Packers 35, New England Patriots 21
Head Coaches: Bill Parcells, Mike Holmgren
Quarterbacks: Drew Bledsoe, Brett Favre
Odds: Packers favored by 14; over/under 52
Weather: no factor, indoors
Game MVP: Desmond Howard
Packers finish 16-3, winning their first championship since the 1967 season (Super Bowl II)
Patriots finish the 1996 season with a record of 13-6


Question #1:
Why did Curtis Martin run the ball just 11 times, while Drew Bledsoe dropped back to pass 53 times against Reggie White and a superior Green Bay pass rush?

Question #2:
Why in the world did Tuna instruct Adam Vinatieri to kickoff to Desmond Howard, who had already torched the Pats special teams on his punt returns (six for 90 yards) before his 99-yard kickoff return?

Question #3:
Why did Parcells decide to remove Ben Coates and Keith Byars from their pass protection, designed to help Max Lane blocking Reggie White in the second half?


Perhaps if Tuna wasn't spending so much of his time negotiating a contract to coach the Jets, he could have focused more on pass protection, an offensive game plan that included Curtis Martin, and defending against Desmond Howard on special teams.

Drew Bledsoe: Patriots had horrendous reason for blocking Reggie White 1-on-1 in SB 31

This is an all-time terrible rationale and Drew Bledsoe is just as perplexed as the rest of us.

www.masslive.com

Drew Bledsoe was perplexed with New England’s game plan for him heading into Super Bowl 31. Apparently, the Patriots decided to block White 1-on-1 in their loss to the Packers, and on Chris Long’s “Green Light” podcast, Bledsoe peeled back the curtain and revealed the head-scratching logic from Bill Parcells and company.​

“Here’s what’s crazy: This is real,” Bledsoe began.” So we’re getting ready to play the Packers in the Super Bowl. Max Lane was our right tackle. Big old strong farm boy from Missouri, who actually had a really good year that year. But we decided — not me — that we were going to block Reggie 1-on-1.​

“The rationale, and this is no (BS), I’m not making this up, the rationale was that Reggie doesn’t like to play on turf.”​

He doesn’t like to play on turf?​

That set a few red flags off in Bledsoe’s head.​

“Which, first of all I’d never heard. And second: It’s the Super Bowl. I think we’re probably going to get his best,” Bledsoe said. “So back-to-back plays, Max gets thrown out of the bar and I get sacked on the fourth step of my five-step drop. So he comes back to the sideline and goes, ‘OK, now can we get some help? I gave it my best. I’m 330 pounds and Reggie threw me out of the bar. Let’s get some help.’ So we gave him some help and then we had a little more success.”​

Desmond Howard recalls Packers Super Bowl XXXI win over New England Patriots

26 years ago, Desmond Howard cemented himself as a Packers great, helping lead the team to a 35-21 Super Bowl XXXI victory over the Patriots.

www.on3.com

“The Patriots we’re trying to like kick it short and take us special teams out the game, and I remember lining up on maybe the 10-yard line, 8-yard line, and as the ball left Vinatieri’s foot, I remember backing up and saying, ‘Oh my God, they’re finally gonna give us a chance. It was the perfect return, it was a middle return. He kicked it right back in the middle of the field, I mean, so all the stars aligned.”​

Spirit of '96, Part 3: Patriots cook up some Jambalaya

In part three, the Patriots battle through the fog and cold to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. But the wheels fall off in New Orleans.

985thesportshub.com

Hosting the first home playoff game in team history, the 1996 Patriots were a hot commodity. Particularly compared to the rest of the New England pro sports landscape.​

The Red Sox had just lost franchise icon Roger Clemens to free agency.​

The Bruins bottomed out, finishing last in the NHL and missing the playoffs for the first time in 30 years.​

The Celtics finished with 15 wins and hoped to land Tim Duncan with the top pick in the ‘97 draft.​

Spoiler alert: it didn’t happen.​

. . . . .​

The day the team departed for the Big Easy came reports that the Big Tuna was out.​

“Will McDonough was the one who broke the story,” Joe Murray recalls. “He had it all. Nobody reports like him anymore. ”​

“Where was Parcells’ head? They lost by 14. You take out Desmond Howard having a career day; Reggie White having a career day. You had a chance to win. Where was his head that day?”​

“It had to impact us to some degree,” Ted Johnson reflects. “Did we talk about it? No. But we all felt it. It was dominating the news cycle.”​

“Football is won on the margins. Who’s a little bit more focused? Who’s a little bit distracted? The outcome can be tilted one way or another on those margins.”​

50 in 50: Desmond Howard's dagger helps the Packers win Super Bowl XXXI

We present No. 1 of the 50 greatest Wisconsin sports moments of the past 50 years, when Desmond Howard's return helped the Pack win Super Bowl XXXI.

www.jsonline.com

After Curtis Martin's 18-yard scoring run pulled the New England Patriots to within 27-21 in Super Bowl XXXI with 3:58 left in the third quarter, Green Bay was suddenly feeling the pressure. Then, Adam Vinatieri kicked off to Howard, who took the ball at the 1-yard line.​

Ten seconds later, Howard was an immortal in Green Bay Packers history.​

20 years ago, Desmond Howard was magnificent for Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXI (photos)

Desmond Howard was the MVP of Super Bowl XXXI on Jan. 27, 1997. The Cleveland native talks about the game and more in DMan's World.

www.cleveland.com

Desmond Howard: You have to go back to how the Patriots were playing us, trying to take away our return game. They kicked the ball high and short throughout that game. Their strategy was to try to disrupt our timing, which they did a pretty good job of -- at least as far as the kickoff-return game was concerned. Because they were content with kicking the ball high and short, I had lined up at about the 5-yard line. I didn't want to run up from the goal line.​

When the ball left Vinatieri's foot, I immediately noticed that it was traveling with great velocity, so I started to back up. I remember looking at the ball as it was causing me to go backwards and thinking, 'Wow, they're actually going to give us a chance.' They hadn't given us a chance the whole game with kickoff returns. It was the perfect kick for the return we had set up.​

I saw Don Beebe lead up through the hole, and the hole got a little bigger. Don and I are on the smallish side when you talk about football players. We get our little bodies through the hole, and (Hasan Graham) grabbed my facemask. I don't know if a lot of people know that, but he grabbed my facemask. Then I looked and I saw Vinatieiri.​

SuperVictims - ESPN

"We left Max on an island," Scott Zolak says. "We used to run a thing called 'scat protection,' where we had two backs in a split set. The tailback would free-release into the pattern, and the fullback would pick up the strong inside linebacker on a blitz. But if they blitzed the strong outside linebacker, too, we had to slide the line that way, to the strong side, to try to pick him up. We left Max exposed one-on-one with Reggie on the backside. ... I don't care who you are, even if you're Orlando Pace, you're not going to block Reggie White one-on-one. He's got that power slap move and he does the uppercut up through you, and you just pick your poison -- which one do you want to die with? Because you are going to die."​

Bon Jovi recalls getting ‘buzzed’ with Belichick on eve of Super Bowl 31

Bon Jovi talks about Belichick, Bill Parcells, and recalls an anecdote from the Patriots’ defeat in Super Bowl 31.

clutchpoints.com

Photo Galleries:

Gallery: 1997 Super Bowl XXXI, Patriots vs. Packers

Patriots second Super Bowl - Green Bay Packers 35, New England Patriots 21 - January 26, 1997 - Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans. "The Packers made more big plays than us, they didn't turn the ball o…

www.providencejournal.com

10 best photos from Packers Super Bowl 31 victory

The Packers made history 21 years ago.

247sports.com

Curtis Martin's 3rd quarter TD narrowed the deficit to six, 27-21



And just a few seconds later Green Bay was up 14, 35-21



Drew Bledsoe was sacked five times, thwarting fourth quarter comeback attempts


Super Bowl XXXI - New England Patriots vs Green Bay Packers January 26th 1997 Highlights
14:22 Highlight Video



Super Bowl XXXI Green Bay 35 New England 21
22:02 NFL Films 'Film Session' Video



Brett Favre's First Super Bowl Win! | Packers vs. Patriots Super Bowl XXXI | NFL Full Game
2:11:43 Full Game
​

Super Bowl XXXI - New England Patriots vs. Green Bay Packers - January 26th, 1997 | Pro-Football-Reference.com

New England Patriots 21 vs. Green Bay Packers 35 on January 26th, 1997 - Full team and player stats and box score

www.pro-football-reference.com

NFL Media Game Summary - more detailed than the PFR link above

 

[jmt57]

Today in Patriots History
Light at end of tunnel in Belichick-Jets-Patriots dispute
Belichick drops lawsuit against NFL
Month long drams nearing end in Pats search for new Head Coach​

SUPER BOWL XXXIV: RAMS VS. TITANS; Belichick Drops Lawsuit Against Jets and N.F.L. (Published 2000)

Bill Belichick drops antitrust lawsuit he filed against National Football League and New York Jets, one day after judge in case refuses to grant temporary restraining order that would have allowed Belichick to negotiate with other teams for new job (M)

www.nytimes.com

Bill Belichick dropped the antitrust lawsuit he had filed against the National Football League and the Jets yesterday, one day after the judge in the case refused to grant a temporary restraining order that would have allowed Belichick to negotiate with other teams for a new job.​

Belichick filed the lawsuit on Monday, hoping that the judge would grant him the freedom that N.F.L. Commissioner Paul Tagliabue did not when he ruled last Friday that the Jets still own Belichick's rights.​

''The main purpose of the case from Bill's perspective was to seek emergency relief so he had the opportunity to coach now,'' Jeffrey Kessler, Belichick's lawyer, said. ''Since it became apparent the court wasn't going to give us that relief, we had to decide what other options we could pursue. That option didn't work out.''​

. . . . .​

'''His goal is not to not be a coach and get damages,'' Kessler said. ''He wants to be a coach. If necessary, if all else fails, then he will pursue his claim for damages. Right now, what he wants to do is be permitted to work again. He wants it very clear that what he is seeking was to become free. He's trying to avoid the damage. If it turns out he can't, we'll consider other alternatives.''​

The Jets had no comment on yesterday's development.​

Belichick's immediate future remains murky. A team that wants his services may have them, but it will have to pay compensation to the Jets. The New England Patriots, who asked for permission to speak to Belichick on Jan. 3, have had talks with the Jets to try to reach a deal, but so far those talks have produced no resolution.​

Meanwhile, the Patriots have also had talks with candidates who would fill the general manager and head-coaching posts separately, the two jobs that Belichick would presumably fill by himself if he had the freedom to make a deal with New England. Yesterday, the Patriots met with Dom Capers, the defensive coordinator of the Jacksonville Jaguars.​

The Patriots are one of just two N.F.L. teams that now need a head coach.​

 

[maust]

and to this day i still feel bad for Walter Payton... guy lost his chance to score a TD in a super bowl in favor of a DT gimmick play

To this day I still think Ditka was a douche for that