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The Greatest NFL Game Never Played...

Written by Rolando Cruz
Monday, 07 January 2008
{mosimage} In Pro Football the playoffs are never a sure thing. Sometimes a lucky play will knock out great team from its appointed round with destiny. Sometimes, the best possible match up never comes about. Sometimes, football pundits can only wistfully discuss the games that could have been. Sometimes, the greatest game that could have been, is the game that was never played. Such is the case with the 1972 AFC Championship Game, when the Pittsburgh Steeler's "Immaculate Reception" against the Oakland Raiders washed out what could have been a classic game between the undefeated Miami Dolphins and the Oakland Raiders. Don't believe me? Let me lay it out for you. The 1972 Steelers were much like the 1971 Dolphins the year before. They were a good team that would become a great team, only all the pieces were not in place yet. For example, the Steeler defense would go on to give up over 190 yards on the ground to Miami in the Championship game, a clear sign that the fabled Steel Curtain defense was not in place yet. Missing from that defense was Jack Lambert at middle linebacker. Along with that, Terry Bradshaw had not developed into the leader he would become. To prove it, he had a horrible game against the Dolphins in the Championship, in which he was picked off twice. Part of the reason may be that his legendary receivers, Swann and Stallworth had not arrived in Pittsburgh yet. In any case, neither the Steeler offense or defense were yet up to par with those their Super Bowl teams. On the other hand, the Raiders were at that time a bit more playoff savvy. This team led by Daryl Lamonica (with Ken Stabler waiting in the wings) could pass the ball as easily as run with it. Lamonica, a gifted long ball passer, would compile a career .801 winning percentage as a starter in NFL. Though he was beaten by Steelers twice that season, he still would have been better prepared to square off against Miami. The rushing attack featured Marv Hubbard, Charlie Smith, Clarence Davis, and Pete Banaszak, a group of runners who would gain over 2,000 yards collectively, with Hubbard gaining 1,100 himself. Arguably the receiving trio of Fred Bilitikoff, Mark Siani and Raymond Chester were better off than what the Steelers could offer that year. In short, the Raider offense looked a bit better than the New York Jets offense which came with in 4 points of Miami that year. The Raiders explosive offense could have been more than enough to drag Miami away from its punishing ground game and into an open style shootout that they were not prepared to handle. Their defense was no slouch either, holding the Steelers to 14 points in the first round of the playoffs. Yet how this game would have played out, we will never know. What we do know is that Jack Tatum leveled a receiver, the ball bounced into the hands of Franco Harris, and the Miami Dolphins would never get to face the Raiders in the midst of an undefeated season. Some fans like it better that way. As for me, I say "we were all robbed of a truly great game, the greatest game never played." Set as favorite Bookmark Email This Trackback(0) TrackBack URI for this entry Comments (0) Subscribe to this comment's feed Write comment Name Email Website Title Comment smaller \| bigger Subscribe via email (Registered users only) I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.
Last Updated ( Monday, 07 January 2008 )