Super Bowl III

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Template:Infobox SuperBowl

Super Bowl III was the third AFL-NFL Championship Game in professional American football, but the first to officially bear the name "Super Bowl." (The two previous AFL-NFL Championship Games would retroactively be called "Super Bowls" as well.)

The game was played on January 12, 1969 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. The American Football League (AFL) champion New York Jets defeated the National Football League (NFL) champion Baltimore Colts, 16–7, in the first Super Bowl victory for the AFL.

After boldly guaranteeing a victory prior to the game, Jets quarterback Joe Namath completed 17 out of 28 passes for 206 yards, and was named the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player. New York recorded 337 total yards, forced 5 turnovers and limited Baltimore to only one touchdown.

This game is regarded as one of the biggest upsets in American sports history. The National Football League champion Colts were heavily favored (in some books, by over 20 points) to defeat the American Football League champion Jets. Although the upstart AFL had successfully forced the long-established NFL into a merger agreement three years earlier, the AFL was not generally respected as having the same calibre of talent as the NFL. Plus, the AFL representatives were heavily defeated in the first two Super Bowls.

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Background

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Baltimore Colts

To many observers, the Colts were a surprise choice to make it to the Super Bowl because of the way they started the regular season. Starting quarterback Johnny Unitas, considered by some to be the best quarterback in NFL history, suffered an injury to his elbow on his throwing arm early in the season. His replacement, veteran backup Earl Morrall, had played for four different teams in 12 years and had never been a permanent starter on any of them. But Morrall surprised everyone by leading the Colts to a 13-1 record and winning the NFL Most Valuable Player Award. He threw for 2,909 yards and 26 touchdowns, with 17 interceptions, giving him the highest passer rating in the league (93.2) during the regular season. His performance was so impressive that Colts coach Don Shula decided to keep Morrall in the starting lineup after Unitas was healthy enough to play. Then, the Colts avenged their sole regular season loss against the Cleveland Browns by crushing them, 34-0, in the NFL Championship Game.

The Colts offense ranked second in the NFL in points scored (402). Wide receivers Jimmy Orr (29 receptions, 743 yards, 6 touchdowns) and Wille Richardson (37 receptions, 698 yards, 8 touchdonws) provided Baltimore with two deep threats, with Orr averging 25.6 yards per catch, and Richardson averaging 18.9. Tight end John Mackey also recorded 45 receptions for 644 yards and 5 touchdowns. Pro Bowl running back Tom Matte was the team's top rusher with 662 yards and 9 touchdowns. He also caught 25 passes for 275 yards and another touchdown. Running backs Terry Cole and Jerry Hill combined for 778 rushing yards and 236 receiving yards.

The Colts defense led the NFL in fewest points allowed (144), and ranked third in total rushing yards allowed (1,339). Bubba Smith, a 6'7 295 pound defensive tackle, anchored the line. Linebacker Mike Curtis was considered one of the top linebackers in the NFL. Baltimore secondary consisted of defensive backs Bobby Boyd (8 interceptions), Rick Volk (6 interceptions), Lenny Lyles (5 interceptions), and Jerry Logan (3 interceptions).

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New York Jets

The New York Jets finished the season with an 11-3 regular season record and barely defeated the Oakland Raiders, 27-23, in the AFL Championship Game, after recovering a fumbled lateral on their own 27-yard line with less than two minutes left.

Jets quarterback Joe Namath threw for 3,147 yards during the regular season, but completed just 49.2 percent of his passes, and threw more interceptions (17) than touchdowns (15). Still, he led the offense effectively enough for them to finish the regular season with more total points scored (419) than Baltimore. More importantly, Namath usually found ways to win. For example, late in the fourth quarter of the AFL championship game, Namath threw an interception that allowed the Raiders to take the lead. But he then made up for his mistake by completing 3 consecutive passes on the ensuing drive, advancing the ball 68 yards in just 55 seconds to score a touchdown to regain the lead for New York.

The Jets had a number of offensive weapons that Namath used. Future Hall of Fame wide receiver Don Maynard had the best season of his career, catching 57 passes for 1,297 yards (an average of 22.8 yards per catch) and 10 touchdowns. Wide receiver George Sauer recorded 66 receptions for 1,141 yards and 3 touchdowns. Halfback Matt Snell was the top rusher on the team with 747 yards and 6 touchdowns, while fullback Emerson Boozer contributed 441 yards and 5 touchdowns, despite a 3.1 average per carry. Meanwhile, kicker Jim Turner made 34 field goals and 43 extra points for a combined total of 145 points.

The Jets defense led the AFL in total rushing yards allowed (1,195). Gerry Philbin, John Elliot, and Vernon Biggs anchored the defensive line. The Jets linebacking core was led by middle linebacker Al Atkinson. The secondary was led by defensive backs Johnny Sample, who recorded 7 interceptions, and Jim Hudson, who recorded 5.

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"The Guarantee"

Despite the Jets' accomplishments, AFL teams were generally not regarded as having the same caliber of talent as NFL teams. However, three days before the game, Namath appeared at the Miami Touchdown Club and boldly predicted to the audience, "The Jets will win on Sunday. I guarantee it." Namath later claimed he only made his famous "guarantee" in response to a rowdy Colts fan at the club, who boasted the Colts would easily defeat the Jets. Namath later claimed he never intended to make such a public prediction, and never would have done so if he had not been confronted by the fan.[1]

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Television and entertainment

The game was broadcast in the United States by NBC with Curt Gowdy handling the play-by-play duties and color commentators Al DeRogatis and Kyle Rote in the broadcast booth. In an interview done by NFL films, Gowdy called it the most memorable game he ever called because of its historical significance.Template:Citeneeded While the Orange Bowl was sold out for the game, the live telecast was not shown in Miami due to both leagues' unconditional blackout rules at the time.

For the first time, famous celebrities appeared for the Super Bowl ceremonies. Entertainer Bob Hope led a pregame ceremony honoring the astronauts of Project Apollo and the recently completed Apollo 8 mission, the first manned flight around the Moon.

Singer Anita Bryant later sang the national anthem, while the Florida A&M University band performed during the "America Thanks" halftime show.

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Game summary

New York entered the game with their primary deep threat, wide receiver Don Maynard, playing injured. But his 112-yard, two touchdown performance against the Oakland Raiders in the AFL championship game made the Colts defense pay him special attention, and Joe Namath was able to take advantage of single coverage on wide receiver George Sauer. Meanwhile, with the help of some fortunate plays, the Jets defense kept the Colts offense from scoring for most of the game.

The Jets took the opening kickoff and were forced to punt. Then on the Colts' first drive, they advanced the ball to the Jets' 19-yard line, aided by a 19-yard completion from Earl Morrall to tight end John Mackey on their first play. But after two incomplete passes and a quarterback run for no gain, they came up empty when defensive lineman/kicker Lou Michael's 27-yard field goal attempt went wide right.

With less than 20 seconds left in the period, Sauer caught a pass from Namath but fumbled the ball, and the Colts recovered at New York's 12-yard line. However, on third down (the second play of the second quarter) Baltimore quarterback Earl Morrall's pass bounced off tight end Tom Mitchell, and was intercepted by Jets cornerback Randy Beverly in the end zone for a touchback. Starting from their own 20-yard line, Jets running back Matt Snell rushed on the next 4 plays, advancing the ball 26 yards. Namath later completed 3 consecutive passes, moving the ball to the Colts 23-yard line. Running back Emerson Boozer gained just 2 yards on the next play, but Snell followed it up with a 12-yard reception at the 9-yard line, a 5-yard run to the 4-yard line, and capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run. The score gave the Jets a 7-0 lead, and marked the first time in that an AFL team led in the Super Bowl.

On Baltimore's ensuing drive, a 30-yard completion from Morrall to running back Tom Matte helped the Colts advance to the New York 38-yard line, but they once again failed to score as Jets cornerback Johnny Sample broke up Morrall's third down pass and Micheals' missed his second field goal attempt, this time from 46 yards. Two plays after the Jets took over following the missed field goal, Namath's 30-yard completion to Sauer enabled to New York to eventually reach the Baltimore 32-yard line. But Namath then threw two incompletions and was then sacked on third down by Colts linebacker Dennis Gaubatz for a 2-yard loss. New York kicker Jim Turner tried to salvage the drive with a 41-yard field goal attempt, but he missed.

On their ensuing possession, Baltimore reached New York's 16-yard line, aided by Matte's Super Bowl record 58-yard run. But with 2 minutes left in the half, Morrall was intercepted by Sample at the 2-yard line. The Jets then were forced to punt on their ensuing drive, and the Colts advanced the the to New York's 42-yard line. Baltimore then tried a flea flicker play which had a huge impact on the momentum of the game. Matte ran off right tackle after taking a handoff, then pitched the ball back to Morrall. The play fooled the Jets defense, leaving receiver Jimmy Orr wide open in the end zone. But Morrall failed to recognize him, and instead threw a pass intended for running back Jerry Hill that was intercepted by Jets safety Jim Hudson as time expired, maintaining the Jets' 7-0 lead at halftime.

Matte lost a fumble on the first play from scrimmage in the second half, which led to Turner's 32-yard field goal to increase the Jets' lead, 10-0. Then after forcing the Colts to punt again, Turner kicked another field goal to make the score 13-0. On that drive, Namath temporarily went out of the game after injuring his right thumb, and was replaced by backup quarterback Babe Parilli for a few plays.

After Turner's second field goal, Colts head coach Don Shula took Morrall out of the game and put in the sore armed Johnny Unitas to see if he could provide a spark to Baltimore's offense. But Unitas could not get the Colts offense moving on their next drive and they were forced to punt again after 3 plays. Then aided by a 39-yard pass from Namath to Sauer, the Jets drove all the way to the Colts 2-yard line. Baltimore kept them out of the end zone, but Turner kicked his third field goal early in the final period to make the score 16-0.

On Baltimore's next possession, they managed to drive all the way to the Jets' 25-yard line. However, Beverly ended the drive by intercepting a pass from Unitas in the end zone. New York then drove to the Colts 35-yard line with 7 consecutive running plays, but ended up with no points after Turner missed a 42-yard field goal attempt.

Unites started out the next drive with 3 incomplete passes, but completed a key 17-yard pass to Orr on fourth down. Ten plays later, Baltimore finally scored a touchdown on a 1-yard run by Hill to cut their deficit to 16-7, but with only 3:19 left in the game. The Colts then recovered an onside kick and drove to the Jets 24-yard line with 3 consecutive completions by Unitas, but they turned the ball over on downs after his next 3 passes fell incomplete. That ended any chance of a Baltimore comeback, as the Jets ran the ball for 6 plays before being forced to punt. When the Colts got the ball back, only 8 seconds remained in the game.

Snell rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown, while Sauer caught eight passes for 133 yards. Beverly became the first player in Super Bowl history to record 2 interceptions. Morall was limited to just 6 of 17 completions for 71 yards and was intercepted 3 times. Despite not being put into the game until the fourth quarter, Unitas finished with more pass completions (11) and passing yards (110) than Morall, but he was intercepted once. Matte was the Colts' top rusher with 116 yards on just 11 carries, an average of 10.5 yards per run, and caught 2 passes for 30 yards.

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Scoring Summary

  • NYJ - Snell 4 run (J. Turner kick)
  • NYJ - FG J. Turner 32
  • NYJ - FG J. Turner 30
  • NYJ - FG J. Turner 9
  • BAL - Hill 1 run (Michaels kick)
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Trivia

  • This game was the only time a Super Bowl was played at the same site as the previous year's Super Bowl. Super Bowl II was also played at the Orange Bowl.
  • This game is thought to be the earliest surviving Super Bowl game preserved on videotape in its entirety.
  • The Jets did not throw a single pass in the fourth quarter.
  • Namath is the only Super Bowl MVP quarterback to not throw a touchdown in his MVP performance.
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Officials

  • Referee: Tom Bell (NFL)
  • Umpire: Walt Parker (AFL)
  • Head Linesman: George Murphy (NFL)
  • Line Judge: Cal Lepore (AFL)
  • Field Judge: Joe Gonzalez (NFL)
  • Back Judge: Jack Reader (AFL)

Note: A seven-official system was not used until 1978

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See also

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References


The Super Bowl
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NFL | Super Bowl Champions | Most Valuable Players | Broadcasters | Pre-Super Bowl NFL champions
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