SEPTEMBER
2 After his third concussion in 11 months, 49ers quarterback
Steve Young is ordered by a neurologist to sit out a game. Young
returns in Week 3 and goes on to win his sixth NFL passing
title, tying Sammy Baugh's record.
8 Two of the Chiefs' 12 new starters, Elvis Grbac and Andre
Rison, combine on a 32-yard touchdown pass with three seconds
left to beat the Raiders 28-27. "You can look back on that play
and see the seasons of both teams go in different directions,"
K.C. center Tim Grunhard would say in December.
14 Not the same old Bucs. Tampa Bay steamrolls the Vikings as
fullback Mike Alstott rams through five defenders on a one-yard
touchdown run. "Greatest play I've ever seen," says former Bucs
coach John McKay.
21 While the Mid-South Fair is jammed with visitors, 17,737
file into the Liberty Bowl (capacity: 62,380) on a sunny
73[degree] afternoon to watch the Oilers' second home game in
Memphis, a 36-10 loss to the Ravens.
29 The nightmare of '97 continues for Panthers quarterback
Kerry Collins, who during the preseason had been slugged by a
teammate in response to a racial epithet and later suffered a
broken jaw. In a 34-21 loss to the Niners, Collins throws three
interceptions. Hours later he's demoted.
OCTOBER
5 Da Saints 20, Da Bears 17 in Da Coach's return to Chicago.
Through three quarters, the teams combine for almost as many
punts (16) as pass completions (17).
7 The trading deadline passes with only one move. The Raiders
can't pull the trigger on a sweet offer, first-and third-round
picks from the Redskins for defensive tackle Chester McGlockton,
who, by the way, stinks.
12 In September, after the Bucs had knocked off the Lions,
Tampa Bay fans chortled about rookie Warrick Dunn's being Barry
Sanders's peer. In the rematch Sanders runs for 215 yards, Dunn
for nine.
15 Emmitt Smith films a Reebok commercial, during which he
says, "I think the measure of a champion is how you handle
things when things are not going your way." The filming comes 10
days after Cowboys coach Barry Switzer, trying to keep Smith's
legs fresh, had surprised his star by replacing him with Sherman
Williams during a critical fourth-quarter drive in a game the
Cowboys would lose to the Giants 20-17.
19 On the third snap of an overtime game in Detroit, Giants
quarterback Danny Kanell calls Pass 34 Z Wheel. Chris Calloway
scores on a 68-yarder. Not bad considering that coach Jim Fassel
had put the play in the game plan four days earlier and that the
offense had practiced it only twice.
25 A 26-inch blizzard paralyzes the Denver area, and stranded
Broncos kicker Jason Elam gets to the team's facility after
being rescued on I-25 by fans. One day later Elam would rescue
the Broncos with an overtime field goal against the Bills.
NOVEMBER
6 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sues Dolphins running back Karim
Abdul-Jabbar for stealing his name and number. Kareem's action
bewilders Karim. "The name was given to me by a Muslim Imam,"
Karim says, "and I've been wearing 33 since I was eight."
9 The Ravens/Browns lose for the eighth straight time at
Pittsburgh, and it's a doozy. Baltimore has seven turnovers and
11 penalties in a 37-0 shellacking.
13 To the strains of the grunge band Everclear, Patriots
quarterback Drew Bledsoe and guard Max Lane leap off a Boston
nightclub stage into a mosh pit, and a woman alleges that she
was hurt in the incident.
23 After going eight years without a tie, the NFL has one for
the second week in a row as the Giants and the Redskins play to
a 7-7 draw. Washington's touchdown is scored by Gus Frerotte,
who celebrates by head-butting a padded concrete wall and in the
process knocks himself out of the game with a sprained neck.
30 Kansas City 44, San Francisco 9. "Go ahead," K.C. wideout
Andre Rison tells writers afterward. "Keep doubting us."
DECEMBER
2 Lawrence Phillips, fired by the touchy-feely Rams, is
signed by the Dolphins. Parting words from St. Louis fullback
Ironhead Heyward: "Learn to trust somebody, Lawrence. Not
everyone's out to screw you."
4 The Bengals' Corey Dillon scores four touchdowns and
shatters Jim Brown's 40-year-old rookie rushing record with 246
yards in a 41-14 rout of the Oilers.
14 The Raiders' Commitment to Inmates' Running the Asylum
continues. As the Seahawks set up for their first play of the
second half, Oakland has to burn a timeout while waiting for
strong safety James Trapp to amble out of the locker room.
Seattle wins 22-21.
15 On the night the 49ers would retire Joe Montana's number,
Huey Lewis tastelessly inserts a line about the quarterback
while singing the national anthem.
21 Eleven days shy of the 20th anniversary of his MVP
performance in the Rose Bowl, 41-year-old Warren Moon caps his
record-setting season by throwing for four touchdowns in a 38-9
win over the 49ers. "It's never been about age with me," said
Moon, who passed for a club-record 3,678 yards in 1997. Whoever
coaches Paul Allen's team next season won't have to go shopping
for a quarterback.
Issue date: December 29, 1997
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