An Aura Of Destiny

"Nitschke made great plays on both tries," Shula said. "Once the fullback almost had him down and he reached over him to get Moore. They pinched the middle and Nitschke just slid outside to get Lenny again. Sure, they were gambles. But we're a gambling team. You have to have confidence in yourself."

Dan Sullivan, the Colt guard who blocked well all afternoon, was slumped in exhaustion before his locker, still stunned by the sudden turn that had brought the Colts victory. "I guess I wasn't really worried during those last three minutes or so," he said. "We have so much confidence in Johnny U. and I got a feeling this is gonna be our year."

It may well be. Certainly it took a team blessed by fortune to pull this game out. Should Baltimore and Green Bay win in their divisions, they will meet again in a divisional playoff December 23 in Green Bay. Destiny will be put to a hard test.