49ers Beat Chargers In Super Bowl

On Jan. 29, 1995, the San Francisco 49ers became the first NFL franchise to win five Super Bowls with a 49-26 victory over the San Diego Chargers in an all-California affair in Miami.

Quarterback Steve Young was named the game's MVP after throwing for 325 yards with a 24-for-36 efficiency.

Young was responsible for all six of his team's touchdowns as he threw six TD passes and no interceptions.

The victory for Young, was his only Super Bowl victory as a starter, he had another victory on the bench behind Joe Montana in 1989.

This was also the last time the 49ers were in the Super Bowl.

The 49ers five Super Bowl victories ties them for second all-time with the Dallas Cowboys and behind only the Pittsburgh Steelers who have six victories.

Last years Super Bowl was also played in New Orleans at the Mercedes-Benz Super Dome, home of the New Orleans Saints, as the 49ers were defeated by the Baltimore Ravens, in what many labeled the "Harbaugh-bowl" or "Harbaughcalypse."

In 1990 the 49ers beat the Denver Broncos 55-10 in the then called Louisiana Super Dome to win Super Bowl XXIV (24), the last under Joe Montana.

Since Super Bowl XXIV (24) the Super Dome has played host to two more Super Bowls, 1997 in Super Bowl XXXI (31) with the Green Bay Packers against the New England Patriots and in 2002 in Super Bowl XXXVI (36) with the New England Patriots against the St. Louis Rams.

Chargers Land Unitas

On Jan. 22, 1973,  the Baltimore Colts dealt legendary quarterback Johnny Unitas to the San Diego Chargers.

Despite his record numbers, the Colts felt that Unitas was too advanced in years to help them anymore. He was traded for the draft rights to quarterback Bert Jones.

Unitas started just four games for the Chargers before he was benched in favor of Dan Fouts. Fouts would go on to have a legendary career for the Chargers.

Nicknamed "The Golden Arm", Unitas, was a Lithuanian American professional American football player in the 1950s through the 1970s, spending the majority of his career with the Baltimore Colts.

He was a record-setting quarterback, and the National Football League's most valuable player in 1959, 1964 and 1967. For 52 years he held the record of throwing a touchdown pass in 47 consecutive games (between 1956–1960), until New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees broke his long standing record on Oct. 7, 2012.

Unitas was drafted in the ninth round by the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL but was released before the season began as the odd man out among four quarterbacks trying to fill three spots. 

Steelers Head Coach Walt Kiesling had made up his mind about Unitas; he somehow thought him not smart enough to quarterback an NFL team.

The opposite would be true, as Unitas would become one of the greatest on-field leaders of all time, introducing the 2-minute offense to the NFL.

Kiesling never even let Unitas take a snap in practice with the Steelers. Among those edging out Unitas was Ted Marchibroda, future NFL quarterback and longtime NFL head coach. Out of pro football, Unitas--by this time married--worked in construction in Pittsburgh to support his family.

On the weekends, he played quarterback, safety and punter on a local semipro team called the Bloomfield Rams for $6 a game

Unitas was the prototype of the modern era marquee quarterback with a strong passing game, media fanfare and widespread popularity. He has been consistently listed as one of the greatest NFL players of all time.

Unitas was a star studded pro in the NFL earning several honors including three Bert Bell Awards, a 10-time Pro Bowler, being a three-time Pro Bowl MVP, two-time NEA NFL MVP, three-time UPI NFL MVP, three time AP NFL MVP, six-time First Team All-Pro selection, one Second Team All-Pro selection, one Second Team All-Conference award as well a two time NFL World Champion and Super Bowl Champion in Super Bowl V. He also won the 1970 NFL Man of the Year Award.

Unitas was honored to the NFL’s 75th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1994, as well honored as part of the All-Decades team from the 1960s. Unitas’ no. 19 jersey was also retired by the Baltimore Colts.

Immaculate Reception

On Dec. 13, 1972, one of the most exciting plays in NFL history happened between the Raiders and Steelers, the Immaculate Reception.

The Pittsburgh Steelers hosted the Oakland Raiders in an AFC divisional playoff game Dec. 23, 1972. The Steelers had won nine of their last 10 games. Oakland came in with a six-game winning streak.

With 22 seconds left in the game, the Steelers had a fourth-and-10 on their own 40-yard line down 7-6. Terry Bradshaw scrambled out of the pocket, was nearly sacked twice before letting a 30-yard pass fly to running back John Fuqua. The ball deflected off of defender Jack Tatum and Fuqua and was knocked towards the line of scrimmage about 15 yards. There, Franco Harris scooped up the ball and ran 40-yards to the end zone untouched.

The remarkable comeback was complete as the Steelers beat the Raiders 13-7.

Neither team played well and the Steelers actually had a 6-0 lead before Oakland quarterback Ken Stabler scampered for 30-yards in the fourth quarter for the only score for the Raiders. The seven-point total was the lowest of the season for Oakland.

Pittsburgh lost the AFC Championship to the Miami Dolphins a week later. The Dolphins went on to have the only undefeated season in modern football. Had the Raiders played Miami, the outcome might have been different for the Dolphins.

The New England Patriots would try to recreate the undefeated season with a longer, 16-game schedule in 2007. However, the Patriots would eventually lose to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.

Since 2007 no team has come close to have an undefeated season, as no team has gone 16-0 into the playoffs.

Foles' Eagles Fly By Raiders

OALAND, Calif. – The Oakland Raiders were looking to get back to the .500 mark with a win on Sunday over the Michael Vick-less Philadelphia Eagles. However, the Raiders second consecutive week against a franchise from Pennsylvania would look much different than their first week, when they edged out the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Raiders would get behind early as former Arizona Wildcat, and current backup quarterback for the Eagles, Nick Foles would have an impressive day. Foles would light up the Raiders secondary in the first quarter to the tune of a 21-3 lead, with three passing touchdowns, two on back-to-back plays to Riley Cooper, in which the Raiders first round draft pick DJ Hayden was burned both times.

The Raiders did have opportunities to pull closer to the Eagles, with a 66-yard pass from Terrelle Pryor to Rod Streater on their second drive, posting up a first and goal down just 7-0, but the offense would stall in the red zone and would settle for a Sebastian Janikowski field goal.

But settling for field goals wasn’t the worst of what the Raiders offense had in store for its fans on Sunday. Running back Darren McFadden would once again hit the sideline with an injury, a hamstring issue, and would not return to the game, making Rashad Jennings, once again the workhorse to the carry the load.

Jennings would have a decent day, carrying the ball 15 times for 102 yards and a score, but most of those came late in the game once the Eagles were up big.

After Jennings score, the Raiders were down 21-10, but the Eagles offense kept on pushing as Foles would hit another former Pac-12 product in former Stanford tight end Zach Ertz for his fourth touchdown of the game.

The Raiders would settle for another field goal late in the first half to pull within 15 at 28-13, but that was as close as they would get for the rest of the game.

The second half started and it was the Eagles who go the ball rolling quickly, not the Raiders. Foles continued to impress as he tossed three more touchdowns in the second half, one of which was a 46-yard pass to former Cal wide receiver DeSean Jackson, on a play in which Raiders defensive back Mike Jenkins was also called for defensive holding.

Foles seven touchdown passes on the day tied an NFL record, that Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning also reached this year in week one of the season. Foles now joins George Blanda, Sid Luckman, Y.A. Tittle, Joe Kapp and the previously mentioned Manning in the seven-touchdown club.

"A couple people came up to me and said that I tied the record with seven touchdowns," said Nick Foles. "It's a great honor. Hats off to our guys for doing a great job."

Just to put this in perspective, the Jacksonville Jaguars through eight games in the 2013-2014 campaign have scored seven touchdowns on offense all season, and those seven touchdowns are more than the Raiders have accounted for through the passing game all year as well.

"When a quarterback has seven touchdowns, we have to sit there and take that personal," said Tracy Porter. "We can't give a guy seven touchdowns in a game, let alone put up 49 points on us. It was flat-out embarrassing that we allowed that to happen."

Down 48-13 the Raiders struggled to get anything going, as they were held without a score in the third quarter.

Then it was time for the backups, as both teams brought in their back up quarterbacks. For the Eagles it was another Pac-12 product in former USC rookie quarterback Matt Barkley, and for the Raiders it was a Penn State rookie, Matt McGloin.

While Barkley would only complete one pass, McGloin would lead the Raiders to s score, albeit in garbage time. The score for the Raiders came on a Jeremy Stewart rush up the middle for two-yards after McGloin had moved the offense 71-yards.

The final score was 48-20 in favor of the Eagles as the Raiders drop to 3-5, and the Eagles raise their record to 4-5 on the season.

"It's embarrassing," said Pryor. "I hate losing. It's not acceptable to me and I don't like it. All the guys in here agree with me. We have to do something about it instead of tanking it."

The next game for the Raiders comes on the road as they travel to face their second NFC East opponent in as many weeks as the New York Giants (2-6) open their doors to host the silver and black.

The matchup will be the twelfth between the two teams, and the Raiders first game in the new MetLife Stadium. The Raiders lead the all-time matchup 7-4, however the Giants have won the last two meetings in 2005 in Oakland and 2009 in New Jersey.

The game is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 10 with a 10 a.m. kickoff.