Oct 1 in Jets History: Namath Throws for 400 Jets Top Phins
Oct 1, 2015 5:35:58 GMT -5
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Post by Lithfan on Oct 1, 2015 5:35:58 GMT -5
October 1, 1967
It was a rare matchup of two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks. But they were two Hall of Famers at very different stages of their development. On the one hand, you had the Jets' Joe Namath who had already established himself as one of the best QBs in the game after leading the league in passing yardage in 1966, his first full season as Jets starter. On the other hand, the Miami Dolphins had Bob Griese, their rookie first round draft pick out of Purdue preparing to make his second AFL start.
It seemed like a mismatch on paper, and would only get worse as the teams took the field. Griese would only play the first quarter, injuring his shoulder after taking a shot from Jets DE Verlon Biggs. He attempted just three passes on the day, completing 1, a 4-yarder to RB Abner Haynes, and 1 was intercepted by Johnny Sample. He was replaced by veteran Rick Norton.
On the other side of the field, Namath enjoyed a record setting day as the Jets rolled to an easy 29-7 victory. It was the first time in franchise history that a Jet QB threw for over 400 yards, as Namath finished the day 23 for 39 for 415 yards and 3 TDs. He did throw one interception, but it came late in the game. Namath had already thrown for 390 yards before throwing the late pick. No AFL QB had ever thrown for that much yardage in a single game before throwing an interception. It was considered a record back then and received quite a bit of press coverage after the game.
“The only way we could have stopped him,” said Dolphin Coach George Wilson after the game, “was to keep him out of the ballpark. He sets up and releases better than any quarterback I’ve ever seen.”
When told of the compliment that Wilson paid him, Joe was humble in his response, “If I set up faster than any quarterback he has ever seen, it’s because I’m the most frightened quarterback he has ever seen,” Joe said.
Namath spread the ball around, as Don Maynard, George Sauer and Emerson Boozer all had over 100 receiving yards. Sauer caught 10 passes for 120 yards, Maynard had 4 for 121 and Boozer was on the receiving end of 5 Namath throws that went for 109 yards and 2 TDs. This is still the only time in franchise history that the Jets had 3 receivers all go over 100 yards in the same game.
The game was tight through the first 30 minutes. The Dolphins got on the board first with a 6 yard Sammy Price TD run in the 2nd quarter. The Jets tied the game after Namath connected twice with Don Maynard for 62 and 25 yards to set up Boozer’s 1 yard rushing TD and took a 3 point lead when Jim Turner nailed a short 19-yard field goal.
The Jets pulled away in the second half as Namath connected on three TD passes: a 49-yarder to Boozer and a 13 yard completion to RB Mark Smolinski in the 3rd quarter and a 5 yarder to Boozer in the 4th. With the game in hand, the Jets replaced Namath in the 4th quarter with kicker Jim Turner. Turner completed 2 passes in 4 attempts before time ran out.
Source: St. Petersubrg Times and Bill Braucher, Herald Sportwriter
It was a rare matchup of two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks. But they were two Hall of Famers at very different stages of their development. On the one hand, you had the Jets' Joe Namath who had already established himself as one of the best QBs in the game after leading the league in passing yardage in 1966, his first full season as Jets starter. On the other hand, the Miami Dolphins had Bob Griese, their rookie first round draft pick out of Purdue preparing to make his second AFL start.
It seemed like a mismatch on paper, and would only get worse as the teams took the field. Griese would only play the first quarter, injuring his shoulder after taking a shot from Jets DE Verlon Biggs. He attempted just three passes on the day, completing 1, a 4-yarder to RB Abner Haynes, and 1 was intercepted by Johnny Sample. He was replaced by veteran Rick Norton.
On the other side of the field, Namath enjoyed a record setting day as the Jets rolled to an easy 29-7 victory. It was the first time in franchise history that a Jet QB threw for over 400 yards, as Namath finished the day 23 for 39 for 415 yards and 3 TDs. He did throw one interception, but it came late in the game. Namath had already thrown for 390 yards before throwing the late pick. No AFL QB had ever thrown for that much yardage in a single game before throwing an interception. It was considered a record back then and received quite a bit of press coverage after the game.
“The only way we could have stopped him,” said Dolphin Coach George Wilson after the game, “was to keep him out of the ballpark. He sets up and releases better than any quarterback I’ve ever seen.”
When told of the compliment that Wilson paid him, Joe was humble in his response, “If I set up faster than any quarterback he has ever seen, it’s because I’m the most frightened quarterback he has ever seen,” Joe said.
Namath spread the ball around, as Don Maynard, George Sauer and Emerson Boozer all had over 100 receiving yards. Sauer caught 10 passes for 120 yards, Maynard had 4 for 121 and Boozer was on the receiving end of 5 Namath throws that went for 109 yards and 2 TDs. This is still the only time in franchise history that the Jets had 3 receivers all go over 100 yards in the same game.
The game was tight through the first 30 minutes. The Dolphins got on the board first with a 6 yard Sammy Price TD run in the 2nd quarter. The Jets tied the game after Namath connected twice with Don Maynard for 62 and 25 yards to set up Boozer’s 1 yard rushing TD and took a 3 point lead when Jim Turner nailed a short 19-yard field goal.
The Jets pulled away in the second half as Namath connected on three TD passes: a 49-yarder to Boozer and a 13 yard completion to RB Mark Smolinski in the 3rd quarter and a 5 yarder to Boozer in the 4th. With the game in hand, the Jets replaced Namath in the 4th quarter with kicker Jim Turner. Turner completed 2 passes in 4 attempts before time ran out.
Source: St. Petersubrg Times and Bill Braucher, Herald Sportwriter
