Oct 14 in Jet History: Jets Top Phins as Joe's #12 Retired
Oct 14, 2015 7:36:56 GMT -5
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Post by Lithfan on Oct 14, 2015 7:36:56 GMT -5
October 14, 1985
It was a huge night in New Jersey as the 4-1 Jets took on the 4-1 Dolphins with first place in the AFC East on the line. Not only was it a big night because of the matchup, but the Jets also had a halftime ceremony planned to retire Joe Namath’s #12. It was the first number to be retired in Jets history.
The game started quietly. The Jets had the only scoring opportunity in the first quarter, but Pat Leahy's 47-yard field goal attempt was blocked and the game was scoreless after the first quarter. But the Jets were able to establish the run in the first quarter and it became apparent that the game plan was to keep the ball out of Dan Marino’s hands.
The Jets dominated play, keeping the ball for over 37 minutes while rushing for 245 yards. Freeman McNeil had 173 yards on 28 carries to lead the Jets.
Ken O’Brien was efficient, out dueling Marino. O’Brien finished with 18 completions on 28 attempts for 239 yards and 1 TD. Marino was 13 of 23 for just 136 yards, the lowest total of his career at the time. When asked if this was his most frustrating game, Marino responded, “The Super Bowl was (referring to a 38-16 loss to SF the season before), but this was pretty tough.”
The Jets were able to manage 2 field goals for a 6-0 lead at the half. They took control of the game in the 3rd quarter, scoring on the opening drive of the 2nd half for the 5th straight game. O’Brien hit Kurt Sohn on a 15 yard scoring play to extend the Jet lead to 13-0.
The Dolphins struck back as Marino correctly diagnosed a Jets blitz and was able to hit Tony Nathan coming out of the backfield for a big gain down to the Jets 3. Ron Davenport carried it over from there to cut the Jets lead to 6 midway through the 3rd quarter.
“We made one mistake,” Joe Klecko said. “And that was on the Nathan play.”
O’Brien and the Jets responded with a 79 yard drive. Although the drive stalled at the 1 yard line, Pat Leahy’s 3rd field goal of the day gave the Jets a 2 score lead. They would add a 4th quarter TD -- a 1 yard run by Tony Paige to provide the final margin of a 23-7 victory.
As for the halftime ceremony, Namath had joked all week that his pregnant wife would give birth on the 12th to honor his number and be able to make the ceremony on the 14th. While he did not guarantee anything this time, that is exactly what happened.
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“I promise you this is not an individual honor,” said Namath with tears in his eyes. “A lot of hard work by my teammates...They are the reason I am here tonight.”
Also present for the ceremony was Namath’s former coach, Weeb Ewbank, who presented him with his jersey. While the Jets waited until Joe was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1985 before officially retiring the number, it was unofficially retired earlier, as no Jet player wore the number after Joe left the team.
Source: The NY Times and The Gettysburg Times
It was a huge night in New Jersey as the 4-1 Jets took on the 4-1 Dolphins with first place in the AFC East on the line. Not only was it a big night because of the matchup, but the Jets also had a halftime ceremony planned to retire Joe Namath’s #12. It was the first number to be retired in Jets history.
The game started quietly. The Jets had the only scoring opportunity in the first quarter, but Pat Leahy's 47-yard field goal attempt was blocked and the game was scoreless after the first quarter. But the Jets were able to establish the run in the first quarter and it became apparent that the game plan was to keep the ball out of Dan Marino’s hands.
The Jets dominated play, keeping the ball for over 37 minutes while rushing for 245 yards. Freeman McNeil had 173 yards on 28 carries to lead the Jets.
Ken O’Brien was efficient, out dueling Marino. O’Brien finished with 18 completions on 28 attempts for 239 yards and 1 TD. Marino was 13 of 23 for just 136 yards, the lowest total of his career at the time. When asked if this was his most frustrating game, Marino responded, “The Super Bowl was (referring to a 38-16 loss to SF the season before), but this was pretty tough.”
The Jets were able to manage 2 field goals for a 6-0 lead at the half. They took control of the game in the 3rd quarter, scoring on the opening drive of the 2nd half for the 5th straight game. O’Brien hit Kurt Sohn on a 15 yard scoring play to extend the Jet lead to 13-0.
The Dolphins struck back as Marino correctly diagnosed a Jets blitz and was able to hit Tony Nathan coming out of the backfield for a big gain down to the Jets 3. Ron Davenport carried it over from there to cut the Jets lead to 6 midway through the 3rd quarter.
“We made one mistake,” Joe Klecko said. “And that was on the Nathan play.”
O’Brien and the Jets responded with a 79 yard drive. Although the drive stalled at the 1 yard line, Pat Leahy’s 3rd field goal of the day gave the Jets a 2 score lead. They would add a 4th quarter TD -- a 1 yard run by Tony Paige to provide the final margin of a 23-7 victory.
As for the halftime ceremony, Namath had joked all week that his pregnant wife would give birth on the 12th to honor his number and be able to make the ceremony on the 14th. While he did not guarantee anything this time, that is exactly what happened.
“I promise you this is not an individual honor,” said Namath with tears in his eyes. “A lot of hard work by my teammates...They are the reason I am here tonight.”
Also present for the ceremony was Namath’s former coach, Weeb Ewbank, who presented him with his jersey. While the Jets waited until Joe was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1985 before officially retiring the number, it was unofficially retired earlier, as no Jet player wore the number after Joe left the team.
Source: The NY Times and The Gettysburg Times
