Halfway through the NFL season, there have been plenty of memorable–and not so memorable–moments. Tribune pro football reporter Don Pierson offers five of each.
5 first-half highlights
1. Down 35-14 with 3:37 to play, the Indianapolis Colts pull off the biggest late-game comeback in NFL history to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 38-35 in overtime. The game lasted so long and was so out of reach that a friend of Peyton Manning’s father, Archie, called the next day to offer condolences, unaware of the comeback.
2. Kansas City’s Dante Hall returned four kicks for touchdowns in 27 attempts over a four-game period–a 100-yard kickoff return against Pittsburgh, 73-yard punt return against Houston, 97-yard kickoff return against Baltimore and 93-yard punt return against Denver. The Chiefs won all four. Hall had returned three kicks for touchdowns in December of last season, so it wasn’t like opponents couldn’t see him coming.
3. New England coach Bill Belichick fired popular safety Lawyer Milloy the week before the season, stunning and alienating his players, lost the season opener 31-0, has been forced to start 39 different players, including four rookies, because of injury and has won seven of his first nine games.
4. Dallas coach Bill Parcells, one of Belichick’s original tutors, returned to coaching inspired by the success of Kansas City’s Dick Vermeil (at 67, five years older than Parcells) and already has won one more game than the Cowboys won all last season with essentially the same team.
5. The Minnesota Vikings became the NFC’s last unbeaten team, winning their first six games after failing to reach last season’s playoffs. If not for Parcells, Mike Tice would be the easy choice for NFC coach of the year. His team led the league in rushing last season, but lost top running back Michael Bennett to injury and still won.
5 first-half lowlights
1. Jacksonville punter Chris Hanson was placed on injured reserve after gashing his right leg with an ax that rookie coach Jack Del Rio placed in the locker room along with a tree stump as a reminder of the team motto–“keep chopping wood.” Hanson is the same guy injured by a spilled fondue pot last year.
2. Tampa Bay defensive tackle Warren Sapp was fined $50,000 for repeated antics directed at officials, including bumping one in a pregame warmup. Sapp responded by labeling Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and the league office as “slave masters.” Sapp makes his debut on the new NFL Network this week.
3. Surprise, surprise. Washington owner Daniel Snyder and coach Steve Spurrier clash in their second season together. Redskins entered last week’s game with only one quarterback who had been on the roster more than a week. Are any colleges looking for a head coach?
More Top Picks Best Tvs Under 1000
4. The Oakland Raiders got blown out in the Super Bowl and haven’t recovered. They are blaming coach Bill Callahan for a 2-6 start and appear to be the first team to throw in the towel on the season.
5. Emmitt Smith (192 yards), Hugh Douglas (one sack, $6 million signing bonus), Bruce Smith (zero sacks at age 40, still 1 1/2 behind Reggie White), Bill Romanowski (sidelined by concussions after punching out teammate in season’s biggest hit) lead the parade of players who prove it’s a young man’s game.