Steve Silverman

Upsets are part and parcel of the NFL’s fabric. You can count on underdogs to upset favorites every week of every season.

But mismatches are another thing altogether. The Dolphins bring their 1-13 record to frozen New England to take on the undefeated Patriots (14-0). The Dolphins would appear to have no chance. The Patriots have a significant advantage at almost every spot on the field, they are playing to go 16-0 in the regular season and win a spot in the history books.

The Patriots have been a dominant team for years, but one of the thorns in their collective sides has been playing in Miami. Even with this year’s 49-28 win in Miami earlier this season, the Pats are only 3-7 in their last 10 road games in South Florida. It was far worse a generation ago when the Dolphins won 16 straight home games over the Pats between 1970 and 1985.

However, the Patriots were never as big an underdog in the public’s perception as the Dolphins are this week. We’re not simply talking about the 22½ pointspread. We’re talking about the huge talent edge they have on the field, in the coach’s box and in the front office.

History shows that there have been other overwhelming mismatches. The strange thing is that some of these potential blowouts went the other way. Some of these upsets have been in monumental championship games and changed the course of NFL history. Some others went in favor of Goliath.

Super Bowl III (Jan., 1969)

N.Y. Jets (AFL) 16, Baltimore Colts (NFL) 7: The story has become part of football’s folklore as the Jets were 18-point underdogs against Don Shula’s powerful Colts. The third showdown between the two leagues was expected to go the same way as the first two when Green Bay destroyed the Chiefs and Raiders. The gap between the Colts and Jets was supposed to be even greater than in the previous Super Bowls. But Joe Namath picked the right time to have the best game of his career. More than his numbers, Namath was the picture of confidence and cool as his team continually creased the Baltimore defense. Namath’s guarantee of victory at a Miami TD club luncheon came after he was goaded by mouthy Baltimore fans who predicted Namath’s demise at the hands of the Colts. While Jets coach Weeb Ewbank wanted to strangle Namath after the remarks, he gave his quarterback slack because his team actually believed it could win and they backed him to the hilt.

Super Bowl IV (Jan., 1970)
Kansas City Chiefs (AFL) 23, Minnesota Vikings (NFL) 7: The Chiefs were huge betting underdogs against the Vikings and the feeling was that Kansas City quarterback Len Dawson and running back Mike Garrett were going to be hospitalized after coming into contact with the Purple People Eaters. Jim Marshall, Carl Eller, Alan Page and Gary Larsen were the most dominant group of pass rushers in the NFL and they swaggered every time they took the field. But instead it was the upstart Chiefs who handed out the physical beating. Viking quarterback Joe Kapp made his mark in the game with his toughness and willingness to take on bigger players and initiate contact, but he got knocked out of the game after getting bounced around by defensive end Buck Buchanan, nose tackle Curly Culp and middle linebacker Willie Lanier.

1983 Divisional playoffs

Seattle Seahawks 27, at Miami Dolphins 20: A week after the Seahawks defeated the Broncos 31-7 in their Wild Card playoff meeting, they were expected to serve as cannon fodder against the top-seeded Dolphins in the AFC divisional playoffs. Seattle had Dave Krieg at quarterback, while the Dolphins had a rookie named Dan Marino. But the Seahawks were not overwhelmed by the Dolphins, the heat of South Florida or the raucous Miami fans. Trailing 20-17 in the final moments, Krieg hit future Hall of Famer Steve Largent with two big passes to set Curt Warner up with a 2-yard TD run. Miami fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Norm Johnson added a field goal that clinched the win and sent the Seahawks into the AFC title game against the L.A. Raiders, but the bubble burst in a 30-14 defeat. However, this remains a huge upset.

1988 NFC Championship game

Slide show   Week in Sports Pictures Flying on the hardwood, racing on the rink, getting physical on the gridiron, and much more. more photos

San Francisco 49ers 28, at Chicago Bears 3: The Bears were only slight favorites in the minds of the oddsmakers, but few football observers outside of the west coast thought the 49ers had any chance in the frigid championship game (13 degrees with a minus-26 windchill) . The 49ers were defending Super Bowl champions, but they were still perceived as quiche-eating, merlot-sipping royalty, while the Bears were players who would sit down and have a shot-and-a-beer with the blue-collar workers and lived for cold weather. This was going to be a mugging. Somebody forgot to instruct Joe Montana and Jerry Rice that they had no business winning the game. Rice took advantage of the frozen field to outwit Chicago’s covermen and the 49ers teriffic offensive line was never referred to as finesse unit again.

Week 5, 1994 season

Philadelphia Eagles 40, at San Francisco 49ers 8: The 49ers would go on to win the last of their five Super Bowls at season’s end, but they completely fell apart at Candlestick Park as Richie Kotite’s Eagles came west and dismantled this great team. The Eagles whipped the 49ers physically and tossed San Francisco quarterback Steve Young around as if he were a bean bag. At one point, Young was literally crawling around on the ground and head coach George Seifert removed him in favor of a young Elvis Grbac. That move incensed Young and served as a rallying point for a team and a group of fans that finally accepted the quarterback as a worthy successor to Joe Montana. The 49ers would go on to overwhelm San Diego 49-26 in the Super Bowl and the Eagles finished 7-9.

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