 What a kick: Mark Moseley earns a hug from Joe Theismann and a pat from Don Warren after kicking the winning field goal in a 27-24 victory over the San Diego Chargers on October 31, 1983. Moseley led all NFL players in scoring that season with 161 points. (The Associated Press) |
With two field goals so far in the
game, Moseley already had tied Miami's Garo
Yepremian's record of 21 consecutive field goals. As Moseley trotted on the field,
snow was falling, and he remembers being exceedingly nervous: Both the playoffs and
his place in football history were on the line on this 42-yard kick.
Bostic's snap and Theismann's hold were fine. The
Giants' Hunt got a hand on the ball — but not enough to stop it from going through
the uprights for a 15-14 victory. There was bedlam at
RFK. The Redskins were going to the playoffs for the first time in six years."I still think it was embarrassing for the organization that I was named MVP," said Moseley, whose streak ended at 23 in the last regular-season game. "Coach Gibbs was an offensive coordinator, and the offense didn't come around until later."
By defeating New Orleans and St. Louis in their last two games of the 1982 regular season to finish 8-1, the Redskins gained home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, or "playoff tournament," as it was called in that strike-altered season.
For the first round, against the Lions, the Redskins had lost Monk, who was already the team's best receiver, to a broken toe. Virgil Seay also was injured. But Alvin Garrett — who had only one reception in the prior two years — caught three Theismann touchdown passes in a 31-7 rout.
The passing game, as usual, had fed off the running game, and that meant Riggins. In the week before the Detroit game, Riggins had gone to see Gibbs. "He said, 'Load the wagon. I'm going to carry it,'" Gibbs recalled.
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Other Pages in Chapter 4: 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171
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Table of Contents Introduction Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 Names, Numbers Trivia Quiz Index |
