The Sunday night contest between the Denver Broncos and the K.C. Chiefs will be the first in 44 years – and the fifth in NFL history – between clubs with records of 9-0 and 8-1 or better. Denver Broncos vs K.C. reminds me of the 1990 Monday night matchup between the 10-1 New York Giants and 10-1 San Francisco 49ers. Both teams lost the previous week; other wise it would have been a clash of undefeateds.
Here’s a look at the first four such matchups in NFL history:
In 1969, the 11-0 Los Angeles Rams lost 20-13 to the 10-1 Minnesota Vikings, who played in the Super Bowl later that season. Two weeks earlier, the 9-0 Rams edged the 8-1 Dallas Cowboys by a 24-23 score.
Eighty seasons ago, the Chicago Bears (11–0) defeated the Detroit Lions (10–1) on November 29, 1934 at University of Detroit Stadium, 19–16, on a two-yard touchdown pass from Bronko Nagurski to Bill Hewitt late in the fourth quarter. The Bears posted a 13-0 regular-season record before losing the NFL Championship Game 30-13 to the New York Giants. Nagurski was a 1963 charter enshrinee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, while Hewitt was inducted in 1971.
On November 24, 1929, the Green Bay Packers (9-0) behind Bo Molenda – who threw a touchdown pass, ran for another score and kicked two extra points – defeated the New York Giants (8-0-1) at the Polo Grounds. The 1929 Packers won the NFL championship with a 12-0-1 record.
The Denver Broncos were pretty much everyone’s Super Bowl favorite. Maybe that’s changed. The Chiefs are the last remaining unbeaten in the league. Their offensive line is 2/5 former Illinois Fighting Illini; so that’s pretty cool. (Jeff Allen and Jon Asamoah). The Denver Broncos will take on the Chiefs on Sunday Night Football; kickoff is 7:30. The Denver Broncos are 8.5 point favorites. Fair enough I think the Denver Broncos will win.
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. He’s also an analyst for multiple news talk radio stations across the nation; with regular weekly segments on NBC and Fox Sports Radio. Catch him talking Chicago Bears every Friday on WAOR, Illini and Northwestern for KOZN every Tuesday. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks) and RSS