So in a scrambling effort, I was able to get the Terry Bradshaw Bracket back up and running ahead of schedule. This was a bracket that saw the home teams advance in the opening round, which brings up a point that my dad made Friday. In case any of you readers have been confused, I've been using Roman numerals as the seeds, and those have nothing to do with the Super Bowls those respective teams have won. Sorry for any confusion this has caused.
As for the games themselves, we're continuing the best-of-three simulations for each matchup, with the "clinching" game being the official result. Weather forecasts will be taken into account, and all simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's go.
(XXIX) '78 Pittsburgh Steelers @ (IV) '75 Pittsburgh Steelers
Game 1: '78 PIT 20, '75 PIT 17
Game 2: '75 PIT 20, '78 PIT 6
Game 3: '75 PIT 24, '78 PIT 14
'75 Franco Harris hauled in a 50 yard touchdown pass about five minutes into the game, but was answered by '78 Franco Harris' 21 yard touchdown run. '78 Terry Bradshaw struggled a bit, going 13 of 26 for 192 yards with a touchdown and a pair of interceptions by J.T. Thomas, Jr., including a fourth quarter pick-6. '75 Bradshaw was 12 of 19 for 150 yards and that touchdown to Franco Harris.
(XX) '92 Dallas Cowboys @ (XIII) '94 San Francisco 49ers
Game 1: '92 DAL 16, '94 SF 9
Game 2: '94 SF 23, '92 DAL 10
Game 3: '92 DAL 7, '94 SF 2
San Francisco managed a fourth quarter safety, and that was all. Steve Young struggled, completing 17 of 33 passes for 184 yards, but was picked off three times and sacked three more times. They bailed out Troy Aikman, who completed just four of 12 passes for 72 yards and a pick. Emmitt Smith had 70 yards rushing and the lone touchdown of the game.
(XXVIII) '76 Oakland Raiders @ (V) '66 Green Bay Packers
Game 1: '66 GB 30, '76 OAK 20
Game 2: '66 GB 21, '76 OAK 10
Ken Stabler completed 14 of 26 passes for 214 yards and a touchdown, but threw an interception on his first attempt of the game, and Bart Starr quickly made the Raiders pay with a 35 yard score to Boyd Dowler. Elijah Pitts and Paul Hornung added rushing touchdowns to the mix while Jim Taylor racked up 180 yards on 19 carries, three of which topped 20 yards. Bart Starr was sacked four times and this game could have been worse: Don Chandler missed all five of his field goal attempts for the Packers.
(XXI) '08 Pittsburgh Steelers @ (XII) '99 St. Louis Rams
Game 1: '99 STL 24, '08 PIT 10
Game 2: '08 PIT 23, '99 STL 21
Game 3: '99 STL 27, '08 PIT 9
It was a defensive struggle early, as the first half scoring consisted of field goals. Then in the second half, Marshall Faulk took over. Faulk ran 18 times for 140 yards and two touchdowns, and added four catches for 44 yards. Kurt Warner completed 16 of 27 passes for 173 yards, a touchdown to Torry Holt, and a pick. Arguably more impressive was the Rams defense holding the Steelers to 51 yards rushing on 30 carries and containing Ben Roethlisberger to 15 of 25 passes for 181 yards, a touchdown, and intercepting him once.
To see the bracket so far, click here.Most of the home teams held serve this time around, with the only upset coming in the form of the '92 Cowboys. And forget about recency; all the older teams advanced in this group of games. This probably won't happen again, but it's an interesting phenomenon.
I have one more batch for this round, and it includes a pair of the greatest defenses ever assembled, along with some pretty potent offenses. Also a big storyline: how will the defending Super Bowl champs match up in their first game? Check back later today to find out!
No comments:
Post a Comment