Weird. The best way to describe the journey of the 1983 Pittsburgh Steelers, who played without their Hall of Fame Quarterback until he got healthy just in time for one last game, and one last moment of glory. Terry Bradshaw's elbow betrayed him the final few years of his career, but he had one last shining moment before hanging up his cleats. How did the Steelers navigate the daily drama while they waited for him to heal? How did they keep winning games without him - until he had to save their season? How abrupt was it that his final game was cut shockingly short? And what the hell did the Jets fans do to the field following the game that lives in infamy? It's the 1983 Pittsburgh Steelers - Terry Bradshaw's Last Game.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

Special Teams

The 1983 Pittsburgh Steelers - Terry Bradshaw's Last Game

We talk about 'bests' all the time. But how about what was probably the worst defense in a single season in NFL history? The numbers you will hear are absolutely stunning. Almost as stunning as the fact that things got so bad for the 1981 Baltimore Colts, the owner got so fed up he went to the booth to call plays during one game. Yep. It happened. From there we jump to the NBA, where the 1981 Western Conference Finals took place between the two teams who were not only the lowest seeds in the conference, but both had losing records overall - the Kansas City Kings & Houston Rockets. The playoffs involved two huge upsets, one Magic Johnson airball, and one future Hall of Famer who, in the end, probably shouldn't have said what he did. It's Special Teams 1981: Losers, and Winning Losers.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

1981 - Losers, and Winning Losers

What would happen if fans threw snowballs on the field during a football game? Well, now you'll be able to find out. This week on Special Teams we look back at three of the biggest football games in history that were affected by those special spheres of winter fun. Snowballs ruined a field goal that could've won a game between the 49ers and Broncos in 1985. Ten years later, fans at the Chargers-Giants game were so out of control with snowballs there were ejections, arrests, and team personnel knocked unconscious. Not to be outdone, Jason was in attendance at the infamous Michigan-Penn State snowball game the same year which resulted in an angry Joe Paterno yelling at fans on a stadium microphone. Bundle up. It's Special Teams: The Snowball Games.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

THE SNOWBALL GAMES

The AFC Championship game for the 1982 season between the Jets and the Dolphins is known more for it's weather than it's play on the field. "The Mud Bowl" was a shocking display of offensive ineptitude on a field better suited to swim in than play football on. The game has been shrouded in conspiracy theories for nearly 40 years, and it will probably stay that way forever. It had one great play to hang it's hat on, and all sorts of drama involving the losing team you have to hear to believe. It's Special Teams: The Mud Bowl. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

THE MUD BOWL

The Dolphins and Patriots met under frozen and snowy circumstances late in the 1982 season in a game immortalized due to a snowplow. Yes, you may know the story of Mark Henderson, who cleared a path for the Patriots field goal to beat Miami. But how about the Dolphins almost winning the game after the plow's appearance by doing the impossible? Don Shula trying to get the Commissioner to reverse the outcome? Then there's the people who got game balls after it was over, why some Patriots actually think the snowplow hurt them (Whaaaaaat?), plus the plow's final resting place. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

I Love the 80s: The Snowplow Game

On January 10th, 1981, the Bengals hosted the Chargers in the AFC Championship Game - a contest that would go down as the coldest football game in NFL history, with temperatures reaching -39 degrees Fahrenheit (with wind chill). Hear all the crazy stories that came out of this game, (which included burnt referees) as players still feel the effects of this contest nearly 40 years later. What sunk the Chargers in what would turn out to be Air Coryell's best chance at a Super Bowl? We'll tell you. Plus, two players from this game would later on be dealt for another in one of the worst trades in NFL history. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

I Love the 80s: The Freezer Bowl

The Miracle Bowl. Without a doubt, the 1980 Holiday Bowl is one of the top three college football bowl games of the past 40 years. Eric Dickerson and Craig James, the 'Pony Express' of SMU, owned the first 56 minutes. And then Jim McMahon led BYU on a once-in-a-lifetime comeback, complete with a touchdown that probably shouldn't have counted, a Hail Mary that defies explanation, and the beginning of a college football debate that we're still having in 2020. Oh, and the luckiest guy at the game may have been the play-by-play announcer. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

I Love the 80s: The Miracle Bowl

The Buccaneers-Rams battle for the Super Bowl is one of the most underrated playoff games of the past 30 years. Strength against strength: The Rams Greatest Show on Turf offense never met a defense that stifled it as much as the Buccaneers did this day. It was shocking, nail-biting, and it came down to the Rams offense making their only play of the day thanks to a wide receiver who hadn't scored a touchdown all season. Oh, and the fun was just starting - as incredible controversy reigned late in the game due to a catch that wasn't (but really was). The NFL - and the wide receiver involved - haven't forgotten it over twenty years later. It's the Buccaneers-Rams 1999 NFC Championship Game: One Play and One Replay.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

I Love the 90s: The Buccaneers-Rams 1999 NFC Championship Game

No one knew how MLB would return from the strike year of 1994. Well, it actually involved the most recently forfeited game in baseball history, the passing of the game's biggest legend, one player stepping up to bring the sport all the way back from the brink, something we hadn't seen in over 100 years, and a post-season we had NEVER seen. And it all culminates with the best single season team in baseball history who didn't win the World Series. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

I Love the 90s: The 1995 MLB Season

On today's episode, Jason explains why he believes Luka Doncic's 43 point, 17 rebound, 13 assist performance in the Dallas Mavericks' Game 4 win over the Los Angeles Clippers will go down in history as one of the seminal individual playoff performances of the last 40 years, tells us why 'Playoff P' Paul George could be one of the worst postseason performers in recent history, and wonders aloud why Kawhi Leonard and Doc Rivers aren't facing more criticism from the talking heads as the Clippers' best player and head coach, respectively. Jason also explains how the fact that Donovan Mitchell and Jamal Murray both dropping 50 points on Sunday night in the same game is further proof that the overall talent in today's NBA is much higher than in year's past. Plus, FS1 and Bleacher Report NBA analyst Ric Bucher swings by to explain why he's still not 100% sold on LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, why Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid - and necessarily head coach Brett Brown - should shoulder much of the blame for the Philadelphia Sixers playoff struggles the past few seasons, why he's betting on the Golden State Warriors keeping the #2 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, and much more! Finally, Jason puts his gaudy 71% winning percentage to the test in the Monday edition of the Best Bet. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

Special Preview: Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre - The Legend of Luka, Clippers Are Crumbling & Ric Bucher

1991 Lions & Browns. 1991 was simply the best year in the history of the Lions franchise, as they accomplished things they hadn't done before (or since). Overcoming injuries and tragedy, they finished one painful step short of the Super Bowl. Meanwhile for the Browns, it was the first year in the head coaching career of Bill Belichick. As you'll hear, he's very much the same head coach now he was back then - except his surprising decisions and bold moves didn't quite work out. Why? Find out in I Love the 90s: The 1991 Lions & Bill Belichick's Browns.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

I Love the 90s: The 1991 Lions & Bill Belichick's Browns

This may have been the best AFC Championship game of the past 30 years. In 1996, the solid-but-unspectacular Colts nearly upset the Steelers in a game that had it all: Controversial officiating, unlikely heroes (Willie Williams? Ernie Mills?), and a last-gasp play that stopped hearts across the NFL. We spotlight players like budding superstar Kordell Stewart and Captain Comeback Jim Harbaugh. Oh, and the drama for the Colts was just beginning after the loss. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

The 1996 Colts-Steelers AFC Championship Game: The Almost Hail Mary

The Broncos were headed to the Super Bowl. The Jaguars were the fun new kid on the block. It wasn't supposed to be a fair fight. But after ending the Bills careers of Jim Kelly & Marv Levy, the Jaguars shocked the football world behind QB Mark Brunell as they derailed Denver's championship run. How did they do it - and why didn't the Jaguars turn into the expected dynasty fans thought they'd be? Meanwhile, Denver lost more than a game, as they whiffed on a chance to be immortal. It's the defeat John Elway called the most embarrassing of his career until that point. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

Jaguars-Broncos: The Ambush At Mile High

Two years after the Padres & Rockies extra-inning Game #163 thriller, the Tigers and Twins went at it in a tie-breaking game to decide the American League Central title. A tight-battle became a 12-inning roller-coaster in the blink of an eye. When is a hit-by-pitch that could’ve won the game not a hit-by-pitch despite evidence to the contrary? Just what was one manager thinking leaving his closer in as long as he did? And how did a pinch-runner, who cost his team the win earlier in the game with an unthinkable gaffe, turn into the unlikely hero? Plus, we take a deep dive into players like Joe Nathan, Fernando Rodney, the meat of the Tigers lineup and how the Twins have become the model for small-market success. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

The 2009 Tigers-Twins AL Central Tie-Breaker: Fernando Rodney Is Still Waiting For Jim Leyland To Come Get Him From The Mound

In 2007 the Padres & Rockies engaged in a game for the ages, as after 162 games the two teams were tied for the National League Wild Card. A tie-breaking contest raged into 13 innings of punch-counter punch - and still, 13 years later, the winning run never touched home plate. How did that happen - and how did Jason turn into the person who broke that news to one of the teams? The second-best closer we’ve ever seen had the worst two-game run of his career at the worst possible time, and one of the teams overall strategies certainly was, well, let’s just say different. Plus, we go in-depth on players like Jake Peavy, Adrian Gonzalez, Khalil Greene, Matt Holliday and more. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

The 2007 Padres-Rockies NL Wild Card Tie-Breaker: 13 Mile-HIgh Innings of Pressure

The sports landscape is filled with legendary teams and their accomplishments that we still currently talk about, reference and compare to the present. Special Teams takes a look at these squads as we help relive their victories, losses and controversies that have marked their place in history. You’ll get unique storytelling, strong opinions and heavy doses of fun. Fox Sports hosts Jason Smith and Mike Harmon work through the backstories, build-ups and breakdowns of these (in)famous squads using personal anecdotes, pop culture references and a sizable mirror. The picture isn’t always so pretty, but you’ll never forget it.

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Special Teams

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