NFL Classic Rewind: Punt Return for TD Gives Packers Win in Thanksgiving Shootout
Since they began their tradition of playing on Thanksgiving Day in 1934, the team that the Detroit Lions has faced the most on that day has been the Green Bay Packers, as they have played each other 19 times on Thanksgiving with the Detroit coming out on top with an 11-7-1 record.
While the Lions’ upset of the undefeated Packers in 1962 is regarded as the most memorable Thanksgiving moment between the two teams, the two teams combined for 84 points in a wild shoot-out in 1986 that had the game-winning score come on a punt return in the final minute.
Detroit entered the game with a 5-7 record, and needed to win their remaining four games of the season to have any chance of landing a playoff spot under second-year head coach Darryl Rogers.
The Lions would have to go with 14-year veteran quarterback Joe Ferguson, formerly of the Buffalo Bills, at the helm for the annual Thanksgiving game as regular starter Eric Hipple was out with an elbow injury.
While the Lions were trying to hang on in the playoff chase, the Packers were eliminated from playoff contention as they limped in in with a 2-10 record.
The Packers were trying to make a successful transition from Lynn Dickey, who retired after the 1985 season, to third-year quarterback Randy Wright who was in his first full season as the Packers’ starting quarterback.
As they traveled to Detroit, the Packers were trying to shake off the embarrassment of the previous week when defensive tackle Charles Martin body slammed Bears quarterback Jim McMahon, which led to a two-game suspension for Martin and knocking McMahon out for the rest of the year.
Green Bay was also looking for someone to fill in for injured wide receiver Phillip Epps, who broke his ankle in the Bears game.
Enter Walter Stanley, whose primary role was to return kickoffs and punts for Green Bay, to take Epps’ place in the game against the Lions.
Stanley would fill in more than amicably as he played the game of his life on this Thanksgiving Day.
The Lions got off to a good start as Ferguson hit Jeff Chadwick for 25 yards on the first play from scrimmage, then got 21 more yards on a pass to Gerry Jones which included a 15-yard penalty on Packers safety Ken Stills that put Detroit at the Green Bay 31-yard-line.
However, the Lions would only gain four more yards and had to settle for a Eddie Murray field goal, which he made from 44 yards out to put Detroit ahead 3-0 just 2:03 into the game.
Then on the ensuing kickoff, Kenneth Davis fumbled the ball and the Lions recovered it at the Green Bay 18-yard-line, which led to a one-yard touchdown run by James Jones to give Detroit a 10-0 lead before the Packers had seen the ball on offense.
The Packers were able to stop the bleeding on their ensuing possession as they drove 78 yards in 11 plays and get on the scoreboard with a 34-yard field goal by Al Del Greco to cut the deficit to seven points.
Following Del Greco’s field goal, the Green Bay defense did not allow a 1st down and were set to get the ball back on offense when their special teams made their presence felt.
Timothy Harris blocked the Lions punt and the ball went into the end zone where John Simmons recovered it for a Green Bay touchdown that tied the game at 10 with over two minutes left in the first quarter.
The Packers special teams struck again on the next Lions punt as Walter Stanley had a 30-yard return to give Green Bay great field position at the Lions’ 38-yard-line.
But the Packers could not get a 1st down and were forced to try a long field goal from 48 yards out, which Del Greco made to give Green Bay its first lead of the game at 13-10 as the first quarter came to an end.
In the second quarter, the Packers drove to the Lions’ seven-yard-line where they had a 3rd-and-1, only to have Gerry Ellis be stopped for no gain, leading to another Del Greco field goal, this one from 24 yards out to increase the Green Bay lead to 16-10.
That is when the Lions offense finally got back on track as Ferguson led them down to the Green Bay 12-yard-line before three straight incomplete passes forced Murray to come on and kick a 30-yard field goal to cut the Packers lead to 16-13 with 3:10 left in the first half.
Green Bay answered the Lions field goal with a seven-play, 70-yard drive that ended with a 21-yard touchdown pass from Wright to Stanley to increase their lead to 23-13 with 1:15 to go before halftime.
The Packers seemed poised to go into the half with a 10-point lead but Ferguson went into a no-huddle offense and was able to lead the Lions to a touchdown, a 23-yard pass from Ferguson to Jeff Chadwick in the final seconds to make it a 23-20 game as the first half came to a close.
Packers quarterback Randy Wright threw three touchdowns passes on 18-of-26 passing for 286 yards.
The Lions carried the momentum of their last-second touchdown into the second half as they were able to score 17 points on their next three possessions.
After forcing the Packers to punt on their first drive of the second half, the Lions drove 45 yards in eight plays to set up a 32-yard field goal that tied the game at 23.
Following another Packers punt, Ferguson found Jimmie Giles for a 20-yard touchdown that put Detroit back on top at 30-23 with 5:24 left in the third quarter.
Then on the Packers’ ensuing offensive possession, center Karl Swanke muffed forgot that Wright was lined up in the shotgun formation and snapped the ball like the quarterback was under center, leading to a fumble which Detroit recovered at the Green Bay 17-yard-line.
The fumble led to a 10-yard touchdown pass from Ferguson to Carl Bland to give the Lions their largest lead of the game at 14 points, as they took a 37-23 lead with 1:48 remaining in the third quarter.
After giving up 24 unanswered points, the Packers finally had an answer in the final minutes of the third quarter as Wright found Stanley wide open, who beat Lions cornerback Bruce McNorton, for a 30-yard touchdown that Green Bay to back within a touchdown at 37-30 as the third quarter came to an end.
The defenses took over in the fourth quarter as neither team could get on the scoreboard for much of the final 15 minutes.
It was a defensive play that set up the next big scoring opportunity for the Lions as Duane Calloway stepped in front of Stanley on a route, to pick off Wright and return it 36 yards to the Packers’ four-yard-line where the Lions had a chance to break the game open midway in the fourth quarter.
However, the Lions could not punch into the end zone and were faced with a 4th-and-goal from the one-yard-line where Rogers decided to go for the field goal, which Murray made from 19 yards out to give Detroit a 40-30 lead with 5:06 left in regulation.
But on the second play of the Packers’ ensuing possession, Wright found Stanley open over the middle and he fired a deep pass for Stanley, who made the catch for a 62-yard gain until he was stopped at the Detroit six-yard-line.
An illegal motion penalty pushed the Packers back five yards, but they scored on the next play as Wright completed a swing pass to fullback Paul Ott Carruth, who took it in from 11 yards out to cut the Lions’ lead to 40-37 with 3:31 remaining in regulation.
Following the Carruth touchdown, the Lions took over at their own 21-yard-line hoping to get a few 1st downs and run out the remaining time on the clock.
Detroit got one 1st down and milk most of the remaining 3 ½ minutes left on the clock before they had to punt from their own 37-yard-line with under a minute to play.
Walter Stanley touched the ball nine times to account 287 all-purpose yards and scored three touchdowns, including the game-winning touchdown on a punt return.
Gregg felt his best chance for the Packers to have any chance of winning was to block the punt as he sent 10 players to rush in an attempt for the block while Stanley would be all alone as the returner.
Despite the oncoming onslaught, Jim Arnold got the punt off with no problems and Stanley retreated back to his 17-yard-line where he received the punt.
Stanley started to run toward his left, but had to stop and make a spin move when he was about to be met by two Lions defenders.
Stanley turned up field to the right sideline where he got a few blocks and ran past the outside contain man.
Then when Mossy Cade took out Arnold around the Detroit 30-yard-line, Stanley was home free as he put his finger in the air for the last 20 yards of his remarkable 83-yard punt return for the go-ahead touchdown to put Green Bay back in the lead 41 seconds left.
The Lions got one last chance to salvage the victory but Ferguson was intercepted by Elbert Watts on the first play of the drive with 25 seconds to go, which effectively ended the game and gave the Packers a 44-40 victory in the highest scoring NFL game that has been played on Thanksgiving Day.
Detroit never recovered from the loss as they dropped their remaining three games of the season to finish with a 5-11 record.
It would not get much better for Rogers as he went 4-11 in the 1987 season, and was 2-9 when he was fired in the middle of the 1988 season to finish his tenure in Detroit with an 18-40 record.
As for the Packers, they would win one more game in the 1986 season to finish with a 4-12 record.
They would go 5-9-1 the following season which was followed by Gregg’s departure in the offseason to become the head coach at Southern Methodist University.
Stanley would play for the Packers until he was released after the 1988 season, and then proceeded to play for five different teams over the next five seasons until his retirement in 1993.
While his career was not all it was cracked up to be, he is still remembered for his performance against the Lions on Thanksgiving Day in 1986.
I must say that you have build such a fantastic weblog, I stumbled across it in Bing. This is thrice now i’ve landed on your blog in the last 3 days searching for topics on fiverr business model – you must get high traffic? Just thought i would share with you something..if you are a fiverr marketer I have found an excellent Site Better Than Fiverr for your consideration. Placing your offers here have a few advantages. First of all they are offering the $5 gigs with NO SERVICE FEE – so you EARN MORE selling your gigs! Also they have different price structure so you can offer your offers for $3, $4, $5, $7, $10, $17, $27, $37, $47 bucks. Collect weekly cash send to you via PayPal, now it’s really possible earning as high as $2169 a day?
Excellent read. I just passed this onto a colleague who was doing a little research on that. He actually bought me lunch since I found it for him! Thus let me rephrase: Thanks for lunch!
Bom dia Nuno, .quero agradecer-lhe pelo excelent post que aqui tem!!Realmente é bastante elucidativo… .Mais uma vez obrigado. .Rui Araujo
You can definitely see your expertise in the work you write. The world hopes for even more passionate writers like you who are not afraid to mention how they believe. At all times go after your heart.
You are truly a good webmaster. The website loading speed is incredible. It kind of feels that you’re doing any distinctive trick. Furthermore, The contents are masterpiece. you have done a wonderful task on this matter!
You are actually a good webmaster. The site loading speed is amazing. It sort of feels that you are doing any unique trick. Furthermore, The contents are masterwork. you’ve performed a excellent activity in this topic!
I’ve been exploring for a bit for any high quality articles or weblog posts on this sort of area . Exploring in Yahoo I eventually stumbled upon this website. Studying this info So i’m glad to express that I have a very just right uncanny feeling I discovered exactly what I needed. I most undoubtedly will make certain to don?t put out of your mind this site and give it a glance on a constant basis.
Your blog has inspired me to change the way I run my site. I want to let you know I appreciate your hard work.
You actually make it appear so easy together with your presentation but I find this topic to be actually one thing that I believe I’d by no means understand. It kind of feels too complex and very extensive for me. I’m taking a look ahead for your subsequent submit, I’ll attempt to get the cling of it!
Thanks , I’ve just been looking for info about this subject for a while and yours is the best I have found out so far. However, what in regards to the conclusion? Are you positive concerning the source?|What i don’t understood is actually how you are not actually a lot more well-preferred than you may be right now. You are so intelligent.
HI we are using the postgres polygon data type how can i insert the polygon(which is belongs to map latitude ,longitude)through hibernate
Whats up very nice web site!! Guy .. Beautiful .. Superb .. I will bookmark your site and take the feeds also?I am happy to search out numerous helpful information right here within the submit, we want develop more techniques in this regard, thanks for sharing. . . . . .
Wonderful issues altogether, you just received a emblem new reader. What could you suggest in regards to your post that you made a few days in the past? Any positive?
We are a bunch of volunteers and starting a brand new scheme in our community. Your website offered us with useful info to paintings on. You have done an impressive job and our whole community can be thankful to you.
Check out SmobsUK, where you can get small jobs done for just £5
Okay, so I unistalled the driver in device manager (even though the driver was the correct one) and let windows uninstall the driver software. Then I restarted and stopped vista from installing whatever driver it could find. Then I installed the newest driver from ati as administrator. Now everything works fine. I’m not connected to the internet on this computer I’m talking about though. I’ve disabled automatic updates so we’ll see how long this lasts.
I’ve received product. Its a nice phone. Thanks. Hope to shop with u again.
I loved up to you will obtain performed proper here. The cartoon is attractive, your authored subject matter stylish. nevertheless, you command get bought an shakiness over that you would like be handing over the following. sick certainly come more before again as precisely the same nearly very often inside of case you protect this increase.
excellent submit, very informative. I ponder why the opposite experts of this sector don’t realize this. You should continue your writing. I am sure, you’ve a great readers’ base already!
I don’t even know how I finished up here, however I thought this put up was once good. I don’t recognize who you’re however definitely you are going to a well-known blogger if you happen to are not already. Cheers!
I have been exploring for a little for any high-quality articles or blog posts in this kind of area . Exploring in Yahoo I eventually stumbled upon this site. Reading this information So i am glad to exhibit that I have a very just right uncanny feeling I discovered just what I needed. I so much without a doubt will make certain to do not fail to remember this site and give it a glance regularly.
Thanks for every other informative web site. Where else could I am getting that type of info written in such a perfect way? I’ve a undertaking that I’m simply now working on, and I’ve been at the glance out for such info.
I wish to convey my affection for your kind-heartedness supporting those people that actually need help on in this subject matter. Your real commitment to getting the message across has been especially effective and has really enabled associates much like me to realize their objectives. Your personal informative useful information indicates a great deal a person like me and somewhat more to my mates. Best wishes; from everyone of us.
Hi all ! I’d like to comment that this post is great, very nice describes the subject and include almost all important informations. I’d like to see more posts like this
I really hope Wal-Mart doesn’t come trouncing through here. I don’t care about their green initiatives, plus I think we have enough of the chains out there and if need be, go to Longmont or Broomfield. My question: Is this inevitable in any community, no matter how ‘pristine’ or ‘green’ it is?
I don?t even understand how I ended up here, however I thought this put up was once great. I do not understand who you are but definitely you’re going to a famous blogger when you are not already 😉 Cheers!
It?s really a great and helpful piece of info. I am glad that you just shared this helpful info with us. Please stay us informed like this. Thanks for sharing.
Hello There. I discovered your blog using msn. This is a very neatly written article. I?ll be sure to bookmark it and come back to read more of your useful info. Thank you for the post. I will certainly comeback.
omg! thats amazing shana… that story is so sad!! you did a good thing, helping him out. and he is sooo cute!!
gifted nasa kanye west santogold lykke li
It’s really a nice and helpful piece of information. I am happy that you simply shared this helpful information with us. Please stay us up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.
I do not even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was good. I don’t know who you are but definitely you’re going to a famous blogger if you are not already Cheers!
I beloved as much as you will receive carried out right here. The caricature is attractive, your authored material stylish. nevertheless, you command get bought an shakiness over that you wish be turning in the following. sick no doubt come more formerly once more since precisely the similar just about a lot frequently inside of case you shield this increase.
This is exactly what I’ve been planning on doing! .Thanks for the tips!
extremely nice post, i undoubtedly adore this outstanding web site, carry on it 68120
I?m no longer positive where you are getting your information, however great topic. I needs to spend a while finding out more or understanding more. Thank you for fantastic info I was in search of this information for my mission.
Excellent items from you, man. I have take into account your stuff prior to and you’re just too excellent. I really like what you have bought right here, certainly like what you are stating and the way during which you say it. You are making it entertaining and you continue to care for to stay it wise. I can’t wait to read much more from you. This is actually a wonderful website.
I liked as much as you’ll receive carried out right here. The comic strip is tasteful, your authored subject matter stylish. nonetheless, you command get got an edginess over that you want be handing over the following. unwell indubitably come more until now again as precisely the similar just about very steadily within case you shield this hike.
I’m not advocating that Democrats vote for the thing – I’m just saying that if they can’t stop it , which they obviously can’t, they should set their sights on September. There’s a far cry from voting to authorize the war and being stymied as to how the hell one gets out of it with Bush vetoing and not enough strong anti-war representatives. Edwards has been living in Iowa. I’m convinced Obama will blow him away once he focuses there, which he shouldn’t yet. Edwards has the same strategy that propelled Howard Dean into the White House.
Thank you, I’ve just been looking for info approximately this topic for a long time and yours is the greatest I have discovered till now. But, what about the bottom line? Are you certain concerning the supply?|What i do not understood is actually how you are not actually much more neatly-favored than you might be now. You’re very intelligent.
Hello there, I found your web site via Google while looking for a comparable matter, your site got here up, it seems great. I have added to my favourites|added to bookmarks.
hey great post. I love good and truthful content. here is another great blog
I do believe all of the ideas you’ve offered on your post. They are really convincing and will certainly work. Still, the posts are very short for novices. May you please extend them a bit from next time? Thanks for the post.
Heya i’m for the primary time here. I came across this board and I in finding It truly useful & it helped me out a lot. I am hoping to provide something back and help others such as you helped me.
he protected apple til the very end (insisting on that chairman title), although he or she have known that he has only weeks remaining.
Steve Jobs will be remembered for being the best CEO on earth.
he protected apple til the end (insisting on that chairman title), although he or she have known which he has only weeks remaining.
I became born after Apple and Macs are created but I have been a huge fan of apple products for many of my well being. Being a designer, his advertisements were always an insperation. My own, personal father had kidney cancer, now is fighting bladder cancer. To see Steve go exactly the same way really saddens me. If only all the best to his family because I can understand how difficult times like these could be. He will go lower in history as a legend and that i hope the company doesn’t difference in his passing.
Deirdre said, “Ms. Vent just won an award.” Exactly what was this award, and who awarded it?
Saw you guys at the Gold Country Blues Festival, and you gots had a great, as well, as unique sound. I am with the Sac Blues Society, and am interested in possibly booking you guys. Question? How did you come up with the name Political Plumb. Sounds like the name of a band that is awake. Dave