The NFL was founded in 1920, which would make this the 100th Anniversary of the NFL. The league is planning a season-long celebration of its success and commitment to not knowing what a catch is, and part of that is the Games of the Week.
Each week during the upcoming season, the NFL will designate one game its 100th Anniversary Game of the Week, and it will be a game with some historical significance to the history of the NFL. It may be a long-standing rivalry like Week 1’s game featuring the Packers vs. Bears or Week 10’s Falcons-Saints game or Week 14’s Browns vs. Bengals Battle of Ohio tilt. The Raiders have a total of three games on the NFL100 Game of the Week list, which is great, but is made doubly sweet because the Steelers don’t have any.
The first NFL100 Game of the Week featuring the Raiders comes in Week 7, in which the Raiders travel to Lambeau Field in a rematch of Super Bowl 2. NFL.com says this:
“Two of the league’s storied franchises met in Super Bowl II, which saw the Packers win a second straight championship by soundly defeating the Raiders, 33-14.”
The Packers actually have another Game of the Week the following week when they go to Kansas City to rehash Super Bowl 1. Hopefully they trash the Chiefs this year too.
In Week 12, the Raiders travel to New York for their second NFL100 game, taking on the Jets in a rematch of the Heidi Game which forever changed the rules of broadcasting. NFL.com says,
“Perhaps a sign of the times, but what happened on Nov. 17, 1968, when the game was cut off on the East Coast to show the film “Heidi” isn’t likely to ever happen again.”
And finally, the Raiders’ third NFL100 game takes place Week 16 in Los Angeles, where the Raiders will pay homage to the Holy Roller game, in which the Raiders used the fumble as an offensive weapon.
“The Raiders and Chargers produced the “Holy Roller” game in 1978 and the result forever changed the NFL’s rule on an offense’s ability to advance recovered fumbles. In the contest, Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler avoided a sack by throwing the football forward towards the goal line. Running back Pete Banasnak touched the ball, then used both hands to shove the football forward. Tight end Dave Casper then recovered the football in the end zone to give the Raiders a 21-20 win.”
I think this is a pretty cool idea by the league, which has had more than its share of huge games, big rivalries and revolutionary moments in its 100-year history. And hey, the Raiders won two of the three games they’re being honored for playing in in dramatic and totally improbable ways, so that’s a plus.
So which of these three games do you think was most important in league history, and which is your favorite? Are there any other important Raider moments you would have liked to see included that involve teams on this year’s schedule?
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