As a fan of football the last thing that you want your team to be on the receiving end is a shock defeat, and the same goes for those who enjoy sports betting at Novibet, losing money to a shock is not fun! Nonetheless in the game of American Football, much like in every sport, shocks can occur, favorites can make mistakes, get complacent or get too arrogant, and bad things can happen. Looking back to the mid-90s, here are some of the biggest shocks which we have seen in the NFL over the past 3 decades.
Redskins v Cowboys 1995
In November 1995 the Cowboys were tearing up the league and went into this game with a 10-2 record, to face the less than average Washington Redskins. This should have been a game that the Cowboys won with their eyes closed but the Redskins rallied and played like never before to run out 24-17 winners. The victory was quite the shock, but the Cowboys did still manage to go on and win the Super Bowl that year.
Bills v Vikings 2018
Last year we witnessed one of the greatest upsets in recent times as the Buffalo Bills took on the Minnesota Vikings as 17 point underdogs. The Vikings had their eyes firmly set on the Vince Lombardi trophy and it was expected that they would easily toss the Bills aside, that wasn’t exactly how things turned out. The world of NFL was in complete shock at halftime as the Bills destroyed the Vikings and went into the break 27-0 up. The Bills were almost as shocked as everyone else and they failed to score in the second half, running out 27-6 winners.
Dolphins v Falcons 2017
Nobody really expects to get beaten off the Miami Dolphins and despite some golden patches in their history, they have long been a mocked team. All of that stopped in 2017 however as they took on the mighty Atlanta Falcons, who were , for all intents and purposes, on their way to the Super Bowl. Everything was going to plan at halftime, Falcons lead 17-0 at the break at everyone was expecting them to once again show why they were the team to watch. Jay Cutler and the Dolphins had other ideas however and they came out in the second half like men possessed, to eventually finish up as 20-17 winners, a great comeback and quite the shock.
Whilst we have focused on the biggest shocks in recent memory it is worth mentioning the greatest shock in NFL history which was the game between the Jets and the Colts. The Jets went on to shock the world by winning the Super Bowl against the incredibly strong Colts, thanks to Joe Namath who played arguably the greatest game he has ever played in his career.
Which upset shocked you the most?
i The only upsets that I can think of, which were so shocking and unexplainable, were two Miami Dolphins victories against New England during this decade. There are a bunch of upsets which were explainable:
1991’s Detroit Lions at Tampa Bay. The only season that the Detroit Lions reached the NFC Championship game. The Buccaneers were 3-13, but some of their defensive players were very fast. It was the one day that the Buccaneers’ #3-secondary was enough to defeat a tough team on their very tough schedule.
New York Jets’ game at Miami. I think it was the 1995 season. The Dolphins were favored to win by 17. But Dan Marino was injured. We had already known that the Dolphins were capable of losing to anyone when Dan Marino was injured.
1997, the season before Indianapolis drafted Peyton Manning. The Colts were winless. One morning, I looked at the NFL game predictions in the St. Petersburg Times. The sportswriter had all these reasons for why they would defeat Green Bay Packers. Remember, 1997 was the second consecutive season that the Packers reached the Super Bowl. And the winless Colts accomplished all of the things that the sportswriter predicted.
1997: One of the most memorable days in Tampa Bay football history. The Buccaneers’ season opener was against San Francisco 49ers. The whole Buccaneers squad was really prepared to defeat the 49ers in the season opener.
2004’s Atlanta Falcons game at Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers were favored to win. It was one of the few games in the 2004 season that Derrick Brooks and Simeon Rice were able to live up to expectations and do enough to make the Buccaneers win.
2012: Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay. The Eagles were 4-12 in 2012, because their defense was always terrible in the second half. The game went as you’d expect, with the Eagles jumping out to 10-0 lead, and the Buccaneers scoring three consecutive touchdowns. The last drive of the game occurred right in front of me. I was sitting right behind Mason Foster when an interception was thrown right to him, but he dropped the ball. The Eagles’s offense had just enough time to reach the end zone, for the 22-21 victory.