Jets Beat Colts.

Jets Beat Colts. Quarterback Joe Namath shocked the football world when he and the New York Jets of the American Football League defeated the highly favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III in 1969. This report recounts the famous upset. . Jets Defeat Colts Professional football had never seen anything like Joe Willie Namath. A swashbuckling, high-rolling quarterback with a rattling mouth and rifle arm, "Broadway Joe" showed up in Miami, Florida, for Super Bowl III, flashed his grin, lounged in the sun, and offered a startling guarantee: His New York Jets would defeat the Baltimore Colts. Namath, with the help of his overachieving Jets teammates, turned the football establishment upside down, delivering on a promise when no one thought he could. Namath and the Jets picked apart the powerful Colts in a 16-7 win in Super Bowl III on January 12, 1969. The New York Times ranked it then as one of the top three upsets in American sports history. The win helped pave the way for a merger between the upstart American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL) to create the modern NFL. The game was also instrumental in the development of the Super Bowl into one of the world's biggest sporting events. Before the game the Colts were regarded as football's most powerful machine. Perennially ranked among the NFL's top teams in the 1960s, the Colts were a feared collection of efficient football players who had long been led by Johnny Unitas, the flat-topped field general who was the top quarterback of the era. Unitas missed much of the 1968 season (the campaign leading up to Super Bowl III) with an injured arm, but his replacement, Earl Morrall, guided the Colts to a 13-1 record and earned the league's most valuable player (MVP) award. It seemed the Colts were so strong that they could lose their best player and reload without missing a beat. Namath seemed unperturbed by such a powerful team. On the Thursday before the game, he attended a dinner at the Miami Touchdown Club to accept an award. While at the podium, he heard a heckler say, "Hey, Namath, we're gonna kick your butt." The crack irked Namath. "All week I read about how great the Colts were and how we didn't belong on the same field with them," Namath recalled. "I was tired of it. I said, 'Wait a minute, pal. I've got news for you. We're going to win this game. I guarantee it.'" The boast fueled the fire of Super Bowl publicity, and drew some 60 million television viewers. The game was scoreless after the first quarter. In the second quarter Colts linebacker Ron Porter recovered a Jets fumble at New York's 12-yard line, giving Baltimore a golden opportunity. But on third down at the 6-yard line, Morrall threw into the end zone and the pass bounced off receiver Tom Mitchell and into the hands of Jets cornerback Randy Beverly. It was one of three interceptions Morrall threw in the first half. On the ensuing drive the Jets marched 80 yards for a touchdown. Namath completed four passes, including two to split end George Sauer, Jr. The power for the drive was supplied by fullback Matt Snell, who scored on a 4-yard sweep. The Colts squandered two other chances to score in the first half. In one instance they advanced to the Jets' 16-yard line, but New York's Johnny Sample intercepted Morrall at the 2-yard line. Just before the half ended, the Colts ran a trick play in which Morrall took a pitch from fullback Tom Matte. But Morrall failed to spot receiver Johnny Orr wide open near the end zone and threw instead to fullback Jerry Hill. That pass was picked off by the Jets' Jim Hudson. "The way I caught the ball from Matte, I was turned to the right and didn't see Orr," Morrall said. Matte lost a fumble early in the second half, a mistake that led to the first of three second-half field goals by the Jets' Jim Turner. Turner added another field goal on the Jets' next possession, and the Jets led, 13-0, after three quarters. Another Turner field goal increased the lead to 16-0. Baltimore head coach Don Shula inserted Unitas into the Colts lineup in the fourth quarter. Unitas guided the team to a touchdown but also threw an interception and completed only 11 of 24 passes. Namath, who completed 17 of 28 passes for 206 yards, was named the game's most valuable player, for which he was awarded a Dodge Charger to go along with the $15,000 each of the Jets received for the victory. Snell rushed 30 times for 121 yards, and Sauer caught 8 passes for 133 yards. The Jets' victory was celebrated as a milestone in sports upsets. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.