Football Trivia

[DonRocks]

Riddle me this:

A hypothetical NFL game had no field goals by either team, and only one touchdown scored by either team. The team that scored the touchdown failed on the extra point (a kick, not a two-point conversion), but won 7-0. 

How?

Answer (mouse over): The kick was blocked, an opposing player recovered it, and was tackled in the end-zone for a one-point safety.

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Here's a real-life example of this type of situation:

[DonRocks]

Okay, now riddle me this:

A hypothetical NFL game ended with the score 6-1.

How?

Answer (mouse over): Similar to the previous post, a team scored a touchdown (6 points), but decided to go for the 2-point conversion. They lost 97 yards on the play, and got tackled in their own end zone for a 1-point DEFENSIVE conversion safety (this has never happened before, but it's possible). By extension, if a team scores only 1 point in a game, then their opponents must have at least 6 points because this is the only way for this to happen (I'm not talking about a forfeit, which is recorded as a 1-0 victory).

Now let's see if you understood the answer to the previous riddle. A game ended with the score 7-7, with both teams scoring a touchdown, and neither team scoring an extra point. How?

Answer (mouse over): The above scenario (a defensive conversion safety, which has never happened before) happened to both teams. I suspect you'll never see this occur.

[DonRocks]

Who were the first professional quarterbacks to throw for 1) 3000 yards in a season, 2) 4000 yards in a season, and 3) 5000 yards in a season?

Hint below (mouse over):

Their initials are UNM.

Answers below (mouse over):

1. Johnny Unitas (1960, 3,099 yards)

2. Joe Namath (1967, 4,007 yards (in the AFL))

3. Dan Marino (1984, 5,084 yards)