September 27

Here is what happened on September 27 in football history: William Shakespeare in the Irish backfield; A victory for the New York Giants in a game that they did not achieve even one first down in; These and more in a truly strange day of football events! This is truly a unique podcast of record NFL oddities that all occurred on the calendar date of September 27, so hold onto your headsets as we dive into this football day!

September 27, 1942 - In what may be one of the most ironic games in NFL history the New York Football Giants defeated the Washington Redskins by the score of 14-7. According to NFL FILMS website this game has the stats of the very odd indeed! By looking at the final score it doesn’t seem like that uncommon of a game but when you look in detail at the boxscore all you can do is shake your head! The Giants did not achieve one first down in the entire game, and their 51 total yards would make the onlooker even more shocked. But when you see the fact that 50 of those 51 yards came on one touchdown pass play, your chair will topple over! The other TD was a 66 yard interception return by the Giants defensive back Neil Adams. Oh and did I add that the team they beat that day was the eventual 1942 NFL Champions? Yes this was the Redskins only loss that season, as Sammy Baugh and the 'Skins were up to almost every challenge and I bet after the game the Washington faithful were shaking their heads too!

September 27, 2012 - According to ESPN.com Cleveland Browns kicker Phil Dawson had a whale of a half! In the second half of the Browns game versus their rival Baltimore Ravens, Dawson did his best to try and help his team keep pace with the high flying Ravens by making a record 3 field goals in one half of 50 yards or more! His successful kicks after halftime at the lengths of 51, 50 & 52 yards accounted for more than half of the Browns points as they fell 23-16. Interestingly enough, the kicker for the Ravens that day, Justin Tucker tied Dawson’s NFL record of 3 from over 50 in a half on November 27, 2016 when Tucker booted kicks of 52, 57 and 54 yards in the first half of the Ravens 19-14 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

September 27, 2018 - LA Rams Quarterback Jared Goff sets an unbelievable NFL record as he has a perfect passer rating while throwing for 465 yards and five touchdowns in one game! The Rams needed every bit of it too as they narrowly escaped with a 38-31 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in a Thursday Night football thriller!

September 27, 1912 - William ‘The Bard” Shakespeare was a former University of Notre Dame halfback and kicker.  No this is not the Bill Shakespeare that wrote the famous plays like Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet but he was quite graceful and poetic on the gridiron! The National Football Foundation tells us that this William was a great punter, runner and passer for the Irish during the mid-1930’s. As a sophomore he punted five times and held a 53.2 yard average. That stat earned him more playing time as a junior where he kept a lofty punt average of 40 yards per kick on 41 punts but also established himself as a ball carrier. By the time his senior year rolled around the Bard was a hero, especially showcased in the Ohio State game when he entered the game with his team trailing the Buckeyes by one point and tossed a perfect touchdown pass with 32 seconds remaining in the game to take the Golden Domers to victory. During that same 1935 season against Pittsburgh, Shakespeare had one punt travel 86 yards! Talk about flipping the field! That season he was voted in as a first team All-American. After college William served in the U.S. Military and during World War II as a Captain won four battle stars and a Bronze Star for gallantry during battle! The National Football Foundation selected William Shakespeare into their College Football Hall of Fame in 1983.