Now in our new format!
New easy-to-read team chart layouts include full player names.   We've also included ballcarrier finder charts broken down by types of play (inside vs. outside runs and types of passes). New features also include team ratings for penalties, turnovers and kick coverage units.  All teams are printed in color on glossy stock.

MORE great teams, MORE great games!

1957N Detroit vs. 1957N San Francisco (December 22, 1957) These two teams finished the 1957 season tied at the top of the western conference standings with identical 8-4 records, so a playoff game was necessary to decide the title. San Franciso bolted to a 27-7 halftime lead, led by the strong arm of the legendary bald-headed quarterback with the funny name! Many Bay Area fans celebrated in the stands during the intermission, but Detroit regrouped and roared back in the second half for a stunning 31-27 victory, earning them the date with Cleveland for the league title. This was San Francisco's only playoff appearance in the club's first 25 years of play.

1963N New York vs. 1963N Chicago (December 29, 1963) An epic battle between a two league stalwarts, played in the bitter cold of Chicago's Wrigley Field. New York relied on the league's best passing attack, while Chicago's strength was its formidable defense. Defense won this brutal contest, with Chicago intercepting five New York passes, in a 14-10 win. Included among the interceptions was a game-saving theft in the Chicago end zone as New York threatened in the final seconds.

1963A Boston vs. 1963A San Diego (January 5, 1964) One of the biggest mis-matches in championship history, with a modest Boston club representing the new league's feeble eastern division going up against a San Diego offensive machine that had rung up 399 points in fourteen games. The result was a 51-10 thrashing in which San Diego piled up over 600 yards of total offense and averaged ten yards per carry rushing! Both clubs rated relative to the established league so you can pair up the winners in a realistic "what-if" inter-league championship scenario!

1970A Baltimore vs. 1970N Dallas (January 17, 1971) The first championship game of the newly-merged pro leagues was a bit of a let down for "purists" as Baltimore--transplanted from the established league into a new conference of teams from the upstart league--won the first conference title! They were paired off against a veteran Dallas team which was making its first championship appearance after having gotten turned back in frustrating defeats by Green Bay in 1966 and '67 and Cleveland in '68 and '69. This game was surprisingly sloppy, filled with numerous bumbles, bungles and bloopers. But it had an exciting finish, with Baltimore's kicker booting the game-winning field goal in the closing seconds for a 16-13 victory.

1974A Pittsburgh vs. 1974N Minnesota (January 12, 1975) This is the championship game which began the great Pittsburgh dynasty, although some of the stars of future championships had not yet emerged. It featured two legendary defenses; Minnesota's aging "Purple People Eaters" against the new-generation "Steel Curtain" defense. Everyone expected a classic defensive struggle, and that's exactly what they got! Pittsburgh's defense scored the only points of the first half by sacking the scrambling Minnesota QB for a safety and a 2-0 lead. The teams each scratched out touchdowns in the second half, but Pittsburgh iced a tough 16-6 victory with a short touchdown pass in the final minutes.

1980A Oakland vs. 1980N Philadelphia (January 25, 1981) The 1980 championship saw a battle between conference upstarts. Oakland's gruff group of swashbuckling cast-off veterans barged their way into the championship game with a series of post-season upsets. They met an energized Philadelphia club making its first championship appearance in twenty years. Oakland dominated, taking advantage of Philadelphia's shaky, error-filled play to build a 21-3 lead early in the second half enroute to an easy 27-10 victory. The games MVP was Oakland's seemingly washed-up former Heisman Trophy winning QB who had been picked up the season before on the waiver wire.

1982A Miami vs. 1982N Washington (January 30, 1983) This was a championship game that might never have been played at all. The 1982 season came to an abrupt halt in September when the players staged a strike after just two games. Weeks went by without a solution, and the season seemed lost. But in November, at a last-ditch meeting, the owners and players came together and an abbreviated nine game season was thrown together. The playoffs were expanded to accomodate more teams and renew fan interest, and Washington and Miami were the survivors. Both clubs were well-coached and colorful. Washington's aging running back had a career game, rushing for 167 yards as "Riggos Rangers" swept past Miami's "Killer Bees" 27-17.

1990A Buffalo vs. 1990N New York(January 12, 1991) One of the most exciting championship games ever, a nail-biter that went down to the game's final play. Buffalo's highly-charged offense was expected to dominate what was viewed as a modestly talented New York club which relied on discipline, patience and error-free football to win games. But New York siezed control of the game in the second half by executing long, time-consuming drives. A field goal with two minutes to play put New York on top 20-19. As millions of TV viewers held their breath, Buffalo's hall-of-fame quarterback directed a last-ditch drive inside the New York 30. With just seconds remaining, Buffalo's kicker trotted on the field to attempt the game-winning 47 yard field goal. But the kick sailed wide right, preserving the New York upset win.

1997A Denver vs. 1997N Green Bay(January 25, 1998) A final championship appearance for Denver's legendary quarterback #7 turned out to be a thriller of a game that wasn't decided until the final seconds, when Denver defenders knocked down a pass in their own end zone to preserve a 31-24 upset. While Denver's aging QB was the sentimental favorite, the heart of the club was its thundering running attack. Denver's MVP running back piled up 157 yards on 30 carries and scored three touchdowns, including the game-winner with under two minutes to play. Denver's first championship game win was a huge relief for its fans after four embarrassing losses.

1999A Tennessee vs. 1999N St. Louis (January 23, 2000) A floundering club in 1998, St. Louis seemed cursed again in '99 when the high-priced free-agent quarterback they'd signed in the off-season suffered a season-ending knee injury in the pre-season. However, what happened next was one of the great "Cinderella" stories of all time. With the season all but written off, a former minor league quarterback--unwanted by anyone else in the league--suddenly and startlingly emerged as the league's most deadly passer! The points piled up and so did the St. Louis victories, and in January the team found itself in the championship game against a Tennessee club that had its own amazing soap-opera story! The resulting game was one for the ages, a tense, exciting affair that ended with Tennessee reaching the St. Louis one yard line as the game ended, St. Louis hanging on for a thrilling 23-16 win.