On November 27, 1966, the New York Giants played the Washington Redskins at District of Columbia Stadium in Washington, D.C. in week 12 of the 1966 NFL season. In the game, the Redskins defeated the Giants by a score of 72–41, making it the highest scoring game in NFL history at 113 combined points.
The game was the second meeting between the Giants and Redskins that season; the Giants had won the previous meeting in New York City by a score of 13–10. The second game finished with a 72–41 score and set several NFL records. Among the records set included most points scored by both teams (113), most points scored by a single team in the regular season (72), most touchdowns scored by both teams (16), most extra points converted by both teams (14), and most extra points attempted (10) and converted (9) by one person.
The Redskins became the third of only four NFL teams to score at least 70 points in a single game. A field goal in the game's last 7 seconds by Redskins kicker Charlie Gogolak brought the Redskins' final point total to 72, breaking the regular season single-game points record. Redskins head coach claimed he had Gogolak attempt the kick as practice as he had missed two field goals the week prior, while Redskins linebacker Sam Huff claimed he called for the field goal to get revenge on the Giants for trading him a couple years earlier.
Background
In the 1966 NFL season, both the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins were members of the Eastern Conference. As members of the same conference, the teams played each other twice in a home-and-away series. On October 16, the Giants defeated the Redskins by a score of 13–10 at Yankee Stadium in New York City. It was the Giants' first win of the season, improving their record to 1–4–1; it was the Redskins' third loss, dropping their record to 3–3.
The Giants and Redskins were scheduled to play each other at District of Columbia Stadium in Washington, D.C. in week 12. By then, the Giants had lost all their games and entered week 12 with a 1–8–1 record, while the Redskins entered with a 5–6 record on a three-game losing streak. Both teams had also been eliminated from playoff contention.
Game summary
First quarter
Giants rookie quarterback Tom Kennedy made his first career start in the game, and his first pass was intercepted by Redskins rookie safety Brig Owens. Redskins quarterback Sonny Jurgensen led the team on the ensuing drive ending in a 5-yard touchdown pass by Jurgensen to halfback A. D. Whitfield. Giants defensive tackle Jim Moran blocked the extra point attempt by soccer-style kicker Charlie Gogolak to keep the score at 6–0. Later in the first quarter, Whitfield scored a 63-yard touchdown rush, and Charlie Gogolak converted the extra point to extend the lead to 13–0. Charlie Gogolak would not miss an extra point attempt for the rest of the game.
Second quarter
Kennedy failed to complete a single pass on any of the Giants' first four drives of the game due to blitzes by the Redskins defense. Halfway into the second quarter, Redskins linebacker Chris Hanburger tackled Kennedy and forced a fumble. Owens recovered the football and returned it for a 62-yard fumble recovery touchdown, the first of his career, to extend the lead to 20–0. The Giants responded after Kennedy led the team down the field and fullback Allen Jacobs scored a 6-yard touchdown rush. Charlie Gogolak's brother, Pete Gogolak, converted the Giants' extra point to cut the Redskins' lead down to 20–7.
The Redskins intercepted Kennedy on the Giant's next drive leading to Whitfield scoring a 1-yard touchdown rush to extend the lead to 27–7. Kennedy was intercepted for a third time, this time by safety Paul Krause, culminating in a 9-yard touchdown rush by halfback Joe Don Looney, extending the lead to 34–7. Following Kennedy's third interception, Giants head coach Allie Sherman benched Kennedy and inserted Gary Wood at quarterback. Wood led the Giants on a drive that ended in him scoring a 1-yard touchdown rush. The score at halftime was 34–14.
Third quarter
On the Giants' first drive of the second half, Wood completed a 11-yard pass to halfback Joe Morrison followed by a 41-yard touchdown pass, also to Morrison, to cut the Redskins' lead to 34–21. On the ensuing Redskins drive, Jurgensen led a drive that ended in a 32-yard touchdown pass to split end (wide receiver) Charley Taylor to extend the lead to 41–21. Woods then threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to split end Homer Jones to once again cut the Giants deficit to 41–28. The last touchdown of the quarter came when Jurgensen threw a 74-yard pass to Taylor, the game's longest scoring play, to extend their lead to 48–28.
Fourth quarter
The Redskins forced the Giants to punt on their first drive of the fourth quarter, and return specialist Rickie Harris returned the punt for a 52-yard touchdown to extend the Redskins lead to 55–28. A few plays later, Owens intercepted Woods and returned it for a 60-yard touchdown, extending the lead to 62–28. On the Giants' next drive, Sherman inserted Kennedy back as quarterback. On the drive, he completed five passes, one of them being an 18-yard passing touchdown to flanker (wide receiver) Aaron Thomas. Pete Gogolak missed the extra point (his only miss of the game), and the score remained 62–34. Redskins head coach Otto Graham pulled Jurgensen from the game due to the lead they held and inserted backup Dick Shiner into the game. Shiner's only pass of the game was intercepted by cornerback Carl Lockhart, and the Giants turned the interception into a 1-yard touchdown rush by halfback Dan Lewis to make the score 62–41. The Giants attempted an onside kick with 1:35 remaining in the game, but the Redskins recovered and halfback Bobby Mitchell later scored a 45-yard touchdown rush.
On the last drive of the game, Kennedy attempted to lead the Giants down the field but were unable to advance the ball out of their own territory. With 7 second left, Kennedy threw the ball out of bounds to stop the clock; he thought it was third down, but it was actually fourth down leading to a turnover on downs. Instead of taking a knee to end the game, the Redskins sent out Charlie Gogolak to kick a 29-yard field goal. The game ended with a final score of 72–41.
Boxscore
Final statistics
Team statistics
Statistic New York Washington First downs 25 16 Rushing attempts 33 24 Total yards 389 341 Rushing yards 111 209 Yards per rush 3.4 8.7 Passing – completions/attempts 20/33 10/18 Times sacked–total yards 4–33 2–13 Interceptions thrown 5 1 Net yards passing 278 132 Penalties–total yards 8–119 8–107 Fumbles–lost 2–1 2–1 Turnovers 6 2 Source:
Individual statistics
Giants passing Rating Tom Kennedy 13/21 165 1 3 62.7 Gary Wood 7/12 146 2 2 101.4 Giants rushing Joe Morrison 16 59 0 9 3.7 Allen Jacobs 10 25 1 7 2.5 Dan Lewis 4 19 1 13 4.8 Chuck Mercein 2 8 0 7 4.0 Tom Kennedy 1 8 0 8 8.0 Gary Wood 3 –8 1 1 –2.7 Giants receiving Targets Joe Morrison 4 98 1 41 24.5 Homer Jones 6 85 1 50 14.2 Aaron Thomas 4 82 1 35 20.5 Allen Jacobs 2 29 0 29 14.5 Bobby Crespino 3 22 0 19 7.3 Chuck Mercein 1 –5 0 –5.0 –5.0 Giants kicking Pete Gogolak – – 5/6 83.3% 5 Source:
Redskins passing Rating Sonny Jurgensen 10/16 145 3 0 131.5 Tom Barrington 0/1 0 0 0 39.6 Dick Shiner 0/1 0 0 1 0.0 Redskins rushing A. D. Whitfield 6 74 2 63 12.3 Bobby Mitchell 2 54 1 45 27.0 Joe Don Looney 10 46 1 11 4.6 Tom Barrington 5 26 0 20 5.2 Steve Thurlow 1 9 0 9 9.0 Redskins receiving Charley Taylor 6 124 2 74 20.7 Jerry Smith 1 12 0 12 12.0 A. D. Whitfield 1 5 1 5 5.0 Joe Don Looney 2 4 0 6 3.0 Redskins kicking Charlie Gogolak 1/1 100.0% 9/10 90.0% 12 Source:
Starting lineups
New York Position Washington Offense Tom Kennedy Sonny Jurgensen‡ Joe Morrison A. D. Whitfield Allen Jacobs Steve Thurlow Aaron Thomas John Burrell Homer Jones Charley Taylor‡ Bobby Crespino Jerry Smith Willie Young Mitch Johnson Pete Case Ray Schoenke Greg Larson Len Hauss Bookie Bolin Vince Promuto Roger Davis Jim Snowden Defense Jim Katcavage Ron Snidow Jim Moran Stan Jones‡ Don Davis Walt Barnes Glen Condren Carl Kammerer Jeff Smith John Reger Mike Ciccolella Sam Huff‡ Freeman White Chris Hanburger‡ Carl Lockhart Billy Clay Clarence Childs Rickie Harris Wendell Harris Brig Owens Henry Carr Paul Krause‡ Source:
Aftermath
NFL records set
The Redskins' 72 points set the NFL's regular season record for most point scored in a single game, breaking the 16-year-old record set by the Los Angeles Rams when they defeated the Baltimore Colts by a score of 70–27. The Redskins became the third team to score 70 or more points in a single game after the Rams in 1950 and the Chicago Bears who defeated, ironically, the Redskins by a score of 73–0 in the 1940 NFL Championship Game. No team would score 70 or more points in a game again until the 2023 season when the Miami Dolphins defeated the Denver Broncos by a score of 70–20.
The Giants and Redskins scored a combined 113 points, making it the highest scoring game in NFL history. The two teams also combined to score a record 16 touchdowns, nine of which went for 30 yards or more. The New York Times Bill Wallace reported that after the game, Graham jokingly remarked that "[the game] was a great defensive battle". The Associated Press contrasted the high-scoring game to a 6–3 low scoring affair between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers that took place that same day.
A total of 16 extra points were attempted by Charlie and Pete Gogolak, 14 of which were successful, tying the NFL record. Charlie Gogolak set the NFL record for most extra points attempted in a game (10) and tied the record for most extra points converted in a game (9). In 2023, Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders tied the former record and broke the latter record, going 10-for-10 on extra point attempts. In 1966, District of Columbia Stadium did not have nets behind the goalposts. According to a newspaper, 14 footballs were lost in the stands, 13 of which were due to the extra point attempts. The fourteenth was lost when Owens threw a football into the stands following his 62-yard fumble return touchdown. According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, a football cost $22.50 () at the time, meaning that the game cost the Redskins $315 () in lost footballs. Due to this game, the Redskins installed nets in the stadium the following year to prevent balls from being lost.
Decision for Charlie Gogolak's field goal
After the game, reporters asked Graham if Charlie Gogolak's field goal at the end of the game was intended to break the regular season single-game scoring record, Graham stated "hell no, I didn't know anything about records". He explained that he wanted Charlie Gogolak to practice a field goal as he had not had a chance all game and he missed two field goals the week prior against the Cleveland Browns. Graham also told reporters that "I'm not one to run up a score on anyone" and that "in a crazy game like this, what's another three points?"
Sherman was not pleased by Charlie Gogolak's field goal. According to Ed Croke, a Giants public relations employee, Sherman "went out of his mind" and was not satisfied with Graham's field goal practice excuse as Charlie Gogolak had just scored numerous extra points. Columnist Shirley Povich joked that the field goal was an attempt by Graham to prevent the Giants from making a 28-point comeback in the game's last 7 seconds. He also wrote that Graham could have been having fun at Sherman's expense and that the field goal was "perhaps, the first field goal ever aimed at the jugular".