DSFL 6 Week 12 Recap
Steve Van-Buren gained 237 all-purpose yards (3rd most in DSFL history) in the week 12 game against Seattle.
Steve Van-Buren’s monday night magic was overshadowed by thrilling games on Thursday night and Sunday night.
Here’s a recap at two of the best games from week 12 action:
Bobby Lane (#22) and the 1950’s Lions had a chance to secure an overwhelming 2.5 game lead in the NFC North with a Thanksgiving win over lowly Houston.
60’s Oilers 21, 50’s Lions 14
Detroit, MI - The first primetime game of note was the Thanksgiving opener in Detroit featuring the division-leading Lions and the basement-dwelling Oilers. 1950’s Detroit was an overwhelming home favorite in this game and in their division.
Then, George Blanda happened.
The Oilers quarterback was the prototypical gunslinger in the week 12 game against Detroit, throwing for over 400 yards in a wild comeback win. He had two of his lead receivers gain over 100 yards and the team was excellent on 3rd down (9/12). Despite all of that, Detroit had the ball twice with under five minutes remaining down only 7 points. And what may be most concerning about the Lions is that they couldn’t even gain one first down. Houston was suffocating on defense.
Bobby Lane completed just 11-of-32 passes on the day. That is a 32.4% completion rate, the lowest by a starting DSFL quarterback in history. That’s the sort of game that is very hard to come back from.
Herb Adderley (#26) picks off two Sid Luckman passes, including the game-clincher.
60’s Packers 28, 40’s Bears 27
Green Bay, WI - The other primetime game of note was on Sunday night in Lambeau Field.
Chicago had to win this game. They came into the week already down 2 games of a wildcard spot with only 5 games remaining. The Bears took a 24-14 lead at the half. Then the offense hit a standstill and was held to just a field goal in the game’s final 16 minutes. That opened the door for a Packers comeback.
Green Bay quarterback Bart Starr throws two touchdowns and Herb Adderley of the defense intercepts two passes (both in the 2nd half) to will the home team back into the division championship mix with a critical home win. At 6-5, the Packers are just a game back of struggling Detroit. The 1960’s Packers visit the 1950’s Lions in week 14.
Other Wk 12 Notables:
Denver WR Rod Smith reels in 9 passes for 177 yards in the 35-20 win over New Orleans. Only Seattle TE Zach Miller had more receiving yards in a game this season.
George Blanda passed for 409 yards in the Thanksgiving win over Detroit. Outside of Otto Graham in week 8, we haven’t seen a passing performance like that since Patrick Mahomes in the DSFL 5 playoffs.