One of the most bizarre days in NFL history didn't dawn that way when the sun rose in Charlotte, N.C. on Jan. 2, 2000. About the only thing which was abnormal were the above-average temperatures which greeted the Queen City.
Two days after 1999 turned into Y2K, the only glitch lay in the convoluted tiebreaking scenarios which involved the Carolina Panthers. At 7-8, they were still alive and scratching for the playoffs, but they needed help -- more help than even this year's Denver Broncos require. They needed the New York Giants to beat the Dallas Cowboys in a duel of 7-8 clubs and the equally 7-8 Green Bay Packers to defeat the Arizona Cardinals, triggering a three-way tiebreak between the Panthers, Packers and Giants.
That wasn't all. Carolina needed the Giants to win by less than 56 points, and needed to win its game over the New Orleans Saints by 18 more points than the Packers defeated the Cardinals, thus allowing the Panthers to win the net-points-in-conference-games tiebreaker.
Thus began an afternoon of scoring and scoreboard-watching that would be unlike any other in the previous two decades, and certainly different than anything the Panthers' Pro Bowl quarterback of that season -- Denver starter Steve Beuerlein -- had ever experienced.
"The whole day was based on (watching the scoreboard)," Beuerlein recalled. "We went into that game knowing we were going to try and score no matter what the situation was."
and score the Panthers did -- eight times, seven on touchdowns, five of which were Beuerlein passes. The last one of those, a 32-yarder to Patrick Jeffers, gave Carolina a 45-7 lead and -- more importantly -- a two-point advantage over the Packers, who led 35-17 in the fourth quarter against the Cardinals.
It looked like it would get better for the Panthers, as Arizona was driving to narrow its deficit to 11. But Mike McKenzie dreadlocked on Cardinals quarterback Jake Plummer and picked off a pass in the end zone.
Green Bay's lead over the Cardinals was 18, but that was irrelevant. Its deficit to the Panthers was two, and as soon as the Pack realized this, its strategy shifted.
"I remember that night looking at highlights of the Green Bay game and Brett Favre had actually taken a knee on a play late in their game, because they were winning," Beuerlein remembered. "But they heard that we'd scored, so the next play, the coach calls a bomb. They've got to throw a bomb and try and score to increase their differential."
They did just that. Favre led the Packers on a seven-play, 99-yard sprint that took just 64 seconds, capping it with a 32-yard touchdown dart to Bill Schroeder that increased the Pack's lead to 42-17 but -- even more vital -- gave them a five-point lead over the Panthers.
It was then the Panthers' turn to push the envelope of sportsmanship -- although it was justified, given the circumstances. Twice on their next drive, the Panthers went for it on fourth down deep in their own territory with a 38-point scoreboard lead. On the first, they succeeded; on the second, they failed, but they succeeded in another way -- in managing to infuriate the Saints, who were playing out the string of a disastrous 3-13 season.
Two days after 1999 turned into Y2K, the only glitch lay in the convoluted tiebreaking scenarios which involved the Carolina Panthers. At 7-8, they were still alive and scratching for the playoffs, but they needed help -- more help than even this year's Denver Broncos require. They needed the New York Giants to beat the Dallas Cowboys in a duel of 7-8 clubs and the equally 7-8 Green Bay Packers to defeat the Arizona Cardinals, triggering a three-way tiebreak between the Panthers, Packers and Giants.
That wasn't all. Carolina needed the Giants to win by less than 56 points, and needed to win its game over the New Orleans Saints by 18 more points than the Packers defeated the Cardinals, thus allowing the Panthers to win the net-points-in-conference-games tiebreaker.
Thus began an afternoon of scoring and scoreboard-watching that would be unlike any other in the previous two decades, and certainly different than anything the Panthers' Pro Bowl quarterback of that season -- Denver starter Steve Beuerlein -- had ever experienced.
"The whole day was based on (watching the scoreboard)," Beuerlein recalled. "We went into that game knowing we were going to try and score no matter what the situation was."
and score the Panthers did -- eight times, seven on touchdowns, five of which were Beuerlein passes. The last one of those, a 32-yarder to Patrick Jeffers, gave Carolina a 45-7 lead and -- more importantly -- a two-point advantage over the Packers, who led 35-17 in the fourth quarter against the Cardinals.
It looked like it would get better for the Panthers, as Arizona was driving to narrow its deficit to 11. But Mike McKenzie dreadlocked on Cardinals quarterback Jake Plummer and picked off a pass in the end zone.
Green Bay's lead over the Cardinals was 18, but that was irrelevant. Its deficit to the Panthers was two, and as soon as the Pack realized this, its strategy shifted.
"I remember that night looking at highlights of the Green Bay game and Brett Favre had actually taken a knee on a play late in their game, because they were winning," Beuerlein remembered. "But they heard that we'd scored, so the next play, the coach calls a bomb. They've got to throw a bomb and try and score to increase their differential."
They did just that. Favre led the Packers on a seven-play, 99-yard sprint that took just 64 seconds, capping it with a 32-yard touchdown dart to Bill Schroeder that increased the Pack's lead to 42-17 but -- even more vital -- gave them a five-point lead over the Panthers.
It was then the Panthers' turn to push the envelope of sportsmanship -- although it was justified, given the circumstances. Twice on their next drive, the Panthers went for it on fourth down deep in their own territory with a 38-point scoreboard lead. On the first, they succeeded; on the second, they failed, but they succeeded in another way -- in managing to infuriate the Saints, who were playing out the string of a disastrous 3-13 season.
