NFL 1988 Season - Week 16 Postgame - THE NFL TODAY

Brent Musburger, Dick Butkus and Irv Cross recap a wild afternoon of football that saw the Eagles win the NFC East, thanks to a 23-7 defeat of Dallas and a wild win for the NY Jets over the NY Giants.
**Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. All video & audio is property of the National Football League

[@javiermori1710]

RIP Irv Cross..really melancholly as i think of being a kid watching this on CBS..

[@passitonmatt8131]

We are looking Live!

[@TheSoundvisionary]

I love this stuff, the dated graphics, the bad hair. When I die I want to be reborn to the same era so I can experience this over again.

[@javiermori1710]

Amen brotha..you took the words right outta my mouth..such good times.

[@webstedge1099]

1:06 Love how all the text "flashes" on the studio screen when the scoreboard adds the Jets' extra point, a characteristic of the computer systems of the period.

[@danielr4640]

I like this original NFL Today on CBS. I miss seein Irv Cross on tv

[@dantheman5745]

Irv was great, but I think Phyllis George was prettier. :-)

[@bernieudo4399]

Only one could claim beauty pageant skills. 😇

[@danielr4640]

I remember Phyllis George really well. She was very good

[@bernieudo4399]

@@danielr4640 Even in the seventies guys actually took her seriously because you saw she took her job seriously. Yeah, she did human interest stories, but you could see she knew the game.

[@bleeding4721]

He died today. Rest in peace

[@manuginobilisbaldspot424]

0:06 Tom Landry walking out of Texas Stadium as the Cowboys head coach for the last time...

[@rustykuntz94]

Yes, he had no idea in a few weeks after this 88 season Jerry Jones bought the team & his first order of business was firing Landry after 3 decades almost as Coach!

[@chrisuncleahmad]

Little did anyone know.......

[@jeffreyt.steptoe5306]

Well the coach who replaced him won two Super Bowls, so that wasn't too awful of a trade-off.

[@chrisuncleahmad]

Which is why I said little did anyone know......

[@lakebay972]

@@rustykuntz94 Landry had an inkling. The game was passing him by; and he and Bum Bright were at odds. Jerry Jones fired Landry at Bum's request so that Bum would sell him the team. It was more the how and where that got everyone riled up instead of the when and why. Landry was relaxing playing golf when suddenly Jones sent a helicopter to take him back to headquarters and made him clean out his desk. Basically, Jones treated Landry like a dippy college kid instead of a seasoned dignified gentleman.

[@evanhullinger2900]

R.I.P Irv Cross

[@juliorodriguez2655]

This is virtually surreal! The best times are always realized in the past and again in retrospect!

[@chucktaylor675]

Rest In Power Mr. Cross🙏🏾💪🏾.

[@rave323]

I remember sitting in our news house in Williamstown, NJ when this all went down. I'll never forget my excitement. What a find. Thanks for posting.

[@nsd1901]

love the old commercials at the end!

[@imamjalil]

😂😂 8:25 “Hey you cheated!” Classic😂😂 love it

[@theotherview1716]

I miss that cbs crew. My childhood.

[@DesiluTrek]

As an Eagles fan who also taped games back then, I've almost worn a hole in my VHS tape of this game, and this great CBS coverage of how the team won the division.

[@crawford371]

RIP Irv Cross

[@evanhullinger2900]

RIP Dick Butkus

[@jonnysac6859]

I remember going crazy when Al Toon caught that pass in the corner of the end zone. I was in the eighth grade what I would give to go back to 1988

[@scottbrown7497]

Al Toon the best player out of the University of Wisconsin in 1980s

[@2930hardy]

This is the nfl today i know, and its so much better than the one today

[@2930hardy]

Kim Martin exactly couldn't understand what he was says half the time, he was so not funny or cool

[@ericstravelchannel]

CBS needs to bring Mike DItka back.

[@losangelesrams3472]

You can say that again.

[@ANTHONY0808able]

Very clear when you watch there was 1 second left when the ball hit the turf on the Hail Mary by Simms. The Giants should have had 1 more try at it.

[@Rubberbandman0529]

@@ANTHONY0808able I actually noticed that too when watching

[@jeffreybaker100]

in 1988, the Bills clinched the AFC East Division! The Bills finished 12-4 and beat the Houston Oilers at Buffalo 17-10 on New Year's day 1989. Then lost to the Bengals at Cincinnati 10-24.

[@HellOnWheels63]

Those were the days when real tough guys played the game!

[@Venom3254]

HellOnWheels63 Yup, then as the years went by their injuries from this era took tolls on them.

[@jimdep333]

Brian Robertson great analogy!

[@bernieudo4399]

Many had off season jobs--then salaries were sub $50,000 for many.

[@closetedhippie]

0:07 wow...CBS used someone other than Pat Summerall and John Madden on a Cowboys game...an 80s sports media miracle...

[@charlesbrown3486]

This NFL today studio show brings back memories to when I was a kid. Charles Brown

[@willd4731]

I was at that game with my uncle when I was 13 years old. We set behind the goal posts and the way the old Giants stadium was configured we weren't really able to see toon catch that winning pass.... but we knew he caught it when the crowd sort of roared. lol. it was basically 50/50 Giants Jets fans.

[@hezamachine]

The Playoff format was different back then. Back then they had 3 Division Winners and 2 Wild Card Teams. The two wild card teams would play each other, and the winner would go onto the Divisional Round.

[@caesarfiorini]

nobody had more impressive teeth than Irv Cross .....................

[@losangelesrams3472]

0:32. I remember watching this in my living room and screaming "YESSS!" when they flashed the Giants-Jets score up. With the Giants' loss, the Rams controlled their own destiny. They went on to beat the Niners at Candlestick that night 38-16 and snagged that wild-card spot.

[@jeffreyt.steptoe5306]

Los Angeles Rams Yeah, what a fantastic day that was!!! Couldn't in my wildest imaginings ever think I'd be rooting for theJ-E-T-s. Never say "Never"(LOL).

[@justingardner4658]

I do too, except I had the Giants game on . Afterwards there was a Giant crying , and LT was consoling him. A reporter or photographer approached and LT chased him off.

[@chrisuncleahmad]

If the Giants won, how does that affect the Rams?

[@RC_928]

9:08 Alabama in the Sun Bowl?? wow!

[@caesarfiorini]

Christmas Eve 88. Great game. 29-28 Bama. Derrick Thomas big game.

[@marcus813]

Seeing the end of Landry's last game wasn't something I was expecting, but that's history being made given Jerry Jones' eventual plans. As for the Giants/Jets game, I got to see that game because the Bucs' home game was blacked out.

[@jefferyrobertson7520]

I like NFL today post game show with Greg Gumbel and Terry Bradshaw from the early 90s era

[@rusty1491]

I remember this game. The Jets had a 20-7 lead in the 3rd quarter, and I thought they had the game then the Giants came back and scored late to make it 21-20. A great kickoff return gave them the ball at midfield.

[@insp252]

Remember the time, wow where has it gone like the wind.

[@joemamma416]

i remember it like it was yesterday. i was so happy that the eagles made the playoffs and was convinced they were gonna make a run but the fog bowl the following weekend put an end to that. my god time flies.think of all the seasons from then to now we've had to wait for the eagles to win the super bowl. its been a long time coming.

[@veritas1007]

irv cross was the 54th member of the eagles

[@pepesalas5458]

Que recuerdos tan bonitos tengo de ese año

[@juliansmith6291]

If they had the NFL playoff structure in 1988 Los Angeles Rams visit Minnesota Philadelphia as the NFC Eastern division champions host either new Orleans or round 3 with the new York Giants

[@russelljennings2778]

I need the October 30th cardinals at cowboys game from 1988 anyone know where I can find that video? Was on cbs

[@richie2044]

No, the Rams beat the 49ers later that night to keep the Giants out.

[@johnconnell4503]

Thank you

[@StukInBuf]

RIP, Reggie White.

[@scottbrown1611]

I wish the jets New England The giants would all go back to their 80s uniforms

[@marquishoward3529]

RIP Irv Cross & Dick Butkus

[@ErikSchneider1975USA]

1988 the Eagles last Division Championship before Andy Reid

[@plntntvzn]

It was in that 2003 Cowboys training camp that Parcells was telling somebody about how his 1988 New York Giants were not anywhere nearly as good as they thought they were. Their offensive line was in transition, no Giants RB averaged better than 3.5 yards/carry and QB Phil Simms was sacked 53 times in 1988. Giants even played 5th place schedule in 1988. TD by Al Toon was partly set up by a 37-yard return by Jets' Bobby Humphrey, after Giants had knocked off >4 yards on foes kickoff return avg.

[@WaltGekko]

@Daniel: Landry was fired the following April by Jerry Jones the minute Jones took ownership of the team. If I were Pete Rozelle (who was still NFL Commissioner then), I would have made as a stipulation of the sale to Jerry Jones that he could not fire Landry until after the 1989 season so the NFL could do a "farewell tour" for Landry and let him retire after the '89 season. He could have hired Jimmy Johnson immediately, but as I would have done it Johnson would not have been allowed to take over until the 1990 season as HC.

[@lakebay972]

Jones fired Landry so that Bum Bright would sell him the team.

[@sce2aux464]

That Texas stadium sideline is a little wide, isn't it? :D

[@vincentbarone1557]

Wow. Nice to see NO BLONDE AIR HEAD on set.. Great TV back then

[@daveverplank]

Those were the days. I miss Brent Mussberger and Irv Cross. They were so much better than some of the guys they have now. Brown and Cowher are ok, but Boomer and Co. are terrible.

[@TheRgordon16]

88' was a tough competitive year in the NFL. Even the 49ers struggled that year. There was really no dominate team in the NFC that year.

[@kencummings953]

The 49ers (not my team, by the way) did peak when it counted however. They won the NFC championship at Soldier Field in single digit temperatures. This game did two things. It dispelled the myth that California teams couldn't win cold January games. It was basically the end of the road for the Bears of their Super Bowl era. They suddenly looked old and uninspired. The 49ers, on the other hand, were announcing that they had retooled on the fly and that the second wave of their run was about to begin. Starting with this team, they would reach the NFC championship game seven of the next ten years and win three more super bowls.

[@paulsonj72]

Chris Kreager-If the Giants had beaten the Jets the Giants win the NFC East at 11-5 and Philadelphia goes into a 3 way tie with the Rams at 10-6 for the 2nd NFC Wild Card spot(Minnesota had the 1st spot at 11-5 after winning on Monday night) You go to conference record as 1st tiebreaker as all the teams did not play each other.(eagles didn't play saints). Saints are eliminated here so IIRC then you mph go head to head and Philiy beat the Rams so they would get the spot but I'm not sure of that. But the Giants win the NFC east with a win.

[@jeffreyt.steptoe5306]

As lifelong "Rams" fan, obviously I am eternally grateful to the "J-E-T-S"(LOL). Say what you will about the Jets, they really came through for us "Rams' fans, that day.

[@scottbrown7497]

The sad end to Tom Landry

[@hrtvfan2870]

plntntvzn I remember seeing it mentioned during a copy of the Giants' Week 6 Monday night loss to Philadelphia that the Giants weren't getting any pressure defensively (not helping was LT being out with a 4-game drug suspension); Joe Morris rushing for only 2.9 yards per carry and the Giants having a porous offensive line (in that particular game, Doug Riesenberg looked like a turnstile trying to block Reggie White).

[@rustykuntz94]

Jets 1 good moment in the 1988 season. Yes they finished 8-7-1 but it was a very disappointing season. They had a last place schedule but were way too bland. It would only get worse in 89 when they were 4-12.

[@chrisuncleahmad]

And even with that easy schedule, they had a terrible tie and a ghastly loss in 2 games vs. dreadful Kansas City

[@laineorlow1975]

Jets will never play to another tie game. Nor will any other team. Ever again

[@coyote520]

@@laineorlow1975 This didn't age well....

[@rustykuntz94]

laine Orlow Say that again now about the ties?

[@nyjin08]

C. K. Absolutely. Joe Walton should have been fired on the spot for that tie at home with Kansas City.

[@Nonsense1986]

Thanks for the upload. As an Eagles fan living in North NJ this is priceless. Hopefully the Packers eliminate the Giants this weekend.

[@OneCrazyElephant]

Dick Butkus would have made an awesome head coach. Shoot, if Madden did it, why not Butkus? LOL - just my opinion.

[@chrisuncleahmad]

Tom Landry's final game as head coach. The end of an era. BTW, if the Giants had held off the Jets, how would that have altered the NFC playoff picture?

[@RobertJohnson1975]

Giants would've won the division Eagles wild card and the rams would've been out even if they beat San Francisco because they lost to the Eagles head to head. The playoff seedings would've been as followed: 1.Chicago 12-4 2.NY Giants 11-5 3. SF 49ers 10-6 4. Minnesota WC 11-5 5. Eagles WC 10-6 Wild card game Eagles vs. Vikings Divisional Playoffs: Eagles/Vikings winner vs. Giants Bears vs. 49ers

[@OyarsuofMars]

Back then you couldn’t face a divisional opponent unless it was in the championship game, so had the Eagles beaten the Vikings (u likely), it would have been Eagles @ Bears, and 49ers @ Giants. I think the 49ers were so hot at the time, that they would have still won out, but you never know. I still wish the Giants would have drafted Reggie White.

[@buffaloborn71]

unicornrocks, where's the second part ?

[@casheasy]

They screwed up and ticked that last second off the clock after the play was over in that Giants game lol

[@paulstephenduckworth2726]

KING KRUSH help me I was in the meadowlands, it was the giant AWAYS game... So the Jets control the clock and the doors

[@paulstephenduckworth2726]

Wasn't the next game for the eagles...the famous FOG Bowl??

[@douglaswilke8582]

Yes..that's correct. They only had 4 playoff teams in each conference then. The Bears were actually the Number 1 seed, although the 49ers smoked them in the NFC Championship game at Soldiers Field. Alot of people consider the '88 49ers as one of the best teams of all time, although they weren't even the top seed in the NFC.

[@scottbrown7497]

Who is the analyst on the TV call ???

[@marksymbala3454]

Verne lunquist

[@hrtvfan2870]

If you're talking about the end of the Eagles clip at the beginning of the video, it's Tim Brant (who did that game with Hank Stram) while Verne Lundquist and Terry Bradshaw were doing the Giants-Jets game

[@RichQuinones]

btw anyone else miss the old school nfl today, bum bum bum bummmmm bump bump bummm

[@jonathanwhite1265]

Yes. Fucking miss it.

[@PCCphoenix]

After this game, Landry would retire in disgrace as he was fired and replaced by Jimmy Johnson the following year. :(

[@RichQuinones]

loss still stings me, but Cruz got redemption for me in 2011

[@Doc418]

And today? 😂

[@RichQuinones]

+David Veloz not so much! lolol I never saw a team that beats themselves like the Giants, it was like getting a tooth slowly pulled. congrats

[@Doc418]

+Rich Quinones lol. good game though.

[@MrBrunoGI]

No different than today, winning their last game even though there is no post season, is like their playoff/superbowl win, how sad, it's been 28 years, and we jet fans are singing the same ole song.

[@jbsmg]

Did the Giants end up getting into the playoffs?

[@evanhullinger2900]

Nope. The Rams won later that night to claim the final wild card birth

[@Rick421]

I been searching for this entire game.. does anyone have it.. if so please contact me... thank you !!! :)

[@KenCostlow]

Which game?

[@Rick421]

@@KenCostlow I was searching for a video.. of the last game of Tom Landry.. being the head coach of the dallas cowboys

[@KenCostlow]

@@Rick421 Oh, OK. I wasn't sure if you meant PHI-DAL or NYJ-NYG. The Cowboys loss was a sad one, indeed -- only to get more sad three months later.

[@_FootballForever]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/g4Tal357d76Mo68

[@chrisuncleahmad]

Besides this, the Giants really had to be kicking themselves for losing to the Cardinals

[@hrtvfan2870]

Chris Kreager And to go from being in control of your own destiny (where a win clinches the division) to needing help (thanks to losing the head-to-head tiebreaker) just to get in as a wildcard (and of course, the 49ers laid down in their finale vs. the L.A. Rams, denying the Giants even that).

[@chrisuncleahmad]

If they don't screw up that week 2 vs the 49ers when Rice scored that TD, considering both SF/NY finished 10-6..... that's a what-if

[@chrisuncleahmad]

HRTVFan2 somehow, that game ended up not having NFC West title implications

[@jefferyrobertson7520]

HRTVFan2 mNFL team from the early 90s Atlanta Falcons Dallas Cowboys Houston Oilers Los Angeles Raiders and Los Angeles Rams

[@johnnolan33177]

I remember this like it was yesterday!! Man this day was incredible, Al Toon always was embedded in my mind after this announcement. Great memories. I just found the Jets full game winning drive too. kzbin.info/www/bejne/r4SWeXWGdrGaoa8

[@toniccoker]

When the bears was relivent

[@TheSoundvisionary]

the week before the fog bowl.

[@paulstephenduckworth2726]

no, two weeks before the fog bowl....wildcard weekend was next week, Eagles and Bears was the Divisional round week.....funny, if you watch NFL TODAY durining the wildcard game week (hafttime I think), they said "a little fog this week in solder field, should be gone by next week playoff game.....LOL. When I heard that I fell out of my chair....Rams vs Saints....Lookit up!

[@TheRgordon16]

Ha ha ha wow! I wonder why Phil Sims hated the 49ers so much?

[@greasytony9727]

As a Giants fan Phil Simms was boring and not sexy like a Marino etc BUT he was effective.

[@frankgifford207]

That's why Simms wasn't in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

[@WaltGekko]

@Pauk: The next game for the Eagles was in fact the infamous "Fog Bowl" against the Bears that New Year's Eve in Chicago against the Bears. Eagles had to actually wait until eight days after their game with the Cowboys (which no one knew at the time would be Tom Landry's last game as an NFL Head Coach) to find out they were playing the Bears because the Wild Card game did not take place until the day after Christmas (back then, the NFL would not play Christmas Day out of deference I believe to religious groups who likely slammed the NFL 17 years earlier for playing on Christmas Day when Dolphins-Chiefs went double OT). The 49ers practically laid down and died against the Rams in the Sunday night finale because they knew doing so knocked the Giants out and as I remember, it did not affect their playoff seeding (they wound up having to go into Chicago the week after the Fog Bowl and won in what was then I believe the coldest NFL game to that point ever to finish after sunset in the NFL Championship Game and beat the Bears to get to the Super Bowl).

[@domirules28]

the giants got their revenge in the nfc championship a few years later beating the 49ers with 5 matt bahr field goals to move on to superbowl xxv and block the 49ers chance at a three peat...

[@WaltGekko]

That was the 1990 NFC Championship Game (played in January 1991) when Bahr did that, including the game winner at the gun.

[@AngelsTakeMe2Heaven]

Yeah - more wholesome and classic tha today; not smut peddling

[@breaks0]

Buddy Ryan never won a playoff game as Eagles coach. They got worse each of the 3 years they lost in the playoffs, Rich Kotite and Ray Rhodes each won once, but Buddy's the only eagles coach ever to make the playoffs and never win.

[@cbs70sfan49]

And I imagine Mike Ditka wasn't crying in his beer or losing any sleep over it.😁

[@thegemini3rdsign]

Terry Bradshaw at 5:27 makes no coherent sense. Why would you do that.

[@gfernandez9285]

In today's game 33 seconds is enough time to drive and score, back then they just played it different

[@ericsoley2721]

Who called Eagles-Cowboys?

[@thecommish1976]

I believe it was Tim Brant and Hank Stram.

[@KPrayfortheworld]

NFL. ......... 2019. Unwatchable. I hope it dies.