The Play Off Bowl had two prime objectives: 1) Provide an extra TV game to fund the NFL pension plan. and 2) Broaden the pool of post season bonuses. The $1500 per man winners share and the $750 losers share is significant when you are making $15000. a season. Note none of the players ever passed on the dough.

RIP Roger Brown. Go Lions and he should be in the Hall of Fame

I attended the final game, where the Rams shut out the Cowboys, 31-0. Roger Brown, who was featured in this, played in that game for the Rams. As a kid who had just become a football fan, it was the first football game I ever attended. a few days earlier, I celebrated my 11th birthday, and attended the game with my father and older brother, who both, sadly, are now gone.

@johnwhite5485

2 ай бұрын

I remember that one because since both the Rams and Cowboys always wore white I wanted to see one wearing blue, which wound up being Dallas.

@dolbra4

2 ай бұрын

Yes, Dallas did wear blue that day.@@johnwhite5485

Thank you NFL Films for even acknowledging this game existed. It seemed like it was kept quiet for so long. Easy today to criticize with 24/7 NFL coverage, but in an era with the possibility of seeing no more than 3 games a week, and little to no during-the-week content, an extra game is a big deal. And for the players, an extra week's game check was a very big deal. Proceeds also went to the pension fund. It's much like a college bowl. Whoever wants to be there more will put out a better effort. It had its place and time. Now, like with the College All-Star Game and all other all-star games (except MLB), the money to be lost with a serious injury is exponentially greater than that to be won in the game. Thanks for playing up the game and the things that came out of it.

3:39 Seeing them use modern broadcast technology on classic clips is honestly so cool. Also between this and the College All-Star Game, the NFL really did love its bizarre exhibition games that aged like milk.

NCAA March Madness used to do Consolation game too before championship game

@jameswilson7790

2 ай бұрын

I actually remember the 1978 third place game in March Madness. Arkansas defeated Notre Dame 71-66. Then Kentucky defeated Duke 94-88 in the national championship game.

@changkwangoh

2 ай бұрын

@@jameswilson7790led by the man, Goose Givens!

@paulsoxl7739

2 ай бұрын

Until 1975 their was Consolation game in the Regionals

@jameswilson7790

2 ай бұрын

@@paulsoxl7739 I remember this as well. I just don't remember what any of the results were immediately.

Very fitting that the Lions won the Playoff Bowl 3 times

@baugh3162

2 ай бұрын

did they kick any field goals?

It gave those of us who lived in Florida a chance to see a game. I have fond memories of going with my dad to see the Lions vs. Browns game in the first one. I got Jim Brown's autograph that day, so it was a great game.

Loser of the AFC and NFC championship should play in the toilet bowl the week between the conference championship and Super Bowl. Winning team gets $100k incentive, a free vacation, and their first game of the next season is at home

@RolandBullock-ej8wl

2 ай бұрын

Loser of the afc and nfc championship would be determined by the conference championship......not sure what you're saying!

@RetroRider6689

2 ай бұрын

More games the better! R.I.P. Tom Matte - 1965 Playoff Bowl MVP 🏈

@rig2037

2 ай бұрын

The playoff bowl

@rig2037

2 ай бұрын

@@RolandBullock-ej8wlHes saying the bye week before the superbowl should be the loser bowl between the losers of AFC & NFC conference championship games

@fortynights1513

2 ай бұрын

@@RolandBullock-ej8wlIn the context of this year we’d essentially be saying if the Lions and Ravens played one another since those two each made the conference championship game and lost there.

The 1970 Playoff Bowl (1969 season) was the first time in franchise history that the Cowboys were shutout in a game.

@howardcosell2022

2 ай бұрын

No. Dallas was shut out 9-0 in a pre-season game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum against the Rams. Before you state the game should not be of any relevance, the playoff bowl was more irrelevant in those years

Loved seeing Roger Brown, Alex Karras' running mate on that fearsome DL .. Lions were Western Conference representatives first TWO editions of this (ahem) classic, and i was a kid of 9 born in Detroit, growing up in Miami, attending with my dad and his dad, and i became a lifelong Lions fan - and it's been a long ride from Milt Plum to Jared Goff .. thanks for posting this on @NFLFilms. #GoLions

Rather see this than the Flag Bowl

I attended the last game, my father took me. I was 4. Don't recall much, do recall the stadium being 1/2 empty. Thanks, Dad.

@joelmanzo5039

2 күн бұрын

Your dad must hated you

This would probably be more interesting than the Pro Bowl, as it currently stands. Give a few more incentives for the winner, and it could be a good time.

I remember watching the Cowboys play in the T Bowl. It was like a pre-season game during the post season.

I thought I know all there was to know about football but I never heard of this.

@edwardcricchio6106

2 ай бұрын

Depends upon your age. Those of us Boomers remember it well.

@UWalvern0810

Ай бұрын

Me either!

6:23-little did Shula know at the time he would spend a lot more time on that Orange Bowl sideline.

Unless you made Joe Namath type money, which most players didn't, that extra game seemed like a gift to many. Heck, I can remember magazines back then talking about the jobs NFL players had in the offseason just to survive. Fred Cox was a chiropractor and Gary Cuozzo was an orthodontist and they stayed busy.

@andrewpadaetz5549

2 ай бұрын

Cox would later invent the Nerf football.

The Playoff Bowl against the Vikings was the only time that the cowboys ever won in the venerable Orange Bowl. Too bad for them that it didn't count.

Lombardis quote was "a hinky-dink football game, held in a hinky dink town, played by hinky-dink players. That's all second place is -- hinky-dink." Also, the original name of the game was the Bert Bell benefit bowl, named after the well regarded NFL commissioner who died of a heart attack in the fall of 1959.

The 2024 UFL should bring this concept back with a twist. The Friday night before the title game the runner ups should play each other, but play the game as other teams (like the Tennessee Titans playing a game as the Houston Oilers). Since it is 100th anniversary of the Cleveland-Canton Bulldogs championship of 1924, they can take the field as the Bulldogs & the Akron Pro's (1920 champion) played in eastern Ohio. Alternatively, they could play in Kansas City as the UMKC Roos & the Wichita State Shockers with Bill Parcels as honored guest.

I think the NFL should revive the 3rd place game and give the winning team a bonus draft pick at the end of the first round.

Hear me out, but this is what should replace the pro bowl!

@edwardcricchio6106

2 ай бұрын

I agree with you 100%.

I imagine it would be a lot like a pre-season game, where it really means nothing, and both teams sit out every starter to not get them hurt for the regular season.

@Backpackfiles

2 ай бұрын

Nope. Players didn't sit or do load management back then. Starters actually played most of each preseason game. There was money on the table and pro athletes were not mini-tycoons, so those couple stacks were worth one more game if they had to be there.

@Frosty_tha_Snowman

2 ай бұрын

@@Backpackfiles I meant if they brought it back - my bad

Vince Lombardi called it a hinky dink game in a hinky dink town. Coach was insightfully accurate.

@JoeVideoed

2 ай бұрын

I beg to differ. Miami has never been a hinky dink town. I suppose Lombardi had little use for the nightlife the city had to offer. Also, if you were a member (or fan) of teams that barely played in the postseason back then (like Pittsburgh or the then St. Louis Cardinals), this should've been a big deal.

@JosePerez-vz1qq

2 ай бұрын

If one has lived in the 786 and in other places then Miami's hinky-dinkness is apparent.

@matthewkeefe1377

2 ай бұрын

He didn't want to go to a hinky dink town like Miami. He wanted to experience the excitement of Green Bay

@edwardcricchio6106

2 ай бұрын

Lombardi said that because he hated the fact that his teams in 2 consecutive seasons was not in the NFL Championship game. He hated losing so much.

Love how the footage is remastered

The nfl needs to bring this back and replace the pro bowl with the playoff bowl

The 1969 Playoff Bowl (1968 season) was the only time the Cowboys won at the Orange Bowl.

It may have been a nothing game, but that extra $750 must have meant something to some of them. The post 1962 game between the Steelers and Lions was a 17-10 blood bath.

I thought I knew NFL football history well but had never heard of the Playoff Bowl. Granted, it started before I was born and ended when I was a toddler so I don't remember this era of football at all. Thanks, NFL Films for filling in a gap in my knowledge.

Meredith returned to Dallas and flew with the team to Miami, resuming his role as a leader. “We need to win to get in the right frame of mind for next season,” he said. The Cowboys beat the Vikings, 17-13. Meredith played solidly. No one, not even Meredith himself, knew it was the last game of his life. Eisenberg, John. Chronicles of a Dallas Cowboys Fan: Growing Up With America's Team in the 1960s . Diversion Books. Kindle Edition.

I remember the very last Playoff Bowl following the 1969-70 NFL regular season. If my memory is correct, it was played on a Saturday, the day before the 1969-70 NFL Championship game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Cleveland Browns. This was the final Playoff Bowl ever as it was discontinued after the NFL merged with the AFL starting with the 1970-71 regular season. The Los Angeles Rams were pissed off at blowing a 10 point lead over the Minnesota Vikings and losing to them in the opening round of the playoffs 23-20; they played the Dallas Cowboys who were thoroughly demoralized and traumatized after getting clobbered at home by the Cleveland Browns 38-14 on the very same weekend. The Rams took out their frustrations on and decisively defeated the Cowboys, shutting them out 31-0. I must admit that in looking back in time through the history of pro football, I wonder what would have happened if there had been some other kind of runner up game. For example, the 1967-68 Dallas Coboys vs the 1967-68 Houston Oilers or the 1969-70 Oakland Raiders vs the 1969-70 Cleveland Browns or the 1971-72 Baltimore Colts vs the 1971-72 San Francisco 49ers. Back in the late 1960s pro football players didn't get payed all that much. So they were more than glad to get an extra game check before heading back to their off season jobs. And the regular season was only 14 games long.

They used to do the same thing in the NCAA college basketball tournament , the losers of the semi final game would come and play for third place . That game showed character in who could back from their dashed dreams . I think they should have something similar come back now with the NFL having that game the week before The Super Bowl and in college basketball just before in the finals game . These type of games would truly show character ! Back in the 1960s the paycheck for that extra game represented a big part of the then merger player salaries .

Lombardi was savage lol. I guess being the Goat at the time you get your perks.

This should still be done.

Lmao TOLIET BOWL!!!😂😂😂

I remember watching the NFL Playoff Bowl on TV back during my preteen days, but none of my friends cared anything about it. However, the Pro Bowl--when it was a real game--did generate interest. But, that was then. Now, the game has changed, and no player today has to worry about suffering a career-threatening injury received from playing in a "hinky-dink" game.

Do you know how much more fun this would be rather than watching Pro bowlers play golf??

They should bring this back and give some kind of incentive for the winner. and maybe do it the weekend before superbowl weekend

No country has won more Olympic bronze, and that includes some former NFL players. Respect to amateur athletes. 🇺🇲

Buffalo Bills 2020 Playoff Bowl Champion!!!

If you youngsters have never heard of Hank Stram, look him up. He was fiery.

@edwardcricchio6106

Ай бұрын

His team liked to matriculate down the field.

I've honestly never heard of this. This is pretty crazy.

The Playoff Bowl Games are now considered exhibitions and nothing of those games counts. But it offered the then new NFL Films lots of great footage. Some of it’s included in They Call It Pro Football (often called the Citizen Kane of football movies)

I rather have this then a pro bowl... probably more competitive

Thought I knew everything about the NFL. Never knew about this game.

Bring back the play off bowl and can the Pro Bowl! Besides cash awards, give the third and forth place finishers incentives like a couple of high round draft picks each.

Lombardi using the game to evaluate talent was probably the best you could expect.

@edwardcricchio6106

2 ай бұрын

@mjjoe76 Vince hated this game. He called it a game for losers. He played in it two times and went one and one.

... so, it was pretty much like 95% of the college bowl games now.

Just replace the pro bowl with a 3rd place game

Playoffs bowl having the George Bell Trophy should start up in 2025. AFC vs. NFC

What it be really awesome is a 4-team playoff between 4 bottom feeding teams where the actual winner would get the number 1 overall pick in the upcoming draft.

There was a time when people valued winning Silver and Bronze (2nd and 3rd) in events. It is still true for some competitions. However, the public has shifted - especially since the late 90s - to calling second place "the first losers." Regardless, even in the 60s, nobody cared about the third place game.

@fortynights1513

2 ай бұрын

In my book if you’ve made the conference championship game you’ve had a solid season for yourself. If we are talking about post-merger teams, we are talking about teams that made the playoffs and won a game when they got there. And for those in the earliest Super Bowls who lost the equivalent of an AFC or NFC Championship Game in 1966 and 1967, credit them for making the playoffs when fewer teams did so. If you didn’t win it all and you were expected to, your fanbase might be unsatisfied, but you could say that you got as far as you did at the end of the day.

@Backpackfiles

2 ай бұрын

There was a time winning your league pennant was almost as prestigious as winning the World Series. American sport does not value it's victors; fans are always ready to send them directly to their next defeat.

@howardcosell2022

2 ай бұрын

Second place became distinctly irrelevant when the Soviet Union went away

@paulgaither

2 ай бұрын

@@howardcosell2022 - Fantastic profile. Read it in his voice.

@martinrain312

2 ай бұрын

Lombardi and George Allen were the ones that most changed the old mindset, 1st with Vince’s adage winning is everything, then George trying to one up Vince, saying winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing. George Steinbrenner took it to another level when he apologized to the City of NY after the Yankees lost the World Series to the Dodgers. The Yankee players, who gave full effort and won their division and then the ALCS felt they need not apologize for giving their all but coming up a little short.

We’re number 3! We’re number 3!😊

To think, if that still exist today. That will be hilariously interesting.

My idea to make the playoffs more interesting? Shorten the season, put all the teams in the playoffs, and make it double elimination or something long and complicated (you could even do divisional playoffs). That way, at least, even the bad teams have some drama to their season.

I wondered if the Bills would be viewed differently if the NFL still had the Playoff Bowl and won the 2020 Playoff Bowl, as the Bills could've claimed themselves to be the 2020 Playoff Bowl Champion, instead of AFC Conference Finals Losers. By having one more game it gives teams that lose in the conference finals one more chance at ending their season with a win instead of with a loss.

@UWalvern0810

Ай бұрын

That’s only assuming they actually won the game.

Instead of a third place game they should have a true Toilet Bowl between the last place team in each conference, winner gets the #1 pick. Would make for some good entertainment

@fortynights1513

2 ай бұрын

Imagine the game in years where the first overall pick was highly touted.

@johnwhite5485

2 ай бұрын

Interesting, a couple thoughts though, 1) how should that work when a team has traded their first round pick and 2) How motivated would players be to increase the prospects of someone who could possibly replace them next year?

The AFL had a better idea and pitted the 1st and 2nd place teams of opposing divisions against each other in the first round of a playoff tournament. Lombardi was right in that the objective is to win a championship. He was probably a little salty because his team was forced to play in a 3rd place game when he wanted a shot at another championship.

Imagine losing your franchise QB to injury in a game where both teams always lose. And you have to give up an extra week + a few days in the off season after what was certainly a heartbreaking loss in the playoffs. Deeply insane idea.

I’ve never heard of this game before…and I’m 62.

Consolation games were always a bad idea.

Bring it back.

Its shocking that with all the production money in the world, The NFL ommitted both the namesake and reason for the game. The Burt Bell benefit bowl was created, yes to compete with the AFL, but also to honor the legacy of the recently deceased Burt Bell and contribute to the players' pention fund. The NFL doesnt even want to admit that they couldve treated players better in the PAST much less the present.

@majob

2 ай бұрын

NFL players back then made far less money than the players do now so a pension fund was much more significant then than it would be today. Even bottom ranked NFL players today make hundreds of thousands of dollars.

still better than any football played today

Just listening to Rodger Brown talk about wanting to be in a championship game. You can feel his disappointment. But hey! It was extra money in his pocket. I seem to remember a game with the the NFL champs playing college all stars. Really happen or am i dreaming?

The Toilet Bowl is actually last year's Bears @ Commanders game

So Super Bowl 2 and 3 had a game played on its field a week before…

What a fantastic idea!!! Why the heck did they stop doing this??? Would have been so great this year to watch the Ravens playing with tears running down their faces the entire game because they thought they thought they were going to be in the Super Bowl!

@tommyfu9271

2 ай бұрын

bc nobody would want to play in this crap and nobody would want to watch it.

The NCAA used to have a 3rd place for the basketball final 4.

The pro bowl is the new toilet bowl

Teams do this in the Olympics all the time, but they win a Bronze medal for it. Would you watch the Bronze medal bowl?

To talk about another sports league, if the NBA wants to have their NBA Cup, instead of having it during the regular season, they should have it during the postseason involving only the teams that didn't qualify for the playoffs within each conference, each round being a single game. The Eastern and Western Conference winners could then play a single game for the NBA Cup, with the winner getting not only the Cup, but also either an additional draft pick or a few additional hundred thousand dollars of cap room.

@howardcosell2022

2 ай бұрын

NBA's version of the NIT Tournament

I wouldn't mind seeing it, but I doubt the players would be up for it unless it was like flag football with some hefty bonuses

The NFL should bring this back, but have the added incentive of the winning team receives the number one pick overall in the draft. For example, the Ravens and Lions this year came so close. You might say they are one player away from being a champion. Let them fight it out and the winner gets the number one pick overall and probably are named favorites for next year's championship. Think about it. The best college player in the draft doesn't want to go to the worst team in the league. They want to go to a contender. They want to win championships. This would be awesome for all involved.

@tommyfu9271

2 ай бұрын

so why reward the third place team over the superbowl winner or even the superbowl loser?

We went to Miami to play a game that didn't mean anything. Oh the ProBowl?

A better idea than the Pro Bowl

Believe it or not my older brother has suggested this. Thing is tho players would sit out & not wanna play. NFL isn't the Olympics or soccer World Cup. They don't award medals in the NFL. But TBH I wouldn't be too against it. In fact may be more entertaining than the phased out Pro Bowl.

This just makes me wonder what is the difference between the Playoff Bowl for 3rd place in the NFL and the Bronze medal game at the Olympics? This video just proves why the Olympics needs to eliminate the bronze medal games.

Toilet Bowl = Tank Bowl

Odd...I thought the "Super Bowl" IS the Tiolet Bowl. 😉

Yeah, it all sounds good - until a key player tears his ACL & misses the entire next season.

They should have the last place teams play each other to see who the worst team that year.

Hah!! Fancy that, the NFL's equivalent of the third-place playoff game in the FIFA World Cup and all those bronze medal matches that tend to be popular in the Olympics. What say we ditch the ProBowl Games and bring this back?

Should do a real "toilet bowl". #31 vs #32.

I get the feeling people would rather watch a third-place game than the Pro Bowl. Why not have it,along with a skills competition,and make a weekend out of it? Plus,it would give hardcore NFL fans their fix during that 2-week period between the conference championships and the big game itself

@Backpackfiles

2 ай бұрын

You don't need BS like "skills competitions" if it's not an All Star Game.

@edwardcricchio6106

2 ай бұрын

If Vegas lays odds on the game, people will bet and watch it.

Little-Known Fact: The NFL now regards these games as exhibitions.

@tygrkhat4087

2 ай бұрын

That's all it was back then. If you play a game where the outcome is meaningless, it's an exhibition.

@Backpackfiles

2 ай бұрын

@@tygrkhat4087 No, it was not meaningless. Virtually worthless but it has some...kinda... meaning 😆

Lel bring it back

Toilet bowl 😂

Knowing the Passion of Lombardi, surprised he didn't name it the s*** bowl.

@TheAlfrulz

2 ай бұрын

He did call it the "s*** bowl". OT Bob Skoronski insisted Lombardi said it at the time.

At 7;20 Joe K shook Shula's hand . who won that game ?

Tom Brady would play in 4

2019 titans would’ve won toilet bowl without a doubt

It’s not worth risking injury on a meaningless game. It’s not like World Cup soccer.

There’s a third place game in the World Cup still. I tell people it’s a money grab, garbage game. They should be embarrassed.

I always thought that the two worst teams should play in a game actually called the Toilet Bowl. Dive head first into the whole thing with sponsors like Vanish and Scrubbing Bubbles. Winning team gets first pick in the draft. just completely tanking a team is no longer a sure shot at the #1 pick. Losing team gets to host next year's game. You may initially laugh but with the amount of PR it's bound to get, the host team will make a LOT of money. You can do all that with the #3 & #4 teams, too. Instead of First Pick, you just get an additional pick at the end of the round, behind the Superbowl winner. That and your team's cut of the insane amount of money that would be generated by both versions of this game. Of course, if you wanted to make it an event at a recurring location, you've gotta put a stadium in FLUSHING, NY!

Bring it back and get rid of the stupid touch football Pro Bowl. Play it during the week off for the Super Bowl hype. Most importantly, all proceeds should go to the NFL Players Pension Fund to help with the horrible health care these guys receive after giving their bodies to the NFL just to entertain fans.

Nope Sorry, the Toilet Bowl is what New Orleaneans call the game btw Southern and Grambling!!

They should play this game the weekend between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl. $500K per player on the winner, $250K for the loser. Play the game at the stadium hosting the following year’s Super Bowl.