Fascinating and Obscure Football Trivia, Part 5 Quiz

Answer: San Francisco 49ers

October 25, 1964: "The Purple Gang's" defensive end Jim Marshall picked up a fumble by the San Francisco 49ers quarterback Billy Kilmer. Marshall made it to the end zone thinking he scored a touchdown and threw the ball in exaltation, which the referee then ruled was a safety-2 points for the 49ers. Marshall then discovered the mistake, especially when Bruce Bosley, a 49er player hugged him in the end zone, thanking him.

Answer: Pittsburgh Steelers

The Packers were the first team to win two Super Bowls in a row, (1967 and 1968) and the Dolphins were the second (1973 and 1974). The Steelers were the third team to win two Super Bowls in a row: Super Bowl IX (1975) and Super Bowl X (1976), and then became the first team to win two consecutive Super Bowls for a second time: Super Bowl XIII (1979) and Super Bowl XIV (1980).

Answer: Sebastian Janikowski

For years, Tom Dempsey, kicking with his half foot, held the NFL record with a 63-yard field goal in 1970. I was sad to see it broken for the first time with Prater's kick. A few other kickers have also tied Dempsey's 63-yarder, including Sebastian Janikowski. But as for the longest attempt?

On September 28, 2008, with one second to go in the first half, the Oakland Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin called for Sebastian Janikowski to come on to attempt a field goal... of 76 yards. It fell short and the Raiders dodged a bullet because the opposing team had Antonio Cromartie down the field to attempt a run back of the missed field goal, but that never happened. Kiffin however, was fired two days later.

Answer: Malcolm Butler

Sherman, Maxwell, and Chancellor were on the Seattle Seahawk defensive backfield; it was New England Patriot rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler who intercepted that pass cementing the win for the Patriots 28-24. Fans and commentators to this day question why coach Pete Carroll didn't call a running play giving the ball to the league's best running back Marshawn Lynch. On the other hand, everyone was expecting that, so maybe he thought he should try something not so obvious.

Answer: Jacksonville Jaguars

On October 8, 2023, The Jaguars played the Buffalo Bills at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to become the first NFL team to play two consecutive regular-season games in London. The previous Sunday, the Jaguars had played the Atlanta Falcons, winning 23-7 at Wembley Stadium - marking the second time in as many seasons the Jaguars have played in the NFL's Wembley game.

Answer: Brooklyn Dodgers

The football St. Louis Cardinals debuted in 1960, the Cincinnati Reds were an NFL team from 1933-1934, and the Washington Senators football team was founded in 1921 but folded in 1941.

In their debut, the Baltimore Colts scored their first touchdown on a fluke play in which their opponent, The Brooklyn Dodgers fumbled the ball on the opening kickoff. The Dodgers own center, Harry Buffington recovered the fumble, but mistakenly ran towards the wrong goal line with the ball, and losing it in the end zone whereupon it was recovered by a Baltimore Colt for their first touchdown.

Answer: Brandon Aubrey

On December 10, 2023, the Dallas Cowboys played the Philadelphia Eagles in game for supremacy in the NFC East Division. Brandon Aubrey, the Dallas kicker, had a streak of 26 consecutive field goals when he was asked to kick a 60-yard field goal in the first quarter, which meant a likely end to the streak.

But he nailed it. And then in the 2nd quarter he kicked a 59-yard field goal. He would later in the game kick a 45-yarder and a 50-yarder to extend his streak to 30, as the Cowboys won 33-13. Those other answer choices mentioned were all amongst the NFL's greatest punters of all time, not kickers.

Answer: Reggie Bush

Reggie Bush played his last season in 2016, and in that year, he carried the ball 12 times for -3 yards rushing. On the plus side (literally), he did have 7 pass receptions for 90 yards total. Rocky Bleier was a running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers his whole career from 1968 to 1980. Running back Ronnie Bull played his whole career from 1962 to 1971 with the Chicago Bears, and Reggie Branch played for the Washington Redskins from 1985 to 1989.

Answer: Marcus Mariota

While Archie Manning, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Norm Snead have never even played in a playoff game. Marcus Mariota, quarterback of the Tennessee Titans, was playing against the Kansas City Chiefs in a wildcard playoff in the 2017-18 season when he caught his own pass for a 6-yard touchdown. Brad Johnson, quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings, also caught a pass for a touchdown in 1997, but it wasn't a playoff game.

Answer: Hash marks are wider apart in college than in high school.

The hash marks are wider in college football than in high school football, not the other way around. In high school football, the distance between hash marks is 53 feet, 4 inches apart. In college, the hash marks are 40 feet apart. This wider placement has a greater effect of strategic field positioning, as the choice of plays on offense will be considerably different, as well as attaining a field position that might be more advantageous for kicking a field goal.