On his first official day as president of the Packers in December of 2007, Mark Murphy was touring his new workplace—venerable Lambeau Field—when he encountered some photographs that brought back an unpleasant memory from a game contested a quarter-century earlier. “I threatened to take them down,” Murphy joked. “I’m trying to expunge all memories of that game.”
The photographic evidence depicted what was at that point the highest scoring game in the history of Monday Night Football and one of the wildest regular-season games in the Packers’ storied history. On October 17, 1983, Green Bay played host to the defending world champion Washington Redskins. In addition to quarterback Joe Theismann, running back John Riggins, wide receiver Art Monk, and reigning MVP placekicker Mark Moseley, Washington happened to employ an All-Pro safety named Mark Murphy.
Murphy was nearing the end of a career that began in 1977, when he joined the Redskins as an undrafted free agent out of Colgate University, a Patriot League athletic school with an academic reputation that rivals the Ivy League. Murphy, whose one-handed interception of a David Woodley pass helped Washington beat the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XVII at the Rose Bowl, had intercepted three passes in the Redskins’ first six regular-season games when the maroon and gold visited Green Bay. He went on to lead the league with nine picks on the way to his first and only Pro Bowl selection.
The game against Green Bay, however, was not a night for defensive heroics. The teams combined for 95 points, nine lead changes, and 1,025 yards of offense. The Packers prevailed 48–47, when Moseley missed a 39-yard field goal on the game’s final play. “It was such a long time between the good days [in Green Bay]. That had to rank as one of the all-time victories,” said Bud Lea, longtime columnist for the Milwaukee Sentinel. “That’s when the Packers had a point-a-minute offense and a point-a-minute defense. In other words, they scored a ton and they gave up a ton.”
In what ended up being their final season under head coach Bart Starr, the Packers entered play with the worst defense in the league and an offense led by quarterback Lynn Dickey, whose primary weapons included future Hall of Fame wide receiver James Lofton, end John Jefferson, tight end Paul Coffman, and running backs Gerry Ellis and Eddie Lee Ivery.
Dickey completed 22-of-31 passes for 387 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Coffman caught six passes for 124 yards and two scores, Ellis added four receptions for 105 yards, and James Lofton had five for 96 yards. Theismann was 27-of-39 for 398 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Joe Washington, whose fumble on a screen pass on the first play from scrimmage led Mike “Mad Dog” Douglass to score the game’s first touchdown, led the Redskins with nine receptions for 57 yards and two touchdowns. Monk collected five receptions for 105 yards, and Charlie Brown contributed six for 91 yards. “It wasn’t a football game,” Theismann told NFL Films. “It was a bunch of guys in football uniforms involved in a track meet.”
Theismann would announce Monday Night Football games during his post-football broadcasting career, but the 1983 season marked Howard Cosell’s last year in the MNF booth. Cosell, however, was not on the call during the Packers-Redskins game. O.J. Simpson was the third man with Frank Gifford and Don Meredith. Simpson, who replaced Fran Tarkenton as a fill-in, ended up working two more seasons before Al Michaels joined Gifford in 1986.
In the high-octane game on the field, Packers opened the third quarter with a five-play, 82-yard scoring drive that lasted 42 seconds. Ellis finished it with a 24-yard touchdown run that seemed to stun Washington’s defense, which was justifiably expecting a pass. As the fourth quarter opened, the Packers scored on a three-play, 39-yard drive that lasted 15 seconds. Harlan Huckleby set the table with a 57-yard kickoff return, and Gary Lewis ran two yards untouched on a reverse for a touchdown. There were only two punts—one by each team—in the game.
The Packers’ thrilling victory in 1983 stood as the highest-scoring Monday Night Football game until November 19, 2018, when the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 54–51. After the Redskins’ loss to the Packers, Riggins discussed the high scoring affair with reporters in Lambeau’s visiting locker room. “You almost get dizzy watching a game like that,” Riggins said.
Packers offensive coordinator Bob Schnelker celebrated his 55th birthday with the victory and was presented a gameball for his ingenious gameplan, but one of his brightest moments was actually a mistake. The Packers trailed 40–38 in the final quarter. Facing third down and 13 from the Washington 31, Schnelker screamed, “Give me a fullback!” Mike Meade stepped up and sprinted onto the field, but Schnelker wanted someone with more foot speed for the play.
When Dickey hit Meade in the flat, Schnelker’s yells of “No! No!” transformed into “Go! Go!” as Meade ran past Vernon Dean at the 23 and leaped over Murphy on his way into the end zone, giving Green Bay a 45–40 lead with 7:23 left.
After some incredible back-and-forth offensive play, the Packers trailed the game 47–45 and started what proved to be the game-winning drive on their own 36-yard line with 2:42 left. The key play came when Dickey hit Ellis, who had run away from linebacker Monte Coleman, for a 56-yard gain. Ellis had a chance to score, but speedy cornerback Darrell Green hauled him down from behind at the Washington 8. Unable to push the ball across the goal line, the Packers sent Jan Stenerud out for a 20-yard field goal with 54 seconds left.
Then the Redskins got one last chance. “As a quarterback, that’s what you dream of,” Theismann said. “No timeouts. You need a field goal to win.” In six plays Washington gained 55 yards. Theismann connected on three passes. With three seconds left, Theismann threw the ball out of bounds to set up Moseley, who missed a chance for his 13th career game-winner and sent the Redskins, who would go on to lose to the Los Angeles Raiders 38–9 in the Super Bowl, to their second one-point loss of the season.
The game started and ended in frustration for the kickers. Green Bay’s Eddie Garcia kicked the opening kickoff out of bounds. Moseley, a master of game-winning field goals, missed the final kick and crumpled to the ground as his holder, Theismann, said, “You’ve gotta be kidding me.” Moseley, who converted four field-goal attempts during the game, had made 82 percent of his kicks from inside 40 yards in his career. “We kind of rushed it,” Moseley said of his final effort. “Maybe we should have taken more time. I just missed the kick.”
As the sellout crowd of 55,255 howled, the Packers celebrated like they had just won a playoff game. Starr had the players gather in the center of the field and raise their helmets to the fans. The victory, which improved Green Bay’s record to 4–3, was the highlight of a season that ended up at 8–8. “I’ve never seen a game like this,” Jefferson said. “Both offenses just kept coming back. Without a doubt this was our best game offensively. I’m going to remember tonight for a long time and so will all those people who watched us. It was such a great game.”