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Sixteen or one-half of the current pro football teams are used in the puzzle below. The other half is in puzzle number two. Note that clues in this sports puzzle were updated October 2, 2010. NFL records were current at that time.
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The Arizona Cardinals hold the distinction of being the oldest continuous pro football franchise in the United States. The team was first organized in 1898 as the Morgan Athletic Club of Chicago. The team's first appearance as Cardinals was several years later as the Racine Street Cardinals. When the National Football League (NFL) formed in 1920 the Cardinals became a charter member, entering the organization as the Chicago Cardinals. The team moved to Saint Louis prior to the 1960 season and played as the Saint Louis Cardinals until the 1988 season when they began play in Arizona as first the Phoenix Cardinals, then simply the Arizona Cardinals, their current moniker.
Over the years, a number of players have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as Cardinals. One in particular, fullback/safety Ernie Nevers still holds a couple of NFL records set in 1929. On November 28, 1929, (Thanksgiving Day) Nevers scored six touchdowns in one game and tallied forty points for the (then) Chicago Cardinals, all of his team's points for the day, and enough to defeat their hometown rival, the Chicago Bears.
Ernie Nevers was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
Three former players for the Cardinals are tied in the NFL individual records for interceptions with four in a game: Bob Nussbaumer, November 13, 1949; Jerry Norton, November 20, 1960; and Kwamie Lassiter, on December 27, 1998.
The Atlanta Falcons joined the NFL in 1966 as the organization's fifteenth franchise member. It took more than 30 years for the team to garner its first NFC championship, taking the crown at the end of the 1998 regular season. The Falcons then lost to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII.
In their first season, coached by former Vince Lombardi assistant, Norb Hecker, the franchise drafted linebacker Tommy Nobis with their first draft pick. Nobis was chosen as rookie of the year in his first season in the NFL. The franchise would land the first round pick again in the 1975 draft and chose quarterback Steve Bartkowski of California with that pick.
The Falcons made their first appearance in the playoffs, getting in as a wild card team, in 1978, with Bartkowski leading the offense. They defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, but lost to Dallas. (The Cowboys went on to win the Super Bowl that season.)
In 1985 Falcons running back Gerald Riggs led the NFL in rushing yards with 1,719.
The Atlanta Falcons play in the National Football Conference (NFC) South Division along with the Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In 2009, the team posted a 9-7 record under head coach Mike Smith.
The Baltimore Ravens joined the National Football League (NFL) in 1996 with Ted Marchibroda as head coach. As football fans know, the city had previously been home to the Baltimore Colts from 1953 through 1983. After the Colts moved to Indianapolis, the city of Baltimore was without a pro football franchise until the Cleveland Browns came to town and became the new Ravens.
Following a losing 1998 season, Brian Billick was installed as head coach of the Ravens and coached through the 2007 season. With linebacker Ray Lewis as the face of a tough defense, the fairly new Ravens franchise won Super Bowl XXXV following the 2000 season, claiming a 34-7 championship victory over the New York Giants. Lewis was named MVP of the Super Bowl.
Currently, the Ravens are part of the American Football Conference (AFC) North Division, along with the Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers.
In 2010, Baltimore's draft picks included Sergio Kindle, linebacker, from Texas, and Terrence Cody, defensive tackle from Alabama in the second round.
The American pro football franchise known as the Buffalo Bills got its start in the American Football League (AFL) in 1959. Buffalo quickly came to prominence in the AFL winning the league championship in 1964 and 1965.
The team was absorbed into the NFL in 1970 along with the other AFL teams Boston Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Houston Oilers, Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Oakland Raiders, and San Diego Chargers. The existing NFL franchises known as the Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers agreed to merge with the newcomers from the AFL and form the American Football Conference (AFC) of the National Football League.
Led by quarterback Jim Kelly, running back Thurman Thomas, and defensive standouts Bruce Smith and Cornelius Bennett, Buffalo made its first trip to the Super Bowl in 1991, in which they lost to the New York Giants, 20-19. Buffalo would return to the next three Super Bowls. Unfortunately for Bills' fans, they failed to claim the crown in four consecutive trips and are currently seeking their fifth attempt.
(Jim Kelly was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002, Thurman Thomas in 2007, and Bruce Smith in 2009.)
The Buffalo Bills are part of the East Division of the AFC which also includes the Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, and New York Jets. The Bills last won the division in 1995.
In the 2010 draft, Buffalo choices included: C.J. Spiller, running back from Clemson in the first round; Torell Troup, defensive tackle from Central Florida in the second round; defensive end Alex Carrington of Arkansas State in round three; and Marcus Easley, wide receiver from the University of Connecticut in the fourth round.