| | | | | | | | Thursday, December 6, 2001
Classic MNF: Dickerson celebrates anniversary
By Will Weiss
ABC Sports Online
"We could do nothing to stop Eric Dickerson. He was outstanding."
-- Broncos' head coach Dan Reeves
Halloween '88 proved to be a banner night for Eric Dickerson and the Indianapolis Colts.
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Dickerson on the game:
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This game stands out as one of the games I remember most.
There had been some things said about me by Greg Bell. I shot back at him, and called him a dwarf. Monday Night is the time to showcase because everyone's watching. I wanted to play well and win the game, and also wanted to show the Rams that they made a mistake by trading me. I think that's why I was nervous before the game.
My teammates wanted me to play well, because they knew it was a big night for me. Chris Hinton, one of my offensive linemen, told me he knew I wanted to play well. He said, "We'll make sure you do." That was a big lift for me.
I had four touchdowns in the game, but the one that stands out the most is the 41-yard run. I hit the hole real fast. I felt like I was in a track meet. It was a quick draw, and the hole opened up quick. By the time I got to the line of scrimmage, I felt like I was already running full speed. When I got into the secondary, I knew I was gone.
I felt like I could have had eight touchdowns that night. Ron Meyer wanted me to stop. I begged him to let me keep playing, but he said, "Nope. Uh-uh. You're coming out." I wanted to break the record, but Coach didn't want to take a chance on me getting hurt, and he pulled me.
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It was one of those nights when the two-time defending AFC champion Denver Broncos just walked into a buzzsaw of karma and couldn't do anything about it. The 3-5 Colts were playing their first Monday Night home game since moving to Indianapolis, and they were fired up.
In addition, the Colts boasted the league's leading rusher, who was set to go against the NFL's worst rushing defense. It was the one-year anniversary of the Colts' acquisition of Dickerson in a three-way trade with the Rams and Bills, and Dickerson had choice words for his former teammates and coach, going as far as to say that if current head coach Ron Meyer and former head coach John Robinson were drowning, he'd save Meyer.
In a rare moment before the game, Dickerson was nervous. A two-hour power nap cured whatever jitters there were, and when he took the field, he celebrated the anniversary in style, letting his legs do the talking, running for 159 yards and four touchdowns as the Colts scored on seven of their first nine possessions en route to a lopsided 55-23 victory.
It was a record-setting night, both individually and for the team: Dickerson's four rushing TDs tied Earl Campbell's MNF single-game record, and the 55 points were the most ever scored in a Monday Night game, a record that still stands. Dickerson also broke the Colts' team record of three rushing touchdowns in a game.
Dickerson, who entered the game with five touchdowns in the first five games, scored from 12 yards out on the opening series, then scored on 11- and 1-yard runs following Denver fumbles to vault Indy to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, Dean Biasucci added to the Colts' lead after a John Elway fumble. The Colts sacked Elway twice on the Broncos' next possession, forcing Denver to punt from its own end zone. Dickerson pretty much capped his evening one play later, as he burst through the middle and sprinted 41 yards to give the Colts a 31-0 lead -- all before the Broncos ever crossed midfield.
Denver had closed to 31-10 before the Colts exploded for two more touchdowns -- a 53-yarder from Gary Hogeboom to Bill Brooks from the wishbone, and a 40-yarder from Chris Chandler to Clarence Verdin -- extending the laugher to 45-10 by the break.
In the first half alone, Eric Dickerson ran 18 times for 124 yards and four touchdowns. Despite opportunities to pad the lead, and his stats, even further, Dickerson, who gained 35 more yards on his three second-half carries, sat the majority of the second half. In truth, the Colts didn't need him.
The Colts defense was impressive. Fresh off a 16-0 shutout of the San Diego Chargers, Indy forced four fumbles that led to 17 points, sacked Elway three times and held the league's active rushing leader at the time, Tony Dorsett, to 22 yards.
The win was Indy's third in a string of five consecutive wins after an auspicious 1-5 beginning, but it was not enough. The Colts finished the year 9-7, second place in the AFC East, but missed the playoffs.
Dickerson's performance pushed him over the 1,000-yard mark for the sixth straight year. He would finish the '88 season with 14 TDs and an NFL-leading 1,659 yards.
Eric Dickerson had a number of memorable Monday Night games during his career. But even he still talks about this one.
Will Weiss is the editor of ABC's Monday Night Football site.
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