Part of the series 149 Weeks: Why the Miami Hurricanes Were the NFL’s Best Team of the 2000s
Bubba Franks jumped and waved his arms as he crossed into the end zone. Anything to get his quarterback’s attention.
Seconds left in the fourth quarter and his team down a touchdown, he’d found nothing but open field as he broke out of his stance, only the goal line ahead.
Surely opposing defenses knew better by now: When the Packers sniffed the goal line, Brett Favre looks for Bubba Franks.
Franks had caught 17 touchdown passes through his first three NFL seasons. All but one came in the red zone, and all but one of those within 10 yards. He’d amass 32 touchdowns by the end of his career, 30 of them within the red zone.
But on September 21, 2003, second down with the game on the line, the Arizona defense made a cardinal1 error:
They’d forgotten about Franks.
A glance to Favre’s left would all but guarantee a touchdown, a tied game, and a chance for Favre to notch fourth-quarter comeback number 27. But the future Hall of Famer rolled right and hopped a pass incomplete. He threw a pick the very next play, and the Packers fell to the Cardinals.
“He looked the other way,” Franks said after the game. “You can’t expect him to see the entire field.”
Favre would keep eyes locked on Franks the same mistake a week later.
A Brewing Storm
In Week 3 of the 2003 NFL season, the same week as the Packers goal line fiasco, four Miami Hurricanes alumni scored touchdowns in the NFL.
Vinny Testaverde threw a 29-yard touchdown pass in an ill-fated comeback bid against the Patriots. Reggie Wayne had a career day as quarterback Peyton Manning’s favorite target, catching 10 of 13 targets for 141 yards and two touchdowns. And rookie Andre Johnson caught his first two NFL touchdowns. Even defensive tackle Warren Sapp found the end zone when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers put him in on a first and goal in the second quarter.
It was becoming a familiar occurrence.
Hurricanes alums were blossoming in the NFL. The same players who’d carried the Hurricanes through the program’s down years in the mid 1990s and turned Miami into a contender again in the early 2000s. They’d emerged as central figures on their respective professional teams, played in Pro Bowls, and received individual awards.
And they were scoring lots of touchdowns.
Thirteen Miami Hurricanes had scored 31 touchdowns since The Streak began in Week 15 2002. Even defenders were scoring. Kenny Holmes in Week 1 of 2003, Phillip Buchanon and Ed Reed in Week 2, and Sapp in Week 3. That was six regular season weeks ago.
But in Week 4, missed scoring opportunities were the story.
Sunday, September 28, 2003, 1:00 PM ET
In Houston, the 1-2 Texans, a new franchise playing in just its second-ever NFL season, were hoping to climb to .500 with a win over the 0-3 division-rival Jacksonville Jaguars.
It was September 28, 2003, and the Jaguars were leading by a field goal midway through the fourth quarter. So quarterback David Carr did what he’d quickly learned to do when he needed to move down the field: he looked for Andre Johnson.
Carr targeted Johnson nine times in the rookie receiver’s first NFL game, 10 times the next week, and 11 times the week after that, including those two touchdowns that became the first of Johnson’s career. After three weeks, Johnson had amassed 249 receiving yards, second most to start a career since 1987, topped only by fellow rookie Anquan Boldin, who had 378 yards to start the 2003 season.
And so far in the Week 4 matchup with the Jaguars, Johnson had caught four passes for 57 yards. Now, with just under eight minutes to play, Carr looked for him again. An eight-yard completion on first down. A nine-yard completion on third down. A 19-yard gain a couple players later, and then four yards on the play after that.
The Carr-Johnson connection gave the Texans momentum as they arrived on the Jacksonville 21 yard line with 5:14 left in the game. But running back Stacey Mack, attempting a halfback pass, looked for a double-covered Johnson near the end zone. Intercepted. Opportunity blown.
Hope persisted, though, as the Texans defense recovered a fumble on the next series, giving Houston the ball at the Jaguars 41 yard line.
Still down three and taking over near field goal range, Houston ran the ball on four of their next six plays. They arrived on the Jaguars four yard line with under a minute to go, and a penalty moved them to the Jacksonville two yard line.
Six feet, a body length away from the win, and 30 seconds to get there.
Carr threw to Johnson in the end zone. Incomplete. But Johnson drew a pass interference call. Half the distance to the goal. First down at the Jaguars one yard line.
Only 16 seconds left now. A running play. No gain. Timeout Texans.
Nine seconds. Carr again looked for Johnson in the end zone. It bounced off his finger tips.
Two seconds. Carr snuck it in for the touchdown and the win.
Johnson caught eight passes for 97 yards that day and again was Carr’s favorite target. But no touchdowns.
In Week 4 of the 2003 season, Hurricanes alums couldn’t find the end zone.
Clinton Portis, Willis McGahee, and Edgerrin James were hurt and wouldn’t play. Willis McGahee was sitting out his rookie season with an injury.
Jeremy Shockey was on a bye. So were a handful of Hurricanes defenders, two of whom, Holmes and Sapp, scored touchdowns earlier in the season.
And no Hurricanes alums found the end zone in the early afternoon games.
Hope
As training camps got underway ahead of the 2003 NFL season, the local Green Bay Press-Gazette had high hopes for the Packers’ fourth-year tight end.
“After being named a Pro Bowl starter in each of the last two seasons, Packers tight end Bubba Franks will be looking to continue to solidify himself as one of the NFL’s premier tight ends.” - Green Bay Press-Gazette, July 15, 2003
Franks was coming off an impressive season. His seven touchdowns were tops in the NFC and his 54 receptions were second (Shockey, a rookie in 2002, led the NFC with 74 receptions).
But the previous season stuck in Green Bay’s mind as the new season inched closer.
The 2002 season was supposed to be a redemption year. The Packers had finished 13-3 in 2001 but fell to the defending Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams in the divisional round, a game that saw Favre throw six interceptions.
But 2002 ended with another implosion. Favre had nearly walked away with his fourth MVP award, and the Packers ended the year 12-4. But a blowout loss in the season finale had cost Green Bay the top seed in the NFC playoffs, and the Packers fell in the Wild Card round to the Atlanta Falcons, a 27-7 shellacking.
Heading into the 2003 season, the Packers were the popular favorites to win the NFC North. But the missed opportunity in Arizona the week before dropped Green Bay to 1-2, leaving them tied with the Detroit Lions for second in the division behind the 3-0 Minnesota Vikings.
Green Bay would face the Chicago Bears, winless but christening their newly renovated Soldier field, on Monday Night Football in Week 4. And earning the win was crucial to avoid a 1-3 early-season hole.
Sunday, September 28, 2003, 4:15 PM ET
Ed Reed timed his move perfectly.
The Baltimore Ravens defense faced a 3rd and 5 near the end of the second quarter. And the visiting Kansas City Chiefs were in the red zone.
Reed inched towards the line of scrimmage. Then a tad more. The quarterback looked away. Reed picked up his pace.
The center snapped the ball and Reed sprinted past the tackle. The running back didn’t pick him up. The quarterback didn’t see him either.
Reed nailed Trent Green for the sack and jarred the ball loose. Ray Lewis raced towards the football, just daylight between him, the ball, and the end zone…
…except for Chiefs tight end Jason Dunn, who was a step closer and recovered the ball. Lewis took him down for a 12-yard loss.
The end zone was a strong possibility had Lewis beat Dunn to the ball. Sure, it was 70 yards away, but he would’ve had a couple of blockers, including fellow Miami alumni Reed, who’d famously “assisted” on a fumble return for a touchdown at the University of Miami.
The Ravens lost, and the game ended without a touchdown from the duo of Hurricanes defenders.
Meanwhile, a couple hours north in New York, Jets receiver Santana Moss’s day had gotten off to a rough start. His first catch of the afternoon came just as the second quarter began, a short two-yarder from fellow Miami alum Vinny Testaverde that Moss fumbled away.
But as the second quarter was nearing its end, the Jets lined up in a tight formation from their own 32 yard line. Moss took his spot outside, at the top of the broadcast screen. As the ball snapped, he streaked down the sideline and snatched a 38-yard pass nearly in stride.
He held the ball against his facemask for a moment to steady it before hauling it in, but he stumbled just a bit and fell to the ground. A fantastic catch on a pretty touch throw from Testaverde.
Testaverde found Moss again on the very next play, a light lob that Moss had to fight off the cornerback to bring in. An 11-yard gain for another first down. Curtis Martin fumbled the next play, ending the Jets’ drive, and Moss hauled in just two more passes the rest of the afternoon. No touchdowns.
The afternoon games finished without a Hurricanes touchdown. Just a few weeks in, The Streak faced its end before anybody knew it existed.
But the Indianapolis Colts were playing the New Orleans Saints on Sunday Night Football, and the Colts had drafted a couple of prolific Hurricanes in recent years.
Desperation
Brett Favre had targeted Franks consistently through the first three weeks of the 2003 season. But Franks had yet to really get going.
Six Week 1 targets became three receptions for 18 yards. Three Week 2 targets became two receptions for 21 yards. And six Week 3 targets became three receptions for 22 yards.
Franks hauled in a two-point conversion in a losing effort in Week 1 but had yet to find the end zone in the 2003 season.
Sharing the Packers roster with him were fellow UM alums Najeh Davenport and Nick Luchey.
Davenport would have one of his most productive seasons in 2003, averaging 5.5 yards per attempt, tied with fellow Miami alum Clinton Portis for the NFL lead among running backs with at least 75 carries.
But he wouldn’t suit up for the Week 4 Monday Night Football matchup due to a nagging hamstring injury.
Luchey had joined the Packers that offseason. He’d been inactive the previous two games and broke his thumb ahead in practice during the week leading up to the Monday night game. He was active, but he wouldn’t see much time in the backfield.
Franks’s 2003 campaign would prove to be his lightest statistical effort since his rookie campaign. He’d end the season with 30 receptions on 44 targets for 241 yards, all career lows thus far. He’d catch four touchdown passes, though, and while it fell short of his output the previous seasons, he was still named to the Pro Bowl at the end of the year.
Sunday, September 28, 2003, 8:15 PM ET
The Colts drafted Edgerrin James with the fourth pick in 1999, and he went on to lead the league in rushing in each of his first two seasons, amassing 13 touchdowns in each. He was also a reliable target out of the backfield for a young Peyton Manning, posting nearly identical statistical outputs as a pass catcher in his first two seasons: 62 and 63 receptions, 586 and 594 receiving yards, four and five receiving touchdowns, respectively.
James was hampered by injuries in years three and four, however, and, as it turned out, would be in 2003 as well. He was sitting out the Week 4 Sunday night matchup.
But there was still Reggie Wayne.
The Colts selected Wayne with the 30th pick in 2001. But as he began his third NFL season in 2003, Wayne was still fighting with vets like Marvin Harrison and Marcus Pollard for opportunities in the Colts offense. He was targeted 49 times in his rookie season (6th on team) and 72 times the next year (4th on team).
But three weeks into the 2003 season, he was coming into his own.
The week before the Sunday night matchup, Manning targeted Wayne 13 times and he caught 10 of them for 141 yards and two touchdowns. He’d go on to finish the 2003 season with then-career highs in targets (107), receptions (68), receiving yards (838), and touchdowns (7) - second only to Harrison in each category.
It didn’t take long for Manning to get going on Sunday night.
He hit running back Ricky A. Williams, who was getting more playing time with James out for the night, for a 17-yard touchdown just a few minutes into the game.
Colts 7, Saints 0. One touchdown for Manning. None for Wayne.
Then he threw two more touchdowns before the half, both to Harrison, to put Indianapolis up by three scores.
Colts 21, Saints 0. Three touchdowns for Manning. None for Wayne.
Manning kept at it, finding Dominic Rhodes, another Colts running back seeing more time with James out, for a 12-yard touchdown.
Colts 34, Saints 10. Four touchdowns for Manning. None for Wayne.
Then Manning hit Harrison again, this time for a 32-yard touchdown pass towards the end of the third quarter.
Colts 41, Saints 13. Five touchdowns for Manning. None for Wayne.
And then Manning hit Dallas Clark for an 11-yard touchdown with four seconds to go in the third quarter.
Colts 48, Saints 13. Six touchdowns for Manning. None for Wayne.
Wayne caught all three passes Manning threw his way that night, collecting 26 receiving yards. But, somehow, none of Manning’s six touchdown passes on Sunday night - one away from an NFL record that he’d tie a decade later - went to Wayne.
Manning’s first touchdown pass went to the backup running back, Williams, a play that likely would have gone to James had he not been hurt that night. His fourth went to the other backup running back, Rhodes, who saw his first action of the season in James’ absence after sitting out the entire previous season.
Absurd.
September 28, 2003 ended with no Hurricanes touchdowns.
But Monday Night Football loomed. It was up to Bubba Franks.
Monday Night
The Monday night game started well for the Packers.
Running back Ahman Green put the Packers up 7-0 on a 60-yard run less than three minutes in, and the running game carried Green Bay most of the night.
“[T]he Packers…didn’t have to rely on Favre to do much more than run the offense safely until the fourth quarter,” wrote Pete Dougherty the following morning for the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
Green added another score late in the first quarter, his second touchdown made possible after Favre hit Franks for a 14-yard reception that put Green Bay in a first and goal.
Favre added a touchdown pass to fullback William Henderson not long before the half, and the Packers went into the locker room with a 24-6 halftime lead.
One half of football left. Still no Hurricanes touchdowns. The Streak, nascent and yet unknown, dangled precariously in the balance.
The Bears narrowed Green Bay’s lead to just eight points in the fourth quarter, but Favre’s touchdown pass to Javon Walker on the following drive put the Packers up two scores again.
It also removed much of Green Bay’s motivation to throw the ball.
Leading 31-16 with just over seven minutes to go, the smart money said the Packers would run the ball to run the clock and eventually force Chicago to use its timeouts.
But this was Gunslinger. Third most passing attempts in NFL history. Favre was throwing.
On the next Packers possession, third and two at the Chicago 46 yard line, he finally looked at Franks again, a 24-yard gain that put the Packers just outside the red zone. A couple of Green rushes later, the Bears took their second timeout, stopping the clock with 4:31 left in the game. Third down and six yards to go from the 18 yard line. Well within field goal range. Surely they’d run the ball.
But Favre had eyes for the end zone. He lined up in the shotgun and lobbed it to a double-covered Donald Driver, but it fell incomplete. Fourth down. Field goal time. The Hurricanes’ last chance to find the end zone in Week 4 all but vanished.
But Driver had drawn a flag. A questionable pass interference call on cornerback Charles Tillman, who seemed to barely touch Walker, prompted color commentator John Madden to call the penalty “a little picky.”
But it didn’t matter. It was first down from the Chicago one yard line. Franks territory. With just 4:21 left in the fourth quarter, on the last game of the NFL week, Bubba Franks again found himself wide open in the end zone.
This time, Favre found him.
Favre completed his third touchdown pass of the night, an easy one-yard toss to Franks.
A 15-point lead. Four-and-a-half minutes to play. A third-and-six in field goal range.
No incentive to throw the ball. But a pass nonetheless. Into the end zone.
A questionable pass interference call. First and goal from the one. A wide open Franks.
Soldier Field emptied. The Packers win.
And The Streak lived. Just barely.
There’s more to this story. Next up: Chapter 4: Tight End U
Couldn’t help it.