Lookin' good, Dolphins. Those uniforms on Monday night, I mean. Once again, football fans were given the present of the past, and with any luck, they'll get more as soon as possible.
I suppose it's okay if you're partial to the ongoing futuristic (?) Color Rush campaign ... but those aqua and orange retro beauties were just the latest in what I consider a far more handsome trend: NFL teams going retro. San Francisco, Washington and both New York teams have reverted to a full-time switch back to their 20th century getups. A few weeks ago, the Rams got raves for putting on the royal blue look they wore during the early days of the Greatest Show on Turf. The Bucs looked chic when they tipped their collective chapeau to the Creamsicle look a few years back. And of course, no one in the history of mankind has ever complained when the Chargers too rarely sport their glorious powder blue bolts with the black numbers on their helmets.
Now the only question is, who's up next? I'm glad I asked -- here's my list in order of preference:
1) Late '70s/early '80s Falcons:Primetime Sanders ushered in an allegedly hipper age that saw the team go to black hats and jerseys, but it's time for the periodic return of red on red.
3) Late '70s Seahawks: Yes, 12s, I know the basic look lasted into the '90s, but it was the small details -- like the black shoes and gray facemasks -- that makes me nostalgic for the Kingdome days.
4) Pre-'82 Cowboys' blue jerseys: Keep wearing the white at home all you want, Jerry, but please consider a return to the royal blue for those rare occasions when the home team you're facing makes your guys go against the grain.
5) '70s/'80s Vikings: The new look suffers from trying too hard. Lose those wonky numbers and odd pant stripes in favor of the (relatively) more successful days filled with Super Bowl appearances.
6) Bengals pre-'81: Less is more, Cincy. Less is more. (Same goes for the cheap shots, Vontaze.)
7) '60s Broncos: The Elway Era look is more oft pined for, but these orange on orange unis are a lost treasure.
X) Patriots: Sorry, New Englanders. I love Pat Patriot as much as you, but uniform law dictates a switch away from the less appealing navy and silver Flying Elvis getups would curse your dynastic run. (See: The early-'00 Rams, who switched to the Notre Dame gold after one one Super Bowl win, which remains their only Super Bowl win. Or the mid-'90s Houston Rockets, who after two straight titles, switched to navy, and never won again. Or the early-'90s Pittsburgh Penguins, who swapped out their "Angry Penguin" unis, then waited 17 years and a return to that logo before winning a third Stanley Cup.)
Now that I've cleared all that up, let's get to the games.
WARNING: Do NOT continue reading if you don't want to know the final scores of the Week 15 games.
(1-0 this week, 11-5 last week, 130-77 on the season)
JETS 17
COWBOYS 20
E. Decker: 2 TDs
DAL D: 5 sacks
CHIEFS 23
RAVENS 10
T. Kelce: 90 yds, 2 TDs
B. Allen: 40 yds rush
TEXANS 17
COLTS 14
C. Polk: 15-yd TD rec
F. Gore: 80 yds, TD
FALCONS 21
JAGS 19
J. Jones: 120 yds, 2 TDs
B. Bortles: 3 INTs
BEARS 16
VIKES 20
A. Jeffrey: 95 yds, TD
A. Peterson: 110 yds, TD
TITANS 7
PATS 31
M. Mariota: 180 yds, TD, 2 INTs
NE D: 7 sacks
PANTHERS 23
GIANTS 24
F. Whittaker: 100 yds/scrimmage, TD
O. Beckham: 2 rec, 50 yds, TD
BILLS 27
'SKINS 18
S. McCoy: 90 yds, 2 TDs
A. Morris: 60 yds, TD
PACKERS 30
RAIDERS 20
J. Jones: 55-yd TD rec
D. Carr: TD, 2 INTs
BROWNS 17
SEAHAWKS 26
J. Football: 290 yds, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
D. Baldwin: 35-yd TD rec
BRONCOS 22
STEELERS 25
E. Sanders: 85 yds, TD
A. Brown: 90 yds, TD
DOLPHINS 21
CHARGERS 24
J. Ajayi: 55 yds, TD
M. Gordon: 95 yds/scrimmage, 2 TDs
BENGALS 23
NINERS 13
A McCarron: 320 yds, TD, INT
SF off: 4 turnovers
CARDS 22
EAGLES 24
M. Floyd: 105 yds, TD
AZ off: 195 yds rushing
LIONS 20
SAINTS 27
A. Abdullah: 130 yds/scrimmage, TD
J. Hill/B. Watson: TD each
Enjoy Week 15, everybody! I hope your team wins (unless they're playing my team).
Follow Dave Dameshek on Twitter @Dameshek.
