50 years ago, Giants vs. Redskins set a record that still stands

When the New York Giants and Washington Redskins meet Sunday (4:25 p.m. ET, FOX), there will be playoff spots and positions at stake. That's a far different situation than the teams' battle in November 1966, when they played the highest-scoring game in NFL history.

The teams entered the game with a combined 6-14-1 record, so the Redskins' 72-41 victory was more about touchdown passes, rushing TDs, two punts returned for a score, a pick-6 and, oh, one last-minute field goal.

Five weeks after the two teams combined for 23 points in a 13-10 Giants victory -- New York's only win that season -- they put up an NFL-record 113 that to this day eclipses the league's next-highest total by seven points.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fm273MPh8k

One would think the stat sheet would be stacked with some astonishing numbers, but that wasn't the case. The standout performance belonged to Washington safety Brig Owens, who had three interceptions and a 62-yard fumble return for a touchdown.

Redskins quarterback Sonny Jurgensen completed 10 of 16 passes for 145 yards and three scores. His Giants counterparts, Tom Kennedy and Gary Wood, were 20-of-31 for 311 yards and three TDs with five interceptions.

Five Redskins running backs ground up the Giants to the tune of 209 yards.

The brothers Gogolak -- Pete kicked for the Giants, Charlie for the Redskins -- attempted 16 PATs, each missing one.

But the most important stat was that 113, and it would have been only 110 without Charlie Gogolak's seemingly needless 29-yard-field goal in the final minute. There is, of course, a story behind that.

Hall of Fame linebacker Sam Huff had not forgiven Giants coach Allie Sherman for trading him to the Redskins two years earlier. So it was Huff who screamed field goal with his team up 28 points in the final seconds of the rout.

"In the final seconds, we were just trying to kill the clock," Huff wrote in his autobiography. "We had a fourth down at the Giants 22 and timeout was called with seven seconds left. While Otto [Graham, the head coach] was talking to Sonny, I took it upon myself to yell for the field goal team to get out there, and before anyone knew what was happening, [Charlie] Gogolak had kicked a 29-yard field goal for a final score of 72-41. After the game, Otto took a lot of heat for kicking the field goal and rubbing it in. But it wasn't Otto's decision, it was all mine. That was a day of judgment, and in my mind, justice was finally done.