What if Aaron bailey came down with Jim Harbaugh's Hail Mary pass in the 1995 AFC Championship game?
My opinion, Indy would get crushed in the Super Bowl by Dallas, but Bill Cowher would be fired in Pttsbugh, which could have an interesting arc for the Steelers from that point on.
What if Paul Edinger missed the 54 yard field goal to give the Bears a 23-20 win over the Lions in the final game of the 2000 regular season?
OK, this seems like a really obscure pick, but here me out. The 2000 Lions had continued the 1990s tradition of Detroit Lions teams by barely making it into the playoffs on a 9-7 record (or on one occasion, 8-8) and then getting blown out in the playoffs. Coach Bobby Ross quit in mid season and new coach Gary Moeller had a 4-2 record with Detroit since taking over. The Bears were 4-11 and out of the running in the post season. The Lions were 9-6 and a win would take them to the playoffs. And Edinger was a little known kicker from Frankfort Michigan (he went to college at Michigan State). His field goal gave the Bears the win and the Rams the final playoff slot while the Lions seaosn ended with a 9-7 record. At that point the years of futility finally got to William Ford and he fired Chuck Schmidt and hired Matt Millen. Had that field goal missed the mark, Gary Moeller and Chuck Schmidt would have made it to the playoffs and probably bought themselves one more year. And more importantly, Matt Millen would never have ended up in Detroit. And to a Lions fan like myself, all I can picture in a world without Millen is flowers and rainbows and shit.
September 14, 1997: What if Cole Ford misses the 31 yeard field goal against the Falcons
Stranger things have happened in the NFL than a kicker blowing a 31-yard field goal. The Riaders were 0-2 going into the game with Atlanta and pulled off a 36-31 win after Ford kicked the field goal giving Oakland the lead in the 4th. A safety followed and the Raiders finished with a 36-31 win.
But what if the field goal missed and the Riaders lost the game? Well, for the 1997 season it would have had no impact. Atlanta would have finished 8-8 instead of 7-9 and Oakland would having finished 3-13 instead of 4-12.
But then would come the draft.
San Diego finished in last place in the division with a 4-12 record (identical to Oakland's in OTL). Here Oakland finished in last place with a 3-13 record...identical to the Colts.
Which means that Oakland would have either the #1 or #2 draft pick. This becomes an interesting WI becuase the undisputed top player in the draft was Tennessee QB Peyton Manning (I think nobody seriously considered taking Leaf over Manning, although Leaf was expected to be a superstar also). So Oakland might have a bite at Peyton manning with the #1 overall pick...
Or...
They era of Jamarcus Russell like disasters start early and the Raiders get burned with Ryan Leaf. Leaf's immaturity made him no fans in San Diego, but in Oakland, where toughness is the manta, I could see the Leaf fiasco being 100 times worse. as bad as it was for Ryan Leaf in san Diego, his attitude in Oakland would have led to a near riot with Oakland fans.