| | The evidence is overwhelming that Super Bowl III was fixed by [[gambling|gamblers]] and yet the [[NFL]] did nothing to investigate. The New York Jets were 18-point underdogs and the heavily favored Baltimore Colts had lost only 1 game in its last 31, including a 34-0 rout of the Cleveland Browns in the NFL championship game. Some consider this Colts team to have been the greatest ever.<ref name="Morrall">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25kjq7mOQZk</ref> | | The evidence is overwhelming that Super Bowl III was fixed by [[gambling|gamblers]] and yet the [[NFL]] did nothing to investigate. The New York Jets were 18-point underdogs and the heavily favored Baltimore Colts had lost only 1 game in its last 31, including a 34-0 rout of the Cleveland Browns in the NFL championship game. Some consider this Colts team to have been the greatest ever.<ref name="Morrall">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25kjq7mOQZk</ref> |
| − | Bubba Smith consistently and persuasively says that his Colts deliberately lost, and points to how QB Earl Morrall (who was the 1968 NFL season MVP) failed to throw to a wide-open primary receiver near the end zone on a flee-flicker play and instead tossed an interception in the middle of the field.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k78hKs1DmPY</ref><ref>https://athlonsports.com/nfl/5-conspiracy-theories-changed-sports-history</ref> | + | Bubba Smith consistently and persuasively says that his Colts deliberately lost, and points to how QB Earl Morrall (who was the 1968 NFL season MVP) failed to throw to a wide-open primary receiver near the end zone on a flee-flicker play and instead tossed an interception in the middle of the field.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k78hKs1DmPY</ref><ref>https://athlonsports.com/nfl/5-conspiracy-theories-changed-sports-history</ref> The flee-flicker play is designed for the quarterback to throw the long pass to the open wide receiver downfield.<ref>https://throwdeeppublishing.com/blogs/football-glossary/understanding-the-flea-flicker-play-in-football-diagrams-and-video</ref> |
| − | Decades later, Morrall watched the film for the first time and was subsequently interviewed about it, and gave an impression that he did not fully realize until he saw the film (which clearly shows his primary receiver uncovered and waiving his arm near the end zone) that the receiver was so wide-open.<ref name="Morrall"/> Other than that game, Morrall was a clutch player who won Super Bowl V and had a lifetime record of 63-37-3 as a starter, completing 1,379-of-2,689 passes (51%) for 20,809 yards, 161 touchdowns, and 148 interceptions.<ref>https://www.colts.com/news/former-colts-great-earl-morrall-passes-away-12920587</ref> He was also the placeholder for the rookie field goal kicker who gave the Colts the victory with 5 seconds left in Super Bowl V. | + | Decades later, Morrall watched the film for the first time and was subsequently interviewed about it, and gave an impression that he did not fully realize until he saw the film (which clearly shows his primary receiver uncovered and waiving his arm near the end zone) that the receiver was so wide-open.<ref name="Morrall"/> Other than his bizarre play in that game, Morrall was the NFL MVP for that season and was a clutch player who won Super Bowl V and had a lifetime record of 63-37-3 as a starter, completing 1,379-of-2,689 passes (51%) for 20,809 yards, 161 touchdowns, and 148 interceptions.<ref>https://www.colts.com/news/former-colts-great-earl-morrall-passes-away-12920587</ref> He was also the placeholder for the rookie field goal kicker who gave the Colts the victory with 5 seconds left in Super Bowl V. |