1969 Super Bowl
The 1969 Super Bowl was thought by star participant Bubba Smith to have been thrown by one or a few Colts players to the other side, so that the New York Jets would win. The Colts were a 7-1 favorite -- one of the heaviest favorites in any comparable game in history -- and the victory by the Jets gave an enormous payoff to gamblers who bet on the Jets.
The NFL MVP for the 1968-69 season was Earl Morrall, yet he had a quarterback rating of less than 10 during this game until he was unusually replaced by the coach, Don Shula. A QB rating of 100 or better is common for a top player at that position.
A trick play known as a "flee flicker" resulted in the primary Colts receiver being wide open for a touchdown, but instead Morrall threw the ball behind another receiver for an interception in the crowded middle of the field, which made absolutely no sense with time running out in the first half. This play is cited most by those who suspect that this game was intentionally lost, or "thrown" to the Jets.
Morrall was probably also the place-holder (spotter) for the two fields goals of 27 and 48 yards missed by Lou Michaels, who said afterwards, “I am disgusted with myself.”[1] "The sting of losing the big game never left him, Michaels told The Baltimor Sun in 2010." [1]