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Jets hope to snap oh-for-forever skid against Eagles

Related Topics: Al Woodall, Eddie Bell, New York Jets

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Fifty years later, former New York Jets quarterback Al Woodall still can visualize the play that changed the first Jets-Philadelphia Eagles game, which started one of the most bizarre head-to-head series in NFL history.

"Here's what I remember," Woodall, 77, said from his home this week in North Carolina. "At the time, it really pissed me off. Pardon my language. We ran a dig route to Eddie Bell and ..."

We'll pick it up from there.

Starting for injured star quarterback Joe Namath that day -- Dec. 9, 1973 -- Woodall threw a perfect ball to Bell, but he slipped on the damp turf at Veterans Stadium and the pass hit cornerback John Outlaw in the chest and he returned the interception 45 yards for a touchdown to give the Eagles a 24-20 lead in the third quarter.