James Carpenter Jerseys 2019 , halfway through the history of the NFL, the New York Jets completed one of the most unexpected championship seasons in the history of the sport.A brash quarterback named Joe Namath helped engineer a Super Bowl victory over the heavily favored Baltimore Colts.That now-famous journey by Broadway Joe and the boys through the AFL that ended in triumph in Miami took a lesser-known detour for the second week of the schedule.Yes, the Jets once landed in Birmingham, Alabama.Their opponent on Sept. 22, 1968, was the Boston Patriots, who moved their home opener more than 1,000 miles south of Fenway Park even though the Red Sox were playing their game that day on the road. The legend has it that AFL leaders steered the Jets-Patriots game there to test Alabama’s taste for a professional team in the heart of college football country, eyeing a potential new home for the fledgling franchise. Legion Field, built in 1927 and often referred to as “The Old Gray Lady,” has been best known for all those Iron Bowl games over the years between Alabama and Auburn. But for this weekend the big draw was on a Sunday afternoon, not a Saturday.The AFL-NFL merger was already in the works, eventually completed after the 1969 season, and every team was facing a requirement of a stadium with at least 50,000 seats. Fenway Park wasn’t nearly big enough, so the Patriots were in a tenuous spot.Just think: Bill Belichick and Tom Brady conceivably could have called Birmingham home during those six Super Bowl title runs.Instead, the Patriots stayed put in Massachusetts for a suburban site in Foxborough. Thus, Legion Field never hosted another major league game. The Jets, featuring Namath, the former Crimson Tide star, were a natural draw as the opponent. They produced a 47-31 victory in front of an announced crowd of 29,192, with one of Namath’s two touchdown passes that afternoon going to eventual fellow Pro Football Hall of Fame member Don Maynard.The story of the league’s first century has been largely set in classic venues like Lambeau Field and the Polo Grounds or a modern-era building such as the Superdome. But the fabric of the league has been sewn together White Buster Skrine Jerseys , too, by dozens of off-the-radar sites forever etched in the record books.According to the database compiled by research website Pro Football Reference, 166 stadiums have hosted at least one regular season or postseason game since the inception of the NFL in 1920. That includes rival leagues — the All-American Football Conference (1946-49) and the American Football League (1960-69) — that were eventually absorbed. One hundred of those venues have hosted 17 games or more.That does not factor in Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, the birthplace of the NFL where an exhibition game is still annually held around Hall of Fame induction weekend. There are many more of those far-flung locales, from Pendleton, Oregon, to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, that have staged preseason contests over the years, and can stake a small claim to the history of the league. Here is a glance at some of the other off-the-main-grid sites of NFL games over the years:TRIANGLE PARK: DAYTON, OHIOThe first game in NFL history took place at Triangle Park in Dayton, Ohio, on Oct. 3, 1920, to launch what was originally called the American Professional Football Association. The Triangles beat the Columbus Panhandles 14-0. According to the Dayton Daily News, a total of 4,000 fans paid $1.75 for admission, and the players took home $50.RUBBER BOWL: AKRON, OHIOOne of the numerous Depression-era public works projects to serve as an NFL host, a decrepit version of the Rubber Bowl was demolished in 2018 after 78 years as a source of Rust Belt pride. With a name inspired by the local tire industry, the stadium served as the venue for the only win in Dallas Texans history. This was the 1952 version, a franchise that wound up in Baltimore as the Colts Buster Skrine Jerseys 2019 , not the AFL sequel that begat the Kansas City Chiefs.Well, these Texans played the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving Day in 1952. According to Gil Brandt, the longtime Dallas Cowboys administrator and now an unofficial NFL historian who will enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame next week, the pair of high school games played as the supposed undercard drew about 30,000 people. The announced crowd for the 27-23 victory by the Texans over the Bears was one zero short: 3,000. The actual attendance was likely less than half of that, and players were ordered into the stands afterward to personally thank the fans for coming. The Texans went 1-11 that year.BROADMOOR STADIUM, COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADOTicket sales were difficult during the Depression era, so moving around the country was not uncommon. The first NFL game played in a western state was in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at Broadmoor Stadium between the Cleveland Rams and Philadelphia Eagles to close the 1939 season. The Rams, who moved to Los Angeles seven years later, won 35-13.YALE BOWL, NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUTRenovations at Yankee Stadium forced the New York Giants to play the 1973-74 seasons Ivy League-style at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut. Crowds were strong in 1973, but during a 2-12 finish by the Giants in 1974, attendance suffered a steep dropoff.ROGERS CENTRE, TORONTOThe Buffalo Bills staged an ill-fated series of games across the border, playing once per season from 2008-13 at Rogers Centre, the once-space-age stadium built for baseball as the SkyDome just a two-hour drive from the team’s home at New Era Stadium. Attendance was paltry, with the final installment drawing 38 White Brian Winters Jerseys ,969 on Dec. 1, 2013, for a 34-31 victory by the Atlanta Falcons over the Bills. As they walked out of FirstEnergy Stadium into the darkness more than a week ago, the Browns couldn’t celebrate their biggest win in an uneven season as a cloud of uncertainty hung over them.It burst open.They return Sunday a changed team.Myles Garrett’s jaw-dropping, helmet-swinging assault on Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph last week in front of national TV audience has altered everything for the Browns (4-6), who could move deeper into the AFC playoff mix with a win over the Miami Dolphins (2-8), a team that has had its own recent share of turbulence.Garrett won’t play again in 2019 — and it’s not known when he’ll be back in 2020 — after he was suspended indefinitely by the NFL for his attack on Rudolph. The star’s appeal was denied this week, leaving the Browns to move on without their top defensive player and further complicating a season filled with drama and adversity.It’s been one obstacle after the next.“I’ve had a tattoo on my arm since I was probably 18, ‘The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy,’” wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. said. “Adversity is a true test of character and we are going through it right now, we’ve been going through it.“We’ve stood firm and we’ve fought and we’ve battled and we’ve come out with scars and scratches. We’ve lost, but the main thing is we fought and we’re finding ways to overcome any kind of adversity So as long as we stick together as a team, I feel very confident in this group that we can go out and get a win this weekend. But it’s never going to be easy.”The Dolphins have dealing with their own challenges.They’ve played well of late, winning two of three following an 0-7 start. But Miami took some roster hits this week with starting safeties Reshad Jones and safety Bobby McCain going on injured reserve and leading rusher Mark Walton being cut after his arrest on charges he punched his pregnant girlfriend.It’s been a tough swim for the Dolphins.“You try to make the best out of it,” said quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. “There’s a lot of those things that we don’t control as players. We just go out there and play. That’s kind of how we have to approach it.”FISH STORYNo Browns player is more excited for Sunday’s game than receiver Jarvis Landry, who spent four seasons with the Dolphins before being traded.“A lot of history,” he said.Landry performed at a Pro Bowl level for the Dolphins, but his personality clashed with coach Adam Gase and the team didn’t meet his demands for a long-term contract.“I don’t really hold onto it,” Landry said. “At the time when it happened, maybe then, just how things were communicated. Now I’m happy to be here. This is one of the games that I knew in two years I’d get a chance to have. I’m happy it’s here.”GETTING GASHEDThe Dolphins rank next to last in the NFL in rushing defense, which could be a problem against Cleveland’s Nick Chubb Brian Winters Jerseys 2019 , who went over 1,000 yards last week.Miami gave up 168 yards — 114 in the first half — to Buffalo last week.“That’s ridiculous,” said tackle Davon Godchaux. “I take full blame for it, being a captain on the team. I promise you we’ll get it fixed.”DECIMATED DEFENSEThe Browns could be missing four starters from a defense coming off its best game this season.In addition to Garrett, Cleveland will be without tackle Larry Ogunjobi, who was suspended one game for shoving Rudolph and safety Morgan Burnett, who tore his Achilles tendon against the Steelers. Defensive end Olivier Vernon didn’t practice this week and has missed the past two games with a sprained knee.SACKEDFitzpatrick said he’s partly to blame for being sacked seven times in last week’s loss to Buffalo. He’s only been sacked more than that once in 15 seasons.“Every sack has its own little story,” Fitzpatrick said. “I have to get the ball out better in some of those situations.”Fitzpatrick, who turns 37 on Sunday, feels good even though he has been sacked 24 times, his highest total since 2012.“Nobody’s going to write a book about my training regimen or my diet. I know that,” joked Fitzpatrick, 5-1 in his career against Cleveland. “But there are just some years for whatever reason you get bumps and bruises and stuff lingers all year long, and then there’s other years where you’re getting hit a bunch but nothing really lingers, and that’s kind of where I’m at right now.”The Dolphins’ offensive line has allowed 42 sacks, tied for the most in the NFL. The Browns tied a season-high with four sacks last week.DOLPHINS TARGETSDolphins offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea is pleased with how receiver DeVante Parker has blossomed in his fifth season. But O’Shea would like more balance in the receiving group.“We’ve stressed the importance of other players contributing to the pass game as much as DeVante’s contributed,” O’Shea said. “That has been a real positive for us this year, and we’ll continue to use him, but I think it’s important for these other players to have opportunities as well.”Parker is on pace for career highs in catches, yards receiving and touchdowns.AP Sports Writer Steven Wine in Miami contributed.