The Jets being 19-point underdogs didn’t faze their brash star quarterback from Alabama, Joe Namath, from declaring “We’re going to win the game, I guarantee it” three days before Super Bowl 3 at a Miami Touchdown Club banquet. Before the game, the NFL was seen as the superior league with the AFL being a fledgling upstart group. Namath and his team backed up his bold statement on the field at the Orange Bowl, beating Don Shula’s Colts 16-7. Namath outplayed the Colts’ QB combination of Earl Morrall and Johnny Unitas with plenty of help from running back Matt Snell and George Sauer Jr.
The Jets’ run-stopping defense dominated up front and their offensive line was up to the task of pushing around the Colts. More important than the outcome itself, the Jets carried the flag for the entire 10-team AFL, showing none of the teams would be pushovers with the leagues set to merge for the 1970 season. What Namath said not only inspired confidence in his own team, but it was a springboard for the AFL’s Chiefs for subsequent domination of the NFL’s Vikings in Super Bowl 4 as double-digit underdogs.
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