On January 9, 1969, New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath was confronted by a fan of the Baltimore Colts at the Miami Touchdown Club who taunted Namath and told him that the Colts would easily defeat the Jets in the Super Bowl III.
This proclamation was by no means bold. In each of the two previous Super Bowls, the NFL's representative (Green Bay both times) easily dispatched of their AFL competitor (first the Kansas City Chiefs, and then the Oakland Raiders), and heading into Super Bowl III, the Colts were favored by over two touchdowns against the Jets.
What was bold was the response offered by an intoxicated Namath, who fired back, "We're gonna win the game. I guarantee it." The Jets made good on Namath's promise three days later, defeating the Colts by the final score of 16-7, legitimizing the AFL, immortalizing Joe Namath, and forever altering the course of professional football history.
Nearly 57 years to the day later, Houston Texans owner Cal McNair stopped just short of making a guarantee of his own regarding his team's matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night, and while it certainly won't go down in NFL history like Namath's did -- McNair wasn't nearly as demonstrative as Namath was, and the stakes just aren't nearly as high -- it's still refreshing, surprising and pretty damn cool he had the guts to say what he did.
“We’re not going up (to Pittsburgh) to make friends,” Cal McNair said on Saturday, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston. “We’re going to win a game."
Unlike the Jets all those decades ago, the Texans do stand a pretty good chance to win in Pittsburgh. Houston is a road favorite despite having never won a road Playoff game, and despite a 23-game Steelers winning streak while playing at home on Monday Night Football. As McNair explains, his team is playing some of their best football at the right time of the season.
“The coaches rolled up their sleeves. The players have all stuck together. It was a challenging time for them to do that, but they did it and put together. Now, we’re playing maybe some of our best football lately," McNair said, referencing Houston's 3-5 record at the midway point of the season. Since then, the Texans have won nine straight games, falling one win shy of a third straight AFC South title.
Somehow, despite a 4-1 start to the season, Pittsburgh's path to the Playoffs ended up even more treacherous than Houston's requiring a last second win in the final regular season game of the year to clinch their 13th postseason appearance in 19 seasons under head coach Mike Tomlin.
“It’s a really good team, really good coach, good ownership, been a consistent winner for a long time. It’s a hard place to play on Monday night," McNair said. "We’re excited for the opportunity.”