Balls of Fury: The NFL's 20 Best Revenge Stories

The 2009 NFL season was the year of revenge.

The return of Brett Favre to the NFC North, defeating Green Bay on several occasions. Chicago's Jay Cutler facing off against Josh McDaniels in the preseason. Al Davis against, well, everybody Al Davis has ever slighted.

Running with that theme, here are 20 of the best "revenge" stories in the League's history.

Tune in, click through, and, if you're a fan of one of the teams mentioned, feel free to let your blood boil.

What Happens to a Vengeance Deferred? Ask Cleveland

When Art Modell took the Cleveland franchise to Baltimore at the end of the 1995 season, Browns fans had to wait four years before they could avenge the loss of their beloved, if oft criticized, team.

On their first try, this didn't so much happen. Cleveland QBs Tim Couch (pictured) and Ty Detmer were sacked three times and picked twice, while the Ravens' rush offense outgained the Browns' total yards in the would-be revenge match.

At least the Browns would win their rivalry matchup against the Steelers the next week, on their way to a franchise-worst 2-14 season; they wouldn't beat the Ravens until 2001.

Chad Pennington Serves the Jets Revenge, Miami-Warm

After getting traded by the New York Jets despite leading the team to a wild card berth in 2006 (criticisms were that his arm just wasn't a downfield threat), Chad Pennington won Comeback Player of the Year quarterbacking the Miami Dolphins to contention for the division title last year.

The rubber game? Against the Jets, of course, with Brett Favre at New York's helm. Pennington was solid and made few mistakes, going 22-of-30 for two touchdowns.

The Jets' acquisition, on the other hand, never looked warmed up, icing the game with an interception in the fourth quarter, his last of three to end a season on the decline.

Lawyer Milloy, Ex-Patriot, Sacks One for the Bills

The Bills-Patriots rivalry, dating back to 1960, got a fresh injection when strong safety and Patriots team captain Lawyer Milloy, despite Pro Bowl numbers in 2002, failed to renegotiate his contract with Pats brass heading into the 2003 season.

Milloy immediately signed with the Bills and started for Buffalo in week one, a 31-0 blanking of the Patriots, which included a sack by the strong safety.

Not a flashy revenge game, but post-victory, it's safe to say Milloy probably wasn't pining for Foxboro.

Drew Bledsoe (Almost) Gets Back at the Jets

Not all revenge stories end in triumph. Drew Bledsoe, brutally knocked out as the Patriots' starting QB in 2001 by Mo Ostin (and replaced, or more accurately, supplanted by Tom Brady), faced the Jets in 2002 as the starter for Buffalo.

A late Bledsoe touchdown tied the game at 31 with 26 seconds left in the fourth quarter. However, Jets Pro Bowl returner Chad Morton ran back the opening kick in overtime for a touchdown, and for the time being, Bledsoe's revenge was deferred.

Mangini, Belichick Hug and Make Up...Sort of

Tensions between Bill Belichick and former Patriots defensive coordinator Eric Mangini were high when Mangini accepted the head coaching position for the New York Football Jets in 2006; the move still left Mangini a little too close to home.

The two teams split the regular season series 1-1 before meeting again in the AFC Wild Card game, which the Patriots took by a wide margin, leading to the conciliatory embrace above.

But don't be fooled—this one is far from over. In 2007, Mangini's organization exposed the Patriots' spy ring, and the two teams split head-to-head in 2008, with the Jets winning a classic Thursday night game.

Unfortunately, Mangini's retooling Browns miss the Pats this regular season.

Paul Brown Beats Art Modell's Cleveland Team—As a Bengal

Legendary Cleveland coach Paul Brown, who coached the Browns to back-to-back championships in 1954 and '55, was fired by Art Modell after Brown refused to play Ernie Davis, a Heisman Trophy winner from Syracuse who had been diagnosed with cancer the first week of practice, because of the physical demands of the game.

Brown, who would become the progenitor and coach of the Cincinnati Bengals franchise, faced his former team in 1970, losing bitterly, 30-27, in week four, and winning 14-10, in week nine.

At the conclusion of the games, Brown refused to shake hands with Cleveland coach Blanton Collier at midfield.

Philip Rivers and the Chargers Shake Down the Out-of-Luck Broncos

Another one of the most contentious story lines in 2008 was referee Ed Hochuli blowing a Jay Cutler fumble in the red zone dead, a call that cost San Diego the game on their way to a 4-8 start.

The Chargers' inspired late-season play would force the rematch between Cutler (who'd been trading blows with QB Philip Rivers in the media since the two had been drafted in 2006) and Rivers to be a battle for their team's spot in the playoffs.

Rivers and Co. would wallop the Broncos, 52-21, costing Mike Shanahan his job and forcing a complete makeover for the Broncos franchise. Revenge, indeed.

Michaels' Jets and Shula's Dolphins Get Muddy

Who could hate Don Shula? For New York Jets coach and former Shula teammate Walt Michaels, there were plenty of reasons to do just that.

Michaels accused Shula of tampering with game film, which the NFL required to be shared between teams.

The two teams met in an instant classic in 1982 at the AFC championship game, a matchup known today as the "Mud Bowl."

The tarp had been left off the Orange Bowl field during a rainstorm, in what Michaels would allege was an attempt to undermine the Jets' advantage in speed. Miami won 14-0 on the strength of their defense.

Shanahan Paddles His Old Boss Al Davis

In the middle of a contract dispute with Al Davis, offensive innovator and ex-Raider coach Mike Shanahan accepted the head job in Denver in 1995.

This rejuvenated a rivalry that had seen Davis diss the Broncos in the '94 playoffs ("They're scared to death of us," Davis said) and follow up with a 42-24 win in the AFC Wild Card game.

Shanahan's Broncos shut out the Raiders 27-0 behind the arm of John Elway, and then beat them again 31-28 in the last game of the season for good measure.

Philadelphia's D Clips TO, to the Delight of Those in Attendance

Releasing Terrell Owens in 2006 must have felt great for Philadelphia fans, who had to endure the dramatic fall of the outspoken receiver in Super Bowl XXXIX and the sulk show in 2005 before they could boo TO to their boo-loving hearts' content.

And with Owens as a Cowboy...well, that was just rich. The first chance they got was on Oct. 8, 2006, and the Philly D didn't disappoint.

The secondary held Owens to three catches for 45 yards, and McNabb threw for two scores and ran in for one to seal a solid victory for the Eagles, 38-24. Who's flapping now?

Jimmy Johnson Cries Fowl, Gets Shelled in Bounty Bowls I and II

The world might have little noted nor long remembered placekicker Luis Zendejas' name had he disappeared from the rolls after the Philadelphia Eagles cut him in 1989.

But Zendejas signed with the Dallas Cowboys...a bad call once the Eagles came to town on Turkey Day.

The brutality of the game, which ended in a shutout, 27-0, Dallas's first on Thanksgiving, caused Jimmy Johnson to denounce the Eagles, alleging that they'd put out a "bounty" on Zendejas, who underwent a punishing blow by Philly's special teams on a kickoff and left the game with a concussion, as well as Troy Aikman, who was harassed into throwing three picks.

Whether right or wrong, Johnson's remarks didn't help his team win two weeks later, at Philadelphia, going down 20-10 while getting pelted with beer and snowballs in Bounty Bowl II. The '89 Cowboys would finish 1-15.

Marcus Allen Runs Over Al Davis (Figuratively)

Davis unsurprisingly figures into another revenge game, on the losing end again.

This time, it was his vocal criticism of running back Marcus Allen, Super Bowl XVIII MVP (and No. 1 choice for Super Tecmo Bowl aficionados the nation over) that had tempers flaring.

Free-falling down the depth chart and plagued with injuries, Allen finally parted ways with the Raiders in 1992 and joined the Kansas City Chiefs alongside fellow comeback "kid" Joe Montana.

The Chiefs would beat the Raiders twice in '93, 24-9 and 31-20, with Allen scoring twice in short-yardage situations despite Davis claiming he was no longer a goal-line talent.

Somehow, Davis didn't seem to learn anything. Eventually...

Patriots Avenge One of Their Own with 21 Straight

As little as possible is supposed to happen in preseason games, least of all career-ending injuries. On Aug. 12, 1978, Patriots receiver Darryl Stingley was hit and paralyzed for life by Raiders defensive back Jack Tatum.

New England would face the Raiders in week four, and Patriots quarterback Steve Grogan would avenge the loss of his receiver by throwing for 219 yards and orchestrating 21 unanswered points despite three picks, including the game-winning rush with 16 seconds to go.

Stingley "knew [they'd] pull it out," or so he told Grogan and his visiting teammates from his hospital bed once the vengeance was dealt.

Redskins Not Interested in Joining

Before we start feeling too sorry for the Dallas Cowboys, let's remember the events leading up to the Cowboys-Redskins game at Washington in 1962.

A prank orchestrated by the owners of Cowboy Chicken had four banners that read "CHICKENS" unfurling as the fight song "Hail to the Redskins" played over the D.C. loudspeakers.

Acrobats in chicken costumes hurled colored eggs into the stands (allegedly to represent the Redskins' administration refusal to sign black players), while a man in a chicken costume cavorted midfield before dodging security guards and disappearing into the stands.

The Cowboys won, 38-10, avenging a tie earlier in the year. The Cowboys-Redskins rivalry is considered the premier NFL rivalry to date, for reasons that are now a little more apparent.

Sam Huff Beats His Ex-Giants by a Record Margin

Legendary recipient of the first middle linebacker position (invented for him specifically by Tom Landry), Pro Bowler Sam Huff was traded to the Redskins by the Giants' new management (despite assurances to the contrary) in 1964.

Huff's Redskins, who would become the second-best defense in the NFL in 1965, would embarrass the Giants the following year in D.C., 72-41, with Huff sending in the field goal team to cap the scoring while coach Otto Graham wasn't looking.

The game still ranks as the highest scoring total and the most points by a single team in NFL history.

"As long as I live," Huff said, "I will never forgive Allie Sherman for trading me." Well, that says it all, doesn't it?

The Chargers Begrudgingly Share Midfield (Not That They Had a Choice)

"Every time I will play New England," said Chargers linebacker Shaun Phillips, "it will be a personal grudge."

These words were spoken once the Patriots, on another of Tom Brady's miracle fourth quarters, rallied from down eight to eliminate the Chargers from the playoffs in January 2007, a loss that cost Marty Schottenheimer his job for "overly conservative playcalling."

What stuck in the Chargers' craw was the dance the Patriots did at midfield: imitating linebacker Shawne Merriman, pointing at the scoreboard.

The Chargers wouldn't get the chance to avenge the dishonor until 2008, going 0-2 against the Patriots' near-perfect outfit in 2007. But we all know how that one ended for the Pats, right? Right.

Parcells "Advises" The Jets To Victory Over New England

Restricted by his lingering contract with New England, Bill Parcells was unable to coach the Jets outright in 1997 and had to join student Bill Belichick's squad as an "advisor" (sound familiar, Tony Sparano?).

Having left the Patriots franchise on bittersweet terms (he criticized the extent to which he was able to control draft picks, among other issues), his Jets faced New England in week three.

The game featured seven ties or lead changes, 730 yards of offense, six turnovers, and at least 15 known heart attacks, five of which were suffered by Parcells himself (though you'd never know it).

An Adam Vinatieri field goal won the game in overtime. The Patriots won the first round, but fell in the Meadowlands in week eight, 24-19.

As a Raven, McNair Tops Titans With 20 Unanswered Points

Steve McNair, who had guided the Titans to within inches of winning Super Bowl XXXIV, was unkindly passed over by Tennessee in 2006 in favor of college phenom Vince Young.

McNair quickly relocated to the Baltimore Ravens and would get his chance against the Titans in Week 11 at Nashville.

Despite facing a 26-7 deficit, throwing two picks, and being sacked for a safety by his former teammates, McNair never relented.

The Ravens' defense stiffened, and the 34-year-old QB bounced back to guide Baltimore to 20 unanswered points, including a touchdown pass to Derrick Mason with 4:36 left in the game.

The Ravens triumphed 27-26 after Titans kicker Rob Bironas missed a late field goal. Baltimore finished 13-3, losing to the Colts in a divisional playoff matchup in January.

Morten Anderson Shows New Orleans Just How Weak And Inaccurate His Leg Is

Like any NFL game, no revenge list would be complete without a contribution from the kicking team.

Aging PK Morten Anderson was released from the New Orleans Saints in 1994 for fading power and growing inaccuracy...or so the New Orleans brass thought.

The Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans' intradivisional (and hated) rival, signed Andersen for the next year. Andersen went four-of-four against the Saints in week three, including the game winner, on his way to a Pro Bowl year.

Sauer Gripes

A cardinal rule among punters is (or ought to be) never promise a tackle you can't make.

Outspoken punter Todd Sauerbrun had become something of a journeyman when he signed with the Denver Broncos in 2007 (who outbid the Patriots for him).

Sauerbrun announced the Broncos' intent to kick to Devin Hester in a Week 12 game against the Bears. Hester responded by returning both a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns.

Though in position to make a tackle on both plays, Sauerbrun twice came up short.

Insult was added to injury when the Broncos elected to punt away from Hester; Sauerbrun's punt was blocked by Charles Tillman, leading to a Bears score and eventual victory.

Keith Olbermann elected Sauerbrun the Worst Person in the NFL in the wake of the game. Ouch.