October 31st, 2025
Pick any day in NFL history and you're bound to find some exciting incidents. Whether it's a legendary match or individual performance, a new record or a symbolic milestone. October 31 - Halloween - has had just as many exciting NFL days as any other day. Possibly more, considering it comes towards a pivotal point of the season and is a memorable day in itself. But what are the highlights?
Well, on this day in NFL history fans saw an incredibly rare walk off safety (with a QB sack no less) end a game between the Miami Dolphins and the Cincinnati Bengals. There was also a legendary 1948 match that remains one of the highest scoring NFL games ever, and a blockbuster 10 player, three-team trade involving two future Hall of Famers and a 2004 winning streak ender from a rookie QB. These are some of the highlights of October 31 in NFL history.
Cameron Wake's Walk Off Safety Sack One of the Rarest NFL Events Ever
On Halloween night in 2013, late into the hot Florida night (and overtime), Miami Dolphins defensive end Cameron Wake pulled off one of the rarest plays in the NFL to earn his team a late victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
With just minutes remaining in Overtime, and the score tightly poised at 22-20 to the Dolphins, Wake tackled Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton in his own end zone - ending the game under overtime rules.
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Halloween 2013 was just the third time a walk-off safety had occurred in NFL history. Not only that, it was the only one of the three that came directly from a defensive sack on the QB.
The Overtime sudden death safety rule was introduced in 1974. It wasn't until 1989 it first came into play. On that occasion Minnesota Vikings defensive end Mike Merriweather blocked a punt from Dale Hatcher of the Los Angeles Rams, which rolled out of the end zone for a safety.
The second, in 2004, happened in a game between the Chicago Bears and the Tennessee Titans. Titans QB Billy Volek was sacked in his end zone but the defender failed to collect, making it a fumble, before the Titans lineman who took it back was finally tackled for a walk off safety.
Sammy Baugh’s 446-Yard Passing Game is Still Top-Tier 77 Years Later
Still one of the most legendary NFL feats, Sammy Baugh's dominant Halloween performance for the Washington Redskins (now Commanders) against the now-defunct Boston Yanks helped his team to hit the second highest scoring Commanders game of all time.
Baugh hit four touchdowns and 446 passing yards (an NFL record at the time) as the Commanders beat the Yanks 59-21. It is also the highest scoring Halloween game in NFL history too. Baugh's record would stand for some 14 years, although it now isn't in the top 20 for single game passing yards.
Baugh did make the Hall of Fame though - in 1969 - and was named in the NFL's 75th and 100th Anniversary All-Time team selections.
Two Hall of Fame Running Backs in Monster Trade
The joint 5th biggest trade in NFL history - by number of players at least - occurred on Halloween 1987. The Los Angeles Rams, Buffalo Bills, and Indianapolis Colts traded 4 players directly and six later draft picks between them in a mammoth deal.
The full list of players (eventually) involved in the deal was:
- Future Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson - Traded Rams to Colts in the initial 1987 deal
- Cornelius Bennett - Traded from Colts to Bills (1987)
- Future Hall of Famer Greg Bell – Traded from Bills to Rams (1987)
- Owen Gill - Traded from Colts → Rams (1987)
- Aaron Cox - Joined Rams (1988 #20 overall, from Buffalo’s 1988 1st-round pick)
- Fred Strickland - Joined Rams (1988 #47 overall, from Buffalo’s 1988 2nd-round pick)
- Frank Stams - Joined Rams (1989 #45 overall, from Indianapolis’s 1989 2nd-round pick)
The fact that two players from this massive trade went on to become Hall of Fame running backs makes it even more legendary. The trade also revived the fortunes of the Colts, who turned into a competitive AFC team within a year of Dickerson joining.
Rookie QB Topples Tom Brady's Patriots from Epic Streak
On October 31, 2004, the New England Patriots’ unprecedented winning streak came to a dramatic halt against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Halloween night game saw the previously dominant Patriots lose for the first time in 21 games, across a Super Bowl victory the previous nonetheless.
Led by prime Tom Brady, widely considered one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, Pittsburgh’s young quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, had a lot on his shoulders when he stepped in for injured starter Tommy Maddox.
However, he wasn't spooked by the occasion. In fact, he delivered a breakout performance, throwing for 235 yards and two touchdowns as the Steelers took the game down 34-20 in front of a rapturous Halloween night crowd at the Heinz Field.