In November 2013, Hall of Fame running back Tony Dorsettthe most famous of a cadre of 14 NFL veterans who underwent that testingrevealed to ESPN that his exam at UCLA confirmed the presence of tau and other signs of CTE. The couple stopped at a diner on the way home. Nick and Lynn sit. At the same time, Green did recommend the testing regimen that led University of Miami doctors to a more specific diagnosis. But Buoniconti wasn't light of heart. Then, in early February, the thinnest straw presented itself: One of Nick's brothers emailed about a news story in which Joe Namath controversially claimed marked brain improvement following 120 sessions of breathing pure oxygen in a hyperbaric chamber. He said the protein would soon spread to the left side, and that it could never be reversed.It was like a car accident, Lynn says. He was entranced; Lynn wasn't. (In late April, Nick hired three medical aides for round-the-clock assistance, tapping into the NFL and NFLPA's jointly run 88 Plan, which provides up to $118,000 per year for in-home care.) Another UM neurologist, Carlos Singer, declared in a May 15 summary that Buonicontis physical and mental symptoms were most compatible with senile dementia, Alzheimers disease, CTE and frontotemporal dementia.A definitive CTE diagnosis is possible only by autopsy. Hall of Fame linebacker Nick Buoniconti died on Tuesday at the age of 78. "I feel like a child.". They are waiting for us to die.Hes frustrated and depressed, Marc said in November. His first words were, Mr. ", Nick fell to his knees. The settlement is a joke; the way it was structured is a joke. A spate of injuries prompted the Dolphins to ask him back in 76, twice; Buoniconti demanded $125,000 and got it. His focus shifted south, to Miami and Marc and the Project and home"to the degree that he got fired from UST," Green says. Three Lives, Two Hits, One Happy Ending. That's not the way I fly, and it's not because I'm stupid. * * *Lynn, Nick and Gina recall that the medical staff in the meeting seemed settled on the idea that Buonicontis balance and mental issues were typical markers of aging, probably compounded by his football history. All signs of progress faded. You could hear him turn away from the phone. But he really isnt there.In September 2016, Gina, Marc and NickIII urged their dad to hire a driver and live-in aide, and stick to his prescribed therapies, if for nothing else than to save his marriage. What difference will it make? This was in 2013. He is currently 53-years old and belongs to white Caucasian ethnicity. A New York Times videographer tried interviewing him, but his mind derailed 46 seconds in. In 2014, when a near-fatal respiratory infection had his son saying, for the first time, "Just let it end," Nick spent eight hours a day, for six weeks, by Marc's side. She'll never forget, too, how a day later, outside of intensive care, she found her husband sitting on the floor, tears streaming, saying, "God is punishing me, God is punishing me.". The couple separated in 1997 after being together for 35 years. Catenacci asked. The one-time tobacco pickerwho had never smoked or dipped himselfbecame the industrys most famous, and ardent, defender.In one typical interview that fall, with the Chicago Tribune, Buoniconti railed against anti-tobacco forces and touted scientists who, he said, maintained theres absolutely nothing wrong with your product. He went on: Well survive. In 88, the U.S. surgeon general declared nicotine goods such as chewing tobacco to be as addictive as heroin.But even as Buoniconti lobbied over the years for the tobacco industry, his image as an athleteand a perfect one, at thatprevailed. There are days he wants to know exactly what's wrong with his brain, if only because naming an enemy gives you a better chance of defeating it. Nick Buoniconti Children . Now he knew how Robbie and Steinbrenner felt. With no treatment or cure, "we didn't want to pin that diagnosis on Nick because he could Google it," Green says, "and see that the average life expectancy is six or seven years.". Otherwise . CNN Nick Buoniconti, an undersized linebacker who helped lead the Miami Dolphins to the only perfect season in NFL history, died Tuesday. A broken right thumb forced him to miss the 1975 season, and he gladly began working as a CBS analyst. Hall of Fame Vikings defensive end Chris Doleman stops by. Yet even he is a confused mess.So if Im having this problem and Lynn is hovering over me making sure things get done, can you imagine someone in the same situation who cant figure it out? Nick asks. He didnt do anything for effect. Marc Buoniconti: Paralysis from football tackle saved his life | Miami But you still fall. I was 50-50 on this already but, then, watching my dadthat sealed it.". No more. On April 13, 2015, an ambulance rushed Buoniconti to the ER after he gashed his nose and eye in another fall. The son of legendary All-Pro and Hall of Famer linebacker and former Miami Dolphins Nick Buoniconti serves as President for both, The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis and The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis, The Miami Project's fundraising arm. "I'm not ready for this," Nick said, wandering abruptly off camera. Finally, on an Aspen ski lift, Buoniconti confronted his old roommate. His focus shifted south, to Miami and Marc and the Project and home.To the degree that he got fired from UST, Green says. He talks about how even the most familiar routines have become confounding, how he wakes up in his own bed wondering, Am I in a hotel? In the spring of 2015, the head of UMs Neuropsychology Department, Bonnie Levin, became the first to cite CTE as a possible cause of Buonicontis mental decline. And both were losing patience with Buoniconti's colleagues at the Miami Project. "Teddy!" Thats his life, man-a vicious cycle.Marc calls it heartbreaking to watch his rock crumble, but he didnt doubt the reason. He was 36, certain hed gotten out clean.My last game, at the end I got on my hands and knees and kissed the ground and thanked God that Id never gotten seriously hurt, Buoniconti says. He stopped physical therapy and insisted instead on going to UM Hospital for a 140-minute, five-day-a-week experimental course of inhaling pure oxygen at high pressure in what looks like a giant transparent tanning bed. Doctors at the University of Miami seemed less alarmed, recommending close observation. It's pretty evident that something significant is happening to the brain as far as disrupted development over time. Nick Buoniconti: The Decline of a Dolphins Legend When they started dating, Nick was still married to Teresa. Theyve all seen the big-budget concussion movie and the news clips; theyve read about the deaths of Junior Seau and Dave Duerson; theyre comparing notes on Facebook about the damage caused by repeated head trauma. He was 78. ", Then came a long pause. Nick Buoniconti Biography. This was an All-America who, after Irish coach Joe Kuharich dubbed him too small to play pro ball, had been humiliatingly ignored by the NFL and passed over in the first 12 rounds of the upstart AFL's draft. How tall was Nick Buoniconti? ? he yells. But he did it; he went outside and blasted a hole in Terrys world. Of those, 91 came unassisted, and over time it would become clear which flank he favored. "GOD DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY," SHE SAID. He looks like the person I married. Lynn called from the background. An all-state outfielder, Nick loved baseball like his dad, Big Nick, who'd pitched semipro all over New England. For months Lynn pushed, and he dug in. Sales had spiked fivefold over the previous decade, but clouds loomed; the business was becoming viewed as a health menace. In 2000, he married his second wife Lynn Weiss. Nick asks. But that set off another roller coaster. WHAT DOES THAT ACCOMPLISH? Buonicontis right wrist, knee and ankle would become arthritic; his right hip would need to be replaced; range of motion in his right shoulder was limited. And with each fall he got angrier, resenting his bodythe instrument that gave him everythingfor betraying him. The ironic tragedythat the very game which made Nick's name also destroyed his sonbecame South Florida lore: How his first wife, Terry (Marc's mother), pleaded with Marc's older brother,. Yet even to his doctors, it was hard to see anything out of the ordinary.His falling had become commonplacetaking out the garbage, walking the dog. It's just a different strategy.". Appalled by the racist welcome doled out to black players before the 1965 AFL All-Star Game in New Orleans, Buoniconti boycotted the game. "The point of impact.". In 1963, Terry had Gina, the first of three quick babies, and Nick enrolled at Boston's Suffolk Law School, racing to courses at night, briefing cases on road trips, studying while teammates partied. Nick Buoniconti Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College | Pro Nick and Lynn stand. The Feinstein neurologist, Andrew Feigin, confirmed to Nick that atrophy had set in on the right side of his brain and believed it was due to abnormal amounts of tau. A former Democratic leader once horrified by cannabis, he supports Donald Trump and now entertains the idea of using medical marijuana. But Nick also found himself more tolerant. ", Such satisfactions went only so far. In 2009, when I met him to write a SPORTS ILLUSTRATED piece on Marc, Nick was humming along with number 4, the Miami Project. By then his falling had become commonplace. After all, his parents spiky relationship was hardly a secret in Miami after their bitter split in 1997and basic chronology made it easy to figure. he begged. Finally Buoniconti confronted his old roommate. Buoniconti sent his retirement papers to the NFL. ", The ironic tragedythat the very game which made Nick's name also destroyed his sonbecame South Florida lore: how his first wife, Terry (Marc's mother), pleaded with Marc's older brother, Nick III, to cut short his career at Duke rather than risk facing another devastating blow. He played for the Boston Patriots and Miami Dolphins, winning two Super Bowls with the Dolphins. Or should we say, 'Nick, you look great and you're doing well and I wouldn't worry about this'? Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. For decades he had pushed back against those who cited his paralysis as Exhibit A in the case against the game, celebrating it as a vehicle for character building and teamwork. He divorced his first wife, Terry, in 1997 after 35 years of marriage. Year after year, it was always Nick recruiting doctors, cajoling athletes to attend the Project's annual New York City gala, making call after call on a mission that, on a personal level at least, seemed doomed. Notre Dame lied to me, he says.No wonder that, compared to headhunting peers like Dick Butkus, Buoniconti always came off as strictly business. Then he hired Nick for legal work. He married his high school sweetheart, Terry Salamano, his rookie year, and it quickly became clear that his $15,000 salary was never going to be enough. It took 20 minutes of sitting alone in the Waldorf ballroom before Lynn could calm him down. His brain and spine were sent to the CTE center at Boston University, where the disease has been found in 96% of players brains studied. It was beautiful. At one point he stood, one of the great names of a generation, and asked for help slipping his phone into his front-left pocket. By then the assault on Buoniconti's body and brain was well under way. Lynn felt otherwise. You mean to tell me, he said, that I coached a mean son of a bitch named Skippy? Not only is CBS a catchall that could indicate Alzheimers and CTE, but its often paired with corticobasal degeneration (CBD), a disease with a sharply defined prognosis. Alain Poupart. NFL Hall of Famer, Springfield native Nick Buoniconti has died In 1982 the Dade County Democratic party named Nick chairman; he quickly organized a $250-a-plate dinner, induced the governor to come and raised $80,000. At the time Buoniconti noticed none of it. Marc calls it "heartbreaking" to watch his rock crumble, but he didn't doubt the reason. She watched the movie Concussion, again, and prayed for Nick Buoniconti. She wanted confirmation of what they were facing; he wanted only reversal. My life sucks, but I make the best of it. And hes like, I know, I know. But it hasnt changed his approach to life.Though he knows Lynns lot is thanklessGod bless her for taking care of him; my dads a pain in the assMarc still wonders if her focus on Nicks deficits makes them worse. Irked freshman year by his boring quarterback roommate, Buoniconti kicked him out and moved in with newfound pal Richie Catenacci, a 5'4" civilian. In the fall of '95 the 54-year-old Nick met Lynn Weiss at a Manhattan bar. He spent long minutes staring at his plate. This was in 2013. Nick ate cheese and crackers and said his dizziness had passed. I dont blame her.Had I known, would I have played? Buoniconti says. Nicholas Anthony Buoniconti (December 15, 1940 - July 30, 2019) was an American professional football player who was a middle linebacker in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). BUONICONTI ESTIMATES HE HAS ABSORBED SOME 520,000 HITS TO THE HEAD. And Marc's paralysis, widely covered in the media, lent Nick's fame horrific depth; he became an unwilling model for life after the cheering stops and was accorded universal respect, even awe, for enduring what seemed an unending penance. And Lynn had to stand by to unbutton and unzip him and ensure that hed emerge from the mens room dry and unexposed.And no one here saw him before all that, when Buoniconti stood up in the hotel lobby and headed toward the ballroom. He said the protein would soon spread to the left side, and that it could never be reversed. In 2014, when a near-fatal respiratory infection had his son saying, for the first time, Just let it end, Nick spent eight hours a day, for six weeks, by Marcs side.Every day in the hospitaland he hates a hospitalhe sat there with me, Marc says. The point of impact.The couple stopped at a diner on the way home. The $15,000 he earned as a rookie was never going to be enough. It was a good job. 1 priority in Nick Buonicontis life is Marc Buoniconti, Lynn says.But she didnt understand that fully until 2008, when Justin, her then-21-year-old son by her first marriage, was assaulted outside a Cambridge, Mass., bar and nearly died of a traumatic brain injury. . A squeamish Nick held Marc during each of Marc's ensuing health scares. He's not alone: Two dozen greats from the '70s, '80s and '90s are here, wandering through the lobby toward the ballroom for the 26th annual Legends Invitational dinner. But upon arrival, Buoniconti found he was there for football, period. Buoniconti was the only player to survive telling Shula, in front of the team, to shut the f--- up. Shula bristled, but he respected it: Buoniconti was rushing to a teammates defense. . Miami Dolphins legend Nick Buoniconti dies at age 78 | Miami Herald When he said goodbye for good, at 36, he was certain he'd gotten out clean. The next morning Buoniconti phoned four times to say that he would meet me at the chamber at 10:30 a.m. "Did I already call you?" But disillusion came fast. Then he started falling. "How am I going to tell his mother?" Thats the meanest guy I ever negotiated with.Because he could walk awayfrom just about anyone. Buoniconti, a Hall of Fame linebacker, has fallen,. Four University of Miami doctors weighed in, calling the procedurewhich is highly effective for wound care"relatively safe" but utterly unproven to render long-term brain improvement. Her voice, quavering, rose in disbelief. The game was his steel mill, his coal minea way out. Quarterback Earl Morrall, the supersub so key to the Perfect Season, died at 79, in 2014, with Stage 4 CTE. I enjoyed it. Running back Jim Kiick, 70, lived in squalor until he was institutionalized last summer with dementia/early onset Alzheimer's. Just before the family gathered for the annual Miami Project gala in New York City last September, Nick tumbled over a chair and gashed up his forehead and nose again.When you marry your best friend and now hes not your best friend anymore because theres someone else in there, its very difficult, Lynn says. Everybodys searching. She was furious when she found out about Lynn. Lynn chalked it up to age. For months Lynn pushed, and he dug in. And even then, he was still speaking and flying and golfing; a February 2014 MRI at the University of Miami attributed the mild asymmetric volume loss in Nicks right anterior temporal lobeand his balance and memory issuesas compatible with age-appropriate involutional changes.But then food became an obsession. Fewer noticed Nick motioning for Lynn as he bolted from the ballroom, perhaps because of the neurodegenerative dementia diagnosis just a month agoor the yet-unspoken opinion that his condition could actually be corticobasal syndrome, complicated by an atypical Parkinsonian Syndrome or CTE or Alzheimers. Nick and Terry, together since Cathedral High, were still married. People kept stopping to say hello.The family liked the story, but I didnt speak to Nick again. You know Terry's not going to put up with that. So when are you going to tell me?What do you want to know? Catenacci asked.Does he love you? Everyone tells Nick he looks "great." Wavy hair just starting to gray, hawkish nose: From the neck up Nick looked like Michelangelos David, done slinging rocks and ready to be anointed king. The Mercolino darkness kicked in hard. ", Robbie folded. He couldnt afford to. "Notre Dame lied to me," he says. He doesn't speak of his increasingly useless left hand, the increasingly frequent trips to the emergency room or how, just a few days earlier, he hurtled backward down a staircase and sprayed blood all over the hardwood, screaming afterward at Lynn, "I should just kill myself! His temper flared again, and the dizzy spells hit; he began to dread going inside the chamber. "It really didn't matter to me if I retired," Buoniconti says. Outside a breeze pushed the palms just enough so you could hear them. Nick Buoniconti, Marc's father, was one of the pivotal players on the '72 Dolphins, a team that went 17-0, the only team in NFL history to complete a perfect season. The NFL, the Players Association and the Hall of Fame Players Foundation do have various outreach programs for former players; NFL Player Care, set up in 2007, has provided more than $12 million to 980 former players in financial need and contributed $6.6 million to medical research studies. Steinbrenner stonewalled through the 1979 season, and Dent walked out of Yankee Stadium after the final game certain his time in the Bronx was over. Teds been in his study in North Carolina, the neuro-feedback . And it's all related. But I'm paying the price." he yells. He also brought peace of mind to Henry Mull and Herman Jacobs. He liked to believe that the world came at a man head on, laid out choices and left him free to choose. But then food became an obsession. I don't think it does any damn good to tell him, 'Your whole brain is going to be full of tau. He was 78. . He died on July 30, 2019 in Bridgehampton, Long Island, New York, USA. He was 68, looked 15 years younger, played golf daily; he and Lynn lived in a $1.98 million home in Coral Gables. For example: Nick's dementia diagnosis, combined with his age and 14-year career, make him eligible for a settlement of just $132,000. He sat on the terrace of his nearby country club, dynamic and bluntly eloquent. Nick and Lynn scoff at this; it remains a touchy issue. "He's frustrated and depressed," Marc said in November. Lindas head pivots.Howve you been? she says.Buoniconti doesnt explain that he cant figure out how to knot a tie or towel his back. ", "EVERYBODY'S SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS," BUONICONTI SAYS. I thought, Is he going to be able to even get through speaking? she says. Nick Buoniconti was 5-11 (180 cm) tall. Before, he was ensconced at UST headquarters in Greenwich, Conn., hardly a presence as Marc smoked pot, vandalized cars and homes, a..nd bombed grades. There was no word, no possible treatment, offering any hope. I was gone, he says. Conceding the irony of his family's relationship with the game is one thing"Our greatest joy and greatest sadness, right"but condemning football as inherently destructive was always something else. He falls down, and that conversation only exacerbates it. And the fact is, one reason Nick decided to make public his decline was to mine some good of it. All signs of progress faded. Thats not the way I fly, and its not because Im stupid. Bantle gave Nick a number to call. IT'S FOREVER EASY to think Miami's top industry, after tourism, boils down to the clich of political chicanery, petty vanities and believe-it-or-not news stories (FLORIDA MAN ARRESTED WITH ALLIGATOR IN HIS BACKPACK) that continue to make Carl Hiaasen and Dave Barry very rich. The Feinstein neurologist, Andrew Feigin, confirmed to Nick that atrophy had set in on the right side of his brain and believed it was due to abnormal amounts of tau. But few saw Buoniconti teeter as he walked off the stage, perhaps because of the atrophy to his right frontal cortex. It's not because I don't love him. Nick and Terry were at the New Jersey spread of his old roomie, Richie Catenacci. But that set off another roller coaster. Nick Buoniconti: Personal Life, Wife, Death The AFL player was married twice and divorced once. And there are days when he doesn't. To subscribe, go here. But soon they were an item. "Go ahead!" He worked so hard, Terry says, but I always felt it was to better our lives, our childrens lives. Say just those words and an entire graying generation will transport back to the primordial highlight show, This Week in Pro Football, all operatic slo-mos and mythic narration.In the next few hours a roster of venerablesPaul Warfield, Jan Stenerud, Jim Hartwill each utter a small shock at being remembered at all. "I feel lost," he said. On a freezing day he came home distressed from the gym; he couldn't figure out how to put on his coat. The settlement is a joke; the way it was structured is a joke. Early predictions had him living 20 years, tops, as a quadriplegic, and hes survived at least four near-death scares in the 31 years since. Another UM neurologist, Carlos Singer, declared in a May '15 summary that Buoniconti's symptoms were most compatible with senile dementia, Alzheimer's disease, CTE and frontotemporal dementia. The Many Lives of Nick Buoniconti (2019) - IMDb Hes lost in his own physical disability and theres no break from it. He's not looking to end football. The night Buoniconti was to emcee the gala in New York, an HBO makeup artist slathered pancake on the fresh gashes on his face. "I was gone," he says. He called Namath, who described a complete cure. But Im going to deteriorate anyway, so do we go back to UCLA? Waiting for Nick's car outside the hospital, the Miami Projectthe building that holds Buoniconti's monumentloomed tall and white across the street. "I feel for these guys. Theyre going to play the clock out until everybody dies.* * *. She was an entrepreneur at heart and owned travel business. But soon they were an item. Told by the Dean of Men, a priest, that he was breaking Notre Dames long tradition of housing athletes together, Nick dug in. Nick wasnt one of those warm-and-fuzzy guys . (A jury dismissed the Buonicontis $22.5million lawsuit against a team doctor in 1988; the school and trainer settled with the family for $800,000.) Even when his life had seemed a testament to optimism, his disposition had folks calling him Negative Nick. I dont remember playing.The subsequent Perfect Season in 72the undefeated, untied campaign culminating in a 147 win over Washington in Super Bowl VIremains the teams monument, but in 73, on the way to another Super Bowl title, the Dolphins allowed even fewer points, just five touchdown passes all season, and Buoniconti set a team record with 162 tackles.Buoniconti has estimated that he absorbed 520,000 hits to the head. They accompany them to brain studies and name-drop superstar CTE researchers. On the night of March 26 Rodriguez was at home. Nick Buoniconti, Hall of Fame Linebacker and 'Inside the NFL' Co-Host "When you marry your best friend and now he's not your best friend anymore because there's someone else in there, it's very difficult," Lynn says. Its not clear, like his mission to cure paralysis. No: You have to listen to Lynn, she said. Buoniconti held no romantic notions about the game. Then, last October, he left a phone message. His prowess merited a full scholarship to The Citadel, South Carolina's premiere military institution. Nick, his words slightly halting, asked me to call him back and recited his number. Some go to North Carolina, some to BU, some to UCLA. Hall of Fame Vikings defensive end Chris Doleman stops by. Hall of Fame LB Nick Buoniconti dies at 78 - ESPN Lynn issued a winter ultimatum: Do the scans or Im not going back to Miami. Buoniconti, unfazed, mused to reporters about the team's hardships, told the Yankees' GM that Dent was signing with the Angels and booked their flight to L.A. Steinbrenner signed Dent to a five-year extension. People kept stopping to say hello. He's sitting at his house; he has no outlets. She was ready to leave him, Marc says. And wasnt it? He called Green, who was skeptical. That year he married his high school sweetheart, Terry Salamano, a nurse. No more.If someone asked if their child should play organized contact football, I could not in good conscience recommend it, Marc says. She recommended Buoniconti undergo a new round of cognitive tests. The phone rang.It was Bantle. Theres always someone worse off than you..Says Marc: Ive told him, Youve got to get your s--- together. I feel like a child.* * *. Ive taken care of thousands of patients with brain and spinal cord injuries and paralysis, but Ive never had a person stay so committed so long. The Dolphins' 1972 and '73 titles command unique reverence as the fractured region's first. No ailing ex-player, after all, has had more resourcesa blue-ribbon health care plan, money for the travel and costs of experimental tests that insurance won't cover, instant access to an innovative and grateful medical staff, a partner with patience enough to research studies and sift medical files and schedule appointmentswith which to navigate his condition. The UCLA team thus recommended a cerebrospinal tap and an experimental PET scan to test for Alzheimer's-type amyloid and the tau prominent in CTE. The Dolphins 1972 and 73 championships command unique reverence as the fractured regions first pro sports title winners. ", Some believe the accident changed Nick. I still dont know what that means. "And I'm 55," he says. Or maybe it went deeper; his mother, Patsy, was a Mercolino, the Neapolitan family line streaked with a dark certitude: Life is out to get you. "We don't give guaranteed contracts," Robbie said. Buoniconti, who retired after the 1976 season, was a three-time team MVP and is a member of the Dolphins . Then, six weeks later, a drop: Buoniconti's UCLA MRI revealed significant atrophy in his frontal lobes, and the resulting diagnosis of corticobasal syndrome was what Green had been wrestling with all along. - Curtis Rawls is a Managing Editor for Full Press Coverage and covers the NFL and the New York Giants. Sports Legends Attend Fundraiser for Buoniconti Fund - WWD Sales had spiked fivefold over the previous decade, but clouds loomed. I never blamed football.No, Nick saw Marcs fate as a lightning-bolt rarity, a freak event compounded by The Citadels allegedly negligent medical staff. Richie reached down to grab him, but for the first time in their 27-year friendship, Nick looked lost. In January 2016 he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and Lynn with breast cancer, and the treatment has been draining. It was a perfect Saturday, the kind where you cant help but think, Yes, we made it: 72 degrees, sitting in the gazebo, sipping champagne. Before, hed see someone in a wheelchair, think Too bad, and keep walking. Paralyzed 30 Years Ago, Marc Buoniconti Turns Tragedy Into Purpose - People In 71, with Buoniconti the hub of coordinator Bill Arnspargers ever-stunting defenses, the Dolphins surrendered just 12.4 points a game and blanked the defending champ Colts in the AFC championship.