October 6, 2002: Darrell Green Breaks the Record for Games By a Defensive Player

October 6, 2002: The Washington Redskins beat the Tennessee Titans, 31-14 at The Coliseum (now named Nissan Stadium) in Nashville, Tennessee. Stephen Davis rushed for 2 touchdown.

Darrell Green started at cornerback for the Redskins. That didn't surprise anybody. He was only involved in 1 tackle, and made no interceptions. That surprised a few people. But it shouldn't: He was 42 years old.

Playing in the NFL at age 42, except for quarterbacks, placekickers and punters, is surprising. But Green was one of the greatest defensive backs in history. It was in his 20th season in the League, and it turned out to be his last. He had made 7 Pro Bowls, helped the Redskins win 2 Super Bowls, was named to the NFL's 1990s All-Decade Team, and his winning of various speed contests over the years gave him the reputation as perhaps the fastest player in NFL history.

What's more, this was the 283rd game of his career, a new record for defensive players. At 282, Jim Marshall, a defensive end of the 1960s and '70, who spent most of his career with the Minnesota Vikings, set the old record -- and still holds the record for consecutive games played by a defensive player.

In 1999, while still active, The Sporting News ranked Green 81st on their list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. In 2010, the NFL Network ranked him 75th on their list of the 100 Greatest Players. He went on to be named to the NFL's 100th Anniversary All-Time Team, and the Ring of Fame of the team now known as the Washington Commanders. (UPDATE: The Commanders later retired his Number 28.)

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October 6, 2002 was a Sunday. These other NFL games were played:

* The New York Giants beat the Dallas Cowboys, 21-17 at Texas Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas.

* The New York Jets lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, 29-25 at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands.

* The Arizona Cardinals beat the Carolina Panthers, 16-13 at Ericsson Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

* The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Atlanta Falcons, 20-6 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

* The Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 28-25 at Alltel Stadium (now EverBank Stadium) in Jacksonville, Florida.

* The Miami Dolphins beat the New England Patriots, 26-13 at Pro Player Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The New Orleans Saints beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 32-29 at the Superdome in New Orleans.

* The Oakland Raiders beat the Buffalo Bills, 49-31 at Ralph Wilson Stadium (formerly Rich Stadium) in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.

* The Baltimore Ravens beat the Cleveland Browns, 26-21 at Cleveland Browns Stadium (now Huntington Bank Field) in Cleveland.

* The Indianapolis Colts beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 28-21 at the RCA Dome (formerly the Hoosier Dome) in Indianapolis.

* The Denver Broncos beat the San Diego Chargers, 26-9 at Invesco Field at Mile High (as Empower Field at Mile High was then known) un Denver.

* The San Francisco 49ers beat the St. Louis Rams, 37-13 at 3Com Park (as Candlestick Park was then known) in San Francisco.

* The next night, on ABC Monday Night Football, the Green Bay Packers beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Bears, 34-21 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, on the campus of the University of Illinois. The Bears played the 2002 season there, while the original Soldier Field was being demolished, and the new one was being built on the site.

* And the Detroit Lions, the Houston Texans, the Minnesota Vikings and the Seattle Seahawks had a bye week.

And baseball's Playoffs were in progress. Two games were played, on opposite sides of the San Francisco Bay Area. In Game 5 of the American League Division Series, the Minnesota Twins beat the Oakland Athletics, 5-4 at the Oakland Coliseum. Each team scored 3 runs in the 9th inning, but the A's couldn't find a tying run. Through the 2022 season, this remains the last postseason series won by the Twins. (UPDATE: They won one in 2023.) But they would lose the AL Championship Series to the team then known as the Anaheim Angels.

Three hours later, at Pacific Bell Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco, the San Francisco Giants beat the Atlanta Braves, 8-3 in Game 4 of the American League Division Series. The next day, they won Game 5 to take the series, and beat the St. Louis Cardinals to win the NL Championship Series. The Angels beat the Giants in the World Series.