Editing Johnny Unitas (section)

===Rule changes and quarterback protection===
More rules aimed at protecting quarterbacks from physical harm also have been implemented since Unitas retired.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cunningham |first=Sean |date=November 30, 2017 |title=How NFL Rule Changes Created a Golden Era of Quarterback Stats |url=https://www.insidehook.com/sports/nfl-rule-changes-created-golden-era-quarterback-stats |access-date=November 6, 2024 |website=InsideHook}}</ref> In describing Unitas in 2002 after his death, ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' writer [[Paul Zimmerman (sportswriter)|Paul Zimmerman]] observed of this earlier era, "The NFL hadn't liberalized the passing rules. His receivers could get mugged downfield. Defensive linemen could head-slap their way into the backfield, and when they homed in on a quarterback they could hit him any way they wanted. None of today's cellophane-wrapper protection from the officials. ... And Unitas got hit plenty."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Zimmerman |first=Paul |date=September 23, 2002 |title=Talking Football In an interview more than two decades after his last game, the old pro showed the passion of an All-Pro still in his prime |url=https://vault.si.com/vault/2002/09/23/talking-football-in-an-interview-more-than-two-decades-after-his-last-game-the-old-pro-showed-the-passion-of-an-all-pro-still-in-his-prime |magazine=Sports Illustrated}}</ref> [[Upton Bell]], former Colts and Patriots executive and son of NFL Commissioner [[Bert Bell]], in comparing Unitas to modern quarterbacks stated, "They damaged quarterbacks in previous eras. Today they try to preserve them." Bell observed the effects on a quarterback's passing if he knew he would be hit after throwing (old rules) or not (modern rules), and how the best quarterbacks of the modern era would not have been healthy enough to play at a high level into their later thirties if they had been subjected to the unchecked violent play of earlier eras.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bell |first=Upton |title=Present At The Creation |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |year=2017 |pages=298–299}}</ref>

The Colts played the most brutal game in their history on November 13, 1960, in Chicago against the [[Chicago Bears]]. Unitas once said that Bears coach [[George Halas]] offered $500 to any player knocking Unitas out of the game. In the same game, Gino Marchetti said he was hit high and at the knees by two Bears, the hardest he was ever hit in a football game, one of the Bears later apologizing that Halas had told them to do it. With 17 seconds left in the game (Bears up 20-17), Unitas said that hall of fame Bears middle linebacker [[Bill George (linebacker)|Bill George]] had Unitas by the legs after a blitz, the ball having been thrown, holding Unitas upright at the behest of hall of fame defensive end [[Doug Atkins|Doug Adkins]] whose ensuing tackle hit Unitas in the head.<ref name=":11">{{Cite news |last=Klingaman |first=Mike |date=February 1, 2007 |title=It was brutal |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2007/02/01/it-was-brutal/ |work=Baltimore Sun}}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Gilden |first=Jack |title=Collision of Wills, Johnny Unitas, Don Shula, and the Rise of the Modern NFL |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |year=2018 |isbn=9781496206916 |pages=86}}</ref><ref name=":13">{{Cite book |last1=Berry |first1=Raymond |title=All the Moves I Had |last2=Stewart |first2=Wayne |publisher=Lyons Press |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-4930-1780-5 |pages=64}}</ref>

Unitas' nose was busted and blood was pouring out; he would have a scar on the bridge of his nose for the rest of his life. The trainers could not stanch the bleeding, and Unitas refused to leave the game. He scooped up mud from the field and gave it to offensive lineman [[Alex Sandusky]] (or [[Dick Szymanski]] in other tellings) who shoved it into Unitas' nostrils. Unitas continued the game, throwing a 37-yard touchdown pass to [[Lenny Moore]] for a Colts victory. However, the battered Colts did not win another game the rest of the season, and lost their opportunity for a third consecutive world championship.<ref name=":11" /><ref name=":12" /><ref name=":13" />

The {{height|ft=6|in=8}} and {{convert|257|lb|kg|abbr=on}},<ref>{{Cite web |title=Doug Atkins Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/A/AtkiDo00.htm |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com}}</ref> Adkins stated it was not his intention to hurt Unitas, as his shoulder pad inadvertently got under Unitas' helmet. He said Unitas was the greatest of all the great players of that time, and the best player Adkins played against because Unitas was so tough. In describing Unitas' last second pass to Moore that day, Adkins said, "You had to beat [Unitas] the whole 60 minutes." Hall of Fame defensive tackle, and [[NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team|NFL 100th Anniversary All Time]] teammate of both Adkins and Unitas, [[Merlin Olsen]] said of Unitas, "'The thing that makes Johnny Unitas the greatest of all time isn't his arm or even his football sense. ... It's his courage.'"<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sahadi |first=Lou |title=Johnny Unitas America's Quarterback |publisher=Triumph Books |year=2004 |isbn=1-57243-610-7 |pages=192–194}}</ref>