NFL players have hearts of steel, muscles of iron, and in some cases, brains of concrete.
How else to explain that the world’s best athletes make some of the most ridiculous mistakes in sports?
On Sunday, we witnessed a classic mental misfire. Chicago completely flopped right after coming off a near-certain victory against Washington. It was a play so mind-bogglingly stupid that it made us wonder…is this the stupidest play in NFL history?
Consider some of the most laborious operations the league has ever seen. In this case, we’re focusing on intentional moves that went horribly wrong on and off the field, rather than regular gameplay that ended up looking ridiculous. (So no Bat Fumble, no Meadowlands Miracle, no Orlovsky safety. Those were unplanned (albeit hilarious) mistakes in the course of normal gameplay.)
10. Garo Yepremian’s pass
A classic in this kind of list. In Super Bowl VII, the Dolphins’ extremely accurate kicker Garo Yepremian had his field goal attempt blocked and saw the still-live ball slide away. Yepremian grabbed the ball and attempted a pass, but the ball went straight up into the air and ended up in the hands of Washington’s Mike Bass, who rumbled 49 yards and scored a touchdown. It was humiliating for old Gallo, but Miami won anyway, capping off the only undefeated season in NFL history.
9. Just stay down, dude!
Late in the 2009 season, the Rams’ James Butler picked off Lions rookie QB Matthew Stafford in the end zone. Good news, right? And Butler made an unfortunate mistake. He got up, took two steps onto the field, and backpedaled into the end zone thinking it was a touchback. Sorry, bud. It’s safe. (The Lions still lost 17-10.)
8. Wrong way!
Here’s another classic safety disaster. Back in 1964, San Francisco’s Billy Kilmer fumbled the ball and Minnesota’s Jim Marshall scored it. But when Marshall was diverted at the scrum and ran 66 yards into the wrong end zone, he scored a safety for the 49ers, not a touchdown for the Vikings. Fortunately for him, the Vikings just kept winning.
7. Just stay down, dude! II
Please remember. There are different rules for punts and kickoffs, and woe to the receiving team that confuses them. In Week 17 of the 2016 season, the Jets, already outscoring the Bills 23-3, kicked off late in the game. Perhaps losing, the Bills trickled the ball into the end zone. There, the Jets’ Doug Middleton fell on a raw pitch, effectively making it the longest possible onside kick. ah.
6. Leon Lett I
Celebrating early is a recurring theme on this list, and few celebrations are more infamous than Leon Letts’ at Super Bowl XXVII. In the second half of a blowout loss to the Bills, the Cowboys’ Rhett recovered a fumble and began rumbling toward the end zone. But with about 10 yards left and staring at himself on the jumbotron, Rhett began to celebrate. But Buffalo’s Don Beebe caught up to him and knocked the ball out of his hands. You never want to play the worst play of your career in the Super Bowl, but fortunately Rhett didn’t…
5. Leon Lett I
1993 was a tough year for Rhett. The next season, just months after the Super Bowl, he had another mental misfire. Leading 14-13 with 15 seconds left, Dallas thwarted Miami’s field goal attempt and the ball flew harmlessly into the snowy field. Rhett tried to fall on it, but the ball just bounced forward and Miami recovered the ball. The Dolphins then attempted another field goal, which was good. Did you make the two biggest mistakes on Super Bowl Sunday and Thanksgiving Thursday? rough. But if there’s any consolation for Rhett, it’s this. This loss did not derail Dallas’ onslaught to back-to-back Super Bowl titles.
4. Cross the finish line!
It happens every season. Someone dropped the ball before it crossed the goal line, and the world wondered what the hell they were thinking. The most famous incident may be DeSean Jackson’s debacle in 2008. He threw away a spectacular pass from Donovan McNabb that would have been his first NFL touchdown. Everyone, please stop this.
3. Helmet throw
There are no better Browns. In the 2002 season opener, the Browns led the Chiefs 39-37 with four seconds left in the game. Doway Ladd and the rest of the Browns defensive line swarmed Chiefs quarterback Trent Green. Ladd thought he had fired Green and threw off his helmet in glee. But Green actually passed the ball laterally to John Tate, who rumbled all the way to the Cleveland 26. The umpires issued Rudd a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct, and the Chiefs got one play from the 13th inning because a defensive penalty cannot end the game. yard line. Morten Andersen kicked Kansas City for a one-point victory, and Cleveland added another uniquely Cleveland story to its legend.
On this day in 2002, the Chiefs’ John Tate tackle led to a 28-yard run, the second-longest run by an offensive lineman in history, and contributed to the game-winning field goal.
Browns LB Dwayne Ladd’s helmet toss, which extended the game by one down in overtime, contributed slightly to the victory. pic.twitter.com/H7Hqw09qtI
— Quirky Research (@QuirkyResearch) September 8, 2020
2. Fail Barely
Washington is still trying to decide on a name for Sunday’s Hail Mary, but will go with this name suggested by a Twitter reader. Because while the play was great, what elevated it to the level of art was the complete and utter boneheaded play by Tilik Stevenson, who spent precious seconds mocking Washington fans. Turn your back on the playand tipped the ball directly into the hands of receiver Noah Brown. It is as instantaneous as karma. When your fans tell you to pay attention to the game, well… you did something special.
The final outcome of this play has not yet been determined. It could cost the Bears a playoff spot and cost some people their jobs… Fail Barely is the gift that keeps on giving.
1. Worst play in NFL history
You probably already knew this was coming, right? The Colts’ fake punt attempt against the Patriots in 2015 was poorly planned, poorly executed, and an absolutely horrifying failure.
According to then-Colts punter Pat McAfee (I wonder what he does these days), the idea was to try to fool the Patriots into thinking the entire punting team was standing in for the offense. It is said that there was. One player then lined up offside and the rest of the team lined up with him in an illegal formation. Oh, and the “center” — wide receiver Griff Whalen — was only supposed to hold the ball to draw the Patriots offside. However, Whalen had never actually practiced this play before, so as soon as his hand landed on his butt, he immediately hit the ball and everyone was hit. An absolute disaster. It can never get any worse than this…or will it?
