TLDR: fumbled ball bounces off the receiver’s heel, then his bum, then two Riders who try to catch it, before a third Rider finally lands it and runs it in for a TD.
Not aware of any thread devoted to weird plays like this, so thought I would start one. Anyone got another?
The first one that comes to mind was Antonio Freeman’s “He did WHAT?” catch, during overtime, in a Packers-Vikings Monday Night Football game in 2000.
The pass was nearly intercepted by Vikings defensive back Cris Dishman; as Dishman bobbled the ball, Freeman fell down. The ball then bounced off Freeman’s back and shoulder, and as Freeman rolled over, he was able to bat the ball with his hand before it hit the ground, before finally gathering it in.
Dishman thought it was incomplete, and so, he didn’t bother to touch (and down) Freeman, who then got to his feet, and ran it in for the game-winning touchdown.
Another Packer one, which I’ve just recalled – I should have remembered it earlier, as I was actually in attendance at that game!
In 1980, the Packers were pretty awful, as they had been for most of the previous decade. On opening weekend, they hosted the Bears, and managed to stymie the Chicago offense; the game was tied 6-6 at the end of regulation, and went to overtime.
The Packers had a chance to win it in overtime, with a field goal by their kicker, Chester Marcol. Marcol had been a Pro Bowl kicker earlier in his career, but had struggled for several years, due to both injuries and addictions to alcohol and cocaine.
Marcol kicked the ball low, and it was blocked by Bears defensive lineman Alan Page (it actually hit Page in the helmet). The ball bounced directly back to Marcol, who had emigrated to the U.S. from Poland as a teenager, and had never previously touched a football in play with anything other than his right foot. Marcol ran untouched around left end, and into the end zone, for the game-winning touchdown.
A month later, the Packers cut him, likely due to his drug use; years later, Marcol acknowledged that he was high on cocaine during the second half of that game.
This is the original CBS game broadcast footage of that play.
Only during the second half? I think the only way he could have managed that was if he was snorting the coke during halftime. If that’s the case, the team couldn’t have been all the surprised by his drug use.
According to this biographical write-up of Marcol, by team historian Cliff Christl:
I would not be surprised if at least some of his teammates knew about it; when coach/GM Bart Starr (who was a very straight arrow) cut him five weeks later, that blocked field goal was Marcol’s only miss of the season to that date, so I suspect that Starr finally found out about Marcol’s drug use at about that time, as there was no apparent performance-based reason to cut him.
Late in that same season, the Packers hosted the Houston Oilers (I attended that game, as well; my family had, and still has, season tickets). Late in the week, after the Oilers had already traveled to Wisconsin for the game, their kicker, Toni Fritsch, developed an injury, and was going to be unable to play. Marcol was still living in Green Bay, so the Oilers quickly signed him, and suited him up. I suspect that Marcol hadn’t been practicing much, and/or was high again, as he missed two extra points in that game, which turned out to be his final NFL game.
Many years ago in a Gray Cup game (CFL championship), team A was set up to kick the winning field goal with time about to expire. The kick missed and went to nearly the end of the 25 yd end zone (now 20yds) and a player from team B, afraid to be tackled for a one point score that would end the game, punted. The ball was caught by a player from team A, who didn’t want to get caught that would put the game into overtime, punted. The ball was caught in the end zone by a player from team B, who punted. When a player from team A caught the ball, no yards penalty was called and the 5 yd penalty was assessed from that spot. Team A then kicked a field goal and won.
