# "walk-off" kick return **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [December 23, 2010, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-off-kick-return/565155 "2010-12-23T05:05:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-off-kick-return/565155/1 "2010-12-23T05:05:05Z")
The Giant’s collapse cumlinated with Desean Jackson’s “walk-off” punt return TD. Can anyone else recall a “walk-off” kick return TD? ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-off-kick-return/565155/2 "2010-12-23T05:14:47Z")
The Music City Miracle was as close as I can remember, but the Titans did have to kick off with 3 seconds left so it’s not quite there. How about [The Play](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Play#The_Play)? It’s college football, but it was a “walk-off” kick return. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-off-kick-return/565155/3 "2010-12-23T05:18:05Z")
I’m sure there have been some in overtime games in the past. Jackson was the first player to score a game-winning TD on a punt return as regulation ended, though. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-off-kick-return/565155/4 "2010-12-23T05:24:17Z")
BTW, I mean ANY type of kick return, punt or Kick off. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-off-kick-return/565155/5 "2010-12-23T05:39:23Z")
There was a Thanksgiving Day game a number of years ago that ended on a kick-return TD of the overtime opening kick-off. I remember it because we were listening to the game on the radio as we were driving to my aunt’s house, got out of the car as regulation play ended, and the game had already ended before we got inside to see it. **Airman Doors** has already mentioned the most famous example of the phenomenon you’re talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-off-kick-return/565155/6 "2010-12-23T11:14:20Z")
I’m not sure what a “walk off” is. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-off-kick-return/565155/7 "2010-12-23T11:34:54Z")
The Jets did it to start the 2002 regular season against the Bills. From [NFL.com play-by-play](http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2002090801/2002/REG1/jets@bills/analyze/box-score#analyze-channels:cat-post-playbyplay): > [@](#): > > Overtime > New York Jets at 15:00 > M.Hollis kicks 66 yards from BUF 30 to NYJ 4. C.Morton for 96 yards, TOUCHDOWN. Gotta love returning the overtime kickoff for a touchdown. That was his second kickoff return touchdown of the game. Chad Morton was The Man that day. This was more of a walk-off than the Eagles, btw, because they didn’t have to line up for an extra point afterward. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-off-kick-return/565155/8 "2010-12-23T11:43:55Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > I’m not sure what a “walk off” is. The winning play is the last play of the game. It’s taken from baseball, specifically a home run, where the losing team leaves the field (the “walk-off” part) while the winning team remains to celebrate. Other events have been adapted to use the “walk-off” terminology, but what they all have in common is that whatever happened was the game winner. The OP in this case is looking for instances of kick (kickoff/punt) returns that have been the last play of the game. DeSean Jackson’s return wasn’t strictly speaking a “walk-off” either, due to the minor nitpick of the pro forma extra point, but that’s just quibbling. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-off-kick-return/565155/9 "2010-12-23T11:45:38Z")
Ah. Thanks for the explanation. I had checked the play on youtube but could not catch anything to connect it to that term. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-off-kick-return/565155/10 "2010-12-23T15:02:48Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > There was a Thanksgiving Day game a number of years ago that ended on a kick-return TD of the overtime opening kick-off. I remember it because we were listening to the game on the radio as we were driving to my aunt’s house, got out of the car as regulation play ended, and the game had already ended before we got inside to see it. Bears versus Lions, Dave Williams on the return, Thanksgiving 1980. This and the aforementioned Jets game are the only OT kickoff return TD’s that I know of; I’m not sure if there have been any recently. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-off-kick-return/565155/11 "2010-12-23T18:56:01Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > DeSean Jackson’s return wasn’t strictly speaking a “walk-off” either, due to the minor nitpick of the pro forma extra point, but that’s just quibbling. Just curious, as I didn’t see that game … Did the Giants try to defend/block that PAT at all? Seems to me that it would be pretty hard to muster any enthusiasm for that play … ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-off-kick-return/565155/12 "2010-12-23T23:09:19Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > The winning play is the last play of the game. It’s taken from baseball, specifically a home run, where the losing team leaves the field (the “walk-off” part) while the winning team remains to celebrate. WHAT?!?! That’s not why it’s called that. It’s a walk off because the winning team doesn’t have to bat anymore. The game’s over, so the home run hitter (or winning run scorer) can round the bases and “walk off” into the clubhouse. It’s the _winners_ that do the walking off. I’m sure the true origin is lost to the sands of time. Therefore, I’m right. ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-off-kick-return/565155/13 "2010-12-24T00:06:29Z")
> [@SCSimmons](#): > > Just curious, as I didn’t see that game … Did the Giants try to defend/block that PAT at all? Seems to me that it would be pretty hard to muster any enthusiasm for that play … I don’t think the Eagles even attempted to take one. Why bother? Just kneel down. ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-off-kick-return/565155/14 "2010-12-24T00:07:35Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > WHAT?!?! That’s not why it’s called that. It’s a walk off because the winning team doesn’t have to bat anymore. The game’s over, so the home run hitter (or winning run scorer) can round the bases and “walk off” into the clubhouse. It’s the _winners_ that do the walking off. > > I’m sure the true origin is lost to the sands of time. Therefore, I’m right. I am not sure as to the origin, but I would side with his interpretation over yours. According to wikipedia, we are correct. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-off-kick-return/565155/15 "2010-12-24T03:37:58Z")
> [@markdash](#): > > I don’t think the Eagles even attempted to take one. Why bother? Just kneel down. [The Eagles did kick it, and they converted.](http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=301219019) They were tied before the run and they won by 7. Simple math. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-off-kick-return/565155/16 "2010-12-25T02:15:16Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > The Jets did it to start the 2002 regular season against the Bills. I remember that game. You could hear the screaming from every house in Western New York. I’d just moved to this area and it was my first taste of the love-hate relationship fans have with the Bills. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-off-kick-return/565155/17 "2010-12-25T09:47:35Z")
[QUOTE=OP] cumlinated [/QUOTE] Because Iggles fans jizzed their pants? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-off-kick-return/565155/18 "2010-12-26T01:41:24Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > Bears versus Lions, Dave Williams on the return, Thanksgiving 1980. This and the aforementioned Jets game are the only OT kickoff return TD’s that I know of; I’m not sure if there have been any recently. I was at the Bears v Lions game. I took a leak and then bought a big beer settling down to watch the overtime. We kicked off the Bears ran it in. I was sitting there with a big beer . So I drank it while the stadium emptied. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-off-kick-return/565155/19 "2010-12-26T02:04:11Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > Bears versus Lions, Dave Williams on the return, Thanksgiving 1980. This and the aforementioned Jets game are the only OT kickoff return TD’s that I know of; I’m not sure if there have been any recently. Thanks. I knew it was a Lions game, but that didn’t exactly help to nail down the year… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Intelligently\_Designed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intelligently_designed/32/20957_2.png) [@Intelligently\_Designed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intelligently_Designed)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-off-kick-return/565155/20 "2010-12-26T23:25:38Z")
I’ve heard that the Eagles did indeed kick the extra point in case they have to go to tiebreakers in points scored/allowed at the end of season.