Thanksgiving is approaching, and the NFL is now in full swing. What a season we have had so far, it has been wild, but as we approach winter, things will heat up even more.
Before we get too wrapped up in the heat, or who will take home the Super Bowl, let’s think about the past of the NFL, especially during thanksgiving. The NFL odds are pretty hot at the moment, but we think that the games due on Thanksgiving will hit them up even more.
Thanksgiving Day will see us watching the Bills against the Lions, the Giants against the Cowboys, and the Patriots against the Vikings.
Now, we could predict that the Bills will beat the Lions, the Cowboys will beat the Giants, and the Patriots will beat the Vikings. But… We could so easily be wrong, so far this season we have seen a few unexpected wins already.
Take the Packers vs Jets game in mid-October for example. The Jets have not exactly been top of the charts for a while, but the Packers have, and yet they suffered a brutal 27-10 loss against the Jets! Perhaps Aaron Rodgers is washed up?
So, let’s not jump to any conclusions, enjoy the ride and reminisce a little!
Lett’s Slide
Let us start with the Dolphins vs Cowboys game in 1993, what a game right? Leon Lett has already become a household name at this joint, after he recovered a fumble late in the Super Bowl XXVII game against the Bills.
As he ran toward the goal line, Lett held the ball to showboat, as always and Beebe ran behind him and just thwacked it out of his hand!
Things worsened the next Thanksgiving Day during a weirdly snowy Texas field game. The Cowboys led 14-13 with a measly 15 seconds remaining, then Stoyanovich tried for a 41-yard field goal, which ended up blocked by Jones.
Lett then thought he needed to recover it, and went sprinting after the ball. He then proceeded to slip, and fall on top of it, which made it a live wall.
Miami then recovered on the yard line, got 3 seconds to kick, and Stoyanovich won it for the Dolphins.
The Cowboys were not going to lose again as they worked towards a second straight Super Bowl. Lett pretty much made his name associated with Thanksgiving Day after that… to no surprise.
Sanders Slices Chicago
There’ve been quite a few epic performances on Thanksgiving, this includes a 273 yard game made by Simpson in 76, and a few by Emmitt Smith.
However, the most memorable of all was Barry Sanders when he played against the bears in 97 (video). This was his best season so far, he had already rushed for 2,000 yards, and made an average of 6.1 yards per carry. He was a legend against the Bears that year, and it was one of his finest, in that game he rushed 167 yards on 19 carries overall.
Pretty impressive if we do say so.
“Butt Fumble”
New England were down 14-0 in the 2nd quarter of the 2012 game. Mark Sanchez of the Jets took the snap and found himself locked in a busted play, deciding he would try to run with the ball himself.
Whoops, the Butt Fumble lives on in infamy mostly because it seems to be mentioned all the time, and also because Jets fans can’t let go of it. Sanchez himself loves to talk about it in self-deprecating humor, especially his classic “stay out of my lane, bro!” on twitter!
What happened? Well this tragic play by Sanchez resulted in him turning to run with the ball only to run into the “butt” of Brandon Moore. Taking him down, face first, and allowing the New England to take the ball out of his hand as he lay confused on the field.
This hillariously tragic play ended with the Patriots taking the game home as the Jets never really recovered after this, let’s be honest, really weird play.
1st Overtime – Shortest Ever
Back in 1980 the Bears faced off with the Lions. The Bears were losing 17-3 in the 4th, and then the Bears had managed to score a 20-rad pass from Evans to Fisher, closing in the lead, but then, Evans ran to the end zone as time ran out, sending the game into overtime.
This was the first ever time a game went into overtime on Thanksgiving Day.
Chicago returner Williams then later made it the shortest overtime to occur as he returned the kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown only 13 seconds after that!
When you really think about it, it’s quite funny. The first and shortest Thanksgiving Day overtime!
Heads Or Tails?
Back in 1998 this Thanksgiving Day game resulted in a rule book change for the NFL. The Lions and the Steelers were both tied as they went into overtime, with the Steelers running back, Bettis, watching Luckett flip the coin toss.
Luckett called heads but then very fast, changed his mind to tails. He was awarded the ball in spite of the protests from Bettis.
Then Lions kicker Hanson booted a winning field goal on the possession, and it was decided after this that players have to call the toss before the coin is even flipped.
The Finest Hour
In 1974, after Staubach got a concussion in the 3rd, a rookie came in as the team faced a 16-3 deficit. Longley, the rookie, started work and led two drives, bumping the Cowboys up to 17-16.
Later, he gobsmacked the Redskins and Cowboys alike as he threw a 50-yarder to Pearson, at 28 seconds left to let the Cowboys win by one point.
Sadly, this was Longleys best moment, as only 2 years later he punched Staubach in training and was suspended before he ended up with the Chargers, who ended up cutting him after the 77 training camp.
He was then cut by the CFL’s Tiger in 1980, and eventually he just gave up football for good, and now, it is like he just disappeared!
Beating The Hapless Lions
In 82 the Lions were on New York’s 2 yard line to pull ahead, when Danielson (quarterback) took the snap and tossed it to King who ran a fade-out to the side. Laurence Taylor then sped in, picked off the pass, and took the ball 97 yards to the opposite end zone to win the game for the Giants.
