6 Memorable NFL Games with Endings No One Expected

"On any given Sunday..." the cliché goes, "any team can beat any other." In the cases of the following games illustrating that not only can any team beat any other, they can do it in the most interesting and inexplicable ways. And not just on Sunday, but any given Monday or Thursday, as the case may be.

These are six improbable wins, with improbable circumstances and situations resulting in six memorable football games. There are 2 Monday Night Football Games, 1 Thanksgiving Day game, an opening day game and two playoff games. For sure, there are other memorable endings: Super Bowl XXXIV where Kevin Dyson came up a yard short of a game winning touchdown in the final seconds, Super Bowl XXXVI where Adam Vinatieri kicked a 48-yard field goal as time expired. This is more about the oddities of the game - where not only the unexpected happens, but a win happens in a most unexpected way for a team that might have no business winning based on the rest of the game.

November 25, 1993. Miami Dolphins 16 - Dallas Cowboys 14.

Thanksgiving Day, 1993. As one of the two traditional hosts of the NFL Thanksgiving Day games, Dallas can normally be counted on for good weather. On this day, though, Dallas was hit with a freak snow storm.

11 months earlier, in the closing moments of Super Bowl XXVII Defensive Tackle Leon Lett recovered a fumble and was running toward what seemed to be an easy touchdown. As he showboated toward the end zone, the ball was knocked out of his hand resulting in a touchback. While that was a memorable gaffe, Mr. Lett had an even more spectacular blunder in mind for the Dallas fans.

The game has been a low scoring affair, largely because of the weather. With 15 seconds left to play, the Cowboys have a 14-13 lead. The Dolphins line up for a 41-yard field goal attempt.

The Cowboys Defensive Tackle Jimmie Jones got his hands on the kick and knocked the ball down. As the ball spun on the frozen and icy field, Dallas Linebacker Ken Norton attempted to wave off teammates from touching the ball. If the ball stops spinning, the play is over, the Cowboys retain possession of the ball, and win the game.

Apparently caught in the moment, Lett ran toward the ball in an attempt to recover it. In so doing, touched it, bobbled it and pushed it further into Dallas territory. Because a Dallas player touched the ball, the ball was then live and up for grabs. The Dolphins recovered on the Dallas 1 yard line with mere seconds remaining, but with enough time for kicker Pete Stoyanovich to attempt a second, this time 19-yard, field goal as time expired. Dolphins win 16-14.

September 8, 2002. Kansas City Chiefs 40 - Cleveland Browns 39

The opening game of the 2002 season for the Cleveland Browns ended in a 40-39 defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs. It's a story that happens again and again - a disappointing 1 point loss, but it's how the Browns came to lose that game.

The Chiefs had scored 20 points in the 4^th quarter but the Browns had killed just under 2 minutes, 30 seconds off the clock on a scoring drive that had put them in the lead with 29 seconds to go. Time against them, but the Chiefs had one more chance to win the game.

Dante Hall returned the kickoff 19 yards to the Kansas City 35 yard line. On the next play, Trent Green, the Kansas City quarterback not known for being swift afoot, ran for 12 yards setting up 1^st and 10 to go from the Chiefs 47. After an incomplete pass, Offensive lineman John Tait - another unlikely candidate to run - took a lateral and ran for 36 yards. Dwayne Rudd, a Browns linebacker, had rushed in and leveled Green without seeing the lateral. In celebrating the sack that didn't happen, he ripped off his helmet and tossed it down field as time clicked off the clock.

This cost the Browns an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, resulting in the ball being placed half the distance to the goal; because the game cannot end on a defensive penalty, the Chiefs had one more play: a Morten Andersen 30 yard field goal attempt to win the game.

October 8, 2007. Dallas Cowboys 25 - Buffalo Bills 24.

The Monday Night Football match up featured 4-0 Dallas against an apparently hapless 1-3 Buffalo Bills squad. The crowd in Orchard Park had waited 13 years for a Monday Night game and until the last play of the game, it looked as if the Bills might actually pull out the miracle win.

6 minutes into the game, George Wilson of the Bills intercepted Tony Romo and returned the pick for a touchdown. This scene repeated itself again with about 3 minutes remaining in the half when Chris Kelsay batted a Romo pass and caught it in the end zone. Things got worse for the Cowboys when Terrence McGee returned the Dallas kickoff, following a field goal, for 103 yards half way through the third quarter bringing the score to 24-13 in Buffalo's favor.

Despite a 6 turnover performance, Dallas Quarterback Tony Romo drove the Cowboys 80-yards to a touchdown pass to Patrick Crayton with 20 seconds remaining. The score stood at 24-22, Buffalo when the 2-point conversion failed.

With 20 seconds remaining, Dallas' only hope was to recover an onside kick - a low percentage play. As it happened, Dallas Tight End Tony Curtis recovered the onside kick at the Buffalo 47-yard line. With two quick receptions, Romo advanced the ball 12 yards to the Buffalo 35 setting up a 53-yard field goal with 2 seconds left. The ball flew through the uprights as time expired, giving the Cowboys the game 25-24.

January 3, 1993 Buffalo Bills 41 - Houston Oilers 38
"The Comeback"

The Bills had been the AFC Champions for the previous two years and were making a third run for the Super Bowl. They had the home field advantage in this round of the playoffs and hosted the Oilers whom they had faced the previous week in the final game of the season and lost 27-3. Jim Kelly, the Bills' hall of fame quarterback had suffered a knee injury in that game and were forced to start Frank Reich.

The Oilers had jumped out to a 28-3 halftime lead and compounded the Buffalo disaster on the first pass of the second half, returning an interception for a touchdown. 35-3.

The Houston kickoff was windblown and resulted in the Bills taking possession at midfield. Reich led the Bills on a 50-yard drive, capped off by a 1 yard run by a Kenneth Davis rush - Davis having come into the game as an injury replacement for Thurman Thomas. The Bills then onside kicked the kickoff and recovered. In less than 7 minutes in that third quarter, the Bills scored 28 points and brought the score to 35-31. They had scored on drives set up by a muffed kickoff, a squib kick recovery, a punt, and an interception and 4^th down conversion.

In the 4^th, the Bills recovered a missed field goal by the Oilers' Al Del Greco. The ensuing drive included a 35-yard rush and a 25-yard pass, and was capped off with a 17 yard touchdown pass to improbably take the lead. Houston countered with a 63-yard field goal scoring drive that included a 4^th down conversion to tie the game.

Houston won the coin flip and began their drive with three consecutive pass attempts. The third of which was intercepted by DB Nate Odomes. On the interception, the Oilers were flagged for a facemask penalty for 15 yards, setting the Bills up with first down on the Oilers 20-yard line. On third down and four, Buffalo went for the field goal and the win.

October 16, 2006 Chicago Bears 24 - Arizona Cardinals 23

In a game not dissimilar to the game discussed above, the 4-0 Chicago Bears arrived in Glendale, Arizona for a Monday Night mismatch with the 1-4 Arizona Cardinals. Simlarly, Bears Quarterback Rex Grossman put in a 6-turnover effort - four interceptions, and two fumbles.

The Cardinals leapt out to a 20-0 lead, the Bears scoring for the first time half way through the third quarter on a 23-yard field goal only to be answered by a 5:30 scoring drive by the Cards to bring the score to 23-3 with about 18 minutes to play.

The Bears went 3-and-out on their next drive and punted. On the second play of the Arizona drive and with 2 seconds left in the 3^rd, rookie Quarterback Matt Leinart fumbled on the Arizona 6 yard line and the Bears recovered the ball in the end zone. After the extra point, the score stood at 23-10.

With 9:25 left in the game, Grossman was again intercepted with a 73 yard return. For a few moments, it looked as if the Cardinals had put the game away - The Bears challenged and the play was overturned. On the next play, Grossman through a short pass in the middle - and THAT pass was picked off. This time though the Cardinals went three and out punting the ball away - with less than 7:30 remaining, the score stood at 23-10. With less than 6 minutes to play, Grossman was again intercepted and Arizona went into clock killing mode. With a little more than 5 minutes to play, normally reliable Running Back Edgerin James fumbled the ball, with the Bears' C. Tillman returning it for a touchdown. After the extra point the score was 23-17.

The Cardinals first play from scrimmage on the next possession began with less than 5 minutes to play. Over the course of about a minute and half of game play, the Cards advanced the ball 14-yards to their 33. With a solid punt of 50 yards, the Bears' Devin Hester fielded the ball from the Chicago 17...and returned it 83 yards for a touchdown. With less than 3 minutes to play the Cardinals now trailed 24-23.

The Cardinals made the most of their time, eventually driving the ball to the Chicago 22 setting up a 40-yard field goal attempt. With 52 seconds left, and the game on the line, the normally reliable Neil Rackers kicked Wide left. The Cardinals had squandered a 20-point half time lead.

January 8, 2000 Tennessee Titans 22 - Buffalo Bills 16
"Music City Miracle"

The game began as a defensive struggle, the first quarter ending 0-0. The Titans scored the first points of the game in a most improbable manner - on a safety when Defensive End Jevon Kearse sacked Bills Quarterback Rob Johnson in the end zone. On the free kick after the safety, the Titans returned the ball to the Bills' 28-yard line and eventually scored a touchdown. The teams went into the half with the score 12-0.

Bills running back Antoine Smith, spearheaded a 62-yard drive at the start of the 3^rd quarter resulting in 7 points. Early in the 4^th quarter, the Bills repeated a drive quite similar to their first scoring drive, going 65-yards and Smith rushing for a second touchdown. The Bills attempted and missed a 2-point conversion, bringing the score to 13-12.

With a little more than 1:30 remaining, the Titans took a 15-13 lead on a 36-yard field goal. After the ensuing kick off, the Bills drove 38 yards and set up a 41-yard field goal with 16 seconds remaining.

As the seconds ticked off the clock, the Bills made an on-sides kick. Titans fullback Lorenzo Neal recovered the kick at the Titans 25-yard line, and handed the ball to tight end Frank Wycheck. Wycheck ran toward the right sideline, then lateralled the ball to Wide Receiver Kevin Dyson, who ran 75-yards for the touchdown.

By NFL rule, the play was automatically challenged as to whether there was a lateral or an illegal forward pass. With 3 seconds remaining on the clock, the officials ruled that the play was a legal lateral and the Titans were victorious.

REFERENCES:

ESPN, URL: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=220908005

ESPN, URL: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=271008002

ESPN, URL: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=261016022

Encylopedia.com, URL: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-15610453.html

Wikipedia, URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFL_playoffs%2C_1999-2000
#AFC:_Tennessee_Titans_22.2C_Buffalo_Bills_16

Buffalobills.com "The Comeback," URL: http://www.buffalobills.com/history/TheComeback.jsp