The Miracle at the Meadowlands - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Miracle at the Meadowlands is the term used by sportscasters and Philadelphia Eagles

1978 Philadelphia Eagles season

The 1978 Philadelphia Eagles season resulted in an appearance in the postseason for the first time in eighteen years, which ended the longest postseason drought in the franchise’s history and one of the longest in the history of the National Football League....

fans for a fumble

Fumble

A fumble in American and Canadian football occurs when a player, who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed or scoring. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking or successful handing that results in loss of player possession...

recovery by cornerback

Cornerback

A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...

Herman Edwards

Herman "Herm" Edwards, Jr. is an American football analyst who most recently coached in the National Football League for the Kansas City Chiefs. He was fired from this position on January 23, 2009. Since then, he has been hired as a football analyst for ESPN...

that he returned for a touchdown

Touchdown

A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...

at the end of a November 19, 1978 NFL

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

game against the New York Giants

1978 New York Giants season

The 1978 New York Giants season was the 54th season for the club in the National Football League.-NFL Draft:-Regular season:The Miracle at the Meadowlands is the term used by sportscasters and Philadelphia Eagles fans for a fumble recovery by cornerback Herman Edwards that he returned for a...

in Giants Stadium

Giants Stadium

Giants Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Maximum seating capacity was 80,242. The building itself was 230.5 m long, 180.5 m wide and 44 m high from service level to the top of the seating bowl and 54 m high to...

. It is considered miraculous because the Giants were ahead and could easily have run out the final seconds; they had the ball, and the Eagles had no timeouts

Sport time-out

In sports, a time-out is a halt in the play. This allows the coaches of either team to communicate with the team, e.g., to determine strategy or inspire morale. Time-outs are usually called by coaches or players, although for some sports, TV timeouts are called to allow media to air commercial breaks...

left. Everyone watching expected quarterback

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

Joe Pisarcik

Joseph Anthony Pisarcik is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League for eight seasons, from 1977 through 1984 after playing college football at New Mexico State University. His first professional team was the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football...

to take one more snap

Snap (football)

A snap starts each American football and Canadian football play from scrimmage.-Action:...

and kneel with the ball

Quarterback kneel

In American football, a quarterback kneel, also called taking a knee, genuflect offense, or victory formation occurs when the quarterback immediately kneels to the ground after receiving the snap. It is primarily used to run the clock down, either at the end of the first half or the game itself, in...

, thus running out the clock

Running out the clock

In sports, running out the clock refers to the practice of a winning team allowing the clock to expire through a series of pre-selected plays, either to preserve a lead or hasten the end of a one-sided contest.- American football :...

and preserving a 17-12 Giants upset. Instead, he botched an attempt to hand off the football to fullback

Fullback (American football)

A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...

Larry Csonka

Larry Richard Csonka is a former collegiate and professional American football fullback.-Childhood:One of six children, Csonka was born in Stow, Ohio where he was raised on a farm by his Hungarian family...

. Edwards picked up the dropped ball and ran 26 yards for the winning score.

Giants fans refer to the play simply as "The Fumble", though that name is generally used outside of New York for a play in the 1987 AFC Championship Game

The Fumble

In American football, The Fumble refers to a specific incident in the AFC Championship Game between the Cleveland Browns and the Denver Broncos on January 17, 1988 at Mile High Stadium...

between the Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

and Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

. It has been referred to as one of the worst, if not the worst, coaching

Coach (sport)

In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...

decisions in American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

.

For the Eagles, the victory snatched from the jaws of certain defeat served as a morale

Morale

Morale, also known as esprit de corps when discussing the morale of a group, is an intangible term used to describe the capacity of people to maintain belief in an institution or a goal, or even in oneself and others...

boost, leading that season to a playoff

NFL playoffs

The National Football League playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held at the end of the regular season to determine the NFL champion. Six teams from each of the league's two conferences qualify for the playoffs based on regular season records, and a tie-breaking procedure exists in the...

berth and, two seasons later, the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance

Super Bowl XV

Super Bowl XV was an American football game played on January 25, 1981 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1980 regular season...

. To Giants fans, it was the nadir

Nadir

The nadir is the direction pointing directly below a particular location; that is, it is one of two vertical directions at a specified location, orthogonal to a horizontal flat surface there. Since the concept of being below is itself somewhat vague, scientists define the nadir in more rigorous...

of a long era of mediocrity, but the aftermath would lead to major changes that proved beneficial for the franchise in the long run.

Background

It was the first meeting between the divisional rivals that season. The Eagles were in third place in the NFC East

NFC East

The NFC East is a division of the National Football League's National Football Conference. It currently has four members: the Philadelphia Eagles, the New York Giants, the Dallas Cowboys, and Washington Redskins....

, behind the Dallas Cowboys

1978 Dallas Cowboys season

The 1978 Dallas Cowboys season was their 19th in the NFL. For the third consecutive season, the Cowboys finished in first place in the NFC East. The Cowboys scored 384 points, which ranked first in the NFC, while the defense only gave up 208 points. Twice, the Cowboys appeared on Monday Night...

and Washington Redskins

1978 Washington Redskins season

The 1978 Washington Redskins began with the team trying to improve on their 9-5 record from 1977. This was Jack Pardee's first season as Head Coach.For the 1978 season, the NFL expanded from a 14-game season to a 16-game season.-NFL Draft:-Schedule:...

; the Giants were in fourth. The teams went into the game in similar situations, but heading in different directions. They had playoff hopes, especially since this was the first 16-game NFL season, but likely would have to settle for a wild card

Wild card (sports)

The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...

berth due to the solid lead the powerful Dallas Cowboys had in the division. Given the similarity of their records, it was likely the outcome would have playoff implications, since the first tie-breaker for a wild card spot is the head-to-head record.

Giants

Going into the game, the Giants were 5–6. A three-game losing streak on the road had made the team's playoff prospects much dimmer since midseason. However, a win at home against the favored Eagles could, the team hoped, reverse the trend and keep an outside shot at a playoff spot alive. Despite the team's storied past

History of the New York Giants

The history of the New York Giants, an American football team which currently plays in the NFL's National Football Conference, comprises more than 80 seasons. The Giants were founded in 1925 by Tim Mara in the then five-year-old NFL. Mara owned the team until his death in 1959, when it was passed...

, the Giants had not played in the postseason since 1963 and had managed only two winning seasons since then. Although they were the league's fourth oldest franchise, they were almost a non-entity in the post-merger

AFL-NFL Merger

The AFL–NFL merger of 1970 was the merger of the two major professional American football leagues in the United States at the time: the National Football League and the American Football League...

NFL. The move to New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

in 1976 had alienated some longtime fans, even if it made more seats available. Fans had never gone this long without a contender, but while they were growing restless, they were still forgiving.

However, there was little pressure they could bring to bear on the people who could ultimately make changes, longtime team owners Wellington Mara

Wellington Mara

Wellington Timothy Mara was the co-owner of the NFL's New York Giants from 1959 until his death, and one of the most influential and iconic figures in the history of the National Football League. He was the younger son of Tim Mara, who founded the Giants in 1925...

and his nephew Tim, who inherited his father Jack's

Jack Mara

John V. Mara was a co-owner of the New York Giants; an American football team which plays in the National Football League. Jack was the son of Tim Mara and brother of Wellington, and served as the team's president for 24 years...

stake in the team after Jack Mara had passed away in 1965. The two managed team operations closely, but feuded so bitterly with each other that at one point a partition had to be erected between their seats in the owners' box. The effects of this uncertainty and instability at the highest managerial level affected the team's play, most significantly when it came to some apparently inexplicable personnel decisions. It was not lost on fans that players (Craig Morton

Craig Morton

Larry Craig Morton is a former professional football player. He played quarterback in the National Football League for 18 seasons, 1965-82...

and Fran Tarkenton

Fran Tarkenton

Francis Asbury "Fran" Tarkenton is a former professional football player, TV personality, and computer software executive....

) and coaches (Tom Landry

Tom Landry

Thomas Wade "Tom" Landry was an American football player and coach. He is ranked as one of the greatest and most innovative coaches in National Football League history, creating many new formations and methods...

and Vince Lombardi

Vince Lombardi

Vincent Thomas "Vince" Lombardi was an American football coach. He is best known as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s, where he led the team to three straight league championships and five in seven years, including winning the first two Super Bowls following the 1966 and...

) who had once been in the Giants' fold were now enjoying or had enjoyed great success elsewhere. The team also had passed over future stars for less able players in the annual draft

NFL Draft

The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...

.

But all this was for naught. With far more demand for tickets than there were available, the team was financially healthy no matter how poorly it performed on the field, and the Maras were widely viewed as complacent by observers who didn't know the depth of the ownership schism.

Friction between offensive players and assistant coaches

The week before the game, players, particularly on offense, had complained to reporters about the team's assistant coaches. Head coach John McVay

John McVay

John McVay is a former American football coach who rose through the coaching ranks from high school, through the college level, and to the NFL...

was popular with them. He had taken over the team in the middle of the 1976 season after Bill Arnsparger

Bill Arnsparger

William Stephen "Bill" Arnsparger is a former American college and professional football coach.- Early years :Arnsparger was born in Paris, Kentucky in 1926. He attended Paris High School, and became connected with the school's longtime football and basketball coach, Blanton Collier...

was fired and improved morale while adding talented players to the team. However, the players were not so enthusiastic about many of the longtime friends he had hired as assistants. The players felt the assistant coaches were uninterested in helping younger players develop, at least compared to their counterparts on other teams. As an example, they pointed out that the season before, none of the team's three quarterbacks had had any previous NFL experience, yet no quarterback coach had been hired. They also noted that one of the few coaches who seemed to care, Jerry Wampfler, coached the offensive line, one of the Giants' most improved units that season.

Offensive coordinator

Offensive coordinator

An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of a gridiron football team who is in charge of the offense. Generally, along with his defensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...

Bob Gibson

Bob Gibson (football coach)

-External links:...

was the most frequent target of complaints. He had taken to the relatively nascent practice (now quite common) of calling all the plays from the upstairs press box. Pisarcik had often challenged Gibson about this, sometimes openly, over the past two seasons. The players felt that Gibson should let Pisarcik call plays. They pointed out that during the previous week's loss to Washington, the team had attempted only three passes on several third-and-long situations during the game. They also felt insulted that on a third-and-7 in overtime, the coaches had called a run play. Gibson for his part had limited confidence in Pisarcik's passing ability, an opinion widely shared (the media in New York referred to him as "off-Broadway

Off-Broadway

Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...

Joe", a sarcastic

Sarcasm

Sarcasm is “a sharp, bitter, or cutting expression or remark; a bitter jibe or taunt.” Though irony and understatement is usually the immediate context, most authorities distinguish sarcasm from irony; however, others argue that sarcasm may or often does involve irony or employs...

reference to a former Jets

New York Jets

The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

' quarterback, "Broadway Joe" Namath

Joe Namath

Joseph William "Joe" Namath , nicknamed "Broadway Joe" or "Joe Willie", is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for the University of Alabama under coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and his assistant, Howard Schnellenberger, from 1962–1964, and professional football in the...

). He and other coaches pointed out that the three passing attempts the players pointed to had resulted in two interceptions and a sack

Quarterback sack

In American football and Canadian football, a sack occurs when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before he can throw a forward pass, or when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in the "pocket" and the intent of what he was going to do is unclear...

.

The team's general philosophy at the time was to concentrate on its improving defense and play conservatively on offense until it could be made more competitive. Players on the Giants' offense became frustrated over this decision and wanted more chances to prove themselves.

Eagles

At 6-5, things looked a little more promising for the visitors. The two-game win streak they took into the game had gotten them over a .500 first half. Momentum clearly was on their side, and the Giants had not beaten the Eagles since the opening game of the 1975 season

1975 NFL season

The 1975 NFL season was the 56th regular season of the National Football League. It was also the first time that featured an entire season with no games ending in a tie. The league made two significant changes to increase the appeal of the game:...

, three years prior. Still, the Giants were a potent team, and the Eagles knew they could not relax.

They, too, were an old-line NFL franchise coming off many years

History of the Philadelphia Eagles

The official NFL history of the Philadelphia Eagles begins in 1933. The Eagles' history may be divided into eight distinct eras. In their history, the Eagles have appeared in the Super Bowl twice, but they have never won in...

in the doldrums. They had not been to the playoffs since winning their third NFL title in 1960

NFL Championship Game, 1960

The 1960 National Football League championship game was the 28th NFL title game. The game was played on Monday, December 26, 1960 at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....

, and had only notched two winning seasons in the 17 years since then. However, their fans were less inclined to be forgiving than Giants' fans. A loss to the slumping Giants would have dealt a severe blow to the confidence the team needed to maintain over the last quarter of its schedule, in which it would face not only the Cowboys, but the equally formidable Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...

as well as the Giants again in Philadelphia. 1978 was also viewed as an important season for head coach Dick Vermeil

Dick Vermeil

Richard Albert "Dick" Vermeil is a former American head coach for the National Football League's Philadelphia Eagles , St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs...

, as there was little doubt the Eagles were playing much better under his watch, mixed with local impatience for concrete results.

The game

The Giants rose to the challenge. Two early Pisarcik touchdown passes gave them a commanding lead, which they extended with a field goal

Field goal (football)

A field goal in American football and Canadian football is a goal that may be scored during general play . Field goals may be scored by a placekick or the now practically extinct drop kick.The drop kick fell out of favor in 1934 when the shape of the ball was changed...

in the second half. The Eagles, conversely, struggled, missing one of their extra point

Extra Point

Extra Point is a twice-daily, two-minute segment on ESPN Radio that covers generic sports-related topical news and opinion. The AM edition airs Monday through Saturday at various times between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. ET, and the PM edition airs Monday through Friday between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. ET...

attempts and botching the snap on the other. The Eagles found themselves down 17-12, meaning they could only win the game with a touchdown as time wound down.

Deep in their own territory, the Giants' Doug Kotar

Doug Kotar

Douglas Alan Kotar was an American football running back for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He was signed as a undrafted free agent out of University of Kentucky by the Giants in 1974. His Jersey number was 44. He rushed for 3,600 yards and is fifth in rushing in New York...

fumbled late in the fourth quarter, raising hopes (or fears) of a comeback by the visitors. Those were quickly put to rest, however, when rookie defensive back Odis McKinney

Odis McKinney

Odis McKinney, Jr. is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League for the New York Giants the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders, and the Kansas City Chiefs...

's first NFL interception gave the Giants possession of the football after the two-minute warning

Two-minute warning

In the National Football League, the two-minute warning is given when two minutes of game time remain on the game clock in each half of a game, i.e. near the end of the second and fourth quarters. There is an additional two-minute warning in the rare event only two minutes remain in an overtime...

. The Eagles had exhausted all their timeouts by this point.

Fans in the stands began heading for the exits as the game seemed all but over, with no apparent remaining danger of an Eagles comeback. Nowadays, teams in this situation let the play clock

Play clock

A play clock is a timer designed to increase the pace in American football and Canadian football, similar to what a shot clock does in basketball...

run down to the last possible second and have the quarterback take a knee. On the sidelines, a disgusted Eagles coach Dick Vermeil

Dick Vermeil

Richard Albert "Dick" Vermeil is a former American head coach for the National Football League's Philadelphia Eagles , St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs...

was turning his attention away from the field and toward the postgame press conference, where he would have to explain to reporters why his team had fallen to an inferior opponent.

The Giants' possession

After a running play on first down, Pisarcik knelt down on second. Eagles middle linebacker

Linebacker

A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...

Bill Bergey

William Earl Bergey is a former American collegiate and Professional Football player. He played collegiately for Arkansas State University and for the American Football League's Cincinnati Bengals and the NFL Philadelphia Eagles....

charged into Giants' center

Center (American football)

Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...

Jim Clack

James Thomas Clack was an American football guard in the National Football League. He played for 11 seasons between 1971 and 1981. He died of heart failure in 2006, after a four-year battle with cancer....

, knocking him backward into Pisarcik in a desperate attempt to force a fumble. Since defensive players usually are not blocked in this situation, they usually in turn do not rush. Offensive players consider any breach of this tacit agreement as a provocation, particularly linemen whose job it is to protect the quarterback, and fights between angry linemen and the opposition were not uncommon.

Gibson did not want to expose his quarterback to further risk of injury (he had already taken some hits earlier in the season). Nor did he want to risk his players being fined for violating the league's rules against fighting. Most importantly, the last thing he wanted was for his team to get a penalty, which could stop the clock and require getting another first down to secure the win. He also personally despised the kneeling play, considering it unsporting and somewhat dishonorable (a view popular among a lot of coaches of the period). Also given that the play clock at the time was only 30 seconds (as it would remain through the 1987 season), a play had to be run. So he called "65 Power-Up", a standard play which called for Csonka to take a handoff and run up the middle.

In the huddle, the Giants were incredulous when the call came in. "Don't give me the ball," the former Dolphins

Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

star begged. Other players asked Pisarcik to change the play, but he demurred. Gibson had berated him for changing a play the week before and threatened to have him waived

Waivers (American football)

Waivers is a National Football League labor management procedure by which a team makes an American football player contract or NFL rights available to all other teams...

if he ever did so again. Gibson did not take the time to explain his decision to Pisarcik. As a result, the rest of the offense simply viewed Gibson's call as a power trip. Because he was a second-year starting quarterback who still had not totally proven himself, in the era before free agency

Free agent

In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....

, Pisarcik lacked the stature to prevail in this kind of dispute.

Csonka claims that, as he walked away from the huddle, he told Pisarcik he would not take the ball if he went through with it. It is not known whether the quarterback heard him or not, however. McVay's headphones, which normally allowed him to communicate with Pisarcik and Gibson, were not working properly at that point either. McVay has since stated that he would certainly have overruled Gibson had he heard what was coming.

Across the line of scrimmage, the Eagles had not huddled, as defensive coordinator

Defensive coordinator

A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...

Marion Campbell

Francis Marion Campbell is a former American football defensive lineman and head coach. Campbell played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs from 1949 until 1951, where he was appropriately nicknamed "Swamp Fox"...

called for an all-out 11-man blitz

Blitz (American football)

In American football or Canadian football, a blitz or red dog is when players on or behind the line of scrimmage during a play, are sent across the scrimmage line to the offensive side to try to tackle the quarterback or disrupt his pass attempt...

. Edwards, who as a defensive back normally would have been several yards deep, was instead close enough to Kotar to talk to him (the Giants player assured him that his team was just going to kneel again). Vermeil later said the blitz made the victory possible.

The Giants wasted several seconds in the huddle in dismay over the play-calling. At the line, Clack saw the play clock winding down and took it upon himself to snap it with 31 seconds left in the game to avoid a delay-of-game penalty, which would have stopped the clock and cost the Giants five yards. Had the Giants knelt on the subsequent play, there still would have been one second left on the game clock once the play clock ran down, requiring a fourth-down play to be run (the play clock at the time ran for 30 seconds; it now runs for 40).

Pisarcik, who at the time was distracted making sure Csonka was in position, was unprepared for the snap. It struck his middle finger so hard there was still blood on the nail after the game. Nevertheless, he held on to the ball after a slight bobble and tried to hand it off to Csonka. Instead, the ball hit Csonka's hip and came loose.

Edwards recovered it on its first bounce as Pisarcik unsuccessfully attempted to fall on it. Kotar, who could have blocked him or fallen on the ball himself, never even saw the fumble, according to Edwards. Once he got it, he sprinted 26 yards totally untouched into the end zone and a 19-17 Eagles victory. There was stunned silence from the stands and the Giants' sideline. The only noise came from the celebrating Eagles.

The call

With Giants victory all but assured, CBS

NFL on CBS

The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...

commentator Don Criqui

Don Criqui

Don Criqui is an American sportscaster, currently employed as a play-by-play announcer for CBS Sports. Criqui's duties include occasional television coverage of National Football League games, women's and men's college basketball, occasional college football and radio play-by-play of ISP Sports'...

(working alongside Sonny Jurgensen

Sonny Jurgensen

Christian Adolph "Sonny" Jurgensen III is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983....

) began reading the end credits of the show shortly before the game's final play:
After the game, while showing league highlights, CBS replayed the play. They showed the reaction of both coaches, while Brent Musburger

Brent Musburger

Brent Woody Musburger is an American sportscaster for the ESPN and ABC television networks. Formerly with CBS Sports and one of the original members of their legendary program The NFL Today, Musburger has covered NASCAR, NBA, MLB, NCAA football and basketball games. Musburger has also served as a...

famously narrated, "A study in contrast!"

The immediate aftermath

For Edwards, the play was a personal redemption, as he had been burned on one of Pisarcik's early touchdown passes and would have been partially to blame for the loss. It also was his first NFL touchdown. Vermeil refused to question McVay's judgment but allowed that he, too, disliked sitting on the ball to preserve a victory.

Giants fans were enraged. For a football team to lose in that situation was unprecedented. Pisarcik, who belatedly explained to the press, "I never had control," needed a police escort to get to his car.

Gibson was fired the next morning. With angry fans already demanding that someone be held responsible for the blunder, team officials felt he had to go in hopes of saving the season. So great was the stigma of having called the play that he never worked in football at any level again. He has since become manager of a bait shop in Florida, according to one report. He refuses to speak about the incident to this day.

Giant fan reaction

Fans turned on management and ownership as previously grumbled complaints about the team's ineptitude turned into an incessant roar. Their team was now the laughingstock of the league. The Fumble (a term in use before the end of the week) epitomized all the mismanagement and all the talent the team had let get away.

At a demonstration outside the stadium prior to the next home game against the Los Angeles Rams

St. Louis Rams

The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...

, many fans threw their tickets into a bonfire

Bonfire

A bonfire is a controlled outdoor fire used for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration. Celebratory bonfires are typically designed to burn quickly and may be very large...

. A Newark

Newark, New Jersey

Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...

furniture dealer named Morris Spielberg organized a Giants' Fans Committee after running an ad in the Newark Star-Ledger that drew hundreds of responses. They met at a hotel near the stadium prior to the team's final home game on December 10 against the St. Louis Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

and distributed flyer

Flyer (pamphlet)

__notoc__A flyer or flier, also called a circular, handbill or leaflet, is a form of paper advertisement intended for wide distribution and typically posted or distributed in public place....

s to pass out to fellow fans during the game. Spielberg had arranged for a plane

Fixed-wing aircraft

A fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...

to fly over the stadium with a banner reading "15 Years of Lousy Football — We've Had Enough." When it came, fans were to chant, "We've had enough."
The Giants posted a 17-0 shutout win, but when the plane came (an hour behind schedule), fans showed the victory was not enough to make them forget their recent humiliation. There were more than 24,000 empty seats, yet crowd applause and chants briefly stopped play.

The rest of the season

The surprise finish accelerated the directions both teams were taking over the season's final four games. They met in Veterans Stadium

Veterans Stadium

Philadelphia Veterans Stadium was a professional-sports, multi-purpose stadium, located at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex...

in the final regular season game.

Eagles

Philadelphia was able to extend its win streak to four games the next week, before losing to Dallas and Minnesota. The Eagles managed a season sweep of the Giants with an easy 20-3 victory in the finale to finish 9-7 and snare the second of two wild-card spots available under the playoff format at that time. "One play gets you feeling like you have confidence," Edwards explained years later. "You're not worried about losing anymore; now you're thinking about how you can win."

The Eagles lost the playoff game

NFL playoffs, 1978-79

The NFL playoffs following the 1978 NFL season led up to Super Bowl XIII.This was the first year that the playoffs expanded to a ten-team format, adding a second wild card team from each conference...

to the Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

because of another failed extra point, in addition to a missed field goal as time expired. But it gave them and their fans something to build on for the next season. Philadelphia corrected its kicking woes by drafting barefoot Tony Franklin from Texas A&M in 1979. As a rookie, Franklin booted a 59-yard field goal on Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...

against the Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...

during a 31-21 victory at Texas Stadium

Texas Stadium

Texas Stadium was a football stadium in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The stadium opened on September 17, 1971.Built to replace the aging Cotton Bowl, it was the home field of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, and had a seating capacity of 65,675...

Giants

At first, the Giants tried to look ahead and recover. They vowed to win their remaining four games and protect McVay's job. Instead, the collapse continued. The next week, the Giants blew a 10-point lead over the 3-9 Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

late in the game, giving up 27 points in the fourth quarter to lose 41-17. They would win only one more game the rest of the season, finishing with a 6-10 record. The sweep by Philadelphia ensured the Giants would finish last in the division (tied with the Cardinals) for the third straight season, extending their rut and further angering fans.

Eagles

The next year, the Eagles again earned a wild-card spot and then won their first post-merger playoff game over the Chicago Bears

1979 Chicago Bears season

The 1979 Chicago Bears season was their 60th regular season and 14th postseason completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 10-6 record under second year coach Neill Armstrong but lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the opening round of the...

before falling to Tampa Bay

1979 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season

The 1979 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season saw the team make a dramatic leap from being a winless expansion franchise, perceived as mistake-prone and ridiculed by the rest of the league, to becoming a serious contender for the National Football League championship...

. Following that season, the Giants traded Pisarcik to them for a draft choice. He would finish his career as a backup to Ron Jaworski

Ron Jaworski

Ronald Vincent "Ron" Jaworski is a former American football quarterback and currently an NFL analyst on ESPN. He is also CEO of Ron Jaworski Golf Management, Inc., based out of Blackwood, New Jersey, and manages golf courses in southern New Jersey, northeast Pennsylvania, and West Virginia...

five years later. His entire NFL career is usually embodied in that play, and while he is sometimes reluctant to talk about it, he admits that at least people remember his name thanks to it.

The Eagles' momentum carried them further in the 1980-81 season

1980 NFL season

The 1980 NFL season was the 61st regular season of the National Football League.After the league declined to approve the proposed move by the Raiders from Oakland, California to Los Angeles, the team along with the Los Angeles Coliseum sued the NFL for violating antitrust laws...

, to the division championship, then the conference title and finally to Super Bowl XV

Super Bowl XV

, which they lost 27-10 to the Oakland Raiders

1980 Oakland Raiders season

-Staff:HC: Tom FloresAst: Ray Willsey , Lew Erber , Sam Boghosian , Earl Leggett , Charlie Sumner , Chet Franklin , Steve Ortmayer , Bob Mischak , Joe Madro , Willie Brown -Regular season:...

at the Superdome

Louisiana Superdome

The Mercedes-Benz Superdome, previously known as the Louisiana Superdome and colloquially known as the Superdome, is a sports and exhibition arena located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA...

in New Orleans. "We won the game at the end, and we went on to the playoffs," Edwards said. "The next thing, we're playing in the Super Bowl." He, too, would find that the play defined his career, even though he remained part of the Eagles' lineup for another seven years before going into coaching after a final season split between the Falcons and Rams.

Giants

McVay's contract expired and, as expected, was not renewed. He never coached again, but went on to a front-office job with the San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...

, where he helped develop that team into one of the most dominant of the 1980s. Andy Robustelli

Andy Robustelli

Andrew Richard "Andy" Robustelli was an American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Los Angeles Rams and the New York Giants. He played college football at Arnold College and was drafted in the nineteenth round of the 1951 NFL Draft...

, a former All-Pro defensive end

Defensive end

Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...

who served as the team's director of operations, was also let go.

Csonka's contract was up as well. Since McVay, with whom he had played before signing with the Giants with the World Football League

World Football League

The World Football League was a short-lived gridiron football league that played in 1974 and part of 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the WFL reached was placing a team – the Hawaiians – in Honolulu, Hawaii. The...

's Memphis Southmen

Memphis Southmen

The Memphis Southmen were a franchise in the World Football League which operated in 1974 and 1975. They played their home games at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee, United States.-From North to South:...

, was gone and his career was ending, he decided to return to Miami, site of his past glories, for one final season. He would win a NFL Comeback Player of the Year award before retiring.

Despite widespread calls to hire Joe Paterno

Joe Paterno

Joseph Vincent "Joe" Paterno is a former college football coach who was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions for 46 years from 1966 through 2011. Paterno, nicknamed "JoePa," holds the record for the most victories by an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision football coach with...

or another successful college coach, the Giants settled on Ray Perkins, then an assistant for the San Diego Chargers

San Diego Chargers

The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

, to replace McVay. While Perkins was able to follow the Eagles' lead and build a team that eventually made the playoffs in 1981

1981 NFL season

The 1981 NFL season was the 62nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XVI when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals.-Major rule changes:...

, the moves that really made a difference for the Giants drew less attention that off-season.

The fan revolt that followed the Fumble had awakened the Maras to the need to modernize the franchise's operations. They had discussed for some time hiring a general manager

General manager

General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...

, which the team had not had up to then (Wellington Mara had been running football operations himself since the late 1930s), to delegate most of the decisions that sorely divided them, but as with many other team matters, they kept arguing over whom to hire. In the off-season, they called on NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle

Pete Rozelle

Alvin Ray "Pete" Rozelle was the commissioner of the National Football League from January 1960 to November 1989, when he retired from office. Rozelle is credited with making the NFL into one of the most successful sports leagues in the world....

to mediate. He suggested George Young, whom they hired. He proved to be a superb judge of talent, drafting Phil Simms

Phil Simms

Phillip Martin "Phil" Simms is a former American football quarterback, and currently a television sportscaster for the CBS network. After a standout career at Morehead State University, Simms was drafted in the first round by the New York Giants of the National Football League with the number...

, Lawrence Taylor

Lawrence Taylor

Lawrence Julius Taylor , nicknamed "L.T.", is a Hall of Fame former American football player. Taylor played his entire professional career as a linebacker for the New York Giants in the National Football League...

and other future Giants stars over the next few seasons.

Perkins also brought with him a new defensive coordinator, Bill Parcells

Bill Parcells

Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells is a former American football head coach, most recently with the Dallas Cowboys from 2003 to 2006...

. When Perkins resigned after the 1982 season

1982 NFL season

The 1982 NFL season was the 63rd regular season of the National Football League. A 57-day long players' strike reduced the 1982 season from a 16-game schedule per team to an abbreviated nine game schedule...

to succeed the late Bear Bryant

Bear Bryant

Paul William "Bear" Bryant was an American college football player and coach. He was best known as the longtime head coach of the University of Alabama football team. During his 25-year tenure as Alabama's head coach, he amassed six national championships and thirteen conference championships...

at the University of Alabama

University of Alabama

The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....

, Parcells took over as head coach. He survived a disastrous first season to lead the talent Young had acquired to two Super Bowl championships, and then find further success with the New England Patriots

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...

, Jets and Cowboys before becoming Vice President of Football Operations with the Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins

. Parcells is revered today as one of the greatest coaches of the game.

Legacy

The Miracle at the Meadowlands has left a lasting impact on the way organized football is played at all levels, not just in the NFL. Most notably, it legitimized the kneel-down play. Coaches everywhere took heed of Gibson's fate and immediately began instructing quarterbacks to sit on the ball in similar situations. Some traditionalists feel that the kneel-down has been detrimental to the game and have called for rule changes to eliminate or discourage the play. Other leagues, such as the Arena Football League, have done just that, and now require the ball to be advanced past the line of scrimmage in order for the clock to continue running in the final minute of play.

Formation change

The week after the game, both the Giants and Eagles implemented a new offensive formation to be used only in end-of-game kneeldowns. It is popularly known as the "Victory Formation" or "Victory Offense".

Not only did the infamous game-losing play make kneeling acceptable, but most of the teams using it changed how it was done. Prior to Pisarcik's fumble, teams had employed standard offensive formations such as an I or a split backfield. The Eagles' unlikely touchdown, however, had made the weakness of doing so glaring. Even though Pisarcik had been trying to hand off instead of kneeling, when he fumbled the snap, there was not only no offensive player there to try to recover it, no one was in position to tackle Edwards and prevent the touchdown either.

At the end of the first half of the Bills game the following week, the Giants debuted the new formation when Pisarcik knelt to preserve their lead. Two running backs stood closely behind Pisarcik while a third (usually a speedy player such as a wide receiver

Wide receiver

A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...

) was stationed as a sort of safety several yards back.

The Eagles, too, had practiced a similar formation in practice, calling it the Herman Edwards play. Other NFL teams soon followed the lead, and today the formation is standard in college and high school games as well.

Similar plays

The play has been recalled often by fans and reporters in later years when a team fumbled away a sure victory late in the game, although it never happened quite as spectacularly as it did that first time.

Probably the most famous play to evoke the Miracle of the Meadowlands, although with a very different outcome, occurred almost three decades later in a 2006 Steelers-Colts AFC divisional playoff game. As in 1978, an Indianapolis

Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....

turnover on downs had given Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...

the ball on the home team's 2-yard line and an apparent three-point victory over the heavily-favored Colts in the game's final two minutes. However, the Steelers had to keep running the ball, as the Colts still had all their timeouts left. A field goal would have at least required the Colts to score a touchdown (plus kick the extra point) to win the game, while a touchdown would essentially clinch victory, so it was in the Steelers' interest to keep running. A pass would run the risk of being intercepted, or seeing the defense knock the ball out of the quarterback's hand. But on the very first play, running back Jerome Bettis

Jerome Bettis

Jerome Abram "The Bus" Bettis is a retired American football halfback who played for the NFL's Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers. Bettis is considered one of the best big backs ever because his footwork and power, and is currently fifth on the National Football League's all-time...

, who had not fumbled all season, had the ball knocked loose by Indianapolis middle linebacker Gary Brackett

Gary Brackett

Gary Lawrence Brackett is an American football linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was signed by the Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2003. He played college football at Rutgers.-Early years:Brackett attended Glassboro High School in Glassboro, New Jersey....

. Defensive back Nick Harper

Nick Harper (American football)

Nicholas Necosi Harper is a currently a free agent American football cornerback in the National Football League. He was signed by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as an street free agent in 2000. He played college football at Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, Georgia.Harper has played for the...

recovered the ball and appeared to be on the way to an Edwards-like touchdown, but Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger

Ben Roethlisberger

Benjamin Todd "Ben" Roethlisberger , nicknamed Big Ben, is an American football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Steelers in the first round in the 2004 NFL Draft...

managed to tackle Harper near midfield.

Steelers fans and players feared that Bettis was about to end his career with the same ignominy that followed Pisarcik. Several plays later, however, Colts kicker

Placekicker

Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...

Mike Vanderjagt

Michael John "Mike" Vanderjagt , is a professional American and Canadian football placekicker and punter who has played in the Arena Football League, the Canadian Football League and National Football League...

wound up the game's goat, evoking another memorable football moment

Wide Right (Buffalo Bills)

Wide Right or 47 Wide Right describes kicker Scott Norwood's missed 47-yard field goal attempt at the end of Super Bowl XXV on January 27, 1991.-The field goal attempt:...

when he missed what would have been the tying field goal, ending what had been a strong season for his team. The Steelers eventually went on to a Super Bowl victory that year

Super Bowl XL

Super Bowl XL was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League champion for the 2005 season...

, and the play would instead enter NFL lore as "The Tackle II".

The play most directly analogous to the Miracle involved a player's, rather than a coach's, questionable decision that cost his team a game. On Thanksgiving Day 1993

1993 NFL season

The 1993 NFL season was the 74th regular season of the National Football League. For the first time in league history, all NFL teams played their 16-game schedule over a span of 18 weeks. After the success of expanding the regular season to a period of 17 weeks in 1990, the league hoped this new...

, the Cowboys were playing their customary holiday contest, this time against the visiting Dolphins, in sleet

Rain and snow mixed

Rain and snow mixed is precipitation composed of rain and partially melted snow. This precipitation can occur where the temperature in the lower part of the atmosphere is slightly above the freezing point...

. As the clock ticked down, Dallas appeared to have won when it blocked a 41-yard Miami field goal. But as several Dolphin players were gathered around the ball, waiting for it to come to rest in order to down it as close as possible to the Dallas goal, Dallas defensive end Leon Lett

Leon Lett

Leon Lett, Jr. , nicknamed The Big Cat, is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League who played for the Dallas Cowboys and the Denver Broncos , after playing college football at Emporia State University. Lett was a two-time Pro Bowler, with selections in 1994 and...

sprinted downfield to try to recover it. He slipped on the slick surface and touched the ball. His touch meant that it was a loose ball and Miami was able to recover at the Dallas 1 and kick a field goal for a 16-14 victory.

Lett earned comparisons to Pisarcik and the 1978 Giants since his action was as unnecessary and seemed equally inexplicable. It was fourth down and the ball would have been turned over to Dallas anyway. Coming on the heels of the previous year's Super Bowl

Super Bowl XXVII

Super Bowl XXVII was a football game played on January 31, 1993 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1992 regular season. The National Football Conference champion Dallas Cowboys defeated the American Football Conference champion...

, when a prematurely celebrating Lett had stripped on a fourth-quarter fumble return that he would otherwise have scored a touchdown, the Thanksgiving gaffe cemented his reputation for unthinking play that overshadowed his entire career.

A near-identical play in a 1999 collegiate game allowed the University of Nevada, Las Vegas

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

University of Nevada-Las Vegas is a public, coeducational university located in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada, USA. The campus is located approximately east of the Las Vegas Strip. The institution includes a Shadow Lane Campus, located just east of the University Medical Center of...

(UNLV) to steal a victory from Baylor

Baylor University

Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...

. With the final seconds ticking off the clock, Baylor had a 24-21 lead and possession of the football near the UNLV goal line. With UNLV out of timeouts, only a kneeldown was necessary. However, instead of trying to run out the clock, Baylor elected to try for a touchdown in an attempt to run up the final score

Running up the score

In North American sports, "running up the score" occurs when a team continues to play in such a way as to score additional points after the outcome of the game is no longer in question and the team is assured of winning...

. Baylor running back Darryl Bush fumbled while trying to punch his way into the end zone, and UNLV's Kevin Thomas picked up the loose football and went 99 yards for the game-winning touchdown on the last play of the game.

"The Miracle on the Mountain" is another play with similar circumstances. It took place on October 12, 2002 in a game between the home Appalachian State Mountaineers

Appalachian State Mountaineers football

The Appalachian State Mountaineers football team is the college football team at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. The Mountaineers have competed in the Southern Conference since 1972, and are currently a Division I Football Championship Subdivision member of the National...

and visiting Furman Paladins

Furman University

Furman University is a selective, private, coeducational, liberal arts college in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. Furman is one of the oldest, and more selective private institutions in South Carolina...

at Kidd Brewer Stadium. A low scoring affair, the Paladins elected to attempt a two-point conversion after scoring the go-ahead touchdown with seven seconds left in the game. Leading 15–14, Furman quarterback Billy Napier's pass was intercepted by Josh Jeffries at the four yard line. He lateraled the ball to Derrick Black, who returned it for a score, giving the Mountaineers a 16–15 win.

A similar play occurred during a Monday Night Football

Monday Night Football

Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...

game between the Chargers and Chiefs on October 31st, 2011. Tied 20-20, the Chargers offense marched the ball down the field to the Chiefs' 15 yard line. With one minute left, the Chiefs had no timeouts and the Chargers could run the clock down to the final seconds. Chargers QB Philip Rivers

Philip Rivers

Philip Rivers is an American football quarterback for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League . He was one half of the Manning-Rivers draft trade which sent him to San Diego and the 1st overall pick, Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning, to the New York Giants. Rivers played college...

snapped the ball with the intent to simply fall down and to the left, to line up kicker Nick Novak

Nick Novak

Nicholas Ryan "Nick" Novak is an American football placekicker for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League. He was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2005...

for the game-winning field goal. However, on the snap, the football jammed into Rivers' ring finger, visibly dislocating it, causing Rivers to fumble the ball. Chiefs Linebacker Andy Studebaker recovered the fumble in the resulting scrum. The Chiefs went on to win in overtime 23-20. Rivers was seen on the sidelines mouthing the words "This is the worst day ever." As a result of the win, the Chiefs moved into a three-way tie for the lead in the AFC West

AFC West

The AFC West is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference, currently comprising the Denver Broncos, San Diego Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, and the Oakland Raiders.-History:...

Other uses

On September 23, 1991, in a Monday Night game between the New York Jets

1991 New York Jets season

-Schedule:-Playoffs:-External links:*...

and the Chicago Bears

1991 Chicago Bears season

The 1991 Chicago Bears season was their 72nd regular season and 21st postseason completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 11–5 record, and lost in the NFC Wild Card playoffs to the Dallas Cowboys.-NFL Draft:-Staff:-Roster:...

, the Jets were leading 13-6 and had the ball with two minutes remaining. With thousands of fans already having given up and headed to the Soldier Field

Soldier Field

Soldier Field is located on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois, United States, in the Near South Side. It is home to the NFL's Chicago Bears...

parking lot, running back Blair Thomas

Blair Thomas

Blair Lamar Thomas is a former professional American football player and coach. He played running back for six seasons in the National Football League. He was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.-High school:Thomas was an all-state football player at Frankford High School...

took a handoff. Bears defensive tackle Steve McMichael

Steve McMichael

-World Wrestling Federation :After the end of his NFL career, he appeared at ringside in the WWF for Lawrence Taylor at WrestleMania XI on April 2, 1995 in Hartford, Connecticut. Taylor was wrestling Bam Bam Bigelow and there were several football players at ringside to keep wrestlers from...

stopped Thomas cold and then proceeded to wrestle the ball from his grasp, falling on the fumble at the Jets' 36 yard line with 1:54 remaining. On the final play of regulation, Jim Harbaugh

Jim Harbaugh

James Joseph "Jim" Harbaugh is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. Harbaugh agreed to a five-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers on January 7, 2011. Previously, he was the head coach at...

threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Neal Anderson

Neal Anderson

Charles Neal Anderson is a former American college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League for eight seasons in the 1980s and 1990s...

; Bears kicker Kevin Butler

Kevin Butler (American football)

Kevin Gregory Butler is a former professional American football placekicker. He played college football for the University of Georgia Bulldogs, and then played professionally for the Chicago Bears and the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League...

tied the game with the extra point. In overtime, Harbaugh scored from the one-yard line to clinch the win for Chicago.

On October 23, 2000, the New York Jets

2000 New York Jets season

-Schedule:The Jets were ranked 12th in the NFL in total offense and finished tied with Philadelphia for 10th in total defense.-Best performances:* Curtis Martin, Week 14, 203 Rushing Yards vs. Indianapolis...

overcame a 30–7 fourth-quarter deficit in a Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...

(MNF) contest against the Miami Dolphins

2000 Miami Dolphins season

The 2000 season was the 33rd in franchise history. Dave Wannstedt was named the fourth head coach in franchise history on January 16, 2000.-NFL Draft:-Preseason:-Schedule:-Standings:-Playoffs:-Awards and honors:...

to win 40–37 in overtime

Overtime (sports)

Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw. In most sports, this extra period is only played if the game is required to have a clear winner, as in single-elimination...

. It was the greatest comeback in MNF history, and was later voted the best Monday Night Football game ever by the show's fans. Jets fans have referred to this game, too, as "The Miracle at the Meadowlands", though it is known throughout the NFL as The Monday Night Miracle

The Monday Night Miracle (American football)

In the National Football League, "The Monday Night Miracle" refers to a Monday night game between the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins played at Giants Stadium on October 23, 2000.-Background:...

.

A punt return by Brian Westbrook

Brian Westbrook

Brian Collins Westbrook is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft after playing college football at Villanova...

of the Eagles with 1:16 left on the clock on October 19, 2003 is occasionally referenced as a "Miracle at the Meadowlands". The play and subsequent extra point gave the Eagles a 14-10 victory over the Giants at Giants Stadium

Giants Stadium

.

On December 14, 2008, the New York Jets

2008 New York Jets season

The 2008 New York Jets season was the 49th season for the club and the 39th season in the National Football League. The team succeeded in improving upon their 4–12 record from 2007, but did not make the playoffs.-Signings:...

were trailing the Buffalo Bills

2008 Buffalo Bills season

The 2008 Buffalo Bills season was the 39th season for the team in the National Football League and their 49th season overall. They finished with a record of 7–9 for the third consecutive year...

27-24 with 1:45 left. The Jets had struggled to stop the Bills running game the entire day and the Bills were currently in possession of the ball on their own 20-yard line when Bills quarterback J.P. Losman

J.P. Losman

Jonathan Paul "J. P." Losman is an American football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills 22nd overall in the 2004 NFL Draft...

ran a play action option. Jets safety Abram Elam

Abram Elam

Abram Elam is an American football safety for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He played college football at Notre Dame and Kent State....

sacked Losman and caused a fumble, which Jets defensive end Shaun Ellis

Shaun Ellis

MeShaunda "Shaun" Pizarrur Ellis is an American football defensive end for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . Ellis was drafted by the New York Jets in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft out of the University of Tennessee...

picked up and ran for a touchdown to give the Jets a 31-27 victory (on the next Bills possession, Losman was picked off by cornerback Darrelle Revis

Darrelle Revis

Though Revis was not the first defensive back drafted in the 2007 NFL Draft , he was the first cornerback taken that year...

). The New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...

ran an article the next day referring to the game as the Miracle at the Meadowlands sequel.

The "Miracle at the New Meadowlands

Miracle at the New Meadowlands

The Miracle at the New Meadowlandsalso called "New Miracle at the New Meadowlands and "Miracle at the Meadowlands III" is the term used by sportscasters and Philadelphia Eagles fans to refer to an improbable come-from-behind win by the Philadelphia Eagles over the New York Giants on December 19,...

" was played on December 19, 2010. The Giants were leading the Eagles by a score of 24-3 in the third quarter. The Eagles mounted a comeback culminating in a game-winning touchdown as time expired to win 38-31, scoring 28 points in the last 7:28 of the game, coming back from another 21-point disadvantage as the Giants led 31-10. Giants punter Matt Dodge

Matt Dodge

-New York Giants:Dodge was drafted by the New York Giants in the seventh round of the 2010 NFL Draft to replace long-time Giants punter Jeff Feagles, who had just retired. Dodge officially beat out Jy Bond for the punting job on June 21 when Bond was waived from the team...

kicked to DeSean Jackson

DeSean Jackson

Going to the 2008 NFL Draft Jackson was considered one of the top ten wide receivers available in a draft class littered with talented wide outs. The only knock on Jackson was his small frame, being measured at 5'9¾ " and just over 170 pounds. During the pre-draft period, Hall of Fame wide receiver...

on the final play, which resulted in a 65 yard punt return touchdown, as time expired.

Background

Giants

Friction between offensive players and assistant coaches

Eagles

The game

The Giants' possession

The call

The immediate aftermath

Giant fan reaction

The rest of the season

Eagles

Giants

Eagles

Giants

Legacy

Formation change

Similar plays

Other uses

See also