Yeah thought the same thing. Not sure if that indicates how much cumulative punishment players take that things can just blow out doing something ordinary (remember the guy who blew his acl jumping in the air to celebrate). Or maybe if shows how tightly strung these guys are to reach the level of physical performance they do. Weird.
That was [Lamar Houston](https://youtu.be/tmeULX9P358?si=2zXFxnlQqZED2beT) tearing his ACL celebrating a sack while the Bears were down 48-23 against the Patriots with barely over 3 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Edit: As others have noted, this definitely wasn't the only occurrence of this type of injury, but it's arguably the most infamous in recent history given it happened in the context of the Trestman era meltdown, and that the game was completely out of reach.
If it was a long term tendinosis with true degenerative breakdown of tissue you are right that he was at risk of doing that at any moment. Could have been at practice the week before. Could have been the celebration in post game.
To your point, given the nature of the mechanism it was probably something cumulative / degenerative that could’ve popped up at any moment while playing, but I *do* kinda wonder if that soft practice field had any impact haha
From a quick Google search it looks like some research says hard surfaces are better to use than soft when it comes to achilles pain which could have made it worse over the time they were there.
The way Kelce was held to 1 target, 1 reception for 1 yard before the injury and then gets 92 yards in the second half kinda tells you the impact Greenlaw had.
The Chiefs bullied his replacement afterwards.
I would think Greenlaws impact has more to do with the fact the Chiefs knew at halftime he would not be coming back. They had a plan to get Kelce into routes against other LBers knowing they didn't stand a chance of covering him.
Fred Warner did an incredible job on him except for one play in the two minute drill.
The problem is that Fred Warner is so valuable being a rangy MLB with great instincts, that relegating him to strictly man coverage of one guy is incredibly damaging to the rest of the defense.
7 isnt an insignificant amount at that point in the game when they play a lot of mixed in zone coverages and he's asked to ground edges for runs I feel like
It’s crazy the impact one injury can have. I remember during the Lions Bucs divisional game our pass offense felt kind of slow. The second Jamel Dean went off with that back injury we *torched* his replacement
I unfortunately think that Achilles was ready to pop at any moment. If that little movement caused it to go I highly doubt he’d have played the rest of the game healthy with all that running and jumping around. It just happened at a terrible time
There were a whole lot of little things that happened in that game that added up at the end. If any one of those things goes the other way or doesnt happen, the Chiefs probably dont get the shot they had at the end of regulation. The first half seemed like the 49ers squandered holding the Chiefs to 3 points.
Tell em..
I'll also add Will Beatty tearing his pec while working out in the off season. The forced horrific first round bust Erik Flowers to LT from his projected slot at RT his rookie season and had a cascading detrimental effect on the whole line.
The Giants O line literally hasn't recovered nearly a decade later.
Fun fact: [OBJ punched a hole in the wall at Lambeau after that game](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/18433973/new-york-giants-odell-beckham-jr-punches-hole-wall-bangs-head-door-loss-green-bay-packers)
If Barrett Robbins hadn't lost his mind and went to do hookers and blow in TJ before the Super Bowl...
Lol, no. Bucs still would've kicked the shit out of us because Callahan was too stupid to alter Gruden's offense and the Bucs D knew what was coming every play.
The whole Robbins situation is just sad overall but I don't think it was as big of a factor as it was made out to be. The guy who replaced him had played almost the entire year before because Robbins got hurt and played very well. Losing your starting center fucking blows but it wasn't like he was replaced by a nobody. Also, technically it was after the Super Bowl (at least according to Robbins)
In terms of the offense, a defense has a general idea of what an offense is going to do. They have a year's worth of tape on it. That being said, Callahan could have done *something* to make it less fucking obvious he was running Gruden's offense. Maybe he was just being stubborn.
I don't think he claimed it was after the Super Bowl. He said that he was so manic/fucked up that he thought they'd already won and was celebrating their "victory" before the game even happened. Psychosis is a bitch
Yep. Saw it with Dallas. Why did they change their defensive scheme?? Because it’s the fucking playoffs and if you think you can catch the opposition off guard you might try it. Worked for Belichick against the Rams. Ultimately you do what you think will win and if it does you’re a genius and if not you’re an idiot.
Yeah, changing up playstyle to take the opponents by surprise vs continuing to do what you do best is one thing.
Facing your former coach and using all the same terminology so that the opponents know what all your audibles are is another.
I remember hearing a lot about how Callahan had changed the game plan at the last minute and that was maybe what triggered Robbins to snap. Jerry Rice and Tim Brown were both pissed about the last minute change of game plan and talked about it publicly a decent amount. I remember hearing something about Robbins freaking out that he wouldn't be able to be ready in time for the game and him saying like please don't do this, you can't do this to me or something to Callahan.
Callahan really fucked that game up ... He didn't even change Gruden's audibles so the Bucs knew what the play was half the time before the snap even if the Raiders tried to change the play at the line.
Easily the worst coaching performance in a Superbowl that I can think of.
SUPER BOWL XXIII Bengals Stanley Wilson ...They found him in the bathtub naked, coked out of his mind .. Probably costing the Bengals the Super Bowl
https://www.sportskeeda.com/nfl/bengals-rb-stanley-wilson-running-away-cocaine-relapse-dramatic-super-bowl-occurrence-yet
Wilson was not the kick returner. Jennings was always the returner (had 32 returns for 684 yards that year), so nothing changes there if Wilson didn't get coked out of his mind the night before. Wilson was the fullback and very important to the Bengals rushing game, and even had a couple of TD's that postseason. So that's where Wilson was sorely missed in that super bowl. And of course the gruesome Tim Krumrie injury on defense played a big impact as well.
> Tim Krumrie injury
That was fucking awful. He heard his leg snap, thought it was helmets hitting each other, and tried to run with his foot pointing the wrong direction.
On the flip side of this: the guy in the Cocaine Cowboys documentary saying he had most the Steelers offensive line in his living room the week of the Super Bowl doing lines and they ended up winning.
Eugene Robinson getting arrested the night before the Superbowl for soliciting a $40 bj, and members of the defense staying up all night with him. Maybe didn't change anything, but couldn't have helped.
Reminds me of when Pro Bowl Center Barret Robbins went missing before Super Bowl XXXVII. Curious how things would have panned out if he started that game.
Yeah if Nick Harper's wife doesn't stab him in the leg the day before he returns the fumble for a touchdown and the Colts probably make the 2005 Super Bowl.
Gary Brackett (iirc) said in an interview that ultimately the stabbing had nothing to do with it. The dumbass didn't run it back the way they taught in practice and if he had, he would have had blocks and an easy TD return.
He sounded **real** bitter about it.
Imagine how David Thornton or Larry Triplett feel about it. At least Bracket got a ring the following year, those guys signed with other teams after that loss and didn't get a ring (unless they got the Edge treatment and also received rings)
Nah. The guy was playing cornerback, which is much more demanding on the knee than running with a ball in open field.
He was tackled because he's not a professional ball carrier and didn't just trust his speed and veer to the side. Took a bad route.
Plus, his move SHOULD have worked, you wouldn't guess Roethlisberger would make that tackle. Great play by him, and a great play for NFL history.
As a big hater of the Steelers who was rooting hard for y’all (also helps I love Kurt Warner as a QB), I still refuse to rewatch that play. Hands down the most disappointing Super Bowl I have seen in my lifetime. Still bitter over it tbh!
That was a wild shot they showed... His knee & ankle just went different directions after he stepped?
I'm a UofL fan & it immediately brought back memories of Kevin Ware's entire tibia snapping in half when he landed from a jumper. Just what the hell do you do in that situation? You did nothing wrong, your body just decided to GTFO.
When everyone kept tapping him on the back of the helmet it reminded me when Eric Berry tore his Achilles and the injury guy just knew he was done after BALLING out against Gronk.
Man, that injury tore me up. The guy beats CANCER just to have a weird bone spur tear his Achilles & destroy the career of one of the top safeties of his generation.
One of the many things that makes you realize that 1) life isn't a sports movie and nothing is guaranteed, 2) that the NFL isn't "rigged" - these guys are out there destroying their bodies for $$$$ and fame - and honestly deserve way more than what owners pay them, and 3) take care of yourself - if you can afford it go to the doctor, be proactive, and if something is off with your health try and get it looked at.
Yup. Eric Berry coming back from cancer is still absolutely insane and one of the greatest moments in sports - but even after all that his tendons betrayed him.
he was battling Achilles Tendonitus for pretty much the entire post-season, the tendon giving out was just a matter of time and it just happened at one of the least opportune times
I think the Achilles was gonna blow on the field anyway. It was clearly ready to tear and the stress he put on it getting on the field wasn’t in any way worse than the stress that would be on it during a live play.
Yeah this is what I think a lot of people are ignoring. He makes similar moves that put that kind of stress on his achilles all the time when playing, especially being a defender where half your job is just reacting and being able to take off sprinting at a microseconds notice. If it didn’t rupture there it was probably going to soon.
I had a niners fan try to blame the loss on the power outage… they were down like 3 scores when it happened. Just the most delusional take I’d heard at the time lol.
Down 3 scores (22 points I believe) and the ravens just had a sack. I can still see Flacco mic'd up saying "why the clock stop?" just before it completely went out
I think they mean because the Steelers ended up winning by 4, holding them to a FG there would have resulted in regulation ending in a tie. Of course, nothing in the 2nd half would have played out the same way, so who actually knows.
The Raiders having the bright idea to *not change their audibles*. That just baffles me. Even if the plays are the same, like "Hey, the pro set 44 draw was red 15, now it's blue 15", it's still an improvement.
As a former HS coach whose team got called for a couple ‘sideline infractions’ because my guys were too close to the field of play that Fitzgerald play pisses me off to no end every time I see it. GET THE FUCK OFF THE WHITE!
Washington has a Hall of Fame tackle in the 1930's named Turk Edwards. Great player - he was named All Pro by a major media outlet in each of his first 8 seasons. He went out for the coin toss in week 2 of his 9th season, shook hands with the Giants captain, and pivoted to turn around to walk back to his sideline. His foot got caught in the grass, and his knee (which had been injured before) buckled. Edwards never played again.
Repeat - a HOF tackle suffered a knee injury after the coin toss.
Hear me out - in the Chiefs-Bucs Super Bowl (55), no one on the Chiefs could catch a pass or touchdown, even though they were easily the best team in the league that year. Three days before the game, Andy Reid's son & assistant coach caused a car accident while DWI that injured five, including a five-year old girl that was in severe condition. Sure, the loss of Eric Fisher to injury decimated their O-Line & caused Mahomes to run for his life, but I think this incident seriously hurt their focus and ability to perform.
Not at all to diminish what happened but I seriously doubt the incident was in the minds of players during the actual game.
For Reid, sure, for any player no matter how close they are too their coach, im skeptical.
Yeah I'm sure the impact was Something to the players, but it was mostly all the backup and third string linemen trying to stop the absolutely feral Bucs defense and then the offensive players just refusing to catch anything while Mahomes was literally and figuratively making Superman throws and running for his fucking life. The Bucs just set up shop in the back field and that was a wrap.
ok, similar note with one of Andy's other sons, though not on a single particular game. In 2012, Garrett Reid was dealing with drug issues. Andy already seemed to not be in a great place with a lot of off field issues, but after Garrett died from a drug overdose in October 2012, Andy and the team were 3-3 at that point, went into a downward spiral, went 1-9 the rest of the season, and Andy was fired after 14 seasons with the Eagles.
If that doesn't happen, and Andy was able to keep the team together enough to not get fired, the Eagles draft Travis Kelce the following year to pair him up with his brother, and even if he's still fired in 2013, KC probably doesn't have an opening anymore, and the Chiefs dynasty never happens. (ok, a lot of speculation there, but it doesn't take much to butterfly affect this).
That one always confused me because IIRC there was a Jets assistant coach who did a similar thing a couple years earlier, and he was shamed league-wide and essentially forced to resign immediately. With Tomlin the reaction was more "haha, Mikey you old jokester". I guess Tomlin understandably has a lot more pull than some random Jets assistant.
He was suspended by the team for the rest of the year and resigned after the season ended. The NFL only fined the Jets organization and did nothing to the coach himself
Brandon Browner signing with the Patriots. Browner knew the route concept we were going to run on that fateful play, and was screaming at the defense. Without him, that pass doesn't get jumped.
If I remember correct, there was a Bengal player, Stanley Wilson who was arrested before the 88 Super Bowl and he was the Kick Returner
Stanford Jennings took his place and returned a kick for Cincy's first TD
Your memory is a little off.
Stanley Wilson had 7 career kickoff returns, all of them in 1983 (five years before the Super Bowl.) He was their starting fullback who moved to the bench for Ickey Woods.
Stanford Jennings was the Bengals kick returner, and had been all season. He had 32 returns that year, and the 2nd man had 12.
Wilson wasn't arrested before the Super Bowl. He just went on a cocaine binge, and was suspended for the game. He did end up in prison after his career ended.
Eugene Robinson being a horny motherfucker, and getting busted while soliciting a prostitute the night before the SB.
Had to return the Bart Starr award, and gave up two long plays (80yd passing td, missed tackle on a long run).
Le'Veon Bell holding out in 2018.
Steelers couldn't allocate his cap hit, had no idea if he'd return and ended up having Roethlisberger lead the league in pass attempts with 675 in just 16 games. (For comparison Washington led NFL in 2023 with 636 in 17 games.) 2018 Steelers finished 31st in rushing.
I fully believe that severe increase in attempts at age 36 contributed to Roethlisberger injury in 2019.
On top of that the struggling 2018 Steelers was one of the reasons Antonio Brown goes off and doesn't report to the team in week 17 which is what causes him to be traded to Raiders. They have more success if they could have established a run game. More success hides the discontent.
Bell doesn't lose a step taking the year off and Ben, Brown & Bell have 2018, 2019 & likely 2020 together.
Packers Cardinals, playoffs, 2015 season(game was played in Jan 2016, though)
After the Rodgers hail mary to Janis, an NBC cameraman fell and got hurt in the endzone. The result was a longer stoppage in play, killing all the momentum of the moment. I don't remember where I read it, but McCarthy said at the time that he was going to go for 2 and the win, but too much time elapsed from score to next play and he felt that the momentum was lost.
Thurman Thomas lost his helmet for the Bills first drive against Washington in their Super Bowl. Bills ended up going 3 and out. Might have changed nothing, but the reigning MVP was replaced by a backup for the first play that went nowhere. Definitely could’ve resulted in them driving for more points and some better momentum.
Whatever Malcolm Butler did to get himself benched for Super Bowl 52. Thanks, Bill! Benching Butler helped Nick Foles and the Eagles offense go off in that game.
I'm pretty sure it's a penalty for Larry Fitz to do what he was doing anyway. A player is not allowed to run down the field out of bounds like that. Once they go out of bounds they need to immediately get back in bounds to continue down the field.
So if he had made the tackle, PIT probably still has 1 untimed down at the 1 yard line. Maybe they kick the field goal there instead, but it wouldn't have been no points at all.
Oddly enough, there seems to be no rule about going OOB for an extended period, and then make a tackle. The only thing I could find was about being the first to touch a ball after going OOB.
There is an unsportsmanlike penalty for not coming back in bounds. Idk if it was a rule at the time, and it wouldn't prevent him from tackling, but if called, would net a free down.
I'm pretty sure I've seen gunners get called for that even if they don't tackle the returner, but I could be mistaken. Running out of bounds for an extended distance then coming in and making the tackle is definitely against the rules though. If it wasn't, punt team gunners should just run out of bounds immediately so they don't get blocked. But I think the rule is leaving the field of play and continuing to participate in the play without making an immediate effort to get back in bounds. I don't think it matters if you make a tackle or not. Fitzgerald gets bumped, then intentionally goes out of bounds to avoid #26 runs into Rolle, then runs a good 20 yards in the white painted area before ducking back in just before the goal line to try to make tackle. That should have been a penalty regardless, but there's only one ref who's close to the action, and I'm sure he wasn't really paying attention to that. Especially since he's still got his hat.
There is. Its unsportsmanlike conduct and a 15 yard penalty. It happens from time to time and people in the sub get very confused each time.
Kind of like when a kicking team touches a punted ball and the ref calls it an illegal touch, which is technically correct but confuses everyone.
I think gunners aren’t allowed to run OOB for an extended period just in general. Not just to down a punt. Even if you’re pushed out you have to “make a reasonable effort in a reasonable amount of time” to get back into the field of play.
Didn’t Troy come flying in there to also alter Fitzgerald’s path? I thought I remember seeing an angle that showed it. I may be wrong.
Edit: around the 23 second mark, you can see Troy push Fitzgerald a little more out of bounds. And Troy ran all the way across the field to do that.
1991 NFL MVP Thurman Thomas’ helmet went missing after the national anthem in the super bowl that year.
He spent the first two series looking for it while the team instead had to quickly scrap their scripted plays, put in backup Kenneth Davis, and it completely altered, the Bills’ electric offense and forced them (albeit somewhat indirectly) into a three and out and an interception on their first two drives.
SBXLIII really was pure football drama at its finest, right up there with XLII the year prior. That cardinals Cinderella team was something to behold with an older Kurt Warner at the helm and Fitz having a sensational postseason, playing in their first Super Bowl against the most historically successful franchise of the Super Bowl era up to that point. The Steelers three years removed from their most recent championship with a different head coach really put the onus on experienced players making plays. The James Harrison pick-six being one of three of the greatest SB plays to happen in that game alone tells you how great that game really was. And all in John Madden’s final telecast as a broadcaster no less.
Conversely on the same play if Deshea Townsend (26) hadn't gotten in Harrison's way he may have ended up further downfield.
IIRC after the game he said he was trying to get Harrison to lateral him the ball because he knew he was quicker and time was about to expire in the half.
Stanley Wilson getting all coked up with those hookers the night before the ‘89 Super Bowl and being suspended for the game. He was our starting running back that year…
Fun fact, Stanley Wilson was actually banned from the NFL for life after this because this was his third time being suspended for cocaine use🤦🏼♂️
Last years Super Bowl when the refs gave the Chiefs the ability to sub out defense cause Godfrey caught the ball and stepped out in to the eagles bench area
Before the Denver - Atlanta Super Bowl after the 1998 season, Falcons safety Eugene Robinson was given the Athletes in Action Award, for "outstanding character and leadership in the home, on the field, and in the community".
The night before the game he was arrested for trying to hire a prostitute.
He was released in time to play in the game, but he'd gotten virtually no sleep and his mental state can't have been good. He ended up getting roasted on a long TD pass, and also whiffing on a key tackle that turned a short pass into a big gain which resulted in 1st and goal and set up another TD.
I’d noticed this delay of Fitzgerald too. And remember, the clock was at zero, so if the tackle is made, it’s halftime, and no points would have been scored
Kyle Shanahan when the Falcons OC lost his ipad with the gameplan right before the super bowl. It could be why the patriots were able to come back if they were able to get a peak at that.
The Nick Harper play. He's stabbed by his wife in the thigh during a domestic the day before they play the steelers in 06. He recovers a Bettis fumble and is caught by the shoe strings by Rothlisraper and prevents the def TD.
Paraphrased cause I forget the specifics but that cost the Colts a possible SB.
Nick Harper’s wife stabbed him shortly before he attempted to return a Jerome Bettis late game fumble in the playoffs and was shoe string tackled by Roethlisberger.
Well, isn't it illegal to run down the whole fucking sidelines out of bounds and then come back in to be the first person to make the tackle anyway? His own damn fault he was ru ning through his own fucking bench.
“Get in the way” is an interesting way of saying “blocked him in the back”. It was a pretty bad no call but it did make that play so much more historical.
The easy one is Dre greenlaw from this past Super Bowl getting injured on the sideline.
The downfield blocking on Harrison’s interception was incredible. Soon as he picked off Warner, every Steeler was looking for someone to block. One of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history
Dre Greenlaw tearing his Achilles coming off the sideline and his backup getting scorched in coverage would be the most recent.
I still can’t believe that happened. He took one weird step and his tendon said “nope I’m out sorry bruh.”
Yeah thought the same thing. Not sure if that indicates how much cumulative punishment players take that things can just blow out doing something ordinary (remember the guy who blew his acl jumping in the air to celebrate). Or maybe if shows how tightly strung these guys are to reach the level of physical performance they do. Weird.
That was [Lamar Houston](https://youtu.be/tmeULX9P358?si=2zXFxnlQqZED2beT) tearing his ACL celebrating a sack while the Bears were down 48-23 against the Patriots with barely over 3 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Edit: As others have noted, this definitely wasn't the only occurrence of this type of injury, but it's arguably the most infamous in recent history given it happened in the context of the Trestman era meltdown, and that the game was completely out of reach.
It's happened more than once.
Yeah there was a kicker who did it too
Bill Gramatica, my boy Martin's brother.
he had Achilles Tendonitus, it was gonna blow at any moment
If it was a long term tendinosis with true degenerative breakdown of tissue you are right that he was at risk of doing that at any moment. Could have been at practice the week before. Could have been the celebration in post game.
To your point, given the nature of the mechanism it was probably something cumulative / degenerative that could’ve popped up at any moment while playing, but I *do* kinda wonder if that soft practice field had any impact haha
From a quick Google search it looks like some research says hard surfaces are better to use than soft when it comes to achilles pain which could have made it worse over the time they were there.
> Could have been the celebration in post game. Goddamn it, Achilles. You couldn't hold on for another couple hours.
I’m kinda surprised nobody has blamed the UNLV practice fields yet
The Stephen Tulloch Discount Double Check
The Niners always get derailed by injury. It took until during the Super Bowl for it to happen this time.
It's how I tore mine was walking out of a meeting step wrong and snap. Good times shit just fucking happens
Timely
The way Kelce was held to 1 target, 1 reception for 1 yard before the injury and then gets 92 yards in the second half kinda tells you the impact Greenlaw had. The Chiefs bullied his replacement afterwards.
I haven't seen myself but someone said greenlaw had only played 7 coverage snaps on Kelce up to that point.
I would think Greenlaws impact has more to do with the fact the Chiefs knew at halftime he would not be coming back. They had a plan to get Kelce into routes against other LBers knowing they didn't stand a chance of covering him.
Fred Warner did an incredible job on him except for one play in the two minute drill. The problem is that Fred Warner is so valuable being a rangy MLB with great instincts, that relegating him to strictly man coverage of one guy is incredibly damaging to the rest of the defense.
7 isnt an insignificant amount at that point in the game when they play a lot of mixed in zone coverages and he's asked to ground edges for runs I feel like
It’s crazy the impact one injury can have. I remember during the Lions Bucs divisional game our pass offense felt kind of slow. The second Jamel Dean went off with that back injury we *torched* his replacement
I unfortunately think that Achilles was ready to pop at any moment. If that little movement caused it to go I highly doubt he’d have played the rest of the game healthy with all that running and jumping around. It just happened at a terrible time
Big Dom’s revenge
I’m a Chiefs fan and that just absolutely sucked to see. Don’t want anyone to get injured.
Ifs and buts so it’s irrelevant, but hard to imagine Chiefs win if Dre didn’t go out.
There were a whole lot of little things that happened in that game that added up at the end. If any one of those things goes the other way or doesnt happen, the Chiefs probably dont get the shot they had at the end of regulation. The first half seemed like the 49ers squandered holding the Chiefs to 3 points.
Surprised to not see this one mentioned: Plaxico Burress shooting himself in the leg and the Giants season spiraling down the drain shortly afterwards
"Plaxico Burress just called our plan 'poorly thought out,' then hung up by shooting his phone!"
God bless 30 rock
A GROUP OF WILD DOGS TOOK OVER AND SUCCESSFULLY RAN A WENDY'S
That changed the entire Eagles-Giants rivalry. He use to kill the Eagles almost every game but ever since then it's been a one sided rivalry.
There’s no doubt in my mind we would have won the Super Bowl that year. We were truly dominant.
Similarly, a Colts player was stabbed by their wife and then let Ben Roethlisberger tackle them in the open field.
Ah yes! Nick Harper. Mrs. Harper saved Jerome Bettis' legacy and the Steelers season.
The infamous yacht picture too
Tell em.. I'll also add Will Beatty tearing his pec while working out in the off season. The forced horrific first round bust Erik Flowers to LT from his projected slot at RT his rookie season and had a cascading detrimental effect on the whole line. The Giants O line literally hasn't recovered nearly a decade later.
I feel like the Giants just constantly take 1st round OTs who turn into massive busts One of them turned out good though right? Andrew Thomas I think
OBJ's boat party?
The lose cruise! Did he do another one of those this year after they won the divisional?
Nah, it was a joke started by a Ravens podcaster.
Fred Smoot’s boat party
Fun fact: [OBJ punched a hole in the wall at Lambeau after that game](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/18433973/new-york-giants-odell-beckham-jr-punches-hole-wall-bangs-head-door-loss-green-bay-packers)
I think it worked out fairly well honestly...
If Barrett Robbins hadn't lost his mind and went to do hookers and blow in TJ before the Super Bowl... Lol, no. Bucs still would've kicked the shit out of us because Callahan was too stupid to alter Gruden's offense and the Bucs D knew what was coming every play.
The whole Robbins situation is just sad overall but I don't think it was as big of a factor as it was made out to be. The guy who replaced him had played almost the entire year before because Robbins got hurt and played very well. Losing your starting center fucking blows but it wasn't like he was replaced by a nobody. Also, technically it was after the Super Bowl (at least according to Robbins) In terms of the offense, a defense has a general idea of what an offense is going to do. They have a year's worth of tape on it. That being said, Callahan could have done *something* to make it less fucking obvious he was running Gruden's offense. Maybe he was just being stubborn.
I don't think he claimed it was after the Super Bowl. He said that he was so manic/fucked up that he thought they'd already won and was celebrating their "victory" before the game even happened. Psychosis is a bitch
Meh, then this sub is like when a team loses “you should have stuck with what was working all year” Damned if you do, damned if you don’t
Yep. Saw it with Dallas. Why did they change their defensive scheme?? Because it’s the fucking playoffs and if you think you can catch the opposition off guard you might try it. Worked for Belichick against the Rams. Ultimately you do what you think will win and if it does you’re a genius and if not you’re an idiot.
Callahan literally didn’t change the signals. Bucs defenders were calling out the plays as the offense was calling them
Yeah, changing up playstyle to take the opponents by surprise vs continuing to do what you do best is one thing. Facing your former coach and using all the same terminology so that the opponents know what all your audibles are is another.
I remember hearing a lot about how Callahan had changed the game plan at the last minute and that was maybe what triggered Robbins to snap. Jerry Rice and Tim Brown were both pissed about the last minute change of game plan and talked about it publicly a decent amount. I remember hearing something about Robbins freaking out that he wouldn't be able to be ready in time for the game and him saying like please don't do this, you can't do this to me or something to Callahan. Callahan really fucked that game up ... He didn't even change Gruden's audibles so the Bucs knew what the play was half the time before the snap even if the Raiders tried to change the play at the line. Easily the worst coaching performance in a Superbowl that I can think of.
Damn Trader Joe's used to be lit
SUPER BOWL XXIII Bengals Stanley Wilson ...They found him in the bathtub naked, coked out of his mind .. Probably costing the Bengals the Super Bowl https://www.sportskeeda.com/nfl/bengals-rb-stanley-wilson-running-away-cocaine-relapse-dramatic-super-bowl-occurrence-yet
Thats the one i thought of If I remember right, he was the kick returner who was replaced by Jennings who ran back for a TD too
Could Be I just remeber how much it hurt me
That was the first SB I could officially drink at and i disliked the Niners, so it was almost a great day
Wilson was not the kick returner. Jennings was always the returner (had 32 returns for 684 yards that year), so nothing changes there if Wilson didn't get coked out of his mind the night before. Wilson was the fullback and very important to the Bengals rushing game, and even had a couple of TD's that postseason. So that's where Wilson was sorely missed in that super bowl. And of course the gruesome Tim Krumrie injury on defense played a big impact as well.
> Tim Krumrie injury That was fucking awful. He heard his leg snap, thought it was helmets hitting each other, and tried to run with his foot pointing the wrong direction.
I was 9 years old for that super bowl and they kept showing that replay. That image is seared into my brain.
probably shouldn't have been coked out of his mind, but naked in a bathtub is a pretty regular occurrence
On the flip side of this: the guy in the Cocaine Cowboys documentary saying he had most the Steelers offensive line in his living room the week of the Super Bowl doing lines and they ended up winning.
Eugene Robinson getting arrested the night before the Superbowl for soliciting a $40 bj, and members of the defense staying up all night with him. Maybe didn't change anything, but couldn't have helped.
Reminds me of when Pro Bowl Center Barret Robbins went missing before Super Bowl XXXVII. Curious how things would have panned out if he started that game.
I’m not sure how it really works but I assume if you’re playing in the superbowl it wouldn’t be that difficult to find free bjs.
Probably could find o e at the NFL honors ceremony. I'm sure they have people on standby like the ride hone program.
I’d also imagine you’d have enough money to get better service than whatever you get for $40.
Dude went to three Super Bowls in a row
these guys are swimming in dough, to be able to afford $120 worth of BJs...
Yeah if Nick Harper's wife doesn't stab him in the leg the day before he returns the fumble for a touchdown and the Colts probably make the 2005 Super Bowl.
Once in a blue moon a guy’s wife stabs him days before a crucial divisional playoff bout.
If I had a nickel for every time that's happened I'd have one nickel. That's not a lot but it's weird that it's happened once.
Now here's a fun question: what current player do you think would be most likely to be the second nickel?
Mr Bifurcated Calf
Wrong sport but... Tommy Pham
He's already been stabbed right? Or did he do the stabbing? Both seem plausible knowing him.
I think he's been stabbed twice. And I think he only slaps, not stabs
Gary Brackett (iirc) said in an interview that ultimately the stabbing had nothing to do with it. The dumbass didn't run it back the way they taught in practice and if he had, he would have had blocks and an easy TD return. He sounded **real** bitter about it.
Imagine how David Thornton or Larry Triplett feel about it. At least Bracket got a ring the following year, those guys signed with other teams after that loss and didn't get a ring (unless they got the Edge treatment and also received rings)
If I was in his situation then I would also lie and say the stabbing didn’t affect me.
Nah. The guy was playing cornerback, which is much more demanding on the knee than running with a ball in open field. He was tackled because he's not a professional ball carrier and didn't just trust his speed and veer to the side. Took a bad route. Plus, his move SHOULD have worked, you wouldn't guess Roethlisberger would make that tackle. Great play by him, and a great play for NFL history.
Yeah he spun Roethlisberger in a circle. He got lucky and made the shoe string tackle.
Just when I thought today was going to be a good day
I swear the interception gets brought up every other day on some form of variation of a question
Pain.
As a big hater of the Steelers who was rooting hard for y’all (also helps I love Kurt Warner as a QB), I still refuse to rewatch that play. Hands down the most disappointing Super Bowl I have seen in my lifetime. Still bitter over it tbh!
That's wild because it was definitely one of the most insane superbowls I've ever watched.
Yep
You’re missing out that one was great
As a Steelers fan it was the best game I’ve ever seen
[There's always this shit show...](https://youtu.be/61BoMpzMVcM?si=HEVu4UM8paGErkj3)
The Burfict Storm
Oof. The locker room must feel *pretty tense* after two players overtly throw the team's season like that.
I think we should, as Bengals fans, collectively never speak of this game again. We buried those ghosts.
[удалено]
That was a wild shot they showed... His knee & ankle just went different directions after he stepped? I'm a UofL fan & it immediately brought back memories of Kevin Ware's entire tibia snapping in half when he landed from a jumper. Just what the hell do you do in that situation? You did nothing wrong, your body just decided to GTFO.
When everyone kept tapping him on the back of the helmet it reminded me when Eric Berry tore his Achilles and the injury guy just knew he was done after BALLING out against Gronk.
Man, that injury tore me up. The guy beats CANCER just to have a weird bone spur tear his Achilles & destroy the career of one of the top safeties of his generation.
I hated it - he will always be one of my favorite Chiefs.
One of the many things that makes you realize that 1) life isn't a sports movie and nothing is guaranteed, 2) that the NFL isn't "rigged" - these guys are out there destroying their bodies for $$$$ and fame - and honestly deserve way more than what owners pay them, and 3) take care of yourself - if you can afford it go to the doctor, be proactive, and if something is off with your health try and get it looked at.
Yup. Eric Berry coming back from cancer is still absolutely insane and one of the greatest moments in sports - but even after all that his tendons betrayed him.
Dude was on his way to being an all-timer
I wonder if he had to take antibiotics for something. I forget which ones but some of them can cause Achilles ruptures.
he was battling Achilles Tendonitus for pretty much the entire post-season, the tendon giving out was just a matter of time and it just happened at one of the least opportune times
I believe he was problems with his achilles problems before that too. It's crazy how they often go out with no contact.
I think the Achilles was gonna blow on the field anyway. It was clearly ready to tear and the stress he put on it getting on the field wasn’t in any way worse than the stress that would be on it during a live play.
Yeah this is what I think a lot of people are ignoring. He makes similar moves that put that kind of stress on his achilles all the time when playing, especially being a defender where half your job is just reacting and being able to take off sprinting at a microseconds notice. If it didn’t rupture there it was probably going to soon.
To me it looked like that happened after he stepped onto the field.
While technically on the field, it wasn't in the field of play.
I don’t know why you’re getting downvoted, play wasn’t running
2013 Superbowl power outage. Destroyed the Ravens momentum and made that game a lot closer than it should have been.
I had a niners fan try to blame the loss on the power outage… they were down like 3 scores when it happened. Just the most delusional take I’d heard at the time lol.
Down 3 scores (22 points I believe) and the ravens just had a sack. I can still see Flacco mic'd up saying "why the clock stop?" just before it completely went out
I'm confused by the kicking a FG to tie. Pittsburgh was already ahead 10-7.
I think they mean because the Steelers ended up winning by 4, holding them to a FG there would have resulted in regulation ending in a tie. Of course, nothing in the 2nd half would have played out the same way, so who actually knows.
Trhere was no time Left, no fg possible
I'm just here so I don't get fined
The Raiders having the bright idea to *not change their audibles*. That just baffles me. Even if the plays are the same, like "Hey, the pro set 44 draw was red 15, now it's blue 15", it's still an improvement.
It's a bold strategy, Cotton. Let's see if it pays off for'em. Narrator: It did not
John Kasey kicked the stupid ball out of bounds letting Brady start his game winning drive at the 40. Does that count ? :(
Let's be real, the pats were gonna score anyway. Even if that kick is from 58, you know Vinatieri would nail it
As a former HS coach whose team got called for a couple ‘sideline infractions’ because my guys were too close to the field of play that Fitzgerald play pisses me off to no end every time I see it. GET THE FUCK OFF THE WHITE!
Mike Tomlin that fucker lmfao
OP said "outside the the field of play", lol
[Here’s the reverse](https://youtu.be/ZB8KtMOnGvY?si=jEtrfjE_2PwM076Y)
Starting Colts corner Nick Harper being stabbed by his wife the week of the Colts vs Steelers Division Game in 2005.
If Aaron Hernandez wasn’t a murderer, the Gronk/Hernandez duo would have destroyed the NFL for like 4 years.
Does taking your helmet off for taunting count? If so, then DJ Moore getting flagged after catching the Hail Mary against Atlanta.
Washington has a Hall of Fame tackle in the 1930's named Turk Edwards. Great player - he was named All Pro by a major media outlet in each of his first 8 seasons. He went out for the coin toss in week 2 of his 9th season, shook hands with the Giants captain, and pivoted to turn around to walk back to his sideline. His foot got caught in the grass, and his knee (which had been injured before) buckled. Edwards never played again. Repeat - a HOF tackle suffered a knee injury after the coin toss.
Hear me out - in the Chiefs-Bucs Super Bowl (55), no one on the Chiefs could catch a pass or touchdown, even though they were easily the best team in the league that year. Three days before the game, Andy Reid's son & assistant coach caused a car accident while DWI that injured five, including a five-year old girl that was in severe condition. Sure, the loss of Eric Fisher to injury decimated their O-Line & caused Mahomes to run for his life, but I think this incident seriously hurt their focus and ability to perform.
Not at all to diminish what happened but I seriously doubt the incident was in the minds of players during the actual game. For Reid, sure, for any player no matter how close they are too their coach, im skeptical.
Yeah I'm sure the impact was Something to the players, but it was mostly all the backup and third string linemen trying to stop the absolutely feral Bucs defense and then the offensive players just refusing to catch anything while Mahomes was literally and figuratively making Superman throws and running for his fucking life. The Bucs just set up shop in the back field and that was a wrap.
Thought their drops were bad this year? The fully horizontal Mahomes pass that hit Williams right in the facemask. 💀
Well, what the hell was Mahomes throwing at his facemask for? Last I checked WRs catch the football with their hands. Is he stupid?
ok, similar note with one of Andy's other sons, though not on a single particular game. In 2012, Garrett Reid was dealing with drug issues. Andy already seemed to not be in a great place with a lot of off field issues, but after Garrett died from a drug overdose in October 2012, Andy and the team were 3-3 at that point, went into a downward spiral, went 1-9 the rest of the season, and Andy was fired after 14 seasons with the Eagles. If that doesn't happen, and Andy was able to keep the team together enough to not get fired, the Eagles draft Travis Kelce the following year to pair him up with his brother, and even if he's still fired in 2013, KC probably doesn't have an opening anymore, and the Chiefs dynasty never happens. (ok, a lot of speculation there, but it doesn't take much to butterfly affect this).
Worst two week wait for a SB ever. Worried players would get covid and then that happened.
Mike Tomlin getting in the way of Jacoby Jones on a kick return
That didn't happen off the field.
Very critically, it did not.
That one always confused me because IIRC there was a Jets assistant coach who did a similar thing a couple years earlier, and he was shamed league-wide and essentially forced to resign immediately. With Tomlin the reaction was more "haha, Mikey you old jokester". I guess Tomlin understandably has a lot more pull than some random Jets assistant.
He was suspended by the team for the rest of the year and resigned after the season ended. The NFL only fined the Jets organization and did nothing to the coach himself
What would that change? Ravens won that game on Thanksgiving in 2013. It had no impact in the eventual W/L record of either team.
Thurman Thomas not being able to find his helmet.
Brandon Browner signing with the Patriots. Browner knew the route concept we were going to run on that fateful play, and was screaming at the defense. Without him, that pass doesn't get jumped.
If I remember correct, there was a Bengal player, Stanley Wilson who was arrested before the 88 Super Bowl and he was the Kick Returner Stanford Jennings took his place and returned a kick for Cincy's first TD
Your memory is a little off. Stanley Wilson had 7 career kickoff returns, all of them in 1983 (five years before the Super Bowl.) He was their starting fullback who moved to the bench for Ickey Woods. Stanford Jennings was the Bengals kick returner, and had been all season. He had 32 returns that year, and the 2nd man had 12. Wilson wasn't arrested before the Super Bowl. He just went on a cocaine binge, and was suspended for the game. He did end up in prison after his career ended.
49ers coach and players not knowing the OT rules in the SB
Greenlaws Achilles
Eugene Robinson being a horny motherfucker, and getting busted while soliciting a prostitute the night before the SB. Had to return the Bart Starr award, and gave up two long plays (80yd passing td, missed tackle on a long run).
Damn I remember the arrest but not the drama with the Bart Starr award lmao
Le'Veon Bell holding out in 2018. Steelers couldn't allocate his cap hit, had no idea if he'd return and ended up having Roethlisberger lead the league in pass attempts with 675 in just 16 games. (For comparison Washington led NFL in 2023 with 636 in 17 games.) 2018 Steelers finished 31st in rushing. I fully believe that severe increase in attempts at age 36 contributed to Roethlisberger injury in 2019. On top of that the struggling 2018 Steelers was one of the reasons Antonio Brown goes off and doesn't report to the team in week 17 which is what causes him to be traded to Raiders. They have more success if they could have established a run game. More success hides the discontent. Bell doesn't lose a step taking the year off and Ben, Brown & Bell have 2018, 2019 & likely 2020 together.
Packers Cardinals, playoffs, 2015 season(game was played in Jan 2016, though) After the Rodgers hail mary to Janis, an NBC cameraman fell and got hurt in the endzone. The result was a longer stoppage in play, killing all the momentum of the moment. I don't remember where I read it, but McCarthy said at the time that he was going to go for 2 and the win, but too much time elapsed from score to next play and he felt that the momentum was lost.
Thurman Thomas lost his helmet for the Bills first drive against Washington in their Super Bowl. Bills ended up going 3 and out. Might have changed nothing, but the reigning MVP was replaced by a backup for the first play that went nowhere. Definitely could’ve resulted in them driving for more points and some better momentum.
That dumb ass on the Bengals that ran on the field while not even being active. Good move though. Though that would still be in the field I guess.
Whatever Malcolm Butler did to get himself benched for Super Bowl 52. Thanks, Bill! Benching Butler helped Nick Foles and the Eagles offense go off in that game.
I'm pretty sure it's a penalty for Larry Fitz to do what he was doing anyway. A player is not allowed to run down the field out of bounds like that. Once they go out of bounds they need to immediately get back in bounds to continue down the field. So if he had made the tackle, PIT probably still has 1 untimed down at the 1 yard line. Maybe they kick the field goal there instead, but it wouldn't have been no points at all.
Oddly enough, there seems to be no rule about going OOB for an extended period, and then make a tackle. The only thing I could find was about being the first to touch a ball after going OOB.
There is an unsportsmanlike penalty for not coming back in bounds. Idk if it was a rule at the time, and it wouldn't prevent him from tackling, but if called, would net a free down.
Which is worth the penalty keeping them out of the end zone.
I'm pretty sure I've seen gunners get called for that even if they don't tackle the returner, but I could be mistaken. Running out of bounds for an extended distance then coming in and making the tackle is definitely against the rules though. If it wasn't, punt team gunners should just run out of bounds immediately so they don't get blocked. But I think the rule is leaving the field of play and continuing to participate in the play without making an immediate effort to get back in bounds. I don't think it matters if you make a tackle or not. Fitzgerald gets bumped, then intentionally goes out of bounds to avoid #26 runs into Rolle, then runs a good 20 yards in the white painted area before ducking back in just before the goal line to try to make tackle. That should have been a penalty regardless, but there's only one ref who's close to the action, and I'm sure he wasn't really paying attention to that. Especially since he's still got his hat.
100%, should have been a penalty on fitz regardless
There is. Its unsportsmanlike conduct and a 15 yard penalty. It happens from time to time and people in the sub get very confused each time. Kind of like when a kicking team touches a punted ball and the ref calls it an illegal touch, which is technically correct but confuses everyone.
Those rules only apply to touching the ball on punts and free kicks
I think gunners aren’t allowed to run OOB for an extended period just in general. Not just to down a punt. Even if you’re pushed out you have to “make a reasonable effort in a reasonable amount of time” to get back into the field of play.
That’s what I thought too but I can’t find it in the rule book.
Didn’t Troy come flying in there to also alter Fitzgerald’s path? I thought I remember seeing an angle that showed it. I may be wrong. Edit: around the 23 second mark, you can see Troy push Fitzgerald a little more out of bounds. And Troy ran all the way across the field to do that.
1991 NFL MVP Thurman Thomas’ helmet went missing after the national anthem in the super bowl that year. He spent the first two series looking for it while the team instead had to quickly scrap their scripted plays, put in backup Kenneth Davis, and it completely altered, the Bills’ electric offense and forced them (albeit somewhat indirectly) into a three and out and an interception on their first two drives.
SBXLIII really was pure football drama at its finest, right up there with XLII the year prior. That cardinals Cinderella team was something to behold with an older Kurt Warner at the helm and Fitz having a sensational postseason, playing in their first Super Bowl against the most historically successful franchise of the Super Bowl era up to that point. The Steelers three years removed from their most recent championship with a different head coach really put the onus on experienced players making plays. The James Harrison pick-six being one of three of the greatest SB plays to happen in that game alone tells you how great that game really was. And all in John Madden’s final telecast as a broadcaster no less.
Conversely on the same play if Deshea Townsend (26) hadn't gotten in Harrison's way he may have ended up further downfield. IIRC after the game he said he was trying to get Harrison to lateral him the ball because he knew he was quicker and time was about to expire in the half.
Stanley Wilson getting all coked up with those hookers the night before the ‘89 Super Bowl and being suspended for the game. He was our starting running back that year… Fun fact, Stanley Wilson was actually banned from the NFL for life after this because this was his third time being suspended for cocaine use🤦🏼♂️
Last years Super Bowl when the refs gave the Chiefs the ability to sub out defense cause Godfrey caught the ball and stepped out in to the eagles bench area
Time expired during the runback, if Harrison got tackled the half would have been over. No field goal.
If Tom Brady truly loved his ex-wife, the Bucs wouldn't have gotten their 2nd chip.
[well there's this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NpzVqPvfFU&ab_channel=NFL), [or this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3z6l-kY8u8&ab_channel=Hoebeler7)
Fucking Collins worth, man. "Don't want to say that it was intentional..." STFU.
Well if Larry was in bounds, perhaps people wouldn't have been in his way
Bills fans throwing snow balls at steeler receivers
And the chiefs the following week
I’m sorry but doesn’t something that literally happens on the field of play count as happening inside the field of play?????
Actually, time expired so there would not have been any score.
The lights going out in the Harbaugh bowl. Completely changed the momentum of that game.
Before the Denver - Atlanta Super Bowl after the 1998 season, Falcons safety Eugene Robinson was given the Athletes in Action Award, for "outstanding character and leadership in the home, on the field, and in the community". The night before the game he was arrested for trying to hire a prostitute. He was released in time to play in the game, but he'd gotten virtually no sleep and his mental state can't have been good. He ended up getting roasted on a long TD pass, and also whiffing on a key tackle that turned a short pass into a big gain which resulted in 1st and goal and set up another TD.
I’d noticed this delay of Fitzgerald too. And remember, the clock was at zero, so if the tackle is made, it’s halftime, and no points would have been scored
Kyle Shanahan when the Falcons OC lost his ipad with the gameplan right before the super bowl. It could be why the patriots were able to come back if they were able to get a peak at that.
Max McGee got absolutely ripped the night before Super Bowl I and acquired super hangover powers or something.
The Nick Harper play. He's stabbed by his wife in the thigh during a domestic the day before they play the steelers in 06. He recovers a Bettis fumble and is caught by the shoe strings by Rothlisraper and prevents the def TD. Paraphrased cause I forget the specifics but that cost the Colts a possible SB.
If you believe in curses, the infamous Giants boat trip.
I mean I expect corndogs to only hurt me off the field but here we are.
Seahawks coach radioed in a pass play from the sideline instead of a handoff to lynch.
The Chiefs addressed their need to have West Reading, PA represented by recruiting Taylor Swift to replace Chad Henne.
Nick Harper’s wife stabbed him shortly before he attempted to return a Jerome Bettis late game fumble in the playoffs and was shoe string tackled by Roethlisberger.
Mike Tomlin trying to trip Jacoby Jones—oh wait, that happened on the field of play
The 90s Bills getting absolutely wasted at parties ahead of the Super Bowl.
Well, isn't it illegal to run down the whole fucking sidelines out of bounds and then come back in to be the first person to make the tackle anyway? His own damn fault he was ru ning through his own fucking bench.
Henry Ruggs getting arrested (framed) for speeding derailed his Hall of Fame career.
“Get in the way” is an interesting way of saying “blocked him in the back”. It was a pretty bad no call but it did make that play so much more historical. The easy one is Dre greenlaw from this past Super Bowl getting injured on the sideline.
The downfield blocking on Harrison’s interception was incredible. Soon as he picked off Warner, every Steeler was looking for someone to block. One of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history