NFL players have hearts of steel, muscles of iron and – occasionally – brains of concrete.
How else can you explain how some of the best athletes in the world make some of the most ridiculous mistakes in sports?
We saw a classic mental misfire on Sunday as Chicago completely coasted from a near-guaranteed win against Washington, a play so mind-numbingly stupid it made us wonder… is this the stupidest play in NFL history?
Let’s take a look at some of the most stupid maneuvers the league has ever seen. In this case, we’re focusing on deliberate moves — both on and off the field — that were horribly wrong, and not on regular gameplay that ended up looking ridiculous. (So: no Butt Fumble, no Miracle at the Meadowlands, no Orlovsky safety. Those were unplanned – albeit hilarious – mistakes in the course of regular gameplay.)
10. Garo Yepremian Pass
The classic in these types of lists. In Super Bowl VII, Garo Yepremian, the Dolphins’ pinpoint kicker, had his field goal attempt blocked and the live ball fired away. Yepremian grabbed the ball and tried to throw a pass, but the ball went straight into the air and ended up in the hands of Washington’s Mike Bass… who rumbled 49 yards for a touchdown. Humiliating for old Garo, but Miami won anyway, capping off what remains the only undefeated season in NFL history.
9. Just stand out, man!
Late in the 2009 season, the Rams’ James Butler picked off Lions rookie QB Matthew Stafford in the end zone. Good news, right? And then Butler made an unfortunate mistake: He stood up, took two steps downfield and then backpedaled into the end zone for what he thought was a touchback. Sorry, buddy. That’s a safety. (The Lions still lost, 17-10.)
8. Wrong way!
Here’s another catastrophic safety from a bygone era. In 1964, San Francisco’s Billy Kilmer fumbled the ball, and Minnesota’s Jim Marshall finished with it. But Marshall had been turned around in the scrum, and so when he ran 66 yards untouched into the wrong end zone, he had not scored a touchdown for the Vikings, but a safety for the 49ers. Luckily for him, the Vikings were going to win anyway.
7. Just stand out, man! II
Remember: there are different rules for kicks and kickoffs, and woe betide the receiving team that gets them confused. In Week 17 of the 2016 season, the Jets, who were already outscoring the Bills 23-3, started late in the game. The Bills, perhaps defeated, simply allowed the ball to trickle into the end zone – where the Jets’ Doug Middleton fell on the live ball, essentially making it the longest onside kick possible. Ouch.
6. Leon Lett I
Celebrating early is a recurring theme on this list, and few celebrations are more infamous than Leon Lett’s in Super Bowl XXVII. Late in an absolute mauling of the Bills, the Cowboys’ Lett recovered a fumble and began rumbling toward the end zone. But with about ten yards to go, while watching himself on the Jumbotron, Lett started celebrating, but Buffalo’s Don Beebe caught up to him and knocked the ball out of his hands. You never want to make your worst performance of your career in the Super Bowl, and thankfully Lett didn’t…
5. Leon Lett I
1993 was a difficult year for Lett; the following season, just a few months after the Super Bowl, he suffered another mental misfire. With 15 seconds left and a 14-13 lead, Dallas blocked a Miami field goal attempt and the ball squirted harmlessly onto the snow-covered field. Lett tried to attack it, but only hit the ball forward and Miami recovered it. The Dolphins then tried another field goal, and this one was good. Do you make your two biggest mistakes on Super Bowl Sunday and Thanksgiving Thursday? Rough. If there’s any consolation for Lett, though, it’s this: The loss didn’t stop Dallas from storming to a repeat Super Bowl victory.
4. Cross the goal line!
It happens every season: someone drops the ball before it crosses the goal line, and the rest of the world wonders what the heck he was thinking. Perhaps the most famous incident is DeSean Jackson’s 2008 blunder in which he threw away a spectacular pass from Donovan McNabb on what would have been his first NFL touchdown. Don’t do this, folks:
3. Helmet throwing
You don’t get more Browns than this: In the 2002 season opener, the Browns led the Chiefs 39-37 with four seconds left. Dwaye Rudd and the rest of the Browns defensive line swarmed Chiefs quarterback Trent Green. Thinking he had sacked Green, Rudd took off his helmet and threw it in elation. But Green had actually sent the ball to John Tait, who fumbled all the way to the Cleveland 26. The officials cited Rudd for unsportsmanlike conduct, and since the game cannot end with a defensive penalty, the Chiefs were awarded one play from the 13-yard line. Morten Andersen kicked Kansas City to a one-point victory, and Cleveland got another “only-in-Cleveland” story added to its legacy.
2. Fail Beary
Washington is for Sunday’s Hail Mary, but we’re going for this one. Because as spectacular as the play was, what elevates it to the level of art is the utterly and completely stupid play by Tyrique Stevenson, who spent precious seconds mocking Washington fans. with his back to the playand then tipped the ball right into the hands of receiver Noah Brown. That’s as fast as karma can get. When your own fans tell you to pay attention to the game, well… you’ve done something special.
The final outcome of this piece has yet to be determined. It could cost the Bears a spot in the playoffs, it could cost several people their jobs… the Fail Beary is the gift that will keep on giving.
1. The worst game in NFL history
You probably already knew this one was coming, right? Poorly designed, poorly executed, the Colts’ attempt at a fake punt against the Patriots in 2015 went so horribly wrong:
According to then-Colts punter Pat McAfee – wonder what he’s up to these days – the idea was to try to fool the Patriots into thinking the entire punt team was guilty of the foul. Then one man lined up offside, and the rest of the team followed him, making it an illegal formation. Oh, and the “center” – wide receiver Griff Whalen – just had to hold the ball to try to draw the Patriots offside. But Whalen had never practiced the game before, so when he felt hands on his butt, he went ahead and snapped the ball – and everyone was torn. Absolute catastrophe. It’ll never get worse than that… or will it?
