Michigan Wolverines punter Blake O’Neill made one of the most infamous plays you will ever witness on Saturday against Michigan State. O’Neil needed to just punt the ball away and seal a huge win for Michigan. Instead, he fumbled, and the rest is history. Terrible, horrible, no good, very bad history.
But O’Neill is in good (in a relative sense) company. Just a day later, the Indianapolis Colts tried one of the dumbest trick plays ever. For The Win looks back on 20 of sport’s most boneheaded plays and remembers that when you think everything is terrible, it can always get worse.
20. Gus Frerotte fought a wall and lost.
Quarterback Gus Frerotte scored a touchdown for the Washington Redskins against the New York Giants. He then head butted a wall. A concrete wall. He gave himself a concussion and sprained his neck. The Redskins tied the Giants 7-7 on that day.
19. Jose Canseco gives up a home run off his head.
In 1993, the Cleveland Indians’ Carlos Martinez went yard … right off of then Texas Rangers outfielder Jose Canseco’s head.
18. Bill Gramatica blows his ACL celebrating.
17. Tony Romo fumbles away a playoff win.
Tony Romo just had to hold the football in place for Martin Gramatica. He didn’t.
16. Jeff Agoos buries a goal … for the wrong team.
This might be my favorite goal in World Cup history. It’s a shame it came against his own team, but Jeff Agoos’ finish was world class, and ultimately wasn’t that big of a deal since the U.S. still won the match.
15. IK Kim blows gimme putt, loses playoff.
IK Kim had to putt the ball a foot to win the Kraft Nabisco Championship. She only went six inches and it cost her a major title.
14. Roberto Baggio loses ’94 World Cup.
Roberto Baggio was called the savior of Italy literally three seconds before skying this penalty and handing Brazil the 1994 World Cup. The only thing more unfathomable than Baggio’s miss was the rat tail he decided to wear. The ’90s were weird.
13. Patrick Roy showboats, drops puck, loses game.
The look on Patrick Roy’s face when he realizes Brendan Shanahan has scored on him while the goaltender is celebrating his (supposed) save says more than any number of words can ever hope to say. This play came in Game 6 of the conference finals. Avalanche would go on to lose the game and the series.
12. John Carney botches extra point, ruins improbable comeback.
Down by seven agains the Jacksonville Jaguars, the New Orleans Saints needed a miracle to tie the game. They received that miracle by way of four laterals on their way to the end zone. John Carney needed to just make the extra point. As you may have guessed, he didn’t, and the announcer’s horrified scream haunts me to this day.
11. Jim Joyce blows Armando Galarraga’s perfect game.
Armando Galarraga should have become the 21st pitcher in Major League history to throw a perfect game. He was one out away when he stepped on first base, seemingly getting the 27th and final out of the game. And that’s when first base umpire Jim Joyce made an unfathomable call.
10. The Miracle at the Meadowlands.
Joe Pisarcik was supposed kneel with the ball to run out the clock on a 17–12 New York Giants win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Instead, he tried to hand the ball off to Larry Csonka, fumbled, and Herman Edwards picked up the dropped ball and ran 26 yards for a touchdown. C’mon man.
9. Colorado gets an extra down to beat Missouri.
In 1990, Colorado pulled off a comeback victory on Missouri that lives in infamy. On first down, the Buffaloes spiked the ball to stop the clock. After getting stuff at the line on second down, Colorado burned its final timeout. During the timeout, the referees failed to change the marker to reflect third down and so the next play became second down – again. Again, the Buffaloes came short of the end zone and spiked the ball, which would have meant they turned the ball over on downs. But since the mistake had not been caught, they were given a fifth down and won the game.
8. Greg Norman at the 1996 Masters.
Greg Norman blew a six-shot lead by the 11th hole in the final found of the Masters. In all, Norman had five bogeys and two double-bogeys to finish his day at 78. It was a bad time.
7. Bayern Munich’s 1999 Champions League final.
It’s a bit unfair to call this one of the worst plays, if only because it is one of the greatest moments in Manchester United history. Bayern Munich needed to just survive three minutes of stoppage time to win the UEFA Champions League final. Instead, United scored twice in that time, pulling off one of the (almost) impossible.
6. Jean Van de Velde.
Carrying a three-stroke lead into the 18th and final hole of the 1999 Open Championship, Jean Van de Velde had to actively fail to let his lead slip away. That’s exactly what he did. He triple-bogeyed the hole, and ultimately lost the Open in a playoff, but not before literally jumping into a lake.
5. DeSean Jackson’s Miracle at the New Meadowlands
With 14 seconds remaining and the score tied 31-31, DeSean Jackson returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown to lead the Philadelphia Eagles over the New York Giants. Jackson botched the initial return, which ended up being no big deal, because the Giants botched the entire play.
4. Chris Webber calling timeout.
No matter how many times I watch this play, I continue to believe Chris Webber won’t call timeout.
3. The Play.
Up 20-19 with only four seconds to play, Stanford kicked off to Cal and watched as five lateral passes (two of which remain disputed) by the Golden Bears and culminated in a touchdown and one of the most absurd sights in college football history.
2. Buckner.
In 1986, the Boston Red Sox were up 3-2 in the World Series against the New York Mets heading into Game 6. The Red Sox proceeded to blow the lead in the 10th inning, culminating in a Mookie Wilson grounder rolling through Buckner’s legs. The Mets won Game 7 and Boston was sad for a long time.
1. Michigan Punt.
It seems cruel to say this was the worst play in sports history only two days after it went down, but sometimes the truth is a cruel mistress. This is unfathomable, and likely will cost Michigan a shot at the College Football Playoff this year.
