THE FUMBLE
Oh yes, the media and the Eagles fans refer to this play as the "Miracle In The Meadowlands", but we Giant fans know this play, simply as "The Fumble"
It was late in November in 1978 [Nov 19th to be exact]. The Giant were 5-6 at the time and had lost three in a row. The Giants had a 17-12 lead with about 30 seconds to go and the Eagles had no time outs. All Joe Pisarcik had to do was take one more knee and the clock would run out. CBS Sports had already begun to run the credits and the announcers were thanking various members of the crew for that days broadcast.
For some inexplicable reason, instead of taking a knee, Pisarcik attempted a hand off to full back Larry Csonka. Instead of placing the ball in Csonka's hand, it was handed off to his hip and fumbled, the ball took a perfect bounce off the Meadowlands AstroTurf and bounced into Herm Edwards hands, who ran the ball back for a touchdown for the Eagles.
There is no explanation as to why the Giants handed the ball off. In addition, even if the Giants had fumbled the ball, Philly was unlikely to get a touchdown. The perfect [ridiculous] play call, followed by poor execution, followed by the perfect bounce, and the perfect position of Edwards lead to this infamous play.
I saw this live on TV in 1978.
Here is the video of the play. Laugh or cry along as you watch this great moment in Giant football history ....
Original CBS Broadcast
The was also a better quality NFL films version but this was taken down from youtube. If I find another version, I will try to post again.
Next time Giants, just take a knee.... :-D
#justtakeaknee