unique final plays

[RRMarshall]

Season finale of the 2000 season (12/24/00). Olindo Mare kicks a 49-yard FG to give the Dolphins an apparent 27-24 victory over the Patriots in New England. On the game's (first) final play, with a Drew Bledsoe fumble ruled an illegal forward pass the gun sounded. 35 minutes later it was ruled an incomplete pass and three seconds remained, and the officials told both teams to return to the field. Miami was already celebrating their AFC East title and many players had removed their game tape and cleats. The network tuned back to an empty Foxboro Stadium with a contingent of halfdressed players to see Patriots back up QB Michael Bishop heave up a Hail Mary effort well short of the goal line. And thus, the first season of the new Bill Belichick era ended with another truly bizarre moment in what up to that point was the ignominious franchise history of the Boston/New England Patriots....
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dolphins-t ... ter-delay/

[Evan]

Lynn Dickey endured two final-play fiascos:

Nov. 13, 1977 - Dickey breaks his left leg on a hit by Larry Brooks on a meaningless last play against the Rams and doesn't see action again for almost two years.

Dec. 14, 1980 - Houston's John Corker picks up a Lynn Dickey fumble and runs 43 yards for a TD on the last play of a 22-3 Oilers win at Green Bay. Long-time Packer Chester Marcol, picked up by Houston the day before the game, misses the ensuing extra point against his former team, his second missed PAT of the game.

That was the second missed PAT after a last-play TD that day. In Minnesota, Ahmad Rashad's game-winning TD gave the Vikings a 28-23 win over Cleveland, and the NFC Central title. Rick Danmeier missed the PAT after Rashad's TD.

Rashad caught two game-winning or game-tying TDs on final plays in his career (aside from Cleveland 1980, there was Green Bay in OT in 1979). I figure two can't be the record, other receivers must have caught three or more game-winning or game-tying final play TDs, but I can't think of any. Any help on this?

[JohnH19]

On a related note, in the CFL the game clock can expire but if the play clock still has time, the game continues. If this had happened in the context of the CFL, I wonder if the Lions would have had the remainder of the play clock for a final try.

It actually doesn't have anything to do with the play clock. A play must be run if there is time remaining on the game clock at the end of the previous play. It's far better than watching players and coaches shaking hands with the final seconds of the game ticking off the clock.

[Todd Pence]

1979 Seahawks vs. Raiders - Jim Zorn throws for a touchdown on the game's final play despite holding a 20-10 lead.

[Rupert Patrick]

The final play in OT of the 2002 Steelers Falcons game where the Steelers went for the Hail Mary and Plexico Burress came down one yard short of the end zone.

The same exact thing happened on the final play of regulation of yesterday's Bears-Patriots game. With New England leading 38-31, Chicago threw a Hail Mary on the final play of the game, the Bears receiver caught it at the one-yard line where three or four Patriots defenders prevented him from getting into the end zone. I believe this is the first time this has happened since the 2002 Steelers-Falcons game where the final play of the contest was a Hail Mary which was caught and stopped at the one.

[BD Sullivan]

That was the second missed PAT after a last-play TD that day. In Minnesota, Ahmad Rashad's game-winning TD gave the Vikings a 28-23 win over Cleveland, and the NFC Central title. Rick Danmeier missed the PAT after Rashad's TD.

In that instance, the Vikings couldn't have cared less about kicking it, because the Browns linemen basically just walked past them to block the kick. It was such a go-through-the-motions effort that If I'd been on the Browns, even I would have been able to do it.