Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Hey Guys:
Being stuck indoors during the current snow has got me to thinking about a fun question for you all. What would be the one signature play in every team's history which was the greatest or most memorable play in that team's history? Some of this could be easy, as the 49ers would undoubtedly be Dwight Clark's famous catch in the 1981 NFC Title Game. But what about teams with a very long history, like the Bears or the Packers? A team like the Carolina Panthers would probably be even tougher still to come up with. Let's see how many teams and signature plays that we can come up with. For the Miami Dolphins, I would say it was Garo Yepremian's game-winning kick in the NFL's longest game in the 1971 AFC Playoffs. I'd love to read your responses!

Sincerely,
Joe Zagorski

wow... Great thread!

Steelers - Immaculate Reception
Packers - Starr's TD in the Ice Bowl
Colts - Ameche's overtime TD in the 1958 championship game
Giants - Tyree's helmet catch? (there's probably a better choice than this for a team as old as them)
Bills - Stratton's hit on Keith Lincoln in the 1964 AFL championship game. -OR- OJ going over 2000 against the Jets in 1973. (I was christened that day)
I'm trying to think of something from the Super Bowl run but can't think of anything that would top either of those two.

All I'll say for now is...AWESOME idea for a thread!!

Rams - 73 yard TD pass from Van Brocklin to Fears, 1951 NFL Championship.
Raiders - Marcus Allen 74 yard cutback run vs. Redskins, 1983 Super Bowl.

1966 Miami Dolphins - 1st game in franchise history, Joe Auer runs opening kickoff for a Touchdown.
Can't start any better than that...

1962 Dallas Texans - Abner Haynes' "We'll kick to the clock" at OT coin-toss of AFL Championship game.

Saints - Tracy Porter's pick-6 against the Colts in the Super Bowl

I think the Dolphins might be the Strock-Harris-Nathan hook and ladder in the '81 AFC Playoffs. They lost, but my goodness, every football fan wished their team had thought of (and executed) a play that could look that cool at that very clutch moment.

Cowboys has to be the Staubach-to-Pearson Hail Mary (no snide remarks from this Vikings fan, I can let it go for this thread)

The Vikings I'm not sure about. Squadron Right, Squadron Fly (Rashad's Hail Mary against Cleveland in 1980 for the division title) was great, but it might be Allen's FG block to Bryant's 90-yard TD return against the Rams in the '76 NFC Championship? That play was so shocking and afforded Bryant a victory lap around the stadium, enabling the whole crowd to surge, it might earn this honor.

Broncos has to be Elway's whirly-bird run in the Super Bowl, right?

Raiders would be Clarence Davis's Sea of Hands, since the Holy Roller barely even qualified as a play, per se.

Would the Eagles be the Miracle in the Meadowlands, or is that more of a Giant screwup than a hallowed Eagles moment? Maybe Bednarik's hit on Gifford, or Bednarik sitting on Jim Taylor as the clock ran out in 1960?

Redskins absolutely no question: The Diesel on 4th down against Miami. That play is utterly revered around here still, as it should be for it was pretty awesome.

Having trouble conjuring something for the Lions and Cardinals. Help?

Not sure if this counts as a "play" but, for the Cowboys, I think Bob Lilly throwing his helmet 50 yards downfield just after Jim O'Brien's winning field goal for the Colts in Super Bowl V. That epitomized the frustration of the Dallas franchise up to that point and (in my eyes anyway) was the beginning of their march to the top in 1971, when they won it all in decisive fashion for the first time.

The Hail Mary, although a fantastic finish and a great play, didn't mark a turning point in the franchise so I probably wouldn't go with it. [EDIT] I just reread the thread title and it says "signature play"; I was thinking "turning point in franchise history" for some reason. So I would probably rescind my comment on the Hail Mary, which really has been the Cowboys "signature play" in a franchise sense over the decades.... Gotta learn to read carefully before I post! LoL!

For the Cardinals, I'd go with Elmer Angsman's 70 yard burst on an icy field for a touchdown in the 4th quarter of the NFL Championship game against the Eagles. That put the Cards up by 14 points, essentially sealed the game, and earned them their first and only NFL Championship trophy.

Evan » Tue Feb 24, 2015 3:52 pm
"...Would the Eagles be the Miracle in the Meadowlands, or is that more of a Giant screwup than a hallowed Eagles moment?.."

Joe's use of "greatest or most memorable" certainly qualifies that horrible Meadowlands event.
Gee... two of these were against the Giants - 1958 and now this. Ouch!

Minnesota Vikings - and for those of that era, what can be more memorable than Jim Marshall's "run?"