In 1978 “taking a knee” was of questionable legality & drew accusations of playing dirty (just like ball stripping was also called dirty). Kneeling in ‘78 before caused crowds to boo their own teams, started fights on the fields & refs threatened penalties. This play is the reason that “victory formation” kneel downs are clearly permitted in the rules today.
According to my Dad the "victory formation" we know today came out the next week with I believe the dolphins running it, and the rest of the league followed suit. Yes the people in the video were mislead. Taking a knee wasn't really a thing yet that's what you would do would do, run out the clock with running plays.
You can blame the Miracle at the Meadowlands on offensive coordinator Bob Gibson. He thought kneeling was unfair, which was what a lot of people agreed on, and told Psarcik to run a play and threatened to wave him if he changed a play. Gibson was fired the day after.
@Dees Nuts That's not a story. That actually happened. On the previous possession, the Giants fumbled. But they got the ball back and wanted to run out the clock. So they kneeled it and all hell broke loose: ruclips.net/video/pQRRPwRdWwA/видео.html
Yep, I spent almost an hour last night reading the wiki page about it after I heard the guy say something about it at the end of a solo in Madden 20 lol
I watched this live with my Dad! We were hugging each other while jumping around in a circle. One of the most incredible sports moments I have ever seen!
I love the Dad story. Makes me miss my Dad and witnessing Philly sports moments together. 26 years he’s been gone. I almost bought us tickets to the Lomas Brown playoff game against the Lions, but then I figured my dad would be unhappy with me spending that money even though we had it. So I didn’t buy the tickets. A month later healthy Dad gets a brain cancer diagnosis and then six weeks later he was dead. not buying Eagles playoff tickets is one of my biggest life regrets! Just for one more Dad-son moment.
0:42-0:44 She was actually a Baltimore Colts fan at the 10-7 overtime victory over the Dolphins at Memorial Stadium in the penultimate game of the 1975 regular season. In one of the installments of Lost Treasures of NFL Films, Steve Sabol showed all the times he used this video clip. It was excruciatingly hilarious.
I watched this with my dad while home from college for the weekend. He wasn't a person who swore a lot but after this play I heard him spew words I never heard him say before. I was in shock. I just packed, left on my motorcycle and could still hear him screaming as I drove away.
All these "geniuses" who say "just take a knee", are looking at it through the eyes of football today, not 1978. Back then, you either handed off or the QB kept the ball and just fell down rather than risk a fumble. But there was not a set strategy of taking a knee because the rule didn't exist and if the QB went down on one knee he would've gotten the snot knocked out of him by the defense. The rule protecting an offensive player giving himself up didn't exist until after this game.
In 1978 Pastorini of the Oilers fell down to end a game. What the Giants did was stupid. That play caused the OC, Head Coach and General Manager to be fired. So the Giants owner doesn't agree with you.
@@ktcarl Not only that, but the offensive coordinator who came up with this boneheaded play never worked in football ever again. He also never talked about the play before his death in 2015.
totally exaggerating. The qb's would simply get the handoff and go down to the ground behind the center and would usually just get touched as the linemen protected the qb's. That's why this was such a shock. It was 3rd and 5 with 31 seconds and the Eagles were out of time outs. My dad was at the game and much of the crowd leaving was convinced it was fixed.
Little known fact about the play was that defensive coordinator Marion Campbell called an 11-man blitz on the play. This defensive play call presumably went obsolete with the advent of the kneel down, but perhaps can make a resurgence again now that we see this new tactic of intentionally letting the offense score to get the ball back at the end of games when the defense has to get a turnover but can't get it.
Head coach of the Jets and Chiefs and Arizona State now back at ESPN and I was just watching him saying something that made me look back at both Miracles at the Meadowlands
Out of all the changes that took place in the aftermath, I'm surprised no one has mentioned that when the Giants eventually released Joe Pisarcik, he signed with the Eagles, of all teams.
When Pisarcik got to Philly, LB Bill Bergey would throw a football in front of Pisarcik and say "Herm, can you do that again?" Edwards would pick up the ball and run to the other end of the locker room-prompting a reaction from Pisarcik that Bergey characterized as "I'd love you tell you Joe's reaction but I can't repeat it here"...
You'd think it would be called Miracle at the Meadowlands if the Giants had been on defense and the Eagles fumbled. It should be Messup at the Meadowlands.
Revisiting this historic play (1978, Philadelphia at NY Giants) against a recent debacle (2023, Georgia Tech at U.Miami), though differences in historical play and league context should be taken into account.
@@andrewpadaetz5549 Probably because it was only his second year as the radio play by play caller, his voice is SOO legendary, he's gonna be 79 this year, man when he dies I'm gonna be watching his memorable calls all the time
Mr. Reese is quite the name in Philly broadcasting not just sports. Perhaps on a level with the late great Harry "The K" Kalas. Merrill is also Vice President and General Manager of Progressive Broadcasting Corporation, the owner of Bucks County radio station 1490 WBCB in Levittown, PA; one of the very few locally owned and operated radio stations in the country.
I was there with my father as a 12-year-old. The guy behind us was going " Comon Pisarcik eck-eck-eck-eck". It was a play on Billy Joel - trading in his Chevy for a Cadillac=ac-ac-ac. Unfortunately, we left early thinking the game was over, so I didn't actually see the play. Walking to the car, we heard the stadium erupt. When we got in the car and turned on WFAN, we couldn't believe it.
"All you had to do was kneel! All you had to do was kneel!". I wish the announcer would have done that. Made me remember this clip honestly. Made me laugh.
We will probably never see a play like this ever again and it happened right in front of 70,000 Giants fans. They had looks of stunned disbelief and then homicidal rage. It's always entertaining when a home team losses at the last second in front of the home crowd.
That is a coaching error. Piscarsik was told by a coach to go for another offensive play. Csonka warned them THIS would happen if they tried to do that. Of course, that led to Herm Edwards being made famous.
That's not a coaching error. Its on Csonka for tanking the play. Chickenshit if you ask me, and he hasn't gotten the blame he deserves. The coaches/GM shouldn't have been fired. You can debate the call all you want, but if Csonka takes the ball, the game is over, the Giants win, and no one ever hears of Herm Edwards.
This play actually turned the Giants around. Enough was enough. George Young was brought in and the rebuild began. The Giants became a Super Bowl team. Sometimes it takes a disaster to wake up.
At least lots of good came out of this play...after the season: the Giants' feuding owners finally hired a general manager after the season, George Young, who built the Giants for success in the 1980s.
While Pisarcik mishandled the ball, it was really OC Bob Gibson's fault for calling the play. Recall two plays earlier Joe DID fall on the ball. Gibson for some unbelievably stupid reason called a run to Csonka, who was incredulous in the huddle, "What?! Do not hand me the ball!" Joe had been reprimanded for calling an audible previously by Gibson, and so they did hand it off, and Larry did gain some 10 yards. Another run was called, every player in the huddle was baffled, probably frustrated, and this time the snap was a little off, Joe mishandled it, and Csonka never got a chance to even grab it. The rest is history. I believe Gibson never called another play in the NFL, maybe all of football.
Never mentionned in this clip: 1-Offensive coordinator Bob Gibson (not baseball HOF pitcher) never coached again at any level after the Giants let him go the next day, never interviewed once since 40+ years. 2-Head coach John McVay went to the 49ers as VP Football Operations and contributed to what would become the dynasty of the 1980's.
yes it was the best thing for them as the entire coaching staff was let go at the end of the year and they did need the housecleaning. They finally made the playoffs 3 years later.
Exactly! The ownership feud was awful at that point, and they finally decided to hire a GM after this (George Young). Young's first coach lasted 4 years before he left to succeed Bear Bryant at Auburn. The man who succeeded him was some guy named Bill Parcells. Young would be the GM for 19 years until retiring after the 1997 season.
Both NY teams lost 19-17 that day, both finished 6-10 (I think), and this was the moment NY football truly hit rock-bottom. The Giants and Jets used to play on the final two Saturdays of the season so the networks could show some real football on Sunday.
At the 41 second mark the announcer says "I don't believe it" and Herman Edwards scores the touchdown. A second later look for a fan also mouthing "I don't believe it" at the same exact time the announcer says it a second time. He'll be at the top of your video screen (above a lady in white standing up). The fan can be seen with dark brown hair and a mustache. Haha.
Larry Csonka purposely whiffed the hand-off...something NFL Films constantly fails to mention; but Wikipedia didn't; "In the huddle, the Giants were incredulous when the call came in. "Don't give me the ball", begged fullback Larry Csonka, the former Dolphins star. Other players asked Pisarcik to change the play, but he demurred. Gibson had berated him for changing a play the week before and threatened to have him waived if he ever did so again. Gibson did not take the time to explain his decision to Pisarcik. As a result, the rest of the offense simply viewed Gibson's call as a power trip. Because he was a second-year starting quarterback who still had not totally proven himself, in the era before free agency, Pisarcik lacked the stature to prevail in this kind of dispute.Csonka claims that, as he walked away from the huddle, he told Pisarcik he would not take the ball if he went through with it. It is not known whether the quarterback heard him or not, however. McVay's headphones, which normally allowed him to communicate with Pisarcik and Gibson, were not working properly at that point either. McVay has since stated that he would certainly have overruled Gibson had he heard what was coming".
Pisarcik "lacked the stature to prevail" because he was a horrifically bad QB, completing 44.5% of his passes in 3 seasons w/ the Giants. He threw 18 TDs and 43 Interceptions. This play nicely summarizes his career.
the play came from the offensive coordinator. there's a story behind it. pisarcik didn't want to run a play, but he didn't have the authority to overrule the offensive coordinator. on wikipedia they explain it very well.
I know, but John McVay's headphones, which normally allowed him to communicate with Pisarcik and Gibson, were not working properly at that point either. McVay has since stated that he would certainly have overruled Gibson had he heard what was coming. So this explains everything.
hearing merril reese call this game, and then the super bowl is just such good karma man. He DESERVED to witness that win more than anyone else i’ve ever witnessed
Of course it was. Whoever fixed the game cut it so close that if the ball doesn't bounce right into Edwards's hands on what was about the be the last play (and let's say a Giants lineman falls on the fumble), the clock runs out and the Giants win.
@@Colorado4x4Van LOL at thinking that a fixed game still wouldn't be taken care of with just a minute left and the "wrong" team ahead with the ball. And other than the QB (who tried to grab it) and the tailback, the rest of the Giants are obviously not going to be in position to get to a fumble as quickly as it bounced immediately up to Edwards. That's just basic football.
The blunder is 95% Czonka's fault at least. Czonka ran right past Pisarcik without even trying to grab the ball. The video replays from certain angles show this clearly. The press reported the next day that Czonka told Pisarcik not to give him the ball and that he wasn't going to take the handoff. Why won't anyone recognize this? The entire narrative now surrounding this play is largely a myth.
There's something else they missed. The eagles were playing with desperation, and were going with high-risk all out rushes that almost injured players. That was the reason the Giants wanted to hand it off. It wasn't long after that safety rules were implemented so that simulation of a victory formation kneel down is enough to blow the play dead. The only way now for a victory formation to fail is if the snap is a fumble. The moment the ball is in the QB's hands the play is dead. That's why when you look at victory formations today, the ref is always running onto he players blowing a fast whistle and signaling the end of the play.
Wrong NFL is like the WWE only worse, it is not real competition it is all controlled by the tyrant owners of the world. Visit free to find truth BlogSpot to be educated.
FWIW, John McVay, the then-head coach of the Giants, because of a communication problem, had no communication with either OC Bob Gibson or QB Joe Pisarcik through his headphones, and he says that, if the headphones had been working properly and he heard Gibson's call, he would have overruled Gibson...
It wasn't a matter of whether kneeing or falling on the ball was illegal, it was a different mentality in 1978. Back then, running out the clock by falling on the ball was considered "unmanly". Well, you know what's also unmanly? Losing a ball game in the name of preserving your OC's fragile ego. Bob Gibson ordered a 65 Power-Up (handoff to Csonka), and told Pisarcik that if he kneed, he'd have him put on waivers. Csonka was so pissed off at Gibson, he refused to accept the handoff. The rest is history.
In 2008 on its 30th anniversary, The offensive coordinator Bob Gibson Who made the worst play call that cost in the game what is reached out by ESPN and asked him about the play and all he said was this “ I haven’t talked about it in 30 years and I’m not going to start now.
What they're failing to realize or communicate is that, at that point in time, kneeling at the end of the game was considered unsportsmanlike. In fact, the Miracle at the Meadowlands was the play that LEGITIMIZED the knee.
Poor guy. That seems to me to be a coaching error... And it also seems like the game maybe fixed. A running back ran pass a quarterback like he had no idea he was supposed to get the ball
Not rigged. Csonka was tired, it was the end of the game, he begged the quarterback not to give him the ball. In fact, he said he would refuse the ball. Pisarcik felt that he had no choice, because he was going to be fired if he disobeyed the OC's order, and that was before free agency, so he might never get another job in football. Csonka ignored the ball (and Pisarcik was a hair slow with it because of the center) and they missed. Frustration with a coach who kept calling in difficult plays and refused to let them kneel, tiredness, a couple of mistakes all caused them to lose the game. But as they said, in the end it worked out well for the Giants, because the owners finally started working together, they got a new coach, new OC and new GM, which eventually led to the arrival of Bill Parcells and their first two Super Bowl wins.
In 1978 “taking a knee” was of questionable legality & drew accusations of playing dirty (just like ball stripping was also called dirty). Kneeling in ‘78 before caused crowds to boo their own teams, started fights on the fields & refs threatened penalties. This play is the reason that “victory formation” kneel downs are clearly permitted in the rules today.
Well said and articulated.
@@johnnypunish Thank you. I felt for younger ppl who asked why they didn’t take a knee.
Kneel down wasn't in the rule book until 1987. You fell down with the ball in that spot-obviously Giants thought differently #oops
@@andrewpadaetz5549 Exactly.
According to my Dad the "victory formation" we know today came out the next week with I believe the dolphins running it, and the rest of the league followed suit. Yes the people in the video were mislead. Taking a knee wasn't really a thing yet that's what you would do would do, run out the clock with running plays.
You can blame the Miracle at the Meadowlands on offensive coordinator Bob Gibson. He thought kneeling was unfair, which was what a lot of people agreed on, and told Psarcik to run a play and threatened to wave him if he changed a play. Gibson was fired the day after.
After that, Gibson never worked in any level of football again. He never even talked about the play before his death in 2015.
As well he should have been.
he ended up disappearing and running some small tackle shop in Florida
A coordinator has absolutely no authority to waive a player. Only the GM and the head coach can do that.
@Dees Nuts That's not a story. That actually happened. On the previous possession, the Giants fumbled. But they got the ball back and wanted to run out the clock. So they kneeled it and all hell broke loose: ruclips.net/video/pQRRPwRdWwA/видео.html
Anybody look this up because of the commentators in Madden when you run an actual play at the end of a game instead of kneeing it
sgreene96 me bro😂😂
Yep, I spent almost an hour last night reading the wiki page about it after I heard the guy say something about it at the end of a solo in Madden 20 lol
The commentator get annoying after awhile like I’m just playing a game but yeah that’s why I’m here
sgreene96 lol! That’s why I’m here!
That’s why I’m here lol
So Herm definitely played to win the game...
🤣🤣🤣🤣
I thought it was Vince papale
And he built on it.
Herm won the game
HELLO?!
I watched this live with my Dad! We were hugging each other while jumping around in a circle. One of the most incredible sports moments I have ever seen!
I love the Dad story. Makes me miss my Dad and witnessing Philly sports moments together. 26 years he’s been gone.
I almost bought us tickets to the Lomas Brown playoff game against the Lions, but then I figured my dad would be unhappy with me spending that money even though we had it. So I didn’t buy the tickets.
A month later healthy Dad gets a brain cancer diagnosis and then six weeks later he was dead. not buying Eagles playoff tickets is one of my biggest life regrets! Just for one more Dad-son moment.
@@Waitukubuli Man, if you have children, make sure you don't have such regrets with them or they don't have regrets with you. That feeling is awful 😞
It was fake
0:42-0:44 She was actually a Baltimore Colts fan at the 10-7 overtime victory over the Dolphins at Memorial Stadium in the penultimate game of the 1975 regular season. In one of the installments of Lost Treasures of NFL Films, Steve Sabol showed all the times he used this video clip. It was excruciatingly hilarious.
That is funny.
Lol😂😂 thanks for that gem
Well… The Miami Hurricanes obviously didn’t watch this video 😂
Miami this NFL play is the reason why the qb kneel exist when victory is in sight
Exactly why I’m here lol
yep lol
Who’s here after U of Miami’s gaffe?
I am. Go Jackets!
Who is there after University of Miami did the same thing 😭
I watched this with my dad while home from college for the weekend. He wasn't a person who swore a lot but after this play I heard him spew words I never heard him say before. I was in shock. I just packed, left on my motorcycle and could still hear him screaming as I drove away.
Who’s here after the Raiders-Patriots game? 💀
All these "geniuses" who say "just take a knee", are looking at it through the eyes of football today, not 1978. Back then, you either handed off or the QB kept the ball and just fell down rather than risk a fumble. But there was not a set strategy of taking a knee because the rule didn't exist and if the QB went down on one knee he would've gotten the snot knocked out of him by the defense. The rule protecting an offensive player giving himself up didn't exist until after this game.
So what? Lose a little snot, but win the game.
In 1978 Pastorini of the Oilers fell down to end a game. What the Giants did was stupid. That play caused the OC, Head Coach and General Manager to be fired. So the Giants owner doesn't agree with you.
@@ktcarl Not only that, but the offensive coordinator who came up with this boneheaded play never worked in football ever again. He also never talked about the play before his death in 2015.
totally exaggerating. The qb's would simply get the handoff and go down to the ground behind the center and would usually just get touched as the linemen protected the qb's. That's why this was such a shock. It was 3rd and 5 with 31 seconds and the Eagles were out of time outs. My dad was at the game and much of the crowd leaving was convinced it was fixed.
Little known fact about the play was that defensive coordinator Marion Campbell called an 11-man blitz on the play. This defensive play call presumably went obsolete with the advent of the kneel down, but perhaps can make a resurgence again now that we see this new tactic of intentionally letting the offense score to get the ball back at the end of games when the defense has to get a turnover but can't get it.
Wait, Herm Edwards? The same Herm Edwards of the iconic "you play to win the game" line? He was involved in this play? That's pretty cool!
Yep
No lie?
He WAS that play!
Herman Edwards played 10 seasons in the NFL, undrafted out of San Diego State...9 with the Eagles.
Head coach of the Jets and Chiefs and Arizona State now back at ESPN and I was just watching him saying something that made me look back at both Miracles at the Meadowlands
Out of all the changes that took place in the aftermath, I'm surprised no one has mentioned that when the Giants eventually released Joe Pisarcik, he signed with the Eagles, of all teams.
When Pisarcik got to Philly, LB Bill Bergey would throw a football in front of Pisarcik and say "Herm, can you do that again?" Edwards would pick up the ball and run to the other end of the locker room-prompting a reaction from Pisarcik that Bergey characterized as "I'd love you tell you Joe's reaction but I can't repeat it here"...
Eagles fans love Pisarcik, he's a great fit/
Why wouldn't the Eagles sign Pisarcik? He proved that he was the Eagles' MVP, didn't he?
Somehow, *it happened again, in college football.*
LOL Miami
Miami just repeated this lmao
Some people never learn
Ugh...thats what brought me here
Mario Crisobal says whatsup
And this is his 2nd time doing this. Cost him a game at Oregon too. Unbelievable! 😂😂🤣
You'd think it would be called Miracle at the Meadowlands if the Giants had been on defense and the Eagles fumbled. It should be Messup at the Meadowlands.
Or Blunder at the Meadowlands
Meltdown at the Meadowlands
It was a miracle for us birds fans.
Revisiting this historic play (1978, Philadelphia at NY Giants) against a recent debacle (2023, Georgia Tech at U.Miami), though differences in historical play and league context should be taken into account.
Miami
Nearly 40 years later, Merrill Reese would call an Eagles Super Bowl win.
That play was the first time most of us heard of Merrill Reese.
@@andrewpadaetz5549 Probably because it was only his second year as the radio play by play caller, his voice is SOO legendary, he's gonna be 79 this year, man when he dies I'm gonna be watching his memorable calls all the time
The next year he roasted tf out of Cody Parkey after the double doink
He wasn’t even 40 when this game was played.
Mr. Reese is quite the name in Philly broadcasting not just sports. Perhaps on a level with the late great Harry "The K" Kalas. Merrill is also Vice President and General Manager of Progressive Broadcasting Corporation, the owner of Bucks County radio station 1490 WBCB in Levittown, PA; one of the very few locally owned and operated radio stations in the country.
Herm Edwards really played to win the game.
I was there with my father as a 12-year-old. The guy behind us was going " Comon Pisarcik eck-eck-eck-eck". It was a play on Billy Joel - trading in his Chevy for a Cadillac=ac-ac-ac. Unfortunately, we left early thinking the game was over, so I didn't actually see the play. Walking to the car, we heard the stadium erupt. When we got in the car and turned on WFAN, we couldn't believe it.
I was there as well, and I did see it. It was pathetic. I'm thinking in 1978, the Giants were likely on WNEW AM radio. WFAN did not exist until 1989.
Iconic play that made Merrill Reese one of the NFL's most notable voices. He's still calling Eagles games today.
It's OK, fired Giants Head Coach John McVay. Your grandson Sean is currently wrecking most of the League with the Rams.
Except for the eagles. Philadelphia is McVay family kryptonite
@@brianstryker4536 Well...
“You play to win the game”
In long run best play for the Giants. Brought in greatest GM in NFL history - George Young.
And Bill Parcells as defensive coordinator, later head coach. Also, Young would draft Phil Simms and Lawrence Taylor.
did you just forget another great Piece??...Bill Belichick AS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR!
In the* long run
They should have done “Ask Madden”
the biggest crime of that play, was that a hall of famer like Larry Csonka, even had to be involved in a play like that.
"All you had to do was kneel! All you had to do was kneel!". I wish the announcer would have done that. Made me remember this clip honestly. Made me laugh.
Campbellnator
40 years today!
Not possible under the rules of 1978. The play clock was running out at 31 seconds, with a play clock then of just 30 seconds.
This is the reason teams run the victory formation today.
It's fun being a Philly fan.And now we Eden have.a championship. ( I was born in 63 )
I was at the stadium that day as a kid. Something you would never, ever forget.
Jesus, I didnt realize how long Merrill Reese has been the Eagles radio voice
Happy 40th Anniversary, Miracle at the Meadowlands!
Mich, it will be a miracle...if they give a hundred dollar bill to the fans with a pay entrance....and i said give.
This was the first game I ever saw. I was 6 years old and was traumatized. Been a die hard Giants fan since. THIS IS THE WORST PLAY IN NFL HISTORY!!!
the ny giants the only football team in nfl history to lose a game by not doing nothing
They can look back and laugh now since they have four Superbowl trophies.
We will probably never see a play like this ever again and it happened right in front of 70,000 Giants fans. They had looks of stunned disbelief and then homicidal rage. It's always entertaining when a home team losses at the last second in front of the home crowd.
The next home game, fans hired a plane to fly over the stadium saying that 15 years of lousy football was enough.
The best and worst thing that happened to the Giants.
Yeah because the following year Simms was drafted and 2 years later LT was drafted
Yup. It got the Giants to clean house, bring in George Young, who hires Bill Parcells, and starts their powerful team of the 80's.
LT was RIGHT around the corner AND the NY football Giants became winner's!
I saw this on tv. Couldn't believe it...
That is a coaching error. Piscarsik was told by a coach to go for another offensive play. Csonka warned them THIS would happen if they tried to do that. Of course, that led to Herm Edwards being made famous.
why doesn't Csonka just hang back and secure the handoff then?
That's not a coaching error. Its on Csonka for tanking the play. Chickenshit if you ask me, and he hasn't gotten the blame he deserves. The coaches/GM shouldn't have been fired. You can debate the call all you want, but if Csonka takes the ball, the game is over, the Giants win, and no one ever hears of Herm Edwards.
This play actually turned the Giants around. Enough was enough. George Young was brought in and the rebuild began. The Giants became a Super Bowl team. Sometimes it takes a disaster to wake up.
Ironically, the next year, Joe Pisarcik was traded to the Eagles and they went to the SuperBowl.
Today marks the 40th anniversary of this unforgettable moment!
It’s never over til it’s over
At least lots of good came out of this play...after the season: the Giants' feuding owners finally hired a general manager after the season, George Young, who built the Giants for success in the 1980s.
First of Three Miracle at the Meadowlands!!!!!
1978, 1988, 2010 all won by the Eagles
@@michaelleroy9281 cool. I'll still take the 4 SBs v 1. Sucking all the time besides that is just the price we pay. But congrats on those 3 Ws
While Pisarcik mishandled the ball, it was really OC Bob Gibson's fault for calling the play.
Recall two plays earlier Joe DID fall on the ball. Gibson for some unbelievably stupid reason called a run to Csonka, who was incredulous in the huddle, "What?! Do not hand me the ball!" Joe had been reprimanded for calling an audible previously by Gibson, and so they did hand it off, and Larry did gain some 10 yards. Another run was called, every player in the huddle was baffled, probably frustrated, and this time the snap was a little off, Joe mishandled it, and Csonka never got a chance to even grab it. The rest is history.
I believe Gibson never called another play in the NFL, maybe all of football.
Gibson never got another coaching job at any level of football, and the only job he could get was the manager of a bait shop in Florida.
@Dees Nuts Good post. Hard to really blame Larry though. Whole thing was a total cluster of a play if there ever was one.
Never mentionned in this clip:
1-Offensive coordinator Bob Gibson (not baseball HOF pitcher) never coached again at any level after the Giants let him go the next day, never interviewed once since 40+ years.
2-Head coach John McVay went to the 49ers as VP Football Operations and contributed to what would become the dynasty of the 1980's.
Gibson passed away in 2015.
As much that I hate the Giants but that lost was the best thing that happen to them!
Actually not anymore
@@jaceloudon Why do you said that!
yes it was the best thing for them as the entire coaching staff was let go at the end of the year and they did need the housecleaning. They finally made the playoffs 3 years later.
Exactly! The ownership feud was awful at that point, and they finally decided to hire a GM after this (George Young). Young's first coach lasted 4 years before he left to succeed Bear Bryant at Auburn. The man who succeeded him was some guy named Bill Parcells. Young would be the GM for 19 years until retiring after the 1997 season.
@@AEMoreira81 You are talking about Ray Perkins and he was the head coach for the Giants before Bill Parcells
That played helped the Eagles get into the 1978 playoffs as a wild card team
Both NY teams lost 19-17 that day, both finished 6-10 (I think), and this was the moment NY football truly hit rock-bottom. The Giants and Jets used to play on the final two Saturdays of the season so the networks could show some real football on Sunday.
Hi, im from the future. Wait til you you 2021 NY football. Talk about rock bottom.
The Jets though were going in the right direction in 78
At the 41 second mark the announcer says "I don't believe it" and Herman Edwards scores the touchdown. A second later look for a fan also mouthing "I don't believe it" at the same exact time the announcer says it a second time. He'll be at the top of your video screen (above a lady in white standing up). The fan can be seen with dark brown hair and a mustache. Haha.
Larry Csonka purposely whiffed the hand-off...something NFL Films constantly fails to mention; but Wikipedia didn't; "In the huddle, the Giants were incredulous when the call came in. "Don't give me the ball", begged fullback Larry Csonka, the former Dolphins star. Other players asked Pisarcik to change the play, but he demurred. Gibson had berated him for changing a play the week before and threatened to have him waived if he ever did so again. Gibson did not take the time to explain his decision to Pisarcik. As a result, the rest of the offense simply viewed Gibson's call as a power trip. Because he was a second-year starting quarterback who still had not totally proven himself, in the era before free agency, Pisarcik lacked the stature to prevail in this kind of dispute.Csonka claims that, as he walked away from the huddle, he told Pisarcik he would not take the ball if he went through with it. It is not known whether the quarterback heard him or not, however. McVay's headphones, which normally allowed him to communicate with Pisarcik and Gibson, were not working properly at that point either. McVay has since stated that he would certainly have overruled Gibson had he heard what was coming".
olofpalme63 if Wikipedia said it then it must be true ! 🙄🙄
Oh yeah, I see Cszonka going nope! and taking off into the crowd. Weird situation. Apparently the coach was punishing the QB? And the team?
This was the lowest point of Zonk's illustrious career.
Pisarcik "lacked the stature to prevail" because he was a horrifically bad QB, completing 44.5% of his passes in 3 seasons w/ the Giants. He threw 18 TDs and 43 Interceptions. This play nicely summarizes his career.
@@johnnysama Nope, it was when he took off for the WFL in 1975
All you had to do was kneel I wouldn't listen to the coach, that's like listening to the coach tell me to throw at the one yard line
the play came from the offensive coordinator. there's a story behind it. pisarcik didn't want to run a play, but he didn't have the authority to overrule the offensive coordinator. on wikipedia they explain it very well.
Daniel Zanier there isn't a head coach that has less power than a coordinator.
I know, but John McVay's headphones, which normally allowed him to communicate with Pisarcik and Gibson, were not working properly at that point either. McVay has since stated that he would certainly have overruled Gibson had he heard what was coming. So this explains everything.
Hammad S , Kurt Warner in the Super Bowl against the steelers. That was the game that lost it for the cardinals..
@@dzanier the quarterback has the authority to overrule the coach/coordinator, by disobeying.
I saw this as a kid and an Eagles fan and couldn't believe what I witnessed.
John Gonzalez - "Nah. We've got a better idea". 😂💀
The U just pulled a Pisarcik against Georgia Tech! LOL!
im an eagles fan but im pretty sure back in them days kneeling wasnt a thing
Fun Fact: John McVay, the giants coach, is Sean McVay’s grandfather.
It's crazy the legacy/impact of this play. the kneel down was born
Wish this clip actually told the story behind the play call, which is actually quite fascinating.
hearing merril reese call this game, and then the super bowl is just such good karma man. He DESERVED to witness that win more than anyone else i’ve ever witnessed
It was the worst play until the Seattle vs. New England goal line pass play in the Super Bowl.
Miami vs Georgia Tech 2023 has entered the chat...
One of the most famous fixes in the NFL ...
Of course it was. Whoever fixed the game cut it so close that if the ball doesn't bounce right into Edwards's hands on what was about the be the last play (and let's say a Giants lineman falls on the fumble), the clock runs out and the Giants win.
@@hj-xb2tr The Giants could have done exactly that, especially the QB. They didn't go near the ball...and that was no accident.
@@Colorado4x4Van LOL at thinking that a fixed game still wouldn't be taken care of with just a minute left and the "wrong" team ahead with the ball. And other than the QB (who tried to grab it) and the tailback, the rest of the Giants are obviously not going to be in position to get to a fumble as quickly as it bounced immediately up to Edwards. That's just basic football.
I consider this number 2 only behind the Seahawks passing on the goal line.
I agree
0:43 She's a Colts fan. That film was taken 3 years before this.
That played was teh best thing to happen to the Giants. It led to Parcells
The blunder is 95% Czonka's fault at least. Czonka ran right past Pisarcik without even trying to grab the ball. The video replays from certain angles show this clearly. The press reported the next day that Czonka told Pisarcik not to give him the ball and that he wasn't going to take the handoff. Why won't anyone recognize this? The entire narrative now surrounding this play is largely a myth.
Came here to say that. Definitely a large amount the running back's fault for not making an effort to get the handoff and recover the fumble.
Czonka probably said he would not take the ball, but no one seems to know for sure if Pisarcik heard him.
@@Bill-uo6cm that's a really selfish thing to do though. Why not try to have your team win?
There's something else they missed. The eagles were playing with desperation, and were going with high-risk all out rushes that almost injured players. That was the reason the Giants wanted to hand it off.
It wasn't long after that safety rules were implemented so that simulation of a victory formation kneel down is enough to blow the play dead. The only way now for a victory formation to fail is if the snap is a fumble. The moment the ball is in the QB's hands the play is dead.
That's why when you look at victory formations today, the ref is always running onto he players blowing a fast whistle and signaling the end of the play.
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Because BlogSpot is the most trustworthy source of information.
To the genius comedian who said all he had to do was kneel, there was no kneeling back then.
You can kneel at the time, but you'd wait for the defense to touch you. Sometimes QBs would just turtle on top of the ball.
@@PoweDiePie but it wasn't the thing it is today. In fact, this game gave birth to the victory formation.
FWIW, John McVay, the then-head coach of the Giants, because of a communication problem, had no communication with either OC Bob Gibson or QB Joe Pisarcik through his headphones, and he says that, if the headphones had been working properly and he heard Gibson's call, he would have overruled Gibson...
Herm Edwards " He played to win the game "
This should've been number one
Taking a knee was NOT a thing back then. Now it's a thing. It was not back then
You didn’t kneel back then, you laid down and the clock ran til you were touched, and it led to a lot of scuffles and fights between the two lines.
who's here after the NYJ gave up a pick six at the end of the first half in similar embarrassing fashion as this one
Baylor vs UNLV 1999 almost the exact same play. Except that was returned by UNLV over 90 yards.
It’s especially worse knowing that Giants fumbled on previous possession.
Is that Vince Papale that jumps into frame at 0:44?
Yep
Larry Csonka played for the Giants?
3 seasons. Then he returned to Miami for 1979.
This what the Eagles needed at SB57 since Gannon sold out to become HC of the Cardinals.
NY coach was fired after the game
the entire staff was let go at the end of the season.
I never see any Giants on the New York Giants team. A Giant is about 10 to 12 feet tall
It wasn't a matter of whether kneeing or falling on the ball was illegal, it was a different mentality in 1978. Back then, running out the clock by falling on the ball was considered "unmanly". Well, you know what's also unmanly? Losing a ball game in the name of preserving your OC's fragile ego. Bob Gibson ordered a 65 Power-Up (handoff to Csonka), and told Pisarcik that if he kneed, he'd have him put on waivers. Csonka was so pissed off at Gibson, he refused to accept the handoff. The rest is history.
This is soooooo lucky for the eagles the only time they drop the ball
In 2008 on its 30th anniversary, The offensive coordinator Bob Gibson Who made the worst play call that cost in the game what is reached out by ESPN and asked him about the play and all he said was this “ I haven’t talked about it in 30 years and I’m not going to start now.
The woman reacting was really stock footage from a 1975 Baltimore Colts game, and Vermeil was reacting to a lost fumble in a 1976 game...
coach who called that play, same name as a baseball HOFer: Bob Gibson. canned and never worked in the NFL ever again.
He never worked again in football, period. The play was that notorious. He never even talked about the incident before his 2015 death.
Only #3? What could have been worse?
Don Criqui is everywhere
All you show-boaters...see what Herman Edwards did? He waited until he was clearly in the end zone...before celebrating!
I wonder if someone is going to come up with a name for the Pats vs Raider game, that was a horrible lateral at the end of the game.
What they're failing to realize or communicate is that, at that point in time, kneeling at the end of the game was considered unsportsmanlike. In fact, the Miracle at the Meadowlands was the play that LEGITIMIZED the knee.
Current Giants broadcaster Bob Papa, one of the best in his field is interviewed here. Wonder what Marty Glickman's call would've been?
I Love it E🦅A🦅 G🦅L🦅E 🦅 S.
Poor guy. That seems to me to be a coaching error... And it also seems like the game maybe fixed. A running back ran pass a quarterback like he had no idea he was supposed to get the ball
Not rigged. Csonka was tired, it was the end of the game, he begged the quarterback not to give him the ball. In fact, he said he would refuse the ball. Pisarcik felt that he had no choice, because he was going to be fired if he disobeyed the OC's order, and that was before free agency, so he might never get another job in football. Csonka ignored the ball (and Pisarcik was a hair slow with it because of the center) and they missed. Frustration with a coach who kept calling in difficult plays and refused to let them kneel, tiredness, a couple of mistakes all caused them to lose the game. But as they said, in the end it worked out well for the Giants, because the owners finally started working together, they got a new coach, new OC and new GM, which eventually led to the arrival of Bill Parcells and their first two Super Bowl wins.
Here after the pats game. Trying to decide which ones worse.