Image via Complex Original
On January 3, 1983, during a Cowboys' Monday Night Football game against the Vikings, Dallas running back Tony Dorsett did something that no other running back in NFL history has ever been able to do. He took a handoff from quarterback Danny White on his team's own one-yard line, broke a few tackles, and scampered 99 yards down the field to score a touchdown. It was and still is the only 99-yard rushing touchdown ever recorded by an NFL player.
It's very rare to see teams in the NFL—or teams at any level of football, for that matter—score on 99-yard touchdown plays. Because teams are prone to play it safe when they're snapping the ball in the shadow of their own goal line, 99-yard touchdown plays don't happen often. But when they do, they're absolutely amazing to watch and usually require some combination of skill and luck. On the 32nd anniversary of Dorsett's legendary run, we decided to take a look at The Craziest 99-Yard Touchdown Plays in Football History. WAY more impressive than your average Hail Mary.
Favre Pump Fakes the Defense
Date: 9/11/1995
The play: Brett Favre pump fakes the Bears defense before delivering a 31-yard strike to Robert Brooks and watching him run to the end zone.
Skill or luck? Skill. From the moment the ball was snapped, Favre looked like he knew what he wanted to do with it. His pump fake worked to perfection. He hit Brooks in stride. And that was that. He couldn't have drawn this up any better.
Cooper Torches the Tigers
Date: 11/30/2013
The play: Amari Cooper puts a move on an Auburn defender, blows by him, then catches a pass from Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron before making his way down the field.
Skill or luck? Skill. McCarron didn't simply throw a prayer up to Cooper here. Rather, he allowed a play to develop, stayed patient while Cooper ran his route, and put the ball exactly where it needed to be in order for Cooper to catch it and score.
Landry Airs One Out
Date: 9/25/2010
The play: Kalamazoo College wide receiver Cory McCain gets past two defenders to catch a long pass from Sam Landry and outruns both of them on his way to the end zone.
Skill or luck? Skill. Landry has a big arm, and McCain has great speed. Put them together, and this is what you get. Both the pass and the catch were things of beauty.
Gallagher Catches a Prayer
Date: 10/30/2009
The play: Pee Wee player Peter Gallagher catches a high floater, breaks a couple tackles, and then runs down the field to give his team a win.
Skill or luck? Luck. We're not going to give the kids here too much grief because they are, after all, just kids. But they ran two straight running plays from inside their own five-yard line and then asked their quarterback to throw a ball up for his receiver on the next play. You should also keep an eye on Gallagher towards the end of his touchdown run. He didn't look like he was going to be able to make it to the end zone due to exhaustion.
Brees Throws a Bomb
Date: 9/25/1999
The play: Drew Brees hits his speedy Purdue teammate Vinny Sutherland with a deep ball against Northwestern after he blows by two defenders.
Skill or luck? Skill. Despite the poor video quality here, Brees still shines in all his pixelated glory. He throws a nice pass to Sutherland, who catches it and does the rest of the work while Brees looks on. Brees obviously went on to throw a lot more deep bombs like this during the course of his college and pro career.
Enunwa Spins Past the Secondary
Date: 1/1/2014
The play: Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. drops a 40-yard pass into Quincy Enunwa's arms and watches him use a spin move to blow by a defender and score.
Skill or luck? Skill. We could really go either way on this one. The spin move that Enunwa utilized didn't necessarily look intentional, so there was a little bit of luck involved. But the fact that he caught the ball, spun, and then maintained his balance in order to score was impressive. Armstrong Jr. put the ball right on the money, too, and gave Enunwa the chance to turn this into a big play.
Gumbs Outruns Everyone
Date: 9/2/2014
The play: Stellar Prep (Oakland, Calif.) star Chandler Gumbs hits a hole at the line, takes off, and leaves the entire defense in his dust.
Skill or luck? Skill. How was Gumbs' team not winning at this point in the game? They should have handed him the ball every single time they snapped it, because he was clearly the fastest player on the field—and it wasn't even close.
Washington Breaks Out of a Scrum
Date: 10/5/2013
The play: Southeast Missouri State running back Lewis Washington runs into a pile of players, spins his way out of it, and breaks away from the pack against Tennessee State.
Skill or luck? Skill. In reality, Washington should have been brought down for a short gain. There were several defenders who were able to get hands on him. But he kept his legs moving, refused to be tackled, and used his speed to his advantage once he was in the open field.
Zenner Lets His Blocks Develop
Date: 9/1/2012
The play: Zach Zenner allows his South Dakota State offensive linemen to set up their blocks, busts through an opening at the line, and runs down the field untouched.
Skill or luck? Skill. In order to be an effective running back, you need to have great patience and be willing to let your blocks develop before you try and hit a gap at the line. That's especially difficult when you're standing in your own zone. But Zenner was patient here and it paid off for him in a really big way.
Crown College Puts Forth a Total Team Effort
Date: 9/2/2000
The play: A Crown College quarterback runs a QB sneak for 99 yards moments after the Crown College defense stops the opposing team on a fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line.
Skill or luck? Luck. This QB was lucky that he was playing against a defense that was so bad. He wasn't particularly big or particularly fast and yet he still managed to run the ball right up the middle for a huge gain. The opposing team must have been too upset to play D after watching their offense fail to score from the one.
Hillman Hits the Gap Hard
Date: 10/29/2011
The play: Ronnie Hillman takes a handoff in the end zone against Wyoming, hits a gap at the line, and then powers his way down the field for a San Diego State score.
Skill or luck? Skill. Want to know why the Broncos eventually drafted this guy? Just watch how he hits the opening, makes a couple guys miss, side-steps towards the sideline, and then uses a burst of speed to fly down the field. This is how you land on the radars of NFL scouts.
Welker Delivers a Vicious Stiff-Arm
Date: 9/12/2011
The play: Wes Welker catches a 17-yard pass from Tom Brady, hits Dolphins defender Benny Sapp with a stiff arm, and sprints down the field.
Skill or luck? Skill. Sapp got cut by the Dolphins the week after this play happened, and we can't really hate on Miami for getting rid of him. Welker put a mean stiff arm on him here and scored when he probably should have been tackled for a relatively short gain.
Woodcock Sets a Grey Cup Record
Date: 11/24/2002
The play: Montreal Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo tosses a deep ball to Pat Woodcock during the 2002 Grey Cup against the Edmonton Eskimos.
Skill or luck? Skill. Imagine a quarterback winding up and throwing a 99-yard touchdown strike in the Super Bowl. That's basically what happened here in the CFL's version of the big game. It's slightly less impressive than it'd be in an NFL game since the CFL uses a 110-yard field. But still, a 99-yard play during the biggest game of your season is nothing to sneer at.
Simon Sneaks One Up the Middle
Date: 12/5/2014
The play: High school quarterback Micah Simon takes a shotgun snap in the end zone, makes several defensive players miss at the line, and runs the length of the field.
Skill or luck? Skill. This guy is going to BYU next year, and we're definitely looking forward to what he's going to be able to do in college. He made this run look way too easy, even though he was playing against high school competition.
Green Hits the Ground Running
Date: 10/31/2009
The play: Broderick Green takes a handoff from Arkansas teammate Ryan Mallett and runs for 99 yards against Eastern Michigan.
Skill or luck? Skill. Green's Arkansas teammates did the heavy lifting on this play. They blocked the defensive line and provided a gaping hole for him to run through. And then, he hit it and took off running. No one was going to deny him here.
Garback Makes a Big Grab
Date: 9/15/2010
The play: Youth football tight end Kevin Garback snags a fourth-down pass and outruns two defenders on his way down the field.
Skill or luck? Luck. As in, Garback's team is lucky that he caught a relatively routine pass and then streaked down the sideline. It appears as though this was a fourth-down play and, if he hadn't done what he did, the opposing team would have gotten the ball in excellent position to score.
Frerrote Flings One Down the Field
Date: 11/30/2008
The play: Gus Frerotte hits Vikings teammate Bernard Berrian with a 45-yard pass against the Bears and then watches him run 54 yards after the catch.
Skill or luck? Luck. There's a chance Berrian would have worked his way down the field anyway. But what the hell was the Bears' defense doing here? Did they forget that Berrian was in the game or…?
Cruz Throws It Into Cruise Control
Date: 12/24/2011
The play: Victor Cruz catches a 10-yard pass from Eli Manning against the Jets and avoids three tackles while running down the sideline.
Skill or luck? Skill. The Giants simply wanted to complete a pass here to give their punter a little bit of room to operate. Instead, Cruz caught a pass between two defenders and showed off his ridiculous speed to score a touchdown. He earned every second of the salsa dance that he eventually did by scoring on this play.
Fitzgerald Racks Up the YAC
Date: 10/13/2007
The play: Casey Fitzgerald catches a three-yard pass from North Texas teammate Giovanni Vizza, breaks a tackle, and streaks down the sideline for an additional 96 yards against the University of Louisiana-Monroe.
Skill or luck? Skill. A lot of 99-yard touchdown passes are lucky. They typically feature a quarterback throwing a 40-yard pass and then a receiver taking advantage of a secondary that's out of position. But on this particular play, the pass only went for three yards and Fitzgerald was forced to do the rest. Credit his teammates for throwing some solid blocks and Fitzgerald for knowing how to use them.
Dorsett Goes the Distance
Date: 1/3/1983
The play: Tony Dorsett takes a handoff from Danny White and runs the ball 99 yards against the Vikings.
Skill or luck? Skill and luck. There's a reason why no one else in NFL history has pulled off a 99-yard touchdown run. Defensive players in the NFL are too good to allow it to happen. Dorsett managed to do it by breaking a couple of tackles and kicking it into high gear. Some other NFL player will eventually record a 99-yard touchdown run, but it's going to require a really special set of circumstances.
