For pretty much every year since 1920, there’s been Thanksgiving NFL games. With a history stretching back over a century, it’s no surprise there’s been some absolutely incredible standout moments. But today we’re going to focus on the Thanksgiving NFL moments that, depending on your team allegiances, you might look back at with your head hung low. Yes, these are some of the most embarrassing and fraught memories of NFL history.
Flip it
Flipping a coin is a time honored tradition to figure out what team should start overtime play. It’s simple, it’s pure chance, it’s the fairest way to do things, right? Well the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Jerome Bettis probably wouldn’t agree with that statement back in 1998.
So here we are at overtime in a hotly anticipated NFL Thanksgiving game of the Steelers against the Detroit Lions. It’s up to Bettis from the Steelers to call the coin toss to determine who’ll start.
He calls tails. The coin lands on tails. But oh no! The official thinks Bettis said heads. He INSISTS. He gives the start to the Lions, who go on to win 19-16. Bettis is absolutely livid and swears blind he called tails.
And what makes it all so much worse is that they failed to triumph in another game for the entire 1998 season. A coin toss curse? Perhaps…
Let it snow
November is obviously not the most reliable month when it comes to weather, but that’s the risk you run when you play a Thanksgiving NFL game. Unfortunately, this might not always go in the favor of the players on the field.
In 1993, the Dallas Cowboys are playing at home against the Miami Dolphins. Fresh snow sure makes a pretty picture, but it’s not the most stable ground for keeping your footing, as poor Leon Lett finds out.
After the Cowboys block Pete Stoyanovich’s attempt to kick a 41-yard field goal, it looks like the Cowboys are going to win. All they need to do is not touch the ball and they’ll win with a 14-13 score.
Simple? Well not so much. Lett losing his footing and falls straight onto the ball. It’s now live and there’s THREE, yes three, seconds to go! Stoyanovich comes back to complete what he started, kicks the ball and scores from the one-yard line.
And it goes down as an embarrassing moment in Leon Lett’s career that will always live on.
Butt to face
We’ve all heard to palm to face, but what about a butt to face moment? Well that’s exactly what happened to poor old Mark Sanchez, a 2012 quarterback for the New York Jets. This Thanksgiving NFL game had one major standout moment.
During a busted play, Sanchez was trying to run with the ball. But he fell face first into the ass of fellow Jets player Brandon Moore. And that wasn’t the end of the Jets’ bad luck. That Butt Fumble happened in the second quarter of the game, but they ultimately continued to get schooled by the Patriots, with a heck of an end score of 14-49 to the Patriots.
Where can I bet on the NFL online?
Well you probably can’t place a bet on what team has the most embarrassing Thanksgiving NFL moments, but there are lots of different wagers you can place! Depending on where you’re geographically located, you’ll probably have a few different options open to you. But one of our favorites, and one of the most widely available, has got to be bet365. Plus you can get a very nice welcome offer with this bet365 bonus code.
