Clock Play
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Clock Play was a famous
trick play A trick play, also known as a gadget play, gimmick play or trickeration, is a play in gridiron football that uses deception and unorthodox tactics to fool the opposing team. A trick play is often risky, offering the potential for a large gain or a ...
in
American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
, immortalized in what came to be known as the Fake Spike Game, played on November 27, . The contest was played by the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL)'s
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
and
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
that featured one of the most famous comeback plays in league history. Dolphins
quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
Dan Marino Daniel Constantine Marino Jr. ( ; born September 15, 1961) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He played college f ...
ran a
trick play A trick play, also known as a gadget play, gimmick play or trickeration, is a play in gridiron football that uses deception and unorthodox tactics to fool the opposing team. A trick play is often risky, offering the potential for a large gain or a ...
, pretending to stop the game clock but instead threw a
pass Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to: Places *Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland *Pass, Poland, a village in Poland *El Paso, Texas, a city which translates to "The Pass" * Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see Li ...
that scored the game-winning
touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...
, ultimately giving Miami the 28–24 victory.


Summary

The game itself pitted the 7–4 Dolphins against the 6–5 Jets; entering this game the Dolphins and Jets led the
AFC East The American Football Conference – Eastern Division or AFC East is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). There are currently four teams that reside in th ...
, but all five teams in the division were within two games of the division lead; the Bills had fallen to 6–6 following a
Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...
loss in
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
while the
Patriots A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot(s) or The Patriot(s) may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American R ...
had begun a late-season surge following victories over the Vikings and
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
and were 5–6 facing the 5–6
Colts Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States * Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United State ...
that same Sunday. The Jets were coming off a victory at
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
while the Dolphins had suffered back-to-back losses to
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
and
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
. The Jets raced to a 17–0 lead before the Dolphins got on the board on Dan Marino's touchdown to
Mark Ingram Sr. Mark Valentino Ingram Sr. (born August 23, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants (1987–1992), the Miami Dolphins (1993 to 1994), the Gr ...
, but misfired on a two-point conversion. The Jets scored again on Johnny Mitchell's touchdown catch before Marino found Ingram again, and this time, connected on another two-point conversion try, this one going to
Irving Fryar Irving Dale Fryar Sr. (born September 28, 1962) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Fryar played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and wa ...
. In the fourth,
Boomer Esiason Norman Julius "Boomer" Esiason (; born April 17, 1961) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals. He played college football for ...
was intercepted for the first time; this set up a third Marino-to-Ingram score. The Dolphins blitzed Esiason and
Tim Bowens Timothy L. Bowens (born February 7, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for 11 seasons with the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ole Miss Re ...
forced a fumble recovered by the Jets; this forced a Jets punt, but
O. J. McDuffie Otis James McDuffie (born December 2, 1969) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for eight seasons with the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn Stat ...
fumbled the punt to the Jets. The Jets drove to the Miami 38 with six minutes left but Esiason was intercepted again. The Jets forced another Miami punt, but with 2:34 left, J. B. Brown picked off Esiason again. Trailing 24–21 with 38 seconds left, the Dolphins had the ball at the Jets' 8-yard line with only one timeout. Running to the line of scrimmage, Marino nodded to Ingram and yelled "Clock! Clock! Clock!" and motioned that he was going to
spike Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Books * ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave * ''The Spike'' (Broderick book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick * ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter ...
the ball to stop the clock. The Jets defense, anticipating a spike, relaxed. Marino took the snap; instead of spiking the ball, he dropped back to pass, while Ingram ran to the corner of the end zone with rookie Jets
cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...
Aaron Glenn Aaron Devone Glenn (born July 16, 1972) is an American professional football coach and former cornerback who is the head coach for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the defensive coordinator for the ...
biting on the fake. With the Jets caught off-guard, Marino threw the pass to Ingram in the front-right corner of the end zone. The play was brought to Miami earlier in the year by backup quarterback
Bernie Kosar Bernard Joseph Kosar Jr. (born November 25, 1963) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, leading the team to a natio ...
, and Dolphins coach
Don Shula Donald Francis Shula ( ; January 4, 1930 – May 4, 2020) was an American professional American football, football player, coach and executive who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1963 to 1995. He played seven s ...
decided it was the right time to use the trick play. The 28–24 victory moved the Dolphins to 8–4 and despite subsequent losses to Buffalo and
Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
the 10–6 Dolphins edged the 10–6 Patriots, who had won their last seven games, for the division title (winning on a season sweep of New England), the twelfth in the team's history. The Dolphins defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card Game 27-17 but lost in the divisional round to the San Diego Chargers, 22–21. The comeback was Marino's 29th in his career, and his fifth against the Jets."Dan Marino's Career 4th quarter comebacks and game-winning drives"
Pro-Football-Reference.com


Aftermath

The Jets, meanwhile, went into a tailspin. Coach
Pete Carroll Peter Clay Carroll (born September 15, 1951) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the head coach for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as head coach for the NCAA's ...
called the loss "staggering." It proved to be more than that. The loss set off the Jets' second straight December collapse; they would not win another game for the rest of the season, and Coach Carroll was then fired. But the Jets' slump continued under his successor, Rich Kotite; they would win only four games during Kotite's two seasons, including a franchise worst 1–15 record in 1996.


Officials

*Referee: Gary Lane (#120) *Umpire: Bob Boylston (#101) *Head linesman: Sanford Rivers (#121) *Line judge: Jeff Bergman (#32) *Back judge: Bill Lovett (#98) *Side judge: Don Wedge (#28) *Field judge: Bobby Skelton (#73)


Broadcast call on the play


See also

* Dolphins–Jets rivalry


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clock Play 1994 NFL season NFL on NBC Miami Dolphins New York Jets NFL games Sports competitions in East Rutherford, New Jersey November 1994 sports events in the United States 1994 in sports in New Jersey