99-yard pass play

A 99-yard pass play is the longest play involving a forward pass that is possible in an American football game. It gains 99 yards and scores a touchdown for the offensive team. The play has occurred thirteen times in NFL history, most recently by Eli Manning and Victor Cruz. The Washington Football Team (formerly Redskins) is the only franchise to have had multiple 99 yard passes, having done so three times. They were also the first franchise to complete one, accomplishing the feat in 1939. Teams that have had a 99 yard pass play are 10–3 in the game it occurred in.

Details

A 99-yard pass play starts with the line of scrimmage at the offensive team's one-yard line. The quarterback receives the ball, passes it from his own end zone, and completes a forward pass, which is then carried for a touchdown at the other end of the field. In addition to 99-yard pass plays, there have been two NFL 99-yard running plays, one by Derrick Henry and one by Tony Dorsett.

This play is a high-risk play, since the pass is coming from the offensive team's end zone. If the ball is intercepted, the opposing team will likely either score a touchdown or have very good field position, and a sack can result in a safety or even a touchdown for the defense. A safety can also occur if a holding or intentional grounding penalty occurs in the end zone.

Occurrences in the NFL

Thirteen 99-yard pass plays have occurred in the history of the National Football League:

PasserReceiverTeamOpponentGame resultDateDetails
Frank Filchock Andy FarkasWashington RedskinsPittsburgh PiratesW 44–14October 15, 1939"Filchock flipped a pass from the end zone to Farkas, who gathered it on the ten for a stirring 90 yard jaunt to the goal behind perfect blocking by his mates."[1]
George IzoBobby MitchellWashington RedskinsCleveland BrownsL 37–14September 15, 1963[2]"Izo had faded into the end zone and fired high and long. Mitchell ... caught the ball around midfield and scampered untouched for a touchdown."[3]
Karl SweetanPat StudstillDetroit LionsBaltimore ColtsL 45–14October 16, 1966"Studstill ... gathered in the pass at the Lion 45 on a dead run and raced on to pay dirt."[4]
Sonny JurgensenJerry AllenWashington RedskinsChicago BearsW 38–28September 15, 1968Allen caught the ball at the Washington 35 and ran the remaining 65 yards[2][5]
Jim PlunkettCliff BranchLos Angeles RaidersWashington RedskinsL 37–35October 2, 1983Branch caught the ball at the Raiders' 35 and ran the remaining 64 yards for the score.[6]
Ron JaworskiMike QuickPhiladelphia EaglesAtlanta FalconsW 23–17 (OT)November 10, 1985"Jaworski hit Quick ...at about the 20. Quick ran the 80 yards for the score."[7]
Stan HumphriesTony MartinSan Diego ChargersSeattle SeahawksW 24–10September 18, 1994Martin caught the ball at the 35, and with Patrick Hunter pursuing him, ran the remaining 65 yards to score.[8]
Brett FavreRobert BrooksGreen Bay PackersChicago BearsW 27–24September 11, 1995On Monday Night Football, Favre pump-faked a quick post pattern to Robert Brooks, who then ran an up-route that left Donnell Woolford behind. Brooks caught the ball at the Green Bay 32 and ran the remaining 68 yards untouched for the TD to put the Packers up 21–0 in the second quarter.
Trent GreenMarc BoerigterKansas City ChiefsSan Diego ChargersW 24–22December 22, 2002 Green took the snap and retreated deep into the Chiefs' end zone, then stepped up and heaved the ball toward Boerigter, a rookie receiver who was streaking down the middle. Boerigter took the ball in perfect stride at the Kansas City 40 and outran Rogers Beckett the remaining 60 yards.[9]
Jeff GarciaAndré DavisCleveland BrownsCincinnati BengalsW 34–17October 17, 2004Davis was near the Browns' 40-yard line when he caught the pass from Garcia.[10][11]
Gus FrerotteBernard BerrianMinnesota VikingsChicago BearsW 34–14November 30, 2008 Berrian caught the ball at the Vikings' 46 and ran the remaining 54 yards to score.
Tom BradyWes WelkerNew England PatriotsMiami DolphinsW 38–24September 12, 2011 Brady lofted a pass to Welker at the 17 from 7 yards deep in the end zone. Welker then stiff-armed defender Benny Sapp on his 83-yard sprint into the end zone.[12]
Eli ManningVictor CruzNew York GiantsNew York JetsW 29–14December 24, 2011Manning threw a pass to Cruz at the 11, which was followed by Cruz avoiding 3 tackles while running down the right sideline to score a touchdown.[13]

See also

References
  1. "Skins Strike Through Air to Defeat Pirates", Frederick (Maryland) Post, October 16, 1939, p3
  2. Macrevace, Phillip (2007). The Redskins Encyclopedia. Temple University Press. p. 332. ISBN 978-1-59213-542-4.
  3. AP report, in the Lima (O.) News, September 16, 1963, p15
  4. AP report, "Unitas Sparkles as Colts Crush Detroit Lions 45–14", Ironwood (Mich.) Daily Globe, October 17, 1966, p8
  5. (UPI report) "Redskins Defeat Bears Behind Jurgensen 38–28, Cumberland (Maryland) News, September 16, 1968, p5
  6. AP report, "'Skins win over Raiders like another Super Bowl", Frederick (Maryland) News-Post, October 3, 1983, pD-1
  7. Sheridan, Phil (November 11, 1985). "Eagles survive against Falcons in overtime-Quick and Jaworski team up on 99-yard touchdown pass". Newspaperarchive.com (subscription). The Daily Intelligencer, Doylestown, Pennsylvania. p. 3.
  8. Rick Telander, "A Means Machine", Sports Illustrated, September 26, 1994, p50
  9. "Chiefs Chargers Matchup Through the Years". National Football League. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  11. Dulik, Brian (October 18, 2004). "Two backs, one big result". Newspaperarchive.com (subscription). Chronicle Telegram, Elyria, Ohio. p. 25.
  12. Davis, Nate (September 13, 2011). "Brady, Welker get kick out of 99-yard touchdown". USA Today. Retrieved December 25, 2011.
  13. Ehalt, Matt (December 24, 2011). "Cruz changes game with 99-yard touchdown". ESPN. Retrieved December 25, 2011.
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