Leon Lett played for the Dallas Cowboys for nearly a decade. He was a vital part of the Cowboys team that dominated in the early 1990s, helping bring three Super Bowl championships in four years, from 1992 to 1995. Still, Lett, the two-time Pro Bowl selection, isn’t primarily known for any of this. Instead, most football fans remember the infamous Leon Lett fumble plays. In this week’s edition of Meme Mondays, we’ll honor the man with the greatest fumbles in NFL history.
The Super Bowl XXVII Fumble
Both of Lett’s quintessential fumble plays occurred in 1993, and it’s hard to pick which one is worse. So, let’s start with the one that chronologically occurred first. This one is easier to laugh about for both Cowboys fans and Lett, as it didn’t have any impact on the result of the game and was a direct impact of Lett’s cockiness.
Late in the fourth quarter, Lett managed to find himself with a clear path toward the end zone. At the 10-yard line, he stretched his arms and started celebrating while getting closer to the end zone. But, he was unaware that Don Beebe was behind him. Beebe knocked the ball from his hand, showing everyone that you should never prematurely celebrate touchdowns.
The 1993 Leon Lett Thanksgiving Fumble
Later the same year, on Thanksgiving Day, Lett produced another iconic, this time costly, fumble. In this case, Lett wasn’t even a part of the play, so not doing anything would be the best and easiest thing to do.
With only 15 seconds on the clock, the Miami Dolphins had a kick, which was blocked. The ball fell a few feet from the end zone, and Lett’s teammates started celebrating. However, he ran toward the ball with the aim of recovering it, even though he shouldn’t have done anything. His team would have received possession and run out the clock to win the game.
As he was going for the ball, Lett slipped and knocked it forward. Three Dolphins players that were nearby jumped on the ball right away, and Miami was given possession. Kicker Pete Stojanovich connected with his kick, winning the game for the Dolphins 16-14.
Due to Lett’s fumble, this loss later had playoff implications for the Cowboys. In the last game of the season, they needed to beat the New York Giants at Giants Stadium to clinch the #1 seed in the NFC. Fortunately for Lett’s Super Bowl legacy and not his fumble one, the Cowboys managed to do so, ending up repeating as champs in 1993.
Still, even after more than two decades of ending his NFL career and proving to be a crucial performer in the Cowboys’ Super Bowl runs, Leon Lett is mainly remembered for having two of arguably the biggest fumbles in NFL history.
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Featured image taken from YouTube.
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