NFL Old School Game of the Week: Jets Win on Phantom Touchdown

Vinny Testaverde is stopped short of the goal line, but is awarded the touchdown with 20 seconds left in the Jets' 32-31 win.

As the 1998 NFL season was winding down, many fans and followers of the NFL were clamoring for the return of instant replay, which had been used from 1986-1991, as a series of bad calls had helped impacted numerous games throughout the season.

The straw that broke the camel’s back came in the finish between the Seattle Seahawks and the New York Jets on a play that changed the fortunes of both teams and ultimately lead to the return of instant replay.

The Jets entered the game with a 8-4 record and were in the hunt for the team’s first playoff berth since 1991, thanks in large part to head coach Bill Parcells, who was in his second season as head coach and had just missed the playoffs in 1997 as New York finished with a 9-7 record, one year after going 1-15.

Another big part for the Jets’ renaissance was quarterback Vinny Testaverde, who had been signed as a backup to starter Glenn Foley, but took over the starting job in the third game of the season after the Jets had dropped their first two games of the season and helped led New York to the brink of a playoff spot.

Their opponent, the Seattle Seahawks, were also in the playoff hunt with a 6-6 record, but having lost six of their previous nine games after starting the season 3-0.

Seattle was coached by Dennis Erickson, the man who led the Miami Hurricanes to two national championships, who was in his fourth season but under pressure from the front office to get the Seahawks to the playoffs or he might lose his job.

Erickson was not the only man feeling the pressure entering Seattle’s contest with the Jets.

Referee Phil Luckett was officiating his first game after a debacle on Thanksgiving Day, when he misheard Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis call of tails on an overtime coin flip and insisted that Bettis called heads.

The coin landed tails, but Luckett gave possession to the Detroit Lions, who took advantage of Luckett’s bad hearing and drove for the game-winning field goal(click to play).

Luckett was hoping to avoid another controversy, but fate would strike again as a member of his crew would make another dubious call.

The Seahawks got the ball to start the game and drove from their own 20-yard-line to the Jets’ 43-yard-line until quarterback Jon Kitna fumbled a snap on a 3rd-and-1, which was recovered by the Jets’ Victor Green at the 42-yard-line.

It only took the Jets two plays to get into the red zone as Testaverde completed back-to-back passes to Keith Byars and Wayne Chrebet to give New York a 1st-and-10 at the Seattle 12-yard-line.

But after three plays netted nine yards, the Jets were faced with a 4th-and-1 at the three-yard-line, which Parcells decided to go for.

The Jets got more than the 1st down as Testaverde found Byars in the back of the end zone for the touchdown to give New York a 7-0 lead.

It looked the Jets were in position to gain more points when on the second play of the Seahawks’ next drive, free safety Jerome Henderson picked off a Kitna pass and returned 21 yards to the Seattle 28-yard-line, only to have Seattle tight end Christian Fauria knock the ball loose, forcing a fumble that was recovered by the Seahawks at their own 30-yard-line.

Seattle took advantage of this reversal of fortune as two plays later Kitna connected with Joey Galloway for a 70-yard touchdown that tied the game at 7.

Then after the Seattle defense forced a three-and-out, Kitna and Galloway connected again on another long touchdown, this one for 57 yards, to give the Seahawks a 14-7 lead.

Joey Galloway only caught two passes in the game, but both went for touchdowns that totaled 127 yards.

Seattle was poised to get the ball back when they forced the Jets to punt on their ensuing possession, but a roughing-the-kicker penalty gave New York a 1st down at the Seahawks’ 48-yard-line and five plays later, the Jets had a 1st-and-goal at the three-yard-line after a 30-yard pass from Testaverde to Leon Johnson.

However, the Seattle defense held the Jets out of the end zone and forced New York to settle for a 20-yard field goal by John Hall to make it a 14-10 game early in the second quarter.

When Seattle got the ball back following the field goal, they tried to make lightning strike a third time as Kitna again went long for Galloway, but this time Kitna was intercepted by Jets cornerback Aaron Glenn at the New York’ eight-yard-line.

After an exchange of punts, the Jets had the ball at their own 19-yard-line when Testaverde found Kyle Brady for a 25-yard completion, only to have Brady lose the football when he was hit by Seattle free safety Darryl Williams, forcing a fumble that was recovered by linebacker Chad Brown at the Jets’ 48-yard-line.

The Seahawks gained nine yards on the next three plays and were faced with a 4th-and-1 at the New York 39-yard-line.

Erickson decided to go for it and just like the Jets got a touchdown on a 4th down gamble, the Seahawks would get a touchdown on 4th down as Ricky Watters ran for the 39-yard touchdown to increase the Seattle lead to 21-10 as the two-minute warning hit in the first half.

The Jets got the ball back at their own 24-yard-line and went to a no-huddle offense in order to try to get some points before the end of the half.

Testaverde completed seven passes in a row to drive the Jets to the six-yard-line, where they had a 1st-and-goal.

However, Testaverde would throw three straight incomplete passes, though he got a defensive pass interference call on the third one, but there was only one second left on the clock and Parcells opted to go for the field goal, which Hall made from 20 yards out to cut the Seattle lead to 21-13 as the first half came to a close.

The Jets would go the ball to start the second half, but on the fourth play of the drive, Testaverde was picked off by Seattle linebacker Anthony Simmons who returned the pick 38 yards for the touchdown to increase the Seahawks lead to 28-13.

Taking over at their own 35-yard-line on their ensuing possession, the Jets drove to the Seattle two-yard-line exclusively on the arm of Testaverde as he attempted 10 straight passes, completing six of them for 63 yards to give New York a 1st-and-goal.

It took the Jets three times to get into the end zone, but they got in on a one-yard touchdown run by Curtis Martin to cut it to a 28-19 game.

That is when Parcells decided to go for the two-point conversion, but the attempt failed as Fred Baxter was tackled short of the goal line after catching a Testaverde pass, keeping the score at 28-19 midway through the third quarter.

Vinny Testaverde completed 42 of 63 passes for 418 yards and accounted for three touchdowns, two through the air and one on the ground.

The Seahawks responded to the field goal with a 12-play, 45-yard field goal that culminated with a 50-yard field goal by Todd Peterson, to push the Seattle lead back into double digits at 31-19.

The Jets would come back with a nine-play, 66-yard touchdown drive, which included a 18-yard pass from Testaverde to Keyshawn Johnson on a 4th-and-3 at the Seahawks’ 48-yard-line and a five-yard completion to Brady on a 3rd-and-1.

The drive ended with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Testaverde to Keyshawn to cut the Seattle lead to five points, 31-26 with 12:22 to go in the game.

Both teams traded punts until the Jets began a drive from their own 38-yard-line and drove to the Seahawks’ 20-yard-line where they faced a 4th-and-9 with about five minutes to play.

Instead of going for the field goal, Parcells decided to gamble again and go for the 1st down, but this time his gamble did not pay off as Testaverde completed a five-yard pass to Dedric Ward, who was tackled by Seahawks strong safety Jay Bellamy to give Seattle the ball at their own 15-yard-line with 4:55 to play and an opportunity to run out the clock.

However, Seattle went three-and-out and was forced to punt the ball back to the Jets, who took over at their own 36-yard-line with 3:15 to play in the game.

After throwing an incomplete pass on the first play of the drive, Testaverde would complete a 20-yard pass to Chrebet to put the Jets into Seattle territory, then hit back-to-back passes to Alex Van Dyke and Leon Johnson for 14 yards, then threw another incomplete pass, only to have illegal contact by called on Seattle’s Fred Thomas giving the Jets five more yards and an automatic 1st down at the Seahawks’ 25-yard-line when New York surprised the Seahawks with a nine-yard run by Leon Johnson, which was followed by a 13-yard pass to Jerald Sowell to give the Jets a 1st-and-goal at the three-yard-line with under two minutes to go.

That is when the drive stalled as Jets right tackle Jason Fabini was called for false start, pushing the Jets back five yards to the eight-yard-line, which was followed by two running plays that gained only three yards and an incomplete pass, forcing a 4th-and-goal at the five-yard-line with 27 seconds left.

Expecting a pass, Testaverde shocked the Seattle defense by taking the snap and running across the middle, where he was met at the goal line by Bellamy, when head linesman Earnie Frantz immediately signaled touchdown.

The Seahawks protested so vigorously that they drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that would be assessed on the ensuing kickoff.

But the Seahawks were right as replay showed that Testaverde’s right knee was down at the one-yard-line with the ball in his left hand, not in the end zone, but instead his helmet crossing the goal line which led Frantz to signal touchdown.

But with no replay, the call could not be challenged and the Jets had a 32-31 lead with 20 seconds to play(they went for two and missed).

Seattle got the ball back at their own 25-yard-line with 15 seconds to go, needing a miracle to pull out the win.

They almost got it when on the final play of the game Brian Blades caught Kitna’s “Hail Mary” pass at Jets’ 28-yard-line, but when he tried to lateral the ball back to one of his teammates, Jets linebacker James Farrior recovered it for New York to preserve the Jets’ 32-31 win.

After the game, Erickson said “To lose like that is the most disappointing thing I’ve ever been involved in”.

It would be ever more disappointing for Erickson as the Seahawks would go on to finish the season with a 8-8 record, one game behind the New England Patriots for the final playoff spot in the AFC, ultimately costing Erickson his job as he was fired after the season and replaced by then-Packers head coach Mike Holmgren, who would lead Seattle to its first Super Bowl during his ten-year reign as head coach for the Seahawks.

As for the Jets, they would win their final three games of the season to finish the season 12-4 and clinch their first division title since the AFL-NFL merger and knock off the Jacksonville Jaguars in the divisional playoffs, before falling to the eventual Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game.

Then there is the matter of instant replay, which after seven years in exile, returned for the 1999 season, with a new system that allowed coaches two chances to challenge a call on the field during a game.

The system has been tweaked numerous times throughout the years, but instant replay is still used in the NFL and it is pretty safe to say it will stay for the foreseeable future.

But Dennis Erickson wishes it had been available in 1998.