There are several different ways to make it on ESPN's list of the 100 Greatest Super Bowl Moments. One way, the most obvious one, would be to come through for the team in a clutch situation. However, Mr. Leon Lett earned his way onto the list by screwing up so big that he was "honored" with the number 11 spot.
In Super Bowl XXVII, Lett was returning a fumble against the Bills that would have given Dallas a 59-17 lead, and iced the game. Just kidding. As if it already wasn't funny enough to see that large man "run" down the field, his premature celebration, which involved putting his arms out just before he was in the end zone, allowed Bills receiver Don Beebe to knock the ball away. The ball went out of bounds in the end zone, which gave the ball to Buffalo at the 20-yard line.
Way to go, Leon. I'm sure you made your teammates and your family proud. It's not like anybody watches the Super Bowl or anything.
Obviously, this moment had to be quite embarrassing for Leon Lett, but it did not cost Dallas the game. They had such a large lead that the play was mostly irrelevant. Maybe that was why he would not let that stop him from making another blunder in another nationally televised game less then one year later. Or maybe the reason is that he's just an idiot.
It was Thanksgiving Day 1993, the season after his "great" Super Bowl play. There were only two NFL games scheduled for that day. With each game at different times, they could both be aired around the country. Since I am an Eagles fan, I was watching the game on TV hoping that Lett and his Cowboys would lose to the Dolphins.
It had snowed in Dallas and most of it had accumulated at midfield. Dallas has that stadium which is like a dome with a hole in the middle. Why is that? Did they run out of materials for the roof or something?
Anyways, it created slippery conditions for the two teams, especially late in the game because players had moved the snow around to all parts of the field. The poor conditions may have caused some people to avoid unnecessarily running for the ball when all you can accomplish is losing the game for your team. This was not the case for Leon Lett.
With the Cowboys up 14-13 and less than 30 seconds left in the game, Miami attempted a 41-yard field goal to try and win the game, but it was blocked. Just like everyone in America except one man, I thought the game was basically over and I was going to have to deal with a Dallas win. Luckily for me, that one man was on the field in a Dallas uniform.
Dolphins players were huddled around the ball because they could not touch it before a Dallas player did or the play would be blown dead. The Cowboys would take over and could simply run out the clock to win the game. As long as the Cowboys simply avoided the ball, the refs would eventually blow the whistle, end the play, and give them the ball.
With a one point lead and a sure victory, there would be no reason for a Dallas player to go anywhere near that football. It would take a real bonehead from the Cowboys to touch that ball. Who could possibly be that stupid?
Leon Lett could be.
Seemingly coming from nowhere, an out-of-control Leon Lett came sliding in after the football. He had slipped on a piece of ice while running towards the ball for reasons nobody will ever know. Apparently, he was not aware that some of his teammates had already started celebrating their victory. Just like Lett in the Super Bowl, this celebration proved to be premature.
Lett touched the ball, but was unable to hold on to it and Miami recovered. The Dolphins were given a second chance at a field goal, courtesy of Mr. Lett (and only Mr. Lett). This time, it went through the uprights and the Dolphins won 16-14.
I can only imagine Cowboys fans cringing in horror as Lett's image came flying into their television screens. Lett would be rewarded for this play and his Super Bowl mistake by making another countdown, but not the kind anyone wants to be on at all.
A fan poll by ESPN selected these two plays as No. 1 and No. 2 on the "25 Biggest Sports Blunders." It takes a special kind of man to make this list not once, but twice. It takes a man such as Leon Lett.
Since I was quite young when both of these plays happened, they are the only two things I remember Lett for. Both of which gave me a good laugh. Thank you for your stupidity, Leon Lett. You knew how to make your mark as a football player.
