Week 12 - "Miracle at the Meadowlands"
Week 12 - "Miracle at the Meadowlands"
1978 - Eagles vs. Giants

Week 12 - "Miracle at the Meadowlands"

"That game was what our team was about." - Ron Jaworski
Ron Jaworski
by Ron Jaworski

As the clock ticked away on a certain Giants’ victory on November 19, 1978, a terrible error by New York – and a heads-up defensive play by the visiting Eagles – suddenly turned around a game that continues to be known, over four decades later, as the “Miracle at the Meadowlands.” The 5-6 Giants, needing a win to keep any realistic playoff hopes alive, went up 14-0 after a pair of touchdown passes by Joe Pisarcik in the opening quarter. The Giants led 17-6 after three quarters, then appeared to have the game won in the game’s final seconds: they were ahead, 17-12, with the ball; Philadelphia had no timeouts. All Pisarcik had to do was take a knee, and the game would be over. Instead, New York’s offensive coordinator, Bob Gibson, called a running play; the handoff was mangled and the ball fumbled, and the Eagles’ Herm Edwards scooped it up and ran it back for a game-winning touchdown. The next day, Gibson was fired, while the Giants lost three of their final four games and McVay was let go after the season. From that point forward, the quarterback kneel play, from victory formation, became a more common strategy in the waning seconds of NFL games.

Ron Jaworski
Ron
Jaworski
Ron Jaworski was a longtime starting NFL quarterback in the 1970s and 80s, primarily with the Eagles. The NFC Player of the Year in 1980 and a member of the Eagles Hall of Fame, Jaworski, nicknamed “Jaws,” later became a color commentator for Monday Night Football and an NFL analyst for ESPN. Jaworski was born and raised in the Buffalo area as a Bills fan. As a senior at Youngstown State in Ohio, he and some teammates drove to Buffalo and scalped tickets to a Bills – Jets game. He remembers watching Joe Namath throw – Jaworski had never seen a superstar player that close before – and the incident gave Jaworski confidence that he could throw like that too.
Profession:
reporter
Place of Birth:
Lackawanna, NY