Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook made one of the strangest plays of the NFL season when he took a handoff against the Dallas Cowboys, broke into the clear, raced toward the end zone -- and stopped at the 1-yard line.
The Eagles had a four-point lead just before the two-minute warning at the time, the Cowboys were out of timeouts, and after Westbrook's play Philadelphia could just run out the clock with three straight kneeldowns.
Eagles coach Andy Reid praised Westbrook, but not everyone did. Take Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who approached Westbrook at the Pro Bowl and told him, "You ruined my fantasy football team."
Yes, NFL players do play fantasy football, and as Adam Rank of NFL.com writes, Fitzgerald was among the thousands of fantasy football players who were disappointed when Westbrook took away some easy fantasy points for a silly reason like managing the clock late in a close game.
Westbrook's play might have been the most memorable in the history of fantasy football, and Fitzgerald is one of the many fantasy players who was still thinking about it long after the season ended.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-17-2008 @ 7:37AM
JAESON25 said...
THAT'S HILARIOUS I KNOW OF AT LEAST THREE PEOPLE THAT HAD THE SAME FEELING LARRY HAD!! I WAS ON THE OTHER END!!
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6-17-2008 @ 7:45AM
scott said...
what wouldve been really funny..is that the eagles fumble the snap on the next play, and cowboys run it back for a touchdown.....always take the points...
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6-17-2008 @ 9:37AM
reallyreally said...
Always take the points? What if Eagles kickoff, Cowboys score, then onside kick, then score again. Eagles would have lost when all they had to do was kneel down three times. Good thing you're not managing the games!
Love the comment from Fitzy, though.
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6-17-2008 @ 10:49AM
birdsfan said...
show me a time when a team has fumbled on a kneel down in the nfl--that's the dumbest thing i've ever heard... the cowboys had zero timeouts.... had westbrook scored, he would've given the cowboys the ball back with 2 minutes to score and get an on-side kick.... so no, it was a pretty smart play on his part.
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6-17-2008 @ 11:15AM
Bill said...
When McNabb is your QB, ANYTHING can happen at ANY time!
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6-17-2008 @ 1:32PM
Trade Show Videographers said...
This is awesome, I had no idea that NFL football players played fantasy football. This was a great team play from a great team player...
Hamilton Productions
http://www.hiproductions.com
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6-17-2008 @ 2:09PM
Mike Ferrer said...
I'm a fan and I praise Westbrook for doing that. In his mind, he knew that if he scored a touchdown, Andy Reid would do something dumb enough to still lose the game for us. No matter how much time is left. Thank you Westbrook! You Da Man!!!
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6-17-2008 @ 2:22PM
Rev. Skip said...
"show me a time when a team has fumbled on a kneel down in the nfl"
I guess you've never seen the Miracle at the Meadowlands. The Giants had the Eagles beat and muffed the snap on the kneel down which was then recovered by Eagles safety Herman Edwards who returned the fumble for a TD. As a Giants fan it is one of the ugliest things you could ever imagine. Westbrook did the right thing here, smart player with skills to match.
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6-17-2008 @ 2:31PM
§ said...
How can one play ruin his entire fantasy team?
He probably meant "I lost by a few points that specific week because you made a heads-up play. But I drafted you first round and you your 90 catches, 700 receiving yards, 1300 rushing yards and 12 TDs helped out my team tremendously. Thanks!"
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6-17-2008 @ 5:48PM
Peter said...
Isn't it a conflict of interest to have NFL players playing fantasy football?
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6-19-2008 @ 9:50PM
irongiant said...
Rev. Skip. Get a clue. the miracel at the meadowlands was not a muffed snap. it was a fumbled handoff exchange. dork!
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