disagree. the third string QB and backup long snapper are merely doing the jobs asked of them, its just that their jobs are relatively trivial. Switzer, meanwhile, had a much more important job and blew chunks at it.
what i remember the exchange between him and Summerall Pat: “Switzer is saying it’s the 2 minute warning” John “He ought to be saying he shouldn’t have called that play”
Barry Switzers decision on 4th down was straight up stupid. I’ll go to my grave saying Belichick made the right call, nothing stupid about it. Peyton Manning is perhaps the greatest qb ever and if you punt he can go 70 yards in 8 plays in 90 seconds and beat you. That Pats defense was shredded in the second half of that game. A very makeable 4th and 3 keeps the Pats defense off the field. And if I was dealing with a very hot qb on the other sidelines I might tell my guys we are in 4 down territory even with a lead because we have to keep possession at all costs. I’m not giving Peyton Manning or Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers another chance to beat me. Maybe on 4th and 8 or 9 you punt but 4th and 3 in that situation was the right call.
The one important fact you forgot to mention was the temperature & winds in the game. Kick off was 23 degrees with a wind of 18 mph, making the temperature feel like it was 8 degrees. Switzer said after the game "If we kick into the wind, they're going to come back and kick a field goal". "If we would have had the wind, we would have kicked the football. That wasn't the difference; the way we played for 30 minutes in the second half was the difference." I understand what he was saying, but it still dumb to call the SAME play after it didn't work the first time. I was supposed to go to that game with my friend, but I got sick, so he took his nephew & both of us being Cowboy fans I told him NOT to wear any Cowboys gear, but he didn't listen & a lot of Eagle fans harassed him AFTER the game!! Plus he said he couldn't feel his feet or hands because it was so cold out there😂😂
I remember this game. I was more traumatized by it's finish than losing to the Redskins twice that year. This was the moment the Cowboys dynasty began to end. We just didn't know it yet.
Or as Merrill Reese said "they stopped them AGAIN!!!!!!". I still have Reese's call and Madden's "that's unbelievable!" call on the play burned into my brain. (Believe me, they replayed both the WIP 610 AM and the Fox TV calls many times on the evening news in Philadelphia and on WIP the next day.)
I remember this game, or at least this play, fairly well. One thing that should be noted is it was very cold and windy in Philadelphia that day, and neither team could really move the ball well the entire game. Speaking as an Eagles fan, I didn't think the Eagles could get enough yards on the ensuing possession to get into field goal range after the Cowboys punt, so the game would have gone to overtime. But Barry Switzer was dumb enough to go for it on 4th and 1 deep in Cowboys territory, and call the exact same play twice on top of that. Emmitt Smith was a great running back, and IMO the single-most important player on those great early to mid-1990s Cowboys teams. He tore up the Eagles many times. But the Eagles kept him reasonably in check in this game, and trying to run Smith for nearly a full yard in a jumbo package (i.e. it was 95% likely the Cowboys called a run play) on your own 29 yard line on 4th down in a tie game where a punt likely gets you to overtime was a stupid decision. After the Eagles got the ball on downs, I was hoping they'd score a touchdown or at least get a first down or two to run down the clock and make the field goal a chip shot. That didn't happen, so the field goal attempt was about 40 yards in a swirling wind. Back in 1995 in those conditions, that was not a gimme field goal. (IIRC, the Eagles did have the wind at their backs, which made it an easier kick; it also made Switzer's decision even MORE stupid.) But Gary Anderson came through, made the kick, which for all intents and purposes won the game. To be fair to the Cowboys, I'll note they got their revenge 3 weeks later at Texas Stadium when they beat the Eagles 30-11 in the divisional playoffs in a game Dallas controlled throughout. But the Eagles massively overachieved in 1995, Ray Rhodes' first year as Eagles head coach, so I was happy with their season. They maximized what they were able to do with only a (IMO) somewhat talented team.
Actually the Cowboys beat the Eagles 4 weeks later, not 3 weeks later. 3 weeks after this game, the Eagles spanked the Lions 58-37 in Philly in the Wild Card Round.
*Merrill Reese Voice* “And they stopped them again!!!” Now if the Cowboys would’ve lined up the same way and then Aikman faked the handoff and rolled out to his right they probably would’ve had a first down. Or perhaps the tight end just runs a screen route on a play action. The Eagles completely sold out for that run play. Not that I mind the result. Go Birds!!!
i'm from the uk and have absolutely no interest in american football whatsoever but i do enjoy these videos. i think the incidents they highlight and the way they are presented make them interesting to any sports fan. also a lot of the comment sections are good as they seem to provoke some good discussions from opposing viewpoints and allegiances, what we'd call in england "real fans".
I remember being 11 and seeing that play and thought Barry Switzer must have been the biggest idiot on the planet. Even players like Darren Woodson wondered why run the same play. Just bad communication between OC Ernie Zampeze and Barry Switzer. The weird thing is that in end it was the best thing to happen to the Cowboys. The Cowboys had lost two straight losses and it they almost made it a third. They were down 20 to 18 to the Giants at home and literally had one last drive to get into field goal range. On 3rd and 10 inside the 40, Kevin Williams makes a diving catch to keep the drive alive and the Cowboys kick the field goal and win. They had play like utter s the whole December that at 11-4 they got new life after that win. The next week the 49ers lost to the Falcons which gave the Cowboys home field advantage if they beat the Cardinals in Arizona. The Cowboys curb stomped the Cardinals got home field advantage then faced the Eagles in the divisional round and destroyed them. They beat the Packers in the NFC Championship then beat the Steelers to win their 5th Super Bowl and the 3rd one out 4 years. After that it was all down hill for the Cowboys.
The Eagles passing game was pretty subpar and their special teams were the worst since the 1976 Buccanneers, but they had a solid running game & their defense was stout.
Fun fact: If the Eagles would’ve been able to wrestle home field away from the Cowboys the Eagles would’ve had a home game in the divisional round on 1/7/1996. For those of you that don’t know that was the Blizzard of 1996 which dropped 31” of snow in Philadelphia.
Dallas got super lucky the 49ers didnt get homefield, cause that probably means a certain loss @ San Fran in the nfc title game. Dallas was reeling & had 0 cohesivness. Also 49ers whooped them twice in a row too.
I support the decision to go for it. It made sense from a statistical standpoint. If Dallas punts, Philly is the odds-on favorite to win. They would have the ball on the last drive, plus they had at least a 50% chance of winning if the game goes into overtime. Dallas' chances of winning by punting were probably 30% at best. The chances of making a fourth and a foot are considerably better than that. I watched the game and remember thinking that if the Eagles got the ball, they would win. They had all the momentum at that point.
The part I don't understand is why at the very least he didn't call a different play, KNOWING the one he called didn't work. Punting is the right decision, but if you MUST go for it, at least call something else. Fake it to Emmitt and have Aikman bootleg. Or play-action off that formation and try to spring the tight end. Don't run it up the middle AGAIN!
This. After getting bailed out, one would think that if Barry Switzer was going to go for it on 4th and 1 after the officials ruled that the 2:00 warning came before the snap that he wouldn't have run the exact same play. At least go to the other side if you're calling a run on 4th and 1.
The stat about the home team winning 13 of 15 NFC Championships to 1980-1994 isn't quite true. The road team won three times in that span, with the 49ers being involved each time. They won in Chicago in 1988 (the 88 season, 89 playoffs), lost at home two years later to the Giants and again two years after that to Dallas.
I was in college in Michigan at the time, and never got the Eagles games unless the Lions were not being aired on Fox. This game was not an exception and I did not see it live. My fraternity brothers though I lost my mind when I saw the highlights of what is now known as the "Groundhog Day" play in Eagles lore on Sunday Night Countdown. If you want a real treat, go find the Merrill Reese radio broadcast audio.
I loved this game. I'm an Eagles fan. You may be right about Switzer being the worst coach to win the Super Bowl. I remember watching this game and I still can't believe he went for it twice.
It was a stupid call, but there still 1:30 on the clock after the kick! I remember Aikman screaming at Eric Williams on the last play, because he was sacked and Philly only rushed 3!We ended up losing to Dallas in the playoffs that season
I remember seeing this play back then. There are times to be aggressive, but this wasn't one of them. It's not as if the Cowboys were trailing at this point. You have a punter for a reason.
Switzer did what he was paid to do. The Cowboys won a Super Bowl. The guy knew football, but yes he won with a team that was loaded with talent. As soon as the talent started to dry out, he was gone. It might be worth mentioning that JJ was unable to win a Super Bowl with a pretty talented Dolphin team.
wait you mean to tell me Detroit could have hosted a playoff game in 1995, if Barry Switzer wasn't an idiot? who knows maybe we wouldn't get blown out like we did in Philly.
Yep. Eagles would’ve been 9-7. Lions would stay at 10-6. Eagles owned the tiebreaker in real life because of conference record (9-3 for the Eagles, 7-5 for the Lions)
@@OfficialJaguarGator9 thanks for the info I always wondered why they had the tie breaker that game was such a slaughter, though, its hard to justify a what-if scenario
I was thinking the same thing. Had to get all that help in the early games to set up a defacto playoff game against the Cowboys in which the Eagles went out there and handled business.
They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. I guess that proves Barry Switzer is insane
1999 Cowboys 7-1 at home, 1-7 on the road Irvin career ending injury at Philadelphia Smith had a hand injury that caused him to miss some games Aikman too missed some games, Jason Garrett played some games - including a game against the Packers (Garrett starting against the Packers… where have I heard that…?) I think Moose retired due to injuries Free agency & terrible drafts decimated the roster Home: AZ, NYG, PHI, WSH, ATL, GB, MIA, NYJ Away: AZ, NYG, PHI, WSH, NO, MM, IND, NE Only home L: NYJ, coached by Bill Parcells Road Ls AZ: back to terrible after making the playoffs in 1998 NYG: one year away from making a Super Bowl run NO: last win by Mike Ditka, QB in that game was Jake Delholme MN: blew a lead, Randy Moss was on the other sideline IND: Madden was focused on Larry Allen’s blocking, blew a lead in that one, Peyton Manning was leading Colts to 13-3 season NE: 2nd half ESPN SNF game… I think Pete Carroll was in his last season in NE…
If you're going to run a play again after the 2 minute warning (still a bad idea), at least run something other than the _exact same_ play. Hell, a play action pass with the same setup might even have fooled them.
Switzer was getting a hotdog. He botched the handling of the best team ever put together. They should’ve won 5 in a row. Switzer not just didn’t do anything he helped bring about a division in the team based on race. Sanders and a coach that I can’t recall the name of, along with Barry helped bring about the division. A lot like the powers that be are doing with our country now.
Who's fault was that though? The ego of Jerry Jones or Jimmy Johnson? If those two could've gotten along or at least tolerated each other, the Cowboys could've won like 5 Superbowls.
Its neither actually. The pass was complete to Kevin Faulk, but he juggled the ball and did not secure it until he was behind the first down marker. That's why they ruled that he was short, which was the correct call.
I would have punted there. But Dallas had a Hall of Fame running back and the best O-line in football. For Switzer to believe they could get the yard was not unreasonable. About 90 times in 100, that team makes the yard. Those were just two of the other 10. As I recall, several of the players said the same thing. They should have gotten it done and failed. In fact, a lot of them, led by Michael Irvin, rallied around Switzer after this. But they could have been a little more creative with the play-calling when it didn't work the first time.
The Cowboys had a dumb 4th Down attempt yesterday, too, though they at least won the game… Barry Switzer did the exact opposite of this the year before where many thought he should go for it. That was also versus the Eagles, I believe. I would predict this might’ve been why he did it. The Cowboys did beat the Eagles up in the post-season a few weeks later. So, there’s that, haha!
Barry was just there. can't believe he ran the same play, how dumb was that. I remember that game. just by the line up even I knew he would run the same play.
We still got the last laugh that year, won Super Bowl XXX. I mean yeah, this was a frustrating point in the season. But the Cowboys still showed a huge amount of character to overcome this.
@@peacefrog0521 Yeah? Well the Steelers had double help in Super Bowl XIII with a bogus pass interference call and Randy White's broken hand. Gifted them two easy touchdowns. What's your point?
The 1995 thing is pure coincidence, but it’s a perfect year research wise. Tons of articles out there, tons of footage out there, and people seem to love 90s football
Don McCafferty is the only coach in Lions history to come to the team with super bowl winning experience as a head coach. He would die of a heart attack after just one season in detroit detroit is cursed.
It's not WHAT you know, It's WHO you know. Switzer got the HC job because he knew JERRY J. If Johnson had been in charge of the same situation, they probably would have punted. 4th and one on the 29 at your own end of the field? 2 minutes left? JOHNSON definitely would have punted. So would the majority of HC's. Knowing your team is only part of coaching. Knowing your opponent is the other part.
@Leroy Brown Maybe. The call to run the same play over was dumb. He didn't run defense or offense if I remember. So, his input to do a 4th down play was just EGO?
@Leroy Brown Jimmy J. was the one that knew football. Jones didn't call Switzer to put Dallas on top again. Jones had the ego.We can debate this over and over, but Johnson was the one that made them good again. And it was not by making stupid calls. He put the staff together and the players . Switzer just used Jimmy's team and there were other things Barry messed up also. Don't really care . What's done is done. Moving on.
Belichick is neither the greatest head coach ever nor is he a football genius. He only looked that way because he had Tom Brady as his QB for nearly two decades
Barry Switzer's your typical college icon HC who believes in coaching with his heart. Or, more accurately, a lower part of his anatomy. Worked wonders at OU, not so much against Gang Green that day. Though, credit earned, he did manage to get Jimmy Johnson's team over the hump for a Super Bowl ring despite himself. #StillBozoTheSwitzerThough
Nah man, it’s a tie game and a turnover meant Eagles were instantly in field goal range. A turnover meant an instant loss while a punt meant the defense had a chance to shut them down and play for OT or even have a few seconds to try for a miracle Bomb after a possession change. Just getting the first down doesn’t accomplish enough because they still need 50 more yards to get in FG range. It was a dumb call because the risk far outweighed the reward.
@@MrRyan-wu4jx needing just a yard gives you over a 60% chance to get a first down, that number is even higher if you're as stacked as the cowboys offense was Meanwhile, punting gives the eagles the ball and a goood opportunity to get into FG range, odds are they get there. Your turing the game from odds are you win to odds are you lose by punting. And yes, it's a guaranteed loss if you fail to get it, but it's still the correct call To quote Bruce Arians, sometimes you gotta risk it for the biscuit
There are few rivalries in the NFL more intense than the Cowboys vs The Eagles. There are none. I know 0 fans of either team that don't have deep seeded hatred for the other team.
Switzer isn't a dumb coach. I don't see any NCAA championships in Belichick's trophy case. If Switzer was dumb he would have changed the offense like Ray Handley did to the Giants. He didn't change anything and still won. Except being hard headed. He probably wanted to run the wishbone option but remembered Aikman couldn't run it in college.
Barry Switzer didn’t win that Super Bowl, Jimmy Johnson did. It just took Barry a little over a season to undo enough of what Jimmy had done to take the ‘boys out of Super Bowl contention
BS was always trying to look better than Jimmy Johnson and this was his I'm going to show the world I know how to coach better and it backfired. The Cowboys haven't done anything for 27 years and it's decisions like this that led to this once great organization to be the Raiders.
Aikman was injured in the team's only loss to the Miami Hurricanes in 1985 (out for the season) and was pretty much phased out of the offense in favor of a wishbone quarterback who led them to a national championship after beating Penn State in the Orange Bowl and the Miami loss to Tennessee in the Sugar Bowl.
this is a very dumb decision in this situation. Though if this was a game against the patriots in the Tom Brady era, not nearly as dumb of a decision as he drives the ball down for the field goal/touch down basically every time in clutch situations.
I remember the game and the play. HORRIBLE. While I'm SO, SO glad that my Cowboys won Superbowl XXX, I WISH beyond ALL wishing and things of that nature that Jimmy Johnson or Tom Landry or ANYONE ELSE BESIDES Switzer had been the coach but.....the Cowboys won the Superbowl. Barry inherited talent. Talented coaching, talented GM"ing" and talented players. ALL he had to do was listen to his coaching staff when he got the do over.... which, while I don't know as I'm not a coach in the NFL, I'm pretty sure his coaching staff was saying... "Punt the ball, Barry." The talented defensive coaching staff and talented defensive players would have taken over from there. Dallas would have probably won that game barring a "Miracle at the Meadowlands, Holy Roller or Leon Lett on Thanksgiving." To be honest, I DO believe Barry deserves his ring, Jimmy deserves his third ring more as he is the one that coached that team to greatness.
You forgot one factor. The Cowboys were going into the wind. You like punting into a rather blustery wind? Second, in a playoff rematch the Cowboys would face the same situation, and would run the very same play, except they converted, winning the game.
As a Cowboys fan, I totally, vehemently disagree about this call being bad. I even think it was the right call. You have to watch the whole fourth quarter to understand the call. The Cowboys defense was getting rolled over on the previous couple of drives. The wind was blowing strongly into the Cowboys face. A wind-battered punt would have ended up with Philly at about midfield, with a tired Cowboys defense, with the wind at Philly's backs, and only needing a field goal to win. Or you could give it to the leading rusher of all time to try to get 2 yards. The Cowboys were going to lose the game for sure if they had punted. The best option - far from foolproof - was to try to hold the ball for 4 more downs, rest the defense, maybe get a second wind, a change in momentum, and pull it out. I think Switzer made the best choice out of bad options. I really enjoy your videos. But you're wrong on this one.
Leave it to a Cowboys fan to be stubborn enough to think, after going for it on 4th down deep in their own territory and running a play that got absolutely stuffed, that running the SAME EXACT PLAY again was the correct move...and to STILL think that, 25+ years later, even AFTER having seen the clip replayed countless times since. Don't punt, don't call a different play, don't flip the play and run it to the other side, don't change the pre-snap look even in the slightest, don't even change the cadence before snapping the ball. Nah, just run the same exact thing, and then...I guess blame the players for somehow not succeeding with the same exact plan which already failed spectacularly only moments before that(when the defense didn't know exactly where the ball was going)?? Because it was supposed to work out better the second time(when the defense COULD clearly see what was coming)? Great logic. *narrator voice* "...Since that year, the Dallas Cowboys have only made the postseason a total of six times...in 25 seasons...and have never advanced past the NFC Divisional round."
@@floydian022 To be fair, the defense would be thinking that they couldn't possibly run the same play so running the same play twice in a row can succeed even if the first time failed. It's mind games at that point. Look at the D, they sold out on that specific run. They called the bluff. If that was a play action or bootleg run it would probably have been good. The D could have easily thought that it was a trick & not immediately sold out which probably would have let the 1st down happen. Then you'd probably call the coach a genius. Look, fuck the Cowboys but this wasn't that bad of a decision
As an Eagles fan who also remembers the game, even with the wind at their backs, I don't think the Eagles offense would have done enough to get into FG range if they got the ball after the punt at their 40 or 45 yard line. Rodney Peete couldn't really throw the ball well that day, and Ricky Watters had to really grind to get 111 yards rushing on 33 carries, less than 3 1/2 yards per carry. I think the game would have gone to overtime had Switzer not gone for it and the Cowboys had punted the ball.
@Leroy Brown And you seem like one of those people who just goes and makes broad assumptions about people based on nothing more than a YT comment about sports, and then feels entitled to tell complete strangers what they need to "fix" about themselves. Try doing that with people in your real life and see how it works out for ya. ;)
Greatest coach of all time in Belichick? Yeah, what has he done in ANY season without Brady? Made the playoffs ONCE (in Cleveland) and got smoked in said playoff game......
@@marcus813 I stand corrected.....a playoff win is a playoff win...and he beat the Tuna in the game......not bad. I still standby the fact that calling Belichick the greatest of all time is BS. The greatest coaches of all time do not even have to win titles per say. They take a team and push it to succeed beyond what it would normally be capable of. The Tuna (Parcells) is a good example of this...he took a bunch of teams from bad / mediocre to champions or pretty close to it.
Barry Switzer has a Super Bowl ring in the same way that a 3rd string QB or the backup Long Snapper has a SB ring.
Ha ha ha ha......he was just along for the ride.....
Barry just needs to hand the ring over to Jimmy because really and truly it belongs to him.
Great comment. 100% right. Backup long snapper
disagree. the third string QB and backup long snapper are merely doing the jobs asked of them, its just that their jobs are relatively trivial. Switzer, meanwhile, had a much more important job and blew chunks at it.
Barry being Barry
What I remember most was John Madden saying, "They deserve to lose now."
what i remember the exchange between him and Summerall
Pat: “Switzer is saying it’s the 2 minute warning”
John “He ought to be saying he shouldn’t have called that play”
Barry Switzers decision on 4th down was straight up stupid. I’ll go to my grave saying Belichick made the right call, nothing stupid about it. Peyton Manning is perhaps the greatest qb ever and if you punt he can go 70 yards in 8 plays in 90 seconds and beat you. That Pats defense was shredded in the second half of that game. A very makeable 4th and 3 keeps the Pats defense off the field. And if I was dealing with a very hot qb on the other sidelines I might tell my guys we are in 4 down territory even with a lead because we have to keep possession at all costs. I’m not giving Peyton Manning or Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers another chance to beat me. Maybe on 4th and 8 or 9 you punt but 4th and 3 in that situation was the right call.
How much you wanna bet that Jimmie Johnson was chuckling about this? 😂🤣😂🤣
He was saying you should punt.
"Barry Switzer is the worst coach to ever win a Super Bowl."
A few years later...
Jerry Jones hires Mike McCarthy.
Mike Mccarthy has a SB with GB and they won it as a Wild Card team they beat my Eagles
Except for Parcells, Cowboys coaching in the last 25 years has been atrocious.
The coaching has been atrocious since Jimmy Johnson was fired. With Parcells being the exception.
Switzer inherited a super team. Very quickly his coaching ability was shown to be minimal.
In other words he sucked.
The one important fact you forgot to mention was the temperature & winds in the game. Kick off was 23 degrees with a wind of 18 mph, making the temperature feel like it was 8 degrees. Switzer said after the game "If we kick into the wind, they're going to come back and kick a field goal". "If we would have had the wind, we would have kicked the football. That wasn't the difference; the way we played for 30 minutes in the second half was the difference." I understand what he was saying, but it still dumb to call the SAME play after it didn't work the first time. I was supposed to go to that game with my friend, but I got sick, so he took his nephew & both of us being Cowboy fans I told him NOT to wear any Cowboys gear, but he didn't listen & a lot of Eagle fans harassed him AFTER the game!! Plus he said he couldn't feel his feet or hands because it was so cold out there😂😂
I remember this game. I was more traumatized by it's finish than losing to the Redskins twice that year. This was the moment the Cowboys dynasty began to end. We just didn't know it yet.
Don't forget Buddy Ryan running up the score in 1987.
Oh he went for it and didn't get it again?
That's IMPOSSIBLE!
Or as Merrill Reese said "they stopped them AGAIN!!!!!!".
I still have Reese's call and Madden's "that's unbelievable!" call on the play burned into my brain. (Believe me, they replayed both the WIP 610 AM and the Fox TV calls many times on the evening news in Philadelphia and on WIP the next day.)
I like to remind everybody that Barry Switzer has the highest winning percentage of any head coach in Dallas Cowboy history.
Holy geez, I had to look that up...and it's true!
I think he has the highest winning percentage as a college coach.
Because it was Jimmy's team .
I remember this game, or at least this play, fairly well. One thing that should be noted is it was very cold and windy in Philadelphia that day, and neither team could really move the ball well the entire game. Speaking as an Eagles fan, I didn't think the Eagles could get enough yards on the ensuing possession to get into field goal range after the Cowboys punt, so the game would have gone to overtime. But Barry Switzer was dumb enough to go for it on 4th and 1 deep in Cowboys territory, and call the exact same play twice on top of that. Emmitt Smith was a great running back, and IMO the single-most important player on those great early to mid-1990s Cowboys teams. He tore up the Eagles many times. But the Eagles kept him reasonably in check in this game, and trying to run Smith for nearly a full yard in a jumbo package (i.e. it was 95% likely the Cowboys called a run play) on your own 29 yard line on 4th down in a tie game where a punt likely gets you to overtime was a stupid decision.
After the Eagles got the ball on downs, I was hoping they'd score a touchdown or at least get a first down or two to run down the clock and make the field goal a chip shot. That didn't happen, so the field goal attempt was about 40 yards in a swirling wind. Back in 1995 in those conditions, that was not a gimme field goal. (IIRC, the Eagles did have the wind at their backs, which made it an easier kick; it also made Switzer's decision even MORE stupid.) But Gary Anderson came through, made the kick, which for all intents and purposes won the game.
To be fair to the Cowboys, I'll note they got their revenge 3 weeks later at Texas Stadium when they beat the Eagles 30-11 in the divisional playoffs in a game Dallas controlled throughout. But the Eagles massively overachieved in 1995, Ray Rhodes' first year as Eagles head coach, so I was happy with their season. They maximized what they were able to do with only a (IMO) somewhat talented team.
Actually the Cowboys beat the Eagles 4 weeks later, not 3 weeks later. 3 weeks after this game, the Eagles spanked the Lions 58-37 in Philly in the Wild Card Round.
I remember this game (and have it in my collection now) I couldn't believe my eyes when they ran the same play twice. I'm sure Aikman was pissed.
*Merrill Reese Voice* “And they stopped them again!!!”
Now if the Cowboys would’ve lined up the same way and then Aikman faked the handoff and rolled out to his right they probably would’ve had a first down. Or perhaps the tight end just runs a screen route on a play action. The Eagles completely sold out for that run play. Not that I mind the result. Go Birds!!!
I was thinking the exact same thing! LOL!
i'm from the uk and have absolutely no interest in american football whatsoever but i do enjoy these videos. i think the incidents they highlight and the way they are presented make them interesting to any sports fan. also a lot of the comment sections are good as they seem to provoke some good discussions from opposing viewpoints and allegiances, what we'd call in england "real fans".
Yikes! That jacket at 9:40.
I remember being 11 and seeing that play and thought Barry Switzer must have been the biggest idiot on the planet. Even players like Darren Woodson wondered why run the same play. Just bad communication between OC Ernie Zampeze and Barry Switzer. The weird thing is that in end it was the best thing to happen to the Cowboys. The Cowboys had lost two straight losses and it they almost made it a third. They were down 20 to 18 to the Giants at home and literally had one last drive to get into field goal range. On 3rd and 10 inside the 40, Kevin Williams makes a diving catch to keep the drive alive and the Cowboys kick the field goal and win. They had play like utter s the whole December that at 11-4 they got new life after that win. The next week the 49ers lost to the Falcons which gave the Cowboys home field advantage if they beat the Cardinals in Arizona. The Cowboys curb stomped the Cardinals got home field advantage then faced the Eagles in the divisional round and destroyed them. They beat the Packers in the NFC Championship then beat the Steelers to win their 5th Super Bowl and the 3rd one out 4 years. After that it was all down hill for the Cowboys.
You said it: this loss and the media backlash that followed seemed to galvanize the Cowboys, who were ticked off at always being dogged at every turn.
Very good thing for the Cowboys that GB beat SF in the playoffs. The 49rs had the Cowboys number at that point.
Even Jerry Jones would have punted.
The Eagles passing game was pretty subpar and their special teams were the worst since the 1976 Buccanneers, but they had a solid running game & their defense was stout.
Fun fact: If the Eagles would’ve been able to wrestle home field away from the Cowboys the Eagles would’ve had a home game in the divisional round on 1/7/1996. For those of you that don’t know that was the Blizzard of 1996 which dropped 31” of snow in Philadelphia.
1:50 - "This would be by far the most significant 38-yard field goal attempt of Gary Anderson's career"
I'm only sad that this play isnt on an endless loop so we can watch it over and over forever.
Dallas got super lucky the 49ers didnt get homefield, cause that probably means a certain loss @ San Fran in the nfc title game. Dallas was reeling & had 0 cohesivness. Also 49ers whooped them twice in a row too.
If SF beat GB in the playoffs, SF would've gone through Dallas to the Superbowl. GB beating SF was a gift for the Cowboys.
I support the decision to go for it. It made sense from a statistical standpoint. If Dallas punts, Philly is the odds-on favorite to win. They would have the ball on the last drive, plus they had at least a 50% chance of winning if the game goes into overtime. Dallas' chances of winning by punting were probably 30% at best. The chances of making a fourth and a foot are considerably better than that. I watched the game and remember thinking that if the Eagles got the ball, they would win. They had all the momentum at that point.
The part I don't understand is why at the very least he didn't call a different play, KNOWING the one he called didn't work.
Punting is the right decision, but if you MUST go for it, at least call something else. Fake it to Emmitt and have Aikman bootleg. Or play-action off that formation and try to spring the tight end. Don't run it up the middle AGAIN!
This. After getting bailed out, one would think that if Barry Switzer was going to go for it on 4th and 1 after the officials ruled that the 2:00 warning came before the snap that he wouldn't have run the exact same play.
At least go to the other side if you're calling a run on 4th and 1.
Another classic highlight. Just wish you used the Merrell Reese audio. I mean who can forget "They give it to Smith AND THEY STOP HIM AGAIN!"
The stat about the home team winning 13 of 15 NFC Championships to 1980-1994 isn't quite true. The road team won three times in that span, with the 49ers being involved each time. They won in Chicago in 1988 (the 88 season, 89 playoffs), lost at home two years later to the Giants and again two years after that to Dallas.
I was in college in Michigan at the time, and never got the Eagles games unless the Lions were not being aired on Fox. This game was not an exception and I did not see it live. My fraternity brothers though I lost my mind when I saw the highlights of what is now known as the "Groundhog Day" play in Eagles lore on Sunday Night Countdown.
If you want a real treat, go find the Merrill Reese radio broadcast audio.
I loved this game. I'm an Eagles fan. You may be right about Switzer being the worst coach to win the Super Bowl. I remember watching this game and I still can't believe he went for it twice.
It was a stupid call, but there still 1:30 on the clock after the kick! I remember Aikman screaming at Eric Williams on the last play, because he was sacked and Philly only rushed 3!We ended up losing to Dallas in the playoffs that season
they give it to smith and they stop em again!
It's Groundhog Day!
I remember seeing this play back then. There are times to be aggressive, but this wasn't one of them. It's not as if the Cowboys were trailing at this point. You have a punter for a reason.
Your content is superb. I'm really surprised that you don't have 100k subs yet. Just a matter of time.....
Coached by Barely Switzer
Good one
Switzer did what he was paid to do. The Cowboys won a Super Bowl. The guy knew football, but yes he won with a team that was loaded with talent. As soon as the talent started to dry out, he was gone. It might be worth mentioning that JJ was unable to win a Super Bowl with a pretty talented Dolphin team.
Ray Rhodes with one of the greatest coaching jobs ever with the 95 Eagles
On the second try they should have done a fake handoff and pass to the tight end
Or have Aikman run it himself.
wait
you mean to tell me Detroit could have hosted a playoff game in 1995, if Barry Switzer wasn't an idiot?
who knows
maybe we wouldn't get blown out like we did in Philly.
Yep. Eagles would’ve been 9-7. Lions would stay at 10-6. Eagles owned the tiebreaker in real life because of conference record (9-3 for the Eagles, 7-5 for the Lions)
@@OfficialJaguarGator9 thanks for the info
I always wondered why they had the tie breaker
that game was such a slaughter, though, its hard to justify a what-if scenario
Water Buffalo
Scott Mitchell
A lefty who became unraveled in that game 58-0???
Hey can you do a video on the improbable but lucky Eagles Playoff berth from the 08-09 season?
I was thinking the same thing. Had to get all that help in the early games to set up a defacto playoff game against the Cowboys in which the Eagles went out there and handled business.
Damn Ricky Waters was talented
For who?!?
For what?!?
@@aceassn716 huh
Rodney Pete had 76 touchdowns and 92 interceptions so not ideal
Emmitt Smith- (runs the football on 4th and inches)
Merrill Reese- *They Stop him again*
Barry Switzer LOL
Referee for this play was a familiar one-number 85, Ed Hochuli.
They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. I guess that proves Barry Switzer is insane
Could you do Cowboys vs Redskins 1999 Week 1 and the preceding issues of the Cowboys in 99?
A Cowboys comeback just to get to OT..
Rocket Ismail over the middle!!
Had they taken Randy Moss in 98 they wouldve been taking over goin into 2000s
1999 Cowboys
7-1 at home, 1-7 on the road
Irvin career ending injury at Philadelphia
Smith had a hand injury that caused him to miss some games
Aikman too missed some games, Jason Garrett played some games - including a game against the Packers (Garrett starting against the Packers… where have I heard that…?)
I think Moose retired due to injuries
Free agency & terrible drafts decimated the roster
Home: AZ, NYG, PHI, WSH, ATL, GB, MIA, NYJ
Away: AZ, NYG, PHI, WSH, NO, MM, IND, NE
Only home L: NYJ, coached by Bill Parcells
Road Ls
AZ: back to terrible after making the playoffs in 1998
NYG: one year away from making a Super Bowl run
NO: last win by Mike Ditka, QB in that game was Jake Delholme
MN: blew a lead, Randy Moss was on the other sideline
IND: Madden was focused on Larry Allen’s blocking, blew a lead in that one, Peyton Manning was leading Colts to 13-3 season
NE: 2nd half ESPN SNF game… I think Pete Carroll was in his last season in NE…
Greatest call by a cowboys coach I've ever seen.. it was ballsey and brave
They give it to Smith, HE DOESN'T MAKE IT
If you're going to run a play again after the 2 minute warning (still a bad idea), at least run something other than the _exact same_ play. Hell, a play action pass with the same setup might even have fooled them.
I like that this whole video was just an excuse to show Cypress Point.
Switzer was getting a hotdog. He botched the handling of the best team ever put together. They should’ve won 5 in a row. Switzer not just didn’t do anything he helped bring about a division in the team based on race. Sanders and a coach that I can’t recall the name of, along with Barry helped bring about the division. A lot like the powers that be are doing with our country now.
Cowboys went 6-10 in 1997 with a lot of the same team. That tells you all you need to know about what he contributed to the '95 super bowl team.
@@Briguy75 an in shape tough team that kept getting fatter and lazier.
Watch Troy Aikman, A football life. He lets you know how bad of an NFL coach Barry Switzer was.
Who's fault was that though? The ego of Jerry Jones or Jimmy Johnson? If those two could've gotten along or at least tolerated each other, the Cowboys could've won like 5 Superbowls.
Is it my imagination or did the Patriots actually make the first down but got a bad spot?
Its neither actually. The pass was complete to Kevin Faulk, but he juggled the ball and did not secure it until he was behind the first down marker. That's why they ruled that he was short, which was the correct call.
I would have punted there. But Dallas had a Hall of Fame running back and the best O-line in football. For Switzer to believe they could get the yard was not unreasonable. About 90 times in 100, that team makes the yard. Those were just two of the other 10.
As I recall, several of the players said the same thing. They should have gotten it done and failed. In fact, a lot of them, led by Michael Irvin, rallied around Switzer after this.
But they could have been a little more creative with the play-calling when it didn't work the first time.
The Cowboys had a dumb 4th Down attempt yesterday, too, though they at least won the game… Barry Switzer did the exact opposite of this the year before where many thought he should go for it. That was also versus the Eagles, I believe. I would predict this might’ve been why he did it. The Cowboys did beat the Eagles up in the post-season a few weeks later. So, there’s that, haha!
Barry was just there. can't believe he ran the same play, how dumb was that. I remember that game. just by the line up even I knew he would run the same play.
Talent can overcome bad coaching... *laughs in Zimmer*
We still got the last laugh that year, won Super Bowl XXX. I mean yeah, this was a frustrating point in the season. But the Cowboys still showed a huge amount of character to overcome this.
You had help in having Neil O’Donnell as your 12th man.
@@peacefrog0521 Yeah? Well the Steelers had double help in Super Bowl XIII with a bogus pass interference call and Randy White's broken hand. Gifted them two easy touchdowns. What's your point?
Brandon Staley wants an updated version
I'm still sad that the 90's Eagles never one a Super Bowl. I'm happy that they finally won in 2017 tho
Eagles radio play by play guy Merrill Reese "they stop him again"
1. Don McCafferty
2. You’re on a 1995 kick (like the one Dallas should have done) aren’t you?
The 1995 thing is pure coincidence, but it’s a perfect year research wise. Tons of articles out there, tons of footage out there, and people seem to love 90s football
Don McCafferty is the only coach in Lions history to come to the team with super bowl winning experience as a head coach.
He would die of a heart attack after just one season in detroit
detroit is cursed.
I think I could have won a super bowl with that team that Jimmy built
It's not WHAT you know, It's WHO you know. Switzer got the HC job because he knew JERRY J. If Johnson had been in charge of the same situation, they probably would have punted. 4th and one on the 29 at your own end of the field? 2 minutes left? JOHNSON definitely would have punted. So would the majority of HC's. Knowing your team is only part of coaching. Knowing your opponent is the other part.
@Leroy Brown Maybe. The call to run the same play over was dumb. He didn't run defense or offense if I remember. So, his input to do a 4th down play was just EGO?
@Leroy Brown Jimmy J. was the one that knew football. Jones didn't call Switzer to put Dallas on top again. Jones had the ego.We can debate this over and over, but Johnson was the one that made them good again. And it was not by making stupid calls. He put the staff together and the players . Switzer just used Jimmy's team and there were other things Barry messed up also. Don't really care . What's done is done. Moving on.
That was switzer ball for you.
Play Rewind was hard. Don't know why they took it out of Madden
People forget that Philly team just lost Reggie White to Green Bay
Belichick is neither the greatest head coach ever nor is he a football genius. He only looked that way because he had Tom Brady as his QB for nearly two decades
Barry Switzer's your typical college icon HC who believes in coaching with his heart. Or, more accurately, a lower part of his anatomy. Worked wonders at OU, not so much against Gang Green that day. Though, credit earned, he did manage to get Jimmy Johnson's team over the hump for a Super Bowl ring despite himself. #StillBozoTheSwitzerThough
Come on, that's a no brainer go for it
Eagles have over 2 minutes to get into FG range to win it and you only need 1 yard to convert
Going for it was indeed a no brainer.
But not the way you mean it.
You sound like a bit of a no brainer yourself.
@@pretorious700 so it was the stupidest call ever to go for it, but you agree going for it was the right call
And who's the no brainer between us?
Nah man, it’s a tie game and a turnover meant Eagles were instantly in field goal range. A turnover meant an instant loss while a punt meant the defense had a chance to shut them down and play for OT or even have a few seconds to try for a miracle Bomb after a possession change. Just getting the first down doesn’t accomplish enough because they still need 50 more yards to get in FG range. It was a dumb call because the risk far outweighed the reward.
@@MrRyan-wu4jx needing just a yard gives you over a 60% chance to get a first down, that number is even higher if you're as stacked as the cowboys offense was
Meanwhile, punting gives the eagles the ball and a goood opportunity to get into FG range, odds are they get there.
Your turing the game from odds are you win to odds are you lose by punting. And yes, it's a guaranteed loss if you fail to get it, but it's still the correct call
To quote Bruce Arians, sometimes you gotta risk it for the biscuit
5:48 Not gonna lie, still luv me some Holly Robinson-Peete. Definitely the better half of that couple.
There are few rivalries in the NFL more intense than the Cowboys vs The Eagles.
There are none. I know 0 fans of either team that don't have deep seeded hatred for the other team.
Switzer isn't a dumb coach. I don't see any NCAA championships in Belichick's trophy case. If Switzer was dumb he would have changed the offense like Ray Handley did to the Giants. He didn't change anything and still won. Except being hard headed.
He probably wanted to run the wishbone option but remembered Aikman couldn't run it in college.
Barry Switzer didn’t win that Super Bowl, Jimmy Johnson did. It just took Barry a little over a season to undo enough of what Jimmy had done to take the ‘boys out of Super Bowl contention
Bad decision. And the funny thing is, it's almost becoming the norm now for teams to go for it, regardless of the circumstances.
BS was always trying to look better than Jimmy Johnson and this was his I'm going to show the world I know how to coach better and it backfired.
The Cowboys haven't done anything for 27 years and it's decisions like this that led to this once great organization to be the Raiders.
Troy Aikman transferred from Oklahoma to UCLA because of barely switzer
Aikman was injured in the team's only loss to the Miami Hurricanes in 1985 (out for the season) and was pretty much phased out of the offense in favor of a wishbone quarterback who led them to a national championship after beating Penn State in the Orange Bowl and the Miami loss to Tennessee in the Sugar Bowl.
If I was going for it I would fake a run and hit a pass
The Cowboys still won the Super Bowl that year!!!!!
They likely did that in spite of Switzer, though.
this is a very dumb decision in this situation. Though if this was a game against the patriots in the Tom Brady era, not nearly as dumb of a decision as he drives the ball down for the field goal/touch down basically every time in clutch situations.
I remember the game and the play. HORRIBLE. While I'm SO, SO glad that my Cowboys won Superbowl XXX, I WISH beyond ALL wishing and things of that nature that Jimmy Johnson or Tom Landry or ANYONE ELSE BESIDES Switzer had been the coach but.....the Cowboys won the Superbowl. Barry inherited talent. Talented coaching, talented GM"ing" and talented players. ALL he had to do was listen to his coaching staff when he got the do over.... which, while I don't know as I'm not a coach in the NFL, I'm pretty sure his coaching staff was saying... "Punt the ball, Barry." The talented defensive coaching staff and talented defensive players would have taken over from there. Dallas would have probably won that game barring a "Miracle at the Meadowlands, Holy Roller or Leon Lett on Thanksgiving." To be honest, I DO believe Barry deserves his ring, Jimmy deserves his third ring more as he is the one that coached that team to greatness.
For those who say Barry Switzer is the worst coach to win a Super Bowl, I've got two words for ya:
Mike McCarthy
John Fox was sorry
I don't agree with the video. I'm always good with going on 4th and 1. Maybe a different play call though.
That's the main reason why it was a dumb decision. The same play was called TWICE and neither time did it succeeded.
Also, the decision was made by Barry Switzer.
You forgot one factor. The Cowboys were going into the wind. You like punting into a rather blustery wind? Second, in a playoff rematch the Cowboys would face the same situation, and would run the very same play, except they converted, winning the game.
#TheCowboysareoverrated
As a Cowboys fan, I totally, vehemently disagree about this call being bad. I even think it was the right call. You have to watch the whole fourth quarter to understand the call. The Cowboys defense was getting rolled over on the previous couple of drives. The wind was blowing strongly into the Cowboys face.
A wind-battered punt would have ended up with Philly at about midfield, with a tired Cowboys defense, with the wind at Philly's backs, and only needing a field goal to win. Or you could give it to the leading rusher of all time to try to get 2 yards.
The Cowboys were going to lose the game for sure if they had punted. The best option - far from foolproof - was to try to hold the ball for 4 more downs, rest the defense, maybe get a second wind, a change in momentum, and pull it out.
I think Switzer made the best choice out of bad options.
I really enjoy your videos. But you're wrong on this one.
Leave it to a Cowboys fan to be stubborn enough to think, after going for it on 4th down deep in their own territory and running a play that got absolutely stuffed, that running the SAME EXACT PLAY again was the correct move...and to STILL think that, 25+ years later, even AFTER having seen the clip replayed countless times since. Don't punt, don't call a different play, don't flip the play and run it to the other side, don't change the pre-snap look even in the slightest, don't even change the cadence before snapping the ball. Nah, just run the same exact thing, and then...I guess blame the players for somehow not succeeding with the same exact plan which already failed spectacularly only moments before that(when the defense didn't know exactly where the ball was going)?? Because it was supposed to work out better the second time(when the defense COULD clearly see what was coming)? Great logic.
*narrator voice* "...Since that year, the Dallas Cowboys have only made the postseason a total of six times...in 25 seasons...and have never advanced past the NFC Divisional round."
@@floydian022 To be fair, the defense would be thinking that they couldn't possibly run the same play so running the same play twice in a row can succeed even if the first time failed. It's mind games at that point. Look at the D, they sold out on that specific run. They called the bluff. If that was a play action or bootleg run it would probably have been good. The D could have easily thought that it was a trick & not immediately sold out which probably would have let the 1st down happen. Then you'd probably call the coach a genius. Look, fuck the Cowboys but this wasn't that bad of a decision
As an Eagles fan who also remembers the game, even with the wind at their backs, I don't think the Eagles offense would have done enough to get into FG range if they got the ball after the punt at their 40 or 45 yard line. Rodney Peete couldn't really throw the ball well that day, and Ricky Watters had to really grind to get 111 yards rushing on 33 carries, less than 3 1/2 yards per carry. I think the game would have gone to overtime had Switzer not gone for it and the Cowboys had punted the ball.
@Leroy Brown And you seem like one of those people who just goes and makes broad assumptions about people based on nothing more than a YT comment about sports, and then feels entitled to tell complete strangers what they need to "fix" about themselves. Try doing that with people in your real life and see how it works out for ya. ;)
@Leroy Brown Thought it through. I still think you're dense.
Greatest coach of all time in Belichick? Yeah, what has he done in ANY season without Brady? Made the playoffs ONCE (in Cleveland) and got smoked in said playoff game......
Before his "old" Browns got smoked in Pittsburgh, they beat the Patriots at home in the 1st round on New Year's Day.
@@marcus813 I stand corrected.....a playoff win is a playoff win...and he beat the Tuna in the game......not bad. I still standby the fact that calling Belichick the greatest of all time is BS. The greatest coaches of all time do not even have to win titles per say. They take a team and push it to succeed beyond what it would normally be capable of. The Tuna (Parcells) is a good example of this...he took a bunch of teams from bad / mediocre to champions or pretty close to it.
Belicheat is nothing without Brady….and that was a dumb call