This bonkers NFL play has it all: All-caps hype, a broken record, shrieking commentary
Whatever you think of professional football, or even organized sports as a whole, the breathtaking chaos of this clip, which immediately went viral, is what makes it worth watching.
First, some context. The NFL season is underway, and Sunday's showdown between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Arizona Cardinals saw the latter squad take a sizable risk, only to pay for it dearly. At the tail end of the game's first half, with only two seconds left, the Cards lined up to kick a longshot 68-yard field goal. But the kick fell short. Very short.
Had the kick been good, it would have been a record unto itself: The longest field goal in NFL history, scored by the kicker who, Matt Prater, who held the previous (and as of later in the same day, no longer standing) record of 64 yards. That's not what happened, though. The ball fell short of the crossbars, and landed instead in the hands of the Jags' Jamal Agnew.
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It's better to just watch what happened next.
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First, a round of applause for Gus Johnson, the sportscaster you can hear screaming over this clip. Even if you know nothing about football and don't care at all about organized sports, Johnson's infectious shrieking excitement paints the whole picture. Strange happenings occur in football every week, but shenanigans like this are truly special.
Agnew's run is the big deal here. What Prater lost in a failed attempt to score for his team (and set an NFL record), Agnew gained with his 109-yard touchdown run — an NFL record unto itself. There's a twisted sort of poetry to that outcome.
UPDATE: Sept. 26, 2021, 4:12 p.m. EDT An earlier version of this story stated that Matt Prater held the current record for longest NFL field goal. While the stat was accurate when this article was written, Prater's record fell after Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker landed a 66-yard field goal. The article has been updated to reflect the day's news.
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.