Holy Roller (American football)

In American football, "the Holy Roller" (also known as The Immaculate Deception by San Diego Chargers fans^[1]) was a controversial game-winning play by the Oakland Raiders against the San Diego Chargers on September 10, 1978, at San Diego Stadium (now Qualcomm Stadium) in San Diego, California. It was officially ruled as a forward fumble that was recovered by Raiders tight end Dave Casper in the end zone for a touchdown, ultimately giving Oakland the 21–20 win. However, there have been differing interpretations of how this play should have actually been ruled, and it has remained a controversial play for fans of both teams involved. The NFL amended its rules after the 1978 season in order to prevent a recurrence of the play.

The play

With 10 seconds left in the game, the Raiders had possession of the ball at the Chargers' 14-yard line, trailing 20–14. Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler took the snap and found himself about to be sacked by Chargers linebacker Woodrow Lowe on the 24-yard line. Stabler fumbled the ball forward, and it rolled towards the Chargers' goal line. Raiders running back Pete Banaszak appeared to try to recover the ball on the 12-yard line, but could not keep his footing, and pitched the ball with both hands even closer to the end zone. Raiders tight end Dave Casper was the next player to reach the ball but he also evidently could not get a handle on it. He batted and kicked the ball into the end zone, where he fell on it for the game-tying touchdown as time ran out. With the ensuing extra point by placekicker Errol Mann, the Raiders won 21–20.

During the play, the game officials ruled that Banaszak and Casper's actions were legal because it was impossible to determine if they intentionally batted the ball forward, which would have been ruled a penalty. The National Football League (NFL) also supported referee Jerry Markbreit's call that Stabler fumbled the ball instead of throwing a forward pass.^[2]

However, Stabler's fumble was deliberate. "I fumbled it on purpose," he said after the game. "Yes, I was trying to fumble." ^[3] Banaszak and Casper also admitted that they deliberately batted the ball towards the end zone.^[4]

Reaction

In response to the Holy Roller, the league passed new rules in the off-season, restricting fumble recoveries by the offense. If a player fumbles after the two-minute warning in a half, or on fourth down at any time during the game, only the fumbling player can recover and advance the ball. If that player's teammate recovers the ball during those situations, it is placed back at the spot of the fumble, unless it was a recovery for a loss, in which case the ball is dead and placed at the point of recovery.^[3][5]

The San Diego Chicken was performing at this game. After Dave Casper recovered the winning touchdown in the end zone, the Chicken fell on the ground and lay motionless as though he'd been shot and killed.

The Holy Roller play was directly referenced on December 14, 2014 in response to a critical play in the Green Bay Packers' loss to the Buffalo Bills. When Aaron Rodgers had the ball knocked out of his hand by Mario Williams, it rolled backwards into the end zone and came to a complete stop; Packer RB Eddie Lacy picked up the ball and tried to run with it, but the referee approached quickly, waving his hands to declare the play dead, and after talking to the back judge, signaled a safety for Buffalo. The NFL Director of Officiating said that since the Holy Roller rules were in place, the only person who could have picked up the fumble and advanced it for Green Bay was the original fumbler (Rodgers) and the safety call was correct.

Quotes

The ball, flipped forward, is loose! A wild scramble, two seconds on the clock, Casper grabbing the ball—it is ruled a fumble! Casper has recovered in the end zone! The Oakland Raiders have scored on the most zany, unbelievable, absolutely impossible dream of a play. ... Madden is on the field. He wants to know if it's real. They said yes, get your big butt out of here! He does! ... There's nothing real in the world anymore! The Raiders have won the football game! Fifty-two thousand people minus a few lonely Raider fans are stunned. ... This one will be relived forever!

— Raiders play-by-play announcer Bill King, calling the play on KGO-AM

See also

• NFL lore – Famous and infamous moments in NFL history
• Holy Roller – The event's common name is a pun on this slang term in American religion.
• Immaculate Reception – The Holy Roller's alternative nickname, "Immaculate Deception", is a play on words based on the name given to this famous play, whose name in turn plays on the Immaculate Conception of Roman Catholic theology.
• Fumblerooski – Other deliberate fumble plays.

References

Sources

• Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)
• Audio of the Holy Roller radio play-by-play by Bill King

External links

• The Holy Roller at RyanMcBain.com
• Top Ten Luckiest Plays – video of the play
• Box score at Pro-Football-Reference.com