Friday, Nov. 29, 2002 | 10:43 a.m.
Sal DeFilippo's pro football picks column appears Friday. Reach him at [email protected] or (702) 259-4076.
Some guys have all the luck.
Then there are the people that I know.
Last week's sacrificial wagering lamb was my friend Bobby. He parlayed together three underdogs, discarding the point-spread in hopes of a lucrative payout.
Redskins over the Rams. Winner. Browns over the Saints. Bingo.
To complete this 23-to-1 dream, all he needed was the Lions to hold on against the Bears.
Sure, asking the Lions to win a game is asking a lot. But the Bears had lost eight straight games, and appeared headed for a ninth, trailing 17-7 with less than six minutes remaining. But Chicago put together a 12-play, 91-yard drive for a touchdown with 2 1/2 minutes left to close within 17-14.
Detroit was unable to gain a first down on their ensuing possession, and the Bears were back in business, needing a field goal to force overtime.
However, on a first down play from the Detroit 43-yard line, Bears quarterback Jim Miller fumbled. Chicago recovered, but lost 10 yards on the play. Two more incomplete passes followed, and Bobby was one play from victory. All the Lions had to do was prevent the Bears from converting a fourth down-and-20 play and he was headed for the cashier's window.
Miller, who replaced (I apologize for this blatant redundancy) the injured Chris Chandler, dropped back to pass, and then dropped -- to the ground. After making a snow angel or two, Miller stood back up and somehow completed a 33-yard pass to set up the game-tying kick, which came as expired.
"If this was a college game, I would have won right there," Bobby said, referring to the rule in which a college player is considered down once he hits the ground, whether he has been touched or not. But despite playing home games at the University of Illinois this season, this was an NFL game, and heading into overtime.
At least Bobby was still alive. Recent history was on his side, too -- these same teams played on Oct. 20, and that game also went into overtime.
The Lions won the toss, and realizing that the first team to score in overtime is the winner, chose to accept the kickoff. They marched downfield, never allowed Chicago to gain possession of the ball, and kicked the game-winning field goal. Simple formula, as long as you win the toss.
Could lightning strike twice? Well, sort of. Detroit did win the toss again, but then something bizarre happened.
Lions pseudo-coach Marty Mornhinweg inexplicably opted to kick off and play defense. Never mind the lesson he apparently didn't learn a few weeks prior -- that if you don't take the ball in overtime, you may not get it. Naturally, he chose to put his faith in a defensive unit that ranks 28th in the NFL in yardage allowed while giving up more than 28 points per game. Makes sense to me.
Mornhinweg's (cough) logic behind the decision was that the Bears' offense would have a stiff wind blowing at them. Perhaps he thought this might cause Miller to fall on his back enough times to where he actually might not gain 30 yards once he gets up.
The silliness doesn't even end there. The Bears' faced a third-and-8 at the Lions' 35-yard line, and Miller threw an incomplete pass. However, the Bears were called for holding, giving Mornhinweg the option of declining the penalty, which would force the Bears to punt or attempt a very long field goal into the wind, or accepting the penalty to push the Bears out of field goal range but allow them another third-down play.
Mornhinweg chose to move the Bears back, setting up a third-and-18 play. Chicago took advantage (third-and-18 is much easier than fourth-and-20, after all), converted the first down and won the game with a field goal a few plays later.
"Fourth-and-20, with the guy lying on his back," says Bobby, flashing back to the key play in regulation. "You can't ask for a more perfect situation."
Except, that is, to have someone else calling the shots.
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