Irving Fryar Hail Mary catch, Patriots-Rams 1986

Irving Fryar catches a Hail Mary from Tony Eason for the winning touchdown to spoil Jim Everett's NFL debut. November 16, 1986.

[@mikeyoungblood1642]

Tipped by Stanley Morgan, the WR that should most be in the Hall of Fame

[@jwguitar]

I agree with you 100%. Tony Eason should be in the Pats hall of fame. For some reason in New England he got a bad rep because of that super bowl. But the key thing is he got them to a Super Bowl when it was unheard of for New England to be there. Not to mention he did it the hard way winning all 3 of the play off games on the road. I feel as if the Patriots did not get the Super Bowl XX birth they would of either folded or Victor Kiam would have moved them to Jacksonville. He kind of is the catalyst for the Patriots being what they are today.

[@Yeomannn]

Garbage.

[@howardcosell2022]

Morgan's teammate Harold Jackson should be in. Stanley also played with the productive Irving Fryar which gets him lost in the shuffle

[@darkstardan3309]

One hundred percent spot-on true!

[@karlschneider9479]

Morgan averaged 20 yards a reception that alone should get him into the HoF!

[@sce2aux464]

Always liked the name "Mosi Tatupu." Rest in peace.

[@johnnguyen270]

Still can't believe HOW THE PATRIOTS WON ON THAT PLAY :) Ironic story: The month before THE RED SOX in the same stadium in GAME 5 of the ALCS got a Game-Saving HR by Dave Henderson (RIP) against the Cal Angels.

[@bryanburnap693]

Nice call on that !! This pats team was 10-3 before losing 2 of last 3 and then lost to Denver in divisional round. This team was every bit as good as the year prior. But just ended with a fizzle :(

[@johnnguyen270]

It was sad how the offense went from a very good running team in 1985, and became more of a passing offense in 1986!

[@davidlafleche1142]

That's because John Hannah retired, so their run-blocking was no good. Also, Craig James was ineffective due to shoulder injuries.

[@davidlafleche1142]

I saw this game! Tell you what, though: the Rams never should have left LA. They shouldn't have gone to Anaheim, either. Anaheim Stadium was such a beautiful ballpark, with the Big-A scoreboard in left field. The Rams absolutely ruined that place.

[@chrissnyder3430]

John Nguyen I was watching when "Hindu" hit that HR and I went berserk! The greatest feeling watching him do that little skip before the trot!!

[@jeffcousineau2933]

I remember watching this game as a kid. I nearly jumped out of my pants when they won!!!! It was awesome!!!!

[@tommythomason6187]

Patriots' uniforms so super cool. So much better than what they have now in 2018.

[@jimbotc2000]

Every teams uniforms were numerously better in those days. This old New England Patriots helmet and logo was one of my very favorites from back in the good old day.. :-]

[@JJA1987]

They win with what they have now

[@STMARTIN009]

These unis are #1. The Patriots uniforms during the 90s pre Brady are #2.

[@claudiocorleone7856]

One of the most exciting football teams in nfl history. Way underrated due to Super Bowl blowout. Watch Stanley Morgan go up 11 feet to tip that ball!

[@stevenp8585]

i was at this game being a pats fan loved the ending jim everett played first game and played great walked with the great merlon olsen through parking lot to my car he was very nice 6hr drive back to arizona great day

[@taltalmilal5495]

Best uniforms ever

[@MrZeldalove]

Man, the Patriots need to go back to those striped helmets. That is cool as all get out. They had a team back then, too.

[@renaldorae]

I remember watching this game when I lived in Boston and always refer to this game to remind folks of how long I have been a Patriots fan even thou I have been a fan way before this play.

[@henry6354]

What a play...Eason Morgan and Fryar 👏👏👏

[@CS-np2oo]

Everyone likes those Pat's I informs, but they're synonymous for the Rod Rust and McPherson days along with my early teens. Lots of losing after Raymond Berry.

[@fjr70ify]

You kind of forget that those Patriots and the 2001+ Patriots are the same franchise. I think all-team uniforms were at their peak in the 1981 season.

[@renald121]

tony eason was my fave player when i first started watching the patriots it was a great final drive

[@johnsmith-mk3zq]

But he ended up a huge bust

[@Yeomannn]

@@johnsmith-mk3zq Not at all.

[@Candypants217]

​@john smith plagued by injuries and a Terribly conservative mediocre coach but no man. He had a CANNON for an arm and very talented. It just didn't work out for him

[@threerings1345]

On this play Eason did a smart thing by throwing the ball with a great deal of arc even though the "hail mary" was inside the Rams' 30 yd line. Many of today's QBs just zero in on one covered target instead of getting air under the ball on medium range last second passes. This allows multiple receivers to maneuver into good position for the "tip drill" like Morgan and Fryar executed to perfection here.

[@renaldorae]

Well one person does Aaron Rogers throws what we called back in th day a sky ball and to practice it you take ten balls from the 40 and ten at the 50 throw the ball high in the air and try to hit the crossbar on the upright have the reciever stand inbounds at the back line and try to throw it where it drops over his head into his hands without moving

[@lynneferencik1378]

Oh what fun to be a Pats fan in that era - Crazy

[@Colin_1977]

I remember watching this with my dad. We were so excited!!!

[@staceyshelton3590]

Patriots uniforms the best ever I hope Kraft bring them back go pats

[@aspenrebel]

Once in a while the current patriots have worn the old uniforms.

[@bradkoski]

I miss those uniforms...😓

[@BennysBenz]

As a Pats fan i use to think it wouldn't or couldn't get any better Eason was never my favorite i was a total Grogan guy! I remember this game well!

[@mikeyoungblood1642]

I remember this play from the 1986 Patriots highlight VHS “Fight to the Finish”. Eason had 2 great seasons in 1985-86 before he just kept getting hurt

[@dantheman5745]

Amazing how well Irving Fryar could catch when he wasn't being paid to throw a game.

[@kiddmarlowe1534]

I agree. See my post about the Nebraska-Miami 1984 Orange Bowl DROPPED PASS.

[@danielkelegian5306]

@@kiddmarlowe1534 Wasnt him .

[@ghosttownhunterofficial]

Thanks for the upload. Would be nice to see a vid of the whole drive. Heck the whole game even. Was a great game.

[@mrdoc6292]

still no sign of the full game sadly

[@lukealberts1189]

This was a fun game. Totally miss the old unis. I vaguely remember this as Jim Everett's coming out party and he played great. This play was both Tony Eason and Irving Fryar's career highlight.

[@shawngreene1225]

I never saw the game here in baltimore but I damn remember being down 28-16 and this play being shown on alcoa presents fantastic finishes

[@RT_Potro_916]

Tony Eason lives around my area

[@lzv6990]

You hear nothing about him. He’s very private publicly:

[@davidmadras721]

Jesse García Jiménez Sacramento?

[@mjoven1975]

This loss ultimately cost the Rams an NFC West title and a home playoff game as they finished 10-6 just behind San Francisco who finished 10-5-1. The Rams went out in the Wild Card round to the Redskins while San Francisco was blasted by the Giants in the divisional round.

[@TRINFSS]

I’m not a NE fan but the Patriots need to bring those classic uni’s back permanently.

[@staceyshelton3590]

awesome uniforms and helmets i hope they go back to them I don't like what they wear now pats fan since 1978 go pats 6 time sb champs

[@JJA1987]

Only for Throwback Games not permanent

[@matta3968]

Oh my!

[@AI_Surfer]

Damn, that was a painful loss. I had completely wiped that one from my memory 😂

[@GK-ji3pm]

I remember this play!

[@snakeoiler1292]

A sign of things to come. Pats over Rams in last few seconds.

[@STMARTIN009]

The greatest show on turf was not so great and Belichick schooled a younger Rams coach in the next Super Bowl meeting between the 2 teams.

[@Candypants217]

This was a very conservative offense most of the time. I honestly feel like if Eason had gotten more opportunities he might have been good longer than a season or 2

[@donrobinson5662]

I was actually at that game...watching it again it's just as shocking as the day I saw it live!!

[@reesepacker7983]

Maybe Tony Eason 's last big moment as the Pats QB during that era ...i still can't believe he beat BOTH 85 Dolphins and Raiders . in the playoffs .especially the Dolphins who really SHOULD have been back in the Superbowl again ..don't know if they beat the Bears again but it would have been a MUCH better Superbowl imo ..or maybe not ..the Bears "D" was better then the Niners "D" in 84 that the Dolphins could not handle

[@hockeyfanism]

One month earlier the Red Sox had a miracle game 6 win on this same field. Unreal.

[@bryanburnap4537]

When this happened you really got the feeling that 1986 was going to be very similar to 1985 for the Patriots. Unfortunately a 10-3 start ended 11-5 and it ended in Mile High which was a house of horrors for the Patriots in the 80's.

[@JeffWiersma]

Not the first time that autumn that a New England team crushed the dreams of the hometown team in Anaheim Stadium.

[@jeffreynocera4017]

Completely unrelated, but...I have no recollection of Steve Bartkowski being with the Rams...

[@battlestarmarc]

Fryar was so talented. If he had a good team around him his career would have been better.

[@STP43FAN1]

Talk about how times change - Eason 1-4 entering this game when he threw for 300 or more - nowadays it's weird if Brady DOESN'T throw for 300

[@1973169]

@Scott Mayfield You are 100% right. If you don't throw for 300 yards these days you had a poor game.

[@rspbc]

Remember this like it was yesterday....mostly because my grandmother was screaming like crazy hahaha

[@pnkflyd66]

Wished this happened in SB42…

[@mgomez5606]

First time seeing this play.

[@richardjacobs2708]

As a Patriots fan I was at this game

[@bryantennyson3638]

I remember this one and the dolphin game that year where Marino to duper also beat the rams on final play. Of course the dolphin win was in overtime.

[@Grandizer8989]

Bryan Tennyson his son played for Seattle

[@aspenrebel]

Well I don't remember ever seeing that before.

[@stephengreen5865]

Watch this game in 1986 At 10 Years old eating burger king food Wow

[@kellenpeiffer7820]

That is my cousin

[@MGAF688]

Cool. Irving Fryar was a great WR!

[@dantheman5745]

@@MGAF688 ...who cheated Nebraska out of a National Championship in the 1984 Orange Bowl by throwing the game. But at least he made up for that later in life by engaging in a mortgage scam with his mother that got him convicted and sentenced to 5 years in prison. Great guy.

[@therldrewduncan]

Fryar makes a helluva catch announcers “Tony Eason this and Tony Eason that” 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@henry6354]

Eason and Fryar both were great

[@alanstrong55]

Makes supper taste so much better after the game. Say rolled sirloin roast cooked medium rare with all of the fixings.

[@Deeznutz581]

Enberg the man ! Ohhhhh Myyyyyy

[@npxmnpxm]

Tony Eason after the game, when asked what he thought the chances were when they lined up for the final play: "I said slim and none and Slim's in Texas."

[@Fireyninjadog]

This game cost the Rams the nfc West title. If the pats lost, they still would've won the afc east because they owned the tiebreaker vs. the jets. The 49ers took advantage

[@ltlieu61]

I remember it well.....my birthday, and i was sitting in that end zone to watch it happen,,,,a terrible end to Everretts debut.....I remember Cromwell falling down on the play, he wud have knocked it down pretty sure.....dammm....

[@christopherfritz5933]

Man.. only six weeks ago I nearly died watching Tom Brady throw one (not!!) against the Eagles in the SB😅 ( Poor Erving Fryar... BUSTED 😣)

[@luptonpittman6520]

I remember this. The lean years, the pats never had this kind of luck.

[@kingfish4242]

dumb call but it worked

[@GK-ji3pm]

I miss the BUDWEISER block...lol

[@kiddmarlowe1534]

Too bad Fryar dropped an incredibly important pass in the 1984 Orange bowl championship game between Nebraska and Miami.

[@danielkelegian5306]

Jeff Smith was the intended receiver on the 2 point conversion.

[@kiddmarlowe1534]

@@danielkelegian5306 I'm referring to an earlier play. Yes, you're right, Smith dropped the 2 pt.

[@danielkelegian5306]

@@kiddmarlowe1534 Been a Hurricane fan my whole life but I dont think we will see another team like Nebraska 83 again. They didnt just beat you, they embarrassed you.

[@ericjohnson9929]

Bartkowski was the backup? Wow!

[@ltlieu61]

He was third string...lol

[@markmorris4939]

Sometimes

[@ChrisC709]

Why did they have to kick the extra point when the game was over after that catch? Seems pointless (no pun intended)

[@markburns4113]

He was out of bounds

[@robertsprouse9282]

Not a Pats fan, but he was not out of bounds because he was bumped, pushed forward, and a receiver could be forced out back then as long as the ref's judgment found him inbounds with a completed catch if he had not been bumped or pushed out, and have it count as a catch.

[@aspenrebel]

Well I just watched it at 1/4 speed he had his left foot down in bounds when he caught the ball in his hands and then as he was going forward out of the back of the end zone he put his right toes down in bounds in the end zone. so that's 2 feet down in the end zone when he had the ball in his hand so he was not out of bounds. The TD was good.

[@luptonpittman6520]

We drafted Eason, could have had Elway! 🤷‍♂️

[@derrickmarshall9166]

The pat's could have had dan Marino they took eason wow

[@adambrown798]

Would have been funny if they had blocked the extra point and returned it.

[@aspenrebel]

I was thinking the same thing when I was just watching this because that's 2 points. Now that would have been a typical patriots finish.