The Most Memorable Turkey Day Football Moment

I was at my grandparents’ house on Nov. 25, 1993, for Thanksgiving lunch. When the broadcast of the annual Cowboys’ Turkey Day game started, I couldn’t believe my eyes — the Texas Stadium field was blanketed in sleet.

Keep in mind that the Cowboys were appointment television in the early 90s. They had won the Super Bowl the previous season in convincing fashion, 52–17, over the Buffalo Bills. They would have broken the 49ers’ record for most points in the Big Game if it weren’t for a pretty embarrassing fumble by Leon Lett as he was cruising toward the end zone for a scoop-and-score.

The 1993 season started poorly. With Emmitt Smith holding out for more money, the Cowboys started 0–2. But then Smith signed a new contract, and Dallas rattled off seven victories in a row. They lost at Atlanta in mid-November. And then the Dolphins came to town for Thanksgiving with the Cowboys sitting at 7–3.

The game was slow-going, as you might imagine on a field covered in sleet. With the Cowboys leading 14–13, the Dolphins lined up for a game-winning field goal.

The Cowboys blocked it.

And the game was over.

Or so you might think.

But our old friend Leon Lett tried to fall on the live ball. He did so poorly, letting it squirt away. And the Dolphins got another swing at it. You can imagine what happened next. Here’s the video:

All ended well. That was the last time the Cowboys lost that season. They won five in a row to finish 12–4. They received a first-round bye in the playoffs. They beat the Packers in the divisional round, the 49ers in the NFC title game, and the Bills in the Super Bowl (for the second year in a row).

But Leon Lett’s name lives on in infamy because of his Thanksgiving Day blunder. He was a really good player, a two-time Pro Bowler who played 11 total seasons. For better or worse, though, he lives on as a Thanksgiving Day memory that many of us can’t shake.