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Snowplow Game

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Snowplow Game
DateDecember 12, 1982
StadiumSchaefer Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts
FavoriteMiami by 6[1]
RefereeBob Frederic
Attendance25,716
TV in the United States
NetworkNBC
AnnouncersJay Randolph and Bob Griese

The Snowplow Game was a regular-season National Football League (NFL) game played between the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots on December 12, 1982, at Schaefer Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Due in part to icy conditions, the game remained scoreless until late in the fourth quarter, when the snowplow[a] operator was called in to clear a spot on the snowy field specifically for New England kicker John Smith so he could kick the game-winning field goal to give the Patriots a 3–0 win.

Background

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Schaefer Stadium, site of the game

The game took place during the 1982 NFL season, which had been interrupted for eight weeks due to a player's strike. The December 12 game between the New England Patriots and visiting Miami Dolphins was the sixth game for each team. New England, led by head coach Ron Meyer, came into the contest with a record of 2–3, while Miami was 4–1 and led by head coach Don Shula.[4]

The night before this game, heavy rains soaked the AstroTurf surface at New England's Schaefer Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The field froze over, and conditions were made worse when a snowstorm hit during the game.[5] Attendance at the game was 25,716 people, the smallest crowd for a regular-season NFL game at the venue to that point in time; there were 8,961 no-shows.[6]

Description

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Given the weather conditions, an emergency ground rule was put into play where the officials could call timeout and allow the grounds crew to use equipment to clear the yard markers. Despite this, the grounds crew could not move snow often enough to keep the field clear. The teams remained scoreless late into the fourth quarter.

With 4:45 remaining, Patriots head coach Meyer motioned to equipment operator Mark Henderson to clear a spot on the field for placekicker John Smith.[7][b] As Henderson drove across the field—his equipment was a tractor with a snow sweeper—he veered left and departed from the yard markers, clearing a patch of ground that gave Smith a clean spot from which to kick.[9] The kick was good.

As the Dolphins drove down the field for a potential game-tying field goal, Henderson stayed near them, remaining at the ready for the call from the referee to clear a spot for Dolphins kicker Uwe von Schamann. The referee later noted, "We very clearly told coach Shula we would also have swept their area."[10] The Dolphins advanced the ball to just inside the Patriots' 20-yard line, but on a third-down-and-nine play, a pass from quarterback David Woodley was intercepted by linebacker Don Blackmon.[11] With less than a minute left to play, Miami used their timeouts to stop the clock and forced New England to punt after three rushing attempts, but a Dolphins Hail Mary pass on the game's final play was intercepted by the Patriots' Roland James.[11] The Patriots won by a final score of 3–0.

1982 Week 6: Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Dolphins 0 0 000
Patriots 0 0 033

at Schaefer Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

  • Date: December 12, 1982
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Snow • Temperature: 26 °F (−3 °C) • Wind: 16 mph (26 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 25,716
  • Referee: Bob Frederic
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Bob Griese
  • Box score
Game information

Statistics

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Statistics MIA NE
First downs 16 13
Plays–yards 56–235 48–212
Rushes–yards 38–176 43–199
Passing yards 59 13
Passing: comp–att–int 9–18–2 2–5–1
Time of possession 31:05 28:55
Team Category Player Statistics
Miami Passing David Woodley 9/18, 76 yards, 2 INT
Rushing Andra Franklin 23 carries, 107 yards
Receiving Duriel Harris 2 receptions, 33 yards
New England Passing Steve Grogan 2/5, 13 yards, 1 INT
Rushing Mark van Eeghen 22 carries, 100 yards
Receiving Lin Dawson 2 receptions, 13 yards

Source:[12]

Aftermath and legacy

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The equipment operator, Mark Henderson, a convict on work release, jokingly remarked, "What are they gonna do, throw me in jail?"[13][14]

Both teams went on to qualify for the playoffs, with the Patriots finishing seventh in the AFC, and the Dolphins finishing second. The normal division-oriented playoff format was scrapped, due to the shortened regular season, in favor of an expanded playoff, dubbed the "Super Bowl Tournament". The Dolphins exacted revenge by eliminating the Patriots in the first round, 28–13 at the Miami Orange Bowl,[15] en route to the Dolphins reaching Super Bowl XVII.

Further information: 1982–83 NFL playoffs

The game itself was the longest that any NFL contest after the AFL–NFL merger (1970) went without a score. The record stood for 25 years, until 2007. Coincidentally, the Dolphins were also the visiting team and losing team in the game that superseded it, falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 3–0, on Monday Night Football, with Steelers kicker Jeff Reed registering the only points with 17 seconds left in regulation.[16] The most recently that any NFL game has ended in a scoreless tie is 1943.[17]

In a 2007 interview for an NFL Network segment about the game, Shula recalled protesting the act under Rule 17 (the unfair act clause), which allows the league commissioner to overturn the results of a game if an event extraordinarily outside the realms of accepted practice, such as "non-participant interference," has an effect on the outcome of a game. Commissioner Pete Rozelle responded that, while he agreed wholeheartedly, without a rule explicitly barring the use of such equipment, there was nothing he could do. Meyer, who was also interviewed, said that he didn't see why it was such a controversy at the time, saying, "The only thing I could see (the Dolphins) arguing about was 'unfair competitive advantage'."[18]

The incident is commemorated with an exhibit at the Patriots Hall of Fame within the Patriots' current home, Gillette Stadium. The equipment, a John Deere Model 314 tractor with sweeper attached, hangs from the ceiling.[19][20]

NFL rule changes

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Before the end of December 1982, the NFL banned the use of snow-clearing equipment on the field during a game.[21]

Until 2018, teams were given a sideline warning on the first offense if a non-player attempted to clear the playing field before being penalized, a situation that came up during the 2017 "Snow Bowl", an Indianapolis–Buffalo contest played in a heavy snowstorm. In 2018, the rule was adjusted, making it "impermissible for the grounds crew or other team personnel to clear away snow", with a 15-yard penalty being immediately enforced for a violation.[22]

NFL rules now further prohibit attempts to improve field conditions—during a 2022 game, the Chicago Bears were assessed a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty when, prior to a field goal attempt during heavy rainfall at Soldier Field, holder Trenton Gill attempted to use a towel on the field to create a dry patch for kicker Cairo Santos.[23][24]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The equipment in question was actually a snow sweeper, not a bladed snowplow. The contest was referred to as the "snowplow" game as early as January 1983,[2] a name that has persisted.[3]
  2. ^ Patriots quarterback Steve Grogan later said that he waved Henderson on the field, although "at this point I don’t remember if it was my idea or Ron Meyer’s."[8]

References

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  1. ^ "The Odds". The Miami News. December 11, 1982. p. Inside Football 12. Retrieved December 29, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "(photo caption)". The Stuart News. Stuart, Florida. January 6, 1983. p. B1. Retrieved December 29, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Wind chill minus-11 for Miami-KC game". The Stuart News. Stuart, Florida. January 12, 2024. p. 4C. Retrieved December 29, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Patriots, Dolphins to clash in Foxboro". Record-Journal. Meriden, Connecticut. UPI. December 11, 1982. p. 14. Retrieved December 29, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Kaufman, Jonathan (December 13, 1982). "Surprise storm strikes southern New England". The Boston Globe. p. 1. Retrieved December 29, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Patriots, weather upset Miami Dolphins, 3-0, on 33-yard Smith field goal". Morning Sentinel. Waterville, Maine. AP. December 13, 1982. p. 22. Retrieved December 29, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Montville, Leigh (December 13, 1982). "Henderson: Patriots' MVP (cont'd)". The Boston Globe. p. 1. Retrieved December 29, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Farley, Glen (December 8, 2007). "25 years ago, Patriots won infamous 'Snowplow Game'". The State Journal-Register. Springfield, Illinois. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
  9. ^ Madden, Michael (December 13, 1982). "Patriots sweep to 3-0 win (cont'd)". The Boston Globe. p. 40. Retrieved December 29, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Madden, Michael (December 13, 1982). "No. 314 was 'out of control'". The Boston Globe. p. 37. Retrieved December 29, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ a b Yowell, Keith (December 12, 2015). "Today in Pro Football History: 1982: Patriots Beat Dolphins in "Snowplow Game"". Today in Pro Football History. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  12. ^ "Dolphin game". Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida. December 13, 1982. p. C-6. Retrieved December 29, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Nash, Bruce (May 1, 1991). Football Hall of Shame. Pocket Books. p. 32. ISBN 0-671-74551-4.
  14. ^ Grossfeld, Stan (January 3, 2010). "Brush with immortality Tractor driver cleared his way into history". Boston.com. Boston Globe. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  15. ^ "The Jinx Continues: Dolphins Oust Patriots 28-13". Valley News. Lebanon, New Hampshire. January 10, 1983. p. 8. Retrieved December 29, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Robinson, Alan (November 27, 2007). "Reed's FC enough for Steelers". Asheville Citizen-Times. Asheville, North Carolina. p. D3. Retrieved December 29, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Camenker, Jacob (December 10, 2023). "Has an NFL game ever ended 0-0? Last time a scoreless tie happened before Raiders, Vikings flirt with history". The Sporting News. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
  18. ^ "Top Ten Bad Weather Games: #7 The Snow Bowl". YouTube.com. January 10, 2010. Archived from the original on June 30, 2014. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  19. ^ McCarthy, Michael (December 12, 2010). "Happy anniversary to NFL's 'Snowplow Game'". USA Today.
  20. ^ Macfarland, Warren. "Clear A Path". patriotshalloffame.com. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
  21. ^ Duffy, Bob (December 26, 1982). "Snowplow hero's job is rendered obsolete". Press & Sun-Bulletin. Binghamton, New York. Field News Service. p. 5C. Retrieved December 29, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  22. ^ Filipe, Cameron (July 8, 2018). "Snow-clearing penalty drifts into the 2018 rulebook". Football Zebras. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  23. ^ "15-yard penalty for ... toweling?". Herald & Review. Decatur, Illinois. September 12, 2022. p. A7. Retrieved December 29, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Bears get penalized for trying to dry off the field before kick". YouTube. Retrieved December 29, 2024.

Further reading

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