Editing Fumble (section)

===NFL===
* The '''[[Holy Roller (American football)|Holy Roller]]''': The [[Oakland Raiders]] won a September 10, 1978, contest against divisional rivals the [[San Diego Chargers]] through another intentional fumble. With ten seconds left, down 20–14, quarterback [[Ken Stabler]] fumbled the ball forward to avoid being [[quarterback sack|sacked]] at the Chargers' 15-yard line. Two other players, [[Pete Banaszak]] and [[Dave Casper]], attempted to recover it but batted it forward when they could not. Finally it reached the end zone, where Casper fell on it for the tying touchdown, which cleared the way for the [[extra point]] that gave the Raiders the win. Officials decided to allow the touchdown on the grounds that the fumbles did not appear to be intentional and thus could not be considered [[forward pass]]es, but Stabler freely admitted his was. Chargers fans have referred to the play as the '''Immaculate Deception''' ever since, and after the 1978 season, the NFL instituted the current rule that a forward fumble in the last two minutes of play (or on fourth down) can only be advanced, if recovered by the fumbling team, by the player who originally fumbled.
* '''The [[Miracle at the Meadowlands]]''': Later [[1978 NFL season|that season]], on November 19, 1978, the [[New York Giants]] were closing out an apparent 17–12 victory over the visiting [[Philadelphia Eagles]]. With 31 seconds left to play, they had the ball on third down. The Eagles had no [[sport time-out|timeouts]] left. All the Giants had to do was snap the ball one more time, and since they had [[quarterback kneel|knelt]] with the ball on the play before, it was expected they would do it and the game would be over. However, the kneel-down play was not universally accepted as an honorable way to win a game at the time, and Giants' [[offensive coordinator]] [[Bob Gibson]] ordered quarterback [[Joe Pisarcik]] (with whom he had been having a running feud over play-calling authority) to hand the ball off to [[fullback (American football)|fullback]] [[Larry Csonka]] for one more run up the middle to end the game. Csonka was reluctant to take the ball, and instead Pisarcik fumbled the handoff, allowing Eagles' [[cornerback]] [[Herman Edwards]] to return it for the winning touchdown. '''The Fumble''', as outraged Giants' fans still call it, spurred the Eagles to the playoffs that season and precipitated a complete overhaul of the Giants' coaching and management staff, eventually reversing years of decline. Gibson was fired the next day. The following week, kneeling with the ball when possible to [[running out the clock|run out the clock]] and preserve a victory became [[Standing operating procedure|standard operating procedure]] in the NFL.
* '''[[The Fumble]]''': The dubious honor of having committed "The" fumble goes to [[Earnest Byner]] of the [[Cleveland Browns]]. On January 17, 1988, he lost the ball just short of the [[Denver Broncos]]' goal line with 65 seconds left in the [[1987–88 NFL playoffs|AFC championship game]]. He appeared to be on his way to a certain touchdown until [[Jeremiah Castille]] barely managed to reach out and jar the ball loose from his grip. The touchdown-that-wasn't would have tied the game (assuming a made extra point) and kept alive the Browns' [[Super Bowl]] hopes. Instead, the Broncos spotted them a [[Safety (American football score)|safety]] and the game ended in a 38-33 Broncos victory. The play has entered Cleveland sports lore as one of several instances in which the city's teams were frustrated at the last minute on the way to possible future glory.
* '''[[Super Bowl XXVII]]''': [[Leon Lett]]'s loss of the ball on the way to an apparent touchdown late in the game has gone down in football history as one of the most preventable fumbles. The [[Dallas Cowboys]] [[defensive lineman|defensive tackle]] had recovered one of the Bills' record-setting five lost fumbles in late in the game and had slowed down as he approached the goal line, waving his arms out to his side in celebration. [[Buffalo Bills]] [[wide receiver]] [[Don Beebe]], who had sprinted down the field unseen by Lett, caught up inside the 5 yard line and was able to knock the ball loose from behind. The ball subsequently rolled out of the end zone for a [[touchback]], giving the ball back to the Bills. Beebe's team by that point had no chance to win, but Lett's premature showboating prevented the Cowboys from setting a new record for most points scored by one team in a Super Bowl. Despite an otherwise commendable career, that play and Lett's later unnecessary attempt to recover a blocked field goal, which cost Dallas the next season's [[NFL on Thanksgiving Day|Thanksgiving Day game]], have led to him being ill-remembered by football fans.{{citation needed|date=September 2011}}
* '''Romo's fumbled hold''': In the [[2006–07 NFL playoffs]] Wild Card round versus the [[Seattle Seahawks]], Dallas Cowboys quarterback and kick holder [[Tony Romo]] dropped the ball as kicker [[Martín Gramática]] was set to kick a go-ahead 19-yard field goal. Romo recovered his fumble and attempted to run the ball in for a touchdown or a first down, but was tackled inches short of the first down marker by [[Jordan Babineaux]], allowing the Seahawks to run the clock out and win the game. Since this game, a common stereotype has been used to paint Romo as a "choker" in big moments by detractors with this particular incident as the most common example.
* The '''[[butt fumble]]''': On November 22, 2012, during the primetime [[NFL on Thanksgiving Day|Thanksgiving Day game]] between the [[New York Jets]] and [[New England Patriots]], Jets quarterback [[Mark Sanchez]] slipped and collided with the backside of his teammate [[Brandon Moore (guard)|Brandon Moore]] and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by the Patriots' [[Steve Gregory (American football)|Steve Gregory]] and returned for a [[touchdown]]. Adding insult to injury, the Jets' [[Joe McKnight]] fumbled the ensuing kickoff, which [[Julian Edelman]] recovered and returned for another Patriots touchdown.