On Minnesota's next possession with 14 seconds left to play, a whiskey bottle was thrown by a spectator, striking Armen Terzian in the head at Minnesota's own 10-yard line, creating a large forehead gash and rendering him unconscious. More debris was thrown from the stands by angry Vikings fans, enraged that no penalty was called on Dallas.ĭefensive tackle Alan Page argued with officials and was assessed a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the ensuing kickoff. The orange is visible on NFL Films footage of the play and was initially confused by some as a penalty flag. An orange, thrown by a spectator in the stands, whizzed by Pearson at the goal line. Pearson has vehemently denied those claims and replay footage is inconclusive.Īs Pearson strode into the end zone for the score, free safety Paul Krause complained to field judge Armen Terzian that an interference penalty on Pearson should had been called. Many Viking fans (and players) felt Wright was unable to defend the pass, as he had been pushed to the ground by Pearson's free hand. As the ball decended downward, Pearson caught the ball by trapping it against his right hip at the 5-yard line and ran into the end zone to make the score 16-14 in favor of Dallas, and what would eventually be the winning touchdown.In a later interview with Pearson, he stated that he thought he dropped the ball only to find it against his hip and then just waltzed right into the endzone.

From midfield, with 24 seconds now remaining, Staubach lined up in the shotgun formation, took the snap, pump-faked left, then turned to his right and threw a desperation pass to wide receiver Drew Pearson, who was being covered by Minnesota Vikings cornerback Nate Wright.

Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach managed a nine play drive to midfield against the Minnesota Vikings defense. The Dallas Cowboys started with the ball on their own 15-yard line, losing 14-10, with one minute and fifty-one seconds left in the fourth quarter. Since this event, any similar last-second desperation pass is now commonly called a ' Hail Mary'.

In American football, The Hail Mary refers to a play that resulted in the winning score in the between the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings, played on Decemat Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Hail mary football