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The Improbable NFL Blackout Game (Not the One You're Thinking Of)

A power outage tops off the incredible story of Jason Garrett's first win as the Dallas Cowboys head coach.

By Jason SchwartzPublished 6 years ago 4 min read
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Every head coach remembers their first career win. Whether it's a blow out or a nail bitter; there's something special about getting that first W. However, no one's first win was as remarkable as Jason Garrett's. In order to understand the magnitude of that first game, we must first examine the circumstances that lead up to that game. On November 8, 2010, Wade Phillips was fired after the Cowboys started 1–7 and Jason Garrett was named interim head coach. 2010 was a rough year for Dallas, they had high hopes entering that season. The year before, Romo got his first playoff win, and after drafting rookie Dez Bryant, some people had the Cowboys on their Super Bowl radar. Sadly the expectations came crashing down when Tony Romo broke his collarbone against the New York Giants in Week 7.

So let's jump to Week 10, it's Jason Garrett's first game as head coach. He's playing in the Meadowlands, against the team that knocked out their starting Quarterback. The Giants were 6-2 with the best defense in the league and they were facing backup QB Jon Kitna, a man who hadn't won a game in three years.

"That's my....Quarterback?"

This was the first football game I ever went to and the memory of that game will stay with me forever. As a Cowboys fan in New York I have to put up with a lot of trash talk from Giants fans, and that night was no different. No one thought Jon Kitna and Jason Garrett would be able to stop those Giants. The Giants were coming off a 41-7 win against the Seahawks while the Cowboys were coming off a 45-7 loss to Green Bay. The Giants were riding a five game winning streak, while the Cowboys were on a five game losing streak. All signs pointed to a Giants win.

The game started out as expected, Cowboys went 3 and out and the Giants had a ten play 55-yard drive that ended in a field goal. But after that score the Cowboys seemed to gain some momentum. Kitna threw a 45-yard bomb to Dez and then came back to Bryant who made a circus catch that was called an incomplete and was eventually overturned and ruled a Touchdown.

The extra point was blocked so the score remained 6-3 Dallas. After a Giants punt, Kitna threw a deep pass to Austin to set up a Cowboys field goal, making the score 9-3 Dallas. Everyone was waiting for the Giants to respond, and on the ensuing drive the Giants marched up the field and had 3rd and Goal from the 2. Manning dropped back and threw a pass to Hakeem Nicks to try and tie up the game, but then this happened...

Bryan McCann, the undrafted free agent out of Southern Methodist University had his first career interception and broke the franchise record for the longest pick-6 in Cowboys history. After that TD each team tacked on a field goal and the score was 19-6 at the half.

I went to this game with my father, uncle, and some family friends. One of these family friends happen to know someone at FOX, so I was able to go in the booth at half-time and meet Joe Buck and Troy Aikman. When I was there, someone asked Joe if he thought the Giants would come back and he responded, "Of course they will, they're too good of a football team not to." But even Joe Buck couldn't predict what would happen next.

The Cowboys received the kickoff to start the second half. They had a 3rd and 10 at DAL 29 when a power line blew, knocking out power to some of the lights. The referees spoke with both coaches and the coaches agreed to continue playing. Kitna then hit Felix Jones on screen pass that Jones took 71 yards for the TD.

The Giants then took the field and that's when the backup power line failed. The entire stadium was thrown into darkness for a couple of seconds. No one knew what was happening, there were fights in the stands and some of the players took cover, unsure of what was going to happen next. Thankfully, after about ten seconds the lights kicked back on and eventually the stadium got full power back. Once the power went back on, the Giants and Cowboys traded touchdowns until the score was 33-20 Dallas, where it remained until the game ended.

So to recap Jason Garrett's first game. The Cowboys offense, led by their backup QB, went for 427 yards. Their rookie, undrafted free agent got his first career INT and broke a franchise record and the power went out TWICE. Jason Garrett has had some hard fought wins over his career, but none of them were as hectic as this one.

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About the Creator

Jason Schwartz

Big nerd with passion for television, the 90s and ridiculous trivia.

Did you know America never lost a war when donkeys were used?

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