 The snowplow—actually a tractor with asnow sweeper—clearing an area for afield goal attempt | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 12, 1982 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Stadium | Schaefer Stadium Foxborough, Massachusetts | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Miami by 6[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Bob Frederic | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 25,716[2] | ||||||||||||||||||
| TV in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | NBC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Jay Randolph andBob Griese | ||||||||||||||||||
TheSnowplow Game was a regular-seasonNational Football League (NFL) game played between theMiami Dolphins andNew England Patriots on December 12, 1982, atSchaefer Stadium inFoxborough, 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 kickerJohn Smith so he could kick the game-winning field goal to give the Patriots a 3–0 win.
The game took place during the1982 NFL season, which had been interrupted for eight weeks due to aplayer's strike. The December 12 game between theNew England Patriots and visitingMiami Dolphins was the sixth game for each team. New England, led by head coachRon Meyer, came into the contest with a record of 2–3, while Miami was 4–1 and led by head coachDon Shula.[5]
The night before this game, heavy rains soaked theAstroTurf surface at New England'sSchaefer Stadium inFoxborough, Massachusetts. The field froze over, and conditions were made worse when a snowstorm hit during the game.[6] 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.[7]
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 forplacekickerJohn Smith.[8][b] As Henderson drove across the field—his equipment was a tractor with asnow 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.[10] 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 kickerUwe von Schamann. The referee later noted, "We very clearly told coach Shula we would also have swept their area."[11] The Dolphins advanced the ball to just inside the Patriots' 20-yard line, but on a third-down-and-nine play, a pass from quarterbackDavid Woodley wasintercepted by linebackerDon Blackmon.[12] With less than a minute left to play, Miami used theirtimeouts to stop the clock and forced New England to punt after three rushing attempts, but a DolphinsHail Mary pass on the game's final play was intercepted by the Patriots'Roland James.[12] The Patriots won by a final score of 3–0.
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dolphins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Patriots | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
atSchaefer Stadium,Foxborough, Massachusetts
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
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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:[13]
The equipment operator, Mark Henderson, a convict onwork release, jokingly remarked, "What are they gonna do, throw me in jail?"[14][15]
Both teams went on to qualify for the playoffs, with the Patriots finishing seventh in theAFC, 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 theMiami Orange Bowl,[16] en route to the Dolphins reachingSuper Bowl XVII.
The game itself was the longest that any NFL contest after theAFL–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 thePittsburgh Steelers, 3–0, onMonday Night Football, with Steelers kickerJeff Reed registering the only points with 17 seconds left in regulation.[17] The most recently that any NFL game has ended in a scoreless tie is 1943.[18]
In a 2007 interview for anNFL Network segment about the game, Shula recalled protesting the act under Rule 17 (theunfair 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. CommissionerPete 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'."[19]
The incident is commemorated with an exhibit at thePatriots Hall of Fame within the Patriots' current home,Gillette Stadium. The equipment, aJohn Deere Model 314 tractor with sweeper attached, hangs from the ceiling.[20][21]
Before the end of December 1982, the NFL banned the use of snow-clearing equipment on the field during a game.[22]
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.[23]
NFL rules now further prohibit attempts to improve field conditions—during a 2022 game, theChicago Bears were assessed a 15-yardunsportsmanlike conduct penalty when, prior to a field goal attempt during heavy rainfall atSoldier Field, holderTrenton Gill attempted to use a towel on the field to create a dry patch for kickerCairo Santos.[24][25]