Patriots vs. dolphins snow plow game

Enter Mark Henderson, a prisoner out on work release after being convicted on a burglary charge. Because the weather was so bad during the game, a snowplow would clear the yard lines every so often so the players knew where they exactly were on the field. With remaining in a scoreless game and with his team on the Dolphins yard line, Patriots coach Ron Meyer opted for the field-goal attempt and a little assistance from the snowplow.

Meyer caught the eye of the snowplow driver, yard-old inmate Mark Henderson, who knew exactly what to do. Then Matt Cavanaugh, the backup quarterback who was the holder, saw me coming and started clapping his hands. Follow me. I just swerved over to the yard line with my tractor, switched on the PTO [power take-off, which starts the brush spinning], and scraped the snow off the AstroTurf. John Smith kicked the ball through the uprights for the lone score of the game as the Patriots won Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula went crazy on the sideline, protesting the ploy.

After the game, Mark Henderson was swarmed by the media, but he was told by then-owner Patrick Sullivan to not speak to the press. I was still on the tractor, and I tried to go up the ramp, but it was icy and the tractor wheels kept slipping. The rules of the game regarding the clearing of snow have since changed, all because of a convict named Mark Henderson. Henderson served out the rest of his sentence and went into the construction business.

This is the first of three plays nominated as the most memorable play in team history. Please vote for your choice as the Patriots' most memorable play. When was the last time fans got paid to attend a game? Before an announced crowd of 25, in frigid conditions, the teams were in a scoreless game with just less than five minutes remaining. Enter Henderson, who was operating the John Deere tractor as part of a work-release program at a local prison, to sweep a clean spot for Smith to make the kick and send the Patriots to victory.

The Patriots brought Henderson back to celebrate the final regular-season game in their old stadium in , and made the tractor a big part of its Hall of Fame, which opened in MikeReiss The snow plow guy. Skip to main content Skip to navigation. New England Patriots. Patriots' top plays: Snow Plow Game.