In June 2011, Dallas Cowboys Star Magazine decided to count down the best of the best, the top 25 plays in franchise history. Obviously, this wasn't the easiest of tasks, but some 30,000-plus words later, we feel pretty good about the results. Now here in a 25-part summer series, we share our list for one and all. Without further ado, we continue with No. 14 and a snippet from the Dallas Cowboys Star Magazine story:
14)Fire At The Ice Bowl, Dec. 31, 1967:
If the Cowboys had held on and defeated the Green Bay Packers in the Ice Bowl, this would've become one of the iconic plays in NFL history. Instead, it's a mere footnote from one of the most iconic games in pro football lore.
The play was called "Fire Pitch," and the result was perfection, halfback Dan Reeves, a collegiate quarterback, patiently taking the handoff from Don Meredith in the backfield, calmly drifting a few steps to his left, almost parallel to where he took the ball, before gaining whatever traction he could in setting himself on the frozen tundra. The offensive line ran the play as it were a sweep left, throwing the necessary blocks to sell the defense, the linebackers and secondary rushing toward the line of scrimmage where Reeves would seemingly be.
Lance Rentzel, who lined up as the flanker, threw what today would be considered a chip block, which further convinced Green Bay's secondary of the run, and allowed the speedy receiver, who racked up 996 yards during the regular season, to release untouched some 30 yards downfield to the 20-yard line. Around this same time, Reeves threw the ball with all his strength, allowing for a little arc, knowing just how wide open his target was. The wind definitely played with the trajectory, but Rentzel alertly turned his back from the end zone and focused on catching the ball, not worried about the ensuing step. Once the ball was secure in his hands, only then did Rentzel turn and run, not a Packer in sight until the final steps.
Eight seconds into the fourth quarter, the Cowboys led, 17-14.
"The play couldn't have worked more perfectly," Reeves said in 2010.
