Sunday's Jets-Dolphins game at New Meadowlands Stadium is the convergence of many special occasions. It's the renewal of a great NFL rivalry. It's the third annual Fan Appreciation Day.
And it's the day when the winner of the Jets Uncorked Sweepstakes will be enjoying the Jets-Fins game.
The contest, which ran from Nov. 19 through Dec. 7, required fans to identify the play that is diagrammed on the label of each bottle of Jets Uncorked limited-release 2008 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. The release was launched in June to celebrate the 2010 inaugural season at the new Home of the Jets.
Not surprisingly, the answer to the contest has a Jumbo connection to the game on the field today, a 10th anniversary of sorts of the most fantastic finish in Jets franchise history — the 2000 "Monday Night Miracle" win over the Dolphins in the Meadowlands.
The play everyone remembers is Jumbo Elliott's 3-yard touchdown catch from Vinny Testaverde with 42 seconds left in regulation that sent this game into overtime, where the Jets won it, 40-37, on John Hall's 40-yard field goal.
The diagram on the label is of that play. Jerald Sowell motions wide to get the cornerback out of the play. Testaverde fakes the handoff to Curtis Martin as Elliott, the offensive tackle lined up on the play as a seeming third tight end, blocks down, then releases into the end zone. Dolphins linebackers bite on the play fake, then can't make up the ground to Elliott.
The only question then was could Jumbo make the catch? In fact, he made three catches on the same play, but the final one, confirmed after review by referee Walt Coleman, was the only one that mattered, and it counted for the only TD of Elliott's career and the score that ultimately made the comeback from a 30-7 deficit possible.
To view the play, order Jets Uncorked or find the perfect Jets Uncorked holiday gift package for the Jets fan on your list, CLICK HERE.
