Football Stories That Sound Fake But Aren't

Over the years, the NFL has certainly had its fair share of wild and crazy moments. Eccentric and larger-than-life superstars have changed the game in countless ways, and things that were once thought to be impossible — like throwing for more than 5,000 yards and more than 40 touchdowns — are now becoming regular benchmarks throughout the league. Every year the players get bigger, stronger, and faster, and the games just keep getting more and more exciting from a physical standpoint.

Yet, the game has not lost any of its spontaneity or free spirit, and it still seems like almost every week something happens that has never been seen before. From quarterback Mark Sanchez getting plowed over by his own offensive lineman's rear-end, to Matt Hasselbeck's ill-fated quip during the 2003 NFC Championship game, you can still find something unique and extraordinary every time you watch a football game.

Sometimes, the feats are almost too outlandish or outrageous to be believed, but truth can be stranger than fiction. Here are the top 14 football stories that sound fake, but aren't.

When the Seattle Seahawks took on the Green Bay Packers in the 2003 NFC Wild Card game, you knew from the get-go that sparks were going to fly. And after four chilly quarters of exciting football at the legendary Lambeau Field in Wisconsin, the teams were tied at 27 apiece.

When it came time for the coin toss to determine who would start with the ball for overtime, the Seahawks ended up winning the toss. When asked if they wanted to receive the ball or kick, Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck told the head referee, "We want the ball, we're gonna score!" He likely did not realize that what he said was being caught on a hot mic, but everyone in the stadium and at home heard what he had said.

And while making a prediction and being wrong isn't too unbelievable, the circumstances of the Packers' victory are. After making a boast like that, you have to deliver, and Hasselbeck did — but for the Packers. Less than five minutes after making his prediction, he threw a game-ending pick-six to Packers defensive back Al Harris. As far as regrettable smack-talk, this one has to take the cake, and is likely one that Hasselbeck would like to take back.

Since the days of Deion Sanders, the NFL has not seen a regular two-way player who could excel on both offense and defense. Yet, Sanders was far from the first player to have done so, and in the earlier days of the league ,it was actually pretty commonplace. One of the finest to ever do it was "Slinging" Sammy Baugh. Baugh had a 16-year NFL career from 1937–1952 as one of the most prolific quarterbacks in the league, and starting in 1940, he also began to play as a defensive back.

Now a hall of famer, Baugh had one of the all-time greatest games in NFL history on November 14, 1943. As a member of Washington's football team, they were taking on the Detroit Lions, who were led by rookie quarterback and number one overall pick in the 1943 draft Frankie Sinkwich. However, Sinkwich and the Lions were no match for Baugh, who almost single-handedly took them down.

On offense, Baugh threw for four touchdowns and had an 81-yard punt return on special teams (via Sports Illustrated). He also had four interceptions against Sinkwich as a defensive back, which contributed to an NFL record 11 that season. Incredibly, Sinkwich also had an interception himself as a defensive back, which he returned for a touchdown, in addition to his two passing touchdowns. It sure was a different era back then.

Even though the NFL has started to emphasize safety and health far more in recent years, football is still widely regarded as an incredibly violent and, at times, dangerous game. When you have some of the best athletes in the world running full speed at each other with the intention of making hard and swift contact, there are bound to be some injuries and misfortunes. Yet, while some of the best defensive players in history have made their name through bone-crushing hits, most people chalk that up to playing hard, rather than intentionally injuring the other players.

That's what made the New Orleans Saints' Bountygate scandal so incredibly crazy and unimaginable when details about it first emerged. In early 2012, the NFL began investigating the Saints for an alleged bounty program, where players were supposedly given cash incentives for physically injuring star players on other teams (via ESPN). Several players and coaches ended up with suspensions, which kicked off an ugly legal battle that embarrassed the league severely.

Eventually, all suspensions were overturned, except the coaches, but not before some egregiously damaging information came out about the Saints players and coaches related to the disgusting bounty program. Even today, over a decade later, it's still hard to believe how horrifying the program was, but at least it's over now.

The 1921 season was a strange one for the NFL. At the time, it was still known as the American Professional Football Association (APFA), and the league had quite the collection of teams. Most of them hailed from either Illinois or Ohio, and four of the teams folded after playing two or fewer games, including the Tonawanda Kardex and the New York Brickley Giants. It was also the Green Bay Packers' first season in the league, where they finished with a 3-2-1 record. Incredibly, it was almost the last Green Bay Packers' season in the league, too.

After the season, the Packers had been caught using college players on their team for some games, and in January 1922, were actually forced out of the league as a result (according to the Packers). The exact details of the scandal are disputed and debated, but they end with the Packers being kicked out of the APFA for almost six months. They were allowed back that June, and have been with the league for more than a century since. Still, it's hard to believe one of the oldest teams almost didn't make it past their first season.

On December 21, 2003, with 7 seconds to go in the fourth quarter and in the middle of the playoff race, the New Orleans Saints found themselves down 13–20 to the Jacksonville Jaguars. With the ball on their own 25-yard line, the Saints needed nothing short of a miracle to find a way and tie the game, and they almost found it.

Saints quarterback Aaron Brooks snapped the ball and heaved a pass to wide receiver Donté Stallworth, who evaded multiple defenders before lateraling it to teammate Michael Lewis. Lewis then pitched it back to Deuce McAllister, who made a desperation heave to Jerome Pathon in the middle of the field. Improbably, Pathon outran multiple Jaguars defenders and made it into the end zone, punctuating his touchdown with a dive and putting the Saints within one point of the Jaguars with time expired. It might just be the single greatest play in Saints history.

All they needed was kicker John Carney to make the chip-in extra point from 19 yards out, and they would face the Jags in overtime, with all of the momentum on their side. Then the unthinkable happened: Carney shanked the field goal wide right. A stunned silence poured over the stadium, as coaches, players, fans, and even the announcers, sat in disbelief. It is an all-time great gaffe, and truly speaks for itself.

As the saying goes, "it takes two to tango," and normally when you're talking about passing touchdowns in the NFL, that's indeed the case. After all, you need one player to throw the ball and another player to catch the ball, at a minimum. Well, no one told that to either quarterbacks Brad Johnson or Marcus Mariota, who both accomplished the seemingly impossible feat of throwing a touchdown pass to themselves.

Johnson did it first during the 1997 season as a member of the Minnesota Vikings against the Carolina Panthers. His pass attempt was batted down at the line and landed right back in his hands. After evading a few defenders, Johnson found daylight and ran untouched into the end zone, erupting in a roar of jubilation. Twenty years later, during the 2017 postseason, Mariota did the same thing to the Kansas City Chiefs when he was still a Tennessee Titan.

Mariota's touchdown was a little different, and involved a dramatic dive over the pylon to clinch it. Already scrambling, Mariota attempted a desperation heave into the end zone, when a Chiefs defensive back — hall of famer Darrelle Revis — swatted it back down, and right into Mariota's arms. Without breaking stride, Mariota caught the deflection and outstretched his hand into the end zone, scoring one of the craziest touchdowns in history. The only thing crazier is that it happened twice, and sure, it can't happen again, right?