There were two attempts on Sunday to set an NFL record for the longest field goal. One was successful... the other wasn't, but it was just as exciting.
Baltimore's Justin Tucker hit the game-winning 66-yard bomb (with some help from the crossbar) as time expired to lift the Ravens to a 19-17 win over the Lions. About two hours prior to that, Arizona's Matt Prater attempted a 68-yarder to end the half, and it didn't end as well for the Cardinals.
FOX's Gus Johnson lost his mind as Jamal Agnew tied an NFL record with his 109-yard kick-six return, one that can be tied but never broken. It got us thinking of the other longest plays in NFL history, with which Agnew will forever be associated.
T1) Cordarrelle Patterson - 109 yards: In 2013 on Sunday Night Football, the rookie Patterson opened up a Minnesota rivalry game at home against Green Bay with a bang, taking the opening kickoff 109 yards for a score. It was one of two kickoffs he returned for six that year, and one of eight in his career.
T1) Antonio Cromartie - 109 yards: Like Agnew, Cromartie's kick-six came at the end of a half. Back in 2007 the Vikings tried to close out the half by attempting a 58-yard field goal, which came up just short. Cromartie, literally straddling the back of the end zone when he came down off-balance, caught it and took it to the house. It was "unofficially" measured at 109.88 yards -- that's how close to out of bounds he was.
The unusual thing about all of these 109-yard returns? All three teams - the Jaguars on Sunday, the Vikings in 2013 and the Chargers in 2007 - lost their respective games.
T2) David Johnson - 108 yards: There have been nine different 108-yard touchdowns since 2005, so we'll run through them here.
The most recent came back in 2015, when a rookie David Johnson took the opening kick of the Cardinals' Week 2 game against the Bears 108 yards to paydirt. It remains the longest play in Arizona history, and he also added a rushing touchdown later in the game in a Cardinals 48-23 romp.
T2) Knile Davis - 108 yards: The former Chiefs running back returned three kicks for touchdowns in his career. The first of those came late in the 2013 season against Denver, when his second quarter return of 108 yards gave Kansas City a 14-7 lead. But that's not even his most famous kickoff return. In the 2014 playoffs he had a 106-yard return in the Wild Card game. He also had a 109-yard return in a preseason game, but those numbers don't count.
T2) Jacoby Jones - 108 yards (three!): The only person with multiple touchdowns of at least 108 yards, Jones did it on three occasions with the Ravens. The first two came in 2012, when Jones had four kick or punt returns for a score throughout the season. In October he went 108 yards against the Cowboys, and then after catching the Mile High Miracle to help Baltimore advance in the playoffs, he had a Super Bowl to remember. First, his 58-yard touchdown reception. Second, his 108-yard kickoff return to open the second half as the Ravens won the Super Bowl.
Oh and by the way, he also had a 108-yard return in 2014 in a loss to Pittsburgh. Ho-hum.
T2) Randall Cobb - 108 yards: Back in the 2011 season opener it was a debut to remember for the rookie wide receiver Cobb against the Saints. He not only caught his first career touchdown pass in the first quarter, but in the third he tied a then-NFL record with a 108-yard kickoff return for six.
T2) Ed Reed - 108 yards: To this point all of our touchdowns have been either kickoff returns or off of missed field goals. Leave it to the Hall of Famer Reed to change that. At the peak of his powers in the 2008 season the safety took one of his nine interceptions of the year back 108 yards for a score against the Eagles.
T2) Devin Hester - 108 yards: One of the great return men in NFL history - he had 19 punt or kick returns for touchdowns in his career - the longest score of his life actually came off a missed field goal. It's the only one on our list that didn't come at the end of a half, either. The Bears led the Giants 24-20 in the fourth quarter of a key November 2006 matchup when New York lined up for a 52-yard field goal in the bitter Meadowlands cold. It came up short, and Hester did the rest in what became a 38-20 Chicago win.
T2) Nathan Vasher - 108 yards: At the time it was the longest play in NFL history. The Niners attempted a 52-yard field goal at the end of the first half in very windy Chicago, and they paid. The Bears' Nathan Vasher took the short kick 108 yards the other way for a touchdown to get Chicago on the board.