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The Jim Marshall Wrong Way Run:
The Quintessential Vikings play?

 

The Jim Marshall wrong way run is perhaps the most Vikings of all Viking plays because it represents the entirety of the team.  The franchise has had their share of great players (Jim Marshall) and has experienced a certain level of success (running the ball into the end zone).  However, the end result for the Vikings has always been bizarre and bitterly disappointing (the Jim Marshall wrong way run that resulted in two points for the other team).


The Jim Marshall wrong way run was ironic in other ways as well.  Jim Marshall is unquestionably one of the greatest Vikings of all time.  He was the epitome of longevity and productivity.  And while some stupid punter broke Jim Marshall’s streak
for consecutive games played, any NFL fan worth her or his salt knows that Marshall is the true iron man of the NFL.

 

Nonetheless, Marshall is not as renown for his 282 consecutive games played as he should be.  The Jim Marshall wrong way run is better known than many of the best plays the Vikings have executed.  In fact, most NFL fans only know him for what might be accurately described as the most Viking of all of the Vikings plays: the Jim Marshall wrong way run. 

 

The Jim Marshall wrong way run was made famous in a game against the San Francisco 49ers in the mid-sixties. Marshall picked up a fumble, ran sixty-six yards the wrong way toward the Vikings’ end zone, and celebrated what he thought was a touchdown by heaving the ball out of bounds.  The end result of the Jim Marshall wrong way run was a safety for the 49ers.

 

Read more about the disappointment that is being a Vikings fan inn “My Least Favorite Team is My Favorite Team”