Greatest gadget play ever? Dan Marino's fake spike turns 29 - ESPN

It's Thanksgiving week and the Miami Dolphins are in New Jersey to face the New York Jets (3 p.m. ET, Prime Video). It's impossible not to think about what happened 29 years ago — the Fake Spike game.

The circumstances are different than in the 1994 contest. The Dolphins (7-3) are in first place, just like then, but the matchup doesn't have the same juice because the Jets are three games behind in the AFC East standings.

Still, it's part of Dolphins-Jets lore. Even though most of the current players weren't born when Dan Marino fooled the Jets with his legendary gadget play, it's a timeless moment that warrants a look back.

This oral history was published on the 20th anniversary of the Fake Spike, a play that arguably changed lives and deeply impacted the two franchises.

[Editor's note: This story was originally published on Nov. 26, 2014. Since then, former Dolphins coach Don Shula and former offensive lineman Jim Sweeney, who were both quoted in this story, have died.]

On Nov. 27, 1994, Dan Marino capped the 39th game-winning drive of his career with his 323rd touchdown pass. The actual throw was unremarkable — 8 yards to an open Mark Ingram — but it is perhaps the most famous of Marino's 420 scoring passes. It endures because, let's face it, everybody loves a punking.

Twenty years later, the Fake Spike still lives.

It lives with the middle-aged Miami Dolphins, whose voices pulse with excitement as they recall the time 'ol Danny pulled a fast one on the New York Jets.

It lives with their forever coach, Don Shula, 84, who marvels at the number of fans who approach him and ask about the play. He smiles and engages them — unless they're Jets fans. He doesn't speak to them.

And it lives with the Jets, who wish it didn't.