Washington Commanders

Flashback: Lawrence Taylor broke Joe Theismann's leg 30 years ago in gruesome fashion

Published Nov. 18, 2015 9:46 a.m. ET

Sam Gardner

"It sounded like two muzzled gunshots."

That's just one of the ways Joe Theismann has described the gruesome broken leg that ended his NFL career over the years, and there's likely not a Nov. 18 that goes by where Theismann doesn't pause to reflect on -- and probably cringe about -- his Kevin Ware moment at RFK Stadium.

The play, captured live on Monday Night Football for the entire world to see, happened 30 years ago on Nov. 18, in a Week 11 game between Theismann's Washington Redskins and the division-rival New York Giants. At 36 years old, Theismann was in the midst of a severe career decline, and there were calls for coach Joe Gibbs to bench the Super Bowl champ after the team's 1-3 start.

Gibbs stuck with his guy, however, and Theismann responded by winning four of the next six games, but like Peyton Manning's Broncos this year, the Redskins were winning in spite of Theismann, not because of him. And with seven touchdowns to 16 picks coming into what would be ultimately be his last professional game, Theismann's career was in its twilight.

Early on against the Giants, Theismann, for perhaps the first time all season, actually resembled the 1983 MVP far more than an aging veteran struggling to go out gracefully. He completed seven of his first 10 passes, including a first-quarter touchdown to Don Warren, and the teams were locked in a 7-7 tie early in the second quarter.

Then it happened.

The call was a flea-flicker. Theismann handed the ball off to John Riggins, who took a couple steps into the teeth of the Giants defense before changing course and flipping the ball back to his quarterback. Theismann looked downfield, but none of his reads were open. At the same time, Giants linebackers Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson were closing in on Theismann from either side.

Theismann stepped up in the pocket, dodging Carson, but there was no avoiding the Hall of Famer Taylor, arguably the most feared player in football. Taylor jumped on Theismann from behind, 240 pounds of fury dragging the quarterback to the ground, and as he did, Theismann's right leg got caught under Taylor and gave out above the ankle.

The sound -- Pop! Pop! -- reverberated through the stadium. Theismann's lower leg shattered, a compound fracture. One of the bones pierced his skin. Taylor was one of the first to react, urgently summoning the Redskins trainers, worriedly placing his hands on his helmet the way he would for a fallen teammate, not a rival. The building fell silent as Theismann flailed in the grass.

"Almost immediately, from the knee down, all the feeling was gone in my right leg," Theismann told the Washington Post in 2005. "The endorphins had kicked in, and I was not in pain. I remember looking up and seeing (head trainer) Bubba (Tyer) being on my left side. I looked at him and said, 'Please call my mom and tell her I'm OK.' "

Eventually, team doctors were able to stabilize the mangled leg and get Theismann off the field and to a local hospital, where he underwent surgery that night.

Lawrence Taylor looks on as Joe Theismann is attended to on the field.

"They started to carry him off the field, and Joe being the cocky Joe that he could be on the field, he said, 'Don't worry, guys. I'll be back,' " Carson told Washingtonian Magazine. "And I said, 'Joe, you might be back, but you won't be back tonight.' "

Theismann never returned to the football field again.

He'd broken his leg 13 years earlier in a CFL game and came back fine, but this was different. Once Theismann's leg had healed -- or healed as much as it was going to -- the team held a workout to see if Theismann could still play (and also for attorneys to determine whether an insurance company would pay out a policy the quarterback had previously taken out on himself).

"I went out on the field to throw, and as I moved to my right, I was moving OK," Theismann recalled to the Post. "When I tried to move to my left, I think I looked like Peg Leg Pete. The workout was supposed to last about 30 minutes. There were 15 people watching me when I started. When I turned my back at one point, I looked around and they were just about all gone. I said, 'Hey, wait, I'm not done,' and whoever was still out there said to me, 'Yes, you are.' "

And that was it. The Redskins released Theismann and he never got another shot as a player.

"Leaving football was incredibly painful, and I didn't handle it well," Theismann told Washingtonian Magazine. "I sulked. I pouted. I went through the 'Why me?' stages. I'll tell you, there is nothing in life that can match stepping on a football field and getting ready for a Super Bowl. There is nothing in life that can match running out of that tunnel in RFK Stadium in front of our fans.

"I was blessed to be able to do it, and all of a sudden it was gone. I started having the realization: Was I nothing but football? Did football define me? Who would I be if I couldn't play football?"

A short time after his playing career ended, Theismann got into broadcasting, a new passion that became a decades-long career. Despite that, Theismann insists he's still never seen a replay of the injury that ended his first career. One could ask why not, but the answer is simple. Why would he? He lived it.

"The world knows me for the injury," Theismann told the Orlando Sentinel. "I'll forever be known as the Godfather of Broken Legs."

You can follow Sam Gardner on Twitter or email him at samgardnerfox@gmail.com.