Dan Orlovsky has built an impressive career as an ESPN analyst and part of the network’s NFL crew.
However, before Orlovsky became a mainstay with the mega sports company, he was seeking a consistent opportunity to be a quarterback in the NFL. Although he traded in his shoulder pads for a seat in the broadcast booth, Orlovsky delivered one of the most infamous plays in his first NFL start with the Lions.
In a 2008 game against the Vikings, the former Detroit signal caller took the snap and ran out of the back of the end zone while scrambling to his right seeking to connect with one of his receivers down the field. Thursday marked the 15th anniversary of the infamous play and the crew on Get Up! re-hashed the moment with Orlovsky during the throwback Thursday segment of the show.
For Orlovsky, it is a clip that he sees circulating social media “several times a day.”
“What the f---,” Orlovsky said while laughing on the set.
Bruce Kluckhohn/USA TODAY Sports
Later in the show, as Dan prepared to give his “Dan O’s List” of the top five quarterbacks this season, Molly Qerim asked the million-dollar question likely on the minds of each crew member.
“How often did you get a haircut when you were in the NFL?” Qerim asked.
During the ’08 moment in Detroit, Orlovsky donned a hairstyle with bangs. As the crew laughed, the 40-year-old said, “someone married that person.”
While Orlovsky managed to avoid a physical sack from a bulldozing Jared Allen off the left edge during the play, it is safe to say that he will never escape this moment as he long as he lives.
Orlovsky spent 12 seasons in the league with four different teams: the Lions, Texans, Colts and Buccaneers.
ESPN didn't let the anniversary of Dan Orlovsky running out the back of the end zone go unnoticed
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 12, 2023
A thread pic.twitter.com/60rhXnHlyM
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 12, 2023
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 12, 2023
