“I called out to Buddy, ‘Let me kick it,’” Cunningham recalls. “He said, ‘OK, go kick it.’”
It was a shocking gambit that caught everyone in Giants Stadium - including the Giants - by surprise. It was the fourth quarter of a 17-17 game. The Eagles were pinned at their own 3-yard line. On a frigid December day in 1989 with winds gusting up to 35 MPH, field position was critical. Yet here was head coach Buddy Ryan trusting Cunningham, who had not punted in two months, to kick one out of his own end zone.
Cunningham’s kick turned the tide in what was a huge NFC East game between the Eagles who were 8-4 and the Giants who were 9-3.