As he stood in the backfield—in his white No. 27 Houston Oilers jersey and rocking the eye black under his helmet—Eddie George waited to receive the handoff from the late Steve McNair from the Ravens’ 1-yard line.
It was the Oilers’ final game of the 1996 NFL season; a late December road game against Baltimore in a nearly packed-to-capacity Memorial Stadium. A couple plays before, George had exploded through the hole and gashed Baltimore’s defense for 40 yards up the right sideline before he was tackled by Donny Brady just two yards shy of the goal line.
Two plays later, “Big Cat”—George’s nickname given to him by running back coach Sherman Smith—scored the Oilers’ first touchdown of the game.