Dan Orlovsky is currently enjoying his second stint as a Detroit Lions quarterback, having served as a backup to Matthew Stafford the past two seasons. Although the Lions weren’t great last year, Orlovsky was around in Detroit for much darker times, like when the Lions went 0-16 during the 2008 season.
Undoubtedly, the Lions’ most infamous moment from their winless season came in a loss against the Minnesota Vikings when the former UConn quarterback accidentally ran backwards out of his own end zone for a safety.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EZrpEdc0ZQ
To make matters worse, the Lions lost that game 12-10, with Orlovsky’s boneheaded play being the difference in what might have been their best chance at actually winning a game that year. The man providing pressure on the play who caused Orlovsky to live on forever in Internet infamy was Jared Allen, who announced his retirement this week after 12 NFL seasons.
To celebrate the career of the five-time Pro Bowler, Orlovsky took to Instagram, where he shared a picture of his hilarious safety alongside Allen celebrating with the caption:
Hey @jaredallen69 thanks bro. Congrats on retirement, I’ll NEVER forget ya?
#whydidyousplitthedoubleteam
#calvinwasntopen
#imanidiot
#laugh
@torlovsky3
It’s good to know that Orlovsky has a sense of humor about the incident because, unless he fills in for Stafford next year and leads the Lions to a Super Bowl (lol), that will be the only moment that most fans remember him by in his NFL career.
I’m not sure Rod Marinelli remembers that play with as much fondness.
