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CasinoVIDEO: Remembering When Robert Smith Lost His Shoe & Still Scored a 58-Yard TD
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Robert Smith was a very underrated player at the NFL level. Smith had four straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, and he would be more famous had he not retired after his best season in 2000 to pursue other career options.
However, he's still remembered for making some highlight-worthy plays. During a September 24, 1995 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Smith scored a 58-yard touchdown despite losing his shoe midway through the play.
Smith somehow outran the entire Pittsburgh defense with one shoe, including a crazy evasive maneuver that involved shaking off three defenders at once. Smith's 58-yard touchdown put the Vikings up 7-3 and triggered a rout. Smith rushed for 115 yards and a touchdown as the Vikings won 44-24.
Unfortunately, Smith's 1995 season only saw him play in 8 games due to a number of injuries. Smith wouldn't really come into his own until 1997, after which he was known as one of the league's best backs. He still holds the record for longest average yards per touchdown run at 27.2 yards, which is an astonishing number.
Smith now works as a college football analyst for the Big 10 Network, frequently covering his alma mater Ohio State. Although he won't be the first Robert Smith that comes up on Google, thanks to the lead singer of The Cure, Smith's 40-yard run without a shoe will be remembered for a long time.
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Tristan Jung is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Tristan Jung also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username tristan1117. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.