Dwayne Rudd

Interceptions:	1
Defensive touchdowns:	2

Dwayne Rudd
No. 57
Position:	Linebacker
Personal information
Born:	February 3, 1976 (age 48); Batesville, Mississippi, U.S.
Career information
High school:	South Panola (Batesville)
College:	Alabama
NFL draft:	1997 / Round: 1 / Pick: 20
Career history
	Minnesota Vikings (1997–2000); Cleveland Browns (2001–2002); Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2003);
Career highlights and awards
	Second-team All-Pro (1998); First-team All-American (1996); First-team All-SEC (1996);
Career NFL statistics
Interceptions:
Interceptions:	1
Defensive touchdowns:	2
	Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Dwayne Rudd (born February 3, 1976) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected in the first round of the 1997 NFL draft.^[1] During his career he played for the Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Rudd was a teammate of Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Deshea Townsend in both high school and college, at South Panola High School and the University of Alabama, respectively. Derek Pegues, a South Panola alum and an All-SEC defensive back for Mississippi State, is his cousin.^{[citation needed]}

Celebration penalties

In the

defensive line swarmed him, and it initially appeared that Rudd had sacked Green as time expired. However, Green had actually lateraled the ball to tackle John Tait

while in the act of falling, just before he had hit the ground. Not having seen this happen and believing that he had sacked Green to end the game, Rudd took off his helmet and threw it in the air in celebration of an apparent Browns victory.

In the meantime, Tait had run to the Browns' 26-yard line where he was knocked out of bounds. That would have been the end of the game, but Rudd was assessed to have committed an

field goal to win the game 40–39.^[2]

Rudd encountered a similar incident

unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in a game against the Indianapolis Colts

after a game-winning field goal attempt failed, giving the Colts another chance to win the game—being successful the second time.