“The game of football evolved and here was one cause of its evolution, a new kind of athlete doing a new kind of thing. All by himself, Lawrence Taylor altered the environment and forced opposing coaches and players to adapt. After Taylor joined the team, the Giants went from the second worst defense in the NFL to the third best.” 

In his first chapter, Lewis recounts Lawrence Taylor’s career-ending sack of Joe Theismann. Theismann was 36 years old, with a successful career behind him and, he hoped, a few more good years ahead of him. He was a talented quarterback who played a significant role in the Washington Redskins’ success. Through his story, Lewis highlights how one play ended not only a career but a team’s composition and future plans. That one life-altering play happened because of a single, exceptional athlete: Lawrence Taylor. Lewis points out that Taylor loved sacking quarterbacks so much that he did so even when the play call did not assign him to rush the quarterback. Bill Parcells, Taylor’s coach, recalls yelling at him on the sideline for sacking a quarterback when he was supposed to drop back into coverage. Taylor’s response was that perhaps the coaches should script a play like the one he had just executed since it was so effective. His coaches could not always control Taylor, but his exemplary play prompted football strategy to change on both sides of the ball.