Former Rangers striker Martyn Waghorn recovered from a sickening collision with a goalpost to become the hero in Derby's do or die relegation showdown.
The forward bravely attacked a cross at the back post just nine minutes into their clash with Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday only to hurtle straight into the woodwork.
The Championship fixture, the clubs' last of the season with both battling to stay up, was paused for several minutes to allow Waghorn to receive treatment.
He eventually recovered to bag a second-half equaliser for Wayne Rooney 's side after Sam Hutchinson had opened the scoring for Wednesday.
Ex-Celtic loanee Patrick Roberts then put the Rams ahead with a stunning strike only for Scotland international Callum Paterson to level matters once more.
Derby then looked bound for the drop when Julian Borner put Wednesday ahead as the game entered its final stages.
But Waghorn stepped up to the plate again with 12 minutes left and rifled home a powerful penalty for a 3-3 draw that proved enough to keep his team in England's second tier.
A point proved enough for the East Midlands outfit after fellow strugglers Rotherham were pegged back to draw with Cardiff City in the afternoon's other critical fixture.
Current Rangers defender George Edmundson, on-loan at Pride Park, also completed 90 minutes at centre-back for Rooney's.
You can watch Waghorn's brutal collision with the post above.
