The 25 finest performs in Super Bowl historical past

Sean Payton’s “Ambush” onside kick name to start out Super Bowl XLIV’s second half turned the tide in a recreation through which the Saints trailed on the time. The 2009 season noticed Bill Belichick go for a fourth-and-2 on his personal 28-yard line relatively than punt to MVP Peyton Manning. Payton operated equally; his gamble labored out higher. Colts wideout Hank Baskett couldn’t corral Thomas Morstead’s shock kick, and Saints defensive back Chris Reis fell on it . The Saints’ stolen possession ended with a Drew Brees-to-Pierre Thomas landing connection and, in contrast to the Steelers’ Super Bowl XXX shock onside, this kick led to a championship.

In a recreation that featured a whopping 11 turnovers, factors proved troublesome to come back by. So maybe the weirdest landing in Super Bowl historical past — which went from Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas to Hall of Famer John Mackey — deserves entry, because it performed a key position within the Colts exiting this recreation as victors. Unitas’ pass ricocheted off Colts wideout Eddie Hinton and Cowboys Hall of Fame cornerback Mel Renfro, skipping to Mackey. The longtime Colt tight finish galloped 75 yards for a second-quarter landing. Baltimore gained, 16-13, overcoming seven giveaways. 

Not a part of the Giants’ 1986 Super Bowl group, Ingram didn’t squander his lone Super Bowl alternative just a few years later. The 1987 first-round extensive receiver caught a third-and-13 cross from Jeff Hostetler on the Giants’ opening second-half drive of Super Bowl XXV and proceeded to make half the Bills defense miss on a 14-yard achieve that featured a few of the slickest maneuvering in Super Bowl historical past. The Giants scored to take a 17-12 lead on a near-nine-minute march, conserving the Bills’ elite offense on the sideline. The father within the Mark Ingram father-son tandem performed a vital supporting position in New York’s 20-19 win.

Jones put an exclamation level on a shocking postseason in 2013’s Harbaugh Bowl. Baltimore’s All-Pro kick returner had already secured Joe Flacco’s Mile High Miracle heave to stun Denver two rounds earlier, and in Super Bowl XLVII’s second quarter, Jones caught a snazzy 56-yard TD cross. To begin the second half, the backup wideout took a kickoff 108 yards back for a touchdown. This gave the Ravens a 28-6 lead. It is the longest play in Super Bowl annals by 8 yards. Considering how shut the 49ers got here to finishing a comeback, Jones’ sprint proved large in cementing the Ravens’ second championship.

By far the least consequential play on this list brought Beebe immense praise. The worst of the Bills’ Super Bowl losses was about to include the Cowboys setting a Super Bowl scoring record after a fumble-return TD, but the veteran wide receiver — who was at least 15 yards behind the play — stripped Cowboys defensive deal with Leon Lett on the purpose line for a touchback. The Bills misplaced, 52-17, in Super Bowl XXVII, however Beebe turning the group’s ninth turnover right into a constructive epitomized the franchise’s resilience. It additionally stored the 1989 49ers’ 55-10 romp over the Broncos because the Super Bowl scoring customary.

Not anticipating to see a lot motion within the first Super Bowl, the backup Packers extensive receiver took half in an extended night time out in Los Angeles on the eve of the primary AFL-NFL showdown. But after an early damage to Packers starter Boyd Dowler, the 34-year-old McGee sauntered into motion and turned in one of many nice clutch performances. The most memorable sequence featured the Thirteenth-year Packer snaring a Bart Starr pass with one hand and coasting in for a 37-yard landing — the primary in Super Bowl historical past. McGee scored twice within the Packers’ 34-10 win over the Chiefs.

After erasing a 16-0 deficit, the Titans allowed the Rams to interrupt a 16-all tie late within the fourth quarter. The Titans going through a third-and-5 on the Rams’ 26-yard line with 22 seconds left, and with Tennessee’s play damaged, its quarterback wanted to improvise. McNair stored the play alive for a number of seconds, escaping a certain sack (and near-20-yard loss) from Rams defensive linemen Jay Williams and Kevin Carter — the latter a 1999 All-Pro — and located Kevin Dyson for a 16-yard achieve to arrange a game-tying landing strive. The Rams holding off the Titans helped make this one of many NFL’s forgotten nice performs.

Just previous to Malcolm Butler making Super Bowl XLIX’s signature play, he couldn’t deter Jermaine Kearse from a catch that just about saved the Seahawks’ bid at a repeat championship. Russell Wilson’s first-down lob to Kearse — a Washington native who caught on with Seattle as an undrafted free agent — preceded two caroms and included the third-year wideout falling down, sitting again up and almost operating in for a go-ahead landing. Kearse had a quick window at a go-ahead TD, which might have averted the following Seahawks catastrophe. But this stays an all-time catch.

Despite going 9-7 in 1979 and using a backup quarterback in Super Bowl XIV, the Rams held a two-point lead going into the fourth quarter. A halfback pass had given Los Angeles the lead over Pittsburgh, a 10.5-point favorite. But on a third-and-8 early in the stanza, Terry Bradshaw attached with fellow Hall of Famer John Stallworth on a pinpoint deep strike that soared just past leaping Rams cornerback Rod Perry. An All-Pro in 1979, Stallworth blazed for a go-ahead 73-yard rating. The Steelers prevented a significant upset, scoring as soon as extra to clinch a 31-19 win and their fourth Super Bowl title. 

Although John Elway was a quarterback prodigy, he was actually not the identical athletically by Super Bowl XXXII. But the Fifteenth-year passer orchestrated a 92-yard drive that ended with a Terrell Davis go-ahead landing. The play Elway could also be most remembered for prolonged this march. After realizing Denver’s third-and-6 play name wouldn’t work towards Green Bay’s protection, the 37-year-old quarterback took off. The finish outcome: an 8-yard achieve that featured Elway helicoptering through LeRoy Butler, Mike Prior and Brian Williams’ deal with makes an attempt. An 11.5-point underdog, Denver prevailed, 31-24, to win its first championship. 

In a recreation predicted to be Cam Newton’s of entirety on an MVP season, an underdog Broncos group shortly confirmed how troublesome that might be. Miller foiled a third-down Panthers sequence by zooming previous Panthers proper deal with Mike Remmers and ripping the ball from Newton’s grasp. Newton watched as the ball rolled into the end zone , the place Denver D-lineman Malik Jackson coated it to offer the Broncos a 10-0 first-quarter lead on a Panthers group that got here into Super Bowl 50 at 17-1. The recreation’s MVP, Miller recorded 2.5 sacks and two pressured fumbles in probably the most necessary defensive performances in NFL historical past.

Finishing off the first 400-yard passing night in Super Bowl history, Kurt Warner stays the newest MVP to raise his group to a championship in the identical season. The Rams stood tied with the Titans with a bit of greater than two minutes left, however the breakout passer linked with high receiver Isaac Bruce on a deep sideline cross. Bruce not solely adjusted for a slight underthrow however outmaneuvered Denard Walker and Anthony Dorsett for a 73-yard touchdown. This accomplished what turned out to be a one-play game-winning drive that produced the Rams’ solely Super Bowl title, after which Warner gained Super Bowl MVP honors.

The Saints endured a brutal stretch of season-ending sequences in the 2010s, but fortunately for the franchise, these came after their 2009 championship. Peyton Manning marched the Colts to the Saints’ 31-yard line on a potential game-tying drive, but cornerback Tracy Porter jumped a Reggie Wayne route and took a third-down pass to paydirt with simply over three minutes left. Manning and Porter had been later teammates on the 2012 Broncos, and Porter’s pick-six in Manning’s Denver debut sealed that win too. But Porter is most remembered for intercepting Manning and Brett Favre to arrange the Saints’ Super Bowl XLIV title.

Numerous elements needed to break right for the Patriots to have a chance at their 25-point comeback in Super Bowl LI; one of them was Robert Alford dropping what would have been his second interception that night time. Instead of Alford sealing the Falcons’ first title, the cornerback deflected Tom Brady’s first-down cross into the air. Julian Edelman fought off two more Atlanta defensive backs to safe among the finest catches in NFL historical past. Edelman’s juggling act resulted in a 23-yard achieve, transferring the Patriots previous midfield on their game-tying drive that pressured the primary Super Bowl additional time interval. 

Riggins carried the ball a playoff-record 136 times in the 1982 postseason, which was an amended 16-team format because of a lengthy players’ strike. “The Diesel” logged 38 carries in Super Bowl XVII against the Dolphins; his 30th became a career-defining play. Washington’s 70 Chip play came on a fourth-and-1 from the Dolphins’ 43-yard line, with Miami leading 17-13 early in the fourth quarter. The 33-year-old bruiser received space-clearing blocks from deal with Joe Jacoby and tight finish Clint Didier and ran by way of cornerback Don McNeal for a landing. Washington gained 27-17.

Even though Lynn Swann scored a 64-yard landing to offer the Steelers their second championship, a catch the Hall of Famer made on a drive that didn’t finish with Pittsburgh factors is the indelible picture from the primary Steelers-Cowboys Super Bowl. Terry Bradshaw linked together with his high goal on a 53-yard bomb, with Swann’s acrobatics overcoming tight coverage from Cowboys cornerback Mark Washington. The second-quarter drive ended with a missed 36-yard subject purpose, however it highlighted Swann’s four-catch, 161-yard day and is the centerpiece play of his 10-year profession.

On his solution to MVP honors, Jerry Rice completed Super Bowl XXIII a Super Bowl-record 215 yards on a then-record 11 catches. Longtime sidekick John Taylor ended the sport with one reception; it is probably the most memorable performs in NFL annals. Joe Montana guided a 92-yard drive to erase a three-point Bengals lead, and with the 49ers on the AFC champions’ 10-yard line with 39 seconds left, Taylor was lined up at a good finish place. Montana discovered the 1986 third-round choose, who was not but a full-time beginning wideout, in stride for a game-winning touchdown to offer the 49ers their third title.

Then the highest-scoring group in NFL historical past, Washington endured a tough January 1984 night time in Miami. Already up 28-9, the Raiders made it worse on one of many NFL’s defining runs. Marcus Allen, a second-year former Heisman winner who instantly grew to become a Raider celebrity, took a handoff on the third quarter’s last play. His field-reversing 74-yard sprint made Super Bowl XVIII a full-on blowout and cinched up the Raiders’ third Super Bowl title in eight seasons and solely conquest of their Los Angeles years. The recreation’s MVP, Allen completed with a then-Super Bowl report 191 dashing yards and two TDs.

Super Bowl XXXIV featured a memorable fourth quarter, but a linebacker doing his job remains the lasting image from that night. A Kansas City, Missouri, native who went undrafted out of Mizzou, Jones gave his home state its first Super Bowl title in 30 years by stopping Tennessee’s Steve McNair-to-Kevin Dyson strike from tying the game. Jones spoiled Dyson’s attempt at a second playoff game-winner, stopping the second-year wideout at the 1-yard line with zeroes on the clock. Jones’ deal with stalled a Titans drive that started at their very own 12-yard line and gave the Rams their first championship since 1951.

An Eagles rout of the Vikings in the NFC championship game prevented the first home Super Bowl occurrence. It also allowed Philadelphia to save its long-rehearsed trick play for Minneapolis and Super Bowl LII. Nick Foles’ suggestion to Doug Pederson they fireplace up the Philly Special reverse cross resulted in probably the most memorable trick play in Super Bowl historical past. The Corey Clement-to-Trey Burton-to-Foles fourth-down sequence bedeviled the favored Patriots and gave the Eagles a 22-12 halftime lead. And a statue. Amazingly, Pederson was fired lower than three years after this play led to the Eagles’ first Super Bowl title.

The other play Manning is best-known for required more skill on his receiver’s part, but perhaps no throw in the Super Bowl (and few throws ever) topped this one. The first play of a Giants game-winning drive came from their own 12-yard line. Manning threaded a near-impossible needle on a 38-yard toss to Mario Manningham. In his last recreation as a Giant, the fourth-year extensive receiver working the sideline to this diploma deserves reward. But Manning’s ball placement into double protection was otherworldly, and it keyed one other Super Bowl upset over the Patriots. If Eli’s Hall of Fame case had been to be condensed into one play, that is it. 

Hines Ward and Antonio Brown are this century’s most memorable Steeler receivers, however the high play from a Pittsburgh wideout belongs to Santonio Holmes. The ex-Ohio State standout performed solely 4 Steelers seasons and ended a nine-year profession with one 1,000-yard slate. But 73 of the Steelers’ 88 yards on their last Super Bowl XLIII drive got here from Holmes, and his 6-yard game-winner gave the franchise its report sixth Super Bowl championship. Ben Roethlisberger in some way guided the pass past three Cardinal DBs to seek out Holmes, the third Steeler wideout to win Super Bowl MVP honors. Debate endures concerning the placement of Holmes’ proper foot.

After Jermaine Kearse’s bizarre catch accelerated the Seahawks’ potential game-winning drive, Dont’a Hightower’s shoestring tackle stopped Marshawn Lynch on the Patriots’ 1-yard line. Using a goal-line set with three cornerbacks, the Pats denied the Seahawks a repeat title when rookie UDFA Malcolm Butler interrupted Ricardo Lockette’s route. Russell Wilson’s INT came on second-and-goal with 23 seconds left, and the Seahawks’ determination to not use Lynch — as they did on a short-yardage TD earlier in Super Bowl XLIX — nonetheless brings scrutiny. Butler’s theft reignited New England’s dynasty and ended Seattle’s hopes at beginning one.

The Super Bowl’s action-hero scene. Harrison’s 100-yard return required numerous supporting casters and included obstacles throughout. The play began with 18 seconds left and the Cardinals on the cusp of taking a 14-10 lead or tying the game at halftime. Harrison changed his assignment, faking a blitz and intercepting Kurt Warner. The 2008 Defensive Player of the Year sprinted from finish zone to finish zone on a half-ending play that might have meant nothing had the Cards tackled him. Harrison surviving Larry Fitzgerald’s strip try close to the purpose line completed off Super Bowl XLIII’s game-swinging sequence. 

The high play of the NFL’s first 21 seasons of the twenty first century, David Tyree’s catch denied the Patriots their slot as the best group ever. After catching a fourth-quarter TD cross, the 2007 Giants’ Twelfth-leading cross catcher tilted this century’s defining recreation. Eli Manning’s third-and-5 heave to the profession special-teamer soared into harmful territory over the center. The 32-yard catch required not solely Tyree pinning the ball towards his helmet but in addition somehow completing this act while falling to the bottom with Rodney Harrison blanketing him. It made Plaxico Burress’ game-winner an impossibly overqualified footnote within the titanic upset.