The Super Bowl has provided so many indelible memories. Here are 57 of my favorites as Super Bowl 57 between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles nears:
1. Malcolm Butler’s INT: Pivotal. Shocking. Unforgettable. The New England Patriots’ undrafted rookie cornerback made the rarest of plays, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat by intercepting QB Russell Wilson at the goal line with 20 seconds left to preserve a 28-24 win in Super Bowl 49. In the process, Butler derailed the Seattle Seahawks’ bid to become the league’s latest dynasty and launched a lifetime of second guessing for the legions who skewered Seattle coach Pete Carroll for not directing Wilson to hand off to RB Marshawn “Beast Mode” Lynch, who’d already scored this day. Last, yet certainly not least, Butler saved Patriots QB Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick from the narrative that they were “only” 3-3 in Super Bowls to that point. Way to just “do your job,” Malcolm Butler!
2. Roethlisberger-to-Holmes: What was better, QB Ben Roethlisberger’s precision strike to the back corner of the end zone – rifled through three Arizona Cardinals – or WR Santonio Holmes’ ability to snatch it while keeping his toes down as he fell out of bounds with 35 seconds on the clock? Beautifully executed all the way around, and it gave the Pittsburgh Steelers a record sixth Lombardi Trophy as they rallied for a 27-23 victory in Super Bowl 43.
3. David Tyree’s helmet catch: Most coaches would cringe if their quarterback threw into triple coverage in the middle of the field while scrambling amid a broken play. But that’s what New York Giants star Eli Manning did, and Tyree famously managed to pin the pass against his helmet on the other end of the 32-yard hookup with 59 seconds to go. Four plays later, Manning hit WR Plaxico Burress for the game-winning TD as the Giants shocked the previously undefeated Patriots in Super Bowl 42.
4. Montana-to-Taylor: The San Francisco 49ers’ game-winning march began with QB Joe Montana surveying the stands and asking teammates in the huddle, “Isn’t that John Candy?” Joe Cool indeed. Eleven plays and 92 yards later, WR John Taylor caught the decisive 10-yard pass from Montana with 34 seconds to go as the Niners overcame the Cincinnati Bengals 20-16 in Super Bowl 23.
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5. Wide right: That’s where Buffalo Bills kicker Scott Norwood’s 47-yard field-goal try (barely) missed with 4 seconds left in Super Bowl 25. The Giants hung on for a 20-19 win, and Buffalo would never get any closer to a title despite reaching Super Sunday three more times.
6. Mike Jones’ tackle: With the Tennessee Titans 10 yards away from a potential game-tying touchdown with 5 seconds to play in Super Bowl 34, Jones, an unheralded St. Louis Rams linebacker, limited WR Kevin Dyson to a 9-yard gain – just shy of the goal line – on the game-ending play.
7. Adam Vinatieri’s Super Bowl 36 field goal: On the final snap, the Patriots kicker split the uprights from 48 yards – he was celebrating before the ball went through – literally kickstarting the New England dynasty and completing one of the Super Bowl’s biggest upsets as the Pats knocked off the heavily favored Rams 20-17. Vinatieri would drill an only slightly less dramatic FG in the final seconds two years later to beat the Carolina Panthers.
8. ’70 chip’: That was the play call by Washington, which trailed the Miami Dolphins 17-13, on fourth-and-1 in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl 17. The ball went to RB John Riggins, who, running behind his dominant “Hogs” offensive line, ran through the tackle of DB Don McNeal before busting down the left sideline for a 43-yard touchdown the Fins wouldn’t overcome.
9. Tracy Porter’s pick-six: With QB Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts 31 yards from a game-tying touchdown with less than four minutes to go in Super Bowl 44, the New Orleans Saints corner swiped a pass intended for WR Reggie Wayne and set sail for a game-icing 74-yard TD.
10. James White in OT: The anonymous third-down back of the Patriots ran 2 yards to glory in the first (and still only) Super Sunday overtime, capping New England’s epic comeback against the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl 51 while boosting his Super Bowl single-game record point total to 20.
11. Doug Williams’ comeback: The Washington quarterback crumbled to the turf while being sacked in the first quarter, his surgically repaired left knee hyperextended with his team trailing the Denver Broncos 10-0. But Williams would miss just two plays before launching four TD passes in the next period on his way to becoming MVP and the first Black quarterback to win a Super Bowl as Washington cruised to a 42-10 rout in Super Bowl 22.
12. We’re No. 1: Joe Namath’s raised index finger as he jogged off the Orange Bowl field after the New York Jets’ monumental upset of the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl 3 said it all, especially after the MVP’s famous pregame guarantee that the 18-point underdogs would prevail.
13. James Harrison’s INT return: The Steelers pass-rushing linebacker dropped into coverage on a hunch and picked off Cardinals QB Kurt Warner at the goal line before a 100-yard tightrope sprint up the sideline for a TD completed what was at least a 10-point swing before halftime in Super Bowl 43, which Pittsburgh won by four points.
14. Terry Bradshaw KO’d: As he launched what would prove to be the decisive 64-yard TD pass to WR Lynn Swann in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl 10, the chin of the Steelers quarterback was introduced to the helmet of Dallas Cowboys DL Larry Cole. Bradshaw was out before he hit the ground and wouldn’t play again in the game, but his throw earned Pittsburgh its second ring.
15. Isaac Bruce’s TD: It gets overshadowed by Jones’ tackle, but the Rams don’t win without Warner’s 73-yard TD pass to Bruce with 1: 54 to go on St. Louis’ first play after the Titans had erased a 16-0 deficit.
16. Favre-to-Rison: Vintage Brett Favre. On the Green Bay Packers’ second play of Super Bowl 31, the MVP quarterback called an audible before launching a 54-yard touchdown to WR Andre Rison streaking down the middle of the field. Favre sprinted after his receiver, helmet held aloft, and Green Bay was on its way to its first title in 29 years.
17. John Elway’s helicopter: The 37-year-old Broncos quarterback, in desperate pursuit of his first title after being blown out in his first three Super Sunday starts, famously went airborne and was spun around by Packers defenders on an 8-yard third-quarter run that gave Denver a first-and-goal. It set up MVP Terrell Davis’ go-ahead TD run in Super Bowl 32, which the Broncos eventually won 31-24.
18. Mario Manningham’s catch: Four years after being victimized by Tyree, the Patriots fell prey to an amazing 38-yard completion from Eli Manning to Manningham with 3: 39 to go on the Giants’ game-winning drive of Super Bowl 46. Manningham barely got his feet down at midfield, a play the Patriots unsuccessfully challenged.
19. Jackie Smith’s drop: The Hall of Fame tight end, wide open in the end zone, dropped a perfect pass from Cowboys QB Roger Staubach in Super Bowl 13 that would have knotted the game 21-21, prompting broadcaster Verne Lundquist to exclaim, “Bless his heart, he’s got to be the sickest man in America.” Yep. The Cowboys would eventually lose to the Steelers 35-31.
20. 2-3 Jet Chip Wasp: Trailing by 10 with more than half the fourth quarter expired and facing a third-and-15 from his own 35-yard line in Super Bowl 54, Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes knew his team was backed into a corner. But he suggested this play call, which required WR Tyreek Hill to run a late-developing route deep into San Francisco’s zone coverage. Mahomes took the snap and had to drop 14 yards into the pocket in order to evade the 49ers’ relentless pass rush, then heaved the ball toward Hill, who’d cut toward the sideline to find a soft spot in the zone. The result was a 44-yard completion that set up a Mahomes TD pass three plays later and opened the floodgates for K.C.’s belated 21-point outburst and first championship in 50 years.
21. Julian Edelman’s shoestring snatch: The Patriots’ slot man extraordinaire snared a ball that was deflected (and nearly intercepted) by Falcons CB Robert Alford microns above the turf, extending New England’s game-tying drive after the team had fallen behind 28-3 in the second half of Super Bowl 51. It was also a welcome turn of events to Pats fans, who’d suffered through script-flipping catches by Tyree and Manningham.
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SUPER BOWL WINNE