The 10 Greatest Plays in Super Bowl History

We’re so durn close to Super Bowl Sunday! Which means we’re almost as close to “Hangover Monday.” For those of you who do make the brave trek into work the day after the Super Bowl, you may find that one play or event dominates the conversation more than any other.

But that’s just how the human brain works; after a while, we distill an entire night of action into one iconic moment. Be it the “Leon Lett is an idiot” Bowl, or the “Janet Jackson’s boob” Bowl, eventually every Super Bowl will be remembered for one or two iconic moments and nothing else.

This list looks to honor the best of those moments: plays that don’t let you forget where you were when you saw them.

These are our top plays in Super Bowl history.

(As always if you disagree with our list, keep it to yourself! Or you could use that comment section. We did put it there for a reason.)

Honorable Mention. Super Bowl XLIX: Kearse of the Seahawks

The 2014 Seahawks’ passing game was about as respected as a Youtube comment, and for Seattle, Kearse was the proverbial Caps Lock. He had reeled in just 38 catches for one touchdown in the regular season, very much warranting the criticism the Hawk receivers drew. But even after catching a 35-yard bomb to win the NFC Championship in overtime, Kearse had more tricks left for the game’s biggest stage.

With a minute left in Super Bowl 49, Kearse made a catch that had Al Michaels speechless (and Al Michaels has seen some things). In fact, if the Seahawks had gone on to win the game, Kearse’s bouncing ball routine probably ranks top three. But, as we all know, another play stole the show in the end (*cough* it’s number 4! *cough*).

10. Super Bowl XX: The Fridge

It’s hard to get football fans to agree on anything, but if there is one play that is pure ecstasy for all viewers, it’s the fat-guy-touchdown. Either you love when fat guys score or you are not a real person!

So when the Bears put William “Refrigerator” Perry in the backfield in Super Bowl 20, the whole world got its wish. The 335 lb defensive tackle plowed through the Patriot defense, scoring a one-yard touchdown unlike any in the history of the game. Granted, the touchdown made it a 44-3 game, and cost the legendary Walter Payton a chance to score in a Super Bowl; but it was also the iconic moment of one of the funnest teams of all time.

(Also, I’m a super-biased Bears fan!)

9. Super Bowl XLVII: Jones owns the home-run record

When the NFL moved the kickoffs up to the 35-yard-line, it made the opening kickoff of Super Bowls one of the most anti-climactic moments in sports. But while it increased the occurrence of touchbacks (a known fan favorite), it also meant that, when returns did happen, they were from deep, which gave Baltimore’s Jacoby Jones a few extra yards of playoff heroics in Super Bowl 47.

But first, Jones ripped the top off the vaunted 49ers D on a beautiful catch-and-fall down-then-get-back-up-and-run. As if that massive gut-punch to San Fran wasn’t enough, in the opening to the second half, Jones kicked the Niners square in the nuts.

His 108-yard kick return immediately wasn’t just a Super Bowl record, but an entire postseason record. Jones ended his Super Bowl with the two longest plays of the game and a spot on our list. However, his return was just the second-best kickoff moment in the big game.

8. Super Bowl XLIV: Saints “ambush” the Colts

The New Orleans Saints became the first team in Super Bowl history to come back from a ten-point deficit to win. And they probably never would’ve achieved that had it not been for a gutsy call from Sean Payton. Trailing 10-6 entering the second half, Payton had almost half-an-hour to think about running a play the Saints had been practicing in the week leading up to the game: a surprise onside kick.

Kicking off to start the final half, Saints punter Thomas Morstead bounced a perfect ball towards the New Orleans sideline. The Saints came away with the football, and the momentum; they immediately took the ball down to regain a 13-10 lead in a game they would go on to win 31-17.

When you consider that a Colts offense led by Peyton Manning (in his prime) could’ve gotten the ball at the Saints 40-yard-line in a game they were largely dominating, it really was an unbelievable call from Payton. But the perfect execution is the reason it makes this list.

7. Super Bowl XLIII: Santonio Holmes’ toe-tapper

Nobody cheers for Goliath when he just flat out stomps on David. So the public wasn’t really behind the 2008 Steelers, who already had five Super Bowls to their name and entered Super Bowl 43 as heavy favorites against the trophy-less Cardinals. But Pittsburgh at least did the noble thing, treating football fans to the game of their lives before ultimately stealing what was rightfully theirs. And Santonio Holmes was the architect of that heist.

Trailing 23-20 and pinned at their own 12 with just two minutes to go, Holmes famously proclaimed he wanted the ball, and boy did he get it. Holmes had 73 receiving yards on the Steelers’ final drive, none more impressive than the play that sealed it. In a postseason where Larry Fitzgerald dominated the headlines, Holmes made the best catch of them all, aided by a pin-point throw by Ben Roethlisberger of course.

(Fun fact: that was Big Ben’s first touchdown pass in a Super Bowl.)

6. Super Bowl XVII: “The Diesel” powered win

Your kids will probably never believe you, but long ago, before Surface tablets or even instant replay, the run game was king in the NFL! If you wanted to win in the 70s and early 80s, you needed a running back to power your offense. Teams were winning with Hall-of-Famers like Tony Dorsett, Franco Harris, and Larry Csonka, not just sticking any old James Starks in their backfield and winning it all.

But even back then, old age was always a detriment to backs. John Riggins proved to be the exception. In Super Bowl 17, despite being 33 years old at the time, “the Diesel” led Washington’s offense with 166 rushing yards. The iconic moment came in the fourth quarter; trailing by four, the Redskins lined up to try to convert a fourth-and-one on the Miami 43- yard-line.

The play call was “70 chip.” The result: Riggins found an opening off tackle, dragged defensive back Don McNeal for about three yards, then dumped him on the way to a lead Washington would never relinquish.

That iconic run would go on to hold the title of best Super Bowl run … for all of one year.

5. Super Bowl XVIII: Marcus Allen steals the show

This time, Washington was on the wrong side of history, as Marcus Allen added the insult to an already damaging 38-9 loss in Super Bowl 18. Allen crushed the record Riggins set the year before with a dazzling 191-yard rushing performance. But it was his final touchdown that left the world in disbelief.

It was a play you would tell young running backs to never make. Allen took off left and saw safety Ken Coffey right in his face, so he spun around and reversed field. But thanks to his speed and drive, Allen found an opening on the right side and took off up the middle of the field for a 74-yard touchdown, removing any doubt of the final result.

It’s the best Super Bowl run ever, and given where the running back position is headed, it could hold that title for a long time.

4. Super Bowl XLIX: The Butler did it

Whether or not Pete Carroll electing to throw the ball was a stupid call, let us not understate how incredible the play that rocketed Malcolm Butler into instant stardom was. It was the perfect mix of great coaching by Bill Belichick and great execution by a player no one had ever heard of.

Apparently, the stacked receiver look that Seattle came out with was one that Butler got burned by in practice in the weeks leading up to the game. So even though he didn’t have much real game experience, Butler wasn’t going to get beat by that route again. He out-hustled Ricardo Lockette to the ball and, in the process, saved the Pats’ season.

It was the (second) greatest interception in Super Bowl history!

3. Super Bowl X: The Swann Dive

As I began constructing this list, I seriously debated doing a “top-ten Super Bowl plays” just for the Steelers. When you’ve been to eight title games and played in as many nail-biters, there are a lot of plays that have significance as well as excitement. But in terms of pure, freakish athleticism, Lynn Swann’s magical day in Super Bowl X ranks the highest.

Swann had a couple nice catches during his 161-yard afternoon, but none wowed the fans at home more than the aptly named “Swann Dive.” Sticking with a ball that should have been broken up, Swann made an incredible second effort, lunging after the rock on his way to the ground for a 53-yard completion.

Weirdly enough, the legendary catch didn’t even lead to points: the drive finished with a missed field goal and the Steelers trailed 10-7 at the half. But since Pittsburgh still pulled out the win, we can overlook that fact.

2. Super Bowl XLIII: James Harrison’s half-time show

Like I said above, the Steelers know how to make big plays and, in Super Bowl XLIII, big-man James Harrison made the biggest one. A pass rusher by trade, Harrison only has eight interceptions in his 13-year career. So it’s easy to understand why Kurt Warner didn’t expect the hulking linebacker to drop into coverage. But that’s exactly what he did when the Cardinals lined up to throw from the Steelers one-yard line with 18 seconds left in the first half.

Harrison picked off a pass intended for Anquan Boldin and took off toward the sidelines. But that’s where the play went from special to all-timer. With a fleet of blockers in front of him, Harrison trundled 100 yards to the endzone. While not exactly fleet-of-foot, he shook about three tacklers on the run-back and managed to score with no time left on the clock. He even eluded a last-ditch effort by Larry Fitzgerald to drag him down.

It was a stunning end to the first half, and Harrison absolutely needed the entire half to rest.

1. Super Bowl XLII: Manning to Tyree

What else would it be? No explanation needed.

(Photo credit: iammeltron (Originally uploaded to Flickr)[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/].)