Recalling Those Super Bowl Plays That Had Fans in Amazement
The Super Bowl is by far and near the most important yearly spectacle in the world of professional sports. Even if you’re not a fan of the game, the chances of tuning in to watch the event go down are high.
Once locked in, the chances of coming across a highlight-reel style play might not be as ample. When they occur, it’s almost as if the world stops for a second to make everyone wonder what just happened.
Be it a catch, a tackle, a run, or anything, it only takes one play to make or break a game.
Each play ends up taking a completely different level of importance, especially as the game clock continues to tick down.
As Super Bowl LVII continues to get near, let’s recall some of those Super Bowl plays that left us trying to understand what had just happened, all while gagging because of the amazement.
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Edelman’s Catch Against the Falcons
I’m not going to say it. Seriously, I’m not going to say it. 28-3. Ok, sorry Falcons fans, but whenever any sort of memories come from Super Bowl LI between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons, they always end up falling back to 28-3.
After holding a rather comfortable lead, the Falcons saw their chances of scoring their first Super Bowl title slip out of their hands in one of the most dramatic choke games. Mounting a massive comeback behind Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, and the rest of New England’s offense, it was Julian Edelman came up with the most important play.
Trailing by eight points and with 2:28 eft, Brady passed the ball down to a sort-of-open Edelman, who would benefit from a ball deflection coming off one of Atlanta’s defenders to dive back for the ball, getting his hands under it at the right moment to secure the pass and a first down.
What would ensue? The Pats would score after four more plays, nailing the subsequent two-point conversion and sending the game to OT, a first in Super Bowl history. Later in OT, the Pats would score once more, thus completing the epic comeback.
“The Tackle”
Everybody remembers that St. Louis Rams team from the late ‘90s and early 2000s for one thing, and one thing only. Ok no, make it two. One, having one of the most dominant offenses in the history of the game. The other, the nickname that offense had, “The Greatest Show on Turf.”
You know what, let’s make it three because St. Louis’ final play to win Super Bowl XXXIV against the Tennessee Titans might be on that list as well.
With seconds left, and with Tennessee’s offense led by Steve McNair and Eddie George firing on all cylinders, it was St Louis’ linebacker, Mike Jones, who would end up becoming the “Titan killer” that night.
On the last play from St Louis’ 10-yard line, McNair would make a complete short pass play to Kevin Dyson. The receiver was one yard short of the end zone and taking the game to overtime when he would be stopped by Jones in a tackle that will always live in the minds of both Rams and Titans fans.
If somebody says that clutch plays only happen on offense, show them a clip of “The Tackle” and end that conversation.
“Philly Special”
I’ve never been a fan of Nick Foles, and I probably never will be. The guy doesn’t give me anything to work with to hype myself up watching him play. But, I’ve always been a person to gives credit where credit is due.
In Philadelphia’s first Super Bowl win, former Eagles coach Doug Pederson did not hold back any punches or plays in his path to try and beat Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. Toward the end of the second quarter in their Super Bowl LII encounter, Philadelphia found themselves facing a fourth-and-goal.
Cleverly outsmarting Belichick’s masterful defensive mind, Pederson had Foles and his offense run the “Philly Special.” On the play, Foles would slide right, having OL Jason Kelce snap the ball to RB Corey Clement, who then pitched the ball to Trey Burton, leading to the tight end hitting a wide-open Folesifor an Eagles TD.
If that was the one memory I could keep in my mind of Foles, then so be it, especially with how foolish New England’s defense ended up looking. Imagine getting punked by a backup QB, who caught a pass from a third-string TE, who happened to get the ball from an undrafted rookie RB. Or don’t imagine it, there are plenty of videos on it.
Butler’s Interception
Marshawn Lynch was ready to run through a brick wall if necessary to get the score. Even a blind man with zero knowledge whatsoever about professional football saw that the right choice was to go with Lynch.
Apparently, though, former Seahawks OC Darren Bevell decided it would be a better idea to go with a pass play on New England’s one-yard line, with 23 seconds left on the clock, on second and goal.
So, what happened?
Rookie CB Malcolm Butler would go on to stop Seattle’s WR Ricardo Lockette in his route, snatching a poor Russell Wilson pass and killing Seattle’s hopes of winning the game and starting up a title-ridden dynasty.
I sometimes wonder if Bevell still thinks of that call he made, and how badly he screwed up. If he doesn’t he should, because we all know, Seattle should’ve run with Lynch!
Tyree’s Helmet Catch
Not many people may remember David Tyree or his NFL career. I know I’m one of those people. But if there’s something I’ll always remember, was Tyree’s legendary helmet catch that would help the Giants trump New England’s attempt at finishing their 2007 season with a 9-0 record.
This play had everything a football fan would want when talking about thrills and nail-biting action. On a third-and-five pass play, Eli Manning would fend off a plethora of Patriots defenders, dodging tackles and escaping the grasp of two players who were pulling him by his jersey to launch a 32-yard bomb down the middle of the field.
Surrounded by New England’s secondary, including Rodney Harrison, Tyree would outjump his opponents, catch the ball and pin it against his helmet on his way down, all while Harrison fell on top of him, trying to snatch the ball away.
Fair play, pandemonium, and it would help the Giants march on to score the winning touchdown to spoil New England’s plans for a perfect season.
