Top 10 clutch moments in Super Bowl history

The National Football League is one of the oldest professional sports leagues in the world. It boasts a 103-year history, however, the first few decades of its existence evolved and shaped it into the league it is today.

The Super Bowl era began much later. The first big game was played in 1967 after the merger of the NFL and the competing AFL (American Football League).

The leagues did not decide to call the championship game the Super Bowl. The game got its name from the late Lamar Hunt, the owner of the Kansas City Chiefs who referred to the big game as the Super Bowl.

This name surfaced in his head as his children used to play with a Superball toy and Hunt improvised upon it. When the media picked up on this name, they began to run with it and since then, the AFL-NFL Championship game is referred to as the Super Bowl.

There have been a total of 58 Super Bowls played so far. The battle between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles will mark the 59th Championship game.

There have been a few games through the nearly six-decade history of the big game that stands out. These are games that came down to the wire and had fans eating their nails rather than the snacks in front of them because of how close they were.

10. Super Bowl XIII

Matchup: Pittsburgh Steelers (35) vs. Dallas Cowboys (31)

The 1978 season’s Super Bowl was played between the reigning champions, the Cowboys who were on a quest to be the first franchise to win three Lombardi trophies, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Led by Roger Staubach, Dallas ended on the wrong side of history at the end of the night.

Despite a strong effort from the Cowboys, they struggled to overcome dropped passes, and turnovers, and the final blow was two questionable penalties in the fourth quarter, which allowed Pittsburgh to score two touchdowns in 19 seconds! Dallas did not back down as they responded with two touchdowns of their own in the final minutes of the game, but it was not enough to win.

The game is widely regarded as being the greatest Super Bowl matchup because of the intensity and uncertainty that prevailed until the final minute. Pittsburgh’s Terry Bradshaw won the Super Bowl MVP Award for his 318-yard and 4-touchdown performance, a record at the time, and Dallas made history by becoming the first defending champion to lose in the Super Bowl and the first team to lose the big game despite scoring 30 or more points.

9. Super Bowl LII

Matchup: New England Patriots (33) vs. Philadelphia Eagles (41)

The 2018 Super Bowl will be historic for many reasons. It was the first Lombardi win for the city of Philadelphia and it marked the perfect ending to a dream season by Nick Foles.

After Carson Wentz’s season-ending injury, the city of Philadelphia was grim because, to them, the playoff aspirations were over. However, Nick Foles emerged as an unexpected hero and led the Eagles to a win over one of the greatest Head Coaching-quarterback duo in NFL history.

This game is historic because of the number of records that were set. Both teams gained over 1,151 yards through the game, the most in any NFL game, it witnessed just one punt in a Super Bowl, and for New England, the team set a record for the fewest punts by a team in the big game.

Despite a solid outing from Tom Brady, it was the night the Eagles served New England the Philly Special. The team beat the reigning Super Bowl champions by a margin of 8 points and Nick Foles went on to win the MVP Award.

8. Super Bowl XXXVI

Matchup: New England Patriots (20) vs. St. Louis Rams (17)

The 2002 Super Bowl marked the start of a dynasty for the New England Patriots. The team entered the game as underdogs and were poised to go up against Kurt Warner and an offense deemed to be The Greatest Show on Turf. For a first-year starter like Tom Brady, it was a Herculean task to ensure his offense was able to compete blow-for-blow with Warner and the Rams.

Boy, did this game not disappoint. The game was not close in the third quarter, with New England leading 17-3. The Rams had turned the ball over thrice and the Patriots made them pay for each of those mistakes. In the fourth quarter, a fumble by the Rams was returned for a touchdown by New England, however, it was negated due to a holding penalty.

This call served as a boon for Warner and the Rams’ offense, who quickly gained lost ground by scoring two consecutive touchdowns. This put the game at a critical juncture, with the score tied at 17 and just 1:30 left on the clock. New England had utilized all of their timeouts and they needed to at least get into the field goal range.

This game put Brady’s composure in tough situations on display as he set the team up downfield to get within 48 yards of scoring a field goal. Then came the moment of truth. The kicker Adam Vinatieri went on to nail the 48-yarder and lead New England to its first Super Bowl win.

7. Super Bowl XXIII

Matchup: San Francisco 49ers (20) vs. Cincinnati Bengals (16)

The 1989 Super Bowl is one that immortalized Jerry Rice as one of the greatest wide receivers to play the game. The highlight of the game was San Francisco’s defense, that restricted Cincinnati to just one touchdown for the whole night.

There were a total of five field goals scored the entire night. However, in the final minutes of the game, San Francisco was down 13-16 and they gained possession on their 8-yard line. The events that ensued allowed them to secure the win. In 3 minutes, Joe Montana led the team for 92 yards down the field and with 34 seconds left in the game, he connected with John Taylor to score the game-winning touchdown.

Jerry Rice secured the MVP Award with a record 215-yard performance for 1 touchdown.

6. Super Bowl XLVII

Matchup: Baltimore Ravens (34) vs. San Francisco 49ers (31)

This game is better known as the ‘Har-Bowl’ because of the bond between the Head Coaches of both teams. The Ravens were coached by John Harbaugh and the 49ers had his brother Jim Harbaugh coaching them. Both franchises remained undefeated in the Super Bowl, with Baltimore having a 1-0 record in the big game and San Francisco featuring a 5-0 record.

It was the only game in NFL history where two brothers were the HCs of both teams facing off in the big game. The matchup began with Baltimore dominating the first half of the game. The score was 21-6 headed into halftime, and Baltimore continued to dominate in the second half, increasing the gap to 28-6.

However, the game was suspended for 34 minutes due to a power outage, and this break served as a boon for San Francisco. The franchise rallied and came back to score 17 straight points to bring the score down to 28-23. The score then increased to 34-29 in favor of Baltimore, with two minutes left in the game.

The 49ers had a chance to take the lead as they were at Baltimore’s 7-yard line, but they wound up turning the ball on downs. This marked the end of the game and Ravens’ Joe Flacco, who had 287 yards and 3 touchdowns, went on to win the MVP Award.

5. Super Bowl XXV

Matchup: New York Giants (20) vs. Buffalo Bills (19)

The 1991 Super Bowl had the closest ending to a championship game in NFL history. While many remember this night for Whitney Houston’s unforgettable rendition of The Star Spangled Banner, the ending was rather dramatic.

The Buffalo Bills’ had the opportunity to secure the win, but kicker Scott Norwood wound up kicking the ball far-right. This was the closest the team came to winning a Lombardi Trophy, and it was the only championship game that was decided by a one-point margin.

The Giants’ offense held onto the ball for 40 minutes and 33 seconds, a record. The team’s defensive game plan to stop Buffalo is considered a masterstroke by their defensive coordinator at the time, Bill Belichick. It has been inducted into the Hall of Fame for its efficacy and it helped him to secure a Head Coaching gig with the Patriots.

4. Super Bowl XXXVIII

Matchup: Carolina Panthers (29) vs. New England Patriots (32)

The 2004 Super Bowl was dubbed as the Greatest Super Bowl of all time by Peter King. The game was known for its highs and lows, with the first and third quarters being completely scoreless. For 26 minutes of the game, neither team scored, and this became the only Super Bowl to feature two silent quarters.

However, the quarters that did witness action wound up becoming nail-biting experiences for viewers. The second quarter featured a total of 24 points and the final quarter accounted for 37 points in total between both teams. With under a minute left in the game, the score was tied 29-29.

The Patriots had possession of the ball and Tom Brady went on to bring them to the 41-yard field goal range. Adam Vinatieri then came in and kicked a field goal to give the Patriots the lead and subsequent win.

3. Super Bowl XLII

Matchup: New York Giants (17) vs. New England Patriots (14)

Up until this point, Tom Brady had made a name for himself as a legitimate threat in the Super Bowl. However, this was the first of two times that Eli Manning would go on to beat him and earn a name for himself as his kryptonite.

New England had bested the Giants earlier in the regular season, winning by a field goal. However, New York was determined to exact revenge in this game. The most memorable play of the night was David Tyree‘s one-handed helmet catch. The wideout caught the ball with a single hand and pinned it to his helmet so that he could hold onto it.

The 32-yard first down conversion saved the Giants’ offense as it subsequently led to conversions by Steve Smith and Plaxico Burress who went on to score a touchdown with 35 seconds left in the game.

New York was down 14-10 in the final minutes and they took the lead to beat New England 17-14. Super Bowl XLII is revered as one of the greatest games in league history because both defenses were lights out. However, Eli Manning was able to outsmart Belichick’s defense and went on to finish the game with 255 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception, making him the MVP of the game.

2. Super Bowl XLIX

Matchup: New England Patriots (28) vs. Seattle Seahawks (24)

The 2015 Super Bowl is proof that, when preparation meets opportunity, success is a guarantee. The reigning Super Bowl Champs, the Seattle Seahawks were seeking to win their second straight title, however, they were going up against the New England Patriots.

Fortunately, Seattle’s strong defense was capable of shutting even the best of offenses down. The game came down to the wire and wound up being a one-possession matchup. It is remembered as being one of the biggest what-ifs in NFL history due to a last-minute decision taken by Pete Carroll.

Seattle trailed 28-24 and with two minutes left in the game, the Russell Wilson-led offense was just one yard shy from scoring a touchdown to take the lead and subsequently win their second straight Super Bowl.

The rational decision that anybody who was watching this game would have taken in this situation would be to hand the ball off to star running back Marshawn Lynch. However, HC Carroll decided to take a gamble and ran a passing play. Russell Wilson passed the ball into the endzone except Patriots’ Malcolm Butler jumped in to intercept the ball and put an end to the Seahawks’ hopes of winning the game.

The call by Carroll is chastised by members of the Seahawks squad and fans to date. Malcolm Butler’s name was immortalized after this play as he sealed New England’s victory. The MVP of the game, however, was Tom Brady who won the big award for the third time.

1. Super Bowl LI

Matchup: New England Patriots (34) vs. Atlanta Falcons (28)

The Falcons-Patriots Super Bowl has to be the greatest game of all time. The Patriots offense led by Tom Brady redefined clutch as they orchestrated a historic comeback after entering halftime 3-21.

New England got off to a rough start as their offense was not able to put points on the board. The Falcons, on the other hand, went on to score three straight touchdowns. By the time third quarter of the game commenced, fans thought the game was a wrap because it had become hard to fathom the possibility of the Patriots orchestrating a comeback. Falcons’ owner Arthur Blank had begun celebrating and could not stop smiling as he watched his team decimate Bill Belichick’s defense.

However, the unthinkable happened. Tom Brady and the Patriots went on a 25-point scoring run, taking it one play at a time while the team’s defense was able to keep Atlanta from scoring any more points. This resulted in the game heading for overtime. The Pats won the toss and chose to receive the ball. They wound up scoring a touchdown and successfully completed the comeback.

This is the greatest Super Bowl of all time because over 30 team and individual records were broken or tied during the game. Tom Brady went on to win his fourth Super Bowl MVP and became the oldest player in league history to do so at the age of 39.