- Super Bowl LI – New England Patriots vs. Atlanta Falcons, Feb. 5, 2017
Super Bowl 51 became known as the “28-3” game after Tom Brady led the Patriots to their fifth Super Bowl championship by making a historical 25-point comeback. The underdog Atlanta Falcons seemed to be blowing out the Patriots on the way to their first Super Bowl win. After a touchdown by the Falcons with eight minutes left in the third quarter, the Patriots got the ball and began their comeback. A mix of luck and perseverance helped the Patriots cut the lead to eight, and after a sack and holding call, the Falcons got pushed out of field goal range and forced to punt.
After a miraculous catch by Julian Edelman to extend the drive, the Patriots scored a touchdown with 57 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Brady then threw a two-point conversion pass to Danny Amendola to tie the score at 28-28, completing a 25-point comeback. In overtime, the Patriots won the toss and elected to receive the ball, then marched down the field and scored a touchdown to win the Super Bowl, 34-28. Brady won his fifth ring and cemented the Patriots as one of, if not the greatest, dynasties in sports history. This was the largest comeback in Super Bowl history and was the most thrilling Super Bowl ever.
- Super Bowl XLII – New England Patriots vs. New York Giants, Feb. 3, 2008
Super Bowl 42 became known as the “Helmet Catch game” and was the biggest upset in NFL history. The 16-0 New England Patriots came into the Super Bowl looking to become the second team in NFL history to maintain a perfect season and only needed to beat the 10-6 New York Giants to accomplish the feat. The game began with a quick field goal by the Giants, followed by a touchdown by the Patriots in the first quarter. The next two quarters would be scoreless until the fourth quarter, when the Giants scored a touchdown to reclaim the lead. New England then drove down the field to score a touchdown, leaving the Giants down by four with two minutes and 39 seconds left.
On a third-and-five with the game on the line, it looked like Eli Manning would be sacked, but he was able to escape and throw the ball downfield to David Tyree, who made an unbelievable catch by securing the ball against his helmet. The Giants ended up scoring a touchdown and beat the Patriots 17-14, making it the most improbable Super Bowl win ever.
- Super Bowl XLIII – Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Arizona Cardinals, Feb. 1, 2009
Super Bowl 43 was a matchup between the 12-4 Steelers and the 9-7 Cardinals. It was a game full of superstars. On the Steelers, players like Ben Roethlisberger and Troy Polamalu dominated the field. On the Cardinals, stars like Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald were trying to lead the Cardinals to their first title. The Steelers took an early 10-0 lead, but in the second quarter, the Cardinals scored a touchdown to make the score 10-7. With 18 seconds left in the first half, James Harrison intercepted a pass from Warner and ran it back 100 yards to score a touchdown and take a 10-point lead for the Steelers into halftime. The Steelers extended their lead to 20-7 in the third quarter, but the Cardinals fought back in the fourth, with two touchdowns and a safety to take the lead 23-20 with two minutes and 37 seconds left in the game. The Steelers got the ball back, drove down the field and on second and Goal, Roethlisberger threw a pass to the back corner of the endzone to Sanantonio Holmes, who made a tremendous toe tap catch to win the Super Bowl 27-23. The game became known for that catch, with some coining it as the “Tampa Toe Tap,” and it cemented the game as one of the best of all time.
- Super Bowl XLIX – New England Patriots vs. Seattle Seahawks, Feb. 1, 2015
The 12-4 Patriots played the 12-4 Seahawks in Super Bowl 49. The game was back and forth during the first half, with both teams scoring two touchdowns and the score was tied 14-14 at halftime. After a field goal and a touchdown by Seattle in the third quarter, the score was 24-14 at the start of the fourth. The Patriots fired back with another two touchdowns, leaving the Seahawks down by four with two minutes left in the game. The Seahawks put together a great drive that included an improbable catch off of Jermaine Kearse’s foot to set the Seahawks up in the red zone. After a run by Marshawn Lynch, two yards separated the Seahawks and a Super Bowl Championship. Russel Wilson dropped back to pass and threw the ball into the hands of Patriots defender Malcolm Butler, ending the game and winning the Super Bowl for the Patriots. The playcall became controversial as many fans thought that the obvious choice was to run the ball with the best running back in the league, Marshawn Lynch, instead of putting the ball in danger by throwing it. The play went down as one of the worst playcalls in history and robbed the Seahawks of back-to-back Super Bowl wins.
- Super Bowl XXXIV – St. Louis Rams vs. Tennessee Titans, Jan. 30, 2000
In Super Bowl 34, the 13-3 Rams faced off against the 13-3 Titans. The game started slowly and was a very defensive first half; the Rams attempted five field goals, only making three of them, and went into the half up 9-0. In the third quarter, the Rams blocked a field goal and scored a touchdown to extend their lead to 16-0. The Titans then came back and scored two touchdowns to make the score 16-13 midway through the fourth quarter. The Titans got the ball back and tied the game 16-16 with a late field goal. With two minutes left, Kurt Warner threw a 73-yard touchdown to Isaac Bruce to regain the lead 23-16, leaving the Titans one minute and 45 seconds left to score. The Titans drove down the field and were on the 10-yard line with six seconds left. On the final play, the pass was completed to Kevin Dyson, and he was tackled at the one-yard line as he reached out for the goal line, ending the game. The play was coined as “The Longest Yard” as the Titans were a yard away from winning the Super Bowl and robbing the Rams of their Cinderella story win.
