Sunday marks 60 years of Super Bowls, and it also marks 11 years since the Seahawks and Patriots faced off in Super Bowl 49. That classic game delivered one of the greatest defensive plays in history — Malcolm Butler’s game-saving interception of Russell Wilson.
To honor both, we asked our eight football writers — from The New York Post and the newly launched California Post — to rank the 10 best plays in Super Bowl history. Each voter also submitted an explanation of his ballot.
The individual ballots and the collective results are here. We’ll see if any moments Sunday night make a bid to join the list in years to come.
Overall results
1. David Tyree’s helmet catch (77 points)
2. Malcolm Butler’s game-saving interception (70)
3. Santonio Holmes’ toe-tapping touchdown (51)
4. Mike Jones’ final-play tackle of Kevin Dyson at the 1-yard line (43)
5. James Harrison’s 100-yard pick six (31)
6t. The Philly Special: Nick Foles catches TD pass (24)
6t. Julian Edelman’s juggling catch (24)
8. Joe Montana’s TD pass to John Taylor (17)
9. John Elway’s helicopter dive (16)
10. Marcus Allen’s reverse-field 74-yard TD run (14)
Also receiving votes: Lynn Swann’s catch over Mark Washington (10) … Adam Vinatieri’s game-winning FG (10) … Mike Bass’ blocked FG/INT of Garo Yepremian (9) … John Riggins’ run to glory (8) … Joe Namath’s guarantee (7) … Eli Manning’s pass to Mario Manningham (6) … Scott Norwood wide right (6) … Tracy Porter’s 74-yard pick six vs. Peyton Manning to seal Saints’ title (5) … Patrick Mahomes’ bomb to Tyreek Hill (4) … Lynn Swann’s catch over Mel Renfro (4) … Mark Ingram’s tackle-breaking first-down catch-and-run (3) … Saints open second half with onside kick (1)
Vinny Bonsignore
1. Tyree’s helmet catch
2. Allen reverses field
3. Butler’s game-saving INT
4. Namath’s guarantee
5. Norwood wide right
6. Holmes’ toe-tapping TD
7. Elway’s helicopter dive
8. Bass’ blocked FG/INT
9. The Philly Special
10. Jones tackle at the 1
Eli Manning to Tyree is poetry in motion. Allen majestically weaving from one side of the field to the other is captivating. Broadway Joe’s guarantee was a defining moment. Scott Norwood’s missed FG is proof there are no sure things. I witnessed the Butler interception in person. Still can’t believe it. At that stage of Elway’s career, an epic play. Yepremian is forever hilarious. Holmes’ catch is as clutch a play as you will ever see. The Eagles running a trick play with Foles remains a memorable call. Does The Greatest Show of Turf win a Super Bowl without Jones’ tackle?
Mark Cannizzaro
1. Butler’s game-saving INT
2. Jones tackle at the 1
3. Holmes’ toe-tapping TD
4. Tyree’s helmet catch
5. Montana to Taylor
7. Manning to Manningham
8. Vinatieri’s SB-winning FG
9. Porter’s pick six of P. Manning
10. Riggins’ run to glory
As you can see here, I gravitate toward moments that were either decisive plays to win games or monumental late plays that shaped the result. The Butler pick, the Jones tackle and the Holmes catch all provided the ultimate drama in the sport’s ultimate game at the ultimate moment.
Brian Costello
1. Tyree’s helmet catch
2. Butler’s game-saving INT
3. Holmes’ toe-tapping TD
4. Harrison’s 100-yard pick six
5. The Philly Special
6. Jones tackle at the 1
7. Swann over Renfro
8. Allen reverses field
9. Riggins’ run to glory
10. Montana to Taylor
The David Tyree catch is the most improbable, impossible play in the biggest spot and that’s why it gets the top spot for me. It’s hard to rank anything ahead of game-winning plays like Malcolm Butler’s pick and Santonio Holmes’ amazing catch, but I’ve never seen anything else like Tyree’s catch.
Michael Duarte
1. Tyree’s helmet catch
2. Butler’s game-saving INT
3. Holmes’ toe-tapping TD
4. Edelman’s juggling catch
5. Jones tackle at the 1
6. Elway’s helicopter dive
7. Vinatieri’s SB-winning FG
8. The Philly Special
9. Montana to Taylor
10. Saints’ onside kick
The older I get, the more I start to realize that my favorite Super Bowl moments aren’t always the flashiest or prettiest, it’s the ones that stayed with me. Tyree’s helmet catch is a great example. Not only was it an “OMG” moment, but it came when everything was on the line. A game-winning drive to topple the Patriots quest for perfection. Nobody, including myself, thought the Giants would win that game. Malcolm Butler’s interception in the end zone is right there as well because it felt like the football gods were changing their minds mid-sentence. Finally, as a kid growing up I rooted for Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and the 49ers. “The Drive,” and the TD catch by Taylor remind me of my childhood. The rest of the list lives in that same space: fond memories, a game of inches, courage, chaos, and unflinching belief.
Ryan Dunleavy
1. Tyree’s helmet catch
2. Jones tackle at the 1
3. Butler’s game-saving INT
4. Holmes’ toe-tapping TD
5. Harrison’s 100-yard pick six
6. The Philly Special
7. Edelman’s juggling catch
8. Vinatieri’s SB-winning FG
9. Riggins’ run to glory
10. Swann over Washington
Timing matters, so my first four all happened in the final 75 seconds of one-possession games. “Helmet Catch” wins out because it was a great play on both ends by Eli Manning and David Tyree. The rest of the list is a mix of ingenuity, sheer determination, acrobatics and clutch. Just missing the cut were the Saints’ onside kick out of halftime in Super Bowl 44 and Max McGee’s one-handed catch (before that was cool) in Super Bowl I.
Paul Schwartz
1. Tyree’s helmet catch
2. Butler’s game-saving INT
3. Holmes’ toe-tapping TD
4. Elway’s helicopter dive
5. Jones tackle at the 1
6. Harrison’s 100-yard pick six
7. Edelman’s juggling catch
8. John Riggins’ run to glory
9. The Philly Special
10. Montana to Taylor
There are more elegant and precise plays in Super Bowl history but David Tyree’s helmet catch is the most improbable and clutch. And the grab was not the most astonishing aspect to the play. Eli Manning escaping pressure and a near-sack is the stuff of legend — and endless good-natured ribbing from his teammates.
Steve Serby
1. Tyree’s helmet catch
2. Butler’s game-saving INT
3. Harrison’s 100-yard pick six
4. Holmes’ toe-tapping TD
5. The Philly Special
6. Jones tackle at the 1
7. Edelman’s juggling catch
8. Porter’s pick six of P. Manning
9. Allen reverses field
I can’t fathom any play more worthy of No. 1 than David Tyree’s unfathomable miracle catch aided by his helmet with Rodney Harrison draped over him on the Giants’ winning TD drive in Super Bowl 42 against the Perfect Patriots. Eli Manning’s Great Escape from what appeared to be a certain sack enabled him to heave his 32-yard bomb. The Philly Special was so bold and so unique and it propelled the Eagles — and Philly — to their first Super Bowl championship. Super Bowl 43 was among the most exciting and that’s why it boasts two in the Top 5.
Mike Vaccaro
1. Tyree’s helmet catch
2. Swann over Washington
3. Butler’s game-saving INT
4. Montana to Taylor
5. Bass’ blocked FG/INT
6. Harrison’s 100-yard pick six
7. Mahomes to Hill bomb
8. Ingram breaking tackles
9. Jones tackle at the 1
10. Manning to Manningham
It took an absurd helmet catch that is the biggest reason for the greatest upset of them all to supplant Swann, the most-watched single Super Bowl play of all time. Hard ones to leave out: Jermaine Kearse’s tumbling catch just before the Butler play; Otis Taylor TD in Super Bowl 4; Phil Simms-to-Mark Bavaro-to-Phil McConkey.
