4) Jake Delhomme 85-yard TD to Mushin Muhammed, Super Bowl XXXVIII

This Super Bowl between the Panthers and the Patriots had to be one of the most bizarre ever. Janet Jackson’s breast was a key component. The first half dragged on for three to four days as nothing happened. The Patriots seemed completely disinterested in beating an inferior Panthers team that had shocked the Eagles in the NFC title game. But in the second half, all heck broke loose. In fact, it went from an NFL title game to the championship game of the WAC. Big touchdown passes, open receivers, two-point conversions - it didn’t feel like the Super Bowl at all. This was the play that defined that as Jake Delhomme hit a ridiculous deep touchdown to Mushin Muhammed. It was just so odd. When have the Patriots ever given up a play like this in the postseason? Weren’t the Panthers supposed to be a terrible offensive team? Just a wild play in a wild game.

3) Ty Law’s TD interception, Super Bowl XXXVI



As I mentioned in my piece on this Super Bowl, Ty Law’s interception changed everything. It was just such a beautiful play too as he read the play perfectly, cut inside the receiver and strolled down the sideline untouched for six. What makes this play so great is how it literally changed the history of football. Heavy stuff, right? Think about it: the Patriots do not beat the Rams without this play. In fact, the Lovie Smith-coached Rams defense kept the Pats under wraps for most of the game. The Rams offense finally figured it out by the 4th quarter. Without this play, the Pats lose. Do the Pats become a dynasty? Do they return to win two more Super Bowls? Does Tom Brady get bronzed and have sex with supermodels? The answer to all three is no, making this the most important play in recent Super Bowl memory. Yep, Vinatieri doesn’t get a chance to win the game without Ty Law.

2) Don Beebe strips Leon Lett, Super Bowl XXVII

We all know the play. Stupid Cowboys DT Leon Lett recovers a fumble late in the Cowboys’ blowout of the Bills. He strolls his fat ass down the sideline and thinks he has a touchdown. Because he’s obese and stupid, he drops the ball to below his knee in some sort of bizarre taunting/celebration thing. Little does he know that Bills receiver Don Beebe has not given up on the play and strips the ball from Lett’s chubby little fingers right before the goal line. It made Don Beebe a household name and he was held up as an inspiration to Little League coaches as a reason to never give up on a play or on a game. Sadly, it reinforced the fact that the Bills sucked and their best Super Bowl play was preventing the Cowboys from dropping 59 points on them. 52 points is oh so much better. And it reinforced the fact that no one really liked the brash Cowboys, much like no one liked Jimmy Johnson’s brash University of Miami teams. Except for the little fact that they always won.



1) Kurt Warner to Issac Bruce, Super Bowl XXXIV

Hands down, my favorite play in Super Bowl history. The Rams were in year 1 of the “Greatest Show on Turf” and made it cool to huck the ball around the field again. It wasn’t quite the run’n’shoot but it was pretty close. In fact, Warner described the offense as similar to Arena Football with quick reads and quick throws. Anyway, the Titans had made a memorable comeback to tie the game at 16 with just over two minutes to go. For all the credit Tom Brady gets for his victory over the Rams, where’s the love for the Rams in this game? With the game tied, the Rams throw it deep on the first play and score a 73-yard touchdown that proved to be the difference. Now THAT’s how you play football! Game tied, title on the line, you go with your best play. It just turned out that the Rams’ best play was throwing the ball and that’s exactly what they did. It stunned the crowd, which had rallied behind the remarkable Steve McNair and the Titans, and made Kurt Warner the best story in Super Bowl history. Everyone remembers Kevin Dyson coming up a yard short on the last play, everyone forgets why Dyson needed to score a touchdown.