#5.  Rodgers To Cook in NFC Divisional Game

In a game that was neck-to-neck until the final moments, “Bad Man” Aaron Rodgers threw one of the most impressive and clutch completions in his career on January 15, 2016.

With 35 seconds left, most Cowboy fans were preparing for an overtime battle. But Rodgers had different plans. After a pitch and catch to Ty Montgomery for 12 yards, Green Bay was on their 42-yard line. With the clock stopped at 21 seconds, the Packers had two timeouts. Rodgers was in shotgun with Montgomery to his right on first down. Even with protection, the Cowboys’ safety, Jeff Heath, came down and jumped off the edge to deliver a devastating blow to the blind side of Rodgers. Rodgers somehow held onto the ball and quickly called time-out to stop the clock at 18 seconds.

The Packers had 13 seconds to do something magical after an incomplete pass on third down. The Packers were in a 3×1 formation on third and 20. The Cowboys only rushed three and had a QB spy in the middle of the field. Rodgers snapped the ball and immediately saw the presser, so he rolled to his left, looked downfield for his receivers, rolled out a little farther to the sideline, and threw a strike 35 yards downfield on the left sideline for Jared Cook to drag his feet to stay in bounce.

The first referee on the field said it was incomplete, but a second referee ran down and called it a catch; it was confirmed after a referee review. Packers kicker Mason Crosby jogged out to kick a field goal to put the dagger in the heart of Texas, and Crosby delivered as time expired to give the Packers a ticket to the NFC Championship game.

#4. Rodgers to Cobb for the Divison

In Week 17 of the 2012–2013 season, the Green Bay Packers and their rival, the Chicago Bears, took the stage in Chicago, Illinois. The winner would represent the NFC North in the playoffs, and the loser would go home and start their offseason early.

In the biggest game of the year, the Bears and Packers were trading blows, hoping the other would not have an answer.

The game was 28-27 in favor of Chicago. Green Bay’s defense made Chicago go three and out to regain the ball with six minutes left. With the ball at midfield after a couple of fourth-down situations that the Packers got out of, the Bears were inching closer and closer to a playoff birth, and the MVP of the League had one more bullet in the chamber.

On fourth and eight, after a dropped pass by Jordy Nelson on third down, the Packers set up in a 3×1 formation with fullback John Kuhn next to Rodgers as protection. When the ball got snapped, Bear’s future Hall-of-Fame linebacker Julius Peppers was unblocked on the left side. Kuhn swapped sides and took Peppers’s legs out of under him to give Rodgers more time. Rodgers ran to his left, flipped his hips to the middle of the field, and floated the ball to Randell Cobb, who was wide open.

Cobb dove into the endzone to send the Packers to the playoffs. The Packers had their backs against the wall four times in this drive, and with the season on the line, Rodgers got his team out of trouble every time.

#3. The Helmet Catch

The New York Giants, led by Eli Manning, faced the undefeated New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. The players were low-scoring for the entire game, but the score did not detract from the late-game dramas.

Super Bowl XLII game was the first Super Bowl game with three fourth-quarter lead changes, and the only one to date. The Giants were down by four with 1:15 left in the game. On third down and five the Patriots brought pressure which Manning immediately felt.

The Patriots’ defensive ends grabbed Manning, Jarvis Green, and Richard Seymour but somehow slipped away and threw up a prayer, which wide receiver David Tyree answered.

Tyree pinned the ball against his helmet, hence the moment called “The Helmet Catch.” A few moments later, Manning threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress.

If Tyree had not made the 25-yard catch with the help of his helmet, the Giants would have had to convert on fourth down, and the Patriots would most likely be the second-ever undefeated team in NFL history. Tom Brady would have ended up with eight rings, and Randy Moss would not be ringless.

#2. Big Ben to Santiono Holmes

On February 1, 2009, the Pittsburgh Steelers faced the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, one of the most intense games in Super Bowl history.

Pittsburgh was in the driver’s seat for most of the game, with touchdowns from James Harrison and Gary Russell. The Arizona Cardinals scored 16 consecutive points in the fourth quarter to lead by three with 2:24 in the game. Ben Roethlisberger and the offense started the drive at their 23-yard line but got backed up 10 yards after a false start by the offensive line to move them back to their 13-yard line. Roethlisberger had 17 game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime since 2004, which was the most in the NFL at the time.

After Roethlisberger found Nate Washington for a 12-yard gain and found Santonio Holmes for multiple 10-yard gains, the longest would be a 40-yard catch and run down to the Cardinal’s seven-yard line. After spiking the ball, the Steelers found themselves with 43 seconds left in the game. On second down, Hines Ward went into motion on the right side of Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger snapped the ball and danced around the pocket momentarily, trying to find an open man. Holmes ran toward the back corner of the endzone, and Roethlisberger threw a laser over three Cardinal defenders for the perfect pass for Holmes to catch and toe-tap in the endzone to put the Steelers up by four.

The final drive would be one of the most memorable moments in Super Bowl history.

#1. Malcolm Butler Picks Off Wilson

A play that haunts Seattle Seahawks fans to this day happened on February 3, 2015, in Super Bowl XLIX.

The Seahawks were down by four to the New England Patriots with two minutes left in the fourth quarter after a Tom Brady-Julian Edelman touchdown pass. Russell Wilson started the drive with a 30-yard pass to running back Marshawn Lynch to get across midfield. Seattle faced a third-down situation but succeeded after an 11-yard gain to Ricardo Lockette, who was tackled in the bounce.

Wilson quickly got the offense to the line to run a play with 1:15 on the clock. Wilson threw the ball to the right sideline to Jermaine Kearse, where it bounced off his fingers and landed on his stomach when he was on the ground. Kears got up but got tackled out of bounds at the six-yard line with 1:06 on the clock.

The refs reviewed the play, but it would stand as a catch after a while.

After a 4-yard run play by Lynch, everyone in the building would think they would punch it up the middle with Lynch again, but head coach Pete Carroll thought differently. When the ball was snapped, and Wilson was looking for Lockette on a quick inside slant, it was just enough time for Patriots defensive back Malcolm Butler to read Wilson’s eyes to jump the route and pick off Wilson at the goal line. The Patriots were celebrating on the sidelines, and a couple of players jumped on Butler.

This play will go down as one of the best plays made in a Super Bowl and one of the worst coaching blunders of all time.