We have yet another Arizona Super Bowl. And no team has made more Super Bowl memories in Arizona than the New England Patriots. Bill Belichick and Tom Brady were involved in a pair of thrilling postseason finales at the same site as Super Bowl LVII — State Farm Stadium.
One was amazing for New England. One was not.
There was Super Bowl XLII, the most disappointing appearance for the Patriots. They entered with a perfect record and exited with a 17-14 loss to Eli Manning and the New York Giants. It’s a game New England’s fan base wishes it could forget.
But then there’s Super Bowl XLIX. That’s a game New England cherishes. It kicked off the Patriots’ second run of Super Bowl wins. Brady and Belichick defeated the Seattle Seahawks 28-24 in an absolute gut-twister.
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So let’s dive into the best and worst from both games. Here’s a list of the highs and lows from New England’s Arizona Super Bowl appearances.
Worst: Tom Brady’s 65-yard incompletion to Moss with 19 seconds left in Super Bowl XLII
If there was one moment where the Patriots’ luck might have flipped against the Giants in this game, it was on this play.
It was third-and-20 with 19 seconds left in the game. Moss generated separation in a situation when he had no business getting room to run. Brady impossibly had enough time to load up for a heave that traveled nearly 70 yards in the air and would have put the Pats in the red zone.
And with 12 seconds left on the clock, the ball bounced off the hands of cornerback Corey Webster. Brady slightly underthrew the ball, giving New York’s defensive backs just enough time to break on it.
There would be no you-got-Mossed moment.
“This is the play that haunts me to this day,” Moss said in an episode of “Detail” on ESPN.
Best: Brady’s touchdown pass to Julian Edelman in Super Bowl XLIX
It was a beauty of a route. And to make it even more impressive, it was the second time they ran the play in that situation. Brady misfired on their first attempt. But that didn’t phase Edelman or Brady.
“After the last drive, I went to the sidelines and told Josh, ‘Josh, come back to that call. Please come back to that call.’ I knew even before the call came in what it was going to be,” Brady told Sports Illustrated’s Peter King in 2015.
On the team’s go-ahead drive against the Seahawks, the Patriots drove down to the 3-yard line. They tried it again. That’s where Edelman shook loose, with cornerback Tharold Simon in coverage. Even with the limited space in the red zone, Edelman created a massive amount of separation, easily hauling in Brady’s pass for a touchdown.
“I knew how it was going to play out. Earl in same place,” Brady told King. “Simon in same spot. Only this time, they ended up blitzing, really a max blitz, creating one-on-one with Jules. He ran a great route. It’s a tough route to cover. The cornerback has no help. Looks like a slant. How do you not respect the coverage on the slant?”
Worst: Plaxico Burress’ wide-open touchdown in Super Bowl XLII
Speaking of wide open, my goodness.
Burress absolutely embarrassed Patriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs on this play. Poor Hobbs had Burress on an island — and the cornerback didn’t stand a chance.
“I get to the line and I see the coverage, and it’s blitz coverage,” Burress said in an NFL Films interview. “And I’m like: ‘Oh my gosh. The ball’s coming.’ … Eli can’t hike the ball fast enough, and he lets it go.”
From the 17-yard line, Burress made a simple head fake, as if he was running a route to get a first-down. Instead, the receiver continued to the corner of the end zone, where Manning had lofted the ball for an easy touchdown pitch and catch.
“We had Plaxico one-on-one and there was no doubt where I was throwing it. I was throwing it high in the corner end zone and letting him make a play,” Manning told NFL Films.
Best: Dont’a Hightower’s goal line tackle on Marshawn Lynch in Super Bowl XLIX
We will get to the play that happened after this play. You know it. It revolves around a player whose name rhymes with Shmalcom Shmutler. But first, let’s talk about what Hightower did to help prevent a game-winning touchdown.
Hightower flew across the formation and cut out Lynch at the legs for a 4-yard carry. The Seahawks running back needed five yards for a touchdown.
“From up in the box, [the hole] was wide open,” former Patriots linebackers coach Patrick Graham said in the “Do Your Job” documentary.
Had Hightower not gotten there, it would have been a touchdown. No doubt.
“The most unsung but the biggest play of the Super Bowl,” said Brian Flores, then the team’s safeties coach.
Worst: The Jermaine Kearse catch in Super Bowl XLIX
This happened on the play before Hightower’s tackle. With the Seahawks trailing by four, Wilson found Kearse for 33 yards. And given what happened with the David Tyreek catch (yes, that’s also on this list) and the Mario Manningham catch in Super Bowl XLVI, it was easy to imagine that New England was cursed. (Or Kearsed?)
Even color commentary analyst Cris Collinsworth acknowledged it on the NBC broadcast.
“How many plays are the Patriots going to have like this?” he asked.
It seemed like the perfect play to help the Seahawks seal their victory.
Malcolm Butler got his hand on the ball, but Kearse caught the tipped ball from his back. Kearse initially leapt into the air but was unable to secure the ball. Out of chance, it bounced directly into his hands where he bobbled the ball a few times and ultimately made the reception at the 6-yard line with a minute remaining.
A Seahawks win seemed inevitable.
Best: Randy Moss’ touchdown catch in Super Bowl XLII
I’m not sure many people remember Moss catching a touchdown in this game. But he did.
On a third-and-goal, Moss roasted Webster on the outside for a fourth-quarter score that gave New England the lead. Moss didn’t have to do much, making a few subtle chops with his feet — and, still, he left Webster on the ground with broken ankles.
This play was thanks, in part, to Wes Welker, who was dealing with a double team on the inside. That made life easier for Moss.
Worst: David Tyree’s helmet catch in Super Bowl XLII
You know the play.
On third-and-5 with 1:15 left on the clock, Manning escaped the pass rush, which seemed to have killed the play. But the Giants QB eluded the arms of New England’s defenders and managed to find space to load up a downfield through.
The ball went up.
Patriots safety Rodney Harrison was in position to defend it. And then Tyree (and his helmet) arrived. The unheralded receiver jumped into the perfect spot and pinned the ball against his helmet. Impossibly, he came away with the reception that fueled the Giants’ victory.
Best: Malcolm Butler’s goal-line interception in Super Bowl XLIX
Let’s end on a high note for Pats fans, shall we?
Two plays after Kearse’s catch and one play after Hightower’s tackle, Butler made one that changed NFL history. He intercepted Russell Wilson at the goal line.
Seattle had one of the toughest runners in the NFL (Lynch). The Seahawks had a fierce offensive line. And yet they tried a passing play — one that Butler had studied and saw coming.
In practice earlier that week, the Patriots’ scout-team offense beat Butler for a touchdown on the exact same play. Former Patriots director of football research Ernie Adams put the play into action in practice because he believed the Seahawks would run it on the goal line. So it was a coaching point — Butler learned how to defend the play correctly after making the mistake.
“You’re going to win or lose games at practice. There’s no such thing as being a game-day player,” Adams said in “Do Your Job.” “You see situations come up on the practice field. You’ve worked on it. You know what it takes.”
Butler did, indeed. And rather than allowing the touchdown, like he did in practice, the cornerback generated a game-winning interception. New England won its fourth Super Bowl.
Prior to joining FOX Sports as the AFC East reporter, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @McKennAnalysis.
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