10 most important interceptions of the 21st century

The number one reason why people love football is the fact that, at a moment’s notice, the biggest play you’ve ever seen could be on the horizon. Whether that’s an 80-yard touchdown run, a 20-yard slant route that a wide receiver breaks for 60 yards, or a Hail Mary pass, many of those big plays come from the offense.

Yet, it is a big defensive play that might be the most exciting. It’s the mix of emotions coming out. There’s a sense of worry when the other team is on offense, but a turnover changes that stress and evolves it into excitement. It creates a feeling of elation for fans. 

Interceptions are the most popular form of turnover, and each year, dozens of interceptions are returned for a touchdown. Not all are created equal, and some interceptions had a much bigger impact than others. Which interception defined this era over the rest?

10. Patriots keeps the Rams out of the end zone in Super Bowl LIII
Stephon Gilmore on Jared Goff
February 3, 2019

The New England Patriots had plenty of faces around Tom Brady and Bill Belichick for their six Super Bowl wins, but there were few who were better than Stephon Gilmore. The former NFL Defensive Player of the Year was a ball hawk who might be one of the best free agent signings in league history.

He jumped into place for the Patriots immediately and became one of the best defensive players of the era. To really solidify yourself in that conversation, one needs a huge play in the clutch.

There is no bigger play than what Gilmore did in Super Bowl LIII (well, apparently there are nine bigger plays, but we digress). With the ball on the 27-yard line and fewer than five minutes left in the game, Jared Goff was faced with a Patriots blitz, and he chucked the ball up to Brandin Cooks.

Unfortunately for Goff, the ball was underthrown, and Tom Brady was about to get his easiest Super Bowl of his career. The Patriots went on to kick a field goal, pushing the game out of reach for the Rams. It goes down as the lowest-scoring Super Bowl ever, with a final score of 13-3. 

9. We Want The Ball And We're Going To Score
Al Harris on Matt Hasselbeck
January 4, 2004

The most confident moment we’ve seen this century led to possibly the most insane outcome of a playoff game in a long time. Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was trying to beat his former team, the Green Bay Packers, in the Wild Card Round. The game went to overtime, and Matt Hasselbeck uttered those words that would be more impactful than anything else he’s ever done on a football field: “We want the ball and we’re going to score.”

The game itself was crazy. The Packers and Seahawks traded the lead throughout the game. Prior to the game-tying touchdown drive, the Packers held the ball for about 12 minutes of the fourth quarter, scoring two touchdowns to take the lead. The Seahawks finally found some offense, and Shaun Alexander scored with 51 seconds left to tie the game. The Packers then raced down the field and set up a 47-yard field goal by Ryan Longwell. He missed it!

No wonder Hasselbeck went into overtime confident. He thought the football gods were part of the 12th man that day. Instead, Lambeau’s ghosts were playing for the Packers. On the Seahawks’ second possession of overtime, Hasselbeck made a couple of completions to Koren Robinson and Darrell Jackson before disaster struck.

Hasselbeck threw the ball to the left side towards Alex Bannister, but Al Harris jumped in front of the pass and raced it down the sideline for a touchdown. Hasselbeck tried to stop him before he scored, but it wasn’t in the cards for him. 

8. A rookie sets the tone, ends the three-peat
Cooper DeJean on Patrick Mahomes
February 9, 2025

We don’t have to go far back to find this important interception. With the Kansas City Chiefs looking to win their third-straight Super Bowl championship, the Philadelphia Eagles wanted to use their star-studded roster to change the narrative. Obviously, much of the focus was on the offense, led by free agent acquisition Saquon Barkley and his near-record-setting year. However, the defense is where the tone was set. 

This one was earlier than any other interception on the list, but it was just as impactful. With 7:17 left in the second quarter, Mahomes was trying to make magic happen. Despite them being down 10-0, we’ve seen this man make a comeback before with even less time. 

Cooper DeJean is a dude who does not care how big the moment is, he’s going to play his game. And his game is about getting interceptions. The rookie out of the University of Iowa was in the right place at the right time on the pass to DeAndre Hopkins. He caught it and raced it back to the end zone.

This just felt like the beginning of the end. The Mahomes dynasty was cut off at the head. And it happened at the hands of a rookie.

7. Troy Polamalu seals the AFC Championship against their biggest rival
Troy Polamalu on Joe Flacco
January 18, 2009

If we were to rank NFL rivalries of this century, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens would be at the top of the list. The grit and animosity of these two teams is the epitome of football lore. We get this rivalry twice a year already, but when we get it in the playoffs, it’s must-see TV.

These two teams have met five times in the playoffs. The most recent time was this past year, with the Ravens beating the Steelers 28-14. However, Lamar Jackson versus a late-career Russell Wilson doesn’t have the same juice as Ben Roethlisberger versus Joe Flacco in their primes. And in 2009, they met with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. 

Troy Polamalu was the star of this rivalry. He might have been the best defensive player of this era, and he put his team on his back during these rivalry games. In 2008-09, he dominated the league. He was the first-team All-Pro and fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting, but it was his playoff performance that was the biggest.

The Ravens entered the fourth quarter down by nine. Willis McGahee scored a touchdown to make it a two-point game. The Ravens got the ball back and just needed a field goal to take the lead and possibly head to the Super Bowl. Instead, Polamalu played underneath the receivers on a Flacco pass, where he was at his best, and he picked it off. Polamalu wasn’t satisfied with just an interception, as he took it back for a touchdown. The game was over at that moment.

6. Richard Sherman tips the pass intended for "sorry" Michael Crabtree
Malcolm Smith on Colin Kaepernick
January 19, 2014

Richard Sherman and Michael Crabtree had one of the most heated rivalries in football in the 2010s. They were on rival teams, and they had off-the-field issues. This led to insane trash talk every time they faced off in games. So, when we learned that the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers would be going to the 2013-14 NFC Championship Game, we knew there would be some viral moments.

What we didn’t know was that we were going to see one of the greatest plays in recent memory involving those two rivals. 

After an insane battle all game, the Seahawks had a six-point lead with the 49ers driving. There were fewer than 30 seconds left in the game when Colin Kaepernick threw the ball to Crabtree in the corner of the end zone. If Crabtree catches the ball, and the 49ers’ kicker gets the extra point, they likely go to the Super Bowl. Instead, Sherman got some serious height, tipped the pass to Malcolm Smith for an interception, and the game was essentially over.

After the game, Sherman had one of the most viral interviews of all time. He told Erin Andrews after the game, “When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that’s the result you gonna get.” Ouch.

5. It's Picked Off! It's Tracy Porter Again!
Tracy Porter on Peyton Manning
February 7, 2010

This one meant a lot. The New Orleans Saints spent a ton of time as the laughing stock of the league. They couldn’t put a winner out there if they tried. Oftentimes, it didn’t seem like they tried. 

The entire trajectory of the Saints changed with one signing. When they brought Drew Brees to the Big Easy, he turned them into a contender pretty much immediately. He was a record breaker, and the wins stacked up just like his passing yards. That culminated in a championship in 2010. 

However, Brees wasn’t the man making the big plays in that game. No, that was Tracy Porter. The cornerback secured the Super Bowl win with a clutch interception in the fourth quarter. Reggie Wayne was placed in motion, and it was pretty clear Peyton Manning wanted to get him the ball. Porter saw the route before it was run, and he was off to the races.

Porter got the ball around the 25-yard line, and he went back all the way for a touchdown. Manning was trying to score to tie the game with a little over three minutes left, but instead, the game was out of hand. The Saints won their first and only Super Bowl to this date thanks to that Porter interception.

4. Peyton finally takes out Brady
Marlin Jackson on Tom Brady
January 21, 2007

The Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots might have had the biggest rivalry of the early 2000s. Peyton Manning was the superstar quarterback with all the flashy NFL statistics, and Tom Brady was the one who won. Whether that was in the playoffs or the regular season, Brady had the leg up. They first met in 2001, with Brady breaking out as a true starting QB against Manning in Week 3 after taking over for Drew Bledsoe. They met again in Week 6, and Brady had his first three-touchdown gam.

It went down like that for the next five years. In the 2003 AFC Championship, Manning was a mess, throwing three interceptions to Ty Law. They met again in the 2004 Divisional Round, and Manning only got his Colts to score three points. It took seven matchups for Manning to get his first win in the series. That started the confidence of the future Hall of Famer.

Fast forward to 2006 in the AFC Championship, and the big bad Patriots were in front of Manning and the Colts again. This time, Manning was asking his defense to step up. They did in the biggest way possible, setting up Manning for a sure-thing Super Bowl against Rex Grossman.

Up by three with about a minute left in the game, Brady tracked back in the pocket and tossed the ball David Patten’s way. Instead, it hit the hands of Marlin Jackson. “Marlin’s got it! The Colts are going to the Super Bowl!” It was poetic that Manning was going to win his first Super Bowl by beating his direct rival for the first time in the playoffs.

3. The Immaculate Interception
James Harrison on Kurt Warner
February 1, 2009

There were 18 seconds left before the half. The Arizona Cardinals were trying to make a statement against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Kurt Warner brought a once-laughing-stock franchise all the way to the championship game. It was the Super Bowl, and history was going to be made. He had 1st and goal from the two-yard line. Because the Cardinals had no timeouts, a pass was likely. 

And the Steelers knew that to be the case. This was an epic defense with stars all around. One of those stars was known for big hits, but he would be a ball hawk for this play. James Harrison let other linebackers blitz while he took a step back. He went in front of the pass to Anquan Boldin at the goalline, and there was a frantic chase the other way.

Larry Fitzgerald was trying to close the gap with Harrison, stopping him from bringing it for six points the other way. After breaking away from tackle attempts by Warner, various offensive linemen, running backs, and receivers, Fitzgerald finally got around blockers and tackled Harrison at the opposing goalline.

Unfortunately for him, Harrison still fell into the endzone and scored with no time left on the clock. If Fitzgerald could have tackled him, the half would end with minimal damage. The Cards would have been down by three still, and they could lick their wounds with a simple lost opportunity. Instead, they now had a huge deficit to overcome.

2. "I can't believe what I'm seeing right now"
Tracy Porter on Brett Favre
January 24, 2010

This might be one of the most famous calls in the history of football. Paul Allen did not mince words with this one. And the call adds to the history of his interception. We’ll address what many might believe is an overranking of this play, but this was what set the tone of the Saints' Super Bowl win. Yes, they still needed to get past Manning, but this interception was what gave everyone hope. Plenty of teams make it to the conference championship game. Making it to the Super Bowl was something that New Orleans as a city needed.

Brett Favre was known as a gun slinger. His 336 interceptions are by far the most of all time, but that was his game. You take the good with the bad. Usually, the good came at the times his team needed it. That’s not what happened in the 2009 NFC Championship Game. 

With the Minnesota Vikings in field goal range, they took a terrible false start penalty that led to a 3rd and 15 from the Saints' 38-yard line. This is still a makeable field goal. Favre was trying to get his team closer with the game tied and a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. 

He threw as terrible a pass as he could in this moment. He flushed out to his right, and threw a pass towards Sidney Rice. Favre didn’t get his best throw off with the awkward angle he tried to throw, and Tracy Porter got in front and intercepted it. The Saints took it to overtime and won the game, changing the route of history. 

1. Malcolm Butler wins the Super Bowl
Malcolm Butler on Russell Wilson
February 1, 2015

There might be no play in the history of the NFL that’s as consequential as Malcolm Butler’s interception at Super Bowl XLIX. It changed the trajectory of two dynasties. It might keep Russell Wilson out of the Hall of Fame. It might keep the argument for Jerry Rice as the GOAT player in the NFL. People could even argue that Joe Montana or Patrick Mahomes have the leg up on Brady in NFL lore. Heck, we could have seen Brady leave the Patriots earlier than he did if it wasn’t for this interception.

Let’s set the scenery. The Seahawks have the ball on the five-yard line after Ricardo Lockette caught possibly the most insane catch of all time. Malcolm Butler tipped the ball, but the gods helped the ball land onto Lockette while already on the ground. He tried to get up and score, but Butler pushed him out of bounds. 

On 1st and goal, the Seahawks used their best weapon, Marshawn Lynch, to get four yards to the one-yard line. The next play seemed obvious. A run to Lynch to clinch it. The Patriots surprisingly didn’t call a timeout, letting the Seahawks run the play clock down to 26 seconds, essentially giving the Patriots no time to respond. They didn’t need it because Pete Carroll wasn’t doing the obvious.

Russell Wilson dropped back and threw a quick pass to Lockette. A pick play was supposed to make him wide open for an easy score. Butler had seen this play before and jumped the route. He collided with Lockette in the air and came down with the ball. That’s it. Seahawks dynasty over. A new Patriots dynasty was beginning, and the world was in shock as the Patriots went from letting the Super Bowl slip through their hands to celebrating the biggest win of their six Super Bowls.

More NFL news and analysis: