10 most important NFL passes of the 21st century

The NFL is a passing league. We’re not breaking any news by revealing that. In the 21st century, more and more teams are focusing on the passing game. While teams can find creative ways to win always, like the Philadelphia Eagles did last season, most teams win on passing. Nine times has a player thrown for 350 yards in the Super Bowl, and eight of those times it happened in the 21st century. 

When breaking it down to the biggest plays in the history of the league, many of them are passing plays. The Immaculate Reception, Staubach’s Hail Mary, and The Catch are considered the greatest plays of all time. Those happened in the 20th century. We want to find not only the best passes and receptions of the 21st century, but we want to find the most important. 

“Most important” is a loaded definition, but we assess it as catches that changed how we look at football and who the champion was that season. Also, we are looking at this from the positive side, so no interceptions. Sorry to Tracy Porter and Malcolm Butler, but the quarterback has to throw this to the right team for this to count on this list. A lot can fall into that category still, so let’s jump right in!

Before we get to our top ten, there were a few that needed mentioning. Julio Jones and Jermaine Kearse had two of the most insane catches in the history of football in the Super Bowl. Both these catches came before ridiculous comebacks by the New England Patriots, so they fall off the list because of it. We also wanted to shout out the Tim Tebow pass to eliminate the Steelers in 2012, as this brought legitimacy to the lightning rod. And finally, we have to throw in the Miami Miracle in 2018. A last-second lateral play helped the underdog Miami Dolphins take down their rival New England Patriots. We still don’t know what Rob Gronkowski was doing out there. 

10. Odell Beckham changes how a generation catches footballs

There are only a few plays in the history of football that children go in the backyard and try to repeat with their friends and siblings. Odell Beckham’s catch against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football in 2014 might top that list. We’ve seen one-handed catches in the league before. They are rare, but they happen every so often. We’ve never seen anything like Odell Beckham’s catch.

Standing on the 50-yard line, Eli Manning pulls back and launches the ball 48 yards in the air. Beckham jumps up to catch it, but Dallas cornerback Brendan Carr fell and tried to drag Beckham with him. He had to know it was going to be pass interference, but it was better than giving up a sure touchdown. While Beckham was pulled down, it didn’t stop him from doing a yoga pose to catch the ball. 

Beckham falls backwards into the end zone, still having the awareness to get both of his feet down before sliding out of bounds. So much about this catch is insanely impressive. It was nationally televised, so as many eyes as possible were on Beckham. Don’t forget, Beckham was a rookie when he made this catch. This put him on the map, and it opened the door for a different generation of wide receiver. 

The impact this had on football went way further than the pages of Fansided or the airwaves of ESPN. This was on Good Morning America and was discussed at water coolers. This catch was a cultural phenomenon. Sometimes, sports become culture, and this was one of those moments. 

9. Aaron Rodgers is a Hail Mary master

When we say “we’re putting an Aaron Rodgers Hail Mary on the list,” most people are forced to ask “which one?”. The former Green Bay Packers quarterback and four-time MVP had a knack for the long ball. With time ticking down, Rodgers was the guy you wanted to launch the ball down the field with hopes someone would catch it. 

It’s one thing to throw it up in the regular season, hoping to add a win to the record knowing you can live to fight another day. It’s completely different in the playoffs. That’s the type of pressure most men wilt. Even the most clutch quarterbacks don’t want to touch that situation. Rodgers isn’t most quarterbacks. With five seconds left in the game and the Packers down by seven to the Arizona Cardinals in a Divisional Round matchup, Rodgers launched the ball from the 40-yard line into the end zone. 

So much went right for the Packers here. They were facing a 4th and 20 up against their own end zone, but they found a way to convert to Jeff Janis, who also caught the Hail Mary. Rodgers scrambles away from pressure, turns around at his own 45-yard line, and just launches the ball up in the air. Did Rodgers know where it was going? It’s hard to confirm, but Janis knew exactly where to go.

He ran to the end zone and jumped in front of Patrick Peterson, one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL at the time. It shocked everyone, and the Packers forced overtime. Unfortunately, in overtime, the Cardinals won the coin toss, and they went down the field and scored. It was one of the many examples as to why overtime needed to guarantee possession to both teams a long time ago.

8. Russell Wilson sends Seattle to the Super Bowl

Aaron Rodgers should really just avoid overtime in the playoffs because it doesn’t go well for him. This one might be his worst memory. After driving the Packers down the field at the end of the fourth quarter to watch Mason Crosby hit a game-tying field goal with 14 seconds left, Wilson threw the greatest dime of his career in overtime. 

Again, Seattle won the coin toss to gain possession, meaning they just needed a touchdown to end the NFC Championship Game and head to the Super Bowl. Doug Baldwin made a mistake by bringing out the ball on the kickoff, and he left the Seahawks to start from their own 13-yard line. Wilson and Marshawn Lynch chipped away down the field until Wilson hit Baldwin for 35 yards, putting them at the Packers' 30. Then, Wilson found the one spot where he could end the game.

Wilson basically dropped the ball into a bucket for a touchdown. Kearse was exactly where he needed to be, and his penchant for making big plays for the Seahawks when he was quiet all game continued. That was Kearse’s only catch of the game.

The Seahawks would go on to the Super Bowl and destroy the Denver Broncos, starting what many thought could be a dynasty. They were so young, and the Legion of Boom was so dominant. That never came to fruition, but the Super Bowl win came directly because of this catch. Rodgers might have another Super Bowl if Kearse dropped this. 

7. Miracle in Minneapolis

It was one of the most improbable moments in the league. It also pretty much ended an era of New Orleans Saints dominance. Minnesota was down one and 61 yards away from the end zone. The Saints came back from a massive deficit to take the lead with almost no time left. Case Keenum was looking for a miracle. Luckily, Stefon Diggs was a miracle worker on this night. 

Many thought a Hail Mary was necessary, but Keenum was just trying to get them closer. Diggs was close to the sidelines, and most expected him to try his best to get out of bounds. Y’all don’t know Diggs. He kept his feet up and over Marcus Williams, and he sprinted to the end zone after landing. Saints fans were shocked. U.S. Bank Stadium was about to lose its roof, it was so loud. The play lives on in history.

It was poetic that the clock literally struck zero as Diggs made his final stride into the end zone. Walk-offs are pretty common in baseball and basketball, but they very rarely happen like that in football. 

There are so many “what ifs” with this play. What if Williams made the tackle? What if Diggs went right out of bounds? It doesn’t matter, as Diggs walked the Vikings to the next round. Meanwhile, the Saints were expected to be title contenders. Knocking them out in this fashion opened the NFC wide open.

6. Santonio Holmes in the corner of the end zone

Super Bowl XLIII might be one of the most underrated Super Bowls in league history. It had a ton of amazing plays, highlighted by three. There’s the James Harrison interception return for a touchdown, Larry Fitzgerald's 64-yard touchdown reception to give them the lead with a little over two minutes left, and Santonio Holmes’s touchdown to win the game.

The stakes of the catch obviously matter. Having this go down with less than 40 seconds left in the game matters, but the difficulty of this catch might matter more. Holmes had to reach up at his highest point, mere inches from the sidelines, and come down with the ball in bounds. There were three Cardinals surrounding Holmes, but he wouldn’t be denied the win.

Holmes had an interesting career after this, but this moment made him a legend in Pittsburgh. He had murals painted of this play. The iconic photo of him catching the ball hangs in thousands of homes that also proudly display their terrible towels for company to see. Holmes won Super Bowl MVP, as this was part of his 131-yard performance. 

We have to give Ben Roethlisberger some props here, as well. He threw that ball where either Holmes was coming down with it, or it was hitting the back wall at 100 MPH. It was his best throw of any Super Bowl.

5. Mecole Hardman walks off the Super Bowl

Mecole Hardman might have the strangest NFL career for someone as impactful as he has been to Super Bowl champions. He’s a two-time Super Bowl champion who has appeared in three games. He’s had three different stints with the Chiefs, and one of his six Super Bowl receptions in those three games ended up being one of the most important in league history.

It wasn’t too impressive a catch. However, it’s the catch that most directly decided a Super Bowl winner. The result was still in doubt one moment, then Hardman catches the ball and walks into the end zone with three seconds left on the clock and the game ends. We have a new Super Bowl champion, and it’s the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Chiefs already did a lot of the heavy lifting here, responding to the 49ers' field goal drive to open the second overtime in Super Bowl history with a methodical drive to get them down the field. Patrick Mahomes scrambled to convert a 4th-and-1. Multiple receivers caught passes on the drive. Once the Chiefs got down to 1st-and-goal from the three, it seemed academic that the game was over.

Hardman didn’t even start the season with the Chiefs. He signed a big deal with the New York Jets the offseason prior, but that couldn’t have gone worse. He caught one pass in New Jersey before asking for a trade. The Chiefs brought him back for a 6th-7th draft pick swap. We’re sure they were happy about the trade, given how it worked out. 

4. Mario Manningham makes the catch of his life

There are two names on this list that come from New York Giants Super Bowl wins. Not to spoil things, but one is the most famous catch of this century. The other is the sequel. While the sequel isn’t “better” per se, it’s just as important. 

Eli Manning and the Giants were down by two with just under three minutes left in the Super Bowl. It was a low-scoring affair, with the Giants only having 15 points on the board. They needed a spark. Mario Manningham provided it in a big way to start their final drive.

The throw by Manning was incredibly difficult. The catch was even more so. Manningham had to extend his arms and secure the ball before Patrick Chung came over to take his head off. He slightly contorted his body to ensure both feet hit the ground. 

It was one of those catches that gets more and more impressive each time you watch it. Manning dropped the ball in the perfect space for Manningham, but he had to do so much to make sure it was a catch. The Giants rumbled down the field after an unsuccessful challenge by Bill Belichick and scored on an Ahmad Bradshaw rushing touchdown. 

3. Julian Edelman catches a levitating ball

Tom Brady has thrown 1,921 passes in the postseason in his career. He has 421 pass attempts just in the Super Bowl. That’s how many attempts some starters have in a season. Brady has done that in 10 Super Bowl appearances. He’s hit some amazing receivers, including Randy Moss, Chad Ochocinco, Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski, and many others. The catch made by his favorite receiver, Julian Edelman, remains his very best.

The Patriots were famously down 28-3 in the Super Bowl against the Atlanta Falcons before storming back and winning the game. It doesn’t happen without this catch. On 1st and 10 with the Patriots at their own 36 down eight with around 2:30 left in the game, Brady threw a ball Edelman’s way, but it was tipped straight up in the air by Mario Alford, and that’s when things get crazy.

Edelman dove alongside three Falcons defenders, all trying to make a game-saving catch. If the Falcons caught the ball, the bleeding would stop. The talks of “choke” would end, and they’d eventually be champions by running out the clock. Instead, Edelman came up with it, the Patriots drove down the field, scored a touchdown and converted on the two-point conversion.

In the grand scheme of things, it seems like this catch shouldn’t be as important as it is. Brady threw two touchdown passes this game. He hit multiple two-point conversions that were absolutely necessary to keep them in this game. This was the first ever Super Bowl overtime, but it was the Edelman catch that lives on in infamy. 

2. The Helmet Catch

The Helmet Catch is considered by many to be the greatest catch in the history of the sport of football. Eli Manning’s escape, the throw with guys about to blast him, David Tyree going up higher than he’s ever gone before, catching the ball with legendary safety Rodney Harrison riding him like a bull, and coming down with the ball directly attached to his helmet is the stuff of fairy tales. Throw it all together in a soup to take down the undefeated New England Patriots, considered the villains of the NFL at this point.

This catch had all the drama of a midday soap opera and the athleticism of the Olympics. Fans who had no dog in the fight still had their jaws on the ground when Tyree made this catch. There are no words to truly describe it, so watch it one more time.

Take a look at the Patriots' defenders on the field. They are in disbelief. Two Patriots pass rushers had Manning in their grasp. They were stretching out his jersey, but Manning must have had superhuman strength on this play to keep running and getting out of their grasp. Then, to launch a ball to the sky and hope for the best, only for his little-known receiver Tyree to come down with it was magic.

The Giants kept driving and eventually Manning threw the game-winning touchdown to Plaxico Burress, which honestly, could have also been on this list. Eli Manning is on this list three times, while his brother isn’t on it at all. That’s an interesting fact, to say the least. 

1. Philly Special

Number one on this list is going to be very controversial, but there was just more on the line with the Philly Special, and it actually scored the touchdown, which the Helmet Catch didn’t. Nick Foles is one of the most unlikely heroes in Philadelphia sports history, but he also might be their most important.

While the Eagles are the current defending champs, this didn’t seem possible at one point. The Eagles had come so close so many times with previous teams. This team was limping to the Super Bowl to take on the greatest quarterback of all time. Carson Wentz was done for the season, and Foles needed to outduel Brady. It helps when you can also catch the ball (unlike Brady).

The concept was simple: a reverse pass back to the quarterback out of the Wildcat formation. The execution was exquisite. Foles lines up in the slot, and Corey Clement takes the direct snap. He runs left and tosses the ball to Trey Burton. He almost immediately throws the ball up to Foles who is wide open in the end zone.

Foles would go on to throw for more than 370 yards and three touchdowns, but his most memorable play is his catch on 4th-and-goal right before the half. That play set the tone for the Super Bowl, where Brady was upset for the third and final time. 

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