Ten Forgotten Plays In Super Bowl History

The big story of Super Bowl I was Bart Starr hooking up with Max McGee for 138 yards and two touchdowns, including the first in Super Bowl history, but safety Willie Wood made the play that helped put the Packers in the driver’s seat.

As the game began, all eyes were on the heavily-favored Packers. The AFL was the upstart league and every team in the established NFL made it clear that it wasn’t enough for the Packers to win but win big. As the first half unfolded though, the Chiefs were outplaying the Packers statistically and were only behind 14-10 as the teams went back to their locker rooms for halftime.

The Chiefs took the second half kickoff and advanced to their 49 yard line. On third down the Packers blitzed Dave Robinson and Lee Roy Caffey and forced a rushed, underthrown ball from Len Dawson that Wood intercepted and returned to the Chiefs 5 yard line. Elijah Pitts ran it in on the following play to put the Packers up 21 and in control of the game.
 
The Chiefs only crossed midfield once the rest of the game, for only one play. A 13-yard touchdown reception by Mcgee and a 1-yard run by Elijah Pitts provided a convincing 35-10 victory.
 
2. Super Bowl II: Green Bay Packers vs. Oakland Raiders
Ray Nitschke Sets the Tone

The Packers were 14-point favorites even though it was clear they were nearing the end of their dynasty years. Paul Hornung had retired and Jim Taylor had spent the final year of his career with the New Orleans Saints after being traded during the previous offseason. It was rumored that Vince Lombardi would be leaving the team after the Super Bowl was over.
 
The Packers had survived the “Ice Bowl” to get to Miami and were ready to show they weren’t finished yet. On the Raiders’ first play, fullback Hewitt Dixon took the ball and started around end on a sweep. Nitschke shot through a gap and blew up the play, hitting him hard and laying him out to set the tone for the effort the Packers were bringing to that game.
 
At halftime, guard Jerry Kramer stood in front of the team and said, “Let’s play the last 30 minutes for the old man.” The Packers finished the game by routing the Raiders 33-14 in Vince Lombardi’s final game as Green Bay's head coach.
 
3. Super Bowl III: New York Jets vs. Baltimore Colts
Earl Morrall Misses the Open Man

The Jets were an 18-point underdog to the Colts at kickoff but became the first AFL team to lead a Super Bowl as they were up 7-0 over Baltimore as the half was winding down. Morrall called for a flea-flicker play that had worked for the Colts against the Falcons during the regular season.
 
Morrall handed off to Tom Matte who began to sweep around right tackle when he turned and lateraled back to Morrall. The play fooled everyone and had receiver Jimmy Orr, the primary target on the play, wide open near the end zone. For some reason Morrall didn’t see him and threw for running back Jerry Hill that was intercepted by Jets’ safety Jim Hudson as time expired. Instead of the game being tied with the momentum on the Colts' side, the Jets still held the 7-0 lead.
 
The Jets held that momentum in the third quarter, possessing the ball for 12 of the 15 minutes and allowing the Colts to only run seven plays on their way to a 16-7 victory.
 
4. Super Bowl IV: Kansas City Chiefs vs. Minnesota Vikings
The Rise of the Soccer-Style Kicker

As the game began, everyone expected the Vikings to reassert the NFL’s dominance after the Jets' “fluke” win in Super Bowl III. The Vikings drove to the Chiefs' 39 yard line on their first possession but that was as far as they could get and were forced to punt. The Chiefs moved the ball 42 yards in eight plays to the Vikings’ 41 and sent out Jan Stenerud to attempt the field goal. Stenerud and the Gogolak brothers, Pete and Charlie, were the only soccer-style kickers in the game at that time and pro football was just beginning to learn how much farther kickers using that style could drive the ball.
 
The Vikings were surprised to see the Chiefs attempt a 48-yard field goal until Stenerud had given Kansas City a 3-0 lead. Stenerud followed up with 32 and 25-yarders before Mike Garrett finished the Chiefs’ scoring in the half with a 5-yard touchdown run for a 16-0 lead. The Vikings never recovered, losing 23-7.
 
5. Super Bowl XIII: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Dallas Cowboys
Roy Gerela’s Slip
 
The two teams had played in Super Bowl X with the Steelers winning 21-17 in a game that’s considered one of the classic Super Bowls. As a result of that game there was plenty of bad blood between the teams as they prepared  for Super Bowl XIII.
 
Everyone has seen numerous times the play near the end of third quarter that kept the Cowboys from tying the game at 21. With the ball at the Steelers’ 10 yard line, Roger Staubach dropped back and saw tight end Jackie Smith all alone in the end zone. The pass went in and out of Smith’s hands and the Cowboys had to settle for a field goal to close to 21-17 going into the fourth quarter.
 
The Steelers drove to the Dallas 17 where Terry Bradshaw handed the ball to Franco Harris, who blasted through the line and into the end zone to give Pittsburgh a 28-17 lead. On the following kickoff, Gerela slipped while planting his foot and squibbed the ball to the Cowboys’ Randy White at the 24. Tony Dungy slammed into White to knock the ball loose and Dennis Winston fell on it at the Cowboys’ 18 yard line. Bradshaw immediately capitalized with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Lynn Swann for an insurmountable 35-17 lead. The Steelers held on from there for a 35-31 victory.

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