Super Bowl Receptions: How'd He Catch That? Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Super Bowl XLVI, 3:46 in 4th QTR: Starting from their own 12-yard line, New York Giants' Eli Manning, on 1st and 10 and needing a score, throws a sideline pass left in double coverage that the wide receiver pulls back in from out of bounds and drags both feet in bounds for a quick 38 yards. Who made this stellar catch?

Answer: Mario Manningham

Manningham's amazing catch really put the New York Giants in the drivers seat in clock management, as a score by them would require the New England Patriots to score. Needing 88 yards, the catch on the first play of the drive meant the Giants could run anything without fear of fighting the clock.

In fact the Giants were able to force the Patriots to call time outs to allow them time to attempt a drive after what was going to be an inevitable score. The New York Giants won the game 22-17.

2. Super Bowl XLIII, :43 in 4th QTR: From the Arizona Cardinals' 7-yard line, the Pittsburgh Steelers need a field goal to tie the game, but they have higher aspirations. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on 2nd and Goal finds a receiver in the far right corner of the end zone and heaves to the only spot that he can put it without it being defended by the Cardinals' secondary. Who is the receiver that may have grown two inches from the all-out stretch to nab the ball while still keeping two feet in bounds to score the touchdown to gain the lead?

Answer: Santonio Holmes

Any jump for the pass in an attempt to catch it would have been thwarted by the defense pushing Santonio Holmes out of bounds before he would have gotten both feet in, so the zero elevation was his only method of catching the ball successfully. Holmes earned his MVP trophy on this drive beyond the game winning touchdown, gaining 71 yards in total during the drive on four catches. NFL Films caught Holmes coming back to the sideline screaming to his teammates, "That's how you be great!" But a catch like that, that is how you become immortalized.

3. Super Bowl I, 3:06 in 1st QTR: On a 3rd and 3 for the Green Bay Packers at the Kansas City Chiefs 37 yard line, quarterback Bart Starr passes down the center of the field behind his receiver on a slant pattern. But the receiver, who is well covered, reels it in one-handed about two feet behind him, and draws it in quick enough before the defensive back is able knock it out of his hand. The attempt to separate the ball from the receiver instead of tackling meant he was able to go the last twenty yards untouched for the first touchdown of the game. Who was this receiver?

Answer: Max McGee

In the first great catch in Super Bowl history, Max McGee also became the answer to the trivia question, "Who scored the first TD in Super Bowl history?" McGee in many opinions should have been named the MVP for the game; his seven catches, 138 yards and two touchdowns in the game were essentially half of Bart Starr's output, and Starr never threw another touchdown in the game to anyone else.

But Starr was named MVP, an act that many who have analyzed the game say should have gone Max McGee's way. And the great catch in question, if not done, would have resulted in a likely punt.

4. Super Bowl LI, 2:28 in 4th QTR: The New England Patriots, in the midst of the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history, face a deficit of eight points at their own 36-yard line on 1st down. Tom Brady throws a pass down the center into double coverage. Atlanta Falcon Robert Alford tips the ball into the air prior to it reaching the receiver, but the receiver, staying with the play, after now THREE Falcons defenders have touched the ball at some point, manages to get his hands underneath the ball and secure it before any part of the ball touches the ground. Who was this receiver?

Answer: Julian Edelman

Julian Edelman's crazy catch continued the momentum that the Atlanta Falcons could not decelerate. The drive ended with a James White touchdown along with a two-point conversion to tie the game. With Atlanta stuck with less than a minute and no time outs in regulation, and the Patriots winning the coin toss, it meant the Falcons would lose their second Super Bowl appearance after giving up a 25-point lead. All they would win would be the immortality of the most memorable choke in NFL history. And Edelman gains the immortality of one of the greatest catches.

5. Super Bowl XLII, 1:15 in 4th QTR: The New York Giants are attempting to pull off one of the biggest upsets in NFL history: knocking off the undefeated New England Patriots. On 3rd and 5 from their own 44-yard line, quarterback Eli Manning managed to escape a collapsing pocket to get free to launch a pass forty yards in the air. And in amongst two defenders, the New York Giants receiver who somehow came down with the ball, required the media to coin the phrase "helmet catch". Who was this receiver that kept the drive alive?

Answer: David Tyree

A few things had to happen for this catch to come to fruition, the fact that Eli Manning was contacted by three Patriots pass rushers yet he never was grasped enough for the referees to blow the whistle (Patriot fans may disagree), and the fact that Manning essentially unloaded a Hail Mary as all the receivers had already been out long enough for the receivers to exhaust all of their route running. What many pundits say that makes this the greatest catch in Super Bowl history is that receivers PRACTICE the ability to keep their feet in bounds when catching a sideline pass. No receiver goes to training camp to practice helmet catching. David Tyree amazingly never caught another pass in the NFL again.

6. Super Bowl XXI, 10:59 in 4th QTR: New York Giant Phil Simms from the Denver Broncos 6-yard line tries to put away the Super Bowl with a pass in the center of the end zone to Mark Bavaro. But Bavaro can't hold on and it pops up behind him giving Bavaro no chance to make a second play. But a spitfire receiver was at the right place to dive under the ball to make the game clinching touchdown. Who finally got his Super Bowl touchdown after barely being held out of the end zone earlier in the game?

Answer: Phil McConkey

McConkey just earlier in the game had a 45-yard reception where he was upended just one yard away from scoring. His only other catch in the Super Bowl was this touchdown carom from Bavaro. McConkey in terms of football players is a small guy, which enabled tight end Bavaro to hoist him up in celebration without any noticeable strain.

This great catch in terms of importance to the game? Really pretty meaningless compared to many of the others in this quiz. But it still ranks up there in "how'd they catch that" status.

7. Super Bowl XLIX, 1:14 in 4th QTR: ON 1st and 10 from the New England Patriots 38-yard line, Seattle Seahawk Russell Wilson is needing a touchdown to win being down four. His pass to his receiver is broken up by Malcolm Butler but bounces off the receiver's thigh prior to reaching the ground, and the receiver somehow corrals the ball in at the 6-yard line. He gets up having not been legally tackled, and lunges toward the end zone but was smartly pushed out by Butler prior to him scoring. Who made this circus catch?

Answer: Jermaine Kearse

With still a minute left in the game after the catch, Kearse was on his way to immortality if they score a touchdown from the 5-yard line on four downs, with a nearly unstoppable Marshawn Lynch so far in the game on your team. But after gaining four on 1st down, the Seahawks elect to pass, and the ball is intercepted, by the player who made the game saving tackle on Jermaine Kearse just two plays earlier, preventing the Seahawks from winning their second Super Bowl in a row.

In an eerie prophetic moment while going over the multiple replays of the ridiculous catch, Cris Collinsworth says prior to getting back into the action, "...but they're not...in...yet."

8. Super Bowl X, 3:00 in 2nd QTR: On a third down play from their own 10-yard line, the Pittsburgh Steelers abandon their plan to run often with a deep pass from Terry Bradshaw to a well-covered receiver. Dallas Cowboy Mark Washington blocks the ball cleanly but the receiver stays with the ball and pulls the ball in successfully just as he hits the ground. He has the peace of mind to get up and gain a few more of the 53 yards on the reception before getting tackled. Who was this receiver known for his ballet inspired catches?

Answer: Lynn Swann

This often replayed highlight would be a futile catch as the ensuing 36-yard field goal attempt later in the drive would sail wide left. Lynn Swann had already made an improbable catch on his first target, leaning at a 10-degree angle along the sideline for a 32-yard gain. And Swann would get his fourth catch late in the game, a 64-yard touchdown reception in the 21-17 Pittsburgh win. Terry Bradshaw only completed nine passes the entire game, four of them to Lynn Swann for almost eighty percent of his pass production. That performance, both beyond effective and highlight laden, earned Swann the MVP for the game.

9. Super Bowl LI, 4:47 in 4th QTR: With the Atlanta Falcons clinging to an evaporating eight-point lead over the New England Patriots, quarterback Matt Ryan on 2nd and 9 from midfield scrambles left and finds a receiver on the sideline who leaps for the ball with his legs splayed and secures it and manages to drop his right leg four feet (1.2 m) down to the ground to drag both feet in bounds at the Patriots' 22-yard line. Who was this top echelon receiver who everyone is used to making plays like this?

Answer: Julio Jones

Julio Jones at the time was on the short list for best receiver in the game, and commentator Troy Aikman when viewing the replay says, "Only Julio Jones could make that play." Unfortunately, even though the play got them comfortably in field goal position, poor play calling and a stalled drive gave the Falcons no points, and the Patriots, boosted by a great play by Edelman, would tie the game and win in overtime.

10. Super Bowl XI, 11:00 in 4th QTR: Fran Tarkenton and the Minnesota Vikings are down twelve to the Oakland Raiders. Tarkenton in an attempt to keep a drive alive sends a pass down the center of the field that is caught, but the receiver is pummeled by a helmet-to-helmet hit by Jack Tatum. But after his helmet is knocked off (the hit was so violent the chin strap was separated from the helmet, too) the receiver still holds onto the ball. Who was this receiver?

Answer: Sammy White

Sammy White won the Rookie of the Year that year they made the Super Bowl. He proved his mettle even more on this play holding onto the ball after the now illegal hit by "The Assassin" Tatum. Nowadays a hit like that in today's game would get him ejected. Sammy laid on the ground for a significant amount of time, but he did come back into the game eventually.

This play gets into the quiz because how he wasn't separated from the ball on the hit is unbelievable, even though the play wasn't significant to the result of the game.

Source: Author Spaudrey

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Fifiona81 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Over fifty Super Bowls played, but some moments by receivers and tight ends have remained in sports fans' memories as feats of near impossibility, done in front of 100,000,000-plus pairs of eyes. Here's a collection, tell me who caught them.

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>