With Minnesota’s next Super Bowl less than 25 weeks away, Kevin Cusick is counting down the best and brightest, and the worst and darkest, from the past 51 games. Today, he ranks the Super Bowl’s biggest bloopers ever.
10. FRAN TARKENTON
Super Bowl IX: The Vikings’ quarterback didn’t complete a lot of Super Bowl passes, but he made history with one of them. Midway through the third quarter, he had a pass batted back to him, so he caught it, making the first reception by a Super Bowl QB. He then turned and completed a 41-yard pass to John Gilliam. But as the Beatles once said, “You Can’t Do That.” He was called for an illegal forward pass, negating the Vikings’ biggest play of the day.
9. DONOVAN McNABB
Super Bowl XXXIX: The Eagles needed two scores to catch New England in the final minutes in Jacksonville, so it was strange to see their QB moving with all the urgency of an elderly mall walker as time melted away. It was more of a two-minute chill than two-minute drill. The former Viking later denied that he threw up during that game-killing drive, though countless numbers of Philly fans did.
8. PEYTON MANNING
Super Bowl XLVIII: When did the Denver quarterback realize it was not going to be his day at the Meadowlands? Probably on the first play from scrimmage, when the snap sailed past his bemused mug and into the end zone. Teammate Knowshon Moreno fell on the ball to limit the damage to two points, helping the Broncos limit the Seahawks to only a 35-point shellacking..
7. AHMAD BRADSHAW
Super Bowl XLVI: The Giants were trying to run out the clock in the final minute before attempting a title-winning field goal. Problem was their running back forgot that key fact as he charged toward the end zone. He tried in vain to stop on the 1-yard-line before tumbling helplessly into the end zone for the first unintentional TD in Super Bowl history. The gaffe gave one last chance to the Patriots and Tom Brady, and they came up just one Hail Mary short of their fourth title.
6. JOHN KASAY
Super Bowl XXXVIII: Carolina capped off a rousing comeback to tie New England at 29 with only a minute left in Houston. The first Super overtime appeared at hand … at least until the Panthers’ kicker booted the ensuing kickoff out of bounds. The ensuing penalty gave the Patriots the ball at their own 40, right on the doorstep of field-goal range. Over the next minute, Tom Brady and Adam Vinatieri repeated their Super Bowl finish from two years earlier, the one where the ball splits the uprights as the clock hits :00.
5. EARL MORRALL
Super Bowl III: The flea flicker worked great for the Colts in the regular season when he threw to a wide-open Jimmy Orr for a gift TD against the expansion Falcons. It didn’t work nearly as well in Miami when Morrall did not see his equally wide-open teammate. So he threw to the Jets’ Jim Hudson instead, ending the first half with a momentum-destroying faux pass and a 0-7 deficit to the AFL Cinderellas. John Unitas, he was not.
4. THURMAN THOMAS
Super Bowl XXVI: All but one man who have taken the field for the Super Bowl share a common trait. They remembered to bring their helmet. Alas, Buffalo’s hall of fame running back did not, which meant the meagerly talented Kenneth Davis had to start for Buffalo at the Metrodome. When Thomas finally found his headgear, he managed a paltry 13 yards rushing against the Redskins. And the Bills were halfway to their fourpeat of shame.
3. LEON LETT
Super Bowl XXVII: Dallas’ defensive tackle was sure excited after picking up Frank Reich’s latest fumble and rumbling toward the end zone for what would have been Dallas’ record-tying eighth touchdown. So he decided to stick the ball out in his right paw and strut the final 10 yards. He only made nine of them before Don Beebe swatted the ball away and turned Lett into a late night punchline. Sadly, it would prove to be only the second-dumbest move of Lett’s career (Google Thanksgiving Snow Bowl 1993).
2. GARO YEPREMIAN
Super Bowl VII: The pudgy Cypriot kicker was famous back in the day for his tie-making skills. But he’s remembered for his utter lack of passing skills, which he displayed on the perfect Dolphins’ most imperfect play. When Washington’s Bill Brundige blocked his field-goal try, Yepremian caught the ball. He tried to pass it, but the ball slipped out of his hands. Not knowing what to do, he decide to bat the ball to the Redskins’ Mike Bass to see what he could do with it. Bass returned it for a touchdown, leaving Garo only with credit for the Super Bowl’s most boneheaded play.
1. SUPERDOME BLACKOUT
Super Bowl XLVII: As anyone who’s been to a Super Bowl can tell you, there’s always electricity in the air … except for the opening minutes of the second half in New Orleans when half the Superdome lost all traces of electricity. Was it caused by Beyonce’s 5 billion megawatt halftime extravaganza? The Big Easy’s notoriously shabby infrastructure? Or was it just a conspiracy to save the world from another Ray Lewis championship with the 49ers trailing 28-6? We may never know the truth.
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Officiating crew (Super Bowl XL), Randy White (Super Bowl XIII), William Perry (Super Bowl XX), Joe Theismann (Super Bowl XVIII).
NEXT WEEK
The Loop continues his yearlong march to Super Bowl LII by counting down the Super Bowl’s best national anthem performances.
Kevin Cusick has watched every Super Bowl since 1968, many of them ad nauseam. You can hear him on Wednesdays on Bob Sansevere’s “BS Show” podcast on iTunes. You can follow Kevin on Twitter — @theloopnow.