It isn’t over until the final whistle blows…
The clock is ticking down to zero, there are only a few points in the match, all the quarterback can do is take a risk. He tries the Hail Mary pass.
A Hail Mary play (or pass) is a long shot, risky pass that is taken in the dying seconds of the game in the hope that a last-minute touchdown can be scored.
We have had some great examples of the Hail Mary pass over the last season – so let’s take a look back at the best of them. And for some more Hail Marys check out Fanduel.com for the latest Super Bowl betting odds.
10. 49ers, Week 15
49ers vs Cowboys
Let’s start off with an exciting and beautifully done but slightly meaningless Hail Mary pass.
We say that this Hail Mary pass was slightly meaningless because there was no way that the 49ers could win the game – they were 15 points behind with 1 second on the clock.
The pass was a 40-yard pass from stand-in quarterback C.J. Beathard to Kendrick Bourne. There were a group of bodies around the ball but when the camera panned out it was clear Bourne had the ball and the play had worked.
9. Lions, Week 13
Lions vs Vikings
It took the Lions this long to get their first victory – but you have to admit they did it with style.
If your team got knocked out of the playoffs over the last fortnight and you want something to cheer you up, then find the video of this pass.
Jared Goff passes for a whole 11-yards in the last 2 minutes of the game to take them ahead. The ball is caught by Amon-Ra St. Brown and the fans in the stadium explode. The players start celebrating like they just won the Super Bowl.
8. 49ers, Week 14
49ers vs Bengals
Jimmy Garoppolo came on that day as a replacement, but he made a game-changing impact.
It was overtime, the Bengals had just scored a field goal and were leading by 2 points. There was nothing else to do except make a Hail Mary play and it worked beautifully for the 49ers.
Garoppolo found Brandon Aiyuk and the touchdown was scored. This was the only time in that overtime where the 49ers had possession and they made it count.
7. Chiefs, Week 15
Chiefs vs Chargers
When do you see one receiver being chased down the field by 7 members of the opposing team, who would you put money on to win?
Well, Travis Kelce shocked us all when he caught the Hail Mary pass and made his way over the touchline. It really was the kind of heart-racing action we expect to see from the NFL.
This was his second touchdown of the night and it won the Chiefs the game.
6. Vikings, Week 6
Vikings vs Panthers
With a minute and a half left on the clock, the match was 28-28. The match was incredibly tense and no one was sure which way it was going to go. The Vikings had been putting in a great defense shift, but their offensive plays had been lacking, until the end of the match.
K.J. Osborn made an incredible third-down catch and then made it to the corner line. He pulled it off and won his team the match.
5. Bears, Week 17
Bears vs Seahawks
This match ended 25-24 to the Bears after a last-minute touchdown.
The touchdown scorer was Jimmy Graham, who had scored another touchdown earlier in the match but hadn’t done much else.
Graham was passed the ball by quarterback Nick Foles and scored his 5th touchdown in three weeks. During those three weeks, he had only received 8 balls, so he has become a dependable scoring option for the Bears over the last season.
4. Jets, Week 1
Jets vs Eagles
Some of the best Hail Marys turn a losing game into a draw, that is what this play did for the Jets.
The Jets were losing when quarterback James Morgan passed for 49-yards to Kenny Yeboah. Yeboah managed to catch the ball despite being surrounded by the opposition.
He caught the Hail Mary pass for his second touchdown of the night. Here Yeboah proved that he did not deserve to go undrafted in 2024.
3. Saints, Week 5
Saints vs Washington Football Team
We think everyone will agree with us when we say Winston getting injured so early in the season was heartbreaking. Especially after his week one performance.
In Week 5, Winston managed to get off one of our favorite Hail Mary plays of the season. Admittedly, it was a little soft and the Washington Football Team should have been able to stop it.
But that doesn’t make Winstons’ play any less impressive.
2. Cardinals, Week 11
Cardinals vs Bills
This is honestly one of the best plays that we have seen in years. This play left not only the Bills speechless but audiences around the world. Even the commentators couldn’t believe the catch had been made.
With 5 seconds left on the clock, Kyler Murray made a 43-yard throw to DeAndre Hopkins which led their team to a 32-30 victory over the Bills.
Hopkins’ catch was world-class.
1. Buccaneers, Week 14
Buccaneers vs Bills
We are ending this list with just a little bit of Tom Brady magic.
Brady threw for 58-yards to find Breshad Perriman who ran the ball until he got a touchdown. And Brady made it look easy.
It is moments like this when you understand why he has had such an incredible career – not to mention that the touchdown pass was the 700th in his career.
Brady has had yet another incredible season.
A hail mary pass is a delight for one end of the stadium and horror for the other end. This year it feels like we have seen more hail mary passes than ever before. Do you think they will become a more common feature of the modern game?
