The Best "Forgotten" Super Bowl Plays: From Jermaine Kearse to Devin Hester

Everyone remembers David Tyree's helmet catch, Santonio Holmes' game-winning touchdown, and Malcolm Butler's end zone interception, but what about the best "forgotten" Super Bowl plays in history?

Those plays that would have been etched in stone for millennia had the team that made the play won the Big Game instead of falling on the NFL's biggest stage. There's numerous plays that would have and should have gone down in NFL history, had they ended up mattering.

These are the greatest Super Bowl plays that "didn't matter." From Jermaine Kearse's circus catch to Devin Hester's return, see the greatest Super Bowl plays lost to history before making your Super Bowl predictions.

🏈 Top 10 best "forgotten" Super Bowl plays in history

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🔄 The current connection: Jermaine Kearse vs. Patriots (SB 49)

• The play: With the Seattle Seahawks down 28-24 with just over a minute to go, Jermaine Kearse makes one of the greatest circus catches in NFL history - juggling a pass tipped by Malcolm Butler and catching it while on the ground
• Why it's "forgotten": This led to the Seahawks opting to throw the ball on 2nd & goal on the Patriots 1-yard line, and Butler getting revenge with the game-winning interception

💨 The Hester house call: Devin Hester vs. Colts (SB 41)

• The play: After Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy had changed his mind and decided to kick to Devin Hester, the rookie returned the opening kickoff of Super Bowl 41 for a 92-yard touchdown
• Why it's "forgotten": The Chicago Bears' offense let its elite special teams and defense down against Peyton Manning and lost by double digits

💪 The strongest QB there ever was: Steve McNair vs. Rams (SB 34)

• The play: Down by seven to the St. Louis Rams with under two minutes to go, Steve McNair makes magic driving the Tennessee Titans 80-plus yards, highlighted by him scrambling on 3rd down & 5 and breaking two tackles to throw a laser to Kevin Dyson to the 11-yard line
• Why it's "forgotten": On the next play, with 12 seconds left, McNair goes back to Dyson, who's stopped by Mike Jones on the 1-yard line as the clock expires on a play that's forever known as "the tackle"

💔 The play that almost made Larry a legend: Larry Fitzgerald vs. Steelers (SB 43)

• The play: With the Pittsburgh Steelers up 20-16 and a shade under three minutes left on the clock, Larry Fitzgerald takes a slant 64 yards to the end zone to put the Arizona Cardinals up (Fitz still holds the NFL record for receiving yards in a single postseason with 546)
• Why it's "forgotten": The Steelers got the ball back with 2:24 left on the clock and Ben Roethlisberger drove them nearly 90 yards, and with 35 seconds left, found Santonio Holmes in the back of the end zone for the game-winning TD

🩰 The Julio toe-tap: Julio Jones vs. Patriots (SB 51)

• The play: With the Atlanta Falcons fighting to hold onto a 28-20 lead against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 51, Julio Jones makes one of the most jaw-dropping sideline catches in NFL history for a massive first down with less than five minutes on the clock
• Why it's "forgotten": The Falcons are famously known for blowing a second-half 28-3 lead against the Patriots in this Super Bowl, with what transpired after this catch playing a key role (-1-yard run, sack, holding penalty, incompletion, punt)

🫎 The Moose is on the loose: Muhsin Muhammad vs. Patriots (SB 38)

• The play: With the Patriots up 21-16 midway through the fourth quarter, Jake Delhomme uncorks a bomb to a wide-open Muhsin Muhammad, who tracks the ball to perfection for the longest offensive play in Super Bowl history (85 yards)
• Why it's "forgotten": Tom Brady and the Patriots responded with a drive that ended in Mike Vrabel catching a 1-yard touchdown, and although Ricky Proehl managed to tie the game with a TD from Delhomme on the next drive, Brady led New England to a game-winning field goal with nine seconds left

🐐 The first time Brady spoiled a moment: Ricky Proehl vs. Patriots (SB 36)

• The play: The same Proehl who scored for the Panthers in Super Bowl 38 to tie the Patriots also scored the game-tying touchdown for the Greatest Show on Turf Rams two years prior, with 1:30 left on the clock
• Why it's "forgotten": In Brady's first Super Bowl, with the game tied at 17 after Proehl's touchdown, he led New England on a nine-play, 53-yard drive to set up a 48-yard game-winning field goal from Adam Vinatieri with no time left on the clock to begin the Patriots' dynasty

⚡ The Bengals' bolt to the end zone: Stanford Jennings vs. 49ers (SB 23)

• The play: Before there was Hester or Brady, Stanford Jennings was taking a kick back 93 yards to put the Cincinnati Bengals up 13-6 on the San Francisco 49ers in the second half of Super Bowl 23
• Why it's "forgotten": With the 49ers down 16-13 and just over three minutes left on the clock, Joe Montana casually pointed out to Harris Barton that John Candy was in the crowd before driving San Francisco 92 yards for the game-winning TD to John Taylor

🦬 The first fall of Buffalo: Thurman Thomas vs. Giants (SB 25) 

• The play: On the first play of the fourth quarter, with the Buffalo Bills down 17-12 to the New York Giants in Super Bowl 25, Thurman Thomas has a violent touchdown run against one of the league's best defenses to put his team up 19-17
• Why it's "forgotten": The Giants immediately responded with a field goal to go up 20-19, and that led to the most devastating play in Bills history ... Scott Norwood missing wide right on the game-winning 47-yard field goal in the first of Buffalo's four straight Super Bowl losses

🪄 The best incompletion in NFL history: Patrick Mahomes vs. Buccaneers (SB 55)

• The play: Running for his life all game against a ferocious Tampa Bay Buccaneers pass rush and down 31-9 on 4th & 9 in the red zone, Patrick Mahomes is forced out of the pocket again, and as he's falling (and essentially horizontal), he throws a strike to the end zone to Darrel Williams ... who drops it
• Why it's "forgotten": Well, Williams let the ball hit him in the facemask instead of catching it and effectively ended the Chiefs' chance at a comeback against Brady, who would go on to win his seventh Super Bowl