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The Hail Mary pass is one of the most improbable plays in sports. Whether you are filled with excitement or excruciating pain depends on which team you are rooting for. There have been a handful of these throughout the history of the NFL and each one is memorable. In this article, we will take you back through some of the most impressive Hail Mary passes in NFL History. Let’s dive in.
The first Hail Mary pass that comes to mind for me as a guy born in the 1990s and grew up in Wisconsin as a Bears fan was New York Giants vs Green Bay Packers Divisional Round Playoff matchup. The Packers were just coming off their Super Bowl win over the Steelers the prior season and were looking to repeat. Eli Manning and the Giants had other plans.
As the game headed near halftime, the Giants had a small but surprising 13-10 lead over the Packers. Instead of playing it safe from the Packers 37-yard line and kicking a field goal. They decided to throw the Hail Mary pass instead. Manning stepped up in the pocket and was able to find Hakeem Nicks in the back left corner of the end zone over two Packers defenders.
Now, that wasn’t the end of the game, but it gave the Giants all the momentum and they carried that to the 37-20 win in Lambeau Field. That game also propelled them to go on and win the Super Bowl that season over the New England Patriots.
This Hail Mary from the 2012 Seattle Seahawks vs Green Bay Packers regular season game goes down for one of the craziest hail marys for all the wrong reasons. If you remember, during the start of the 2012 NFL season the NFL referees were on strike. So the league was dealing with replacement refs. That did not go over well, and this game was the epitome of that experiment.
It was an ugly early season game between the Seahawks and Packers as the score sat at 13-7 and a Packers lead late in the fourth quarter. Seattle got to the Packers 24 yard-line with just eight seconds left on the clock.
It was fourth and 10, and Russell Wilson rolled to his left extending the play. He threw the ball up to the back corner of the endzone to Golden Tate between five Packer defenders where he came down with the ball for the touchdown. Or did he? Both Golden Tate and Packers DB M.D. Jennings had hands on the football at the same time, looking like Jennings had more control.
The worst part is that one official came in and signaled a touchdown, and the other official started waving his arms like it was an interception. The booth reviewed it and the call on the field stood for a touchdown to the Packers. Since then that play has been coined the ‘Fail Mary’ and is remembered as one of the worst calls in NFL history.
The Packers made this list for the third time in three games. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has made quite the name for himself when throwing Hail Mary’s. He has done it at least three times and none more memorable than the ‘Miracle in Motown”
The Lions fans have had a tough go at it for multiple decades and it did not get better for them in the 2015 season. They were leading the Packers at Ford Field 23-21 with no time left on the clock. The Packers were on their own 39 yard-line which makes for a tough Hail Mary attempt because the ball has to fly for more than 60 yards in the air.
The Lions got instant pressure forcing Rodgers to roll out to his right and was able to step into his throw. The ball got past the goal line in the air and landed in the arms of the jumping Richard Rodgers breaking the hearts of Detroit Lions fans everywhere winning the game 27-23 with no time left on the clock.
The most recent Hail Mary came in Week 8 of the 2024 regular season. It was a battle between the two top picks of the NFL Draft, Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels. The Commanders came into this game 5-2 while the Bears were fresh off their bye week sitting at 6-2.
With all the hype surrounding this game with the rookie quarterbacks squaring off, it was an ugly game throughout. The Commanders were unable to put the ball in the end zone all game long and the Bears were only able to score their points in the second half of the game. The score sat at 15-12 after Caleb Williams led the Bears down the field late in the fourth quarter which was capped off by a Roschon Johnson touchdown to take the lead.
The Bears defense had played well all day long but decided to get conservative on the last drive of the Commanders. On the second to last play, the Bears gave the Commanders wide receiver the sideline to get in Hail Mary range at the Commanders 48-yard line. Then on the Hail Mary attempt the Bears only decided to rush three defenders.
Jayden Daniels was able to dance around behind the line of scrimmage before being able to step into his throw and get it near the goal line. The ball got to about the two-yard line where it was tipped by Bears defensive back Tyrique Stevenson into the waiting arms of Noah Brown in the back of the endzone. That won the game 18-12 for the Commanders as they keep the train rolling toward the playoffs. As for the Bears and their fans, it was heartbreaking. It had looked like the franchise was about to take that next step forward and then to lose in such terrible fashion was a bad look on the coaching staff and organization.
Dylan has had a love for sports since he was a kid. Four years ago, he decided to dive into the sports content-creating industry specializing in Fantasy Football, NFL and NBA. He has since had his work published on sites that include Fantasy Alarm, Fansided, and Fantasy Six Pack.