American Football · 2008 · Glendale, USA
The Helmet Catch
A New York Giants quarterback wriggles out of a certain sack and throws deep to a receiver who pins the ball against his own helmet, ending the New England Patriots' bid for a perfect season.
Giants 17-14 Patriots
Result
32 yards
Gain on the play
18-0
Patriots' record entering
New England came to Super Bowl XLII on 3 February 2008 unbeaten in 18 games, one win from the first perfect season in the NFL since 1972. The New York Giants were 14-10 down with a little over a minute to go, facing third-and-five from their own 44-yard line, when several Patriots defenders got hold of Eli Manning and the drive looked finished.
Manning pulled himself free and threw it up deep under pressure. David Tyree out-jumped the Patriots safety Rodney Harrison for the ball and, falling backward, trapped it against the crown of his own helmet with one hand while wrestling it under control with the other, somehow completing the catch for a gain of 32 yards.
Four plays later Plaxico Burress caught the winning touchdown with 35 seconds left, and the Giants held on to win 17-14, denying New England the perfect season. The play has been known as the Helmet Catch ever since.
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