Last-second field goal attempts in Super Bowl history
Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri celebrates after kicking a game-winning 48-yard field goal in the final seconds to beat the Rams, 20-17, in Super Bowl XXXVI on Feb. 3, 2002, at the Superdome in New Orleans. Credit: AP/DOUG MILLS
It’s every kicker’s dream: Kicking a game-winning field goal in the final seconds of a Super Bowl to give their team the win.
It’s also every kicker’s nightmare: Missing said field goal to saddle their team with the loss.
The Super Bowl has been decided by a last-second field goal attempt (good or not) four times in 52 games. Here’s a look at those four games:
Super Bowl V
Jim O'Brien kicks the game-winning field goal for the Colts in Super Bowl V against the Cowboys on Jan. 17, 1971 in Miami, Fla. Credit: AP
Jim O’Brien, then a rookie for the Colts, kicked a 32-yarder with five seconds left to give Baltimore a 16-13 win over the Dallas Cowboys. O’Brien entered the game having made 19 of 34 regular-season field goals, including four of nine between 30 and 39 yards. Mike Curtis’ interception at the Cowboys’ 27-yard line with 59 seconds left set the Colts up for the game-winning kick.
Super Bowl XXV
Bills kicker Scott Norwood, center, misses a field goal on the last play of the game, clinching the 20-19 victory for the Giants in Super Bowl XXV on Jan. 27, 1991, in Tampa, Fla. Credit: AP/PHIL SANDLIN
Two words: Wide. Right. The Buffalo Bills, trailing the Giants by one point, drove 61 yards in 2:08 to set up a 47-yard try by Scott Norwood with eight seconds left. The kick was one yard shy of Norwood’s season-long in 1990 and two shy of his career long. This kick had the distance, but it sailed right of the goalposts, sealing the Giants’ 20-19 victory — their second Super Bowl in five seasons — and kicking off the Bills’ stretch of four consecutive Super Bowl losses.
Super Bowl XXXVI
The Patriots' kicker Adam Vinatieri kicks his game-winning field goal in the final seconds to beat the Rams, 20-17, in Super Bowl XXXVI on Feb. 3, 2002, at the Superdome in New Orleans. Credit: AP/RICK BOWMER
The New England Patriots’ dynasty began on Adam Vinatieri’s leg. After the then-St. Louis Rams tied the score on a touchdown with 1:37 left, Tom Brady drove the Patriots 53 yards in eight plays to set up Vinatieri’s 48-yard field goal as time expired. It was the first Super Bowl won by a score on the game’s final play. Vinatieri had gone 24-for-30 on field goals during the regular season, including 7-for-12 from 40 to 49 yards out.
Super Bowl XXXVIII
Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri kicks a 41-yard field goal in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XXXVIII to beat the Panthers, 32-29, in Houston on Feb. 1, 2004. Credit: AP/BRETT COOMER
Two years after his first game-winner, Vinatieri did it again. The Panthers tied the score at 29 with 1:04 left, but the ensuing kickoff went out of bounds, setting the Patriots up at their own 40-yard line. They drove 37 yards and Vinatieri kicked a 41-yarder with nine seconds left to give the Patriots the 32-29 win and their second Super Bowl in three years. Vinatieri made five of eight kicks from 40 to 49 yards during the 2003 regular season and was 25-for-34 overall.
Nick Klopsis is Newsday.com's sports editor. He often can be found studying NFL and college football film for his latest draft breakdown.
Nassau gets more license plate readers ... Archers can deer hunt in West Hills ... School sex abuse settlements ... Newsday's cutest cat contest
Nassau gets more license plate readers ... Archers can deer hunt in West Hills ... School sex abuse settlements ... Newsday's cutest cat contest
