List of Successful Hail Marys in American Football - List of Notable Unsuccessful Hail Marys

List of Notable Unsuccessful Hail Marys

• 1978 — Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints: Just two weeks after the Falcons beat the Saints 20–17 on the "Big Ben" pass play, the Falcons beat them again by the same score on the final play of the game after an intercepted Hail Mary pass when Saint defensive back Mo Spencer was called for pass interference by side judge Grover Klemmer. The Falcons scored on a run from the 1 yard line on the next play. The play became known as "Big Ben II." In this particular instance, the NFL later acknowledged that the interference call was the wrong call, and the case was cited by some as an early example for the need for football officiating crews to have access to instant replays. Though incomplete in this game, it should be noted that the pass play really began to be used by other teams significantly more often after this game, as a pass interference penalty that would move the ball to the 1 yard line was now viewed as a possible result from the play — if not an even more likely result than completing the pass itself. However, in the 1980s, pass interference rules were relaxed in cases where defenders made contact but were making an honest attempt for the ball (see more about the first "Big Ben" attempt above).

• 1990 — LSU vs. Vanderbilt: LSU completed a Hail Mary pass against Vanderbilt. It was perhaps the only time where offensive pass interference has reversed the outcome of the play, despite a traditional reluctance of officiating crews to call a penalty on any one player during a play consisting of a cluster of flailing players and so much on the line. With the touchdown called back, Vanderbilt won its only game of the season, 24–21. According to LSU Student Media, during a press conference in the week after the game, LSU's head coach, Mike Archer, showed reporters replays of the play, frame-by-frame, explaining why the penalty was a poor call. LSU later completed the season with a 5–6 record and Archer was pressured to resign, with the loss to the eventual 1–10 team often being cited as the likely primary reason for his dismissal.

• 1995 (1995 AFC Championship Game) — Indianapolis Colts vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: With five seconds on the clock and the underdog Colts trailing the Steelers 16-20, Jim Harbaugh (who earned the name "Captain Comeback" during the season) fired a Hail Mary pass into the endzone. After deflecting off several Steeler defenders, the ball made a rough landing in Colts wide receiver Aaron Bailey's stomach, but his arms were impeded from wrapping onto the ball and it rolled on its side and touched the Three Rivers Stadium turf before he was able to slap both hands onto it. The play was close enough that Dick Enberg and Phil Simms both initially declared on-air that the ball had been caught, and Bailey raised his arms with the ball as if he were celebrating a touchdown, but replays showed that the incomplete call was correct.

• 1996 — Jacksonville Jaguars vs. New England Patriots: On September 22, Mark Brunell threw a pass to Willie Jackson for 55 yards that appeared to win the game. The officials ruled Jackson down at the 1, though Jaguar fans insist that replays show that Jackson crossed the goal-line. The Patriots then prevailed 28–25 in overtime. Particularly notable about this play was the fact that Brunell also completed a 51-yard Hail Mary in the same game before halftime, as well as 41 and 61-yard touchdown passes in the second half, to erase the Patriots' 22–0 first-half lead (see more about the first Hail Mary attempt above).

• 1998 — Notre Dame vs. Navy: With three seconds remaining, Navy's Chris McCoy threw a pass from the Irish 29 that bounced off of the helmet of Irish player Deke Cooper and into the hands of Pat McGrew at the 18. McGrew was finally tackled by Allen Rossum when he had nearly reached the 1 yard line, allowing Notre Dame to hold on and win 21–17. Had McGrew scored, it would have ended the nation's all-time longest losing streak in an annual college football series. However, as a result of the loss, Navy continued its string of losses to the Fighting Irish — not finally ending it once and for all until 2007, at 43 games.

• 2002 — Atlanta Falcons vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: With 1 second remaining in the OT period of the Week 9 NFL meeting between Atlanta and Pittsburgh at Heinz Field, Steeler QB Tommy Maddox dropped back from his own 49-yard line and fired the ball towards the end zone. WR Plaxico Burress leapt into a group of Falcon defenders and Steeler receivers and grabbed the pass in mid-air, but when Burress landed on the turf, the upper half of his body (with his arms wrapped around the ball) crashed down at the 1-yard line with his lower body landing in the end zone. With no penalties on Atlanta and the clock reading 0:00, Maddox and Burress' spectacular completion was the final exclamation point in the first tie the NFL had seen since 1997. This play is not counted as a success, although it is regarded as an amazing play, because it did not result in a team scoring a game-winning (or tying) touchdown.

• 2008 — Kentucky vs. Middle Tennessee: Six years after Kentucky lost the Bluegrass Miracle game on a similar pass play, MT's Eldred King caught a tipped 61-yard throw from Joe Craddock on the game's final play. King was tackled on the 1 yard line to preserve a 20–14 UK victory and prevent a second Bluegrass Miracle from happening. It is noteworthy that MT did complete a similar pass play against Florida Atlantic later in the same season (see more about the second Hail Mary attempt above).

• 2009 (Magnolia Bowl) — LSU vs. Mississippi: LSU's Jordan Jefferson, under a heavy pass rush, was forced to heave an under-thrown 43-yard Hail Mary pass that Terrance Toliver was able to catch with between two and three seconds remaining in regulation — but still 6 yards short of the endzone. After the completion the clock was not halted for the first down until one second remained, giving LSU too little time to set up and run a follow-up play. Ole Miss prevailed, 25–23. This play is notable in that it was a rare completed Hail Mary pass with time remaining, but was under-thrown and time ran out. The loss subsequently led to harsh criticism of LSU's Les Miles for his time management efforts — especially since it appeared that the team was going to try to spike the ball as time ran out — and led to a significant movement over the next year to remove him as head coach. He later signed a contract extension after a much more successful season the following year.

• 2012 (Super Bowl XLVI) — New England Patriots vs. New York Giants: The Patriots' Tom Brady had about 5 seconds to try to score a would-be game-winning touchdown. He was forced to throw a Hail Mary that was aimed at Aaron Hernandez to attempt to win, launching a 50-yard spiral into the center of the Giants' end zone. Hernandez had multiple defenders on him, however, and the pass was deflected, letting the Giants win 21-17. Two Patriots, Wes Welker and Rob Gronkowski, were just a few feet from the deflection, but Gronkowski's diving effort to grab the ball was unsuccessful and New England suffered its second Super Bowl loss to the Giants in four years.

2013,, Divisional Playoffs,Seattle Seahawks vs Atlanta Falcons.Down by 2 with 2 seconds to go,Russell Wilson threw a 50 yard hail mary at the endzone but was intercepted by Wide receiver Julio Jones playing deep safety.