5 NFL Hall of Famers That BLEW IT In The Super Bowl – And 5 Underdog Heroes Who STOLE the Spotlight

The Super Bowl is where legends are made. The logos are a thing of beauty, too. But here’s the thing nobody wants to talk about: it’s also where legends fall apart.

We’ve all seen it. A quarterback with a gold jacket in Canton who somehow turned into a deer in headlights when the confetti was supposed to fall. 

And on the other side of that same coin are the journeymen who shine their brightest under the bright lights.

Meanwhile, some fifth-round pick nobody had ever heard of is running around with a Super Bowl MVP trophy.

Today we’re looking at five Hall of Famers who absolutely choked on the biggest stage… and five journeymen who rose up and became unlikely heroes. Let’s get into it.

Who are the biggest risers and chokers in Super Bowl history?

Hall of Famer: Peyton Manning: Super Bowl 48

Let’s start with the most humiliating Super Bowl performance by an all-time great quarterback.

February 2014. Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos had just finished the greatest offensive season in NFL history. We’re talking 606 points scored, and Manning himself was a monster; he threw for 5,477 yards and 55 touchdowns: both NFL records. This offense was averaging nearly 38 points per game.

Then they played the Seattle Seahawks.

The very first snap of the game, before anyone had even settled into their seats: center Manny Ramirez launched the ball over Manning’s head while he was calling an audible. Knowshon Moreno fell on it in the end zone. Safety. Seattle led 2-0 twelve seconds into the game. That’s the fastest score in Super Bowl history.

And somehow, it only got worse from there.

The Seahawks led 15 to 0 before Denver recorded a single first down and 36 to 0 before the Broncos got on the scoreboard. Manning finished 34-for-49 for 280 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, and a fumble lost en route to a 43 to 8 loss… ouch.

The five-time MVP, the greatest regular-season quarterback maybe ever, got absolutely embarrassed on the biggest stage. But hey, he’s still watching his old team from afar.

Journeyman: Timmy Smith: Super Bowl 22

Now here’s the opposite end of the spectrum.

Timmy Smith was a fifth-round pick out of Texas Tech who had rushed for exactly 126 yards during the entire 1987 regular season. He wasn’t even the starter: George Rogers and Kelvin Bryant were ahead of him on the depth chart.

Then, head coach Joe Gibbs made one of the most insane decisions in Super Bowl history. Right before kickoff against the Denver Broncos, Gibbs told quarterback Doug Williams to deliver the news to Smith: he was starting.

Smith was so nervous that he forgot all his plays when walking onto the field. Williams had to calm him down in the huddle.

What happened next? Smith ran for 204 yards and two touchdowns on just 22 carries. That’s still a Super Bowl record: nobody has ever rushed for more yards in the big game. Not Emmitt Smith. Not Terrell Davis. And not anyone.

His 58-yard touchdown run in the second quarter helped spark Washington’s 35-point explosion in that period alone. Final score: Washington 42, Denver 10.

And then? Smith held out the next offseason, demanding to be the highest-paid running back in the league. He showed up to camp 25 pounds overweight, lost his starting job after eight games, and was out of the NFL by 1990 with just 602 career rushing yards.

The ultimate one-hit wonder. But what a hit it was.

Hall of Famer: Fran Tarkenton: Super Bowls 8, 9, and 11

Fran Tarkenton revolutionized the quarterback position. “The Scrambler” ran for 3,674 yards: the most by a quarterback until Randall Cunningham came along. He retired holding every major passing record. Nine Pro Bowls. 1975 NFL MVP.

He also went 0 and 3 in Super Bowls with some of the ugliest quarterback performances you’ll ever see.

In Super Bowl 8 against the Dolphins: 18-for-28, 182 yards, zero touchdowns, one interception. Lost 24-7.

Super Bowl 9 against the Steelers: 11-for-26, 102 yards, zero touchdowns, three interceptions. Lost 16-6.

Super Bowl 11 against the Raiders: 17-for-35, 205 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions. Lost 32-14.

Combined across three Super Bowls? A 43.7 passer rating. One touchdown. Six interceptions.

Tarkenton was electric in the regular season, but when January rolled around against truly elite defenses, he looked completely lost. Three chances at a championship. Three embarrassing defeats.

Journeyman: Max McGee: Super Bowl 1

This might be the greatest underdog story in Super Bowl history, and it involves a hungover 34-year-old backup who didn’t even bring his helmet to the game.

Max McGee had caught only four passes all season for the Green Bay Packers in 1966. Four. He knew he wasn’t going to play in the first-ever Super Bowl, so the night before the game against Kansas City, he snuck out of the team hotel and partied with two flight attendants until 6:30 in the morning.

When he passed Bart Starr in the lobby on his way back to his room, McGee reportedly said, “I hope Boyd doesn’t get hurt today. I’m not in very good shape.”

As luck would have it, Boyd Dowler got hurt on the third play of the game.

McGee had to borrow a teammate’s helmet because he’d left his in the locker room. Then he went out and made a one-handed grab on a pass behind him from Starr, took off past Fred “The Hammer” Williamson, and ran 37 yards for the first touchdown in Super Bowl history.

By the end of the game, McGee had seven catches for 138 yards and two touchdowns. The Packers won 35-10.

To this day, only Jerry Rice and Ricky Sanders have matched McGee’s feat of 130-plus receiving yards and two touchdowns in a Super Bowl. And McGee did it hungover, with no sleep, as a backup who wasn’t supposed to play a single snap.

Hall of Famer: Jim Kelly: Super Bowls 25, 26, 27, and 28

Jim Kelly led the Buffalo Bills to four consecutive Super Bowls. That’s an incredible achievement that will probably never be matched.

He also lost all four of them.

His combined Super Bowl stats: 81-for-145, 829 yards, two touchdowns, seven interceptions. That’s a 56.9 passer rating across four games.

Super Bowl 25 against the Giants is remembered for Scott Norwood’s missed field goal, but Kelly threw for just 212 yards. In Super Bowl 26 against Washington, he threw four interceptions in a 37-24 loss. Super Bowl 27 against Dallas? Kelly got knocked out of the game with a knee injury, but before that, he was picked off twice in a 52-17 humiliation.

The next year in Super Bowl 28? Another loss to Dallas, 30-13.

Kelly was a warrior. He battled through injuries, led one of the most exciting offenses in NFL history with the no-huddle K-Gun, and made the Pro Bowl five times. But four chances to win a championship, and he came up short every single time.

Journeyman: Larry Brown: Super Bowl 30

Larry Brown was a 12th-round pick in 1991: the 320th player selected. He was considered the weak link in the Dallas Cowboys’ secondary throughout the dynasty years.

Then, miraculously, Neil O’Donnell gave him a Super Bowl MVP.

In Super Bowl 30 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Brown intercepted two passes that were so poorly thrown, conspiracy theories exist to this day about whether O’Donnell did it on purpose. Both picks led directly to Cowboys touchdowns.

The first interception came in the third quarter with Dallas clinging to a 13-7 lead. Brown picked off O’Donnell at the Dallas 38 and returned it 44 yards to the Pittsburgh 18. Emmitt Smith punched it in two plays later.

The second interception came in the fourth quarter. Same result: another Cowboys touchdown.

Final score: Dallas 27, Pittsburgh 17. Larry Brown had just two tackles in the game but walked away with the MVP trophy and a five-year, $12.5 million contract from the Oakland Raiders.

Which, in case anyone was wondering, is frequently among the worst free agent signings in NFL history. 

Brown made just 22 tackles in 1996, was suspended in 1997, and was out of Oakland by 1998. He’s one of only three Cowboys Super Bowl MVPs not in the Hall of Fame.

But for one night, he was the most valuable player in the biggest game on Earth.

Hall of Famer: John Elway: Super Bowls 21, 22, and 24

Before John Elway became a two-time Super Bowl champion, he was the poster boy for big-game failure.

Three Super Bowl appearances in the late 1980s. Three absolute beatdowns.

Super Bowl 21 against the Giants: The Broncos led 10-7 and had first-and-goal at the one-yard line in the second quarter. They came away with nothing after missing a field goal. New York scored 30 unanswered points and won 39-20.

Super Bowl 22 against Washington: Elway threw a 56-yard touchdown on Denver’s first offensive play. It looked like a shootout. Then Washington scored 35 points in the second quarter: still a Super Bowl record, and won 42-10. Elway finished with three interceptions.

As for his third in that era, Super Bowl 24 against the 49ers: Honestly, this one was just cruel… Borderline abuse. 

Elway completed just 10-of-26 passes for 108 yards with two interceptions, and the 49ers won by over 40 points!

Combined in those three losses, Elway went 46-for-101 with two touchdowns and six interceptions.

Elway eventually got his redemption with back-to-back wins in Super Bowls 32 and 33, capping his career with an MVP performance. But those first three trips to the big game? Pure nightmare fuel. At least he’s still feuding with a former quarterback great nowadays.

Journeyman: David Tyree: Super Bowl 42

David Tyree was a special teams guy. In the entire 2007 regular season, he caught four passes for 35 yards. That’s it. His teammates said he had one of the worst weeks of practice leading up to the Super Bowl anyone had ever seen.

Then he made the greatest catch in Super Bowl history against one of the greatest teams the league had ever seen.

The New York Giants were trailing the undefeated New England Patriots 14-10 with 1:15 left in the game. Third-and-five from their own 44-yard line.

Eli Manning takes the snap, gets swarmed by three defenders, somehow escapes, rolls right, and heaves a prayer downfield. Tyree goes up for it with Rodney Harrison draped all over him, and pins the ball against his helmet as he falls backward to the turf.

The Helmet Catch.

NFL Films ranked it the number one play in Super Bowl history. It kept the drive alive, and four plays later, Manning hit Plaxico Burress for the game-winning touchdown.

Tyree’s helmet is now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 

What makes it even more inane, the guy never caught another pass in an NFL game. His final career stats: 54 receptions, 650 yards, four touchdowns. 

But that one catch? That one moment? It denied the Patriots a perfect 19-0 season and gave the Giants one of the greatest upsets in sports history.

Hall of Famer: Dan Marino: Super Bowl 19

Dan Marino is the greatest quarterback to never win a Super Bowl. And the cruelest part? He made it there in just his second season.

The 1984 Dolphins were a juggernaut. Marino threw for 5,084 yards and 48 touchdowns: both NFL records at the time. He won the MVP at age 23. The Dolphins went 14-2 and steamrolled through the playoffs.

Then they ran into Bill Walsh and the San Francisco 49ers.

Super Bowl 19 was billed as the battle of the century: Marino versus Joe Montana. It was supposed to be a shootout.

Instead, the 49ers defense sacked Marino four times, intercepted him twice, and held Miami to just 25 rushing yards on nine attempts: still the fewest rush attempts in Super Bowl history. Montana threw for 331 yards and three touchdowns. Marino threw for 318 yards, but only one touchdown and two picks.

Final score: 49ers 38, Dolphins 16.

That was it. That was Marino’s only Super Bowl appearance in 17 seasons. He’d make the AFC Championship Game twice more and lose both times. The greatest arm talent of his generation, 420 career touchdown passes, and just one trip to the big game, where he got dominated.

Journeyman: Nick Foles: Super Bowl 52

This is the guy who almost became a high school pastor instead of a Super Bowl MVP.

Nick Foles was a third-round pick who had one of the most bizarre careers in NFL history. In 2013, he threw 27 touchdowns and only two interceptions: an NFL record ratio. Made the Pro Bowl. Tied an NFL record with seven touchdown passes in a single game against Oakland. The Eagles thought they had their franchise guy.

Two years later, he was benched in St. Louis, watching Case Keenum take his job. When the Rams drafted Jared Goff first overall in 2016, Foles requested his release. He was 27 years old, bouncing around the league, and seriously considering walking away from football entirely. He enrolled in seminary classes at Liberty University. His plan was to become a pastor.

Things changed, however, when Andy Reid reached out, and Foles signed a $1.75 million backup deal with the Chiefs. 

In 2017, the Eagles brought him back as Carson Wentz’s insurance policy. Wentz was having an MVP-caliber season. Philadelphia was 11-2. Nobody expected to need Nick Foles.

That is… until Wentz tore his ACL and everyone promptly wrote the Eagles off.

But Foles didn’t care.

In Super Bowl 52, he went 28-for-43 for 373 yards and three touchdowns. 

And the moment that turned him into a Philadelphia legend came on fourth-and-goal right before halftime. 

Doug Pederson called it “Philly Special.” Foles lined up under center, shifted out wide, and caught a one-yard touchdown pass from tight end Trey Burton.

When all was said and done, he outdueled the greatest quarterback of all time and became the first guy to throw and catch a touchdown in the Super Bowl. Not bad for a journeyman!