In the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LVIII, the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs were tied 16-16, with the possibility of overtime looming. If the game had indeed gone into overtime, it would have been only the second time in Super Bowl history. Of the first 56 Super Bowls, only one had previously gone into overtime–the New England Patriots’ dramatic 34-28 comeback victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI. In that game, the Falcons had held a commanding 28-3 lead late in the third quarter before the Patriots mounted an impressive comeback, scoring three touchdowns and a field goal on their final four drives in regulation to tie the game at 28-28.
After winning the overtime coin flip, the New England Patriots quickly marched down the field, covering 75 yards in just eight plays. The final play of the drive was a two-yard touchdown by running back James White, giving him his third touchdown of the game. At that time, the NFL’s overtime rules stipulated that a touchdown on the opening drive would end the game, and thus the Patriots secured a historic victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI. However, in the 2019 postseason, the rules were updated to allow for both teams to have possession of the ball in overtime, in an effort to create a fairer system.
Four Super Bowls have come close to going to overtime, but were ultimately decided by clutch field goals in the final 10 seconds of the game. One example includes Super Bowl V, in which Jim O’Brien successfully kicked a field goal with just five seconds remaining, giving the Baltimore Colts a 16-13 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. The game was otherwise unremarkable, with the MVP being awarded to a defensive player from the losing team, Cowboys linebacker Chuck Howley.
Super Bowl XXXVI : Adam Vinatieri kicked a 48-yard goal as time expired to give the Patriots a 20-17 victory over the St. Louis Rams. When the Rams tied the score at 17-17 in the final minute, most viewers expected New England to run out the clock and take their chances in overtime. Instead, Tom Brady led the Patriots 54 yards to set up Vinatieri’s game-winner and launch his own legend.
Super Bowl XXXVIII : Vinatieri and Brady were again the heroes in the Patriots’ second Super Bowl title in three years, a 32-29 defeat of the Carolina Panthers. After Carolina’s Jack Delhomme hit Ricky Proehl with a 12-yard touchdown pass with 1:16 remaining to tie the score, Brady — with the benefit of a kickoff that went out of bounds and gave the Patriots the ball on their 40—moved New England 37 yards to set up Vinatieri’s 41-yard field goal with nine seconds left.
Super Bowl LVII: Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, hobbled much of the game by an injured ankle, led the team back from a 10-point halftime deficit against the Philiadelphia Eagles. With the score tied at late in the game, Mahomes led the Chiefs on a drive that included a 26-yard scramble by the quarterback and culminated in a 27-yard, game-winning field goal Harrison Butker with 8 seconds left.
