Think Tom Brady would be the hero of Super Bowl XLIX? Join the club.
As a matchup between the NFL’s two best teams, the Super Bowl usually features plenty of big names on both sides of the field. More often than not, these stars play instrumental roles in victory.
But every once in a while, the spotlight is wrested from the usual suspects and thrust upon an obscure backup who needed a series of miracles to even get on the field in the first place.
On Sunday, that honor belonged to New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler, who made the biggest play of his life when he jumped a Russell Wilson slant route and snagged the game-winning interception against the Seattle Seahawks.
Butler’s play still seems surreal, but he’s hardly the first unheralded player to make a big splash in the big game. In his honor, we’ve compiled a list of the top 9 most unlikely heroes in Super Bowl history.
Because not everyone can be Tom Brady.
