50 Most Memorable Super Bowl Moments Counterpoint: Why Malcolm Butler should be No. 1

Frank Schwab
·NFL writer

Our look back at the top 50 Super Bowl moments has been a fantastic trip down memory lane, a wonderful collection of the plays and moments that have made the Super Bowl great.

Then we had to go and pick the wrong play for the No. 1 spot.

It’s fine. I’ll get over it. But New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler’s interception to win Super Bowl XLIX should be in the top position on this list. There should not even be a debate. No single play has ever changed NFL history like Butler’s interception.

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And the play itself, with the effort Butler made to drive on the ball and the incredible catch he made as Seattle Seahawks receiver Ricardo Lockette ran into him at full speed, was as remarkable as any other play in the top 50.

Memorable Super Bowl Moments in review:

• 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26-30 | 31-35 | 36-40 | 41-45 | 46-50
• Greatest 'forgotten' plays

We all know the scene. In the final minute, Seattle decided on second-and-goal from the 1-yard line to pass, opposed to handing off to Marshawn Lynch. Butler made an incredible break on the ball, after the Patriots defense had practiced against that same play leading up to the Super Bowl. Butler got to the ball first, beating Lockette to the spot, secured the catch and the Patriots were world champs. Butler, an undrafted rookie from West Alabama, went from an unknown to making the greatest defensive play in the history of the NFL in a split second.

This much is inarguable: No single play in NFL history has so extremely turned the outcome of a championship.

(AP)
(AP)

Football Outsiders, in its fantastic annual almanac, broke it down statistically. Football Outsiders wrote that the Patriots had a 12.6 percent chance to win before that second-and-goal play. New England's win probability rose to 100 percent after Butler's interception. That's an 87 percent win probability swing. The second most influential play in determining a championship during the Super Bowl era, according to Football Outsiders and Football Perspective, was Scott Norwood's miss in Super Bowl XXV. That miss resulted in a 45 percent swing in the Buffalo Bills' win probability, as it fell from 45 percent to 0. Butler's interception was almost two times more influential on determining a championship than any other play in the Super Bowl era. Even if you don't buy into the accuracy of win probability stats, you understand that the Lombardi Trophy likely shifted from Seattle to New England in one play.

The No. 1 play on our list was crazy, and dramatic but our No. 1 play didn’t end the game. David Tyree's catch only got the Giants down to the New England 24. The Giants had to convert a third-and-11 after that. Then Plaxico Burress caught the game-winning touchdown.

One play didn't singlehandedly change the outcome of that Patriots-Giants Super Bowl. Butler’s pick changed who won the Patriots-Seahawks Super Bowl.

The historical fallout from that play will be felt for a long, long time. Instead of losing another close Super Bowl (and falling to 3-3 in Super Bowls), Tom Brady and Bill Belichick took another step forward on the list of all-time greats with their fourth title. Butler's interception will ultimately push Brady and Belichick up greatest quarterback/greatest coach lists. Seattle missed a golden chance to join an elite group of teams as a repeat Super Bowl champion. And as long as we debate questionable play calls in sports, the Seahawks passing from the 1 will always be part of that conversation.

Butler’s play also elevated Super Bowl XLIX from a really, really great game to perhaps the greatest game in NFL history.

And as long as we watch football, the name Malcolm Butler will be remembered. He made the most important play in the history of the Super Bowl. It might be the most impactful play in the entire history of the league.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!