What made 2 Super Bowl plays iconic? David Tyree, Malcolm Butler discuss roles in AZ games

They made two of the most iconic plays in the history of the Super Bowl – and they did it in the very same location, State Farm Stadium in Glendale, just six years apart – but for some reason David Tyree and Malcolm Butler have never crossed paths or had ever met.

Until Thursday.

In the days leading up to their appearance together on Radio Row at the Phoenix Convention Center before Super Bowl 57 on Sunday, The Republic spoke separately with both Tyree and Butler about their respective famed contributions to Super Bowl lore, their careers, and their thoughts about each other, once strangers.

They were honest, engaging and said they were eager to meet each other for the first time.

“Man, when I meet him, I’m going to tell him, ‘Look, his Super Bowl play cannot compare to mine’ because with his, they still had plenty of time on the clock,” Butler said during a phone conversation from his home in Texas. “They weren’t on the 1-yard line. I made it happen when it needed to happen.

“Tyree made a good play, though, and you’re seeing it all over the place each and every day because it’s Super Bowl time. But yeah, he made a hell of a play, so we’ve kind of got the same history.”

Tyree, now 43, is famous for making the “Helmet Catch” for the Giants in Super Bowl XLII against the Patriots. New York was trailing 14-10 with 1:15 left in regulation and facing a third-and-five situation when quarterback Eli Manning somehow eluded a sack and flung the ball 35 yards downfield.

With Patriots safety Rodney Harrison smothering him like a blanket, Tyree leaped and caught the ball fully extended, bringing the football down against his helmet with his right hand. Four plays later, Manning hit Plaxico Burress for a 13-yard, game-winning touchdown, ruining the Patriots' undefeated season.

In a fitting twist of fate, Butler, 32, established his legacy as a rookie cornerback for the Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX against the Seahawks. New England held a 28-24 lead late in the fourth quarter, but Seattle had driven all the way down to the Patriots’ 1-yard line.

Facing second and goal with 20 seconds left to play, everyone was expecting Marshawn Lynch to get the handoff and plow his way into the end zone. Instead, the play call was a quick pass from Russell Wilson to Ricardo Lockett out of a two-receiver stack and Butler forcibly intercepted the pass at the goal line to preserve the win.

“Man, talk about the irony of redemption for the Patriots, I think, in having a similar scenario,” Tyree said this past weekend during a break while hosting his “Catch Camp” at Glendale Apollo High School. “I mean, they dubbed my catch the ‘Miracle in the Desert’ and I think he would have to have the same thing in his right. It was beautiful to also see him compete at a high level.

“I didn’t get the redemptive moment in my career because of injuries and stuff like that. But I’ve been looking forward to meeting him. Anyone who has had a moment like us, I’m sure would argue their own moment, so we can banter and have some good times with it and just have a good conversation.”

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Tyree was a sixth-round pick of the Giants out of Syracuse in 2003 and mostly made his mark as a special teams player, catching just four regular-season touchdowns during his seven NFL seasons. His first TD catch during the 2007 season came during the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLII when he caught a 5-yard strike from Manning before his ultimate date with history.

“It’s a gift from God. I think I’ve said that over and over again,” Tyree said, referring to the Helmet Catch. “I mean, 15 years later, to kind of be able to still peek our head out and be able to be received in different communities, have kids be excited, be able to hit YouTube and kind of be refreshed about what that moment was and what it meant in NFL history is something I never could have imagined as a special teams player coming into the league.

“So, I try to steward it as such, like it’s a gift from God, and I’m living my life in a manner that continues to inspire and provides motivation for others.”

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For Butler, who entered the league in 2014 as an undrafted rookie free agent from West Alabama after stints at Hinds (Miss.) Community College and Alcorn State, Super Bowl XLIX was his dress rehearsal. New England’s fifth cornerback on the roster that night, he replaced a struggling Kyle Arrington at nickelback in the third quarter and started making play after play.

He wasn’t surprised when coach Bill Belichick sent him in on the goal line situation to cover the stack formation. Butler knew he just had to gain inside leverage if the Seahawks threw the ball and when they did, he said of Lockett, “Man, I knocked him back to Seattle.”

Asked if he was surprised coach Pete Carroll didn’t overrule the play call and choose to run the ball with Lynch, Butler added, “Surprised or not surprised, they did the right thing – throw the ball to me.”

Butler would win another Super Bowl with the Patriots two years later against the Falcons, although he only saw action on a single play on special teams in a situation that remains somewhat murky to this day. He moved on to the Titans and had two productive seasons in his three years there before ending up with the Cardinals in 2021.

Named a starting cornerback in training camp, Butler walked away from Arizona under more cloudy circumstances at the time, although he revealed to The Republic that his main reason for leaving the team was because of the death of his father.

“My father passed away and I was going through a lot of stuff, and I just had to keep right,” he said. “I didn’t need no money. I didn’t need none of that. I just needed peace. Peace. … Sometimes you let people drain you and you realize that, and you get back emotion and eventually you start building yourself back up, piece by piece.”

Butler retired, then unretired to rejoin the Patriots for a second stint in 2022 but was placed on injured reserve during training camp and was released days later. He told The Republic he is mulling over a potential comeback, saying, “People thought I wouldn’t last, like I was a one-hit wonder. I wasn’t done then. I might still not be done.”

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As for Tyree, his career began to fizzle out shortly after the “Helmet Catch,” as a knee injury forced him to miss the entire 2008 season, leading to his eventual release by the Giants. He hooked up with the Ravens for one more season in 2009, appearing in 10 games but never catching a pass.

“It was an injury for me,” he said, “but I’ve raised seven beautiful kids and home-schooled them for 15 years. When I looked at what was accomplished – seven seasons, All-Pro, Super Bowl, great catch in Super Bowl history, yeah, I’m good. It’s kind of one of those things where I was happy with my resume before I made the catch, but ultimately to be remembered, to be validated, call it a one-hit-wonder, I’ll take it.”

So will Butler, although he had to have the last word. He and David Tyree both made two of the most spectacular plays in Super Bowl history and they just happened to occur in the same stadium just six years apart, but Butler said his play was better.

“Oh, and I’m most definitely going to tell him that, too,” he said, laughing.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: David Tyree, Malcolm Butler discuss their iconic Super Bowl plays