Best Hail Marys in Football History

Key Insights:

• Roger Staubach literally invented the term Hail Mary in 1975 and the play he threw to Drew Pearson still holds up as the original blueprint for everything that came after
• Aaron Rodgers has thrown multiple successful Hail Marys across his career and has a legitimate claim to being the greatest Hail Mary passer in NFL history
• College football has produced some of the most iconic last-second heaves ever thrown, including Doug Flutie's 1984 game-winner that set the standard every other Hail Mary gets measured against

NFL Hail Marys That Changed Entire Seasons

These are the throws that extended seasons, ended them, and in some cases completely changed the direction of a franchise. Here are the NFL Hail Marys that still get replayed every time someone needs to explain what the play is supposed to look like:

1. Roger Staubach to Drew Pearson, Cowboys vs. Vikings, 1975 — The original. Staubach said he closed his eyes and said a Hail Mary after releasing the ball, which is how the play got its name and how football got one of its best stories. Pearson caught it, the Cowboys won, and every quarterback who has thrown one since has been doing a version of this exact play.
2. Aaron Rodgers to Richard Rodgers, Packers vs. Lions, 2015 — A 61-yard game-winner as time expired, the longest game-winning Hail Mary in NFL history. Green Bay won on a play that had no business working and Rodgers celebrated like he had done it before, which he had, because he had.
3. Aaron Rodgers to Jeff Janis, Packers vs. Cardinals, 2015 playoffs — Down seven with seconds left, Rodgers rolled out and threw a 41-yard touchdown to Janis to force overtime. The Packers ultimately lost the game but the throw itself belongs on any list of the greatest last-second plays in playoff history.
4. Kyler Murray to DeAndre Hopkins, Cardinals vs. Bills, 2020 — Murray escaped pressure and launched a 43-yard jump ball into the end zone. Hopkins went up over three defenders and came down with it. The Bills lost a game they had no business losing and football had a new modern benchmark for what a Hail Mary is supposed to look like.
5. Jayden Daniels to Noah Brown, Commanders vs. Bears, 2024 — The latest entry in a long tradition. Daniels launched it, Brown caught it, and Washington won a game that looked completely lost. Every generation gets its own version of this play and this one earned its place in the conversation immediately.

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College Football Hail Marys That Belong in Any Conversation

College football has produced some of the most iconic last-second throws in the history of the sport. These are the ones that made entire programs, defined entire careers, and gave highlight reel editors material they are still using decades later:

1. Doug Flutie to Gerard Phelan, Boston College vs. Miami, 1984 — Forty-eight yards on national television as time expired. Flutie launched it from midfield and Phelan caught it in the back of the end zone while Miami's defenders stood around wondering what just happened. Still the most famous college Hail Mary ever thrown and the standard every other one gets compared to.
2. Kordell Stewart to Michael Westbrook, Colorado vs. Michigan, 1994 — A 64-yard bomb tipped at the line and caught in the end zone as time expired. Dubbed the Miracle at Michigan and still one of the most chaotic endings in college football history. The ball traveled so far that multiple players had time to touch it before Westbrook pulled it in.
3. Nick Marshall to Ricardo Louis, Auburn vs. Georgia, 2013 — Launched into traffic with no time left, tipped by a Georgia defender, and caught by Louis for a touchdown. Auburn went on to the national championship game that season and this play was the moment the whole run started feeling real.
4. East Carolina and Boise State lateral variants — Some of the best college Hail Mary moments involve multi-lateral chaos plays where the ball changes hands three times before someone scores. ECU vs. Marshall in 2012 is the most frequently cited example of the format producing something completely unhinged in the best possible way.

The Serial Hail Mary Quarterbacks

Some quarterbacks throw one Hail Mary in a career and get remembered for it forever. Then there is Aaron Rodgers, who has done it multiple times and somehow made it feel like a reliable option rather than a desperate prayer. Here are the quarterbacks who turned the play into something repeatable:

1. Aaron Rodgers — Three separate successful Hail Marys across his career including the Lions game, the Cardinals playoff game, and a late-game heave against the Giants. Reddit and NFL highlight packages regularly call him the greatest Hail Mary passer of all time and the evidence makes that argument very easy to support.
2. Russell Wilson — Multiple long late heaves in Seattle including the Fail Mary against Green Bay in 2012, which was controversially ruled a touchdown by replacement officials despite looking like an interception to everyone watching. Wilson did not throw the greatest Hail Mary ever but he was involved in the most controversial one by a significant margin.
3. Kyler Murray — Before Hail Murray against the Bills, Murray's scramble-and-throw skill set made him a natural fit for the play. His ability to escape pressure and still generate enough arm strength to reach the end zone from 40-plus yards makes every late-game situation feel like a potential highlight.
4. Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes — Both regularly launch 60-yard attempts at the end of halves with enough velocity and accuracy that defenders cannot simply camp under them. Neither has hit the iconic version yet but both have the arm talent and the situation awareness that makes it feel like a matter of time.

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Near-Miracles, Controversies, and Deep Cuts Worth Knowing

Not every Hail Mary attempt ends with a clean catch and a celebration. Some of the most memorable ones in football history involved controversy, impossible circumstances, or plays that technically do not qualify but absolutely belong in the same conversation:

1. The Fail Mary, Seahawks vs. Packers, 2012 — Wilson heaved it into the end zone, Golden Tate appeared to push a defender, and two officials signaled simultaneously for a touchdown and an interception. The replacement officials called it a touchdown. Green Bay fans called it something much less polite. It remains the most controversial ending to any NFL game in recent memory.
2. Donovan McNabb to Freddie Mitchell, Eagles vs. Packers, 2004 — Not a true Hail Mary but lives in the same bucket of impossible late-game moments. Fourth and 26 with the season on the line, McNabb found Mitchell for a first down that kept Philadelphia alive. The Eagles eventually won in overtime.
3. CFL Hail Marys — Canadian football's wider field and different rules produce their own versions of the play, with Montreal and other CFL teams generating long-bomb moments in playoff games that occasionally get imported into NFL highlight compilations as examples of the play working at multiple levels of the sport.
4. High school and Division II viral versions — NFL.com's Hail Mary playlists regularly include non-professional examples because the play works at every level of football and some of the most perfectly executed versions happen in games with a few hundred people watching.

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The Hail Mary works because football, at its most desperate, still gives you one last chance to do something nobody expects. Every quarterback who has ever thrown one knew it was probably not going to work. The ones on this list threw it anyway and somehow made it look like the most natural thing in the world.

FAQ

Who threw the original Hail Mary in NFL history?

Roger Staubach threw it to Drew Pearson against the Vikings in 1975 and then told reporters he said a Hail Mary after releasing it. That quote gave the play its name and football has been using it ever since.

Who is the greatest Hail Mary quarterback of all time?

Aaron Rodgers. Three successful ones across his career including a playoff game and the longest game-winning Hail Mary in NFL history. Nobody else is particularly close.

Has a Hail Mary ever won a Super Bowl?

No, but Ray Allen's corner three in the 2013 Finals is the basketball equivalent of one that did. The closest NFL version is probably Rodgers' playoff heave against Arizona in 2015, which forced overtime in a game the Packers ultimately lost.

Is the Hail Mary more common in college or the NFL?

College football produces more of them because the talent gap between teams is wider, which means trailing teams attempt desperation throws more often. The most famous ones in history are split pretty evenly between the two levels though.

The Hail Mary is football being honest about how little control anyone actually has over the final seconds of a close game. One throw, one crowd of players, and someone either comes down with it or they do not. The quarterbacks on this list made that situation feel less like a coin flip and more like a skill. That is either impressive or deeply unfair depending on which sideline you were standing on.

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