Kearse’s touchdown and great Super Bowl plays

By Brady Henderson

Any suspense was long gone by the time Jermaine Kearse reached with outstretched arms to catch a bullet from Russell Wilson in the third quarter of Super Bowl XLVIII. Two spin moves and four broken tackles later, he had completed a 23-yard touchdown reception that gave Seattle a 36-0 lead over Denver.

It was a magnificent play, but is it not getting its due because the game was such a blowout?

That was a topic Tom Wassell and I covered in Friday’s edition of “Nightwatch” on 710 ESPN Seattle. We agreed that Kearse’s play – on its own and regardless of the situation or storyline – was one of the most impressive in recent Super Bowl history, up there with Eli Manning’s great escape and David Tyree’s helmet catch in Super Bowl XLII, James Harrison’s 100-yard pick-six in Super Bowl XLIII and Ben Roethlisberger’s winning touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes in the corner of the end zone in the same game.

What about John Elway being spun around like a helicopter blade while running for a first down in Super Bowl XXXII, you ask? I argued that play is memorable because of the story – the 37-year-old Elway, having gone 0-3 in Super Bowls, selling out in what might have been his last shot at a title.

You can watch Kearse’s play here and listen to Tom and I discuss its place in Super Bowl history here.

Follow Brady Henderson on Twitter @BradyHenderson.