Caleb Williams and the Hail Marys that defined NFL playoff history

There is no play in the NFL playoffs more desperate or more glorious than the Hail Mary. It is a ball launched into the heavens, a shared prayer, and the hope that it comes down in the right hands. In those final seconds, when logic gives way to belief, plays are born that define generations and, in most cases, build legends.

Sunday night delivered another chapter in that tradition. With tensions at their peak, the stage seemed destined to produce one more example of football’s most mythical throw. The team result was not what Chicago wanted, but Caleb Williams made one thing clear. He has the talent to suggest that this early setback is just the start of a long and promising road.

Caleb Williams’ near miracle against the Rams

With the clock nearly expired, three defenders closing in, a 25-yard dropback and one last chance to tie the game, Williams uncorked an almost unimaginable throw. He found Cole Kmet in the end zone for a touchdown that sent the game to overtime. The Rams eventually beat Chicago by three points, but the moment reopened the conversation about the greatest Hail Marys ever thrown in the playoffs.

The greatest Hail Marys in playoff history

The origin of the Hail Mary

The story begins in 1975. Roger Staubach connected with Drew Pearson in the NFC Divisional Round between the Cowboys and Vikings. With 24 seconds left, Staubach launched a 50-yard pass that sealed a 17-14 win. After the game, the quarterback admitted he had “closed his eyes and said a Hail Mary.” The phrase stuck, and football gained its most mystical play.

Aaron Rodgers doubles up

Decades later, Aaron Rodgers turned the Hail Mary into a personal weapon. In the 2017 Wild Card round against the Giants, the Packers quarterback hit Randall Cobb on a 42-yard throw just before halftime. It was a crushing emotional blow and a statement of control in a game Green Bay went on to dominate 38-13.

If any pass defied explanation, it was Rodgers’ throw to Jeff Janis in the 2015 NFC Divisional Round against the Cardinals. With time expiring, Rodgers lofted a near-vertical ball that traveled more than 60 yards in the air, officially recorded as 41 yards, to force overtime. The play kept the Packers alive and pushed the Hail Mary into the realm of the impossible.

Manning’s Hail Mary key to Giants’ Super Bowl win

The Giants have their own sacred moment. In the 2012 NFC Divisional Round, Eli Manning found Hakeem Nicks on a 37-yard strike at the end of the first half against the Packers. It was a quietly decisive play, the spark that helped propel New York toward another unlikely Super Bowl run.

The Miracle in Cleveland

Go back even further, and the so-called Miracle in Cleveland still holds a special place. In 1980, the Vikings’ Tommy Kramer fired a desperate pass to Ahmad Rashad in a dramatic finish against the Browns. While it secured playoff positioning rather than advancing a round, the catch remains one of the most spectacular and enduring moments of the pre-viral highlight era.

All of these Hail Marys share more than epic timing. They represent the instant when the NFL becomes an act of faith. When the ball is in the air and the stadium holds its breath, there are no stats and no schemes. There is only one throw, a sea of hands, and history waiting to fall from the sky.

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