58 games, 1967–2024
566 +2/232\\
Super Bowls 1–58: 6 ATDs (at minimum)
SB LIV (KC v SF): The Granddaddy
Feb. 2, 2020, Miami (Hard Rock Stadium). So much time was spent debating what happened first: Did Kansas City’s Damien Williams first step out of bounds, or did he first wave the ball through the end zone’s Great Invisible Plane? No one could tell for sure. Thus the game’s go-ahead touchdown with three minutes to play was decided by guesswork.
Yet one fact is certain: Williams never, ever touched the end zone, which is how we at this website believe all touchdowns should be judged. More details are found on our Concept page. Hocus Bogus Rating: 5

Video and image: Fox Sports. Announcers: Joe Buck and Troy Aikman
SB XL (PIT v SEA): De plane, de plane
Feb. 6, 2006, Detroit (Ford Field). Did the ball in the right hand of Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger manage to momentarily, incrementally break the plane during Roethlisberger’s goal-line lunge late in the second quarter?
No one in Seattle will ever believe he did. Fans are forever convinced linebacker D.D. Lewis (54) effectively drilled Roethlisberger and kept ball and player out of the end zone.
Announcers Al Michaels and John Madden were noncommital. It was one of several questionable calls that worked against the Seahawks in their 21-10 loss. Eventually NFL.com assembled a video that examined some of the controversial calls, and six months later Bill Leavy, the white hat official in SBXL, conceded officiating mistakes were made in the game.
Yet one thing on the Roethlisberger dive is indisputable: Roethlisberger never touched the end zone. Had the more logical rule that this site recommends been in place, the Steelers would have faced fourth-and-goal from inside the 1. Simple. Rating: 5

Video and images: ABC Sports. Announcers: Al Michaels and John Madden
SB XXXV (BAL v NYG): Oopsie
Jan. 28, 2001, Tampa (Raymond James Stadium). Once again we have a ball carrier (Baltimore ‘s Jamal Lewis, then a rookie) who never touches, yet he walks away with six points. Why? Because he nicked (and just barely) a tiny portion of the end zone’s airspace with the tip of the ball. Then he fumbles. Does that seem worthy of six points to you?
The play was ruled a touchdown on the field. New York coach Jim Fassel challenged the ruling, and nearly three minutes passed while lead official Gerald Allen consulted with Fassel and studied replays. The call, in all its legalistic lameness, stood.
Did Lewis complete the mission of a ball carrier? Did he reach paydirt? No. He barely clipped a teensy bit of pay-air, and it took minutes of squinting and handwringing just to arrive at that decision. Fans deserve better. Rating: 5

Video and image: CBS Sports. Announcers: The late Greg Gumbel and Phil Simms
SB XXXIV (STL v TEN): Knee down
Jan. 30, 2000, Atlanta (Georgia Dome). Maybe the break-the-plane rul had officials seeing mirages of touchdowns on the field. Here the left knee of Tennessee’s Eddie George touches the turf about two feet in front of the goal line, yet he is awarded six points.
The unfortunate essence of the break-the-plane rule is that close enough is good enough, and as a result touchdowns are too often handed out with abandon. Even so, few people will disagree that, whatever the rationale, this is a dreadful call. Rating: 5

Video and image: ABC Sports. Announcers: Al Michaels and Boomer Esiason
SB XXIII (SF v CIN): Sleight of hand
Jan. 22, 1989, Miami (Joe Robbie Stadium). If the rules do not require you to make contact with the end zone, why bother? Just wave the ball the through a wedge of its airspace, as San Francisco’s Jerry Rice does here, and you have six points.
The break-the-plane rule also gives ball carriers the freedom to land a yard or so wide of the end zone, which in essence makes the end zone extra-wide, and thus extra-difficult for the defense to defend. Hardly seems right. Rating: 4.5

Video and image: NBC Sports. Announcers: Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen
SB VII (MIA v WAS): Turf toe
Jan. 14, 1973, Los Angeles (Memorial Coliseum). Miami wide receiver Howard Twilley scored one of the Dolphins’ two touchdowns in their 14-7 victory, ending their season at 14-0, still the only team to finish a Super Bowl with an unbeaten record. And this was the first Super Bowl to use foam pylons to mark the corners of the end zone instead of flags.
Twilley was ruled to have broken the plane before his right foot skidded out of bounds and thus granted six points. By all accounts, Twilley was considered a great teammate and all-around nice guy, so we’re happy he can claim a shiny niche in football history. But we still think the rule that interprets this outcome as touchdown-worthy is flawed. Rating: 3.5

Video and image: NBC Sports. Announcers: Curt Gowdy and Al Derogatis