In this centennial season, the NFL has been consumed with lists. Top players, coaches, games … you name it, the NFL has ranked it.
Now it's time to move into some more specific categories. The league is currently in the process of counting down the best coaches and players, but other categories have caught our attention as well.
One of those is the list of the top 100 catches of all time. Another thankless task trying to rank the thousands of plays compiled over the span of 100 years of football, the catch list is a combination of extremely impressive individual feats and some of the most memorable and impactful grabs in league history.
As is generally the case, the Patriots are heavily involved. New England is featured in 10 of the 100 plays with four of them involving catches by the Patriots and the other six against them. The most memorable ones involving the Patriots are well-represented and place high up on the list.
Unfortunately, most Patriots fans could probably guess which one came in the highest: David Tyree's helmet grab in Super Bowl XLII in Arizona in the loss to the Giants, which came in at No.
Three other Patriots plays cracked the top 10 – Julian Edelman's bobbling grab against Atlanta in Super Bowl LI (No. 8), Jermaine Kearse's acrobatic catch for Seattle in Super Bowl XLIX (No. 9) and Mario Manningham's grab along the sideline for the Giants in Super Bowl XLVI (No. 10).
- Immaculate Reception
- Dwight Clark's "The Catch"
- David Tyree's helmet catch
- Pittsburgh's Santonio Holmes' game-winner in SB XLIII
- OBJ's one-handed grab vs. Dallas
- GB's Antonio Freeman's OT winner vs. Minnesota
- Oakland's Clarence Davis' "Sea of Hands" catch vs. Miami in 1974 playoffs
- Julian Edelman's deflection catch vs. Atlanta in SB LI
- Jermaine Kearse's deflection catch vs. Patriots in SB XLIX
- NYG's Mario Manningham vs. Patriots in SB XLVI
In addition to the one already mentioned, there were a handful of other catches involving the Patriots that made the list. Rob Gronkowski's acrobatic one-handed catch against Denver in 2014 (No. 99) and a pair of Randy Moss highlights – at Miami in 2007 (No. 95) and a one-hander at the Jets in 2010 (No. 11) – made the cut.
Catches against the Patriots that made the list included Jacksonville's Keelan Cole's one-handed grab in 2018, Marvin Harrison's touchdown for the Colts in 2005 and Julio Jones' incredible catch on the sideline for Atlanta in Super Bowl LI.
