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A Hail Mary pass is a very long forward pass in
American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
, typically made in desperation, with a very small chance of achieving a completion. Due to the difficulty of a completion with this pass, it makes reference to the
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
" Hail Mary" prayer for strength and help. The expression goes back at least to the 1930s, when it was used publicly by Elmer Layden and Jim Crowley, two former members of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish's Four Horsemen. Originally meaning any sort of desperation play, a Hail Mary pass gradually came to denote a long, low-probability pass, typically of the " alley-oop" variety, attempted at the end of a half when a team is too far from the end zone to execute a more conventional play, implying that it would take a miracle for the play to succeed. For more than 40 years, use of the term was largely confined to Notre Dame and other Catholic universities. The term became widespread after an NFL playoff game between the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
and the
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...
on December 28, 1975 (see Cowboys–Vikings rivalry), when Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach (a devout Catholic) said about his game-winning touchdown pass to wide receiver Drew Pearson, "I closed my eyes and said a Hail Mary."


Origins

Crowley often told the story of a game between Notre Dame and Georgia Tech on October 28, 1922, in which the Fighting Irish players said Hail Mary prayers together before scoring each of the touchdowns, before winning the game 13–3. According to Crowley, it was one of the team's linemen, Noble Kizer (a
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
), who suggested praying before the first touchdown, which occurred on a fourth and goal play at the Georgia Tech 6-yard line during the second quarter. Quarterback Harry Stuhldreher, another of the Horsemen, threw a quick pass over the middle to Paul Castner for the score. The ritual was repeated before a third and goal play, again at Georgia Tech's 6-yard line, in the fourth quarter. This time Stuhldreher ran for a touchdown, which sealed the win for Notre Dame. After the game, Kizer exclaimed to Crowley, "Say, that Hail Mary is the best play we've got." Crowley related this story many times in public speeches beginning in the 1930s. On November 2, 1935, with 32 seconds left in the so-called " Game of the Century" between Ohio State and Notre Dame, Irish halfback Bill Shakespeare found receiver Wayne Millner for a 19-yard, game-winning touchdown. Notre Dame head coach Elmer Layden, who had played in the 1922 Georgia Tech game, afterwards called it a "Hail Mary" play. An early appearance of the term was in an
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story about the upcoming 1941 Orange Bowl between the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Georgetown Hoyas. The piece appeared in several newspapers including the December 31, 1940, '' Daytona Beach Morning Journal'' under the headline, "Orange Bowl: eorgetownHoyas Put Faith in 'Hail Mary' Pass". As the article explained, "A 'hail Mary' pass, in the talk of the Washington eleven, is one that is thrown with a prayer because the odds against completion are big." During an NBC broadcast in 1963, Staubach, then a
Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
quarterback, described a pass play during his team's victory over
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
that year as a "Hail Mary play". He scrambled to escape a pass rush, nearly getting sacked 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage before completing a desperation pass for a one-yard gain.


Examples

Arguably the most memorable and replayed Hail Mary walk-off touchdown pass came on November 23, 1984, in a game now known as " Hail Flutie".
Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...
was trailing Miami (FL) 45–41 with six seconds left, when their quarterback Doug Flutie threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to Gerard Phelan, succeeding primarily because Miami's secondary stood on the goal line to keep the receivers in front of them without covering a
post route A route is a pattern or path that a receiver in gridiron football runs to get open for a forward pass. Routes are usually run by wide receivers, running backs and tight ends, but other positions can act as a receiver given the play. One popular ...
behind them. Miami's defense was based on the assumption that the five-foot-nine-inch Flutie could not throw the ball as far as the end zone: instead, Flutie hit Phelan in stride against a flatfooted defense a
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deep in the end zone as time expired. To commemorate the play, a statue of Flutie in his Hail Mary passing pose was unveiled outside Alumni Stadium at Boston College on November 7, 2008. Other noteworthy examples include: * December 19, 1980: Known as "The Miracle Bowl",
Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...
(BYU) quarterback Jim McMahon threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to tight end Clay Brown to defeat Southern Methodist University in the 1980 Holiday Bowl 46–45, which completed Brigham Young's comeback from a 45–25 deficit with four minutes remaining. * November 20, 1983: In a Week 12 matchup featuring the
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...
vs the
Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...
, Falcon's quarterback Steve Bartowski threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Billy "White Shoes" Johnson with no time left on the clock to win, 28–24. Johnson caught the ball at the six yard line, ran to his right and was tackled into the endzone by three 49er defenders. * September 24, 1994: Known as the " Miracle at Michigan",
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
quarterback Kordell Stewart threw a 64-yard walk-off touchdown pass to wide receiver Michael Westbrook to beat
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
27–26. Stewart's pass had traveled 73 yards in the air from the Colorado 26 to the opposite 1-yard line, was tipped by Blake Anderson, then caught by Westbrook four yards deep in the end zone. * October 31, 1999: The
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
' first win after returning as an expansion team came on a Hail Mary walk-off touchdown against the
New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...
, when Browns quarterback Tim Couch avoided the Saints pass rush and launched a 56-yard pass that was tipped up in the air and caught by receiver Kevin Johnson near the pylon for a 21–16 Browns victory. * November 9, 2002: Known as the " Bluegrass Miracle",
Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...
quarterback Marcus Randall threw a 74-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Devery Henderson in the game to defeat
Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
33–30. * December 8, 2002: Three years after his first Hail Mary, Tim Couch won another game with a game-ender against the
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...
. Couch launched a 50-yard Hail Mary that was caught by Quincy Morgan, and the ensuing extra point gave the Browns a 21–20 win. Although he remains a hotly debated player - due to being picked #1 overall in the 1999 NFL draft and his injury-plagued career - Tim Couch remains the only NFL player to win two games on game-ending Hail Marys. * October 22, 2011: Known as "Rocket", Michigan State quarterback
Kirk Cousins Kirk Daniel Cousins (born August 19, 1988) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans football, Mi ...
threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Keith Nichol to beat
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
37–31. * November 16, 2013: Known as the " Prayer at Jordan-Hare", Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall threw a 73-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Ricardo Louis on fourth-and-18 with 36 seconds left to beat
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
43–38. Louis caught the ball after one Georgia defender tipped it away from another. * November 10, 2013: With the
Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...
leading 17–10 on the last play of their game against the
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...
, Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton launched a 51-yard Hail Mary to the end zone, where a Ravens player tipped the ball in the air directly to A. J. Green for a touchdown. Despite this game-tying score, the Ravens won the game in overtime, 20–17. * September 5, 2015: Known as the "Miracle at Memorial", BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum threw a desperate 42-yard pass to wide receiver Mitch Mathews as time expired to defeat
Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...
33–28 at Memorial Stadium, and break a streak of 29 consecutive home opener victories for the Cornhuskers. Mangum, a freshman just two months removed from a mission for
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
, was the backup to senior Taysom Hill, who had left the game earlier with a season-ending Lisfranc injury, and was playing in his first organized football game in nearly four years. * December 3, 2015: Known as the " Miracle in Motown", a 15-yard defensive facemask penalty on the
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
as time expired gave the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
, who had been trailing the entire game, an additional untimed down. Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw a 61-yard touchdown pass which left his hand at Green Bay's 35-yard line and was caught four yards into the end zone by tight end
Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...
to give the Packers a 27–23 win. The total distance of 69 yards is the longest Hail Mary pass in NFL history. * January 16, 2016: In the postseason after the Miracle in Motown, Aaron Rodgers completed a second Hail Mary pass: faced with a 4th and 20 on his own 4-yard line and a 20–13 deficit against the
Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...
in the final minute of the game, Rodgers threw a 60-yard completion to Jeff Janis. On the final play of regulation, he completed a 41-yard touchdown pass to Janis, making Green Bay the first postseason team ever to score a game-tying touchdown on the final play of the 4th quarter. Despite this, Arizona won the game in overtime largely through the efforts of Larry Fitzgerald, who went all the way to the Green Bay 5-yard line on a short pass he caught while wide open before scoring two plays afterwards. * September 10, 2016: After Oklahoma State football quarterback Mason Rudolph threw the ball up into the air as time expired, it was ruled intentional grounding: under college football rules, the game should have ended and Oklahoma State should have defeated Central Michigan 27–24. However, both on-field officials (from Central Michigan's home of the
Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...
) and replay officials (from Oklahoma State's home of the
Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...
) missed the call and gave Central Michigan an untimed down. CMU quarterback Cooper Rush threw a 49-yard Hail Mary to receiver Jesse Kroll, who then lateraled to Malik Fountain, who ran it into the end zone to win the game 30–27. * October 1, 2016: After a 47-yard touchdown pass with ten seconds remaining on the clock, a
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
player took off his helmet during the celebration, resulting in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The kickoff was returned to the Georgia 43-yard line: on the final play,
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
QB Joshua Dobbs threw a game-winning touchdown, caught by Jauan Jennings, as time expired to win 34–31. * January 8, 2017: In a wildcard playoff game between the Green Bay Packers and the New York Giants, Aaron Rodgers completed a 42-yard pass to Randall Cobb over a crowd of players from both teams on the last play before halftime. This gave Green Bay a 14–6 halftime lead, and they went on to win 38–13. * September 16, 2017: In a key
Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...
matchup between the Florida Gators and the Tennessee Volunteers, Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks completed a 63-yard pass to Tyrie Cleveland as time expired to give UF a 26–20 win. *November 15, 2020: In a week 10 game against the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...
, Kyler Murray completed a 43-yard touchdown pass to receiver DeAndre Hopkins in the final seconds of the game. Hopkins caught the ball over three Bills defenders for a touchdown to win the game 32–30. *September 17, 2022: During a '' College GameDay'' between Appalachian State and
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, Appalachian State quarterback, Chase Brice, threw a 63-yard pass as time expired to Christan Horn who caught the pass for a touchdown, allowing Appalachian State to win, 32–28. *September 17, 2023: In the dwindling seconds of a Week 2 matchup between the
Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...
and
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
, Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson completed a 50-yard touchdown pass to receiver Brandon Johnson to bring the game within a conversion, 35–33. Despite the incredible catch, which came off of multiple Commanders players deflecting the ball, the Broncos failed to complete the subsequent two-point conversion. *October 14, 2024: In a Week 6 Monday night game between the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...
and
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
, Aaron Rodgers threw a 52-yard deep pass to Allen Lazard into the end zone, crowded around the Bills defense on the last play before halftime. It was initially ruled as an incomplete pass, however, with the assistance of replay assist, the ruling was changed to a touchdown. The score after the PAT was 20-17 going into halftime. Despite this, Buffalo won the game 23–20. *October 27, 2024: Known as the " Hail Maryland", Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels threw a deep middle pass for 52 yards to receiver Noah Brown for a walk-off Commanders touchdown to beat
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18–15. According to NextGen Stats, Daniels scrambled for 12.79 seconds to make the play possible, the longest since the statistic was begun in 2016. His pass of 64 yards in the air is the second-longest successful NFL Hail Mary behind Aaron Rodgers's 69-yarder in the 2015 "Miracle in Motown."


Metaphorical usage in other fields

The term "Hail Mary" is sometimes used to refer to any last-ditch effort with little chance of success. In military uses, General Norman Schwarzkopf described his strategy during the Persian Gulf War to bypass the bulk of Iraqi forces in Kuwait by attacking in a wide left sweep through their rear as a "Hail Mary" plan. This usage, however, did not refer to the plan's chances of success but to the movement of Coalition forces to the left side of the front lines prior to the attack, which reflected the formation for a Hail Mary pass in which all the offensive team's wide receivers line up on one side of the line of scrimmage. Various legal actions attempting to overturn
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
's defeat in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, in particular the '' Texas v. Pennsylvania'' Supreme Court lawsuit, were described as "Hail Marys". There are similar usages in other fields, such as a "Hail Mary shot" in photography where a photographer holds the view finder of an SLR camera away from the eyes (so unable to compose the picture), usually high above the head, and takes a shot. This is often used in crowded situations. In
computer security Computer security (also cybersecurity, digital security, or information technology (IT) security) is a subdiscipline within the field of information security. It consists of the protection of computer software, systems and computer network, n ...
, a "Hail Mary attack" will throw every exploit it has against a system to see whether any of them work. When the Pennsylvania Republican Party sold its headquarters in
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to the
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, this was described by ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' as "a real-life Hail Mary". After the
Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
in February 2022,
Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
' attempts to stop the conflict by consecrating Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary was called the "Pope's Hail Mary pass". At the end of the
NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...
' 2022 Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway, Ross Chastain's wall-ride move to get the positions he needed to clinch a spot in the Championship 4 was given the name "Hail Melon", combining the name of the football pass play with Chastain's association with watermelons.


See also

* Lateral pass, another football strategy that is similar in that it is generally only used in desperation by the losing team on the very last play * Gambit * List of Hail Mary passes in American football *
List of sports idioms The following is a ''list of phrases from sports'' that have become idioms (slang or otherwise) in English. They have evolved usages and meanings independent of sports and are often used by those with little knowledge of these games. The sport fro ...
* 1975–76 NFL playoffs * Aaron Rodgers * Cowboys–Vikings rivalry *
Buzzer beater In timed sports, a buzzer beater is a successful shot made as the clock expires at the end of a period or at the end of the game, leaving zero seconds remaining. A buzzer sounds whenever a game clock expires, hence the name "buzzer beater." In b ...
, similar application in basketball * Kicks after the siren in Australian rules football


References


External links

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hail Mary, The American football plays Metaphors referring to sport Christianity and sports