ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The NFL announced Friday that 7,500 health care workers vaccinated for the coronavirus will be given free tickets to next month's Super Bowl to be played in Tampa, Florida.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell also said in a news release that attendance at the Feb. 7 game would be limited to those workers and about 14,500 other fans. Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has a capacity of just under 66,000, according to its website.
Most of the health care workers who will get free game tickets will come from the Tampa Bay area and central Florida, Goodell said. But he added that all 32 NFL teams will choose some workers from their cities to attend the game.
"These dedicated health care workers continue to put their own lives at risk to serve others, and we owe them our ongoing gratitude," Goodell said. "We hope in a small way that this initiative will inspire our country and recognize these true American heroes."
There will also be what Goodell called "a variety of special moments" to honor health care workers in the stadium during the game and also on the television broadcast by CBS.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said the NFL's decision is a perfect way to honor health care workers at such a high-profile event.
"Our country has endured to much over the last year and we can't lose sight of those who worked day in and day out to keep us safe," Castor said in the NFL release.
As with NFL games throughout the season, the Super Bowl will include mandatory wearing of masks, social distancing, touchless concession stands and controlled entry and exits. The NFL had about 1.2 million fans attend 116 games so far during the regular season and playoffs, Goodell said.
This Sunday's two conference championships will determine which teams meet in the Super Bowl. Tampa Bay travels to face the Green Bay Packers in the NFC, while the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs host the Buffalo Bills in the AFC.
If Tampa Bay wins, the Buccaneers will be the first team ever to play in a Super Bowl on their home field.
Super Bowl's close shaves and near misses
Here’s a look at some close shaves and near misses in the Super Bowl over the years.
Super Bowl V: Baltimore Colts 16, Dallas Cowboys 13
Dallas led the game 13-6 at halftime, but Baltimore capitalized on two turnovers in the second half, converting those into 10 points, including a 32-yard field goal by rookie kicker Jim O'Brien with only five seconds left to play in the game. Dallas turned the ball over on its final play, and Baltimore came away with the title.
Super Bowl X: Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Dallas Cowboys 17
Four scores in the span of eight minutes put the Steelers up by 11 points in Super Bowl X with three minutes left in the game. Roger Staubach led the Cowboys on a quick scoring drive, bringing them to within four. After stopping the Steelers on a fourth down attempt, Dallas had the ball on its own 39-yard line with 1:22 left to play. Staubach ran and passed for two first downs on the final drive, but a last-ditch heave into the end zone with 3 seconds left on the clock ended with a Steelers interception and a Cowboys loss.
Super Bowl XIII: Pittsburgh Steelers 35, Dallas Cowboys 31
The Steelers downed the Cowboys in this rematch of Super Bowl X. As they did in the earlier game, the Cowboys were down in the fourth quarter as time wound down, this time 18 points with less than seven minutes. But Roger Staubach connected with Bill Joe DuPree on a touchdown with 2:23 remaining. The Cowboys recovered the ensuing onside kick, and Staubach managed another score, this time connecting with Butch Johnson with 22 seconds left. But that’s where the Cowboys' luck ran out. The Steelers recovered the next onside attempt, coming away with the win.
Super Bowl XVI: San Francisco 49ers 26, Cincinnati Bengals 21
The 49ers looked well on their way to victory at halftime, leading 20-0. But the Bengals closed within six after touchdowns on a 5-yard run by quarterback Ken Anderson and a 4-yard catch by Dan Ross. The third quarter featured what is billed as the greatest goal-line stand in Super Bowl history. On a pass on third down, 49ers linebacker Dan Bunz took down Bengals running back Charles Alexander only inches from the goal line. The 49ers defense would stuff the Bengals on fourth down. The last of Ray Wersching's record-tying four field goals put the 49ers up 26-14, and while the Bengals would get one more touchdown with 16 seconds remaining, that was the last of the scoring.
Super Bowl XXIII: San Francisco 49ers 20, Cincinnati Bengals 16
The 49ers' third Super Bowl win came via a final drive led by legendary quarterback Joe Montana. The Bengals had taken a 16-13 lead with 3:20 left in the game on a 40-yard field goal by Jim Breech and seemed in control as the 49ers started their final drive on their own 8-yard line. But Montana took the team 92 yards on 11 plays, finishing with a 10-yard pass to John Taylor, who scored with 34 seconds left. It was his second touchdown pass of the game.
Super Bowl XXV: New York Giants 20, Buffalo Bills 19
Heavy favorites going into the game, the Buffalo Bills' powerful offense found itself on the sidelines most of the game, with the Giants controlling the ball for a Super Bowl record 40 minutes and 33 seconds. After trailing 12-10 at halftime, the Giants took the lead on a 14-play, 75-yard, 9:29 drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by Ottis Anderson. The Bills had the ball for only eight minutes in the second half, but still retook the lead on a touchdown on the opening play of the fourth quarter. The Giants regained the lead following a 21-yard field goal, setting the stage for the most famous field goal miss in NFL history. With seconds left, Scott Norwood pushed his 47-yard field goal to the right, and the Giants came away with the win.
Super Bowl XXXII: Denver Broncos 31, Green Bay Packers 24
This battle between quarterback titans John Elway and Brett Favre featured a Super Bowl record three touchdowns and 157 yards rushing by Broncos running back Terrell Davis. The score was tied 24-24 after the Packers scored with 13:32 remaining in the game. It remained that way until the Broncos started a drive with 3:27 left in the game following a 39-yard Packers punt that gave Denver the ball on the Packer 49. Davis gave the Broncos the lead with 1:45 remaining. And while Favre provided the Packers a spark of hope, reaching the Denver 35, that hope was dashed after a fourth-down incompletion, with Bronco John Mobley batting the ball away with 32 seconds remaining.
Super Bowl XXXIV: St. Louis Rams 23, Tennessee Titans 16
Football, it is said, is a game of inches, and Super Bowl XXXIV is proof. The Rams led the game 9-0 at half and were up 16-0 with 7:20 left in the third quarter, but the Titans scored the next two touchdowns with two drives lasting more than seven minutes, tying the game on a 43-yard kick with 2:12 left. On the next play, Rams quarterback Kurt Warner found receiver Isaac Bruce, who scored on a 73-yard touchdown with 1:54 left. On the final drive, the Titans ground down the clock, reaching the Rams 10-yard line with six seconds and no timeouts. Steve McNair connected with receiver Kevin Dyson on a slant, who caught the ball at the 3. Rams linebacker Mike Jones wrapped an arm around Dyson’s waist and held tight, rolling Dyson onto his back as he stretched his right arm toward the goal line, ball in hand. The ball stopped a yard short of the goal line.
Super Bowl XXXVI: New England Patriots 20, St. Louis Rams 17
It took 36 Super Bowls before the game was won on the final play. Where so many others fell short, New England placekicker Adam Vinatieri would not, kicking a 48-yard field goal as time expired. And while the Rams compiled 427 total yards on the game, three turnovers did in the Rams offense, with New England turning those into 17 points. Still, the Rams tied the game with 1:30 left on a 26-yard pass from quarterback Kurt Warner to receiver Ricky Proehl. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady then did what he would do so many times after, putting together a final drive, bringing the Patriots to the Rams 30, spiking the ball with seven seconds left and setting Vinatieri up for Super Bowl history.
Super Bowl XXXVIII: New England Patriots 32, Carolina Panthers 29
Adam Vinatieri and Tom Brady weren't done in Super Bowl XXXVI. Two years later, they returned for a repeat performance, with Vinatieri putting through a 41-yard field goal with four seconds left to give the Patriots a second Super Bowl win. Neither team scored for the first 26 minutes and 55 seconds. But there were a combined 868 yards of offenses by both teams and a combined 37 points scored in the fourth quarter, a record high for any Super Bowl. The Panthers tied the game with 1:08 remaining, but Brady drove the Patriots into Panthers territory, setting up Vinatieri for the second time in three years.
Super Bowl XXXIX: New England Patriots 24, Philadelphia Eagles 21
If you've noticed a pattern at this point, you're not alone. With this win, the Patriots matched the Cowboys as the only franchise to win three Super Bowls in four seasons, and it was again Adam Vinatieri's leg that provided the Patriots with their final points in the fourth quarter, this time with 8:40 left to play, putting them up 24-14. The Eagles drove 13 plays and 79 yards to climb within three points, but failed to recover the ensuing onside kick. They would not see the ball again until there were 46 seconds left in the game, when a Patriot punt was downed at the Eagle 4-yard line. Three plays later, the Patriots intercepted a pass by Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, ending the game.
Super Bowl XLII: New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14
This time, the Patriots were on the losing end of this razor's edge finish. Vying for the first undefeated season since the 1972 Dolphins, the Patriots found themselves in the lead, 14-10, following an 80-yard drive that ended with a 6-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tom Brady to receiver Randy Moss with 2:42 left to play. But Giants quarterback Eli Manning drove his team 83 yards on its final drive, which featured receiver David Tyree catching a Manning pass against his helmet on a 32-yard reception. Manning later found Plaxico Burress in the end zone on a fade pass with 35 seconds left. Two long pass attempts by Brady on the final drive fell incomplete.
Super Bowl XLIII: Pittsburgh Steelers 27, Arizona Cardinals 23
This game felt as if both teams found a way to pull out a last-second victory. The Cardinals nearly completed the largest comeback in Super Bowl history, scoring 16 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. A 64-yard touchdown run by Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald on a short pass by quarterback Kurt Warner gave the Cardinals a 23-20 lead with 2:37 remaining. The Steelers took over on their own 22-yard line, driving the ball down to the Cardinals 6. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger connected with receiver Santonio Holmes, who scored by the virtue of his toes scraping inbounds. The Cardinals had one last chance, reaching the Steelers' 44 with 15 seconds left, but Warner was sacked, fumbling the ball, the Steelers clinching the win.
Super Bowl XLVI: New York Giants 21, New England Patriots 17
The Patriots are guaranteed winners in tight games against everyone, except for Eli Manning and the New York Giants. As they had in their first matchup, the Patriots had the lead in the game, 17-15, and the Giants took over on their own 12-yard line with just 3:46 left to play. They needed less than two minutes to work their way down to the Patriots’ 18. Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw put the Giants ahead with a 6-yard touchdown run with 57 seconds left, giving Tom Brady one last chance to pull out a win. Brady tried to take advantage, launching a last-second heave from about midfield, but the pass fell incomplete in the end zone as time expired.
Super Bowl XLVII: Baltimore Ravens 34, San Francisco 49ers 31
This game was not close, then suddenly, it was. The 49ers mustered only two field goals in the first half and were in a 28-6 hole to the Ravens after Jacoby Jones returned the second half kickoff 108 yards for a touchdown. And then, with the 49ers facing a third-and-13 from their own 40, with 13:04 left in the third quarter, everything changed. The lights went out in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The game was delayed 34 minutes. When they came back, the 49ers clawed their way back into the game, 28-23. But they could never find a way into the lead, failing to score from the Ravens' 7 late in the game. A safety gifted by the Ravens provided the 49ers the ball, but time expired on the free kick.
Super Bowl XLIX: New England Patriots 28, Seattle Seahawks 24
The Seahawks came within one play of winning their second consecutive Super Bowl. The Patriots had taken the lead, 28-24, after quarterback Tom Brady connected with receiver Julian Edelman on a 3-yard catch with 2:02 to play. The Seahawks then stormed down field, settling in at the Patriots' 5 following a 33-yard reception by receiver Jermaine Kearse, who caught the ball while on his back. Marshawn Lynch, one of the league's top backs, carried the ball to the 1 on the next play. Then the Seahawks did the inexplicable. Instead of handing to Lynch, quarterback Russell Wilson attempted a quick pass to the right, and the ball was intercepted by Malcolm Butler in the end zone, with 20 seconds on the clock.
Super Bowl LI: New England Patriots 34, Atlanta Falcons 28
With so many close games in their repertoire, it might come as no surprise the Patriots are on the winning end of the largest comeback in Super Bowl history, in the only Super Bowl to ever go to overtime. The Patriots found themselves down 25 points in the third quarter, the Falcons dominating thoroughly. But then the Patriots kept scoring, and on the final drive, quarterback Tom Brady completed five consecutive passes, including one by receiver Julian Edelman some have dubbed "The Catch." James White scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 57 seconds to play, and Brady tied the game on a two-point conversion. The legend then completed his first five passes in overtime on the way down to the Falcons' 2-yard line. White scored again to win the game.
Super Bowl LII: Philadelphia Eagles 41, New England Patriots 33
One last chance to tie the game bounced around tantalizingly for the New England Patriots, who with 40 seconds left in the game on fourth and 10 were buried on their own 9-yard line down eight points. Quarterback Tom Brady connected with Danny Amendola on that play for the first down and then pushed his team to midfield with his arm. On the final play of the game, where 1,152 total yards were accumulated, the most of any NFL game ever, Brady let fly from his own 44-yard line. The ball carried to the Eagles' end zone, and tight end Rob Gronkowski leapt, four Eagles defenders around him. The ball bounced forward, then was tipped back into the end zone, caromed off an Eagle defender, and then fell harmlessly to the ground as Amendola made one last desperation dive.
Super Bowl LIII: New England Patriots 13, Los Angeles Rams 3
Despite featuring two offenses that finished the regular season in the top 5 in the league in scoring, this was the lowest-scoring Super Bowl ever. This defensive battle was also the first Super Bowl without a touchdown until the fourth quarter, and the Rams became just the second Super Bowl team not to score a touchdown at all. Despite the Rams’ offensive ineptitude, the Patriots needed a field goal with 1:12 to go to ice the game. Tom Brady became the first player to win a sixth Super Bowl ring.
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