Sports Stars You'd Absolutely Trust with the Game on the Line Right Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers put all their eggs in the Le'Veon Bell basket against the San Diego Chargers on Monday Night Football. And it paid off—big time.
What other athletes have that Bell-like quality? Who are the current athletes who, with the game on the line, have fans saying, "Everyone knows the ball is going to Player X."
It's tough to compare clutchness from one sport to the next—apples and oranges and all. And in fact, it's tough to quantify clutchness at all. Therefore, what follows will not solely rely on statistics.
These 13 active athletes have exhibited some combination of late-game greatness, clutch numbers and just that feeling that there is no choice but to trust them. And all have done so in a big way, in recent memory.
Of course, not all game-ending plays end the way Pittsburgh's did. Even Michael Jordan missed big shots. But the following athletes have the talent, drive and confidence to earn that type of game-on-the-line trust.
Note: No disrespect to some of the longtime clutch performers like Tom Brady, Tim Duncan and Paul Pierce. There are a lot of people who have earned trust in big spots—the following are simply reflective of one writer's opinion.
Honorable Mention: Daniel Murphy
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No one has been more clutch this MLB postseason than New York Mets infielder Daniel Murphy. His big-time hits helped the Mets advance past the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series, and he knocked a home run in each of the first two National League Championship Series games.
Murphy hit three home runs in the series against the Dodgers, two off Clayton Kershaw and one—the eventual game-winner in Game 5—off Zack Greinke. In the deciding game, Murphy also smacked an RBI double in the first and swiped a base in the fourth.
Mets captain David Wright said, "He's about as locked in as I've ever seen him," per Ken Davidoff of the New York Post.
One series is a small sample size, but it felt wrong to leave Murphy off entirely.
Justin Tucker
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In an overtime loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 4, Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Josh Scobee missed two big field-goal tries down the stretch.
One thing that made Scobee's performance look even worse was the dominance displayed by his counterpart, Ravens kicker Justin Tucker. Tucker booted a 42-yarder to tie the game near the end of regulation and a 52-yarder to eventually win it in overtime.
Tucker is becoming one of the most reliable kickers in the league with a career field-goal percentage of 88.7 through Week 6. On October 1, ESPN Stats & Information reported Tucker was 7-for-7 on game-tying or eventual game-winning field-goal attempts in the game's last two minutes.
Tony Romo
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OK, so injured Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo might not be big in the "just a feeling" department, but consider this. In 2013, Chris Chase of For the Win reported Romo had the highest fourth quarter passer rating of all time.
Per Pro-Football-Reference, Romo's fourth-quarter comeback total is now up to 25, with 29 game-winning drives to his name as well. In September, he led the Cowboys to a comeback win over the rival New York Giants. Romo completed five of six passes for 72 yards in the final 1:16 of the game, including an 11-yard touchdown to Jason Witten.
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Lionel Messi
4 of 14Lionel Messi topped the 2014-15 Champions League scoring chart alongside Barcelona teammate Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid. The four-time Ballon d'Or winner is also in contention to win the award again in 2015.
Beyond stats, consider these two goals from Messi. The first is a stoppage-time game-winner against Iran during World Cup group play.
The second embodied the soccer version of breaking ankles, as Messi juked a Bayern Munich defender in a Champions League semifinal match for his second score of the game. Per FCBarcelona.com, a UEFA poll dubbed the goal the best of the Champions League season.
James Harden
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James Harden almost won the NBA MVP last season (and he thinks he should have).
MVP or not, Harden's clutch play is so impressive because it spans both ends of the court.
In February, he picked up a huge steal in the final minute of a victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. In April, he made a big jumper to seal a postseason win over the Dallas Mavericks. In Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Los Angeles Clippers, Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter (half of his total 32) to help the Rockets even the series at one game apiece.
In March, Bleacher Report's Dan Favale ranked Harden the most clutch shooting guard in the NBA.
Henrik Lundqvist
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One game for all the marbles—who do you want in net?
Until the 2015 Eastern Conference Final, New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist had won six consecutive Game 7s. The Tampa Bay Lightning bested Lundqvist's Rangers in Game 7 to advance, but Lundqvist is still one of the most clutch goaltenders in hockey.
Lundqvist made 23 saves in the loss, and his team scored zero goals. In fact, per Justin Tasch of the New York Daily News, the Rangers were shut out in two straight home playoff games for the first time in team history.
According to Sportsnet Stats, prior to the Game 7 loss to the Lightning, Lundqvist had the following stats when facing elimination since 2012: a 15-3 record, 1.47 goals-against average and .956 save percentage.
Jeurys Familia
7 of 14New York Mets closer Jeurys Familia saved 43 games in the 2015 regular season, tying a franchise record. Per Elite Sports NY, he struggled in the month of July, posting a 4.61 ERA and three blown saves, but he's picked things up since to become one of the most reliable relief pitchers in baseball.
Most notably, Familia recorded a six-out save to clinch the National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Familia told Fred Kerber of the New York Post, "They trust me. That's why my confidence has grown. My coaches, teammates trust me."
Indeed. Mets starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard also said of the save, "I had the utmost confidence in the managerial decision to bring in Familia. He's the best closer in the game, and he did exactly what we thought he was going to do, and that is shut the door."
Aaron Rodgers
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Aaron Rodgers has taken some criticism over the years for not being clutch in close games. Then again, the reigning NFL MVP has also proved to be one of the league's most dependable quarterbacks. Until Week 5, he hadn't thrown an interception at home since December 2012. Cool, calm and collected, Rodgers wins in the "just a feeling" department.
He has backed up that feeling, too. In the final regular-season game of 2013, Rodgers came off an injury to throw for 8 yards and a 48-yard, game-winning touchdown pass on fourth down late in the game.
Rodgers recently helped execute a comeback win against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2. Down 17-16 in the fourth quarter, the Packers went 80 yards in 10 plays and scored on a five-yard pass from Rodgers to tight end Richard Rodgers.
A quick note on why Rodgers gets this spot over New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady: In 2014, Rodgers posted a regular-season passer rating of 108.4 in the fourth quarter. Though Brady is a clutch QB, his was a few points lower, at 100.7. In addition, according to NFL analyst Bucky Brooks, Brady's late-game resume left something to be desired in 2013 as well (e.g. a 79.3 passer rating in the last seven minutes of regulation).
Maya Moore
9 of 14Minnesota Lynx forward Maya Moore just won her third WNBA title, scoring 19 points per game in the series and 25.1 throughout the playoffs, per WNBA.com.
She sunk an incredible game-winner in Game 3 of the Finals to give the Lynx a 2-1 series lead. Phoenix Mercury forward Mistie Bass pretty much summed it up when she tweeted, "Maya Moore will crush dreams!!! She is amazing!!! What a game!!! #ClutchCity."
Marshawn Lynch
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Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch has faced some injury issues in this young NFL season, but he is still one of the league's most dominant backs. Any man that can do this deserves to have the ball in a tight spot.
If ever there was a "give the man the rock" moment, it was in Super Bowl XLIX. You know the one—down 28-24 with less than a minute to play, the Seahawks with the ball on the Patriots 1-yard line and possessing a bulldozer in the backfield.
But instead of letting Lynch do his thing, head coach Pete Carroll called a pass play. One Malcolm Butler interception, ensuring that Carroll will go down in history as the guy who didn't give Lynch the ball.
Carroll told Matt Lauer on the Today Show, "It's the worst result of a call ever. The call would have been a great one if we'd caught it. It would have been just fine and nobody would have thought twice about it."
Legendary running back Emmitt Smith disagreed, tweeting, "That was the worst play call I've seen in the history of football."
Steph Curry
11 of 14Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry had a lot of help from teammates en route to winning the NBA championship in 2015, but he is still, inevitably, a sharpshooter who should have the ball when a game-winning three is needed.
The reigning NBA MVP has earned that type of trust. Many NBA greats, including Steve Nash, have called him one of the greatest shooters of all time.
Curry's performance at the end of Game 5 in the NBA Finals was the definition of clutch. The game was tight until the fourth quarter. Curry dropped 12 of his 37 points in the final 3:10, including a monster three to put a fork in it with just over a minute left.
Justin Williams
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Over the past several years, Justin Williams has gained a reputation for being clutch. The right winger scored a goal in each of his first four NHL Game 7s, the first player in history to do so, according to Adam Gretz of CBS Sports.
According to Nicholas J. Cotsonika of Yahoo Sports, Williams is undefeated in career Game 7s (7-0) and has tallied seven goals and 14 points in those games. During the 2014 playoffs, Williams scored nine goals and 25 points for the eventual champion Los Angeles Kings, including two Game 7 goals.
At the time, then-teammate Drew Doughty said, per Cotsonika: "Justin is the most underrated player in our team by a mile. He doesn't get enough credit for what he does. There are two guys on this team that I want to give the puck to, and that's him and [first-line center Anze Kopitar]. When they have the puck, things happen."
The Washington Capitals recently signed "Mr. Game 7" to a two-year deal.
Le'Veon Bell
13 of 14The Pittsburgh Steelers trailed the San Diego Chargers with five seconds remaining on Monday Night Football in Week 5. They had the ball on the Chargers 1-yard line, they had a timeout and they had Le'Veon Bell.
With several options at their disposal, the Steelers opted to put the ball in the hands of Bell, one of the league's best running backs, and let him do work. Bell took a direct snap and willed it in for the game-winning touchdown.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said after the game, per Bob Labriola of Steelers.com, "Really, there was no hesitation. He was our team MVP a year ago, he's getting into form here in 2015. He was a significant contributor to that point in the game and our efforts offensively. We were going to give him the ball."
Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis tweeted after the play, "Way to believe in your horse [Le'Veon Bell] great game!!!! Great call!"
LeBron James
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LeBron James put up unreal numbers in the 2015 NBA Finals, proving there is no other basketball player like him on Earth. According to ESPN Stats & Information, James led both teams in points per game, assists per game and rebounds per game, the first player in Finals history to lead the series in all three categories.
James was on par with one of the NBA's all-time great clutch performers, Michael Jordan. According to ESPN NBA Insider Tom Haberstroh, Jordan scored 38.4 percent of his team's points in the 1993 NBA Finals. In 2015, James accounted for 38.3 percent of Cleveland's scoring.
In May, ESPN.com NBA writer Brian Windhorst tweeted, "LeBron James has taken 10 go-ahead shots in [the] final five [seconds] of [the fourth quarter] or OT in [the] playoffs. He's made six. Michael Jordan was 5-of-11 in his career."
The man is just the most dominant player anytime he's on the basketball court. He has the power to will things into occurrence. With the game on the line, give James the ball 10 times out of 10.
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