Carolina Panthers

7 times players fought through pain to play in the Super Bowl

Published Jan. 26, 2016 9:15 a.m. ET

James Parziale

Panthers coach Ron Rivera said All-Pro linebacker Thomas Davis had surgery Monday morning on his broken right forearm, but is expected to play in the Super Bowl.

Rivera says it's "my understanding is if everything goes well it is something he can mostly certainly play with -- so we are excited about that possibility."

Davis said after the game he fully expected to play in the Feb. 7 Super Bowl because, "I believe in me." Given Davis's go-get-it spirit, we're going to take a look back at seven other instances where players suffering with injuries played for the Lombardi Trophy.

For all the baggage that Owens brought with him in his time with the 49ers, Eagles, Cowboys, Bills and Bengals, he never let his play speak for itself more than it did in Feb. 2005. Owens, who had a broken bone and partially torn ligament in his foot, played against the Patriots seven weeks after the injuries. Doctors advised him not to play, but Owens caught nine passes for 122 yards in the game.

As the Rams' ferocious pass-rushing defensive end, Youngblood (also a Hall of Famer) played in the Super Bowl against the Steelers with a fractured fibula. He has made it known that he isn't a big fan of players of today, calling them soft. The Rams did fall, however, to the Steelers, 31-19.

Terrell Owens almost helped the Philadelphia Eagles upset the New Englans Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX.

Gronk sprained his ankle against the Ravens in the AFC Championship Game two weeks before, and despite his claims, was not himself. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Gronkowski was on the field for 45 of New England's 62 offensive plays, or 72 percent, his lowest percentage of plays that season. He caught just two passes for 26 yards, and came close enough to catching a desperation Hail Mary with the Pats down 21-17 to the Giants on the last play that it makes you wonder if he'd have been able to catch it if he was healthy.

Not even including Jeremy Lane, who broke his arm in the first quarter against the Patriots, 75 percent of the Seahawks' vaunted secondary was nursing injuries in this game. Safeties Earl Thomas (dislocated left shoulder) and Kam Chancellor (left knee) and cornerback Richard Sherman (left elbow) all did their best to corral the Patriots in what ended up being a 28-24 loss that can largely be blamed on the offense, not the defense.

Defensive End Jack Youngblood helped get the Los Angeles Rams to the Super Bowl against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but they lost, 31-19.

A pass rusher who Youngblood could admire, Freeney tore a ligament in the AFC Championship Game against the Jets before playing against the Saints in the Super Bowl. A dynamic pass rusher in 2010, Freeney had 13.5 sacks in the regular season before being somewhat limited against the Saints in a 31-17 loss. "Once it gets stiff, it's tough to bring it back," Freeney said about how he felt after halftime.

Imagine what would have happened to Joe Namath's guarantee if Unitas was healthy. Unitas was hobbled with a sore elbow for most of the season, paving the way for Earl Morrall to lead the the Baltimore Colts to the Super Bowl while winning the MVP that season. Morrall, however, spit the bit against the Jets, completing 6 of 17 passes for just 71 yards before being yanked for Unitas, who did his best to rally the troops. He was 11 of 24 in relief, and led the Colts' only touchdown drive in the 16-7 loss.

Rob Gronkowski was hobbled in his first trip to the Super Bowl.

Our friends at ESPN clarify one of the more underrated performances by an injured player in a Super Bowl: "He made it through with two bad ankles, a separated shoulder, a torn ligament in his pinky, and ... a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee suffered during a fall in a hotel shower five days before the game." Wow. Burress only made two catches for 27 yards, but one of them was the Super Bowl-winning score that denied the Patriots a 19-0 season in a 17-14 win by Big Blue.