The New England Patriots probably have two fewer Super Bowl championships if not for Dont'a Hightower's clutch play in his NFL playoff career.
The Alabama product made the Malcolm Butler interception in Super Bowl XLIX possible by shedding a block and tackling Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch at the one-yard line late in the fourth quarter. Hightower's strip-sack of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LI was a pivotal play in New England's legendary comeback from trailing 28-3. Hightower also played very well in the Patriots' win over the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII, where he and the New England defense held the high-powered L.A. offense to an all-time Super Bowl low of three points.
Patriots linebacker Kyle Van Noy, on the morning after the team received its Super Bowl LIII championship rings, tweeted his new nickname for Hightower, and it's a pretty fitting one.
Hightower has won a national championship with the Crimson Tide and three Super Bowl titles with the Patriots. It goes without saying 29-year-old linebacker is the definition of a big-game player, and he'll always have a special place in Patriots lore because of it.
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