In just over a month, five NFL greats will be the newest additions to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Drew Brees, Luke Kuechly, Larry Fitzgerald, Roger Craig, and Adam Vinatieri will join the 382 other players and coaches after their legendary careers.

Over the past month, we at EssentiallySports have been honoring these legends in our weekly newsletter, the Huddle Overtime. We’ve already highlighted Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, and Luke Kuechly, so now it’s time to move on to arguably the greatest kicker in NFL history: Adam Vinatieri.

Vinatieri’s career spanned 24 years, during which he won four Super Bowls, was named a First-Team All-Pro three times, and was named to the NFL’s All-2000s Team. But you don’t achieve all of that without stepping up in big moments.

From Super Bowl game winners to setting multiple NFL records, here are Adam Vinatieri’s biggest career-defining moments that helped him reach the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

2001-2002 Playoffs

In 2001-2002, the New England Patriots were looking to capture their first Super Bowl title in franchise history, but it wasn’t going to be easy with a rookie quarterback under center.

After their bye in the Wild Card Round, the Patriots hosted the Raiders in the Divisional Round in a game that would go down in history for multiple reasons. First, over four inches of snow fell during the game, causing both offenses to struggle for most of the night. Second, and most notably, this was the controversial “Tuck Rule” game, where Tom Brady obviously fumbled the football, but the NFL ruled that it wasn’t a fumble, ultimately changing the outcome of the game.

But that’s not the only reason this game was notable. They trotted Adam Vinatieri out there to kick a 45-yard field goal to send it to overtime, which would’ve been pretty straightforward had it not been for the inches of snow that fell on the field during the game. But still, Vinatieri overcame the odds and drilled it to send the game to overtime and keep New England’s hopes alive.

And of course, in overtime, the Patriots called Vinatieri’s number again, and he delivered with a chip-shot 23-yarder to win the game in overtime. But that wasn’t the end of Vinatieri’s clutch kicks in 2002. No, it was just the beginning.

Just a few weeks later, the Patriots found themselves in the Super Bowl against the high-flying Rams offense, but their defense was able to keep it low-scoring, and with just a few seconds left on the clock, New England had a chance to win it with a 48-yard field goal. They trotted Adam Vinatieri out there, and he drove it right down the middle on a kick that would’ve been good from 55+.

Vinatieri’s game-winner was the first walk-off victory in Super Bowl history and gave New England its first-ever Lombardi Trophy.

Super Bowl XXXVIII Game Winner

Just a couple of years later, the Patriots were back in the Big Game against the Carolina Panthers with a chance to win their second Super Bowl in three years.

This team was incredibly dominant, going 14-2 in the regular season and beating Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts by 10 points in the AFC Championship game. It felt like New England would roll the 11-5 Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII, but Carolina kept it close, and with under a minute remaining, the two were tied, 29-29.

Tom Brady put the Patriots in scoring position with nine seconds on the game clock, and once again, the Patriots called on their trusty kicker, Adam Vinatieri, to go win it for them.

Vinatieri lined up on the right hash with 41 yards between him and his second Super Bowl game-winner, and of course, he drilled it right down the middle to give New England its second Super Bowl trophy in three years.

There have been three game-winning kicks in the closing seconds in Super Bowl history, and Vinatieri is responsible for two of them in three years. He may not have been the most accurate kicker of all-time, but he had ice in his veins.

Becoming the NFL’s All-Time Leading Scorer

While Vinatieri’s years in New England helped create the foundation for his legacy, Vinatieri’s time in Indianapolis cemented it.

After 10 years with New England, Vinatieri moved to Indianapolis, where he joined the Colts for the final 14 years of his career. It was in Indy that Vinatieri proved he was an all-time great and put his name in the NFL record books.

Over 14 seasons, Vinatieri made 336 of his 394 field goal attempts, which included a season where he went 30-for-31 on field goals in 2014. This span helped him become the NFL’s all-time leading scorer with 2,673 points in 2018, as well as the all-time leader in field goals made (599).

But that’s not all. Vinatieri also set the NFL record for the most postseason points with 238 during his time in Indy, and in 2006, his first year with the team, they won the Super Bowl, giving Vinatieri the most Super Bowl championships by any kicker in NFL history with four.

It’s easy to see why Vinatieri became just the third true place kicker to make it into the Hall of Fame this year. Nobody else has had a career that even comes close to his.