3 gutsiest performances in Super Bowl history

Playing though injury in the Super Bowl is almost unavoidable; it's hard to find a single player without a few nicks and scratches this late in the season.

Playing through significant injuries is also relatively common. Just last year, Seattle Seahawks safeties Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas played through a torn MCL and a separated shoulder/torn labrum, respectively.

But what Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis hopes to do is at a whole different level.

Davis suffered a broken forearm in the NFC Championship Game, yet has made it very clear he expects to be on the field for Super Bowl 50.

If Davis makes good on that lofty goal, he will join a short list of players who didn't allow the pain associated with major injuries to keep them from their place on football's biggest stage.

Youngblood plays with broken leg

Perhaps Davis can draw inspiration from former Los Angeles Rams defensive end Jack Youngblood, who suffered a broken leg in the 1979 playoffs, but returned to play the NFC Championship Game and every defensive snap of Super Bowl XIV.

Youngblood's nearly superhuman pain tolerance wasn't enough to inspire his Rams to a win, but it cemented his place in the annals of football history.

Even more remarkably, Youngblood played in the Pro Bowl the following week. These days, players skip the Pro Bowl if they have a slightly ingrown toenail.

T.O. returns from broken leg

The biggest story ahead of Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005 wasn't the New England Patriots' quest to win back-to-back title games, it was Philadelphia Eagles receiver Terrell Owens' race against time to return from a broken leg.

Owens tore up the league in the regular season, recording 77 receptions for 1,200 yards and 14 touchdowns, but sat out the last two games and the Eagles' playoff run with a broken leg.

Despite doctors inserting two screws and a metal plate in his ankle, Owens was cleared to return to play in the Super Bowl. He picked up right where he left off, making nine catches for 122 yards, but it wasn't enough to propel the Eagles to the win.

Davis plays blind

Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis earned MVP honors in Super Bowl XXXII despite a crippling migraine headache that forced him to sit out most of the second quarter.

Davis forgot to take medication before the game and suffered a blow to the head in the early going, which triggered the migraine. Moments later, his vision blurred to the point where he couldn't see what was in front of him.

Coaches pulled him from the game, but sent him back onto the field (despite Davis reporting he couldn't see) to serve as a decoy for a play-action quarterback keeper at the goal line - a play John Elway took in for a touchdown.

Davis recovered from the migraine and finished with 30 carries for 157 yards rushing and three touchdowns in the Broncos' win.