Ranking Super Bowls:
From the helmet catch to Joe Cool, the triplets and the old Packers dynasty; where does LIV fit in?
There was a time when Super Bowl dramatics were few and far between. But for most of the past two decades, the game has usually managed to live up to its perpetual hype. With the 49ers and Chiefs serving up another compelling show in Super Bowl LIV, here are our all-time Super Sunday rankings (season noted in parentheses):
1. LI (2016) New England Patriots 34, Atlanta Falcons 28 (OT):
This game lacked nothing. Patriots QB Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick cemented their legacies, each becoming the first at his respective post to earn five Super Bowl titles. But securing immortal greatness required an all-time performance. Brady threw for a then-Super Bowl-record 466 yards, leading his team to 31 unanswered points and earning MVP honors a record-breaking fourth time as New England forged the greatest comeback ever on Super Sunday – Atlanta led 28-3 in the third quarter – while taking the game into overtime for the first time. WR Julian Edelman made a miraculous Super Bowl catch that benefited New England for a change. RB James White was the unsung hero, catching a record 14 passes while also scoring the tying and winning TDs on his way to a Super Bowl-record 20 points. Oh, and the Falcons, with league MVP Matt Ryan and Co., sure were impressive on both sides of the ball for nearly three quarters before their epic collapse.
2. XLII (2007) New York Giants 17, Patriots 14:
Arguably the biggest upset in Super Bowl history, the Giants derailed New England’s march to the stillelusive 19-0 campaign with an unrelenting pass rush, David Tyree’s miraculous helmet catch and Eli Manning’s MVP performance.
3. XLIX (2014) Patriots 28, Seattle Seahawks 24:
It will forever be remembered for Russell Wilson’s goal-line interception with the game hanging in the balance when the Seahawks
could have given the ball to bruising RB Marshawn “Beast Mode” Lynch. The loss likely denied Seattle’s shot at a dynasty while burnishing the Patriot Way. Brady won a record-tying third MVP award as he and Belichick collected their fourth title together but first in a decade.
4. XXIII (1988) San Francisco 49ers 20, Cincinnati Bengals 16:
Probably the first legitimate Super Bowl classic. In what was perhaps Joe Montana’s defining performance – ironically the only time he didn’t win game MVP honors – he led an 11-play, 92-yard drive that culminated with a game-winning TD pass to John Taylor with 34 seconds to go. Jerry Rice’s Super Bowl-record 215 receiving yards earned him the MVP award. It was also Hall of Famer Bill Walsh’s final game as an NFL head coach.
5. XLIII (2008) Pittsburgh Steelers 27, Arizona Cardinals 23:
It had a little bit of everything – Pittsburgh LB James Harrison’s 100-yard interception return to end the first half, a furious fourth-quarterback comeback by WR Larry Fitzgerald and decided underdog Arizona, and Ben Roethlisberger’s laser shot to the back corner of the end zone to toe-tapping
MVP Santonio Holmes for the win. The Steelers won their sixth Lombardi Trophy, a mark since tied by the Patriots and one the 49ers are also now in position to match.
6. XXXIV (1999) St. Louis Rams 23, Tennessee Titans 16:
The “Greatest Show On Turf” scored its third-fewest points of the season, but MVP Kurt Warner’s then-record 414 passing yards and LB Mike Jones’ tackle of Tennessee’s Kevin Dyson just shy of the goal line on the final play proved sufficient.
7. LII (2017) Philadelphia Eagles 41, Patriots 33:
Maybe a nearly six-decade wait between championships and a first Super Bowl crown was almost worth it for The City of Brotherly Love? MVP Nick Foles (373 yards and 3 TDs through the air) led the charge, his 1-yard TD grab before halftime on the now-legendary “Philly Special” serving as the indelible sequence. But Eagles DE Brandon Graham basically secured the result by serving up the game’s lone defensive highlight with a strip sack of Brady with 2:09 to go. TB12 fired off a game-record 505 yards through the air before succumbing on a day when the clubs combined for an NFL-record 1,151 yards of total offense.