The Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers will meet for the second time in four years for the Super Bowl. Kansas City is looking to become the first franchise to repeat as champions since the 2003-04 New England Patriots. While San Francisco looks to become the third franchise (Patriots, Steelers) to have six Super Bowls.
Super Bowl LVIII has the makings to be another classic like past Super Bowls. This had me thinking–what are the top five Super Bowl games of all time? It wasn’t easy, but I was able to narrow it to five. First, here are some honorable mentions.
Honorable Mentions:
Super Bowl XXV: Giants 20, Bills 19
Scott Norwood misses the potential game-winning kick wide right.
Super Bowl III: Jets 16, Colts 7
Joe Namath “guarantees” a Jets victory as a 19.5 underdog for one of the greatest upsets in Super Bowl history.
Super Bowl XXIII: 49ers 20, Bengals 16
Joe Montana leads a game-winning drive with a touchdown pass to John Taylor with 34 seconds left.
Super Bowl XLVI: Giants 21, Patriots 17
Eli Manning to Mario Manningham during their game-winning drive to upset the Patriots a second time.
Super Bowl XXXVI: Patriots 20, Rams 17
The kick that started a dynasty as Tom Brady led the Patriots to an upset win over the Greatest Show on Turf Rams.
No. 5 Super Bowl XXXIV: Rams 23, Titans 16
A game that started out a bit slow, and looked like it was going to be one-sided ended up as one of the greatest games ever. The Rams held a 16-0 lead up until late in the third quarter. Then the Titans led by Steve McNair and Eddie George hung around and were able to comeback and tie the game at 16 with 2:12 left to play.
Then one play later Quarterback Kurt Warner would find Isaac Bruce for a 73-yard touchdown to regain the lead for the Rams. However, the Rams left just enough time for Tennessee to see if they could pull off one more miracle in the playoffs. The Titans would get down to the 10-yard line with six seconds remaining, but Rams linebacker Mike Jones would tackle wide receiver Kevin Dyson one yard short of the goal line to prevent the game-tying touchdown.
Warner would finish the game with 414 yards passing–which was the most in a Super Bowl at that time. Warner would also become the sixth player to win NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP in the same season.
No. 4 Super Bowl LII: Eagles 41, Patriots 33
The Philadelphia Eagles went on a remarkable playoff run with their backup Quarterback Nick Foles. Foles also put on the performance of a lifetime against the New England Patriots. Foles threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns. Although in a losing effort, Tom Brady would throw for a game-record 505 passing yards, but a late turnover sealed the fate for the Patriots.
What makes this game so memorable is the famous call of the “Philly Special” right before halftime. The Eagles would get their first Super Bowl in franchise history.
No. 3 Super Bowl XLIII: Steelers 27, Cardinals 23
This game is summed up with three iconic plays, and they all went for touchdowns. The first came with Kurt Warner driving the Cardinals down to the one-yard line right before halftime looking to take the lead. However, while Warner thought he saw Anquan Boldin for a touchdown Steelers linebacker James Harrison would pick the ball off. Harrison would rumble, and stumble down the field for a 100-yard touchdown– the longest play in Super Bowl history at the time to give the Steelers a 17-7 lead.
The Cardinals would fight back being down 20-16, and Warner would hit Larry Fitzgerald for a 64-yard touchdown to give Arizona a 23-20 lead with 2:37 left to play. Then Ben Roethlisberger would lead the Steelers down the field for a chance to win the game. Roethlisberger would find Santonio Holmes in the back corner of the end zone with one of the best catches ever. The 27-23 victory would have the Steelers to be the first franchise to have six Super Bowls.
No. 2 Super Bowl XLII: Giants 17, Patriots 14
The New York Giants came into Super Bowl 42 as heavy underdogs against the 18-0 New England Patriots who were looking to complete the second undefeated season ever. Everyone was comparing this New England team and if they would go down as the best ever, but the Giants had other plans.
For a team that scored the most points in a season, points were at a premium. The Patriots lead 7-3 going into the fourth quarter. Then an unlikely hero would make two great plays. Wide receiver David Tyree would score the next touchdown to give the Giants a 10-7 lead. Brady and the Patriots would answer right back with a touchdown pass to Randy Moss to take a 14-10 lead with 2:42 left in the game.
On the Giants’ final drive, Eli Manning would pull himself out of a potential sack to find Tyree over the middle with a leaping one-handed catch pinned against his helmet to keep the drive alive. Later in the drive, Manning would find Plaxico Burress for a game-winning touchdown with 35 seconds left to complete an improbable Super Bowl upset of all time.
No. 1 Super Bowl LI Patriots 34, Falcons 28 (OT)
The game is famously brought up by one phrase– “28-3”. Tom Brady established himself as the G.O.A.T. after coming back from the 25-point deficit which is the biggest in Super Bowl history. Once Robert Alford interception gave the Falcons a 21-0 lead at the half, and eventually 28-3 it seemed like they were on their way to celebrating their first championship.
Then the comeback happened–including one of the craziest plays in Super Bowl history. What looked like should’ve been a game-sealing interception, winds up with wide receiver Julian Edelman making an unbelievable catch to keep the Patriots final drive alive in regulation. The Patriots would score 25 unanswered points to force the first overtime in Super Bowl history. The Patriots won the toss and never relinquished possession to give the Patriots their fifth Super Bowl title.
There you have it, my top five Super Bowl games of all time. I’m pretty sure some may say I missed a few games. What are your top five Super Bowls? Comment below, and be sure to check out more Super Bowl coverage here at Back Sports Page!
