Ben Roethlisberger - Kurt Warner: Rare Matchup of Previous Super Bowl Winners

Superbowl XLIII marks only the fourth time in NFL history that two teams with Superbowl winning quarterbacks have been matched up in the big game.

Including this year's game, three of the four times such a matchup has occurred, the Pittsburgh Steelers were involved.  The previous two being when Terry Bradshaw and Roger Staubach were playing against each other in Superbowl X and again in Superbowl XIII.  Staubach got his first ring by defeating the Miami Dolphins in Superbowl VI and Bradshaw got his in defeat of the Minnesota Vikings in Superbowl IX.

The last time two teams led by Superbowl winning quarterbacks met in the Superbowl was 25 years ago when the Los Angeles Raiders played the Washington Redskins in Superbowl XVIII.  The two quarterbacks were Joe Theismann, who had led the Redskins to victory over the Miami Dolphins the season before, and Jim Plunkett whose Raiders had defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in Superbowl XV.

Superbowl XVIII was also played in Tampa, Florida.  The Raiders were victorious in that game 38-9 led by MVP Marcus Allen who ran for 191 yds and two TDs. Jim Plunkett is the only quarterback (not active) to have won two Superbowls and not be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Isn't it interesting that all the talk leading up to the Superbowl revolved around whether or not Kurt Warner is a Hall of Famer and whether or not a second Superbowl ring cements him in the Hall of Fame.

While it is fun to draw comparisons to past Superbowls, let's hope Sunday's game has a much closer score than the one 25 years ago.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?