The 10 Best Super Bowl Games in NFL History

Super Bowl XXXIX – MVP Deion Branch (New England Patriots)
New England: 24
Philadelphia: 21

The New England Patriots went into Jacksonville ready to establish themselves as the newest NFL dynasty. The Philadelphia Eagles had been champing at the bit of a Super Bowl, losing the NFC championship game each of the previous three seasons.

Philadelphia struck first in the game on a touchdown reception by L.J. Smith early in the second quarter. This was the first time in their run of Super Bowl appearances the Patriots had trailed since St. Louis held a 3-0 lead early in Super Bowl XXXVI.

New England tied the game later in the quarter on a Deion Branch touchdown reception. Linebacker Mike Vrabel caught a two-yard touchdown pass from Brady at the start of the second half to give New England a 14-7 lead. Later in the third quarter, Philadelphia put together a 10-play, 74-yard drive capped off by a Brian Westbrook touchdown reception to tie the game.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Patriots took the lead again off a Corey Dillon touchdown run set up by Kevin Faulk’s plays of 13, 14, and 12 yards. The Eagles then went three-and-out, giving New England a chance to put the game away. The Patriots managed a field goal to take a 24-14 lead with 8:40 to play. A McNabb interception on the ensuing drive looked to be the nail in the coffin, but the Eagles defense forced a three-and-out, giving their offense another shot at closing the gap.

McNabb lead the Eagles down the field, throwing a 30-yard touchdown pass to Greg Lewis to end the drive to pull within three points. Christian Fauria recovered the onside kick for New England with 1:48 left. Philadelphia forced a three-and-out and got the ball back on the four-yard line with 46 seconds left on the clock. Rodney Harrison intercepted McNabb on the third play of the drive, though, to give New England their third Super Bowl in four seasons.

McNabb was 30-for-51 with 357 yards and three touchdowns and three interceptions. Terrell Owens caught nine passes for 122 yards. Game MVP Deion Branch had 11 receptions for 133 yards.

Super Bowl VIII – MVP Terry Bradshaw (Pittsburgh)
Pittsburgh: 35
Dallas: 31

In their second matchup in the big game, the Pittsburgh Steelers sought to be the first team with three Super Bowl wins. The game was tied 14-14 with 10 minutes left in the second quarter. Both teams went back and forth until late in the quarter, when MVP Terry Bradshaw threw a seven yard touchdown pass to Rocky Bleier.

Big plays were the theme of the first half for both teams. Touchdown plays of 28, 39, 37, and 75 yards kept the fans excited early. Pittsburgh held a dominating 35-17 lead midway through the fourth quarter and looked to coast to the finish line. Dallas came back with a touchdown pass from Roger Staubauch to Billy Joe Dupree, though, and then recovered an onside kick and scored again to bring the game within four points.

A second onside kick was unsuccessful, and Pittsburgh ran the rest of the time off the clock for their third Super Bowl win in five seasons.

Super Bowl III – MVP Joe Namath (New York)
New York Jets: 16
Baltimore Colts: 13

The New York Jets and Baltimore Colts game is one of the most memorable in not only NFL history, but sports history. The game itself wasn’t as exciting or dramatic as other ones on this list, but it was a David vs. Goliath match-up.

Jets quarterback Joe Namath "guaranteed" victory on the Thursday before the game (back when that was surprising), then went out and led the AFL to its first Super Bowl victory over a one-loss Baltimore team.

\One thing many people forget about this game is that Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas didn’t go in until the fourth quarter due to an injury and the Colts trailing 16-0. He came in and managed the Colts' only touchdown of the game late in the fourth quarter.

Broadway Joe made good on his guarantee, giving the Jets their only Super Bowl championship against a heavily favored opponent.

Super Bowl XXXVIII – MVP Tom Brady (New England)
New England: 32
Carolina: 29

In the ultimate game of ups and downs, the New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers gave fans one of the most exciting finishes in Super Bowl History.

No points were scored for the first 26 minutes of the game. New England finally got on the board with four minutes to go in the half and Carolina responded with a touchdown of their own. The second quarter featured 24 points in the final four minutes, leaving Carolina trailing 14-10.

The third quarter slowed down and both teams fought to a stalemate and left the score at 14-10. Antowain Smith scored the first touchdown of the highest-scoring quarter in Super Bowl history. Carolina didn’t take much time to score back, as DeShaun Foster went on a 33-yard touchdown run to bring the game back to a four-point deficit. Brady had a pass intercepted in the red zone, setting up Carolina to go on a potential lead-changing drive.

Carolina only took two plays on this drive and Jake Delhomme hit Muhsin Muhammed for a Super Bowl-record-85-yard touchdown pass to give the Panthers a 22-21 lead. Two failed two-point conversion attempts left Carolina only up by one.

New England scored and got their two-point attempt to take the lead at 29-22 with just 2:51 left. Carolina didn’t back down and Delhomme hit Ricky Proehl for a 12-yard touchdown with 1:01 remaining. John Kasay had been a very reliable kicker up to this point, but picked a bad time to shank a kickoff. The ensuing kickoff sailed out of bounds, setting up Brady and the Patriots on the 40-yard line. Five plays later, Brady set up Viniatieri for another game winning field goal. This attempt from 41 yards was good and gave New England their second championship in three seasons.

Maybe the most memorable non-football thing about this game was the "wardrobe malfunction" between Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson.

Super Bowl XXXIV – MVP Kurt Warner (St. Louis Rams)
St. Louis: 23
Tennessee: 16

The greatest show on turf came into this game expecting to keep its offensive dominance going. St. Louis dominated the first half of the game by outgaining the Titans 3:1. The Rams drove inside the Titans 20-yard line numerous times, but the Titans defense was able to hold them to field goals three times to stay in the game.

Warner finally got the Rams into the end zone on a nine-yard touchdown pass to Torry Holt with 7:20. Tennessee was not backing down, however. Two straight scoring drives in a row got the Titans back into the game, 16-13. McNair set up the first touchdown with a 23-yard run before Eddie George pounded it into the end zone. Two long completions to Isaac Byrd and Jackie Harris set up George for another short touchdown run. A failed two-point conversion on the first touchdown left the Titans down three.

Tennessee’s defense came up with another big defensive stand and tied the game with 2:12 left. The Rams' potent offense had been held in check all day to this point. They finally broke one of their big plays when Isaac Bruce broke free for a 73-yard touchdown catch on the very next play from scrimmage.

Tennessee got the ball back with 1:54 left and started driving down the field to tie the game. Tennessee had no timeouts left when McNair hit Kevin Dyson on a quick slant at the five, and he looked as if he was going to get into the end zone. Mike Jones was quick to react and wrapped up a lunging Dyson as he ended up one yard short of the end zone as time expired.

Jones’ tackle is one of the most memorable plays in Super Bowl history, as seen in the iconic picture above.

Super Bowl XXV – MVP Ottis Anderson (New York Giants)
New York: 20
Buffalo: 19

Wide Right! In one of the worst days in Buffalo Bills history, the New York Giants prevailed to win their second Super Bowl in five years. The Giants went on a 9:29 scoring drive in the third quarter, covering 73 yards on 14 plays, a then-Super Bowl record.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Bills regained the lead on a 31-yard touchdown run by Thurman Thomas. Matt Bahr hit a 21-yard field goal with just over seven minutes left in regulation to give the Giants the lead.

A late drive by the Bills had them sitting with a 47-yard Scott Norwood field goal to win the game. Norwood lined up for the kick, got a good leg into it, and sent it wide right for one of four straight Bills Super Bowl losses and the only close game they would play in that span.

Super Bowl XLIII – MVP Santonio Holmes (Pittsburgh)
Pittsburgh: 27
Arizona: 23

The most recent game on this list definitely is an instant classic. The Cardinals had been labeled as the worst franchise in NFL history to make the playoffs and weren’t given much of a chance in any of their games.

They came limping into the playoffs out of a weak NFC West division. Near the end of the season, they lost a game to the runners-up of Super Bowl XVII, New England, 47-7. New England didn’t even make the playoffs out of the AFC East with an 11-5 record.

Pittsburgh got out to an early lead with a Jeff Reed field goal and Gary Russel touchdown run. Arizona got back into it with a touchdown reception from Ben Patrick with 8:43 left in the half. Arizona had an impressive nine-play, 83-yard drive to get the score to 10-7.

As Warner was looking for All-Pro receiver Anquan Boldin in the end zone, he was picked off by Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison as the first half expired. Harrison proceeded to take the ball 100 yards for a touchdown and a 17-7 Pittsburgh lead.

The 14-point swing looked to be a play that could really stop a team from showing up in the second half. Harrison’s play is the longest in Super Bowl history.

Another Jeff Reed field goal gave the Steelers a 20-7 lead midway through the third quarter. Arizona finally got the ball in Larry Fitzgerald’s hands and struck back with a touchdown pass. At 20-14. the Cardinals got some confidence back.

Pittsburgh was backed up to its own end zone after a great punt by the Cardinals. A holding penalty on Justin Hartwig after a 21-yard completion to Santonio Holmes resulted later in a safety, bringing the Cardinals within four points at 20-16.

Arizona got the ball on its own 36 after the safety punt. They didn’t have to wait long, as Warner connected with Fitzgerald on a slant that he took 64 yards for a touchdown. With 2:47 left, the Arizona Cardinals led the Pittsburgh Steelers 23-20.

Big Ben and the Steelers took the field looking to give Pittsburgh its record sixth Super Bowl title. Santonio Holmes stepped up big on the final drive, catching balls from Roethlisberger for gains of 13, 14, and 40 to get Pittsburgh down to the six-yard line. Roethlisberger dropped back and fired a pass to the corner of the end zone to Holmes that Holmes let slip through his hands.

The final Steelers play looked like something out of the backyard playbook. Roethlisberger dropped back, scrambled left, scrambled right, rolled out and threw into triple coverage to his hot receiver, Holmes. This time, Holmes made a tiptoe catch in the end zone, giving Pittsburgh the lead for good.

This game gave Pittsburgh its sixth Super Bowl championship, the current NFL record.

Super Bowl XXXVI - MVP – Tom Brady (New England Patriots)

New England: 20
St. Louis: 17

The greatest show on turf was back on the grand stage against an upstart Patriots team. New England at this time was the ultimate team. During starting lineups, they were introduced as a team, and every player ran through the tunnel together. The Rams had two former NFL MVPs on their team, set all kinds of offensive records, and were a 14-point favorite in the game itself.

New England’s strategy was simple; punch St. Louis in the mouth early and often. Early in the game, the Patriots were hitting the Rams players harder than they had ever been hit all season. Even on plays for big gains, the Rams were getting drilled all over the field. This took the Rams aback and got them out of their comfort zone.

New England jumped out to a 14-3 halftime lead on a 47-yard interception return by Ty Law and an eight-yard touchdown reception from David Patten. Just like their last appearance, the Rams had been held in check and everyone was waiting for them to explode. When the fourth quarter came around, St. Louis exploded.

The Patriots looked to take a commanding 24-3 lead on a fumble recovery by Tebuckey Jones that went almost 100 yards for a touchdown. A defensive holding penalty on Willie McGinest negated the play and Warner scrambled into the end zone for a touchdown and a 17-10 deficit.

The Rams had a chance to tie with 1:51 left after two New England three and outs. They tied the game on a 26-yard touchdown strike to Ricky Proehl with 1:30 left on the clock.

This is where the legend of Tom Brady begins. Brady drove down the field completing short, quick passes to keep New England alive. A 23-yard pass to Troy Brown and 16-yard completion to Jermaine Wiggins left New England at the 30-yard line.

After Brady spiked the ball with seven seconds remaining, the game was on the leg of Adam Vinatieri. Vinatieri kicked the Patriots into the Super Bowl when the Patriots defeated Oakland in the snow, and here he lined up for the 47-yard field goal and drilled it, sending the Rams home and completing one of the biggest Super Bowl upsets in the game's history.

Super Bowl XXIII – MVP Jerry Rice (San Francisco)
San Francisco: 20
Cincinnati: 16

This is the game that solidified Joe Montana as Mr. Clutch. San Francisco was looking to be the first NFC team to capture three Super Bowl titles (Oakland, Pittsburgh) and their second win over Cincinnati in the big game.
Although they had outgained Cincinnati by over 200 total yards, the 49ers found themselves trailing 16-13 with 3:20 remaining.

San Francisco started the eventual winning drive from its own eight. Montana orchestrated an 11-play, 92 yard, game-winning touchdown drive over the next 2:46. Montana hit receiver John Taylor on a 10-yard touchdown pass with just 34 seconds remaining. Jerry Rice set a Super Bowl record with 11 catches for 215 yards in the game.

The 49ers' next two Super Bowl appearances weren’t as dramatic as this one. A 55-10 beatdown of the Denver Broncos and a 49-26 thrashing of the San Diego Chargers put them in the elite class of Super Bowl winners. This was where it started.

Super Bowl XLII - MVP Eli Manning (New York)
New York Giants: 17
New England Patriots: 14

In a game that had the NFL history books opened and ready to be changed forever, the New England Patriots came into Glendale, Arizona looking to complete the most dominant season in NFL history. They came into the game with a perfect 18-0 record, a record-breaking quarterback-to-receiver tandem, and one of the most dominant offensive units the NFL has ever seen.

Then come the Giants. The wild card team. The team that won three games on the road to get there. The team that started the season 0-2. Also though, the Giants brought a big, nasty, physical defense. A dominant defensive line, hard-hitting linebackers, and a physical secondary were ready to confront New England.

The Giants got off to a great start . They took the ball and held it for 9:59, going 63 yards and settling for just a field goal. This put more pressure on the Patriots offense, because they knew they were going to be limited in their possessions. They got off to a great start as well with a 43-yard kickoff return from Lawrence Maroney, however, and went the rest of the way downfield and punched it in with a Maroney touchdown run to take the lead at 7-3 early in the second quarter.

Although the Giants were behind at halftime, they had to be feeling good about themselves. Their defense held the most productive offense in NFL history to seven points and 81 total yards.

It was a defensive battle for a while, until the Giants took the lead in the fourth quarter when Manning connected with David Tyree for a five-yard touchdown pass. Just as the Patriots did to the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI, New York had kept the dynamic offense of New England down, but not out.

New England drove down the field and hooked up for a six-yard touchdown reception when Corey Webster fell in the end zone. The difference in this drive was that Brady had time to throw the ball for the first time all game.

On the Giants' following drive, Patriot fans around the world felt their hearts drop on three separate plays. The first was on a sure interception that fell through the hands of Asante Samuel, the Patriots premier cornerback. The second time was on a 32-yard heave by Manning to David Tyree, making one of the most incredible catches in NFL history. The broken play featured Eli Manning scrambling around the pocket, getting grabbed by Patriot defenders, shaking them all off and getting off his pass right as he got hit. Tyree caught the ball on his helmet.

The third time Patriot fans felt their hearts crumble was when Eli lofted a fade to the corner of the end zone to 6’5 Plaxico Burress, giving the Giants the lead for good and the biggest upset in Super Bowl history.