The Best Super Bowls Ever

There have been 45 previous Super Bowls.

Among them, there have been several blow-outs, and others that were forgettable to all but the most diehard fans.

Then, there were the classics.

The Super Bowls that came down to the final moments. The ones that validated careers. The ones that led to extreme joy for the winners and devastation for the losers.

Here is a look at the best Super Bowls yet.

Super Bowl XXXII: Denver 31, Green Bay 24

After 13 straight wins by the NFC in the Super Bowl—most in blow-outs—an AFC team finally won.

The Denver Broncos and John Elway, who were the unfortunate losers in three previous Super Bowls, were the victors.

With the score tied at 24, the Broncos' winning drive covered 49 yards and took less than two minutes.

Terrell Davis scored the go-ahead touchdown on a one-yard run with 1:45 left.

The Packers reached the Denver 31-yard line before failing on 4th-and-6, when Denver's John Mobley knocked away Brett Favre's final pass with 32 seconds left.

Super Bowl XXIII: San Francisco 20, Cincinnati 16

This was the first Super Bowl since Super Bowl V to be decided in the final minute.

After Cincinnati took a 16-13 lead with 3:20 left, the 49ers started at their eight-yard line. San Francisco had an 11-play drive that ended with Joe Montana's 10-yard touchdown pass to John Taylor with 34 seconds to play.

Even though he made the winning catch, Taylor was not the MVP.

That honor went to the other wide receiver, Jerry Rice. He had 11 receptions for 215 yards and one touchdown.

Super Bowl XXXVIII: New England 32, Carolina 29

The points came in bunches in this game.

After a scoreless first quarter—and most of the second—there were 24 combined points in the final 3:05 of the first half.

It was more of the same in the second half. The third quarter was scoreless, but the fourth saw 37 combined points.

The Panthers tied the game at 29 on Jake Delhomme's 12-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Proehl with 1:08 remaining.

This left Tom Brady, the game's MVP, with just enough time to set up Adam Vinatieri for a game-winning, 41-yard field goal with four seconds left.

Super Bowl XXV: New York Giants 20, Buffalo 19

This came down to the end in the closest Super Bowl ever.

That the Buffalo Bills were even in this game and had a chance to win was amazing. Their time of possession was only 19:27, including a horrible 7:23 in the entire second half.

Despite that, the Bills only trailed by one point late in the fourth quarter.

They drove 61 yards in eight plays to set up kicker Scott Norwood with a 47-yard field-goal attempt.

He missed wide right with four seconds left, as Bill Parcells won his last game as coach of the New York Giants.

Super Bowl XXXIV: St. Louis 23, Tennessee 16

Some might consider this Super Bowl to have had the best ending—unless you are a Tennessee Titans fan.

The St. Louis Rams had built a 16-0 lead behind Kurt Warner and his 414 passing yards.

The Titans would not give up and began to come back late in the third quarter. An Al Del Greco field goal with 2:12 left tied the game.

Then Kurt Warner connected with Isaac Bruce for a 73-yard touchdown pass.

The Titans drove downfield, but on the game's final play, Kevin Dyson was tackled one yard short of the tying touchdown as time ran out.

Super Bowl XLIII: Pittsburgh 27, Arizona 23

When Larry Fitzgerald broke free for a 64-yard touchdown pass from Kurt Warner, the Arizona Cardinals had their first lead of the game late in the fourth quarter. They led 23-20 and had rallied with 16 fourth-quarter points.

A miracle was about to happen—the Cardinals winning the Super Bowl.

Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers weren't finished, though.

He led an eight-play, 78-yard drive that ended with a six-yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes with 35 seconds left.

While that play was great and won the game, it may not have been the best play of the game.

The best may have been James Harrison's epic 100-yard interception return for a touchdown as time expired in the first half.

Super Bowl XXXVI: New England 20, St. Louis 17

The St. Louis Rams were favored in this game to win their second Super Bowl in three years. They were 14-2 in the regular season and were known as The Greatest Show on Turf.

The Patriots were an upstart with a first-year starting quarterback named Tom Brady.

The Patriots had a shocking 17-3 lead, but then Kurt Warner rallied the Rams. St. Louis tied the game with 1:30 remaining.

Tom Brady then led maybe the greatest drive of his career.

With no timeouts, he led New England 53 yards in nine plays. Adam Vinatieri kicked a 48-yard field goal as time ran out to give the Patriots their first of three Super Bowl titles.

Super Bowl XLII: New York Giants 17, New England 14

The New England Patriots had completed the first 16-0 regular season. They had scored a mind-boggling 589 points. They had already beaten the Giants 38-35 in the season finale.

The New York Giants were a No. 5 seed that no one gave a chance against the mighty Patriots.

The Giants defense bothered Tom Brady all day and sacked him five times. The Patriots were held to 274 yards of total offense. They trailed 10-7 until Randy Moss caught a six-yard touchdown pass with 2:42 to play.

The Giants were behind 14-10 and had to score a touchdown.

Eli Manning led a 12-play, 83-yard drive that ended with Plaxico Burress' touchdown catch with 35 seconds left.

In that drive was perhaps the greatest play in Super Bowl history.

On a 3rd-and-5 from his own 44-yard line, facing a heavy rush, Manning completed a spectacular 32-yard pass to David Tyree.

That drive to upset the unbeaten Patriots makes this the best Super Bowl ever.