The Top 10 Defensive Performances in Super Bowl History
Only eight times in the glorious 49-year history of the Super Bowl has a defensive performance earned MVP honors (that’s counting Dallas Cowboys defensive linemen Harvey Martin and Randy White, co-MVPs of Super Bowl XII, only once).
With the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos both being loaded on this side of the football, we thought it would be a good time to look at the best games played by defenders in Super Bowl history.
How did we come up with these 10 performances? While some earned game MVP honors for the players involved, other performances were far too dominant to overlook. And in some cases, you could make a case that some of these players had a legitimate claim to MVP accolades as well. Each of these 10 players made significant contributions to his team’s title.
As with all pieces that involve NFL history, it’s a subjective topic. But it’s certainly a subject we have no objection to.
10. FS Dwight Smith, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Super Bowl XXXVII)
1 of 10
Super Bowl XXXVII: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48, Oakland Raiders 21
With all due respect to Super Bowl XXXVII Most Valuable Player Dexter Jackson, it’s hard to ignore what his teammate did on the same field against the Oakland Raiders.
Yes, Jackson had two of his team’s five interceptions of Rich Gannon in the team’s 48-21 win on that Super Sunday. He also totaled one tackle and knocked down two passes.
But the performance of Buccaneers reserve safety Dwight Smith was no less significant. While Jackson was the starter that day, Smith somewhat stole the show. He finished the game with four tackles and a pair of passes defensed. Like Jackson, he also picked off Gannon twice. But he returned the first theft 44 yards for a touchdown and then capped off Tampa Bay’s scoring for the game by taking another interception 50 yards to the end zone.
He was the first player to score on two pick-sixes in Super Bowl history.
Can you say exclamation point?
9. OLB Malcolm Smith, Seattle Seahawks (Super Bowl XLVIII)
2 of 10
Super Bowl XLVIII: Seattle Seahawks 43, Denver Broncos 8
The Denver Broncos had racked up an NFL-record 606 points in 2013 as they prepared to meet the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII.
But they weren’t prepared for what would happen to them. A 43-8 rout courtesy of Pete Carroll’s team featured scoring contributions from the offense, defense and special teams.
One of the defensive heroes was outside linebacker Malcolm Smith, who was not in the starting lineup at the beginning of the game but made his presence felt all day. He finished tied for second on the team with nine tackles while knocking down a pass, recovering a fumble and returning a Peyton Manning interception 69 yards for a touchdown.
Smith, voted the game’s MVP, is now a member of the Oakland Raiders, having left Seattle via free agency in 2015. His linebackers coach in Seattle is now his defensive coordinator with the Silver and Black.
“He’s certainly a difference-maker,” said Ken Norton Jr. to Randy Covitz of the Kansas City Star. “He’s a guy who can play anywhere in the NFL. It just speaks more volumes about the guys in front of him. It’s not a knock on Malcolm. But Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright and Bruce Irvin must be pretty good if they’re able to hold off the Super Bowl MVP."
This season, Smith easily led the team with 122 tackles, adding four sacks, six passes defensed, one interception and a pair of forced fumbles.
8. DE L.C. Greenwood, Pittsburgh Steelers (Super Bowl X)
3 of 10
Super Bowl X: Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Dallas Cowboys 17
The fabled “Steel Curtain” for the Pittsburgh Steelers was made up of one Hall of Fame performer and three talented players in defensive tackle Ernie “Arrowhead” Holmes, two-time Pro Bowl defensive end Dwight White and lanky but effective defensive end L.C. Greenwood.
The latter was known for his golden shoes but more importantly his ability to get the quarterback—be it a sack or a pass deflection. Just ask Minnesota Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton, who saw four of his passes knocked down or deflected in a 16-6 loss to the Steelers in Super Bowl IX.
That was the first of Pittsburgh’s four Super Bowl titles in six years. The second came in 1975 via a 21-17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. In that game the Steelers sacked Roger Staubach seven times, three each by Greenwood and White. Greenwood also chipped in seven tackles, including a lick on Cowboys running back Robert Newhouse that could be heard throughout the Orange Bowl and through your television set.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
7. OLB Mike Jones, St. Louis Rams (Super Bowl XXXIV)
4 of 10
Super Bowl XXXIV: St. Louis Rams 23, Tennessee Titans 16
In this game, safety Billy Jenkins (12) and linebacker London Fletcher (11) actually had more stops.
But St. Louis Rams linebacker Mike Jones' ninth tackle of the team’s 23-16 win over the Tennessee Titans proved to be a game-winner.
On the final play of the game and with the Titans trailing by seven points at the Georgia Dome, the former undrafted free agent stopped wide receiver Kevin Dyson on the 1-yard line after he caught a pass from quarterback Steve McNair. Thanks to the talented signal-caller, Tennessee had rallied from a 16-0 deficit to get back into the game before the Rams took the lead late in the fourth quarter.
Then along came Jones with the perfect play at the right time. What is the Super Bowl XXXIV hero up to these days? Robert Klemko of Sports Illustrated’s MMQB has the interesting update.
6. CB Mike Haynes, Los Angeles Raiders (Super Bowl XVIII)
5 of 10
Super Bowl XVIII: Los Angeles Raiders 38, Washington Redskins 9
Only once in Super Bowl history have there been co-MVPs. Dallas Cowboys defensive end Harvey Martin and defensive tackle Randy White earned those honors as their team pounded the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII.
Six years later, you could have made a similar case for both starting cornerbacks of the Los Angeles Raiders. But we give Hall of Famer Mike Haynes just a slight edge over teammate Lester Hayes in our rankings. The onetime New England Patriots star helped shackle a Washington Redskins team that had set an NFL record by scoring 541 points during the regular season.
In the game, Haynes finished with three tackles, knocked down one pass and had one of the team’s two interceptions of Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann in the 29-point rout. It was an impressive performance indeed when one of the receivers he was covering was fellow Hall of Famer Art Monk.
Meanwhile, yet another Hall of Fame performer, running back Marcus Allen, garnered MVP honors.
5. OLB Rod Martin, Oakland Raiders (Super Bowl XV)
6 of 10
Super Bowl XV: Oakland Raiders 27, Philadelphia Eagles 10
While Oakland Raiders quarterback Jim Plunkett was busy throwing for 261 yards and three touchdowns without an interception in his team’s 27-10 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles (and earning game MVP honors in the process), teammate Rod Martin was busy becoming one of Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski’s most frequent pass-catchers.
That day at the Superdome, running back Wilbert Montgomery caught six passes, and wide receiver Harold Carmichael totaled six receptions. That was followed by Martin, who picked off Jaworski three times (including the QB's first attempt of the game) and added five tackles in the process.
In 1981, the Raiders became the first wild-card team to win a Super Bowl. And Martin played a significant role for a defense that forced four turnovers in the 17-point victory.
4. DT Manny Fernandez, Miami Dolphins (Super Bowl VII)
7 of 10
Super Bowl VII: Miami Dolphins 14, Washington Redskins 7
Yes, this season’s Carolina Panthers made quite the run at an undefeated season. Ron Rivera’s club won its first 14 games before being knocked off by the Atlanta Falcons, 20-13, in Week 16.
Of course, the Panthers are still playing for the franchise’s first NFL title this Sunday when they face the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50.
Only once in the 96-year history of the National Football League has a team pursued perfection and actually captured it. In the Miami Dolphins' 14-7 victory over the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII, defensive tackle Manny Fernandez played a near-perfect game to preserve his team's perfect season in 1972.
It was a game where neither the Redskins (228) nor the Dolphins (253) came close to gaining 300 total yards—a sign of the times in the then run-oriented NFL. Fernandez finished with 10 tackles and one sack in a game in which the Washington offense never reached the end zone.
Of course, it was teammate/strong safety Jake Scott who picked off two passes and walked away with MVP honors that afternoon at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
3. OLB Mike Vrabel, New England Patriots (Super Bowl XXXVIII)
8 of 10
Super Bowl XXXVIII: New England Patriots 32, Carolina Panthers 29
How’s this for a performance on the NFL’s biggest stage?
A total of six tackles, two sacks and one forced fumble, as well as a one-yard touchdown reception, as the New England Patriots managed a thrilling 32-29 win in Super Bowl XXXVIII.
Talk about doing your job and then some. It’s hard to believe that Patriots outside linebacker Mike Vrabel could do much more to help Bill Belichick’s team put away the stubborn Panthers.
Yes, quarterback Tom Brady threw for 354 yards and three scores (one interception) and was just as worthy when it came to MVP honors. In any case, Vrabel’s performance is one of the unsung gems when it comes to Super Bowl history.
2. MLB Jack Lambert, Pittsburgh Steelers (Super Bowl XIV)
9 of 10
Super Bowl XIV: Pittsburgh Steelers 31, Los Angeles Rams 19
After failing miserably for nearly four decades, the once-downtrodden Pittsburgh Steelers won a postseason game for the first time in 1972, captured back-to-back Super Bowls in 1974 and 1975 and then made it three titles in five years with a victory in Super Bowl XIII over the Dallas Cowboys.
With a win in 1980 over the inconsistent Los Angeles Rams, a 9-7 team playing with backup quarterback Vince Ferragamo, the Black and Gold would take on immortal status.
Apparently, one of the few Steelers defenders who got the memo that day was intense middle linebacker Jack Lambert, who was arguably the best player on the field that January afternoon at Pasadena’s Rose Bowl. The future Hall of Famer amassed 14 tackles (10 solo) and also picked off Ferragamo downfield in the fourth quarter—the Rams’ only turnover of the game—to preserve Pittsburgh’s narrow triumph, which gave the Steelers four Lombardi Trophies in a six-year span.
1. S James Washington, Dallas Cowboys (Super Bowl XXVIII)
10 of 10
Super Bowl XXVIII: Dallas Cowboys 30, Buffalo Bills 13
The Dallas Cowboys have played in as many Super Bowls as any team in the NFL. Five of their eight appearances in the Big Game have come against the Pittsburgh Steelers (three) and Buffalo Bills (two).
In the case of the Bills, those meetings came in back-to-back seasons, the only time in this series’ 50-year history. In Super Bowl XXVII, Buffalo turned over the ball nine times in a humiliating 52-17 loss which could have been even worse if Cowboys defensive tackle Leon Lett was as observant as hustling Buffalo wideout Don Beebe.
In Super Bowl XXXVIII at the Georgia Dome, Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith ran for 132 yards and two scores and earned MVP honors.
But Dallas free safety James Washington had quite the day against the Bills as well. He helped changed the momentum of a game that saw Buffalo ahead 13-6 at the half. Early in the third quarter, he grabbed a Thurman Thomas fumble and returned the miscue 46 yards for a touchdown. By game’s end, Washington had also totaled 11 tackles, forced a fumble and picked off Bills quarterback Jim Kelly in what proved to be a decisive victory.
Unless otherwise noted, all player and team statistics come from Pro-Football-Reference, ESPN.com and the official play-by-plays from the National Football League.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
