Super Bowl 2011: The 15 Most Thrilling Super Bowls of the Last 25 Years
The Packers and Steelers treated us to another great Super Bowl this year in Dallas but where does it rank in the most thrilling Bowls in the last 25 years?
In 45 years of Super Bowls we have seen some truly amazing things go down and in the last 25 years alone we have seen some of the very best the world has ever seen.
The New England Patriots and their three Super Bowl victories by only three points each time certainly deserve a place on the list.
Tennessee's Kevin Dyson and his stretch to the one-yard line cannot be far off either.
David Tyree's catch followed by Eli Manning to Plaxico Burress for the win, Scott Norwood going wide right, Peyton Manning winning and losing in tremendous fashion, Ben Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes in the corner, John Elway, Brett Favre, Joe Montana and Aaron Rodgers; all these players and moments are just part of the entire experience.
Where do they all rank?
Here are the 15 most thrilling Super Bowls in the last 25 years.
15. Super Bowl XXX: Cowboys 27, Steelers 17
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The Dallas Cowboys came into this game looking to put an exclamation point on their dynasty of the early 1990's.
The 'Boys led 20-7 at one point before letting the Steelers get close late at 20-17.
Emmitt Smith put it away with fourth quarter touchdown run that gave the Cowboys their third title of the 1990's and coach Barry Switzer's first.
Pittsburgh's quarterback Neil O'Donnell threw three costly interceptions that doomed any chance the Steelers really had while his opponent, Troy Aikman, became just the third quarterback to win three Super Bowls; Tom Brady has since joined him.
14. Super Bowl XLI: Colts 29, Chicago 17
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Peyton Manning finally led his Indianapolis Colts through the postseason and into the Super Bowl against the Chicago Bears in the 2006 season.
Chicago had one of the league's best defensive units while Manning led the Colts and one of the league's best offensive units despite the departure of long time running back Edgerrin James.
Super Bowl XLI was the first time two African-American coaches, Lovie Smith of Chicago and Tony Dungy of Indianapolis, were in the Super Bowl.
Chicago's Devin Hester started off the fun immediately with a 92-yard kickoff return on the the games opening kick.
The Colts rallied to take 16-14 lead at the end of an exciting first half of play.
The defenses put it together in the second half though and the third quarter saw only two field goals from the Colts and one from the Bears.
With a 22-17 lead early in the fourth quarter Chicago's Rex Grossman was intercepted by Indianapolis' Kelvin Hayden and 56-yards later the Colts were up 29-17 and neither team scored again.
The game was Manning's first Super Bowl victory after a long career of dominant regular seasons.
13. Super Bowl XL: Steelers 21, Seahawks 10
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Pittsburgh's first trip back to Super Bowl in 10 years was actually a rather ugly yet they still managed to win.
The Steelers were riding the strength of a strong defense and running game while the Seahawks featured the league's MVP, Shaun Alexander, at running back and a defense that could get after the passer.
Pittsburgh led 7-3 after a rather unexciting first half but things heated up the third quarter.
Steelers' running back Willie Parker broke free and scampered 75-yards for what was the longest run in Super Bowl history to give the Black and Yellow a 14-3 lead.
Seattle got back within four after Ben Roethlisberger threw his second interception of the game when Seahawks' quarterback Matt Hasselbeck threw a touchdown pass to tight end Jerramy Stevens.
Pittsburgh got tricky after a Hasselbeck interception and former college quarterback, Antwaan Randel El, took an end around and threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to Hines Ward.
The Steelers held on to win 21-10 as Roethlisberger completed only nine passes throughout the game while the Seahawks continually hurt themselves with penalties and missed field goals.
It certainly was not pretty but had some thrilling moments nonetheless.
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12. Super Bowl XXXI: Packers 35, Patriots 21
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The Bill Parcells-led New England Patriots were the second franchise he had taken to the Super Bowl.
The Green Bay Packers, coached by Mike Holmgren, were looking for their first Super Bowl victory since Super Bowl II.
The game's first half really brought out the excitement with Green Bay leading 27-14 at halftime.
New England's Drew Bledsoe threw two touchdown passes in the first quarter while Green Bay's Brett Favre landed two long touchdown passes of 81-yards and 54-yards while also running one in from two yards out in the first half.
Patriots' running back Curtis Martin scored in the third quarter to cut the lead to 27-21 only to see Green Bay's Desmond Howard return a later punt for 99-yards and a game clinching touchdown; the Packers also went for the two-point conversion to push the lead to 14 points.
Neither team scored in the fourth quarter, Desmond Howard went on to become the first special teams player to win the MVP with 244 all-purpose return yards and Brett Favre got his first and only Super Bowl title.
The second half did not put up points like the first but it certainly was not for lack of trying; Bledsoe tied a Super Bowl record with four interceptions in the game.
11. Super Bowl XLIV: Saints 31, Colts 17
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New Orleans came in as a city desperately clinging to the hope of their first championship while Peyton Manning looked poised to get his second.
Two high profile offenses were expected to bring out some heavy point totals.
A sloppy first half of play was upstaged by quite an exhilarating second half in Super Bowl XLIV opened with one of the most daring calls in all of sports.
Down 10-6 to start the second half, New Orleans went with an onside kick and got the ball back. They scored on the drive, watched Indianapolis score again and take the lead and then kicked a field goal to make it a 17-16 game going into the fourth quarter.
With four plus minutes to go in the game the Saints finally took the lead and converted on the two point conversion for a 24-17 lead.
Peyton Manning, like he had done so many times before, drove the Colts down the field and was angling for the tying score before being picked off by Tracy Porter of New Orleans; 74-yards later the Saints led 31-17.
The Saints, Drew Brees and the city of New Orleans had won the Super Bowl.
10. Super Bowl XXXIX: Patriots 24, Eagles 21
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The Patriots were on the brink of a true dynasty in 2004 and the Philadelphia Eagles had finally broken through the NFC Championship Game and were in the Super Bowl.
Philadelphia's Terrell Owens was playing despite a broken foot and the game went into the fourth quarter tied at 14 with each quarterback throwing two touchdown passes apiece.
Corey Dillon, playing in his first and only Super Bowl after a long career of losing in Cincinnati, broke the tie in the fourth and Adam Vinatieri added the least famous of his three game-clinching field goals to put the Patriots up 10.
Donovan McNabb threw his third touchdown pass to bring the Eagles within three point but on the games final drive, with no timeout, threw his third interception sealing his Philadelphia's fate and giving New England it's second straight Lombardi Trophy and third in four seasons.
The Patriots are no stranger to three point victories and this third Bowl was the third of it's kind.
9. Super Bowl XXV: Giants 20, Bills 19
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Wide Right, need I say more?
The Giants went into the playoffs without former Super Bowl MVP quarterback Phil Simms due to an injury and plowed on with backup Jeff Hostetler.
Buffalo was about to begin the loneliest stretch of losing that any team will likely ever face behind the arm of Jim Kelly.
Both starting running backs on each team, Ottis Anderson (NYG) and Thurman Thomas (BUF) rushed for over 100-yards on the ground and the Giants led 20-19 before the game's fateful kick.
With eight seconds left from the 47-yard line, Scott Norwood lined up for the kick to give the Bills the victory.
The kick went less than one yard too far the right and the Giants held on to win their second Super Bowl; Buffalo would be back in the Bowl three more times.
8. Super Bowl XXXII: Broncos 31, Packers 24
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The Green Bay Packers were back in the Super Bowl after Favre and company won the previous year and were heavily favored over the Denver Broncos.
Broncos' quarterback John Elway had been there three times before and lost each one in ugly fashion.
Favre and the Pack were looking to win their second straight Super Bowl but were not prepared for the Terrell Davis train.
Davis ran for the 157-yards on the ground along with three touchdowns.
Denver held a slim 17-14 lead going into halftime and the game was tied twice more throughout the second half.
With 1:45 seconds left, Davis scored the third of his three touchdowns to give the Broncos the go-ahead score.
Green Bay's Brett Favre put on a quite a show for the second straight season but it was not enough to keep Elway from the first of his two titles; the Broncos would repeat the following season against the Atlanta Falcons.
7. Super Bowl XXIII: 49ers 20, Bengals 16
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There is nothing quite like Joe Montana in the Super Bowl.
The 49ers and Bengals had tussled before seven years earlier.
The back and forth contest saw a tie ball game three teams with five lead changes.
This game was defined by it's fourth quarter though, and more specifically, Montana's 11 play, 92-yard drive that gave he 49ers the win.
Trailing 16-13 with 3:15 seconds to go, the 49ers started their own eight yard line.
Super Bowl MVP Jerry Rice was used to get the team down the field catching three passes on the drive before Montana found John Taylor on the sideline for the 10-yard, game winning touchdown catch.
6. Super Bowl XLV: Packers 31, Steelers 25
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An exciting first half of play saw the Packers' defense knock Pittsburgh around ended with the Steelers managing cut an 18-point deficit to 11 at halftime.
Major injuries to wide receiver Donald Driver and cornerback Charles Woodson of the Packers made for a difficult second half for Green Bay but they found a way to survive.
Pittsburgh made too many mistakes but found a way to get the game within three points with seven minutes remaining.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers led the Packers back down field to add a field goal just before the two minute warning occurred and Pittsburgh came on short on the ensuing drive.
Through injuries and all, the Packers overcame a ton of adversity to win the Super Bowl and deny Ben Roethlisberger of his third Super Bowl title.
5. Super Bowl XXXIV: Rams 23, Titans 16
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A sloppy first half of play left the Tennessee Titans scoreless for almost the entirety of three quarters.
St. Louis, led by quarterback and regular season MVP Kurt Warner, were up 16-0 against the Titans before finding themselves in a 16-16 battle with 2:12 seconds left in the game.
Warner then found wide receiver Isaac Bruce for a 73-yard touchdown reception to give the Rams the 23-16 lead a legitimate shot at their first Super Bowl.
With only 1:48 seconds left quarterback Steve McNair started the drive towards the endzone from their own 12-yard line.
Through a barrage of close plays and near miss-fires, the Titans managed to get down the St. Louis 10-yard line with six seconds on the clock.
McNair found Kevin Dyson over the middle and "The Tackle" took place.
St. Louis linebacker Mike Jones wrapped Dyson around legs as the receiver's stretch for the endzone came up just one yard shy giving St. Louis their first Super Bowl title.
4. Super Bowl XXXVI: Patriots 20, Rams 17
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The heavily favored Rams came into this game with dreams of their second Super Bowl in three years; instead we got Tom Brady and the Patriot dynasty.
Little known backup Tom Brady stepped in for former No. 1 overall pick Drew Bledsoe and took the Patriots back to the Super Bowl for the first time since the loss to Green Bay in 1997.
The Patriots led 14-3 at halftime following a big second quarter of play and added the only score of the third quarter on a field goal from Adam Vinatieri.
Then Kurt Warner and Rams kicked in and looked like the team we expected to see.
Warner ran in for a score from two yards out and then threw the tying touchdown pass to Ricky Proehl with 1:30 left on the clock.
In a matter of 1:30 second three legends were born: Tom Brady, Adam Vinatieri and Bill Belichick.
The game clinching field goal was just the first of many for Vinatieri in this position (though he was equally clutch in playoff games prior), and Brady and Belichick will forever be linked as this was the first of their three rings together.
3. Super Bowl XLIII: Steelers 27, Cardinals 23
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A 20-7 Pittsburgh Steeler lead going into the fourth quarter was just the beginning.
The Arizona Cardinals were simply considered lucky to be there and Kurt Warner was up to his normal heroics in a bid to stop the Steelers from getting their second Super Bowl in four seasons.
Down 20-7 entering the fourth quarter the Cardinals and Warner responded by scoring 16 unanswered points and taking an improbable 23-20 lead behind two Larry Fitzgerald touchdown receptions from Warner and a safety enforced on a holding penalty in the endzone.
Roethlisberger and the Steelers took the ball with 2:37 to go in the game and drove down the field looking not to tie the ball game, but to win it.
From six yards out, wide receiver Santonio Holmes somehow found a way to pin his toes into the grass before falling out of bounds in the endzone and the challenged touchdown pass stood for the go-ahead score.
Arizona's last second attempt with 00:35 left came up short and Pittsburgh held on for what was easily one of the most exhilarating fourth quarters of play in the history of the game.
2. Super Bowl XXXVIII: Patriots 32, Panthers 29
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Goodness, do the Patriots know how to make a Super Bowl worthwhile or what?
Making their fourth appearance on this list, the Patriots and Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII gave us two great "closing" quarters.
Following a scoreless first quarter the Patriots went into halftime with a 14-10 lead only to follow the third quarter with no scores on either side.
New England stretched their lead to 11 at the beginning of the fourth only to lose the lead and then trade points back and forth with the Panthers ending with a 29-29 tie with 1:04 left on the clock and Tom Brady with the football.
The Patriots' signal caller led the six play drive to set up Adam Vinatieri to do what he does best: kick game winning field goals.
The two teams combined for 37 fourth quarter points and New England's second Super Bowl of the decade.
1. Super Bowl XLII: Giants 17, Patriots 14
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One of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history gave us the most thrilling Super Bowl of all time.
The Giants came in as a 5 seed and lost to the Patriots in thrilling fashion in the regular season finale.
The Patriots, meanwhile, were on the path to the first undefeated season since the Miami Dolphins in 1972.
The most dominant team in recent memory was held in check all game by the New York Giants defense.
Finally, after trailing 7-3 for much of the game, the Giants took the lead early in fourth quarter on a Eli Manning to David Tyree touchdown pass.
The Patriots retook the lead with only 2:12 seconds remaining only to watch the most ridiculous drive in Super Bowl history unfold.
On 3rd-and-5 from their own 44-yard line, Eli spins away from pressure and, well, you know the rest ... David Tyree.
With 00:35 left Eli hits Plaxico Burress in the endzone for the go-ahead score and the Giants defense held off Brady's last gasp rally to upset the undefeated Patriots and complete one of the most stunning upsets in Super Bowl history.
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