MY SUPER BOWL POWER RANKINGS

WHO’S NO. 1?

With Super Bowl week upon us, I decided to give you the ultimate Super Sunday power rankings.

52. SUPER BOWL XXXIII: DENVER BRONCOS 34, ATLANTA FALCONS 19

There’s never been a bigger foregone conclusion on Super Sunday than the upstart Atlanta Falcons against the defending champion Denver Broncos to bookend the 1998 NFL season.

The Falcons were 14-2, but nobody outside of Georgia really believed one-time Broncos boss Dan Reeves would win a first Lombardi trophy as a coach at the expense of his old team.

Mike Shanahan’s Denver entered the game with an identical 14-win season in the rearview mirror. But this was a more efficient and ruthless machine on both sides of the ball.

So it proved as an offense spearheaded by 2,000-yard rusher Terrell Davis overwhelmed Atlanta’s workmanlike defense. Broncos quarterback John Elway’s swan song proved to be little more than a Sunday afternoon stroll.

There’s barely anything memorable about this game. The matchup also rates as a stinker because those spoiling Falcons denied fans the chance to see the Broncos pitted against the Minnesota Vikings and Randy Moss, at the time the most explosive offense in league history.

51. SUPER BOWL XLI: INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 29, CHICAGO BEARS 17

Peyton Manning finally got the Super Bowl win his talent merited, although not in the way he probably imagined. Rather than Manning’s arm and the Indianapolis Colts’ high-powered offense surgically dissecting the Chicago Bears’ Tampa 2, fans sat through a rain-soaked run fest where Dominic Rhodes became Indy’s game winner.

Peyton’s big day didn’t live up to the billing, while Rex Grossman and the mistake-ridden Bears offense confirmed everyone’s worst fears.

50. SUPER BOWL XXIV: SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS 55, DENVER BRONCOS 10

Even Broncos fans didn’t want their team to make it to this Super Bowl. Before Elway rode off into the sunset with a Lombardi Trophy under each arm, he suffered through a hat-trick of title-game massacres, and this beatdown by the San Francisco 49ers to cap the ’89 season was the most brutal to watch.

While Elway ran for his life and still couldn’t escape Charles Haley and the Niners defense, Joe Montana put on a quarterback masterclass. Sadly, anyone living outside San Francisco stopped caring midway through the second quarter.

49. SUPER BOWL XXXV: BALTIMORE RAVENS 34, NEW YORK GIANTS 7

The stingiest defense since the NFL started keeping stats and playing 16-game seasons helped the Baltimore Ravens step on the New York Giants in style in 2001. Sadly, Ray Lewis and his mates beating up on Kerry Collins and Tiki Barber didn’t make for particularly interesting viewing.

It was obvious from the start the Giants didn’t have the key to unlock a defense no team could expose in the 2000 season. That left the onus on a Ravens offense led by Trent Dilfer to put up enough yards and points to keep a few pulses racing.

In fairness, Baltimore did spring a few surprises on O’. They became one of the first teams to show up then All-Pro cornerback Jason Sehorn’s weakness against the deep ball.

Overall though, watching this one was like living in a punter’s paradise.

48. SUPER BOWL XXIX: SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS 49, SAN DIEGO CHARGERS 26

Arguably as inevitable as any other Super Sunday blowout, the San Diego Chargers were hopelessly overmatched against the nouveau riche 49ers.

San Fran had thrown free-agency dollars at every big-name defensive player left standing in an effort to overtake the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC. Ken Norton Jr., Gary Plummer, Rickey Jackson, Richard Dent and a certain Deion Sanders all arrived to get the D’ up to par.

But the true greatness of this team was found on offense. Shanahan got the job in Denver based on how he directed arguably the most loaded unit of all time.

Steve Young threw the passes to Jerry Rice, John Taylor, Brent Jones, Ricky Watters and William Floyd. There was just no way Stan Humphries, Natrone Means and Junior Seau stood a chance.

Young’s record-setting six-touchdown day is the abiding memory of this game. But plenty of fans will wish the Chargers hadn’t taken away the chance to see what the Pittsburgh Steelers and their ‘Blitzburgh’ defense might have done against Young and Co.

47. SUPER BOWL XLVIII: SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 43, DENVER BRONCOS 8

Defense wins championships, but a championship-winning defense doesn’t always make for good viewing. So it proved in 2014 when the classic matchup of a stellar defense, in this case the Seattle Seahawks, and a high-powered offense, courtesy of Peyton Manning and the Broncos, quickly devolved into a damp squib.

Denver botching a snap to give away a safety on the first play let everyone know the most prolific scoring machine in NFL annals hadn’t shown up and wasn’t going to anytime soon.

Instead, the Seahawks, never the most graceful in defeat or victory, proceeded to strut, crow and gloat their way through an epic beatdown.

Manning’s attempts to connect with wide receivers who had no stomach for beating the press coverage of Seattle’s ‘Legion of Boom’ secondary became the football equivalent of watching paint dry.

46. SUPER BOWL V: BALTIMORE COLTS 16, DALLAS COWBOYS 13

This Super Bowl was decided by a last-gasp field goal and also marked the only time a losing player, Cowboys linebacker Chuck Howley, won the MVP award. So why doesn’t it rank higher?

The explanation is simple. It was more like a bloopers reel than a competitive game between two conference kingpins.

A staggering 11 turnovers were committed, earning the game the unwanted moniker “Blunder Bowl,” per ESPN’s Larry Schwartz. Not even rookie Jim O’Brien being coolness personified to settle a Super Bowl with his foot way before Adam Vinatieri made it his trademark, could place this error show any higher.

45. SUPER BOWL II: GREEN BAY PACKERS 33, OAKLAND RAIDERS 14

No disrespect to the memory of Vince Lombardi and the Green Bay Packers dynasty he created in the sixties. But it’s easy to believe a good portion of the football-watching public had had their fill of the Pack by the time Super Bowl II rolled around.

After all, these Packers had won the last five NFL titles in a row and already lifted the first-ever Super Bowl trophy a year earlier.

The 1967-68 group wasn’t even a vintage Lombardi team. The master motivator had seen his roster get old, but still keep enough in reserve to stay ahead of the competition.

By now, everything the Packers did had an air of predictability to it. Even their 19-point demolition of a plucky Oakland Raiders squad coached by John Madden had more than a touch of the routine about it.

44. SUPER BOWL VIII: MIAMI DOLPHINS 24, MINNESOTA VIKINGS 7

How do you win a Super Bowl when your quarterback throws only seven passes? It was the sole interesting question to emerge from the eighth edition of Super Sunday after the Miami Dolphins had worn down a Minnesota Vikings team cowed by the spotlight.

The answer proved to be a simple one. Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese only had to air it out seven times because battering ram-style fullback Larry Csonka ran the ball 33 times for 145 yards and two touchdowns.

Csonka got the Lion’s share of Miami’s mammoth 53 rushing attempts. The numbers are impressive, but smash mouth football only looks good when scored with the old NFL Films music and narrated by John Facenda’s elegiac voice.

43. SUPER BOWL VI: DALLAS COWBOYS 24, MIAMI DOLPHINS 3

The Cowboys were so determined to erase the memory of the ‘Blunder Bowl’ they delivered a performance so precise and efficient it rendered the sixth Super Bowl a forgettable spectacle.

Don Shula’s young Dolphins team wasn’t quite ready for the big stage immediately after the ’71 season. Not when Cowboys coach Tom Landry and the first incarnation of the ‘Doomsday’ defense were already treading the boards.

The abiding image of this game was Cowboys defensive tackle Bob Lilly chasing down Dolphins passer Griese for what proved to be an epic 29-yard loss.

When a loss is the standout memory from a game, it says nothing good about the rest of it.

42. SUPER BOWL XXVII: DALLAS COWBOYS 52, BUFFALO BILLS 17

If a good portion of America was tiring of the Packers in the late-sixties, the same was true of the Buffalo Bills in the early nineties. The Bills had already lost two-straight Super Bowls and there can’t have been many thinking things would change when they met the star-studded Cowboys after the 1992 season.

Jimmy Johnson had built a precocious and braggadocios team littered playmakers such as wide receiver Michael Irvin, quarterback Troy Aikman and running back Emmitt Smith. Haley and Jim Jeffcoat led a defense faster than you know what from a sneeze.

This group didn’t win may popularity contests, but few around the league could deny the awesome talent they possessed.

Johnson’s Cowboys won this Super Bowl alright, with the Bills only getting as close as 21 points adrift all day. Buffalo’s nine turnovers may have provided a few chuckles between periodic dozing, but this one was done before kickoff.

41. SUPER BOWL XII: DALLAS COWBOYS 27, DENVER BRONCOS 10

‘Doomsday’ mark II smothered the Broncos in Super Bowl XII. Harvey Martin and Randy White shared the MVP award after taking turns using Denver quarterbacks as piñatas.

As a defensive exhibition, this was as good as it’s ever been on a Super Sunday. However, the overall game was more one-sided than even the 17-point score line would suggest.

The event might have lived up to its billing if Denver’s famed ‘Orange Crush’ defense had shown up.

40. SUPER BOWL XV: OAKLAND RAIDERS 27, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 10

This may be too high for some, but there are a few things to recommend the 15th Super Bowl. One includes Raiders quarterback Jim Plunkett going from castoff to king of the pile after an MVP showing.

Truthfully, Plunkett ought to have shared the award with opportunistic linebacker Rod Martin, who snatched three interceptions from Eagles QB Ron Jaworski. Speaking of those Eagles, this game was the precursor to head Coach Dick Vermeil’s unforgettable emotional burn out just two years later.

This one would rank higher if these Raiders, the first Wild Card team to win the big one, were as iconic as the Madden and Ken Stabler-led group of the previous decade.

39. SUPER BOWL XX: CHICAGO BEARS 46, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 10

A 46-10 blowout has little business being this high on the list, were it not for the indelible mark the ’85 Bears left on the football viewing public.

Defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan’s formidable unit and its destructive ’46’ scheme still claim most votes when people discuss the best defenses of all time. Dent, Mike Singletary, Dan Hampton, Wilber Marshall and Otis Wilson left their marks on quarterbacks and remain the yard stick for every defense that’s followed.

Things were just as eventful on an offense led by a wacky battling quarterback with a penchant for headbands named Jim McMahon. He threw deep to speedy wide receiver Willie Gault and handed off to Walter Payton, arguably the finest running back the game has ever known.

The Patriots, in their pre-Belichick and cartoon uniform days, never had a chance. Yet the permanent image of this game involved house-sized defensive tackle William Perry piling over from the 1-yard line, even though the Bears owed the score to Payton. Shame on you Mike Ditka.

Speaking of Ditka, the head coach’s relationship with Ryan was every bit as fiery as his team. The fact defensive players hoisted Ryan onto their shoulders for the victory exit usually reserved for the top man said everything about this brilliantly dysfunctional team.

38. SUPER BOWL IV: KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 23, MINNESOTA VIKINGS 7

This is the first time on the list the quality of a Super Bowl game hasn’t solely determined its ranking. If it had, there’s no way the Kansas City Chiefs’ comprehensive destruction of the Minnesota Vikings would rank this high.

The game itself was one-sided and pedestrian. It meant the entertainment had to come from another source. Enter Chiefs head coach Hank Stram.

You only need to hear the phrase “65 Toss Power Trap” to conjure images of Stram’s Oscar-worthy performance while mic’d up on the sidelines for an eternally grateful NFL Films.

Stram was a comedic genius who uttered one-line side-splitters more prolifically than most stand-up stars can ever dream of doing.

It wasn’t all about Stram, though, whose humor often masked his brilliance as an innovator in coaching circles. Yet not even Stram’s carnival turn can overshadow the greatness of the KC team he put together.

His creative “Stack” defensive front was loaded with legends of the game, including linebackers Willie Lanier and Bobby Bell, along with monster D-tackle Buck Buchanan.

Offensively, quarterback Len Dawson was a precision machine in the clutch. Meanwhile, towering wideout Otis Taylor was “Megatron” way before Calvin Johnson took up the name.

The Chiefs of this period were one of history’s outstanding teams. They also evened things up at two Super Bowl wins apiece for the soon-to-be defunct AFL.

Never underestimate the lasting impression this Super Bowl made.

37. SUPER BOWL XXVI: WASHINGTON REDSKINS 37, BUFFALO BILLS 24

The 1991 Bills had been one kick short of winning the Super Bowl the previous season and thought they were even stronger the next year. Unfortunately, Joe Gibbs’ last great Washington Redskins team was stronger still.

The ’91 Redskins were a well-oiled machine in every phase. Offensively, they were built on a line better than the iconic ‘Hogs’ of the early to mid-eighties.

Left tackle Jim Lachey and guards Mark Schlereth and Raleigh McKenzie knocked open big enough holes for an ageing Earnest Byner to be a 1,000-yard rusher. They also kept the pass pocket so clean Mark Rypien passed his way to a Super Bowl MVP award. Scarcely believable to this day.

Rypien, Byner and a trio of gifted receivers led by Art Monk tore through the Bills in Minneapolis. But it was an unfashionable Washington defense that delivered a performance to rank alongside the most dominant defenses in Super Bowl history.

The Redskins logged five sacks, intercepted four passes and held star running back Thurman Thomas to just 13 yards on 10 carries.

Don’t be fooled, this was nowhere near as close as the 13-point scoring margin might suggest. In fact, it was over after Buffalo’s first offensive play, one Thomas missed because he couldn’t find his helmet!

The Bills’ ineptitude, along with a dire halftime show and arctic weather made this one of the more forgettable Super Bowls.

36. SUPER BOWL XI: OAKLAND RAIDERS 32, MINNESOTA VIKINGS 14

Tom Flores would later guide the Raiders to two more Super Bowls, including the win over the Eagles four years later. But to many, the Raiders of circa 1976, Madden’s Raiders, were the quintessential embodiment of everything associated with the Silver and Black.

Madden’s boys were rough, rowdy, played on the edge of the rules and crammed more exciting finishes into one decade than most franchises muster during an entire existence.

The Raiders of this period were also nearly men for most of the seventies. Being second fiddle to the Steelers had almost become a way of life, until the Vikings took another drubbing on Super Sunday after the ’76 season.

This game was everything perhaps the most iconic franchise in NFL history had been building toward. Madden’s enigmatic smile as he was carried away finally a winner struck a chord even with the most ardent Raiders critics.

35. SUPER BOWL XVIII: LOS ANGELES RAIDERS 38, WASHINGTON REDSKINS 9

Where’s the love for Tom Flores? He guided the Raiders to a pair of Super Bowl wins and the franchise arguably never had a better team than the one that dismantled Washington in ’84.

This wasn’t just any Redskins team, either. They were the defending champions and had returned to the big dance thanks to what was at the time the highest-scoring offense in league history.

Quarterback Joe Theismann and running backs John Riggins and Joe Washington had tore up the league, but none could get on track against the mean-spirited Raiders.

Maybe a 38-9 game doesn’t deserve to rank this high. But it was a game loaded with iconic plays, including Jack Squirek’s interception return for a touchdown. However, it was running back Marcus Allen’s 74-yard scoring run, a change-of-direction masterpiece that lives forever in the memory.

34. SUPER BOWL XXXVII: TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS 48, OAKLAND RAIDERS 21

This was another one-sided affair, but at least there was plenty of spice involved in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers meeting with the Oakland Raiders after the 2002 season. Most of it came from the fact former Raiders head coach Jon Gruden, who’d been traded to Tampa a year earlier, was in charge of the Bucs.

Gruden and his typically spiky and mischievous demeanor had instilled just the right amount of fire in a gifted Buccaneers squad, but one too comfortable under predecessor Tony Dungy.

Gruden had deposed Dungy, but not before the latter had built one of the great defenses. His unit, guided superbly by Tampa 2 guru Monte Kiffin, lived up to its billing on the big day.

The Bucs snagged five interceptions and returned three of them for touchdowns. Derrick Brooks, who is surely the best weak-side linebacker to ever draw breath, was magnificent. Meanwhile, defensive tackle Warren Sapp led a pass rush that swarmed in for five sacks.

Those who remembered the Bucs of yesteryear, the winless seasons and ugly uniforms, probably never dreamed of seeing a Super Bowl win.

Gruden helped deliver one and also got to enjoy some typically smug self-satisfaction at the Raiders expense. It’s just a shame the offense he built in Oakland around the arm of Rich Gannon and the receiving brilliance of Jerry Rice, Tim Brown and Charlie Garner, never showed up.

33. SUPER BOWL VII: MIAMI DOLPHINS 14, WASHINGTON REDSKINS 7

A mere 21 points, special teams blunders and defenses bossing stuttering offenses should put the seventh Super Bowl lower on this list. Yet it’s impossible to ignore the significance of the Dolphins win over the Redskins.

The seven-point victory put a flourish on the only perfect season in NFL history. No team since the ’72 Dolphins has been able to keep a goose egg in the loss column for an entire campaign.

It’s a singular achievement that puts the triumph of the unbeaten Dolphins and their ‘No-Name’ defense in the right spot.

32. SUPER BOWL 50: DENVER BRONCOS 24, CAROLINA PANTHERS 10

The Broncos defense had destroyed teams all the way through the 2015 season. Yet there were still plenty believing league MVP Panthers dual-threat quarterback Cam Newton would find the answer in the big game.

Boy, were they wrong.

Denver not only dominated defensively, they put on a pass-rushing clinic to leave Newton flummoxed, battered and bruised. Edge-rusher Von Miller was Newton’s chief tormentor and deservedly scooped the MVP gong.

Yet this game was more about the old hands who earned the big prize their careers merited. Chief among them was Broncos QB Peyton Manning, no longer the strong-armed points dispenser of years past. Instead, this vintage of Manning was an injury riddled shell of his glory days hanging on by his fingernails to his last chance for one more Super Bowl.

Fortunately, the defense won it for Peyton, and even the chairperson of the Tom Brady fan club had to feel he deserved another ring.

It was also heartwarming to see DeMarcus Ware, the most skilled pass-rusher of his generation, win a Super Bowl. But Ware’s win was a mere footnote to coordinator Wade Phillips, a likeable and brilliant strategist, finally winning the big one.

31. SUPER BOWL XXI: NEW YORK GIANTS 39, DENVER BRONCOS 20

The final score shows the Giants made easy work of the Broncos as 19-point winners back in ’87. However, the game itself contained more tension than the average Super Bowl from this era.

For one thing, the Giants needed a dramatic defensive stand at the goal-line to prevent the Broncos opening up a 10-point lead late in the second quarter.

Trailing 10-9 in the third, Giants boss Bill Parcells called a fake punt on 4th-and-1 at his own 46-yard line. It was a staggeringly bold call in the biggest game. Thankfully for Parcells and the Giants, backup QB Jeff Rutledge rewarded his coach’s bravado by sneaking for a first down and providing the catalyst for a 30-point outburst to give Big Blue a first Lombardi.

30. SUPER BOWL XXVIII: DALLAS COWBOYS 30, BUFFALO BILLS 13

The Cowboys had served the Bills a 50-burger a year earlier, but there was more intrigue surrounding the rematch. Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman had suffered a concussion in the NFC Championship and was far from himself.

Buffalo could also take heart from having beaten the Cowboys at Texas Stadium in Week 2 of the ’93 season. The first half actually looked like a close game with the Bills even leading 13-6 at intermission.

Few probably expected the Bills to stay in front, but it still took some big plays for the Cowboys to turn things around. Safety James Washington’s elaborate fumble return tied the score, before Jimmy Johnson turned the game over to Smith. The Dallas workhorse plowed through the Bills on seven carries during an eight-play march leading to the go-ahead score, a 15-yard run by No. 22.

This was the epitome of the power football the NFC bossed a softer AFC with during an era when 13-straight Super Bowl winners came from the National conference.

Things were still close until Smith went in again, this time on 4th-and-1, one of the more ballsy calls in a Super Bowl.

29. SUPER BOWL XXXI: GREEN BAY PACKERS 35, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 21

The is one might have been wrapped up by the final period, but the Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots crammed a ton of big plays into the first three quarters.

Brett Favre threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to Andre Rison for the Pack, before connecting with Antonio Freeman from 81 yards out. Not to be outdone, Pats gunslinger Drew Bledsoe hurled bombs to Shawn Jefferson and rookie Terry Glenn to set up short scoring throws to Keith Byars and Ben Coates.

The Pack then broke the game open as an underrated defense called by the late Fritz Shurmur, a true master, stymied Bledsoe with sophisticated blitz pressure.

Green Bay led 27-14, but more than a few Packers nerves were jangling when Curtis Martin powered into the end zone from 18 yards out to reduce the gap to six. The Big Mo’ was well and truly with Bill Parcells’ Patriots, but Desmond Howard changed it all with a 99-yard kickoff return, the signature play of a performance that saw Howard become the only special teamer ever crowned MVP.

There was still time for Packers legend Reggie White to set a Super Bowl record with three sacks to close out the game. Seeing the greatest defensive end to ever play finally raising a championship was a perfect ending to a spectacular game.

28. SUPER BOWL XXII: WASHINGTON REDSKINS 42, DENVER BRONCOS 10

The halfway point of the list is high for a 42-10 game. But Washington’s destruction of the Broncos lands here because of 15 minutes, otherwise known as “The Quarter.”

It was the second quarter to be exact, the period when the Redskins scored five touchdowns before halftime.

Four of those touchdowns came off the arm of quarterback Doug Williams, a backup for a good portion of the ’87 season, but the star of this Super Sunday. Truthfully, Williams ought to have shared the spotlight with previously unknown running back Timmy Smith.

He went from obscurity to a surprising start and 204 yards rushing, behind an admittedly awesome O-line, still a record in the big game.

Williams’ and Smith’s performances are part of Super Bowl lore, so it’s only fitting this game lands at 25.

27. SUPER BOWL LII: PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 41, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 33

Some might quibble with this ranking, but it falls in the middle for a few reasons. For starters, no defense was played the entire game. Secondly, while Nick Foles was a great story in the moment, it wasn’t exactly two great quarterbacks slugging it out against one another.

The Eagles and Patriots combined for more than 1,000 total yards before Brandon Graham made the one and only defensive play of the game, stripping Tom Brady to put an end to the proceedings.

It’s impossible to argue that the game was not entertaining between Brady throwing for more than 500 yards and the Philly Special, but was it one of the all-time greats? Probably falls a bit shy of that lofty goal.

26. SUPER BOWL XXXIX: NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 24, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 21

The Pats trying to repeat, Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens trying to play on a bum ankle, while quarterback Donovan McNabb barfed (maybe) his way through the final quarter. Super Bowl 39 wasn’t lacking for intrigue.

In between all the talk of dynasties, injury and bodily functions, there was actually a game going on. And it was a pretty good one.

Truthfully, the Pats controlled most it, building a 24-14 fourth-quarter lead on the strength of a smart defensive game plan and yet another touchdown pass to linebacker with an identity crisis Mike Vrabel.

While Tom Brady and the Pats were rolling, McNabb, Owens and Co. had been bottled up by a pressure-based 4-3 scheme unveiled especially for the big game by defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel.

McNabb eventually rallied to bring the Eagles to within three, but the lasting question from this game is did he actually puke?

25. SUPER BOWL XIX: SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS 38, MIAMI DOLPHINS 16

Joe Montana vs. Dan Marino. What’s not to love? Okay, so this duel of quarterbacking gods didn’t produce the shootout many expected, not when the Nines won by 22 points.

However, there’s still so much to recommend the 19th Super Bowl.

For one thing, Montana’s masterclass, including three touchdown passes and one scoring run, perfectly exemplified head coach Bill Walsh’s West Coast offense.

If you want one example of the most influential offensive scheme of all time at its best, choose this game.

Just as important though, was how the 49ers proved their defensive credentials by shutting down Marino and the Dolphins after halftime. They did it with blitz-happy, multiple-defensive back fronts that clamped on Marino’s receivers and outwitted the blockers in front of him.

Marino was sacked four times and intercepted twice. Marino had thrown for over 5,000 yards and 48 touchdowns during the season. A year later, he would shred the Bears’ vaunted “46” defense. But Marino had no answers for the San Fran unit.

Whenever anyone dismisses the role of the defense in the 49ers domination of the eighties, just bring up this Super Bowl.

24. SUPER BOWL XLV: GREEN BAY PACKERS 31, PITTSBURGH STEELERS 25

Marino vs. Montana may have been a hopelessly one-sided QB duel, but Aaron Rodgers against Ben Roethlisberger lived up to the billing. Both quarterbacks entered this game in red-hot form and proceeded to make the 45th Super Bowl a special occasion.

A-Rod and Big Ben combined for five touchdown passes, three from Rodgers, who was near flawless on the day. By contrast, Roethlisberger was picked off twice but still managed to rally the Steelers late on.

Pittsburgh closed the gap to just three points midway through the fourth quarter after Antwaan Randle El converted a two-pointer on a gadget play. But Roethlisberger and the Steelers still came up just short after kicker Mason Crosby padded the Packers’ lead ahead of the final two minutes.

Two quarterbacks at their best, along with crappy seats forcing the league to pay out to disgruntled fans, make this more than just another Super Bowl.

23. SUPER BOWL XXX: DALLAS COWBOYS 27, PITTSBURGH STEELERS 17

A Dallas dynasty colliding with a Steelers defense at the peak of ‘Blitzburgh’ made Super Bowl 30 engrossing viewing. The Cowboys still had Aikman, Irvin, Smith and a pretty good defense, but this was a shell of the team Jimmy Johnson had taken to back-to-back Super Bowl wins earlier in the decade.

As for the Steelers, this was probably head coach Bill Cowher’s best team. With one not-so small exception.

The exception was quarterback Neil O’Donnell, who suffered brain freeze on two passes to Cowboys cornerback Larry Brown, easily the most unlikely MVP winner since Super Sundays began.

22. SUPER BOWL I: GREEN BAY PACKERS 35, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 10

Great game? No. Absolutely not. Significant game? You’d better believe it. The first-ever Super Bowl deserves more than being buried in the lower echelons of this list. After all, this was the matchup that started it all.

The game was also a who’s who of Hall of Fame level talent from the sixties. Let’s start with the Packers, the Packers of Bart Starr, Jim Taylor, Forrest Gregg, Ray Nitschke, Herb Adderley and Willie Davis. As good as the Pack were, the Chiefs were no slouches.

These were the Chiefs of Dawson, Lanier and Bell. If the Packers were the dynasty of the NFL during the decade, KC were the dominant force of the old AFL.

21. SUPER BOWL XVII: WASHINGTON REDSKINS 27, MIAMI DOLPHINS 17

The 17th edition of the NFL’s title game was a colorful affair. It pitted Washington’s Hogs against Miami’s Killer B’s defense. There was also room for Redskins fullback John Riggins, who would, not for the first time in a decorated career, ultimately steal the spotlight.

Riggins had to wait until the fourth quarter to stamp his mark on the game and make an imprint on Super Bowl history. His moment came on fourth down when the ‘Diesel’ turned a short-yardage call into a 43-yard touchdown run to break the Dolphins’ spirits.

Before then, the two teams had traded blows in a contest littered with big plays and missed opportunities. The big plays included Fulton Walker returning a kickoff 98 yards for six for the Dolphins. But Miami also accounted for the biggest missed opportunity when rush end Kim Bokamper was denied an interception off his own tip after Washington quarterback Joe Theismann made a desperate lunge to knock the ball loose.

The game also increased the NFL’s international appeal as the first Super Bowl broadcast live in the UK thanks to Channel 4’s coverage.

20. SUPER BOWL XLIV: NEW ORLEANS SAINTS 31, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 17

Peyton Manning and the Colts were clicking during the 2009 season. But Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints just clicked a little more in Super Bowl XLIV.

The Colts were the better team, but the momentum was with the boys from the Big Easy that season. If fortune didn’t give the Saints a big play, head coach Sean Payton was happy to manufacture one. He did it when he called an onside kick to start the second half.

The decision shifted things the Saints way, before Brees found his groove in the final quarter. Manning still could have brought the Colts back, but arch opportunist Tracy Porter’s pick six snatched the Lombardi Trophy from No. 18’s grasp.

The Porter INT wasn’t Manning’s biggest gaffe, though. Instead, it was giving in to his gung-ho bravado by insisting on trying to outgun Brees. If the Colts had continued running Joseph Addai against the Saints’ three-man defensive fronts, they’d have won this Super Bowl going away.

19. SUPER BOWL XXIII: SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS 20, CINCINNATI BENGALS 16

Not even a famous game-winning drive could place this Super Bowl any higher. It’s not that Joe Montana’s stylishly directed 92-yard march, culminating in John Taylor’s 10-yard TD catch with 34 seconds left, wasn’t special.

In fact, it was Montana at his best, as well as Jerry Rice dominating a defense when it mattered most.

But aside from the drive, not a lot happened in this one. Instead, two offensive juggernauts were kept under wraps by suffocating defensive performances. It was all dour stuff.

Admittedly, Montana’s reminder of his greatness was worth the wait. Yet plenty of 49ers fans will wish Bill Walsh hadn’t called it quits as head coach after the game.

18. SUPER BOWL XLVI: NEW YORK GIANTS 21, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 17

The “other” Giants-Patriots Super Bowl was actually a damn good ballgame. Neither squad was as impressive as those who had met four years earlier. Yet they still delivered another nail-biting finish.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady again found himself swarmed on by a marauding Giants defensive line. Familiar tormentor Justin Tuck forced No. 12 into a safety for intentional grounding in the first quarter.

It was the signal for a day Brady would spend running away from Tuck and Jason Pierre-Paul. The Giants’ Big Nickel defense, led by safeties Antrel Rolle, Kenny Phillips and Deon Grant, flummoxed New England’s multiple-tight end attack.

Still, the Patriots are nothing if not resolute. Brady brought the Pats back and into a 17-15 lead. But the Patriots would have been out of sight if the man of 100 catches, Wes Welker, hadn’t inexplicably let one get away from him that would’ve iced the game in the fourth quarter.

Welker’s drop was the cue for Eli Manning to break New England’s hearts again. Fortunately for Big Blue, Manning dropped a rainbow onto a pin head along the sideline and Mario Manningham somehow got both feet down in bounds for a 38-yard gain.

The play let Ahmad Bradshaw eventually sit down in the end zone to put New York four ahead. Tuck and the pass rush then rolled down the shutters in front of Brady.

For all their brilliance over the last two decades, Belichick, Brady and the Patriots have found their kryptonite in the form of the Giants and the “other” Manning.

17. SUPER BOWL XLVII: BALTIMORE RAVENS 34, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS 31

A prolonged blackout only increased the tension of an already hyper-intense Super Bowl when brother met brother in 2013. The Cain and Abel in question were John and Jim Harbaugh, head coaches of the Ravens and 49ers, respectively.

Like the Giants a year earlier, momentum was with the Ravens, who had seen off both the Broncos and Patriots on the road during a stunning playoff run. Their run seemed guaranteed to continue with a 28-6 lead in New Orleans. Then the lights went out.

Once they came on again, the Niners had regrouped and proceeded to rip off 23 points, while the Ravens only managed two Justin Tucker field goals.

Trailing by five, the 49ers drove down to the Baltimore seven with 2:39 left. However, three-straight Colin Kaepernick passes aimed at Michael Crabtree fell incomplete. Just don’t ask about the legality of Corey Graham and Jimmy Smith’s coverage.

This game had everything and would rank higher were its memory not overshadowed by those 35 minutes spent in darkness.

16. SUPER BOWL XXXVIII: NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 32, CAROLINA PANTHERS 29

Arguably the most physical Super Bowl ever was played out in 2004 when the upstart Panthers refused to buckle to the favored Patriots. The Panthers should have been outclassed, but quarterback Jake Delhomme just wouldn’t go away.

New England bossed the first half by taking away Carolina’s main strength, its power-based running game led by Stephen Davis. He was shut down by planet-sized veteran nose tackle Ted Washington.

The Pats were 21-10 ahead entering the fourth quarter, but Delhomme was just getting warmed up. He’d already thrown a 39-yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith, but really made the Patriots nervous when he launched an 85-yarder to Muhsin Muhammad.

A Brady to Vrabel TD (big surprise) reasserted New England’s superiority, only for Delhomme to answer back with a 12-yard strike to Ricky Proehl. His touchdown evened the score at 29 apiece.

Sadly for the Panthers, placekicker John Kasay, who had already missed a PAT, sliced the kickoff out of bounds. Giving Brady the ball at his own 40 created a sense of inevitability about Adam Vinatieri’s game-winning field goal with four seconds remaining.

15. SUPER BOWL XVI: SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS 26, CINCINNATI BENGALS 21

Some may consider it sacrilege to put the first 49ers-Bengal Super Bowl ahead of the Montana-to-Taylor game. But re-watch both and you’ll have to admit Super Bowl 16 was the better game.

This was high-quality stuff from the kickoff with the burgeoning 49ers on the brink of launching a dynasty. Head coach Bill Walsh was also desperate to get one over on Bengals founder Paul Brown for once passing over his former offensive coordinator for the top job in Cincinnati.

Walsh’s team had little trouble with Forrest Gregg’s Bengals early on. Montana moved the ball patiently and precisely, directing an offense featuring trick plays and replacing running with short passes in true West Coast fashion.

Defensively, the Niners seamlessly alternated between 3-4 and 4-3 fronts by liberally using rush end Fred Dean to torment the Bengals.

The 49ers were 20-0 up at halftime thanks to 14 points from Joe Cool (one run, one pass) and two field goals from Ray Wersching, the kicker who never looked at the ball. From there, San Francisco held on 26-20, with one of the great goal-line stands in NFL history coming in the third quarter. The 49ers would go on to win and launch a dynasty, winning three more championships in the decade.
In terms of quality coaching and excitement on the field, this is the hidden gem of Super Bowls.

14. SUPER BOWL LI: NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 34, ATLANTA FALCONS 28 (OT)

28-3. Enough said.

13. SUPER BOWL XXXVI: NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 20, ST. LOUIS RAMS 17

There probably hasn’t been a bigger upset in Super Bowl history than when the Patriots shocked the St. Louis Rams in 2002. These Rams were even better than the ’99 vintage.

Mike Martz now had full control of the ‘Greatest Show on Turf’ as head coach. Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk and Torry Holt were more explosive than ever. The defense, directed by aggressive coordinator Lovie Smith and sprinkled with some star power courtesy of shutdown cornerback Aeneas Williams, was no slouch.

The Rams entered this Super Bowl 14-2 to face an 11-5 Pats team led by an unknown backup quarterback and benefiting from special teams big plays and a particularly generous refereeing call in the playoffs to reach the big game.

Inexplicably, New England led 17-3 before Warner brought the Rams back with a two-yard run and a 26-yard pass to Proehl, who must have retired cursing the Patriots.

Normal service appeared resumed before that unknown backup quarterback drove the Patriots into field goal range in the dying seconds. Vinatieri obliged from 48 yards for the most unlikely Super Bowl win and the legend of Tom Brady had been born.

This game started the Patriots relentless domination of the league. However, it’s since been clouded by the allegations of Spygate and accusations of cheating from Faulk.

12. SUPER BOWL III: NEW YORK JETS 16, BALTIMORE COLTS 7

Broadway Joe’s guarantee had to make the top 10, even if the game between the New York Jets and Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III was hardly a classic.

Joe Namath guaranteed the Jets would beat massive favorites the Colts and thus ensured his place in NFL history. Namath’s aura was cemented when the Jets delivered on his promise and stunned Baltimore.

In all honesty though, Namath had little to do with the Jets actually winning the game. The true credit belonged to a superb performance from a stingy defense and the tough running of fullback Matt Snell.

This one didn’t break barriers on the quality scale, but it did prove a landmark moment in league history. The Jets became the first AFL team to win the Super Bowl, humbling the establishment and eventually paving the way for the two conferences to merge for the benefit of football.

11. SUPER BOWL XLII: NEW YORK GIANTS 17, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 14

The Patriots beating the Rams launched a dynasty. Namath and the Jets upsetting the Colts changed the league.

But no outcome in a Super Bowl ever proved the doubters wrong quite like the Giants ending New England’s bid for a perfect season.

Unlike four years later, when they relied more on journeyman and workmanlike players, the Patriots were a devastating force in 2008. The defense still had Richard Seymour, Rodney Harrison and Asante Samuel. Meanwhile, the offense may have been the best ever, thanks to Brady, Welker, Randy Moss, Kevin Faulk and Ben Watson.

Yet it was Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora harried and harassed Brady from the start. So did a complex array of fire-zone blitzes designed by coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Every time you turned back to the screen Brady seemed to be taking another hit.

Even so, the Patriots still led by three in the fourth quarter when Eli Manning got the ball back. Manning the younger should have been sacked on 3rd-and-10, but somehow struggled free from the grasp of three defenders before heaving a desperate throw deep over the middle.

Despite committing the cardinal sin of quarterback play, Manning wasn’t punished. Instead, he had David Tyree to thank for somehow sticking the ball to his helmet in mid-air and completing the catch by the time he hit the ground. Tyree’s catch has to be the most unlikely play in a Super Bowl.

Manning connected with Plaxico Burress for what proved to be the winning score, but not before Brady took a few more hits from the Big Blue defense.

New England finished one game short of 19-0, a fact Brady and Belichick probably still can’t comprehend today.

10. SUPER BOWL XXV: NEW YORK GIANTS 20, BUFFALO BILLS 19

Poor Scott Norwood. Seriously. The Bills placekicker is never going to escape the memory of his miss from 47 yards that gave the Giants an improbable one-point win in Super Bowl 25.

In fairness though, the game never should have come down to Norwood. He struggled mightily on grass and from beyond 45 yards, so the kick was no gimme.

However, the Bills found themselves turning to Norwood because of the way their wide open no-huddle offense was put in a deep freeze. The Giants kept Jim Kelly, Andre Reed and Thurman Thomas stuck in second gear with a two-fold plan executed perfectly on both sides of the ball.

Defensively, Giants D-coordinator Bill Belichick designed two-man fronts packed with linebackers and defensive backs who took away Buffalo’s deadly crossing patterns by beating up Kelly’s receivers and denying yards after the catch.

Parcells also reminisced to Big Blue’s official website and described how his defense lined up: “We played a 2-4-5, or a 2-3-6. Besides Lawrence (Taylor) and Carl Banks, we had Johnie Cooks there, so we could use him on the outside, too. Johnie made a good contribution to that team.”

But it wasn’t just cute thinking on defense that gave the Giants the edge. Parcells also let his offense put the ball in the hands of ageing workhorse running back Ottis Anderson.

He ran the ball 21 times for 102 yards and let New York boss the clock and keep Kelly and his ‘K-Gun’ offense on the sideline. A Bills team that had scored 95 points through two playoff games simply didn’t get enough snaps to take what Belichick’s defense was intentionally giving them.

As a coaching masterclass, this game would provide the material for an entire lecture series. However, it left a lot to be desired as a spectacle, with Anderson’s running making for a slow pace.

9. SUPER BOWL XXXIV: ST. LOUIS RAMS 23, TENNESSEE TITANS 16

If you judge the impact of a Super Bowl purely on the quality of the game, there’s no way you can dispute the Rams clash with the Tennessee Titans landing at the foot of the top five.

It was the classic matchup of a prolific offense against a miserly defense. For most of the first half, Tennessee’s blitz-crazed D’ actually made Warner and the Rams sweat.

The Titans bloodied Warner as one of the few teams brave enough to blitz Martz’s big-play binging attack. Warner was hit hard and often but still managed to pass for 277 yards in the first half alone, as well as staking the Rams into a 16-0 lead in the third quarter.

Things were running smoothly for the Rams until quarterback Steve McNair’s dual-threat skills began to catch them off guard. Also, Eddie George’s best knee forward approach to running the ball began to leave a few bruises on Rams defenders.

A George touchdown run brought Tennessee to within 10, before he went in again to make it a three-point game. An Al Del Greco field goal soon tied things at 16 as smash mouth football was getting the better of wide-open passing.

At least it was until Warner heaved a 73-yard bomb to the great Isaac Bruce. The sudden explosive play summed up the dynamic St. Louis O’ perfectly.

McNair’s escapology still gave the Titans a chance to tie, but his slant to Kevin Dyson with six seconds left was thwarted at the goal-line by linebacker Mike Jones and the most famous tackle in the annals of the Super Bowl.

Jones’ ‘The Tackle’ was the suitable exclamation point to an outstanding game between polar opposites on the football style spectrum.

8. SUPER BOWL XXXII: DENVER BRONCOS 31, GREEN BAY PACKERS 24

Playing for the AFC wasn’t an enjoyable experience for most of the eighties and nineties. How could it be when the NFC won 13-straight Super Bowls?

The monopoly looked like it would never end, certainly not when the upstart Broncos took the field against the defending champion Packers in 1998. Green Bay boasted a fantastic team, one loaded on both sides of the ball.

The offense was led by the dynamic improve of quarterback Brett Favre. He tore defenses apart connecting with receivers Robert Brooks and Antonio Freeman and handing the ball to versatile fullback Dorsey Levens.

The Packers defense was also a force, a unit housing intelligent veterans turned loose by great coordinator Fritz Shurmur, maybe the most creative defensive play-caller the NFL has ever known.

Denver weren’t expected to offer much resistance to the Pack’s bid to repeat. Not even with John Elway trying to finally win that elusive ring. Fortunately for Elway, he had Terrell Davis in the backfield.

What followed was one of the standout rushing efforts on a Super Sunday. Davis piled up 157 yards on the ground, including a record three touchdowns.

Yet for all Davis’ heroics, he even stayed in the game with a migraine, Elway made the play everybody remembers.

The 37-year-old’s desperate scramble and ballsy helicopter-spin to convert a crucial third down in the third quarter epitomized Denver’s will to win.\

7. SUPER BOWL XLIX: NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 28, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 24

This game had it all; from a quarterback clinic by Brady to outstanding defense and even a touch of the bizarre, courtesy of Jermaine Kearse’s bobbled catch off a tipped ball. The catch paved the way for THAT call.

The call in question was Seattle’s decision to pass at the goal-line rather than hand off to powerhouse running back Marshawn Lynch. It was a foolhardy risk that blew up in the faces of Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell when quarterback Russell Wilson’s pass was picked off in the end zone by Malcolm Butler, making a star of the previously unheralded cornerback.

Seattle’s decision to throw from the one instead of letting mountain of muscle Lynch bulldoze his way over the line is the most contentious call in pro football history.

The debate surrounding the call sums up everything wrong with how many fans and pundits consume sports today. No matter what analytics sites and their advanced statistical analysis tell you, the decision to pass was a BS call. Plain and simple, regardless of situation, tendencies and personnel.

The call aside, this was a corker of a contest. Brady was the MVP, but the award would surely have gone to Michael Bennett had the Seahawks won. He has redefined D-line play in the NFL’s modern era, and played a game for the ages.

On the coaching level, both staffs excelled (at least up to THAT call in Seattle’s case). Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels found a way to exploit the Seahawks’ vaunted coverage schemes by utilizing Shane Vereen out of the backfield.

Two superb teams playing outstanding football and producing a finish sure to be hotly-debated as long as football is around. You couldn’t ask for more from a Super Sunday.

6. SUPER BOWL XIV: PITTSBURGH STEELERS 31, LOS ANGELES RAMS 19

The ‘Steel Curtain’ defense had been the catalyst for most of the Steelers dominance during the seventies. However, Pittsburgh didn’t win a quartet of Super Bowls with just defense alone.

The Black and Gold also boasted an awesome offense, a fact proved in the 14th Super Bowl against the Los Angeles Rams. It was a game owned by quarterback Terry Bradshaw and wide receivers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth.

The latter broke the game open when he reeled in Bradshaw’s 73-yard bomb in the fourth quarter. Bradshaw had already connected with Swann for a 47-yard score in the third.

The Steelers proved their offensive prowess by scorching a talented Rams defense creatively called by legendary coordinator Bud Carson, the original architect of the ‘Steel Curtain.’

Carson’s presence on the opposite sideline was the most intriguing subplot, alongside Pittsburgh’s quest for a then-unprecedented fourth Super Bowl win.

5. SUPER BOWL X: PITTSBURGH STEELERS 21, DALLAS COWBOYS 17

Swann was good in Super Bowl 14, but he was even better four years earlier. The ultra-acrobatic receiver turned the circus catch into an art form against a very good Cowboys defense.

Look up any highlights of this game and you’ll see slow-mo replays of Swan leaping toward the sideline or diving over defenders to make the impossible possible.

Swann also caught a 64-yard touchdown pass from Bradshaw, en route to winning the MVP award. Yet he should have shared it with defensive end L.C. Greenwood, who logged four of Pittsburgh’s record seven sacks.

This was the Steelers of their greatest period at their very best, overpowering defensively and spectacular on offense.

4. SUPER BOWL IX: PITTSBURGH STEELERS 16, MINNESOTA VIKINGS 6

Those flatter-to-deceive Vikings of the ’70s getting trucked by another bruising running back. Hooray.

This time it was Steelers workhorse Franco Harris trampling over the bloated Purple People Eaters on a Super Sunday. Harris amassed 158 yards, but still the Steelers could only manage a mere 16 points.

Pittsburgh would win three more Super Bowls in the decade. Mercifully, all three of those games were more memorable than this drab affair.

3. SUPER BOWL XL: PITTSBURGH STEELERS 21, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 10

Particularly staunch supporters of likeable, bowling ball-style Steelers running back Jerome Bettis will remember the 40th Super Bowl fondly. Others will simply ask was that the one ruined by the officials?

The calls in this one were so bad referees from Soccer’s English Premier League wouldn’t even have the nerve to stand by them. Aside from Bettis earning the swan song his career deserved, there was nothing in this game worth remembering.

2. SUPER BOWL XIII: PITTSBURGH STEELERS 35, DALLAS COWBOYS 31

Scott Norwood, Jackie Smith knows your pain. The Cowboys tight end ended an illustrious career in the Hall of Fame.

Yet the lasting image fans have of Smith is him dropping Roger Staubach’s pass in the end zone in the dying seconds of Super Bowl XIII. Staubach had fired a pinpoint bullet right between the numbers, but Smith somehow failed to make the grab.

His drop cost the Cowboys the game in one of the highest-quality Super Bowls ever played. It was a contest filled to bursting with spectacular plays and outstanding individual performances.

One of those performances came from Bradshaw, who threw four touchdown passes, before Staubach nearly brought the Cowboys back from 35-17 down.

Had head coach Chuck Noll’s Steelers not been what they were in the seventies, the decade would have belonged to Landry’s Cowboys. However, Staubach and the ‘Boys never seemed able to get past Bradshaw and Co.

1. SUPER BOWL XLIII: PITTSBURGH STEELERS 27, ARIZONA CARDINALS 23

This game was a whisker away from taking top spot. Only one other Super Bowl credibly compares to the intensity, quality and excitement the Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers produced in 2009.

The Cardinals weren’t expected to be anywhere near the Super Bowl, despite Kurt Warner now wearing Arizona red. Warner led an offense featuring three 1,000-yard receivers, Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston.

Despite boasting star names galore, the Cards were tipped to struggle moving the ball against Pittsburgh’s swarming defense. The Steelers defense held sway in the first half, helping Pittsburgh build a 17-7 halftime lead, thanks largely to James Harrison’s 100-yard interception return on the brink of the intermission.

Harrison’s stunning runback was just one of many iconic moments from this game. Another was Fitzgerald resembling Jerry Rice when he took a slant 64 yards in the fourth quarter to give Arizona an unlikely 23-20 lead with just over two-and-a-half minutes remaining.

The sight of euphoric Cardinals fans barely believing what they were seeing reminds us why we love football.

Their joy proved short-lived, though, thanks to one more memorable moment. It came when Ben Roethlisberger drove the Steelers 78 yards for the winning score, a six-yard tightrope catch by Santonio Holmes.

Unlike the second 49ers-Bengals tilt, this Super Bowl was about way more than just the winning drive.