The New England Patriots’ 34-28 win over the Atlanta Falcons was pretty incredible. But how incredible was it?
It’s always dangerous to engage in this type of exercise just one day later, when the memory and emotion of a historic game is still fresh in our minds. We’re willing to boldly go there, though, in an endeavor to put Super Bowl LI into context of the greatest Super Bowls ever played.
We racked our brains and the history books to come up with a totally subjective list of the top 10 Super Bowls of all time. In the end, we weren’t able to cut it down all the way to 10, so here is our ranking of the 12 greatest Super Bowls in history.
12. Super Bowl XLIII: Santonio Holmes’ MVP catch
The Pittsburgh Steelers seemed to be in control until Larry Fitzgerald came alive in the fourth quarter, giving the Arizona Cardinals the lead on his second touchdown reception. It took Santonio Holmes reaching out of bounds and somehow tapping his toes in the back corner of the end zone for Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers to survive and take home the Lombardi Trophy.
11. Super Bowl XXXII: “This one’s for John”
After three previous Super Bowl losses, John Elway was on his way to being remembered as just another great quarterback who couldn’t win the big game. And it looked unlikely he’d change that against the defending champion Green Bay Packers. As is often the case, however, the run game and defense were the difference in the Denver Broncos’ winning their first title, with running back Terrell Davis being named MVP.
10. Super Bowl X: Glen Edwards’ walk-off interception
Long before Malcolm Butler was even born, no end-zone interception in the Super Bowl was bigger than Pittsburgh Steelers safety Glen Edwards’ pick of Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach. Lynn Swann became the first wide receiver to earn Super Bowl MVP honors in a back-and-forth contest between two of the league’s storied franchises.
9. Super Bowl XXXIV: One yard short
“The Greatest Show on Turf” might be remembered as the ironic title of a two-time Super Bowl loser if St. Louis Rams linebacker Mike Jones hadn’t prevented a second “Music City Miracle.” Jones wrapped up Tennessee Titans wide receiver Kevin Dyson as time expired, keeping the football in Dyson’s outstretched hand one yard short of what could have been a game-tying touchdown.
8. Super Bowl XXXVIII: Adam Vinatieri delivers again
In what had developed into a New England routine, another big game ended with yet another big kick by Adam Vinatieri. In the forgotten jewel of the Patriots’ many Super Bowl victories, Jake Delhomme and the Carolina Panthers battled step-for-step with Tom Brady and the Patriots until Vinatieri’s clinching field goal.
7. Super Bowl XXV: “Wide right”
Looking back on how the Buffalo Bills’ first trip to the Super Bowl ended, it’s not surprising they went on to lose four straight. The 13-3 juggernaut had just polished off a 51-3 dismantling of the Los Angeles Raiders in the AFC Championship Game a week earlier, but Buffalo’s hopes were dashed when kicker Scott Norwood pushed a potential game-winning kick wide right.
6. Super Bowl XLII: “Helmet catch”
It was supposed to be a coronation, yet it resulted in possibly the greatest Super Bowl shocker ever. Coming in an unbeaten 18-0 and favored by 12 points, the Patriots struggled to shake the scrappy New York Giants until Eli Manning’s freaky fourth-quarter drive, which included David Tyree’s improbable “helmet catch,” ruined the Patriots’ hopes for a perfect season.
5. Super Bowl XXXVI: Birth of a dynasty
Long before Brady was a pop culture icon, he was just a former sixth-round draft pick serving as the game manager for a Patriots team built around its gritty defense. The unit led by Tedy Bruschi, Ty Law and Willie McGinest battered the St. Louis Rams, who were favored by 14 points and had been champs just two years earlier, setting up Brady’s final drive and Vinatieri’s last-second field goal.
4. Super Bowl III: Joe Namath’s guarantee
Once upon a time, the Super Bowl wasn’t a very big deal. It wasn’t even known as the “Super Bowl” until the third time the NFL and AFL champions squared off, and even then the game was widely considered a victory lap for the champ from the vastly superior NFL. But when Jets quarterback Joe Namath delivered on his famous guarantee, the seeds were sown for what would become one of the biggest spectator events in the world.
3. Super Bowl XXIII: Montana-to-Taylor buries Bengals
Until Tom Brady came along, Joe Montana’s final drive to sink the Cincinnati Bengals stood alone as the greatest clutch drive in Super Bowl history. Montana’s touchdown pass to John Taylor with 34 seconds left in the game gave the San Francisco 49ers their third title overall and second over the Bengals.
2. Super Bowl XLIX: Pete Carroll’s goal-line gaffe
The game was over. All Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll need to do was hand the ball off to running back Marshawn Lynch at the goal line to clinch Seattle’s second consecutive championship. Instead, unheralded Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler stepped in front of a Russell Wilson pass to give New England its fourth Lombardi Trophy.
1. Super Bowl LI: 31 unanswered points
For the second time in three years, the Patriots’ Super Bowl hopes were dead in the water — only much earlier in the game this time. Down 28-3 in the third quarter, the Patriots surged back on the shoulders of running back James White’s three touchdowns and wide receiver Julian Edelman’s gravity-defying fourth-quarter catch to help Brady claim his fifth ring.
Thumbnail photo via Bob Donnan/USA TODAY Sports Images
