From Broadway Joe’s dramatic proclamation to “Wide Right” to Big Ben’s big drive, here are the 10 best Super Bowl games of all time in chronological order.
Super Bowl III
New York Jets 16, Baltimore 7
This was actually the first official “Super Bowl” and it featured a heavily-favoured Baltimore Colts team vs. the New York Jets. The Jets were led by Broadway Joe Namath who famously guaranteed that the Jets would buck the odds and pull off the upset. It was not the most dramatic game ever but with it being the first to hold the Super Bowl moniker and with Broadway Joe’s dramatic proclamation it certainly deserves to be on the list. While Namath was not the game’s best player he was named MVP despite not throwing a touchdown pass. In fact, he didn’t even complete a pass in the fourth quarter.
Super Bowl X
Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Dallas Cowboys 17
Super Bowl X was a showdown between two of the most popular teams of the ’70s, the Steelers and the Cowboys. It was also a battle between the flashy Cowboys and the gritty Steelers, each a reflection of their communities. In the end, safety Glen Edwards halted a late Cowboys rally with an interception in the end zone as the final whistle sounded giving the Steelers their second consecutive Super Bowl title.
Super Bowl XIII
Pittsburgh Steelers 35, Dallas Cowboys 31
Four years after their initial tilt at the Orange Bowl in Miami, the Steelers and Cowboys squared off for all the marbles once again and just like their first 70s showdown, the game was not decided until the last two minutes of the game. The Steelers opened the fourth quarter by scoring 14 unanswered points to extend their lead to 35-17. Time was running out after the Cowboys answered with a touchdown. They attempted an onside kick and recovered and marched down the field and scored another major. With just 0:22 remaining they attempted another onside kick but the Steelers recovered this one and the game was essentially over.
Super Bowl XXIII
San Francisco 49ers 20, Cincinnati Bengals 16
The opening half was hardly the stuff of legends as the game was tied 3-3 after two quarters but things heated up in the second half. The Bengals kicked a field goal with 3:20 remaining on the clock in the fourth quarter to take a 16-13 lead. Cool Joe Montana, the king of the fourth-quarter comebacks, led his team on a 11-play, 92-yard drive which was completed with a 10-yard TD pass to John Taylor with only 34 seconds left to seal the deal.
Super Bowl XXV
New York Giants 20, Buffalo Bills 19
The Bills made four straight Super Bowl appearances beginning with this Battle of New York with the Giants in 1991. The Giants used a punishing running game featuring O.J. Anderson to try and keep the Bills powerful no-huddle offence off the field and the score low. The lead changed hands twice in the fourth quarter with Matt Bahr kicking a late field goal giving the Giants a 20-19 lead but there was still plenty of time remaining. The sides exchanged punts before the Bills took possession on their own 10-yard line with 2:16 remaining. Buffalo quickly drove to the Giants’ 29-yard line, setting up Norwood for a 47-yard field goal attempt with eight seconds left. Wide right. Game over
Super Bowl XXXII
Denver Broncos 31, Green Bay Packers 24
The Broncos and Packers squared off at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego in a game which featured two of the greatest NFL quarterbacks of all time. The Packers were the defending champs with brash, young Brett Favre at quarterback. Meanwhile, Denver played with aging John Elway behind centre, as the franchise searched for its’ first Super Bowl title. Despite the presence of the two legends, Broncos running back Terrell Davis was named the game’s MVP after rushing for 157 yards and two touchdowns — he accomplished all of this in three quarters as he missed the second quarter due to a migraine headache.
Super Bowl XXXVI
New England Patriots 20, St. Louis Rams 17
This is the game where the legend of Tom Brady began to take shape. The Patriots were heavy underdogs to the high-powered Rams who featured former grocery store clerk turned two-time NFL MVP Kurt Warner at quarterback. By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the Patriots had shut down the Rams offence, nicknamed “the Greatest Show on Turf” and held it to just three points. But St. Louis finally got on the board in the fourth quarter with a pair of touchdowns to tie the score 17-17 with 1:30 left in the fourth quarter. Brady then marched the ball down to the Rams’ 30-yard line with just seven seconds remaining where Adam Vinatieri kicked the winning field goal as time expired.
Super Bowl XXXVIII
New England Patriots 32, Carolina Panthers 29
The Patriots returned to the Super Bowl two years after their first victory over the Rams and were once again involved in another exciting clash, this time with the Carolina Panthers, who had gone from finishing 1-15 to an appearance in the Super Bowl. While this game is best-remembered for the Janet Jackson costume SNAFU, it was one of the more exciting Super Bowl games to be played. After a scoreless third quarter, things began to heat up with the Patriots leading 14-10 heading into the fourth quarter. The teams exploded in the final period, scoring a combined 37 points. Adam Vinatieri once again scored the final field goal for the Patriots, this time with four seconds left in the game, to seal the victory.
Super Bowl XLII
New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14
The Patriots came into this game looking to cap off a dominating undefeated season and after they had beat the Giants 38-35 to close out the regular season, everyone was expecting a repeat performance. But after so many years of watching Tom Brady lead New England to late-season comebacks, it was Eli Manning’s turn to shine in football’s biggest game. In the fourth quarter, Manning threw two touchdown passes, including the winner, a 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress with 35 seconds remaining. The play that is best-remembered in this game was the one that helped set up the winning score when David Tyree, who would never make another catch again, out leapt Patriots safety Rodney Harrison, and held on by pinning the ball against his helmet as he fell to the ground.
Super Bowl XLIII
Pittsburgh Steelers 27, Arizona Cardinals 23
This game was a battle between historical have (Pittsurgh) and have-not (Arizona) teams. The Cardinals were looking for their first title since 1947, while the Steelers were looking for their sixth Super Bowl crown. The game looked to be over when Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner through a touchdown pass to Larry Fitzgerald with just 2:37 left in the game to give his squad a 23-20 lead but the Steelers weren’t finished yet. Big Ben Roethlisberger promptly marched Pittsburgh down the field and connected with Santonio Holmes on a six-yard major to finish off the scoring and allow the Steelers to win their sixth Super Bowl title.
