This Sunday, Super Bowl fixtures Tom Brady and Bill Belichick find themselves in yet another championship bout, this time against the Atlanta Falcons. With such strong winning pedigree on Patriots’ side, their Atlantean opponents led by quarterback Matt Ryan and the formidable Falcon defense make for an intriguing matchup.
Las Vegas will crunch numbers and SportsCenter talking heads will spend all week deciphering statistics and the season that has just come to pass in effort to see what the future holds for Super Bowl LI.
At HNHH, however, we’ve decided to take a look back at the unpredictability of the Super Bowl contests that precede LI and rank the Top 10 Super Bowl games of all time. Perhaps this list can indicate something about what the future holds Sunday.
Spoiler alert: To my chagrin, there’s a lot of Patriots on this list. They may be evil, but their greatness undeniable. I’m a Lions fan. Don’t hate.
Super Bowl XXXVIII: Patriots 32 Panthers 29
Hate them or love them, the greatness of the modern New England Patriots is hard to deny and thus they are all over this list. This game - like many other Super Bowl matchups - started slow. This game, however, set a record pace with the first 26 minutes going scoreless before both teams started gun-slinging at the close of the first half.
With time dwindling to the game’s end, the game was all tied at 29. This provided a familiar spotlight for Tom Brady and Adam Vinatieri, allowing both to thrive under pressure.
Brady cobbled together a cut-throat drive to setup the best kicker the game has ever seen to secured the win as time expired. This marked Vinatieri’s second and final Super Bowl-procuring field goal kick.
You know this game was good because its legend endures alongside the infamous Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction during half-time.
Super Bowl XLIII: Pittsburgh Steelers 27 Arizona Cardinals 23
It was a tale of two quarterbacks at the 43rd Super Bowl.
On one end you had the proven young hot shot in Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger, and on the other you had the veteran in the midst of his second wind in Arizona’s Kurt Warner.
The Steelers rode the momentum of a 100-yard pick-six touchdown by James Harrison through the second half, continuously quelling any chance of a comeback the Cardinals managed to put together.
Warner and his ace wide-out Larry Fitzgerald did their damndest, even earning a late fourth quarter lead. The endurance of the younger Steelers squad was too swift to contend with, with Roethlisberger putting together a game winning drive that brought Pittsburgh its record breaking sixth Super Bowl championship.
Super Bowl III: New York Jets 16 Baltimore Colts 7
Baseball has its mythic lore of Babe Ruth calling his home-run shot and Football has Joe Namath guaranteeing a New York Jets victory over the Baltimore Colts.
Back in 1969 there were no NFC and AFC conferences. Just three years removed from the inaugural Super Bowl - the championship game would feature the best team in the NFL against the best team in the AFL to decide who reigned supreme among the two separate leagues.
The Jets, despite decisively rising to the top of the AFL, were still heavily considered the underdogs going up against the NFL Champion Baltimore Colts - from the superior NFL and coming on the heels of a 15-1 regular season.
Still, “Broadway” Joe Namath refused to be shook.
“We’re going to win. I guarantee it,” Namath would say whenever asked about the big game.
Namath was ridiculed by the press, his coaching staff and the opposition alike for his steadfast guarantee of victory and odds-makers had the Colts as an 18 point favorite. His ability to follow it up with a 16-7 victory was not only one of the biggest upsets in sports history, but also set a trash-talking precedent that superstar athletes of all shapes and sizes have since incorporated into their personas and psychological strategies.
Super Bowl XXII: Washington Redskins 41 Denver Broncos 10
While Super Bowl XXII may not have been the greatest, closest contest in the event’s history (it was a blowout), it does feature one of the most spectacular and historic Super Bowl performances of all time.
Veteran quarterback Doug Williams only started two games in the regular season, but was selected as a starter during the playoffs due to his favorable QB rating and injuries to other options. The unconventionality of Williams’ route to starting in the Super Bowl was the essential opposite of the Broncos’ John Elway - a legendary QB at the prime of his physical abilities.
It was Williams, however, who made quick work of the Broncos becoming the first quarterback to score four touchdowns in a single quarter and in a half. These accomplishments were dwarfed by Williams’ greatest accomplish that night - becoming the first black quarterback to play in a Super Bowl and the first black quarterback to win a Super Bowl.
On top of all that, Redskins rookie running back Timmy Smith set the Super Bowl record for most rushing yards in a game with 204.
Super Bowl XXXVI: Patriots 20 Rams 17
Every empire has its beginning and for Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and their New England Patriots, Super Bowl XXXVI marked that beginning.
It’s hard to fathom the the Patriots being considered underdogs as they enter their sixth Super Bowl with Brady at the helm, but back in 2002 Brady was still just the brand new baby-faced successor to quarterback Drew Bledsoe.
Nobody batted an eye or raised a brow when Las Vegas declared the St. Louis Ram’s were the odds-on favorite headed into the game. With Brady’s inexperience dwarfed by the clout and championship pedigree of seasoned veterans on the Ram’s like Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk, any other stance would have been foolish. Even coaching, broadcasting and video game icon John Madden questioned the winning power of Brady, infamously using his announcing platform to doubt the Patriots’ decision to go for the game-winning score rather than run down the clock and head to overtime.
Belichick and company didn’t listen to John Madden and instead decided to drive towards their endzone with less than 2:00 on the clock, resulting in sports fans’ first glimpse of Brady’s greatness in the clutch. Brady quickly got the Patriots within field goal range, setting up Adam Vinatieri with a chance to also cement his Patriots legend as he kicked the first of his two Super Bowl winning field goal kicks.
Super Bowl XIII, Steelers 35 Cowboys 31
The NBA has Lakers/Celtics, MLB has Yankees/Red Sox, the NFL has Steelers/Cowboys.
In 1979, Super Bowl XIII marked what was arguably the most epic installment in the storied football rivalry. This contest was void of an underdog, with the two participating teams sporting a track record of reigning supreme over their respective conferences for the better part of the ‘70’s - three years prior the Steelers conquered the Cowboys to win their 2nd Super Bowl Title.
The caliber of athletes at play during the thirteenth Super Bowl contest cannot be stressed enough. Both teams were coached by future hall of famers (Chuck Noll and Tom Landry, respectively), both teams had two Super Bowl championships to their credit, and between the two of them had 14 future Hall of Fame inductees on their rosters.
With their already historic rivalry and immense talent in play, the stakes were raised even higher as the Cowboys and Steelers were both in pursuit of being able to be the first ever team to have the distinction of being three time Super Bowl champions.
Led by the legendary player-turned-analyst Terry Bradshaw, the Steelers were able to curb a burst of late game momentum from Dallas and win the contest 35-31. Dallas would have to wait nearly two decades to exact their revenge, eventually defeating the Steelers in Super Bowl XXX.
Super Bowl XLIX: New England Patriots 28 Seahawks 24
Ironically, this Super Bowl was made better by a previous Patriots Super Bowl appearance: the 2008 Giants/Pats matchup. Whereas in that game featured Tom Brady and the Patriots losing their lead late and falling victim to a killer drive led by Eli Manning, this contest - seven years removed from the Giants win - saw the Pats holding onto their lead late to seal the Seahawks’ fate.
First Brady denied defeat by cobbling together back-to-back drives in the 4th to take the lead after being behind much of the game, and then the Patriots defense held it together where they otherwise did not in 2008 - forcing an interception on Russell Wilson’s end zone pass to Ricardo Lockette that, in an alternate universe, would’ve won the Seahawks the game.
Super Bowl XLII: Giants 17 Patriots 14
It wasn’t just the Lombardi trophy and bragging rights up for grabs at Super Bowl XLII. The battle between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots marked an opportunity for much more for both the teams and their players.
The Patriots were 18-0 and in the midst of a perfect season that needed one more win to be bookended. Coach Bill Belicheck and Tom Brady were both on the brink of their fourth championships, a number with very exclusive company (only names like Joe Montana and Chuck Noll among others can lay claim to such dominance).
The Giants, far from perfect, had a sea of pundits and detractors to overcome and their star quarterback - Eli Manning - had a golden opportunity to avenge the many losses his brother Peyton Manning faced at the hands of the Pats.
The game was a methodical back and forth between the scrappy Giants and the formidable star-ridden Patriots, but it came to an end when Plaxico Burress (before his career fizzled due to a self-inflicted gun wound) was on the receiving end of the winning touchdown with less than a minute left in regulation. The Giants defense held down the turf and earned their place in history as the team that stood between New England and perfection.
This game also featured the unforgettable “helmet catch” by David Tyree, one of the greatest plays in football history.
Super Bowl XXXIV: Rams 23 Titans 16
Despite all the hype, pageantry and the season-long build up, some Super Bowl’s still suffer the fate of being lopsided contests. Super Bowl XXXIV, however, was the type of football game fans dream of. The face-off between the Tennessee Titans and St. Louis Rams started off slow but saw a burst of energy from both teams in the 4th quarter, each led by their superstar quarterbacks respectively.
The late great Steve McNair led a drive for the Titans late in the 4th to tie it all up, but the Rams and fellow QB legend Kurt Warner quickly responded with a thrilling 73-yard touchdown pass. McNair was able to muster up another dramatic drive downfield, displaying his trademark passing strength and ability to move in the pocket for a scramble if necessary.
As time ticked towards expiry, McNair and the Titans lined up at the 11 yard line with one last chance at a game winning touchdown. With six seconds on the clock, McNair threw what would be his last Super Bowl pass to wide receiver Ken Dyson who was tackled one yard short of the seven points that would have brought the game into overtime.
You just can’t write drama like that.
Super Bowl XXV: New York Giants 20 Buffalo Bills 19
Despite earning trips to the Super Bowl for four straight seasons between 1991 and 1995, the Buffalo Bills have never won the Lombardi Trophy. They are just one of 13 times in the NFL to have failed to become champions, never sealing a victory when it mattered most.
Their closest effort came in their first trip in 1990 against the Super Bowl regulars New York Giants in a famous matchup between the Bills’ quarterback Jim Kelly and New York’s formidable defense led by Lawrence Taylor. With the Giants missing their starting quarterback Phil Simms, the G-Men needed their defense to excel. They did not disappoint, limiting the Bills offense to less than 10 minutes of field time.
Still, the game came down to one last play - a 47 yard field goal kick by Buffalo's Scott Norwood that would’ve won the contest had it not been infamously wide-right.