Every Super Bowl Ranked(20 to 1)

Here now is Part 3 of my rankings of every Super Bowl with the 20 best Super Bowls of all time:

 20. XLIV=Saints-31 Colts-17

Down 10-6 as the second half began, Saints head coach Sean Payton made one of the biggest gambles in Super Bowl history as he decided to call for an onside kick on the opening kickoff of the second half.

The Saints recovered the onside kick which led to a touchdown giving them a 13-10 lead, then retaking the lead with 5:42 left in the fourth quarter when quarterback Drew Brees hit Jeremy Shockey for a two-yard touchdown and Lance Moore for the two-point conversion to put New Orleans ahead 24-17.

The Colts appeared on their way to the game-tying touchdown on their ensuing possession until cornerback Tracy Porter stepped in front of a Peyton Manning pass and returned it 74 yards for the back-breaking touchdown to give the Saints their first ever world championship.

19. X=Steelers-21 Cowboys-17

The first nine Super Bowls were either blowouts or competitive but boring, but that was not the case with the 10th edition of the game.

The Steelers and the Cowboys played the most exciting Super Bowl up to that point as Pittsburgh, led by Lynn Swann’s four catches for 161 yards, scored 14 straight points in the 4th quarter, culminating with Swann’s 64-yard touchdown catch with over three minutes to play, which seemingly put the game away as Pittsburgh took a 21-10 lead.

But after quarterback Roger Staubach threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Percy Howard just 74 seconds after Swann’s touchdown cut the lead to 21-17, the Cowboys got the ball back at their own 39-yard-line with 1:22 left and a chance to win the game.

However, Staubach could not pull off another “Hail Mary” like he did earlier in the 1975 playoffs against the Minnesota Vikings, as his last pass from the Steelers’ 38-yard-line as time expired was intercepted by Pittsburgh defensive back Glen Edwards to clinch the Steelers’ second straight Super Bowl victory.

18. XLVI=Giants-21 Patriots-17

Four years after their classic encounter in Super Bowl XLII, the Giants and the Patriots met again in another great Super Bowl.

The Patriots held a 17-15 lead with 3:46 to go in the game when Giants quarterback Eli Manning connected with Mario Manningham on a 38-yard pass down the left sideline that helped led to Ahmad Bradshaw’s six-yard touchdown run with 57 seconds left, though he should to stay out of the end zone as the Patriots would have more time to come back and try to score the game-winning touchdown.

New England quarterback Tom Brady got the Patriots to their own 49-yard-line when he fired a Hail Mary pass as time expired, which fell incomplete, just beyond the outstretched arms of tight end Rob Gronkowski, giving the Giants their second Super Bowl title in five years.

17. XIV=Steelers-31 Rams-19

Perhaps the most underrated Super Bowl of all time as this game featured a record six lead changes, the last one coming with 12:04 left in the game when Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw connected with John Stallworth for a 73-yard touchdown pass to give Pittsburgh a 24-19 lead.

Bradshaw and Stallworth would connect again on another long pass, this one for 45 yards, which help led to Franco Harris’ 1-yard touchdown run with under two minutes to go that sealed the Steelers’ fourth Super Bowl title in six years.

16. XLVII=Ravens-34 49ers-31

For the first 31 ½ minutes, this Super Bowl looked like it was going to be of the worst ones in history as the Ravens held a 28-6 lead, until the lights went out in the Superdome, causing a 34-minute stoppage in play.

After the lights came back on, the game took off as the 49ers outscored the Ravens 23-6 and had a 1st-and-goal at the Baltimore seven-yard-line with 2:39 to go and a chance to score the game-winning touchdown.

But the Ravens held the 49ers out of the end zone, though San Francisco fans still feel that wide receiver Michael Crabtree was held on the quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s 4th down incompletion, allowing the Ravens(who gave the 49ers two points when punter Sam Koch ran out of bounds in the end zone to avoid a possible block punt) to give Baltimore the championship as head coach John Harbaugh defeated his brother Jim in the first Super Bowl where the head coaches were brothers.

15. III=Jets-16 Colts-7

The Jets pulled off the greatest upset in Super Bowl history and fulfilled quarterback Joe Namath’s

“Guarantee” of New York knocking off the 18-point favorite Baltimore Colts to give the AFL its first win in the Super Bowl.

The game itself was actually kinda of dull as the Jets controlled much of the game as they forced five turnovers and held a 16-0 lead early in the 4th quarter when Johnny Unitas, who had taken over for an ineffective Earl Morrall, tried to rally the Colts but could only lead his time to one touchdown as the Jets become the world champions.

14. XIII=Steelers-35 Cowboys-31

Three years after their memorable encounter in Super Bowl X, the Steelers and the Cowboys produced another Super Bowl classic.

The game featured a wild first half in which Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw broke the record for most touchdown passes thrown in a Super Bowl as he threw three, two of them to John Stallworth, which included one for 75 yards as Pittsburgh took a 21-14 lead into the halftime break.

The game was still 21-14 in favor of Pittsburgh when Dallas had a 3rd-and-3 at the Steelers’ 10-yard-line when Dallas quarterback Roger Staubach threw a perfect strike to a wide open Jackie Smith in the end zone, only to have Smith drop the sure touchdown, forcing Dallas to settle for a field goal.

The Steelers seemed to put the game away in the 4th quarter when they scored two touchdowns in 13 seconds to increase their lead to 35-17, only to have Staubach and the Cowboys rally for two touchdowns to cut the margin to 35-31 with 22 seconds left when Steelers running back Rocky Bleier recovered the Cowboys’ onside kick attempt, sealing Pittsburgh’s third Super Bowl title.

13. LVIII-Chiefs-25 49ers-22 (OT)

For the third time in five years, the Chiefs came back from a 10-point deficit to win the Super Bowl, this time prevailing in a rematch with the 49ers in the longest Super Bowl ever played.

The 49ers jumped out to a 10-0 second quarter lead until the Chiefs scored 13 unanswered points with quarterback Patrick Mahomes throwing a 16-yard touchdown pass to Marquez Vandes Scantling late in the third quarter.

The 49ers would retake the lead early in the fourth quarter when Brock Purdy threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jauan Jennings only to have the extra point blocked, allowing for the Chiefs to tie the game with a 24-yard field goal by Harrison Butker on Kansas City's ensuing possession.

The two teams would exchange field goals in the final two minutes of regulation to send the Super Bowl into overtime for only the second time in history.

The 49ers would get the ball first as they drove 66 yards in 12 plays to set up Jake Moody's 24-yard field goal to give San Francisco a 22-19 lead as Mahomes and the Chiefs would get the ball with a chance to win the game.

Mahomes would complete all eight of his passes on the drive for 42 yards while running 27 yards on two carries on a 13-play, 75-yard drive that culminated with the Chiefs quarterback throwing a three-yard touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman with three seconds left in the overtime period to give Kansas City its second straight Lombardi trophy and third in five years.

12. XXXVIII=Patriots-32 Panthers-29

This game was expected to be a defensive struggle until the final 3:05 of the first half when both teams combined for 24 points with the Patriots holding on to a 14-10 lead at halftime.

There was no more scoring until the second play of the 4th quarter when Patriots running back Antowain Smith scored on a 2-yard touchdown run to extend New England’s lead to 21-10.

That touchdown began a wild 4th quarter that saw a combined 37 points and 430 yards of total offense between the two teams, including the longest touchdown pass in Super Bowl history, an 85-yarder from Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme to Muhsin Muhammad.

But after Delhomme threw the game-tying touchdown pass to Ricky Proehl with 1:05 left in regulation, Panthers kicker John Kasay kicked the ensuing kickoff out of bounds, giving Tom Brady and the Patriots the ball at their own 40-yard-line, where they drove to the Panthers’ 24-yard-line to set up Adam Vinatieri’s 41-yard field goal with five seconds left, which provided the winning margin and gave New England its second Super Bowl title in three years.

11. XXIII=49ers-20 Bengals-16

It seemed like no one was going to get into the end zone as the game was tied 6-6 with 50 seconds left in the third quarter when the Bengals’ Stanford Jennings returned a kickoff 93 yards for the game’s first touchdown, which was followed by the 49ers’ Jerry Rice, who caught 11 passes for 215 yards, scoring on a 14-yard touchdown reception just 91 seconds after Jennings’ touchdown to tie the game once again.

Then after Jim Breech kicked a 40-yard field goal to give the Bengals a 16-13 lead with 3:20 left in regulation, 49ers quarterback Joe Montana led his team on a 11-play, 92-yard drive which culminated with Montana hitting John Taylor for the game-winning touchdown, a 10-yard pass with 34 seconds left to give San Francisco its third Super Bowl title.

10. XXXVI=Patriots-20 Rams-17

Before they became the “Evil Empire” of the NFL, the New England Patriots were the loveable underdog who bucked Super Bowl tradition and chose to be introduced as a team when they entered their matchup with the two-touchdown favorite St.Louis Rams.

The Patriots converted three Ram turnovers into 17 points as they held a 17-3 lead as the 4th quarter began until St. Louis struck back with 14 unanswered points, the last coming on a 26-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kurt Warner to Ricky Proehl with 90 seconds left in regulation that with Jeff Wilkins’ extra point tied the game at 17.

Broadcaster John Madden suggested the Patriots run out the clock and play for overtime when they got the ball back at their own 17-yard-line with 1:21 to go, but New England drove down the field as they went 53 yards in eight plays to set up Adam Vinatieri's 48-yard field goal as time expired to give the Patriots their first ever NFL championship.

9. LVII=Chiefs-38 Eagles-35

Things did not look good for the Chiefs as the first half came to an end as they trailed the  Eagles 24-14 after allowing 265 yards of total offense as Philadelphia held the ball for nearly 22 minutes.

Even worse, Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes limped into the locker room after reaggravating a high ankle sprain.

Mahomes would play through the injury as he would complete 13 of 14 passes in the second half and throw two touchdown passes as the Chiefs came from behind to win the game on a 27-yard field goal by Harrison Butker with eight seconds to go which was set up by a key 26-yard scramble by Mahomes and a controversial holding call on Eagles cornerback James Bradbury on 3rd & 8 at the Philadelphia 15-yard-line.

8. LII=Eagles-41 Patriots-33

Super Bowl LII resembled an Arena football game as it set the record for most combined yards of total offense in any game in NFL history as the Eagles and Patriots combined for 1,151 yards of total offense and only one combined punt.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady broke his own Super Bowl record for most passing yards as well as most passing yards in a postseason as he threw for 505 yards on 28-of-48 passes and threw three touchdown passes.

But Brady lost this epic duel to Nick Foles, who had taken over the Eagles’ starting quarterback job with in the 14th game of the season after starter Carson Wentz was lost with a torn ACL, as the backup was named MVP as he completed 28 of 43 passes for 370 yards and threw three touchdowns, including what turned out to be the game-winner, a 11-yard touchdown pass to tight end Zach Ertz with 2:21 left in the game.

Foles also became the first quarterback to catch a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl as he caught a one-yard touchdown pass from tight end Trey Burton on a 4th-and-goal with 34 seconds left in the first half.

However, the game was not decided until the final play when Brady’s Hail Mary attempt from midfield fell incomplete as time expired, giving the Eagles their first NFL championship in 57 years.

7. XXXII=Broncos-31 Packers-24

Broncos quarterback John Elway finally got his first Super Bowl title in his 15th NFL season and fourth Super Bowl appearance as Denver upset the defending Super Bowl champion Packers, thanks in large part to running back Terrell Davis’ 157 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries, despite missing most of the second quarter with a migraine headache.

But it was Elway who made the game’s most memorable play as he dove for a 1st down and did a 90-degree spin as he was hit while diving for the 1st down mark.

That play became known as “The Helicopter” and set up Davis’ second touchdown run of the game, who then scored the game-winning touchdown when Packers head coach Mike Holmgren instructed his defense to let the Broncos score with 1:45 left in regulation, to give his offense enough time to try and send the game into overtime.

The gamble did not pay off as quarterback Brett Favre drove the Packers to the Denver 31-yard-line until Green Bay turned it over on downs as Favre’s 4th down pass was knocked down by Broncos linebacker John Mobley, sealing Denver’s first Super Bowl title.

6. XXV=Giants-20 Bills-19

The Bills and the Giants provided fans across the country a needed distraction from “Operation Desert Storm” with one of the best Super Bowls ever.

The heavily-favored Bills held a 12-3 lead midway through the second quarter when the Giants put together a 14-play, 87-yard drive which ended with a 14-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jeff Hostetler to Stephen Baker with 25 seconds left before halftime to cut the lead to 12-10, which was followed by a 14-play, 75-yard drive to start the second half which took 9:29 off the clock and culminated with one-yard touchdown run by Ottis Anderson to give New York a 17-12 lead.

The Bills retook the lead on the first play of the 4th quarter on a 31-yard touchdown run by Thurman Thomas, which the Giants responded with another long drive, this one for 74 yards on 13 plays which used up 7 ½ minutes and ended with a 21-yard field goal by Matt Bahr to give the Giants the lead once again.

With 2:16 to go in the game, the Bills took over at their own 10-yard-line and drove to the Giants’ 29-yard-line, giving kicker Scott Norwood a chance to win the game with a 47-yard field goal with eight seconds left.

While Norwood’s kick was long enough, it sailed wide right, giving the Lombardi Trophy to the Giants and handing the Bills the first of their four straight Super Bowl losses.

5. XLIX=Patriots-28 Seahawks-24

No team had even won a Super Bowl when trailing in the 4th quarter by 10 points, but Patriots quarterback Tom Brady went 13-of-15 for 124 yards and threw two touchdown passes, the last one a three-yarder to Julian Edelman with 2:06 to play, giving New England a 28-24 lead.

However, it looked like the Seahawks were on their way to their second straight Super Bowl title when Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson connected with Jermaine Kearse for a 33 yards on pass that slipped through the hands of Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler and onto the legs of Kearse, where he tipped it back to himself to make the catch and give Seattle a 1st-and-goal at the Patriots’ five-yard-line with 1:05 to play.

But after Marshawn Lynch picked up four yards on 1st down, Butler atoned for his mistake when he intercepted Wilson’s 2nd pass intended for Drew Lockette, securing New England’s fourth Super Bowl championship.

4. XXXIV=Rams-23 Titans-16

This game could have easily been a blowout as the Rams outgained the Titans 294-89 in the 1st half but had to settle for three field goals and a 9-0 halftime lead.

After the Rams finally got in the end zone when quarterback Kurt Warner hit Torry Holt for a nine-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter to extend the lead to 16-0, the Titans took over the game as they outgained the Rams 173 to -4 and scored 16 unanswered points to tie the game with 2:12 to play in regulation on Al Del Greco’s 43-yard field goal.

But on the first play from scrimmage after Del Greco’s field goal, Warner hit Isaac Bruce for a 73-yard touchdown pass to put the Rams back in front 23-16 with 1:54 remaining.

However, this gave the Titans a chance to send the game into overtime as they drove from their own 12-yard-line to the Rams’ 10-yard-line when with six seconds to go, quarterback Steve McNair connected with Kevin Dyson on a slant pass, only to have Dyson be tackled by Rams linebacker Mike Jones, one yard short of the end zone as the clock run out, giving the Rams their first Super Bowl title.

3. XLIII=Steelers-27 Cardinals-23

Two of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history happened in this Super Bowl, both courtesy of the Steelers.

The first play happened with 18 seconds left in the first half as the Cardinals, who were trailing 10-7, were on the verge of taking the lead with the ball at the one-yard-line, when Steelers linebacker James Harrison intercepted Kurt Warner’s pass, and though dodged numerous tackles to run the pick all the way back for a 100-yard touchdown to increase the Steelers’ lead to 17-7 at halftime.

The Cardinals would come back to score 16 straight points, the last of which coming on Larry Fitzgerald's 64-yard touchdown reception to give Arizona a 23-20 lead with 2:37 left in regulation.

The Steelers would get the ball back at their 22-yard-line, but were pushed back to their 12-yard-line after a holding penalty when quarterback Ben Roethlisberger began a drive that would lead the Steelers to the Cardinals’ six-yard-line, setting up the second classic play.

Roethlisberger threw a pass toward the right corner of the end zone where wide receiver Santonio Holmes extended his legs to make the catch before falling out of bounds for what would be the game-winning touchdown with 35 seconds left, giving the Steelers a record sixth Super Bowl championship.

2. LI=Patriots-34 Falcons-28(OT)

After Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to running back Tevin Coleman to give Atlanta a 28-3 lead with 8:31 left in the third quarter, it looked like Super Bowl LI was all but over.

But that is when Patriots quarterback Tom Brady caught fire as he completed 21 of 27 passes for 234 yards and threw two touchdown passes to help the lead Patriots back from 25 points down to force the first overtime in Super Bowl when after running back James White scored on a one-yard touchdown run, which was followed by a two-point conversion pass from Brady to Danny Amendola with 57 seconds left in regulation.

The Patriots won the overtime coin toss and drove 75 yards in eight plays, with Brady completing five of six passes for 50 yards on the drive which ended with a two-yard touchdown run by White to complete the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history.

1. XLII=Giants-17 Patriots-14

When you have one of the greatest upsets of all time and probably the greatest play in Super Bowl history in the same game, then that game is the best Super Bowl of all time.

The Patriots were looking to become the first team since the 1972 Dolphins to go a season undefeated, but their high-powered offense, which had scored 589 points during the regular season, was held in check, thanks to the Giants’ ferocious pass rush as New England scored only one touchdown through the first three quarters, but held onto a 7-3 lead.

The Giants would take the lead with 11:05 left in the 4th quarter when quarterback Eli Manning found wide receiver David Tyree for a five-yard touchdown, but relinquished the lead with 2:42 to go when Patriots quarterback Tom Brady hit Randy Moss for a six-yard touchdown to put New England ahead 14-10.

The Giants began their ensuing possession at their own 17-yard-line and were at their own 44-yard-line where they faced a 3rd-and-5, when the greatest play in Super Bowl history happened.

Manning took the snap and looked like he was going to be sacked by three Patriot defenders, only to have Manning escape the rush and scramble to his right, where he fired a pass downfield for Tyree, who was able to make the catch with one hand pinned to his helmet and Patriots safety Rodney Harrison draped all over for a 32-yard gain and a 1st down at the New England 24-yard-line.

The play would become known as the “Helmet Catch” and would lead to Manning’s game-winning 13-yard touchdown pass with 35 seconds left, that gave the Giants the win and denied the Patriots a chance at immorality.

For Part 1 or 60-41 of the list, click on the link which is highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2026/02/every-super-bowl-ranked60-to-41.html

For Part 2 or 40-21 of the list, click on the link which is highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2026/02/every-super-bowl-ranked40-to-21.html