Was the Kansas City Chiefs' 38-35 win over the Philadelphia Eagles at Super Bowl LVII on Sunday the best ever? We take a look at some of the other all-time Super Bowl classics, including the New England Patriots' epic comeback victory over the Atlanta Falcons
Tuesday 14 February 2023 06:50, UK
Super Bowl LVII on Sunday certainly lived up to the billing, with the Kansas City Chiefs beating the Philadelphia Eagles in an all-time classic, but was it the best-ever Super Bowl?
Patrick Mahomes' Super Bowl MVP-worthy efforts - on an injured ankle no less - ultimately saw the Chiefs to a 38-35 victory, despite having trailed by 10 at half-time.
The 57th Super Bowl in NFL history, Sunday's contest accounted for the third-largest points tally of all time, but here we've picked out five other Super Bowl classics that are contenders to the crown of 'greatest Super Bowl of all time'?
Philadelphia Eagles 41-33 New England Patriots, Super Bowl LII, Minneapolis, 2018
Let's start with Sunday's unlucky losers, shall we?
Cheer up Philadelphia fans. As it was only a mere five years ago that your Eagles were involved in another thrilling Super Bowl clash, this time coming out on top against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots - the scoreline of 41-33 good enough for second on that record points tally table (behind only San Francisco 49ers' 49-26 victory over the San Diego Chargers in the 1994 season).
Several other records were broken, however, including the combined most yards gained in an NFL game by two teams (1,151), the fewest combined punts in a Super Bowl (one), and the most points scored by a Super Bowl-losing team (33), until the Eagles broke that mark in defeat at the weekend.
Brady threw for a staggering 505 yards and three touchdowns, in defeat, while the now nomadic benchwarmer that is Nick Foles ended up as Super Bowl MVP for his 373-yard and three TD display. He even caught a touchdown, the famous 'Philly Special' play that is now depicted in statue form outside the Eagles' stadium.
That score put Philly up by 10 to close out the first half - (sound familiar?) - but this time they held on for the win, seeing off the challenge posed by the Patriots juggernaut of the time and securing Philadelphia's first-ever Super Bowl title.
Denver Broncos 31-24 Green Bay Packers, Super Bowl XXXII, San Diego, 1998
Don't be distracted purely by the sentimental value of Denver Broncos' John Elway finally earning a ring aged 37, and at the fourth attempt, as they bested the defending-champion Green Bay Packers in a real back-and-forth contest.
It had two quarterbacks at the top of their game going toe to toe, with Elway up against Brett Favre - that season's joint-MVP along with Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders.
Super Bowl XXXII was, in fact, the last Super Bowl to see both teams score on their opening possessions until - yes, you guessed it - Sunday's game between the Chiefs and the Eagles. In another parallel between the two games, it was also the last time someone scored three rushing touchdowns in the Super Bowl - Terrell Davis' MVP-winning effort - until Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts did the same in a losing cause.
The game is also very much remembered for Elway's 'helicopter run', with the ageing veteran quite literally putting his body on the line. With the game very much in the balance, tied up at 17-17 in the third quarter and the Broncos facing a third-and-six from the Green Bay 12-yard line, Elway scrambled for the first down and, in diving for the marker, he was hit so hard by the two closing Packers defenders that he spun 360 degrees in mid-air.
A few plays later, Davis ran in his second score and Denver would ultimately hold for the victory. "This one's for John!" Broncos then-owner Pat Bowlen famously exclaimed after the game as Elway finally got his hands on the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Pittsburgh Steelers 27-23 Arizona Cardinals, Super Bowl XLIII, Tampa Bay, 2009
This Pittsburgh Steelers' success secured them a then-record sixth Super Bowl title.
It's a mark that has since been matched by the Patriots, and surpassed by a certain Tom Brady with seven, but at the time it pushed Pittsburgh out ahead of the pack as the NFL's most successful franchise ever - not that they didn't make hard work of the win.
The Steelers had ended the first half up 17-7 after a Super Bowl-record 100-yard interception return for a touchdown by James Harrison, but a monster 127-yard and two-TD outing by Arizona receiver Larry Fitzgerald saw the Cardinals come storming back in the second half.
They had edged themselves into a three-point lead going into the final two minutes of the game, only for Ben Roethlisberger to deny Arizona a first ever Super Bowl title as he marched the Steelers down the field and perfectly, precisely picked out receiver Santonio Holmes in the back corner of the end zone for the game-winning touchdown with just 35 second left on the clock.
New England Patriots 28-24 Seattle Seahawks, Super Bowl XLIX, Phoenix, 2015
If that last-gasp Holmes touchdown for the Steelers broke the hearts of Cardinals fans the world over, then spare a thought for Seattle Seahawks fans as they watched on in disbelief as their side botched Super Bowl XLIX against the Patriots on pretty much the last play of the game.
The Patriots' post-millennium dynasty was in the midst of a 10-year title drought heading into this Super Bowl against Seattle - having lost their prior two trips against the New York Giants, the first of which denied them the perfect undefeated season in 2007.
This one too seemed to be slipping from New England's grasp as, another circus catch, this one from Jermaine Kearse - seven years on from David Tyree's one-handed helmet catch in that first loss to the Giants - helped set Seattle up just shy of the goal line with mere seconds to spare.
Trailing by four, surely all the Seahawks had to do was give the ball to 'Beast Mode' running back, Marshawn Lynch, to punch it in from a yard out? Nope.
In one of the craziest play-calls in football history, Seattle opted to pass, and quarterback Russell Wilson was picked off by rookie Malcolm Butler to end a truly incredible contest.
New England Patriots 34-28 Atlanta Falcons (OT), Super Bowl LI, Houston, 2017
Another Patriots masterclass, though even they'd likely admit they outdid themselves in this one.
Super Bowl LI will forever be remembered as, if not the greatest Super Bowl game itself of all time, certainly the greatest comeback ever.
The Patriots overcame a massive 28-3 deficit late in the third quarter to ultimately tie the game up against the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth and take it to overtime.
It took the Patriots until the final two seconds of the first half to put their first points on the board, a field goal, while the explosive Atlanta offense - led by that year's league MVP, Matt Ryan - scored three touchdowns.
Atlanta then stretched ahead further in the third quarter, before back came Brady! Two passing TDs from TB12, plus a James White run - and a couple of clutch two-point conversions - helped the team tie things up late, before then clinching a stunning win with another White TD in overtime.
Plenty. As already mentioned, there have been 57 Super Bowls in total, and though there has been the odd stinker thrown in - we're looking at you, Super Bowl LIII (Patriots 13-3 Los Angeles Rams) - there have also been a great deal of instant thrillers.
Here's a nod to a few more memorable Super Bowl matchups from over the years:
Super Bowl III: Perhaps the biggest upset in Super Bowl history, the 18-point underdog New York Jets beating the Baltimore Colts 16-7 and after Jets quarterback Joe Namath had 'guaranteed' victory. True to his word, he delivered.
Super Bowl XIII: The Steelers stretched out a 35-17 lead over the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth quarter thanks to a four-touchdown pass performance by Terry Bradshaw, but then Roger Staubach threw a second and third of his own to bring Dallas back to within four, only for Pittsburgh to ultimately hold on and get the better of the defending-champion Cowboys for the second time in three years.
Super Bowl XXV: Perhaps one of the greatest disappointments in sport, let alone just the NFL, as poor old Buffalo Bills kicker, Scott Norwood, missed the game-winning field goal from 47 yards out as time expired. The Bills' 20-19 defeat to the Giants was the first of four-straight Super Bowl defeats.
Super Bowl XXXIV: The Tennessee Titans are stopped on the one-yard line to lose to the 'Greatest Show on Turf' St Louis Rams, after having recovered from a 16-point deficit.
Super Bowl XLII: As already mentioned, to round off the 2007 season, the 16-0 Patriots were expected to make light work of 10-6 Giants in this one... though no-one told New York as they eked out a 17-14 win after that Tyree catch and the Plaxico Burress go-ahead TD that followed it on the same drive, late in the fourth quarter.
