10 best Super Bowls of all time ranked: Eli Manning to Bradshaw to Brady

By Ralph Vacchiano
Published

The Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs are the two best teams in the NFL this season. They have two of the top three offenses, two of the top three defenses, and their quarterbacks are two of the three finalists for NFL MVP.

So Super Bowl LVII has all the ingredients to be a classic. But the Eagles and Chiefs have a lot to live up to when they meet in Arizona on Sunday (6:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports App), because there have been some incredible Super Bowls over the past 57 years.

Here's a look at the 10 greatest Super Bowls ever played:

1. Super Bowl XLII: Giants 17, Patriots 14

For sheer drama it's hard to beat the upstart Giants, who entered the 2007 playoffs with no expectations, going up against an 18-0 Patriots team trying to complete the NFL's second undefeated season ever and seeking New England's fourth Super Bowl championship in seven years. Tom Brady was already considered by many to be the greatest quarterback of all time. Eli Manning was less than three months removed from nearly being run out of New York.

So of course it was Manning who delivered the game-winning drive in the final minutes. Of course, he did it with one of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history — when he literally pulled himself out of the grasp of two Patriots defenders and heaved the ball 32 yards downfield to fourth receiver David Tyree, who made a leaping, one-handed catch by pinning the ball against his helmet. And of course Manning finished the drive by hitting Plaxico Burress for a game-winning touchdown pass with 35 seconds remaining for perhaps the most improbable Super Bowl upset of all time.

2. Super Bowl XLIII: Steelers 27, Cardinals 23

It was a game many thought would be the perfect bookend to Kurt Warner's Hall of Fame career, but it turned on two iconic plays by Pittsburgh players.

The first came after Warner had driven the Cardinals to the Steelers' 1-yard line with 18 seconds left in the first half and seemed to be on the verge of giving Arizona a halftime lead. But when he tried to hit receiver Anquan Boldin in the end zone, Steelers linebacker James Harrison picked the ball off at the goal line and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown — then the longest play in Super Bowl history — increasing Pittsburgh's lead to 17-7.

Warner rallied the Cards back, though, and when he hit Larry Fitzgerald for a 64-yard touchdown with 2:37 to go, Arizona had a 23-20 lead. But the Steelers weren't done. Ben Roethlisberger led them back down the field, and with 35 seconds left he found Santonio Holmes in the back corner of the end zone. Holmes made arguably the greatest catch in Super Bowl history, reaching out of bounds for the ball while somehow keeping his toes just inside the white lines.

3. Super Bowl XIII: Steelers 35, Cowboys 31

From the front offices down to the playing field, this may have been the biggest all-star game in NFL history. It featured 26 future Hall of Famers, including 18 players (11 Steelers and seven Cowboys).

And the greatness was evident. Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw threw for 318 yards and four touchdowns. His top receivers, Lynn Swann and John Stallworth, combined for 10 catches and 239 yards. Roger Staubach threw three touchdown passes for the Cowboys. Running back Tony Dorsett had 140 total yards.

It got wild in the fourth quarter, too. The Steelers had a 21-17 lead when the period began and seemingly blew the game open on a Franco Harris touchdown run and a Swann touchdown catch. The Steelers were even celebrating on the sidelines, up 35-17 with fewer than seven minutes to play.

But the Cowboys weren't done. They scored on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Staubach to Billy Joe DuPree with 2:27 remaining, then recovered the onside kick and scored again on a 4-yard Butch Johnson touchdown run with 22 seconds to play.

But that's as close as the Cowboys got. They tried one more onside kick, but this time the Steelers recovered for the win.

4. Super Bowl XXIII: 49ers 20, Bengals 16

Joe Montana already had two Super Bowl rings and the 49ers were the Team of the 1980s, but this is the game that cemented their dynasty and turned Montana into "Joe Cool."

Montana threw for 357 yards in the game, but he didn't throw his first touchdown pass until early in the fourth quarter, when his 14-yard toss to Jerry Rice tied the game at 13. The Bengals defense, though, continued to hold and Jim Breech's 40-yard field goal gave Cincinnati a 16-13 lead with 3:20 to go.

That's where this game turned into a classic. When the 49ers got the ball at their own 8 with 3:10 on the clock, Montana famously jogged to the huddle, pointed toward the stands and relaxed his teammates by asking, "Hey, isn't that John Candy?" That was the start of an 11-play, 92-yard drive that ended with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Montana to John Taylor with 34 seconds remaining to give the 49ers the win.

5. Super Bowl XXV: Giants 20, Bills 19

The Buffalo Bills looked like a juggernaut during the regular season with their seemingly unstoppable no-huddle offense. They had even just crushed the Raiders in the AFC Championship Game 51-3.

But Bill Parcells, and his defensive coordinator Bill Belichick, came up with the perfect plan to stop Buffalo — a game plan that literally ended up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Giants ran a conservative, run-based offense on the back of running back O.J. Anderson, determined to keep the ball out of the Bills' hands. And on defense, they pounded the Bills receivers, hitting them often at the line of scrimmage, to disrupt the timing of their quick-strike passing attack.

And it all worked. The Giants held onto the ball for 40:33. Anderson ran for 102 yards. And Bills quarterback Jim Kelly threw for only 212 yards, which included one 61-yard pass to James Lofton. Yet the game still came down to a 47-yard field goal attempt by Bills kicker Scott Norwood with eight seconds to play.

That kick infamously sailed wide right.

6. Super Bowl LII: Eagles 41, Patriots 33

It was shocking enough that the Eagles even reached this game behind backup quarterback Nick Foles. But what Foles and the Eagles did in the Super Bowl was an even bigger shocker: Foles threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns. And despite Tom Brady's Super Bowl record 505 passing yards, the Eagles led this game almost the entire way.

Part of that lead was built late in the first half on the play that everyone remembers — The Philly Special. It was a direct snap to running back Corey Clement, who pitched the ball to tight end Trey Burton, who then threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Foles for a 22-12 lead. 

But the most interesting part of the game took place later, after Brady threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski with 9:22 to play, giving New England its first lead of the game, 33-32. Foles followed that with a 14-play, 75-yard, 7:01 drive that included converting a fourth-and-1 from the Eagles' own 45, and ended with an 11-yard touchdown pass to tight end Zach Ertz with 2:21 to go. 

That would've been more than enough time for Brady, but a strip sack by defensive end Brandon Graham two plays later got the Eagles the ball back and allowed them to grind the clock down and add a field goal to seal the win.

7. Super Bowl XXXIV: Rams 23, Titans 16

It had been nearly a decade since a Super Bowl game had come down to the wire, and this one didn't look like it was headed that way. The Rams, running their famed "Greatest Show on Turf" offense, held a 16-0 lead late in the third quarter, and it seemed to be only a matter of time before they pulled away.

But even with Kurt Warner throwing for 414 yards and Isaac Bruce catching six passes for 162 yards, the Titans hung around long enough to claw back. They even tied the game on a 43-yard Al Del Greco field goal with 2:12 to play.

One play later, Warner hit Bruce for a 73-yard touchdown, but even that wasn't enough to put the Titans away for good. Tennessee drove right back down the field and was perched at the Rams' 10 with six seconds to go. That's when Titans quarterback Steve McNair threw to Kevin Dyson over the middle, and he appeared to be headed in for the game-tying touchdown. But Rams linebacker Mike Jones managed to grab Dyson by his legs. And as Dyson fell to the ground, he reached out with the ball just one yard short of the end zone — perhaps the most dramatic ending in Super Bowl history.

8. Super Bowl III: Jets 16, Colts 7

No list of the greatest games in Super Bowl history would be complete without the game that put the Super Bowl on the map.

It was the third AFL-NFL championship, the first one to actually bear the "Super Bowl" name, and it came at a time when the AFL was still largely considered inferior. That's why it was so stunning when, a few days before the game, Jets quarterback Joe Namath told a crowd at the Miami Touchdown Club, "We're gonna win the game. I guarantee it."

Namath threw for 206 yards — mostly to George Sauer, who caught eight passes for 133 yards — and Matt Snell ran 30 times for 121 yards and the only Jets touchdown of the game. But it was the Jets defense that really backed up Namath's words. The New York defense came within 3:19 of pitching a shutout. The Jets chased Baltimore quarterback Earl Morrall from the game by picking him off three times, and then they picked off his replacement, Johnny Unitas, once, too.

And that all led to one of the most iconic images in NFL history — Namath jogging toward the tunnel to the locker room, wagging his index finger in the air.

9. Super Bowl XLIX: Patriots 28, Seahawks 24

The Seattle Seahawks were the reigning Super Bowl champions, and coach Pete Carroll and quarterback Russell Wilson were eyeing a career-defining repeat. And when the fourth quarter began with Seattle leading 24-14, it looked like it was right within their grasp.

But as usual, Tom Brady wasn't done. He threw his third and fourth touchdown passes of the game in the final eight minutes, including a 3-yarder to Julian Edelman with 2:02 remaining to give the Patriots the lead.

Wilson, though, seemed ready for some Super Bowl magic. He quickly marched the Seahawks downfield with the help of a circus catch by Jermaine Kearse that went for 33 yards to the Patriots' 5. One play after that, Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch powered his way to the 1. And rather than call a timeout, the Patriots let the clock run down to 26 seconds.

The entire world, at that point, was expecting Wilson to hand the ball off to Lynch, who had 24 carries for 102 yards and a touchdown on the game, for a game-winning touchdown run. Instead, Carroll and offensive coordinator Darrel Bevell made the most shocking playcall in Super Bowl history — a quick pass to the right to Ricardo Lockette on an inside slant.

But Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler read it and stepped in front Lockette to pick off Wilson's pass and end the game.

10. Super Bowl XXXVI: Patriots 20, Rams 17

Nobody saw Tom Brady coming at this point.

This emotional game, played in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, was all about Kurt Warner and St. Louis' "Greatest Show on Turf." And the Rams offense was electric. Warner threw for 365 yards and St. Louis out-gained the Patriots 427 yards to 267.

But thanks to three Rams turnovers — including an interception that was returned 47 yards for a touchdown by Pats cornerback Ty Law — New England held an improbable 17-3 lead as the fourth quarter began. That's when Warner and his offense finally got going. The Rams quarterback ran for a 2-yard touchdown and then threw a 26-yard touchdown to Ricky Proehl with 1:30 remaining to tie the game at 17-17.

That's where the legend of Brady was born. Starting at the Patriots' own 17 with 1:21 to go, the first-year starter, then just 24 years old, calmly completed 5 of 8 passes for 53 yards to get New England into field-goal range. That's where another soon-to-be-legend, kicker Adam Vinatieri, kicked a 48-yard field goal as time expired to give Brady his first Super Bowl ring.

Honorable Mention

Super Bowl X: Steelers 21, Cowboys 17

On the final play, Steelers DB Glen Edwards picked off Roger Staubach.

Super Bowl XLVI: Giants 21, Patriots 17

Eli Manning beats the Patriots with another game-winning drive.

Super Bowl LI: Patriots 34, Falcons 28

New England rallies from down 28-3 to win in overtime.

Super Bowl XLVII: Ravens 34, 49ers 31

The lights went out at halftime, and Baltimore held off a late San Francisco charge.

Super Bowl XXXVIII: Patriots 32, Panthers 29

The teams exploded for 37 points in the fourth quarter.

Ralph Vacchiano is the NFC East reporter for FOX Sports, covering the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.

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