We are currently in a golden era of Super Bowls.
Last year’s epic encounter between the victorious New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks was simply the latest in an unbelievable run of close encounters in the NFL’s showpiece game.
The exciting finales marks a huge shift from the 1980s and 90s, when NFC teams like the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants dominated on the field and in the win column, when the average margin of victory was more than 18 points and only four of 20 games were decided by less than double digits.
Thankfully, the turn of the century ushered in an era of ultra-competitive Super Bowls, with blowouts the exception rather than the rule, and viewers will be hoping for another thriller when the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers face off this weekend.
Will Super Bowl 50 join these instant classics?
1. XXXIV – Super Bowl 34: St Louis Rams 23-16 Tennesee Titans
Two of the league’s top offences squared off in the first Super Bowl of this millennium but it was a defensive play which is the most remembered moment of Super Bowl 34. Rams QB Kurt Warner, seeking to complete his fairytale rise from supermarket shelf-stacker to Super Bowl champion, and his ‘Greatest Show on Turf’ offence had blitzed the league to the tune of almost 33 points per game, while their defence was tasked with shutting down gutsy quarterback Steve McNair and a running attack led by Eddie George.
Warner passed for a Super Bowl record 414 yards but the Titans still had the chance to tie the game on the final drive. McNair worked the offence 78 yards down the field to the 10-yard line with time for just one final play. McNair completed a pass to receiver Kevin Dyson but Rams linebacker Mike Jones’s tackle kept Dyson and the Titans just inches away from the goalline and the first ever overtime in the big game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKqeq7ergBs
2. XXXIV – Super Bowl 36: New England Patriots 20-17 St Louis Rams
Two years later and the Rams were back for seconds. Once again the league’s best offence, Warner and company were favoured by a massive 14 points to beat the surprising Patriots, led by back-up quarterback Tom Brady. But head coach Bill Belichick’s defence were the stars, capitalising on three Rams turnovers to build a 17-3 lead. Warner roared back with two fourth quarter touchdowns, tying the game with 1:30 left on the clock. With overtime beckoning, Brady brought the Patriots into field goal range, where Adam Vinatieri kicked a 48-yarder as time expired to complete one of the biggest shocks in Super Bowl history.
3. XLII: Super Bowl 42: New York Giants 17-14 New England Patriots
The shoe was on the other foot six years later, as the Patriots, by now seeking their fourth title, entered SB42 favoured by 12 points over the New York Giants, who had sneaked into the play-offs as a wild card and built their postseason run on an unbeatable pass rush led by defensive end Michael Strahan.
With both defences on top, the Pats took a 7-3 lead into the fourth quarter before Giants quarterback Eli Manning’s pass to David Tyree gave the Giants the lead. New England hit back to regain the lead through receiver Randy Moss with 2:42 remaining. What happened next has gone down in NFL lore, as Manning and Tyree combined on the most famous play in Super Bowl history, the ‘Helmet Catch’, before a touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress won the game for New York.
4. XLIII: Super Bowl 43: Pittsburgh Steelers 27-23 Arizona Cardinals
The following year saw an ageing Kurt Warner back in the Super Bowl, this time having reignited his career with the Arizona Cardinals, and their clash with Pittsburgh was one of the most exciting yet. James Harrison’s staggering 100-yard interception return just before half-time gave the Steelers a 17-7 lead and looked to have broken Arizona’s spirit, but Warner, who in putting up 377 passing yards claimed the No.2 spot in the record books behind his SB34 effort, lifted the Cards back into the game.
A sensational 64-yard catch and run by Larry Fitzgerald gave the Cardinals the lead for the first time with 2:37 remaining, but Ben Roethlisberger drove Pittsburgh 78 yards to win the game, finishing Arizona off with a 6-yard pass to MVP Santonio Holmes.
5. XLVII: Super Bowl 47: Baltimore Ravens 34-31 San Francisco 49ers
Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh was facing younger brother Jim’s Niners and was almost on the wrong end of the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history. The Ravens raced into a 21-6 half-time lead as they capitalised on uncharacteristic San Francisco mistakes, and Jacoby Jones’s record-breaking 108-yard kick-off return made it a 22-point game as the second half began.
A 34-minute delay following a power cut allowed the Niners and quarterback Colin Kaepernick regroup and they immediately began eating into the deficit, scoring three touchdowns to trim the lead to 31-29 in the fourth quarter. They got the ball back down five after a Ravens field goal and came within a single play of completing the turnaround, stalling at the Ravens six-yard line.
5. XLIX: Super Bowl 49: New England Patriots 28-24 Seattle Seahawks
Last year’s Super Bowl promised much and still managed to exceed expectations as the Brady-Belichick axis claimed a fourth ring at the expense of the defending champion Seahawks.
There was no separating the teams at half-time after Brady and Russell Wilson each threw touchdown passes in the final minute of the half to make it 14-14.
Seattle’s defence came up big to pick off Brady for a second time as the Hawks opened up a ten-point lead, but the Pats roared back with fourth-quarter TDs for Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman which gave them the lead with two minutes on the clock.
But Seattle had one last chance to score a winning touchdown, and when Jermaine Kearse caught a ricocheted ball near the goalline it seemed a formality that ‘Beast Mode’ Marshawn Lynch would take the ball into the endzone. But the Seahawks chose to pass, and cornerback Malcolm Butler picked off Brady’s pass, creating one of the great what-ifs in Super Bowl history.
