Top 5 Most Exciting Super Bowls of All Time
5. Super Bowl III (NY Jets 16, Baltimore 7)
It has been a long time since the NY Jets have made the Super Bowl but fans still never forget how important this win was for the franchise. It was the first officially-named Super Bowl. NY Jets QB "Broadway" Joe Namath famously guaranteed a victory over the heavily favored 13-1 Colts, who allowed the fewest points in an NFL season. The Jets delivered an excellent performance all around and relied heavily on their ground game. All of which helped them win their first Super Bowl by 9 points and upset the big time favorite Baltimore Colts.
4. Super Bowl XXIII (San Francisco 20, Cincinnati 16)
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A game that was defensive based from the start was tied 3-3 at halftime. But, that all changed once the second half of the game began. Fireworks were in store for all that were watching. After the Bengals went ahead 16-13 on Jim Breech's 40-yard field goal with 3:20 left in the game, Joe Montana had perhaps one of the greatest individual moments of his career. He saved the 49ers on an incredible drive to win the game. Montana drove 92 yards in 11 plays, with a 10-yard TD pass to John Taylor with only 34 seconds left.
3. Super Bowl XXXIV (St. Louis 23, Tennessee 16)
Kurt Warner and the Rams' Greatest Show on Turf offense took a lead in the game of 16-0 before Steve McNair came storming back to bring his Titans back into the game. The Rams incredible offense had been shutting the Titans out up until the third quarter. The Titans eventually tied the game at 16 with 2:12 left in the game. On the very next play, Warner responded with a TD bomb to Isaac Bruce to take a 23-16 lead. McNair refused to give up and drove the Titans all the way down to the Rams' 10 yard line with six seconds remaining. WR Kevin Dyson caught a pass at the five yard line, but fell an upsetting half-yard short of the goal line as Rams linebacker Mike Jones, in one of the Super Bowl's great defensive plays, made the game-saving tackle as time expired.
2. Super Bowl XLIII (Pittsburg 27, Arizona 23)
An incredible game from start to finish that proved to every fan of football that momentum in a game means so much to a team's overall performance. It probably never felt so real and fateful as it did when Steelers NFL defensive MVP James Harrison intercepted a pass before halftime and ran it all the way back for a 100-yard TD. This would have given the Cardinals a four-point lead going into halftime, also giving them the momentum coming out in the second half. But, instead the Steelers took a 10 point lead and gave everyone watching all over the world the feeling that momentum had swung to the Steelers' sideline. Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald refused to fold, leading the way to a 23-20 lead late in the fourth quarter. Just as suddenly, Ben Roethlisberger found Santonio Holmes four times on the final drive of the game with little time left. This would be the game-winning drive for Pittsburg as Santonio Holmes caught a tip-toeing touchdown that will be remembered as one of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history.
1. Super Bowl XLII (NY Giants 17, New England 14)
When arguably the greatest play in Super Bowl history is crucial to the winning drive against an undefeated and offensive juggernaut New England Patriots team, you've got a case for this one being the best Super Bowl ever played. The New England Patriots cruised into the Super Bowl and had beaten every team that stepped on the field going 18-0, until this day. The Giants had given them some trouble and almost spoiled their dream of going undefeated in the regular season on the last game of the season. But, New England held on to win in a hard fought game by both teams. When they met in the Super Bowl most thought it would be a 'blowout' because of what was on the line for New England...perfection.
After New England took a 14-10 lead late in the fourth quarter, Eli Manning led his Giants on a memorable 12-play, 83-yard drive in the final minutes of the game. It included an unforgettable escape from the clutches of the Patriots pass rush and 32-yard pass that David Tyree somehow caught and held to his helmet while being tackled. Four plays later, Plaxico Burress caught the game-winning TD with 35 seconds on the clock, which ended the Patriots dream of 19-0 perfection.
