The five best Super Bowls of all-time

Super Bowl XLIX has all the makings of a classic contest. The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks are two great teams, both fighting for legacies with Hall of Fame-caliber players on both sides. The factor in matchups like Tom Brady vs. Richard Sherman, and you have everything imaginable for must-see TV.

So which games are the ones this will be judged against?

Below are the five best Super Bowls of all-time, listed with overall quality of play and historical significance in mind:

5. Super Bowl XXIII: San Francisco 49ers vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Joe Montana had won two championships at this point with the 49ers, while the Bengals were looking for their first in franchise history. The game is remembered for Montana’s brilliant leadership in the game-winning 91-yard march in the final moments, hitting John Taylor in the end zone with 34 seconds remaining. What gets lost is Jerry Rice’s incredible evening, catching 11 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown, earning MVP honors. The 49ers would go on to win the Super Bowl the following year also, becoming a dynasty.

4. Super Bowl III: New York Jets vs. Baltimore Colts

This game is here for the historical factor alone. The actual contest was ugly, with the Jets winning 16-7. However, it was a watershed moment in professional football. The American Football League was seen as second-rate by most, with New York coming into the game 18-point underdogs. Joe Namath then made his guarantee and backed it up, engineering the greatest upset in Super Bowl history. The Colts were absolutely brutal on the afternoon, committing five turnovers.

3. Super Bowl XLII: New York Giants vs. New England Patriots

If you watched it, you will never forget it. New York was supposed to be a speed bump on New England’s road to immortality. The Patriots entered 18-0, one win away from being the first undefeated team in a 16-game season. Instead, Eli Manning and David Tyree hooked up with the most indelible play of Super Bowl history, a 32-yard strike that Tyree pinned to his helmet. Manning threw the game-winning touchdown to Plaxico Burress a few plays later with 35 seconds remaining, and the shocker was complete.

2. Super Bowl XXV: New York Giants vs. Buffalo Bills

When the Giants make the Super Bowl, grab the popcorn. The Bills were the hottest team going at the time, fresh off a 51-3 beating of the Los Angeles Raiders in the AFC Championship game. Buffalo was favored by a touchdown, but was dominated by Bill Parcells’ gameplan. The Giants pounded the ball, controlling the ball for a Super Bowl-record 40 minutes and 33 seconds. Famously, the Giants led 20-19 while Jim Kelly frantically led the Bills into field goal range. With the clock expiring, Scott Norwood attempted a 46-yard field goal for the win. Wide right.

1. Super Bowl XXXIV: St. Louis Rams vs. Tennessee Titans

No game can match this heart-stopping finish, coupled with the backstory. The Rams came out of nowhere in 1999 behind Kurt Warner, a stock boy turned NFL MVP. Warner was sublime in the contest, throwing for a then-record 414 yards and two touchdowns, including a 73-yard bomb to Issac Bruce that proved the difference. Tennessee drove in the last two minutes for a tying score, but Mike Jones made The Tackle inside the 1-yard line as time expired on a stretching Kevin Dyson to secure victory.

About Matt Verderame

Matt Verderame, 26, is a New Yorker who went to school at the frozen tundra of SUNY Oswego. After graduating, Verderame has worked for Gannett and SB Nation among other ventures.

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