The Indianapolis Colts are one victory away from playing in the Super Bowl for the third time in nine years, but the first under head coach Chuck Pagano and quarterback Andrew Luck. For the Colts to hoist the Lombardi Trophy, they would have to beat perhaps three teams with future Hall of Fame quarterbacks and perhaps three teams that reached at least the conference championship round last season.
A world championship would certainly be unexpected for Indianapolis, but where would the Colts rank among the most unexpected Super Bowl champions? Here’s a look at the seven most unexpected champions of the Super Bowl era:
7. 1980 Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders were coming off of an 8-8 finish in 1979, but looked in for a really long year with quarterback Ken Stabler retiring. After a 2-3 start with Dan Pastorini at the helm, Oakland made the switch to former Heisman Trophy winner Jim Plunkett. Plunkett went 9-2 in his 11 starts to help the Raiders secure a Wild Card berth.
After running through the Houston Oilers, the Raiders edged the Cleveland Browns and San Diego Chargers to make it to the Superdome. In Super Bowl XV, Plunkett threw three touchdowns while linebacker Rod Martin grabbed three interceptions in a 27-10 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, making Oakland the first Wild Card team ever to win the Super Bowl.
6. 1981 San Francisco 49ers
After a 6-10 finish in 1980, the 1981 season was shaping up to be more of the same for San Francisco as the 49ers started the year just 1-2. From there on however, San Francisco was virtually unbeatable, winning 12 of its final 13 regular season games. The 49ers topped the New York Giants in the Divisional round, but found itself behind to Dallas in the NFC Championship late.
Trailing 27-21, quarterback Joe Montana made one of the more memorable throws in NFL playoff history. Flushed to his right and throwing off his back foot, Montana fired into the back of the end zone for Dwight Clark, who made a leaping catch over a Dallas defender, giving the 49ers a 28-27 victory. Against the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XVI, San Francisco’s defense came up big with four forced turnovers, five sacks and a timely goal line stand to hold on for a 26-21 victory. Over the next seven years, the Montana-led ‘Niners would win three more Lombardi Trophies.
5. 2011 New York Giants
Entering the second week of December in 2011, the New York Giants were 6-6 and hardly a championship contender. New York won its final three games to claim the NFC East title and sneak into the playoffs at 9-7. After shutting down Atlanta in the Wild Card round, the Giants defeated a 15-1 Green Bay Packers team at Lambeau Field to move on to the NFC Championship in San Francisco. In a defensive struggle, the Giants took advantage of an overtime turnover as Lawrence Tynes knocked home the winning field goal.
Against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI, the Giants were huge underdogs, but hung tough throughout the game. Trailing 17-15 with under four minutes to play, the Giants mounted an 88-yard drive that was capped by an Ahmad Bradshaw touchdown with under a minute to play. As time expired, New York knocked down a Tom Brady pass to top the Patriots on Super Sunday for a second time in five years.
4. 1968 New York Jets
The New York Jets had been a perennial contender in the AFL, but got off to just a 3-2 start in 1968. Behind quarterback Joe Namath and running back Matt Snell, New York won eight of its final nine regular season games. The Jets edged the Oakland Raiders to advance to Super Bowl III, but no one gave them a chance against the 13-1 NFL champion Baltimore Colts.
Despite being nearly a 3-touchdown underdog, Namath guaranteed a victory. In the big game, Namath passed for 206 yards and Jim Turner added three field goals while the Jet defense intercepted Baltimore’s Earl Morrall three times. When all was said and done, the Jets were 16-7 winners. The NFL and AFL merged the following season.
3. 2001 New England Patriots
Insult was added to injury for the New England Patriots in September of 2001. New England was 0-2 and had just lost starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe to a hand injury. The Patriots had finished just 5-11 the previous year and were having to turn to a former sixth round pick named Tom Brady; a similar season looked in the works. But with Brady at the helm, New England went 11-3 over the next 14 games to claim the AFC East division crown. New England’s run looked to have ended against the Oakland Raiders in the snow in the Divisional game as Brady fumbled late with New England trailing 13-10. A replay review reversed the call on what it now known as the infamous “tuck rule”. Adam Vinatieri forced overtime with a field goal and later won the game in the extra period.
With Brady shaken up, Bledsoe came in relief to help the Patriots defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship, 24-17. New England was double-digit underdogs against the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI, but raced to a 17-3 lead thanks to an interception return for a touchdown by Ty Law. St. Louis evened the game with a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns, giving the Patriots the ball at their own 17-yard-line with 1:30 to go. Brady marched New England 53 yards to set Vinatieri up to be the hero again. His 48-yard field goal attempt as time expired gave New England a 20-17 victory and its first Super Bowl victory.
2. 2007 New York Giants
Most were happy with the Giants’ 10-6 finish in 2007, but few would have guessed they were destined for greatness. In the playoffs however, New York became a different animal. After winning at Tampa Bay and top-seeded Dallas, the Giants proved opportunistic in overtime of the NFC Championship as Corey Webster picked off Green Bay’s Brett Favre to set up Lawrence Tynes’ winning 47-yard field goal. The Giants moved on to Super Bowl XLII to face a New England team looking to become the second team ever to complete a perfect season.
Trailing 14-10 late and facing 3rd-and-5, Giants’ quarterback Eli Manning escaped pressure and fired downfield for David Tyree, who clutched the ball to his helmet for a 33-yard reception. With 39 seconds to play, Manning found Plaxico Burress for the game-winning score as New York defeated New England 17-14, thwarting their perfect season.
1. 1999 St. Louis Rams
Entering the 1999 season, the St. Louis Rams had not had a winning season in 10 years when they played their games in Los Angeles. 1999 looked to be more of the same as quarterback Trent Green went down in the preseason with a season-ending injury. The Rams were forced to turn to former Arena League star and supermarket bag-boy, Kurt Warner. With the new addition of running back Marshall Faulk and an array of talented receivers, Warner led what came to be known as “the greatest show on turf”. The Rams finished 13-3 and champions of the NFC West.
St. Louis topped Minnesota in the Divisional round and rallied to defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 11-6 in the conference title game. Against the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV, St. Louis raced to a 16-0 lead, but the Titans rallied to even the game. With 2:12 to play, the Rams regained the lead on a 73-yard touchdown pass from Warner to Isaac Bruce. Tennessee threatened to force overtime, but on the final play of the game, linebacker Mike Jones tackled Tennessee’s Kevin Dyson one yard shy of the goal line.
As for the Colts…
A championship for Indianapolis would certainly be unexpected, but nowhere close to making this list. The Colts are coming off back-to-back 11-win seasons and have been getting gradually better with each passing season. Make no mistake about it, beating potentially three Hall of Fame quarterbacks on either the road or neutral fields would be nothing short of impressive, but coming into this season, Indianapolis was perceived as much more of a championship contender than any on this list.
