Our Top 10 Moments In Super Bowl History

With the Super Bowl just days away, we thought we’d share our top 10 moments in Super Bowl history.

10. 21 points in 36 seconds

Super Bowl XXXV (2001) 
Ravens 34, Giants 7 

The Giants and Ravens combine for 20 points (all Baltimore’s) for 59 minutes and 24 seconds of the Ravens’ defensive thrashing of Kerry Collins and the Giants. If that score holds up, it would be the lowest-scoring Super Bowl yet. However, there is the issue of those three dozen other seconds in the third quarter. In an unbelievable display, the teams combined for three TDs by return on consecutive plays. The saga begins when Collins throws his fourth interception, which is returned 49 yards to paydirt by Duane Starks. The Ravens’ realistic hopes for the game’s first shutout, however, are ripped from them as the Giants’ Ron Dixon fires up the middle with the ensuing kickoff, breezing for a 97-yard touchdown. Not to be outdone, though, the Ravens’ Jermaine Lewis returns the favor with an 84-yard return TD.

9. Theismann saves ‘Skins’ skin

Super Bowl XVII (1983) 
Redskins 27, Dolphins 17 

Before John Riggins ever has a chance to motor his way to his famous touchdown in the fourth quarter, quarterback Joe Theismann becomes cornerback Joe Theismann. Late in the third quarter, Theismann throws a pass that’s swatted upward by Dolphins linebacker Kim Bokamper. As the ball floats down towards Bokamper’s arms at the Redskins’ 2, the Dolphins are looking at a touchdown that would give Miami a 24-13 lead with 16 minutes left in the game and probable third NFL title. Bokamper never makes the interception, though, as Theismann leaps and swipes the ball away, allowing it to fall harmlessly to the ground.

8. Mighty Steve Young 

Super Bowl XXIX (1995) 
49ers 49, Chargers 26 

Steve Young, desperate to shake himself of the negative comparisons with 49ers legend Joe Montana and his four Super Bowl titles and three game MVP awards, starts tossing that figurative gorilla off his back with a beautiful 44-yard touchdown lob to Jerry Rice on the third play of the game. Three and a half minutes later, Young fires to Ricky Watters for a 51-yard touchdown pass and run, and the rout – and Young’s six-touchdown-pass MVP day – is on.

7. Lombardi Packs it in 

Super Bowl II (1968) 
Packers 33, Raiders 14 

Packers legendary coach Vince Lombardi is carried off the Orange Bowl field by Hall of Fame offensive linemen Jerry Kramer and Forrest Gregg. The 33-14 drubbing of the Oakland Raiders in II is the coach’s final game with Green Bay. The Packers’ record in nine seasons under Lombardi: 89-29-4, 9-1 in postseason, five NFL titles. Lombardi would come back to coach the 1969 season in Washington, breaking the Redskins’ 14-year streak of losing records, before dying of cancer in 1970.

6. Steelers Ram tough 

Super Bowl XIV (1980) 
Steelers 31, Rams 19 

The Steelers’ dynasty is gulping its final breaths, down 19-17 in the fourth quarter to the Rams, who have gone 9-7 in the regular season. On a third-and-8 from his 27, Terry Bradshaw, who becomes the second player with consecutive game MVP awards (Bart Starr is the other), throws a ball deep down the middle to John Stallworth. The pass barely carries the fingertips of a leaping Rod Smith and Stallworth, often overshadowed by receiver teammate Lynn Swann, gallops for a 73-yard touchdown as the Steelers become the first team to win four Super Bowl rings, doing it in the unmatched short period of six seasons.

5. Patriots begin run with stunner 

Patriots 20, Rams 17 
SB XXXVI (2002) 

The Patriots, two-touchdown underdogs to the Rams, see it slipping away. The one-time 14-point lead has vanished into a 17-17 tie as Kurt Warner’s hits Ricky Proehl for a 26-yard touchdown with 1:30 left in the game. The Patriots take over at their 17, and Tom Brady dumps three passes to running back J.R. Redmond, who takes the ball out to the New England 41. Four plays later, Brady spikes the ball at the Rams’ 30 with seven seconds remaining. On comes kicker Adam Vinatieri, who splits the uprights with a 48-yard field goal, the first Super Bowl-winning kick in 31 years, and sends the Patriots on their way to three NFL titles in four seasons.

4. He did it, Elway 

Broncos 31, Packers 24 
SB XXXII (1998) 

John Elway enters Super Bowl XXXII as one of those “had a great career, but…” guys, with his three previous trips to the Super Bowl resulting in losses by an average score of 45-13. Late in the third quarter against Green Bay, with the score tied, Denver faces a third-and-6 from the Packers’ 12. Elway drops back, but quickly uses his 37-year-old legs to dart past the line of scrimmage. He veers hard to his right, and at the 7, a yard short of the first down, he leaps forward. While in the air, Elway is met by three Green Bay defenders, spinning him helicopter-like. He comes down at the 4. Two plays later, Denver takes a 24-17 lead. One quarter later, Elway is finally an NFL champion.

3. The improbable completion 

Giants 17, Patriots 14 
Super Bowl XLII (2008) 

Down 14-10 to the undefeated Patriots with 1:15 left in the game, the Giants face a third-and-5 at their 44-yard-line. Quarterback Eli Manning drops back and the pocket immediately collapses on him. Manning pulls away from three lineman and heaves a pass down the middle of the field. David Tyree, in a full battle with New England safety Rodney Harrison, takes control of the ball against his helmet, temporarily with a single hand, as he wards off Harrison’s frantic attempts to dislodge it. Tyree ends up prone on his back on top of Harrison, the ball held in both hands above his head, inches from the grass, and the Giants are on the road to the momentous upset.

2. A yard short 

Rams 23, Titans 16
Super Bowl XXXIV (2000) 

Following a play where Steve McNair miraculously sheds two Rams defensive linemen from his back and finds Kevin Dyson at the St. Louis 10, the Titans are left with six seconds on the clock, down 23-16. McNair drops back and quickly fires to Dyson, who is running a short square-in from the right side. Rams linebacker Mike Jones is in position to make the play, though, and applies a form tackle on Dyson inside the 3, forcing the Tennessee wideout to stretch as far as he can before he wants to. The ball finishes less than a yard short of the goal line, giving coach Dick Vermeil and the Rams the championship win.

1. Brady Leads Greatest Comeback

Patriots 34, Falcons 28
Super Bowl LI (2017)

On the NFL’s biggest stage, the Patriots quarterback showed off his greatness by leading New England to a 34-28 overtime win over the Falcons in Super Bowl LI.

Not only was the 25-point comeback the biggest in Super Bowl history, but it was also the biggest comeback win of Brady’s career. Before Sunday, the biggest deficit Brady had overcome to win a game was 24 points, but that changed against the Falcons.

To put the Patriots’ comeback in perspective, the previous Super Bowl record for largest comeback was just 10 points. Before Sunday, no team in NFL history had ever come back to win a playoff game after trailing by 16 or more points in the fourth quarter. The Patriots trailed by 19 at one point.

Another thing to keep in mind: The Patriots won this game despite the fact that they didn’t hold a single lead during regulation.

Watch the NFL’s top 10 Super Bowl moments of all time in the video below.