The Super Bowl can serve as an opportunity for unexpected stars to shine. Here are the 10 most unlikely players to win Super Bowl MVP of all-time.
Entering Super Bowl 51, there have been 51 Super Bowl MVPs. Tom Brady and Joe Montana have each won three while Eli Manning, Terry Bradshaw, and Bart Starr each have two. Of the 51 MVPs, 23 of them have been won by a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Counting Ray Lewis, Brady and Peyton Manning, who are future Hall of Famers, that’s 28.
While the MVP of the Super Bowl is generally a great player, there have been some very unlikely award winners. Players previously unknown to the world have shined on the NFL’s biggest stage. There are different definitions of “unlikely”. Whether it’s because the odds were stacked against them, because they were thought of as role players, or because they were one of a kind, each of these 10 players are unlikely Super Bowl MVPs.
There’s a bit of a debate if Joe Flacco is an elite quarterback. The main reason why the debate exists is because of Super Bowl 47. Flacco led the Baltimore Ravens to their second franchise title, picking up the MVP of the big game along the way. Is it a total surprise he won? No, because quarterbacks are the most common position of the winners. But the odds were certainly not in Flacco’s favor.
He had to beat Peyton Manning in Denver with an aging defense which nearly blew the game. However, a miracle pass to Jacoby Jones helped them advance. Next up, Flacco had to go to battle against arguably the best postseason quarterback ever, Tom Brady. No problem. Flacco did very well in the Super Bowl, getting the Ravens out to a huge lead and helping them hang onto it after the San Francisco 49ers attempted a comeback.
Doug Williams is one of the most unlikely Super Bowl MVPs of all-time. Unlike Flacco, it has to do with his position. However, it primarily has to do with his ethnicity. Williams was an unexpected MVP because he’s African-American.
African-American quarterbacks have never had it easy in the NFL. Though things are getting better each year, it was much rougher back in Super Bowl XXII. Williams is the first and only African-American quarterback to be the MVP of the big game.
He was also unlikely because there were a number of players who could have won it. The Redskins blew out the Denver Broncos 42-10 in Super Bowl XXII. Blowout wins are hard to pick one player of the game for. Timmy Smith, who got 204 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries, could have been the MVP. One could argue Ricky Sanders, with nine receptions for 192 yards and two touchdowns, should have won.
Also, Williams had to leave the game in the first quarter due to a twisted ankle. At the end of the first quarter, Denver had a 10-0 lead over Washington. However, Williams’ return in the second quarter sparked 42 unanswered points for the Redskins. Had it not been for Williams, maybe John Elway wins a Super bowl much earlier in his career.
Kurt Warner won the 1999 NFL MVP and was also the MVP of Super Bowl 34 as the Rams beat the Tennessee Titans 23-16. It should come as a surprise to no one the Rams quarterback won the Super Bowl MVP, but on the other hand, some context is required.
Warner is an unlikely MVP because no one could have predicted it in August. He was the backup quarterback to free agent signing Trent Green going into the season. However, a knee injury forced Warner into a starting role. The rest, as they say, is history. Warner was the third string quarterback during the 1998 season. Before that? He was bagging groceries.
Perhaps one of the most surprising success stories in any sport, Warner’s a great example of why you should never give up on your dreams. Sometimes you need a little luck to get where you want to be, but with a bit of hard work, luck tends to find you.
He’s also unlikely because the Rams nearly lost the game. Super Bowl 34 came down to the last play, with Kevin Dyson getting taken down a yard shy of the end zone. Warner’s NFL career was one long Disney movie, so it’s not surprising no one expected him to be a Super Bowl MVP.
To this day, Desmond Howard is the only returner to win a Super Bowl MVP. He won it during Super Bowl 31 when the Green Bay Packers beat the New England Patriots 35-21. Howard tied an Super Bowl record with 244 return yards during the big game.
Though the former Heisman Trophy winner only scored one touchdown in the game, it was a huge one. The Patriots cut the Packers lead to 28-21. On the ensuing kickoff, Howard took it to the house. Even before the huge return, the Packers returner consistently helped put Green Bay in good field position with his stellar returns.
What’s weird is he was the true MVP of the game, as the Packers relied heavily on a variety of contributors. Brett Favre threw for 242 yards and two touchdowns. Antonio Freeman had three receptions for 105 yards, including an 81 yard touchdown reception. Even though Drew Bledsoe threw four interceptions, four Packers recorded an interception. So Howard was the most logical choice since he was the playmaker on the game’s biggest play.
While he’s one of the strangest MVPs in Super Bowl history, he’s also one of the more deserving. The game was largely forgettable sans Freeman’s touchdown reception and Howard’s kickoff return.
This is the point of the list when the much lesser known players start coming up. Malcolm Smith of the Seattle Seahawks is more recent, winning the MVP of Super Bowl 48. The Hawks linebacker led the way with an interception returned for a touchdown, a fumble recovery, and 10 tackles.
Smith is a bit of an awkward Super Bowl MVP because Seattle blew out the Denver Broncos 43-8. It’s always weird to try to pick out a single player in such victories. Usually the quarterback or running back are in a great position to be named MVP, but the Seahawks only put up 341 yards of total offense. Thanks to a dominating defensive performance, a defensive player made a lot of sense as the game’s MVP.
Only two defensive players stood out from Seattle. Those two players? Smith and Kam Chancellor. While Chancellor had a huge impact on the game, Smith had a touchdown and a fumble recovery, changing the game over the course of two plays. Super Bowl 48 was largely forgettable since it was a ridiculous blowout. Naturally, it’s MVP is a bit forgettable and unlikely too. Smith later signed with the Oakland Raiders, continuing their tradition of signing Super Bowl MVPs (more on this later).
Larry Brown is the Super Bowl MVP of the last Dallas Cowboys’ championship. He won the award after a two interception performance in Super Bowl XXX. Brown is the only cornerback to win a Super Bowl MVP award. Much like Malcom Smith, he won because, well, there weren’t too many other candidates.
You’d think on a team with Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin, someone would have done well enough to get named MVP. This wasn’t the case, as the Cowboys amassed just 241 net yards (compared to the Steelers’ 310).
Aikman only threw for 209 yards and a touchdown, so he wasn’t a viable pick. Smith only got 49 rushing yards (though two touchdowns). Irvin? Five receptions and 76 receiving yards. Good, but not MVP caliber. Enter Brown, who changed the game with two interceptions.
No one will ever confuse him for a Hall of Famer. But Brown played like one against the Steelers, snatching two of Neil O’Donnell’s three interceptions. He often got matched against his opponent’s top receivers. Brown saved arguably his greatest performance for the biggest stage, making him a very unlikely Super Bowl MVP.
Another unlikely Super Bowl MVP, Ottis Anderson of the New York Giants is quite unlikely for several reasons. Arguably the biggest reason why is because the Giants nearly lost Super Bowl 25 on the last play. While New York beat Buffalo 20-19, the defining moment of the game isn’t one by the victors. Rather, it’s the last second field goal miss by Scott Norwood which would have given the Bills a Super Bowl win.
It was a rather ugly win for the Giants, so choosing an MVP proved to be a difficult task. Jeff Hostetler only threw for 222 yards and a touchdown on 30 passing attempts, so even though quarterbacks usually get the nod, it’s simply not good enough. Mark Ingram led the Giants in receiving yards, but only had 74. Super Bowl 25 is known for neither team turning over the ball, so this rules out any defensive players.
Anderson was truly the only logical choice. He rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown. Anderson did this towards the end of his career, as he only rushed for 172 yards for the rest of his career. However, he had just enough left in the tank to put an exclamation point on his career. The only way it would have been better is if, like Peyton Manning, Anderson went out on top.
Chuck Howley holds quite the distinction, as he’s the only Super Bowl MVP to be on the losing team. In Super Bowl V, he got two interceptions. Back then, the league didn’t keep track of tackles and sacks, so it’s hard to know exactly how he did. What is known is the game might be the worst Super Bowl ever played.
The game was defined by how bad both teams were. Between the Cowboys and the champion Baltimore Colts, there were 11 turnovers. Howley is the first non-quarterback to win the MVP award, and perhaps it’s appropriate. Colts star quarterback Johnny Unitas got injured in the second quarter, eliminating him from the field for the award.
Looking at the game, Baltimore only had one logical player for MVP – running back Tom Nowatzke. He got the game tying touchdown in the fourth quarter. Could it have gone to kicker Jim O’Brien, who nailed the game winning field goal? Perhaps, but a kicker has never been named Super Bowl MVP for a reason.
It doesn’t get much more unlikely than being named the Most Valuable Player in a Super Bowl you lost. But at least Howley was a pretty good player and one of the best coverage linebackers of the 1960’s and early 1970’s.
Dexter Jackson is one of the most unheralded Super Bowl MVPs in history. He was named the MVP of perhaps the most forgettable big game of all-time, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers blew out the Oakland Raiders. Despite putting up 41 points on their opponents, the Bucs offense didn’t put up outstanding numbers.
Brad Johnson only threw for 215 passing yards and two touchdowns, barely completing half of his 34 pass attempts. Michael Pittman ran for 125 yards, but no touchdowns. A defensive MVP for this Super Bowl was a given considering Tampa Bay’s dominance over the Raiders.
However, did they pick the wrong guy? Perhaps they did. Dwight Smith, just like Jackson, had two interceptions. But Smith ran both of his interceptions back for touchdowns, including one with less than a minute left on the clock. Jackson returned his for a combined 34 yards. Of course, since Smith’s second interception came towards the end of the game, maybe the votes for Smith didn’t get in quickly enough.
Jackson’s career outside of his Super Bowl MVP proved to be forgettable. He signed with the Arizona Cardinals that offseason and got six interceptions during the 2003 season, but never did much in the NFL after his win.
On a team that went undefeated, Jake Scott won the Super Bowl MVP. He won it during Super Bowl VII, during which the Miami Dolphins beat the Washington Redskins 14-7. Scott had two interceptions, including one in Miami territory. Even though the Dolphins didn’t convert either of his turnovers into points, he had a huge influence on the game.
Considering how stacked Miami was, Scott is a very unlikely Super Bowl MVP. The Dolphins had six future Hall of Famers on that team, including five on offense. However, Washington’s defense kept Bob Griese, Larry Csonka, and Paul Warfield relatively quiet. Nick Buoniconti had a strong day, but Scott made the two biggest plays of the game.
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Super Bowl VII was a fairly unexciting game, as Griese only threw the ball 11 times. Csonka had over 100 yards rushing and there’s a good argument he should have been the MVP despite scoring no touchdowns. A defensive player made sense because of how dominant they were. But who would have thought it would be Scott?
He had a successful career after winning the Super Bowl. Scott even helped the Dolphins repeat as champions the following season. He was one of the best safeties of the 1970’s, but still the most unlikely Super Bowl hero of all-time.