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Super Bowl power rankings: Which winner is the greatest?

By Cody Williams

St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner looks to make pass in a 23-16 win over the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV on January 30, 2000 at Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Allen Kee/Getty Images)
St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner looks to make pass in a 23-16 win over the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV on January 30, 2000 at Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Allen Kee/Getty Images) /
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TAMPA, FL – FEBRUARY 01: Santonio Holmes #10 of the Pittsburgh Steelers catches a 6-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter against the Arizona Cardinals during Super Bowl XLIII on February 1, 2009 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The Steelers won the game by a score of 27-23. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL – FEBRUARY 01: Santonio Holmes #10 of the Pittsburgh Steelers catches a 6-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter against the Arizona Cardinals during Super Bowl XLIII on February 1, 2009 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The Steelers won the game by a score of 27-23. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

41. 2008 Pittsburgh Steelers (SB XLIII)

Here come the Pittsburgh Steelers yet again on this list, this time another one of the teams from the modern era, the 2008 rendition of the Steelers to be specific. They were a bit of a mixed bag in terms of what they offered, but it’s hard to argue with the fact that they were at least a high quality football team with some aspects fully deserving of the success that they had.

The 2008 Steelers were undoubtedly led by their defense, which allowed only 13.9 points per game behind the likes of Troy Polamalu, James Harrison, James Farrior, and many others in leading the league in terms of scoring defense. Ben Roethlisberger and the offense weren’t particularly great as they ranked a meager 20th in the league in terms of points scored. Even still, their defense was incredible in the regular season and, had they maintained that in the playoffs, they may have come in higher on the rankings.

Though they obviously made it to the mountaintop in the postseason, Pittsburgh seemed a bit more vulnerable than they had before as they went up against better offenses. Big Ben stepped up with the offense to get the job done, but the fact that their defense showed cracks on the big stage ultimately hurts how I assess them in these rankings.

Next: No. 40

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