Fansided

The 10 worst Super Bowls of all time

By Brad Berreman

28 Jan 1990: Quarterback Joe Montana of the San Francisco 49ers throws while pressured during the 49ers 55-10 victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXIV at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, LA. (Photo by Icon Sportswire)
28 Jan 1990: Quarterback Joe Montana of the San Francisco 49ers throws while pressured during the 49ers 55-10 victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXIV at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, LA. (Photo by Icon Sportswire) /
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Mandatory Credit: Doug Pensinger-Getty Images
Mandatory Credit: Doug Pensinger-Getty Images /

5. Super Bowl XXXVII-Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48, Oakland Raiders 21

“The Jon Gruden Bowl” pitted the head coach’s new team (the Buccaneers) against the one he led for the previous four seasons (the Raiders). Gruden’s familiarity with the opponent, what they wanted to do offensively and the Raiders apparently failing to change anything Gruden had installed helped Tampa Bay’s defensive game plan. As a result, the Buccaneers intercepted 2002 league MVP Rich Gannon a Super Bowl-record five times and otherwise shut down the NFL’s No. 1 offense from the regular season.

As is oddly the case in a fair amount of Super Bowl blowouts, the Raiders scored first with a field goal before falling flat on their face quickly. Tampa Bay took a 20-3 lead into halftime, then returned three interceptions for touchdowns in the second half, including the final two scores of the game in the fourth quarter. Safety Dwight Smith had two interception of those return touchdowns, but fellow safety Dexter Jackson had two interceptions of his own (zero touchdowns) and took home Super Bowl MVP honors.

If not for the Raiders scoring a touchdown off of a blocked punt early in the fourth quarter, this game would have been even more one-sided in favor of Tampa Bay. Super Bowl XXXVII does hold one notable distinction though. Due in part to no extra week after the conference championship games, it is the last Super Bowl to have been played in January (January 26, 2003). The first Sunday in February has become the norm, and it will remain that way until further notice.

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