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.