Super Bowl power rankings: Who’s the best loser?

HOUSTON, TX - FEBRUARY 05: Matt Ryan
HOUSTON, TX - FEBRUARY 05: Matt Ryan /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
46 of 51
Next
Football: Super Bowl XXXII: Green Bay Packers Antonio Freeman (86) in action vs Denver Broncos Ray Crockett (39) and Bill Romanowski (53) at Qualcomm Stadium. San Diego, CA 1/25/1998 CREDIT: John Biever (Photo by John Biever /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images) (Set Number: X54336 )
Football: Super Bowl XXXII: Green Bay Packers Antonio Freeman (86) in action vs Denver Broncos Ray Crockett (39) and Bill Romanowski (53) at Qualcomm Stadium.San Diego, CA 1/25/1998CREDIT: John Biever (Photo by John Biever /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images)(Set Number: X54336 ) /

6. 1997 Green Bay Packers, Super Bowl XXXII

The 1997 Green Bay Packers went 13-3 to win the NFC Central under head coach Mike Holmgren. The Packers had an NFL MVP at quarterback in Brett Favre and had won Super Bowl XXXI the previous year over the New England Patriots, 35-21, in the Louisiana Superdome.

Green Bay was in the midst of putting together their own dynasty of a football team with Holmgren and Favre, as they cruised through the NFC Playoffs. The Packers beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 21-7, in the Divisional round and the San Francisco 49ers, 23-10, in the 1997 NFC Championship to get back to the Super Bowl.

The Packers would enter Super Bowl XXXII in San Diego as an 11-point favorite over John Elway, Terrell Davis, and the Denver Broncos. Keep in mind that Elway’s Broncos had gone 0-4 in the franchise’s four previous trips to the Super Bowl. Elway went 0-3 in Super Bowls himself, so he was definitely carrying with him the stigma of not being able to win the big one.

What Green Bay didn’t account for was Davis, the piece Elway needed to get over the top. The former running back for the Georgia Bulldogs would run all over the Packers defense en route to winning Super Bowl MVP and bringing the Lombardi Trophy to Colorado for the first time, winning Super Bowl XXXII, 31-24, over Green Bay.

Holmgren would start to lose coordinators and position coaches around this time. Even with Favre under center through the 2007 NFL season, the Packers wouldn’t get back to the Super Bowl until 2010 when Aaron Rodgers took over the franchise to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV in Cowboys Stadium.

Though Green Bay won a Super Bowl with Holmgren and Favre, this was the Packers’ opportunity to become a dynasty in the NFC and it took them 13 years to play in another Super Bowl. Green Bay was great, but it was finally John Elway’s time in the sun.

Next: 5. 2011 New England Patriots