All-time Super Bowl power rankings: Which game was the best?
By James Dudko
23. Super Bowl XLV: Green Bay Packers 31, Pittsburgh Steelers 25
Marino vs. Montana may have been a hopelessly one-sided QB duel, but Aaron Rodgers against Ben Roethlisberger lived up to the billing. Both quarterbacks entered this game in red-hot form and proceeded to make the 45th Super Bowl a special occasion.
A-Rod and Big Ben combined for five touchdown passes, three from Rodgers, who was near flawless on the day. By contrast, Roethlisberger was picked off twice but still managed to rally the Steelers late on.
Pittsburgh closed the gap to just three points midway through the fourth quarter after Antwaan Randle El converted a two-pointer on a gadget play. But Roethlisberger and the Steelers still came up just short after kicker Mason Crosby padded the Packers’ lead ahead of the final two minutes.
Two quarterbacks at their best, along with crappy seats forcing the league to pay out to disgruntled fans, make this more than just another Super Bowl.
22. Super Bowl XXX: Dallas Cowboys 27, Pittsburgh Steelers 17
A Dallas dynasty colliding with a Steelers defense at the peak of ‘Blitzburgh’ made Super Bowl 30 engrossing viewing. The Cowboys still had Aikman, Irvin, Smith and a pretty good defense, but this was a shell of the team Jimmy Johnson had taken to back-to-back Super Bowl wins earlier in the decade.
As for the Steelers, this was probably head coach Bill Cowher’s best team. With one not-so small exception.
The exception was quarterback Neil O’Donnell, who suffered brain freeze on two passes to Cowboys cornerback Larry Brown, easily the most unlikely MVP winner since Super Sundays began.