All-time Super Bowl power rankings: Which game was the best?
By James Dudko
12. Super Bowl XXXVIII: New England Patriots 32, Carolina Panthers 29
Arguably the most physical Super Bowl ever was played out in 2004 when the upstart Panthers refused to buckle to the favored Patriots. The Panthers should have been outclassed, but quarterback Jake Delhomme just wouldn’t go away.
New England bossed the first half by taking away Carolina’s main strength, its power-based running game led by Stephen Davis. He was shut down by planet-sized veteran nose tackle Ted Washington.
The Pats were 21-10 ahead entering the fourth quarter, but Delhomme was just getting warmed up. He’d already thrown a 39-yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith, but really made the Patriots nervous when he launched an 85-yarder to Muhsin Muhammad.
A Brady to Vrabel TD (big surprise) reasserted New England’s superiority, only for Delhomme to answer back with a 12-yard strike to Ricky Proehl. His touchdown evened the score at 29 apiece.
Sadly for the Panthers, placekicker John Kasay, who had already missed a PAT, sliced the kickoff out of bounds. Giving Brady the ball at his own 40 created a sense of inevitability about Adam Vinatieri’s game-winning field goal with four seconds remaining.
11. Super Bowl XVI: San Francisco 49ers 26, Cincinnati Bengals 21
Some may consider it sacrilege to put the first 49ers-Bengal Super Bowl ahead of the Montana-to-Taylor game. But re-watch both and you’ll have to admit Super Bowl 16 was the better game.
This was high-quality stuff from the kickoff with the burgeoning 49ers on the brink of launching a dynasty. Head coach Bill Walsh was also desperate to get one over on Bengals founder Paul Brown for once passing over his former offensive coordinator for the top job in Cincinnati.
Walsh’s team had little trouble with Forrest Gregg’s Bengals early on. Montana moved the ball patiently and precisely, directing an offense featuring trick plays and replacing running with short passes in true West Coast fashion.
Defensively, the Niners seamlessly alternated between 3-4 and 4-3 fronts by liberally using rush end Fred Dean to torment the Bengals.
The 49ers were 20-0 up at halftime thanks to 14 points from Joe Cool (one run, one pass) and two field goals from Ray Wersching, the kicker who never looked at the ball. From there, San Francisco held on 26-20, with one of the great goal-line stands in NFL history coming in the third quarter. The 49ers would go on to win and launch a dynasty, winning three more championships in the decade.
In terms of quality coaching and excitement on the field, this is the hidden gem of Super Bowls.