All-time Super Bowl power rankings: Which game was the best?
By James Dudko
40. Super Bowl XV: Oakland Raiders 27, Philadelphia Eagles 10
This may be too high for some, but there are a few things to recommend the 15th Super Bowl. One includes Raiders quarterback Jim Plunkett going from castoff to king of the pile after an MVP showing.
Truthfully, Plunkett ought to have shared the award with opportunistic linebacker Rod Martin, who snatched three interceptions from Eagles QB Ron Jaworski. Speaking of those Eagles, this game was the precursor to head coach Dick Vermeil’s unforgettable emotional burn out just two years later.
This one would rank higher if these Raiders, the first Wild Card team to win the big one, were as iconic as the Madden and Ken Stabler-led group of the previous decade.
39. Super Bowl XX: Chicago Bears 46, New England Patriots 10
A 46-10 blowout has little business being this high on the list, were it not for the indelible mark the ’85 Bears left on the football viewing public.
Defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan’s formidable unit and its destructive ’46’ scheme still claim most votes when people discuss the best defenses of all time. Dent, Mike Singletary, Dan Hampton, Wilber Marshall and Otis Wilson left their marks on quarterbacks and remain the yard stick for every defense that’s followed.
Things were just as eventful on an offense led by a wacky battling quarterback with a penchant for headbands named Jim McMahon. He threw deep to speedy wide receiver Willie Gault and handed off to Walter Payton, arguably the finest running back the game has ever known.
The Patriots, in their pre-Belichick and cartoon uniform days, never had a chance. Yet the permanent image of this game involved house-sized defensive tackle William Perry piling over from the 1-yard line, even though the Bears owed the score to Payton. Shame on you Mike Ditka.
Speaking of Ditka, the head coach’s relationship with Ryan was every bit as fiery as his team. The fact defensive players hoisted Ryan onto their shoulders for the victory exit usually reserved for the top man said everything about this brilliantly dysfunctional team.