What are the highest-scoring Super Bowls of all time?

Fans are eagerly anticipating the potential for offensive fireworks in Super Bowl LIX as the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs take the field in New Orleans on Feb. 9. The two teams are loaded with talented offensive skill players, including Philadelphia's Saquon Barkley and A.J. Brown to go along with Kansas City's Travis Kelce and DeAndre Hopkins, while quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts have conducted offenses that have put up massive point totals throughout the postseason.

Philadelphia set a new conference championship game record (in the Super Bowl era) by putting up 55 points against Washington in the NFC title game and averaged 35 points per game during the playoffs, a big increase over their 27.2 PPG average during the regular season. While Kansas City's offense notably didn't score over 30 points during the regular season, they have picked it up in the postseason, putting up 23 on Houston and 32 on Buffalo as Mahomes has looked more in sync with his weapons.

Sportsbooks are high on the potential for points in this game, setting the total at 48.5 on Sunday night, and it has quickly been bet up to 49.5 at DraftKings as of Jan. 28. Will these teams actually live up to the hype and produce one of the most explosive Super Bowls in NFL history?

How do we define a high-scoring Super Bowl?

As we covered in the companion piece covering the lowest-scoring Super Bowls ever played, a good baseline is to consider that NFL teams averaged just under 23 points per game during the regular season. Rounding it up to 23 points per game means an average game would account for 46 combined points for both teams, which would place the game under the total set by the sportsbooks.

Football fans love to see their fireworks as some of the most memorable Super Bowls in recent years featured the game's best quarterbacks going score for score with each other to determine who gets to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. One of the games in the conversation for the best postseason game ever played, 2022's Divisional Playoff matchup between Kansas City and Buffalo, saw the teams score 25 points over the final two minutes of the game before the Chiefs stunned the Bills by tying the game with 13 seconds to go and scoring on the first possession of overtime to win 42-36.

The modern NFL has made it much more conducive to score points as rule changes in the early 2000s made it harder for defensive players to cover wide receivers while an increased emphasis on protecting quarterbacks has made it harder for teams to take down opposing passers without risking penalties for unnecessary roughness or roughing the passer. The increased specialization of offensive schemes thanks to brilliant play callers like Chiefs' coach Andy Reid and San Francisco 49ers' head coach Kyle Shanahan has also seen teams develop creative plays that are hard for defenses to prepare for.

How can teams create a high-scoring Super Bowl?

The easiest way to produce a high-scoring Super Bowl is to have elite quarterbacks in the game. While some guys can have the game of their lives in the Super Bowl, like Philadelphia's Nick Foles did in Super Bowl LII, the odds are high that elite quarterbacks can deliver the goods when the stakes are highest.

The presence of talented game-breaking weapons can also help these quarterbacks achieve incredible things during the Super Bowl. Stars like Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith and the aforementioned Kelce can make life much easier for their quarterbacks by delivering elite performances in the big game.

Defense and special teams also can't be ignored as they have the potential to generate points on their own via defensive touchdowns or kickoff returns, like Jacoby Jones' kickoff return to start the second half in Baltimore's victory over San Francisco in Super Bowl XLVII. Bad defense can also increase scoring via blowout potential, such as how Denver's unit collapsed against Seattle the next year, surrendering 43 points in one of the most lopsided games in recent memory.

The 11 highest-scoring Super Bowls of all time

Let's take a deeper look at some notable games from this group of 11, which accounts for all Super Bowls in which over 60 combined points were scored.

Super Bowl XXIX

The highest scoring Super Bowl of all time was a blowout as the 49ers hammered the Chargers 49-26, which is not shocking since they entered the game favored by 18.5 points. Steve Young easily took home MVP honors by setting a Super Bowl record with six touchdown passes, firmly lifting the monkey off his back that he couldn't win the big one like predecessor Joe Montana did often in San Francisco.

Super Bowl LVII

The fact that the previous Eagles-Chiefs matchup ranks third on the list is a good omen for fans hoping for a shootout in the rematch. This game went back and forth down the stretch and could have beaten the record if it went to overtime, but James Bradberry's pass interference penalty in the final minute allowed the Chiefs to bleed the clock and kick a go-ahead field goal with eight seconds to go, forcing this contest to settle for third on the list.

Super Bowl XIII

While most of the games in this list come from the past 25 years, a notable outlier is Super Bowl XIII, which saw the Cowboys and Steelers put up a combined 66 points back in 1979. This Super Bowl was the first where both teams scored at least 30 points and is widely considered one of the best Super Bowls ever played.

Super Bowl LII

The Eagles have a habit of playing high-scoring Super Bowls as evidenced by Super Bowl LII, which set numerous Super Bowl records including most combined yards gained (1,151) and fewest punts (just one). The fact that the Eagles shredded a great Patriots defense behind backup quarterback Nick Foles, who took over for the injured Carson Wentz late in the season, remains one of the more stunning results in NFL history.

What can we learn from the highest-scoring Super Bowls?

One obvious trend to pick out from the above data that if a Super Bowl soars above 60 points, the winning quarterback is nearly a lock to win MVP honors. 10 of the 11 games covered here featured a quarterback winning MVP with the lone exception coming in Tampa Bay's blowout of the Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII, when safety Dexter Jackson had two big interceptions and was essentially the representative of a dominant Buccaneers' defense that harassed NFL MVP Rich Gannon all night long.

Blowouts have a strong likelihood of ending up being among the highest scoring Super Bowls because teams do not have any incentive to stop scoring points in a one-game scenario. Four games on the list of highest-scoring Super Bowls had margins of victory of at least 20 points, including the most lopsided Super Bowl in history as the 49ers blew out the Denver Broncos 55-10 for a 45 point margin of victory.

The game's offensive evolution over the past 25 years has carried into the Super Bowl as just under half the list features games played after 2000, including three of the top five. With an increased focus on offensive specialization and rule changes designed to promote offense, this trend is likely to continue going forward unless the NFL opts to try and balance the playing field in some form.

Unforgettable moments from high-scoring Super Bowls

Super Bowl LII

This Super Bowl gave us the iconic Philly Special, when an Eagles' trick play saw tight end Trey Burton throw a touchdown pass to Foles late in the first half. The Philly Special was a key turning point in the game and has been immortalized with a statue outside of Lincoln Financial Field.

Super Bowl XLVII

While Super Bowl XLVII came down to the wire in New Orleans, the most iconic moment of this game came right after the second half kickoff, when Jacoby Jones returned the kickoff a record 108 yards to push Baltimore's lead to 28-6. The Superdome suffered a partial blackout after the play, suspending the game for just over half an hour, and the 49ers used the stoppage to halt the Ravens' momentum by scoring 17 straight points after the resumption of play to set the stage for a classic finish.

Super Bowl XXXVIII

While casual fans remember the Patriots-Panthers clash for Janet Jackson's halftime incident, the game itself was a wild one that saw the two teams combine for 37 points in the fourth quarter alone. Adam Vinatieri sealed a second Super Bowl title for New England by nailing the go-ahead field goal with four seconds to go to lift the Patriots to a 32-29 victory.

Super Bowl LI

Falcons fans, avert your eyes. The largest comeback in Super Bowl history came in this game, as the Patriots infamously rallied from a 28-3 third quarter deficit to force the first overtime game in the history of the big game. New England won the coin toss and didn't look back, driving right down the field and completing the comeback as James White capped the drive with the game-winning two-yard touchdown run.