Ah, yes, the Super Bowl, probably the most anticipated championship game every year. Just recently, the NFL hit a milestone with their 60th Super Bowl. With 60 Super Bowls, it becomes easy to compare and contrast them, marking each Super Bowl as better or worse, which in turn begs a list of Super Bowl rankings. Such a list would always seem to be subjective, for it would come down to the opinion of each individual. What if, however, a way existed to objectively score Super Bowls, aside from the opinion of someone, which in turn would make a ranking list more objective and less subjective? I believe I have discovered such a method. From this method, a top 4 best Super Bowls emerges. In this post, I will reveal the objectively top 4 Super Bowls. Before conversing on the top 4 Super Bowls, however, I would like to discuss the criteria for objecting scoring the Super Bowls.
The Method
What makes a good or great Super Bowl comes down to 3 criteria. Below I will list these 3 criteria, and I will also defend why they make a Super Bowl good or great. I will also comment on the objectivity and subjectivity of each criterion.
High Scoring
Let's be honest here, nobody wants to see a defensive competition. Defense may win championships, but offensive wins games, and to get to the Big Game, a team has to win games, and they have to do so by scoring a lot of points. That's what fans remember of these teams, and that's what fans want to see. They want to see scores in the Super Bowl. I will define a high score as scoring 28 or more points, for 28 points means the team averages a touchdown and an extra point, the most common score, at least once a quarter. If both teams accomplish 28 or more points, the Super Bowl will be labeled a very high scoring Super Bowl, and it will get 2 points. If only 1 team achieves 28 or more points, the Super Bowl will be labeled just a high scoring Super Bowl, and it will get 1 point. If neither team can obtain 28 or more points, the Super Bowl will be labeled not high scoring, and it will get 0 points. This criterion is minorly subjective. If a Super Bowl goes three quarters with little to no scoring, and then scoring picks up in the 4th quarter due to sloppy defense, the game does not feel like a high scoring game (this has happened). Nevertheless, a score is a score, no matter when the score happens. Therefore, the final score is a minorly subjective measurement for a high scoring game.
Close Scoring
Let's be real here, no one wants to see a runaway score. The only people who enjoy a runaway score are the fans of the winning team. Everyone else hates a runaway score, especially the fans of the losing team. Spectators want to see a close, a game either team can win all the way to end. The determining factor will be the final score. A final score with a differential of 3 or less points will be declared a very close game, for a good field goal would either tie or win the game (and that means the team merely has to get in field goal range, not in the endzone), and it will receive 2 points. A final score differential between 4 and 8 points will be just a close game, for a touchdown (with or without an extra points, with or without a 2-point conversion) can win or tie the game, and it will receive 1 point. A game with ends with 9 or more points separating the two points will not be called a close game, for it would take 2 possessions to win or tie the game, and it will receive 0 points. This criterion is moderately subjective. The game could be close for 3 quarters, and then in the 4th quarter, the winning team takes off, making the score look like it never was close at all (this has happened). The game could be a runaway for 3 quarters, and then, in the 4th quarter, the losing team starts scoring a lot of points, perhaps due to lazy or overconfident defense, making the score look closer than it actually was (this has also happened). Still, fans will look at the final score and reminisce about how close or how much of a runaway the game was just based on that final score. Therefore, as moderately subjective as this criterion may be, how close the final score is will determine whether a Super Bowl is good or bad.
Comeback
Everybody loves an underdog story. An underdog, however, does not necessarily have to come into the game as an underdog. The game can create an underdog within the game by having one team take a large lead, and then have the other team play catch up to the leading/winning team for the rest of game. This alone creates excitement in the game, and how much more exciting when the losing team overcomes the large deficit and wins! Therefore, a good Super Bowl needs to have a comeback, or at least the potential for a comeback. A successful comeback, in which the losing team was the last team to possess the ball, and then scores, thus winning the game, will receive 2 points. A failed comeback is when the losing team is the last team to possess the ball, but they are unable to score, and that will receive 1 point. If the last team to possess the ball is the winning team, and they are just running out the clock (perhaps quite literally, as the offense of the winning team may just call rushing play after rushing play), that is no comeback, which receives 0 points. The comeback is majorly subjective, for it requires the highest number of rules and stipulations. If the last team to score broke a tie, then revert back to the score before then. If the losing team ties up the game, their defense holds off the opponent's offense from scoring for another drive, and then their offense scores again, that is successful comeback worth 2 points. If the losing team scores to tie up the game, but offense takes the lead again on the next drive, if the losing team gets the ball back with time expiring, that's a 1-point failed comeback, but if the winning team scores as time runs out, that's a 0-point no comeback. What about kneel downs? If ending the game requires 1 kneel down to knock out just a couple or few seconds, that will not be counted as the last possession. If the winning requires multiple kneel downs to run out over a minute of the clock, that will count as the last possession. Determining whether or not kneel downs count as the last possession will also be affected by whether they came off a turnover. Also, hopefully not overstating the obvious, any Super Bowl that has 2-score deficit (9+ point-difference) will automatically receive a no comeback label and 0 points, for even if the losing team scores on the last play of the game, it will not affect who wins the Super Bowl. That alone might make the comeback majorly subjective, for ultimately, it is influenced by the closing scoring criteria, which within itself is moderately subjective.
The objective scoring of whether or not the Super Bowl was high-scoring game, a close-scoring game or a comeback game will result in Super Bowls receiving a score within the range of 0 to 6. With 60 Super Bowls and a score range of 0 to 6, there will be a lot of ties. Tiebreakers will be 100% fully and completely subjective. I will try to keep the subjectivity as close to the immediate context of the game itself, but other factors, such as what happened in the rest of the postseason, the regular season and the preseason, may come into play. Heck, I might even include the halftime show as a deciding factor!
The Results
When all the scoring is said and done (see below), only 1 Super Bowl gets a perfect score of a 6, and only 3 Super Bowls receive a near perfect score of 5. From this method, we can create a ranking of the top 4 Super Bowls. With further ado, counting down, here are the 4 Objectively Best Super Bowls.
4) Super Bowl LVII - Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles
You know it has to be a good Super Bowl when I, a Philadelphia Eagles fan, makes a Super Bowl that the Eagles lost a top 4 Super Bowl. Despite my team not winning, I must admit, this was a very enjoyable game to watch. This game had all 3 features of a good Super Bowl. It was a high scoring Super Bowl, as both the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs scored over 30 points, making the Philadelphia Eagles the highest scoring Super Bowl loser in NFL history (ironically, the Eagles use to be at the opposite end of this record, as the previous record was held by the Patriots, who scored 33 points in their Super Bowl LII loss against the Eagles). It was a close scoring game, as Philadelphia never got a lead bigger than 10 points, and Kansas City never got a lead bigger than 8 points, with the final score being a 3-point margin. Even with the Eagles 10-point lead, the game never felt out of reach for the Chiefs, and even with the Chiefs 8-point lead, the game never felt out of reach for the Eagles. And I will be generous enough to call Jalen Hurt's sad attempt at a Hail Mary (future note: Hurts can't throw more than 40 yards) a failed comeback (ironically, this is like how Super Bowl LII ended, except again the Eagles were on the other side). Therefore, on a scale of 0 to 6, I give this game a 5. Thus, I must confess, the game was more enjoyable than when the Eagles actually won the Super Bowl in Super Bowl LII, which I can only give a 4 out of 6. The only thing that could have made this Super Bowl better is if the Eagles would have actually made the comeback, and I say that apart from being an Eagles fan. Other factors contribute to making it a good game. Super Bowl LVII received a couple monickers. People called it the Andy Reid Bowl, as Andy Reid previously coached the Eagles and now coached the Chiefs, making him the fourth coach to do so. People also named it the Kelce Bowl, since for the first time in NFL history, brothers played each other in the Super Bowl. As another first in Super Bowl history, the game starred 2 African American quarterback as the starting quarterback. Speaking of 2 quarterbacks, you got to love the 2 quarterback philosophies at play here. Patrick Mahomes is your traditional AFC pocket passer, yet he's not afraid to run when he see the opportunity, while Jalen Hurts can play the role of passing quarterback and rushing running back equally. Rihanna performing a whole Super Bowl halftime show pregnant also deserves praise. Don't worry, I'm not one of those Eagles fans who will complain about the slippery field or the holding call costing the Eagles the game. The Eagles had one of the best defenses, if not THE best defense, in the NFL. All they had to do was prevent 1 less touchdown. Patrick Mahomes deserved both the season MVP and the Super Bowl MVP for the all the work he did getting the Chiefs to Super Bowl LVII and then winning the Super Bowl. The only reason this Super Bowl does not receive a higher ranking on the list is, simply put, the other 3 Super Bowls just did better. That's all.
3) Super Bowl XXXVIII - New England Patriots vs. Carolina Panthers
Let me set the scene for you. Ever since the New England Patriots upset the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI, and ever since the Philadelphia Eagles almost upset the St. Louis Rams in the same postseason, NFL fans were clamoring for a New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl. After the 2003 regular season, during the 2003 postseason, it look everything was set up for such a Super Bowl, for both teams made it to their respective conference championship playoff game. New England held up their end with a win against Indianapolis, taking an early lead in the 1st half and holding that lead in the 2nd half. Philadelphia, however, did not hold up their end, as their offense did not show, especially with Donovan McNabb completing only a minority of his passes and also throwing 3 interceptions. Therefore, Super Bowl XXXVIII would end up as a competition between the New England Patriots and the Carolina Panthers. Let me tell you, from the onset, from the conclusion of conference championship Sunday, nobody gave the Panthers even a chance against the Patriots. Indeed, the Patriots entered the Super Bowl as the 7 point favors over the Panthers. At times, however, the game did not look like it had a 7 point favorite. Indeed, the Panthers never scored in the 1st quarter, but then again, they prevented the Patriots doing so as well. During the 2nd quarter, the Patriots would take the lead twice with 2 touchdowns, but every time the Patriots scored, the Panthers followed up with their own score, albeit the 2nd score was a field goal to respond to the Patriots touchdown. It was still close at halftime. True, the Panthers went scoreless again in the 3rd quarter, but then again, so did the Patriots. It looked like the Patriots would pull away, scoring a touchdown with 14:49 left in the game, taking a an 11-point lead, the largest lead in the entire game. At this point in the Super Bowl, both offenses would explode, for in the 4th quarter, the Panthers would score 18 points, and the Patriots would score 19 points, for a total combined 37 points, the most points scored in a single quarter of the Super Bowl. Carolina would even take the lead at one point, only for New England to take it back, but then Carolina would tie it up again. With only 1:08 left in regulation, it would only take 1 minute 4 seconds and 37 yards for the Brady-led offense to set up up Adam Viniteri for a field, which of course, he made good. With the New England Patriots winning over the Carolina Panthers, 32 to 29, Super Bowl XXXVIII gets 2 points as a high-scoring game, and it receives another 2 points for being a close-scoring game. Unfortunately, I cannot give this Super Bowl the 2 points for a successful comeback. I can't call the Patriots, who had a 7-point favorite coming into game, who had the lead after 7 scores (as opposed to the Panthers, who only took the lead once and tied the game twice), who had at once led by 11 points, and who just had a tie game when they made that last score, a comeback. I will, however, kindly say that the Panthers had a failed comeback, for taking the lead in the 4th quarter as the 7-point underdogs, so this Super Bowl gets 1 point for a failed comeback (see above heading The Method subheading Comeback). Outside the objective points, Super Bowl XXXVIII had some pretty impressive stats. Both New England Patriots QB Tom Brady and Carolina Panthers QB Jake Delhomme passed for over 300 yards. New England wide receiver Deion Branch and Carolina wide receiver Mushid Mohammed both received for over 140 yards. And of course, Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" during the halftime show cements this Super Bowl into memories of all. Again, the only reason this Super Bowl does not receive a higher ranker is because the 2 higher Super Bowls did it better.
2) Super Bowl XLVII - Baltimore Ravens vs. San Francisco 49ers
Receiving many nicknames, such as Har-Bowl, Super Baugh, Brother Bowl and Super Bro, for the first time the Super Bowl having brothers as the 2 head coaches, Super Bowl XLVII had a lot going for it heading into it. On Baltimore's offense, quarterback Joe Flacco is playing the best footfall he has ever played. On the Ravens defense, Ray Lewis has returned for 1 more year for 1 last attempt at the Lombardi Trophy. Combining Ray Lewis with Haloti Ngata, Courtney Upshaw, Terrell Suggs, Corey Graham, Cary Williams and Ed Reed has produced the best defense the Ravens have seen since the defense that went to and won Super Bowl XXXV. On San Francisco's offense, QB Colin Kaepernick has silenced all critics who believe that former Heisman winner Alex Smith should start over him. On the 49ers' defense, they have 6 Pro Bowlers, which have majorly contributed to the 49ers on average allowing 17 point per game, 2nd best in the NFL. Both teams would have to overcome a deficit in their respective conference championship game, with the Baltimore Ravens at one point losing 7 to 13, and the San Francisco 49ers losing 0 to 17, but when all was said and done in both conference championship games, it was determined that Super Bowl XLVII would have the Baltimore Ravens face off against the San Francisco 49ers. The Baltimore Ravens score first with a touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to Anquan Boldin. The 49ers can only respond with David Akers kicking a 35-yard field goal. The 1st quarter concludes with Baltimore winning 7 to 3. During the 2nd quarter, Joe Flacco adds another 2 touchdown passes to his stats sheet, with 1 as a small 1-yard pass to Dennis Pitta and another being a big 56-yard pass to Jacoby Jones. All San Francisco can do in response is another field goal David Akers as the clock for the 1st half expires. At halftime, the Ravens still have the lead over the 49ers, but this time, by more, with a score of 21 to 6. During the halftime show, Beyonce comes out to perform. Her outfit makes her look like She-Hulk, but she surprises everybody with a Destiny Child's reunion, a reunion that has not happened since the trio broke up in 2006. For the 2nd half kickoff, the Baltimore Ravens receive the ball, and Baltimore kick returner Jacoby Jones runs back the kickoff 108 yards for a touchdown, which is not only the longest kickoff return in Super Bowl history, it's the longest play in Super Bowl history. It looks like the Ravens have sealed the game. It looks like it's going to be one of those Super Bowls in which the winning team beats up the losing team with a runaway score. Then, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, with no warning, half the lights go out. It takes 22 minutes for the stadium to return to full power, and another 12 minutes to players to get warmed up again, for a total of 34 minutes without play. Conspiracy theorists will tell you that the NFL cut the power to buy the 49ers more time to regroup, but any NFL player will tell you how hard it is to warm up for a game again after such a long period of inactivity. The Super Bowl halftime show already extends halftime longer than players would like; a partial power outage extending that downtime for another 34 minutes players would hate. While 34 minutes of inactivity on the field bored audiences, it somehow benefited the San Francisco 49ers. The rest of the 3rd quarter consists of San Francisco scoring 2 touchdowns (a 31-yard pass from Colin Kaepernick to Michael Crabtree and a 6-yard rush by Frank Gore) and 1 field goal, now putting the 49ers behind by only 5 points. In the beginning of the 4th quarter, Justin Tucker extends the Baltimore Ravens lead by 8 points with a 19-yard field goal, but Colin Kaepernick quickly catches the San Francisco 49ers up by scoring a touchdown with a 15-yard rush. Fortunately for Baltimore, San Francisco cannot convert the 2 point conversion. The Ravens respond with another Tucker field goal, increasing their lead to 5 points. On their next drive, it looked like the 49ers would take the lead, but a no-call pass interference in the end zone on 4th down resulted in a turn over on downs with 1:46 left on the clock. In 3 plays, the Baltimore Ravens ran the clock down to 12 seconds. On 4th down, Baltimore punter Sam Koch ran around in the endzone for 8 seconds, and then took a voluntarily safety by running out of the endzone, reducing the point margin by 3 points with 4 seconds left on the clock. For the last play of the game, for the free kick that comes with a safety, returner Ted Ginn, Jr. could make it 31 yards, but he could not make it to the end zone. The final score: Baltimore Ravens - 34, San Francisco 49ers - 31. Joe Flacco takes home Super Bowl MVP for his 287 passing yards and 3 touchdowns, earning a 124.2 passer rating, and in all honesty, it was nice to see the AFC represented by a quarterback was not Tom Brady, Peyton Manning or Ben Roethlisberger (only time between 2001 season and 2018 season). Super Bowl XLVII was very high scoring, albeit Baltimore did most of their scoring in the 1st half and San Francisco did most of their scoring in the 2nd half. The Super Bowl was very close scoring, even if it didn't get very close until the 2nd half. This game I will consider a failed comeback, not only since the 49ers technically last possessed yet failed to score, but also because they erased a 22-point decifit down to 2 points, yet they could never take the lead. Of all the 5-point Super Bowls, Super Bowl XLVII is the best one. The only reason Super Bowl XLVII is not ranked the number 1 Super Bowl on this list is because there is 1 Super Bowl that scored a perfect 6 and is an extremely good Super Bowl.
1) Super Bowl LI - New England Patriots vs. Atlanta Falcons
I know 28-3 has been memed to death, but that meme score explains why Super Bowl LI gets a perfect score of 6. It gets 2 points for being a very high scoring game, for both teams score 28 points in regulation, albeit the Atlanta Falcons score them all in 2 quarters and the New England Patriots score most of it in 1 quarter. It receives 2 points for being a close game. True, for 43 minutes of game time, it was not close, but the fact that New England got the final score at the end of regulation tied (first time in Super Bowl history, only the second time in NFL championship history, with the first one happening in 1958!) a 0 point margin at the end of regulation is the closest a game can get! It earns another 2 points for a successful comeback. The last team to score in Super Bowl LI was the New England Patriots to break the tie for the win. The team penultimate score in the Super Bowl was New England to tie the game. As a matter of fact, the Patriots scored 5 times in a row for a grand total of 31 unanswered points to overcome a 25-point deficit. If that isn't a comeback, then what is?! Outside the objective scoring, other factors contribute to marking Super Bowl LI as the best Super Bowl. The Atlanta Falcons offense, led by quarterback Matt Ryan have the best offense in the NFL this year, the best offense the team has seen since 1999, the team that went to Super Bowl XXXIII. Indubitably, Matt Ryan deserved his regular season MVP, for he has played the best football he has ever played. Matt Ryan received the nickname "Matty Ice" for his ability to stay cool under pressure, but up to this point in his professional career, the nickname seem to more reflect how he froze in the playoffs. This postseason, however, Matty Ice seemed to overcome it, with a decisive victory in the divisional playoffs against the Seattle Seahawks and another decisive win in the conference playoffs versus the Green Bay Packers. Finally, Matt Ryan will get to play in the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, on the New England Patriots side, critics have already dismissed Tom Brady as past his prime. These same critics still insist that the only reason the Brady-led Patriots won Super Bowl XLIX was due to Pete Carroll making a bad play call, not because of anything Tom Brady did. Even with a 14-2 regular season record, even with a decisive victory in the divisional playoffs against the Houston Texans and another decisive win in the conference playoffs versus the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England can secure only a 3-point favorite going into the Super Bowl. At first, Matt Ryan keeps up with his MVP caliber, passing for 284 and 2 touchdowns, earning him at 144.1 passer rating, but then the Matty Ice known more for freezing in the postseason than for staying cool under stress rears his ugly head. Meanwhile, Tom Brady does not give up, and he ends up passing for 466 yards and 2 touchdowns. Also, let's not forget that halftime show with Lady Gaga! Lady Gaga has built up this reputation for her antics, especially in her dresses (the meat dress sticks out in memory), but this halftime show proved that Lady Gaga can actually perform aside from the antics. Lady Gaga's halftime show is the icing to this Super Bowl cake; it's the cherry to this Super Bowl Sundae/Sunday. Indeed, Super Bowl LI definitely deserves a perfect score of 6. It was an extremely good Super Bowl.
The Data
Below is the raw data of how all 60 Super Bowls scored, based off of my objective scoring. As mentioned above, only 1 Super Bowl scored all 6 points, earning the honor of being considered an extremely good Super Bowl. Also discussed above, 4 Super Bowls scored 5 of 6 points, deserving the title of a very good Super Bowl. 5 Super Bowls collected 4 points, and thus can be called a good Super Bowl. 8 Super Bowls accumulated 3 points, which I would call an average/mediocre/meh Super Bowl. 6 Super Bowls only accomplished 2 points, which I would denote as a bad Super Bowl. 25 Super Bowls only achieved 1 point, which I would mark as a very bad Super Bowl. 12 Super Bowls did not get any points at all, making them extremely bad Super Bowls. As evident from the date, the mode score is a 1. This feat can be attributed to several Super Bowls during the late 80s and early 90s in which the winning team ran away with the win with a high score. Obviously, when only 1 team scores 28 or more points, it's hard for the game to be close or for a comeback to happen, hence why only 1 point. Like I said above, the only people enjoying that Super Bowl is the fans of the winning team. Please note that the data below only accurately records the ranking for the top 4 best Super Bowls. Consider all the good Super Bowls with a score of 4 in a 5-way tie for 5th best, all the average/mediocre/meh Super Bowls with a score of 3 in a 8-way tie for 6th best, all the bad Super Bowls with a score of 2 points in a 6-way tie for 7th best, all the very bad Super Bowls with a score of 1 point in a 25-way tie for 8th best, and all the extreme bad Super Bowls with a score of 0 points in a 12-tie for 9th place. Perhaps if in the near future a Super Bowl can at least score 4 points on my objective scale, I will revisit this list, ranking all Super Bowls with a 4+ score to create a top 10 list.
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