The 5 Biggest Upsets in Super Bowl History

The Super Bowl is one of the biggest stages in sports with some of the world’s greatest football teams. With that being said, there have been some surprising teams to make the Super Bowl and a few that managed to pull off some big upsets. The Cincinnati Bengals were 29th in preseason Super Bowl odds this season but have earned a ton of respect on their way to Los Angeles, so a Super Bowl victory would be surprising, but not a David vs. Goliath-type upset. Here, I break down the five biggest upsets in Super Bowl history:

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1) Super Bowl III: New York Jets (+18) defeat the Baltimore Colts

Baltimore went 13-1 in the regular season and had two dominant wins on their way to Super Bowl III. The Jets, led by Joe Namath, went 11-3 and snuck into the Super Bowl after a close win in the AFL championship game. This was the game that Namath famously guaranteed the Jets would win. New York jumped out to a 7-0 lead on a Matt Snell touchdown run in the second quarter, which was followed by three straight field goals to take a 16-0 lead. The Colts turned the ball over five times to give the Jets a 16-7 win.

2) Super Bowl XXXVI: New England Patriots (+14) defeat the St. Louis Rams

After Drew Bledsoe went down in Week 2, sixth-round quarterback Tom Brady took the reigns for the New England Patriots. He would lead them to an 11-5 season and Super Bowl berth. On their way to the big game, the Patriots defeated the Raiders in the “Tuck Rule Game” in the Divisional Round. Meanwhile, Kurt Warner and the Rams went 14-2 in the regular season and looked well on their way to their second Super Bowl ring in three seasons. New England jumped out to a 17-3 lead, but two Kurt Warner touchdown passes in the fourth quarter set up a game-winning field goal from Adam Vinatieri as time expired. This was Brady’s first of seven Super Bowl victories.

3) Super Bowl XLII: New York Giants (+12) defeat the New England Patriots

The undefeated New England Patriots, led by Tom Brady, looked like a juggernaut heading into this game. Brady and Randy Moss lit up the NFL that year, as the Patriots quarterback broke the single-season passing touchdown record and won the MVP award. The New York Giants, on the other hand, were just 10-6 and did not win their division. They had not won a playoff game in seven years, but Eli Manning was able to capture some postseason magic and lead them to wins in Dallas, Tampa, and Green Bay on the way to a Super Bowl appearance. The game was very low scoring, with the Patriots holding a 7-3 lead heading into the fourth quarter. A Randy Moss touchdown gave them a 14-10 lead with just under three minutes to play, but Eli Manning led a Giants drive featuring David Tyree’s famous “helmet catch” that was capped by a Plaxico Burress 13-yard touchdown to seal the victory.

4) Super Bowl IV: Kansas City Chiefs (+12) defeat the Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings, led by their shutdown defensive line, the “Purple People Eaters,” went 12-2 on their way to the Super Bowl. The Kansas City Chiefs, led by Len Dawson, won the AFL with an 11-3 record. The Chiefs dominated this game, as they jumped out to a 16-0 halftime lead. The Vikings turned the ball over five times in this game but were finally able to get on the scoreboard late in the third quarter. However, a 46-yard touchdown pass from Len Dawson to Otis Taylor was the dagger as the Chiefs won by a comfortable 23-7 score.

5) Super Bowl XXXII: Denver Broncos (+11) defeat the Green Bay Packers

Brett Favre won his third consecutive MVP award and led the Packers to a 13-3 record this season while the Broncos went 12-4 and had wins over the Jaguars, Chiefs, and Steelers to make the Super Bowl. This was an incredible quarterback matchup between Brett Favre and John Elway, but it was actually Broncos running back, Terrell Davis, who was the game’s most valuable player. Davis had 30 carries for 157 yards and three touchdowns en route to a 31-24 victory. Davis’ 1-yard touchdown run with 1:45 remaining sealed the upset victory for Denver.

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