The NFL season is now getting into its stride for the year, and football fans are beginning to get a feeling for the teams that could be battling out the Super Bowl in Las Vegas next year. A lot will happen between then and now, but we can usually be sure that the two best teams will face each other in the championship game.
Even if the ultimate Super Bowl betting sites have one team down as a huge underdog, it is a team that fully deserves to be there, thanks to a grueling regular season schedule and the format of the playoffs.
To be fair, the Super Bowl champion is usually the best team in the league throughout the entire season. But there have been occasions when an underdog has shocked everyone by going and claiming the biggest prize in football. So, while we wait to see who will be playing in the big show this season, here are some of the biggest surprises in Super Bowl history.
Denver Broncos 31-24 Green Bay Packers, 1998
John Elway had already lost three championship games in the late 1980s by the time Super Bowl XXXII came around, and his Denver Broncos were not expected to be able to keep up with Brett Favre and his Green Bay Packers in San Diego. But the game was far closer than anyone expected.
It felt like it could be the last chance for Elway to win a Super Bowl, and he put everything into a back-and-forth game that wasn’t decided until the final minutes. Terrell Davis rushed for three touchdowns and won the MVP award for the game, but every Broncos fan was overjoyed that Elway had finally won a Super Bowl. He obviously liked the experience so much that he led Denver to another championship win the very next year.
Kansas City Chiefs 23-7 Minnesota Vikings, 1970
These were the early days of the Super Bowl, and AFL teams were still regarded as inferior to their NFL counterparts. But there had already been a huge upset the year before (more of that in a moment), and the Chiefs proved that AFL teams were not to be messed with in New Orleans in 1970.
The Vikings had been the best team in the country during the regular season, with the best record, as well as giving up the fewest points. The Chiefs, on the other hand, had been dealt with bad luck throughout the year but had started to prove themselves in the playoffs. There were still not that many people who thought Kansas City would actually win, though.
But, 16-0 up at halftime, the Chiefs held Minnesota to a miserly 67 rushing yards in the entire game and ultimately won 23-7. The Vikings would go on to lose another three Super Bowls during the decade and still haven’t been able to crown themselves as champions.
New York Giants 21-17 New England Patriots, 2008
Tom Brady turned the New England Patriots into the team of the 2000s and had already won three Super Bowl rings by the time he faced the Giants in Super Bowl XLII. The Pats had won every single game of the season and were only minutes away from a perfect season – when the 13-6 Giants ruined the party.
It was just 7-3 going into the final quarter, and New England was still 14-10 up with under a minute to play. That’s when Plaxico Burress caught the game-winning TD to give the Giants their third championship. The game will be best remembered for David Tyree’s famous helmet catch in the build-up to the winning score.
Don’t feel too bad for Tom Brady and the Patriots, though. They would go on to win three more Super Bowls before the player and team parted ways in 2020.
New England Patriots 20-17 St. Louis Rams, 2002
As previously mentioned, Brady had already won three Super Bowls before that shock loss to the Giants. His first actually came in his first year as a starter in New England. The team was far more defense-minded at that point but not expected to be able to reign in Kurt Warner and his St. Louis Rams, aka “The Greatest Show on Turf”.
The Rams had only lost two games all season and were one of the most dominant teams in recent memory. But that didn’t stop the Pats from making the most of some Rams turnovers and tying up the game with under two minutes to go. With many expecting Brady to settle for overtime, he advanced down the field instead.
A 48-yard field goal as the clock ran out gave the Patriots one of the unlikeliest of Super Bowl wins and laid down a marker for the next 20 years.
New York Jets 16-7 Baltimore Colts, 1969
For the biggest Super Bowl upset in history, we have to go all the way back to 1969, the first time an AFL team took the honors after the merging of the leagues. Baltimore was the big favorite to win this one, going into the game with a 13-1 record and on the back of a 10-game winning streak.
Nevertheless, Jo Namath, the Jets QB, guaranteed a New York victory. Not many heeded his prediction, but his defense stopped just about everything that was thrown at it and helped the Jets go into the last four minutes 16-0 up. The Colts did score a late consolation touchdown, but by then, Namath had made good on his word and delivered a Super Bowl win for the Jets – and the AFL.
