Super Bowl XXXIX set records for fewest rushing attempts (45) and fewest rushing yards (157). Why so little rushing? Great run defense is one of the many factors, but perhaps the most important is that both teams were willing to put the ball in their quarterbacks' hands.
Tom Brady and Donovan McNabb were both voted to this year's Pro Bowl, and both have a good shot at the Hall of Fame if their next five years look anything like the last five. Where does the Brady/McNabb matchup rank in the Super Bowl annals? Here's my list.
20. XXXVII: Tom Brady and Jake Delhomme
Delhomme is early in his career, so I'm projecting with this one, but the records alone put it on the list. The two teams combined for a Super Bowl-record 649 passing yards, Brady set a record for completions (32), and it was only the second Super Bowl in which both teams scored at least three passing touchdowns.
Combined rushing statistics: 51 attempts, 219 yards
19. XXXI: Brett Favre and Drew Bledsoe
Favre is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and he was at the top of his game, having won his second league MVP award. Bledsoe had perhaps his finest season, throwing for over 4,000 yards and making the Pro Bowl, but he tossed a record-tying four interceptions in the Super Bowl.
Combined rushing statistics: 49 attempts, 158 yards
18. II: Bart Starr and Daryle Lamonica
Starr entered the game as the only Super Bowl MVP in history. 1967 was a down year for him, but the Packers great stands as one of the best players in the history of the game. Lamonica led the AFL in passer rating and passing touchdowns, adding four TDs on the ground and winning his league's MVP award.
Combined rushing statistics: 61 attempts, 267 yards
17. VI: Roger Staubach and Bob Griese
The first matchup on this list featuring two Hall of Famers. The 1971 Cowboys were arguably the greatest offense in history, and Staubach, the Super Bowl MVP, was the best of them all. He and Griese combined for just 13 interceptions during the regular season.
Combined rushing statistics: 68 attempts, 332 yards
16. XXXVI: Tom Brady and Kurt Warner
Brady won his first Super Bowl MVP award, but this game also stands large as the end of Warner and the Rams' brief reign on top of the NFL. Warner threw for 4,830 yards and a 101.4 rating, winning his second league MVP award, though I'll always believe that Marshall Faulk deserves both of Warner's trophies.
Combined rushing statistics: 47 attempts, 223 yards
15. XXVIII: Troy Aikman and Jim Kelly
Neither player had a great Super Bowl. They combined for two interceptions and no touchdowns. But 1993 was Aikman's best season, and it's rare to put two quarterbacks this good on the same field, especially when the stakes are highest.
Combined rushing statistics: 62 attempts, 224 yards
14. XI: Ken Stabler and Fran Tarkenton
Stabler is one of the few players on this list without a bust in Canton, but he was dynamite in the mid-'70s. In 1976, he led the NFL in completion percentage, yards per attempt, passer rating, and passing touchdowns. Tarkenton, who had won the previous league MVP award, is probably one of the top half-dozen QBs in history, but he was awful in Super Bowls. This was one of his better efforts, with only two INTs and almost 50% completion percentage.
Combined rushing statistics: 78 attempts, 337 yards
13. XXIII: Joe Montana and Boomer Esiason
Montana had a down year, but he made up for it with a legendary game-winning drive in the Super Bowl. Esiason had his best season, leading the NFL in passer rating and posting a mind-blowing 9.2 yards per pass attempt. He was named league MVP.
Combined rushing statistics: 55 attempts, 218 yards
Special note: This is one of only three Super Bowls with no rushing TDs by either team.
12. VIII: Bob Griese and Fran Tarkenton
The Dolphins were at their conservative best, setting a Super Bowl record for rushes, and Griese threw only seven passes, completing six of them for 73 yards. Tarkenton threw only one interception. Although neither player shined in the big game, both had fine regular seasons. Griese made the Pro Bowl and Tarkenton was second-team All-Pro.
Combined rushing statistics: 77 attempts, 268 yards
11. XXXIX: Tom Brady and Donovan McNabb
Brady was at his unspectacular, efficient best during the regular season and the postseason. McNabb, who has made the Pro Bowl every year since he became Philadelphia's starter, had his best season and led all playoff QBs in passer rating until his dismal three-interception Super Bowl.
Combined rushing statistics: 45 attempts, 157 yards
10. XXI: Phil Simms and John Elway
Elway made his first Pro Bowl this season, but Simms is the real story. Against Denver, he had arguably the finest game in the history of professional football, completing 22-of-25 passes for 268 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Combined rushing statistics: 57 attempts, 188 yards
9. I: Bart Starr and Len Dawson
Each player led his league in passer rating, and Starr was named NFL MVP. The AFL was renowned as a passing league, but it was the NFL's Starr who made the biggest impression, completing over 75% of his passes and winning the game's MVP award.
Combined rushing statistics: 53 attempts, 205 yards
8. III: Joe Namath vs. Earl Morrall and Johnny Unitas
Morrall was named NFL MVP after leading the Colts to a 13-1 record, but he was pulled in the third quarter of the Super Bowl, with three interceptions and only six completions. In came Unitas, a legend in his own time, but he'd been on the bench all season with an elbow injury, and was unable to bring the Colts back. Namath was at the peak of his career, adding the Super Bowl MVP to his AFL MVP award.
Combined rushing statistics: 66 attempts, 285 yards
7. XI: Joe Montana and Ken Anderson
San Francisco's victory signaled Montana's arrival as a quarterback, but at the time, he was overshadowed by Anderson, the NFL's MVP. Both players made the Associated Press All-Pro team. In the Super Bowl, Montana threw for one touchdown and ran for another, winning the game's MVP award.
Combined rushing statistics: 64 attempts, 199 yards
6. IX: Terry Bradshaw and Fran Tarkenton
The Steel Curtain carried Pittsburgh to the first of its four Super Bowl titles, and the Vikings had the worst offensive day in Super Bowl history. Minnesota averaged less than one yard per carry and Tarkenton threw three interceptions. But matchups like Bradshaw/Tarkenton come along about once a decade, and this is an easy top-ten choice.
Combined rushing statistics: 78 attempts, 266 yards
5. XXXII: John Elway and Brett Favre
The Broncos were two-touchdown underdogs. The NFC had won 13 consecutive Super Bowls -- three of them against Elway -- and the Packers were defending champions. Favre was up to the task, throwing three touchdowns and leading a game-tying drive in the fourth quarter, but Elway's Broncos triumphed. The game's signature play was "The Helicopter," when Elway dove for a first down and was hit in the air, spinning his entire body.
Combined rushing statistics: 59 attempts, 274 yards
4. X: Terry Bradshaw and Roger Staubach
The first-ever Super Bowl meeting of two quarterbacks who had already won the big game. Super Bowl X lived up to its name, and many considered it the greatest ever until the two teams rematched three years later.
Combined rushing statistics: 77 attempts, 257 yards
3. XIII: Terry Bradshaw and Roger Staubach
The most anticipated Super Bowl in history. Both teams clearly were the best in their respective conferences. Pittsburgh went 14-2 and won the AFC Championship Game by almost 30 points. Dallas went 12-4 and won the NFC Championship Game 28-0. Bradshaw and Staubach were the highest-rated passers in their respective conferences. In the Super Bowl, they combined for 7 touchdown passes, and Bradshaw won his first Super Bowl MVP Award.
Combined rushing statistics: 56 attempts, 220 yards
2. XXIV: Joe Montana and John Elway
On paper, it doesn't get much better than this, but the game was all Niners. San Francisco set Super Bowl records for points (55) and margin of victory (45), and Montana won his third Super Bowl MVP award on the strength of a record five TD passes.
Combined rushing statistics: 61 attempts, 208 yards
1. XIX: Joe Montana and Dan Marino
It's not even close — this is the best by a mile. Montana and Marino may be the two best quarterbacks of all-time, and both were at their best in 1984.
Marino was a consensus league MVP, setting NFL records for pass completions, yards, and TDs, and posting the second-highest passer rating in league history. The Dolphins scored 513 points (over 32 per game) and finished 14-2. Miami won its first playoff game, 31-10, with Marino throwing three touchdowns. In the AFC Championship Game, Marino put up 421 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 45-28 rout of Pittsburgh.
Montana wasn't too shabby, either. He led the NFC in passer rating (102.9) and guided San Francisco to a 15-1 record, the first time any team had won 15 games in the regular season. The 49ers, like the Dolphins, breezed through the playoffs, leaving no doubt as to which two teams should meet in the Super Bowl. In the NFC Championship Game, San Francisco beat Chicago 23-0 to set up the matchup everyone wanted to see.
The two quarterbacks combined to set Super Bowl records for completions and passing yards. The completions mark still stands, and only last year's Patriots/Panthers game surpassed the yardage mark. Both QBs threw for over 300 yards, but it was Montana who shined most brightly. He threw three touchdown passes and added five rushes for 59 yards and another TD. It doesn't get any better than that.
Combined rushing statistics: 49 attempts, 236 yards
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