Pats’ field goal at gun sets all-time Super Bowl standard

It seems everyone has his favorite Super Bowl memories. For us at The Gold Sheet and others who remember the game from its beginnings in January 1967, however, the event takes on extra meaning. That’s because we’re part of a generation that can recall the game’s entire history.

Here are our updated and revised all-time Super Bowl rankings:

1. XXXVIII, New England 32, Carolina 29 (at Houston): A rare Super Bowl slugfest with a dramatic finish. A wild fourth quarter featured three lead changes and 37 points. Carolina, which had rallied to take a 22-21 lead on an 85-yard touchdown pass from Jake Delhomme to Muhsin Muhammad with 6:53 to play, fell behind 29-22 on a Tom Brady to Mike Vrabel TD pass and Kevin Faulk’s 2-point conversion, only to tie the score on a Delhomme to Ricky Proehl scoring pass with 1:08 to play. Brady then led a textbook game-winning drive, ending in Adam Vinatieri’s 41-yard field goal as time expired. (This deserves to be remembered for the great game it was, rather than for Janet Jackson’s malfunctioning wardrobe at halftime.)

2. XLVII, Baltimore 34, San Francisco 31 (at New Orleans): Into the third quarter, this one seemed more likely to rank low on the list alongside some of the blowouts of the 1980s and early 1990s before a turn of events with a surreal twist, a 34-minute delay caused by a partial blackout inside the Superdome early in the second half. Baltimore had been cruising until the delay, leading 28-6 and aided by an NFL postseason-record 108-yard kickoff return by Jacoby Jones. The 49ers caught fire after the blackout and threatened to steal the game when a dramatic late drive reached the Ravens’ 7 inside of the final two minutes. Baltimore would gallantly repel the threat and take a subsequent safety.

3. XLIII, Pittsburgh 27, Arizona 23 (at Tampa, Fla.): Big plays and a wild fourth quarter made XLIII one to remember. James Harrison’s 100-yard TD interception on the final play of the first half staked Pittsburgh to a 17-7 lead. Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner and the rest of the offense awakened in the fourth quarter, and for a moment it appeared as if Larry Fitzgerald’s 64-yard TD catch with 2:37 to play would be the winner. But Ben Roethlisberger, who had been mostly muted since the first quarter, calmly drove Pittsburgh downfield for the winning TD pass in heavy traffic to Santonio Holmes with 35 seconds to play.

4. XLII, New York Giants 17, New England 14 (at Glendale, Ariz.): For three quarters, the 18-0 Patriots, on the doorstep of pro football immortality, simply could not shake the scrappy 12-point underdog Giants, who used their stubborn defense to create an extremely taut and tense affair. But there were three lead changes in the final quarter. In the end, however, it was the surprising Giants on top, with Eli Manning answering Tom Brady’s late TD drive with one of his own, capped by a 13-yard TD pass to Plaxico Burress with 35 seconds to play. A circus catch by David Tyree on New York’s final drive — after a Houdini-like escape in the pocket by Manning — rates among the best catches in Super Bowl history.

5. XXXIV, St. Louis 23, Tennessee 16 (at Atlanta): Final plays don’t get much more dramatic. The Rams’ Mike Jones hauling down Titans wideout Kevin Dyson just short of the goal line qualifies as at least the most electrifying final play in Super Bowl history. This game came alive in the fourth quarter, when Tennessee rallied to tie the score, followed by Kurt Warner’s 73-yard TD bomb to Isaac Bruce with 1:52 to play that proved to be the winning points and a prelude to some last-second thrills.

6. XXXVI, New England 20, St. Louis 17 (at New Orleans): Any Super Bowl decided on the final play (in this case Adam Vinatieri’s 48-yard field goal) deserves a high ranking. It took awhile for this one to warm up after the underdog Patriots kept the high-powered Rams at bay until the fourth quarter, when Kurt Warner rallied St. Louis from 14 points down to a 17-17 tie. Tom Brady then led a dramatic drive resulting in Vinatieri’s kick.

7. XIII, Pittsburgh 35, Dallas 31 (at Miami): Long considered the standard by which great Super Bowls should be measured, this one featured great teams, great players and great plays, though the most-enduring memory of XIII might be veteran Cowboys tight end Jackie Smith dropping a sure TD pass that would have tied the score at 21. It was also an unofficial title bout for “team of the decade,” as each had won two Super Bowls in the 1970s before kickoff. All it lacked was a down-to-the-wire finish, as a belated Dallas rally in the final few minutes narrowed a 35-17 Steelers lead to the 35-31 final. The final TD, scored with 22 seconds to play, caused apoplexy for many wagerers and Las Vegas sports books, with the point spread having bounced from 3½ to 4½ for much of the previous two weeks.

8. XLIV, New Orleans 31, Indianapolis 17 (at Miami): The underdog Saints were trailing deep into the fourth quarter and didn’t put the game away until Tracy Porter’s 74-yard interception return for a TD with three minutes to go. Although the game lacked the anticipated fireworks, it had sustained drama, with Porter’s interception and a nervy onside kick called by Saints coach Sean Payton to begin the second half ranking as highlights alongside quarterback Drew Brees’ near-flawless performance.

9. XXIII, San Francisco 20, Cincinnati 16 (at Miami): The incomparable Joe Montana cemented his place in Canton by authoring perhaps the best winning drive in Super Bowl history, taking the 49ers 92 yards to the title, culminating with a 10-yard TD toss to John Taylor with 34 seconds to play.

10. XLVI, New York Giants 21, New England 17 (at Indianapolis): A late, long Giants TD drive led by Eli Manning featured another circus deep-ball catch, this time by Mario Manningham. Tom Brady was bombing into the end zone on the final play.

11. X, Pittsburgh 21, Dallas 17 (at Miami): This Pittsburgh-Dallas clash was a memorable one, if for no other reason than confirming Steelers wideout Lynn Swann’s brilliance with a couple of unforgettable grabs, including a late 64-yard TD catch, en route to 161 receiving yards. Pittsburgh held off a rally by Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach.

12. XXXII, Denver 31, Green Bay 24 (at San Diego): Breaking a 13-year run of NFC Super Bowl dominance, the underdog Broncos finally prevailed after four previous Super Bowl failures. John Elway was the winning quarterback, but Terrell Davis was the Most Valuable Player with 157 yards rushing and three TDs, the final one a game-winning 1-yard run with 1:45 to play.

13. XIV, Pittsburgh 31, Los Angeles Rams 19 (at Pasadena, Calif.): We think this one has been a bit overlooked by Super Bowl historians, as it featured plenty of spectacular plays and a gutsy performance by quarterback Vince Ferragamo and the underdog Rams, who led after each of the first three quarters. John Stallworth caught a 73-yard TD from Terry Bradshaw to put the Steelers up for good at 24-19 before Franco Harris’ late TD.

14. XVII, Washington 27, Miami 17 (at Pasadena, Calif.): John Riggins’ exploits included a then-Super Bowl record 166 yards rushing and a memorable 43-yard TD run on a fourth-down play with 10 minutes to play that put the Redskins ahead for good.

15. III, New York Jets 16, Baltimore 7 (at Miami): For a long while, the historical significance of this one (the first AFL victory after Green Bay won the previous two years) demanded its inclusion in the top 10, though some recent thrillers have pushed it down the list. This one made Joe Namath famous after his brash “guarantee” of victory. Few figured the 18-point underdog Jets had a chance to stay close, much less win.

Las Vegas handicapper Bruce Marshall is editor of The Gold Sheet (goldsheet.com).