Upsets in the Super Bowl

Super Bowl XLIV – Indianapolis Colts vs. New Orleans Saints

The 2010 Super Bowl wasn’t one of the biggest upsets in terms of the point spread, but it the underdog did come out on top and it was a very important win for the New Orleans Saints and their home city after the disaster that was Hurricane Katrina was still fresh in the hearts and minds of the Saints’ faithful.

The Super Bowl odds pegged the Saints as 4-point dogs against the AFC Champion Indianapolis Colts. The Colts jumped out to an early 10-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Saints defense was able to hold Peyton Manning and the Indy offense in check and answered with two field goals before half making the score 10-6 Indianapolis.

What happened next will go down as one of the gutsiest calls in Super Bowl history as Saints’ head coach Sean Payton called for an unexpected onside kick to start the second half. After New Orleans recovered the attempt, the Colts didn’t know what hit them. QB Drew Brees marched his team down the field and their drive was capped with RB Pierre Thoma’s touchdown, inching the Saints out to a 13-10 lead.

Manning responded in turn by leading the Colts down for a Joseph Addai touchdown on their next possession, putting the Colts back on top 17-13. The Saints were able to respond by adding another field goal their next time with the ball. 17-16, the Colts still had the lead.

With some solid defensive play the Saints stopped the Colts on their next possession, holding them to a missed 51-yard field goal attempt. Drew Brees again sent his team into the end zone to put the Saints back on top 22-17. Sean Payton made another risky call and decided to go for two, but the risk paid off and the Saints now held a 7-point advantage.

The Colts were putting together a nice drive and looked poised to tie the game when New Orleans DB TracyPorter jumped a Manning route and returned the interception for a 74-yard touchdown, sealing a 31-17 victory for New Orleans.

Super Bowl XLII – New England Patriots vs. New York Giants

The New England Patriots were one of the biggest favorites in Super Bowl history (14-points) and not without good reason. The Pats finished a perfect regular season at 16-0, then won two playoff games, going into the Super Bowl with an 18-0 record.

Meanwhile, the Giants came into the game at just 10-6 in the regular season and needed to win three straight playoff games on the road just to reach the Super Bowl. New York shocked the NFL by completing the 3-game road sweep in the playoffs and entered Super Bowl XLII as heavy underdogs.

The game itself was expected to be an offensive shootout, but both defenses came prepared and the teams combined for just 31 points, the 6th lowest total in Super Bowl history. The real shocker, however, was who won the game as New York engineered a terrific drive to seal the victory. Giants’ QB Eli Manning and WR David Tyree had the signature play as Manning spun and ducked under defenders, chucking the ball 33 yards down field where Tyree jumped and was able to pin the ball on his helmet with one and and secure the ball through the impact of his landing. With 35 seconds left Manning then hit WR Plaxico Burress on a 25-yard touchdown pass, which sealed a 17-14 victory for New York.

Super Bowl XXXII – Denver vs. Green Bay

The Denver Broncos walked into Super Bowl XXXII as big time dogs. They were facing the defending Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers. The Packers came into this game as 12pt favorites, but what had almost everyone thinking the Pack would win was that this was during a time of NFC supremacy. With 13 straight victories fans were beginning to look at the AFC as undeserving for a shot at the trophy. What people didn’t understand was that they were witnessing the beginning of AFC dominance that is still going today. The Broncos shocked everyone and John Elway finally won the big game. The Broncos defeated the Packers 31-24 in their first of consecutive Super Bowl Victories.

Super Bowl XXXVI – New England vs. St Louis

Super Bowl XXXVI was a match up of one of the greatest offenses to ever step foot on a football field, and these no bodies out of New England. The Rams came in as two touchdown favorites and were demolishing teams on their way. While many gave New England no shot they were able to pull off the upset with a last second field goal to win the game 20 – 17. While many players from this team will be playing in this year’s Super Bowl, they will be the ones that are unbeatable and will have to fight off being upset.

Super Bowl III – New York Jets vs. Baltimore Colts

It didn’t take long for fans to see one of the best upsets to ever take place in Super Bowl History. Super Bowl III seen the New York Jets come in as 20-point underdogs against the feared Baltimore Colts, and simply had no chance of even competing in this game. One of the most shocking things was if you are going to get 20 points before the game even starts, mean that’s people were thinking that either you weren’t going to score at all, or the other team was going to score so much it didn’t matter. What ended up happening was the exact opposite; the Jets won the game 16 – 7. With the addition of the point spread it gave them a victory of 29 points the largest in Super Bowl History.

Super Bowl IV – Kansas City vs. Minnesota Vikings

One year later the Kansas City Chiefs played the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV. With the Jets amazing victory over the Colts, some might of thought that it would of gave the AFL more credibility, but instead they were still lightly of. Kansas City came in getting 12pts, and was suppose to crumble at the hands of the NFL’s Vikings. By half time the game was pretty much locked up, the Chiefs took a 16 – 0 lead, and went on to win the game 23 -7.

So with the Giants coming in as 11pt underdogs, they certainly aren’t the worst underdog ever. The thing to remember is that they are facing a team that has yet to lose a game, a team they will have lost to just 5 weeks ago, a team that has embarrassed everyone its faced by an average of almost 20 points, set numerous records, and might have the best quarterback ever in Super Bowl games. So why 11 points is all that separates the two teams, there is much more than just a point spread to decide on whether the Giants have enough magic left in them to upset possibly the best team ever.

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