The journey to the Super Bowl is arduous. Consider the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs. They will meet in Super Bowl 58; however, given that the Chiefs are the defending champions and the Niners are the top seed in the NFC, neither team’s victory would be particularly surprising.
Nevertheless, certain teams have surprised football supporters by accomplishing what appeared to be the unattainable. Consider a list of the ten most improbable Super Bowl champions in history.
10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Super Bowl LV
Prior to the acquisition of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had been mired in a 13-year postseason rut. Brady made an instantaneous impact with the acquisitions, as he not only ended the postseason drought but also secured the Super Bowl victory. Surprisingly, the Buccaneers pulled past the Washington Redskins in the Wild Card Round, the New Orleans Saints, and the Green Bay Packers en route to a 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
9. New York Jets: Super Bowl III
Following the merger of the AFL and NFL, the league was dominated by NFL teams, as evidenced by the Green Bay Packers’ first-two Super Bowl victories. Those concerns were, nevertheless, resolved subsequent to the New York Jets’ 16-7 victory over the heavily favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. Owing to the Jets’ triumph, football enthusiasts would likely be deprived of the much-anticipated Super Bowl today.
8. Denver Broncos: Super Bowl 50
The Carolina Panthers entered the NFC Championship Game with a 15-1 record, having defeated the Arizona Cardinals 49-15. However, despite being substantial underdogs, the Broncos stunned the world with their suffocating defense, which held the Panthers accountable for four turnovers and seven sacks. More significantly, however, the Broncos limited them to a meager 10 points in order to clinch the triumph in Super Bowl L.
7. San Francisco 49ers: Super Bowl XVI
In 1980, the 49ers struggled to a 6-10 record and finished the season in defeat. Nevertheless, the 49ers capitalized on that tempest the subsequent season.
Joe Montana rose to the status of a superstar, whereas Dwight Clark and Freddie Solomon both had outstanding seasons. Ricky Patton consistently maintained the lead in rushing.
The 49ers defeated the New York Giants and narrowly escaped the Dallas Cowboys on a game-winning touchdown pass from Montana to Clark, which he caught for The Catch. In Super Bowl XVI, the 49ers emerged victorious against the Cincinnati Bengals, 26-21.
6. Green Bay Packers: Super Bowl XLV
The Green Bay Packers finished the season with a 10-6 record and required victories in the final stretch to earn a sixth-seeded berth into the postseason. Although this was the case, the Packers overcame the Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons, and Chicago Bears in order to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Packers are the sixth-seeded team and one of only two teams to have emerged victorious at the Super Bowl from that position.
5. Pittsburgh Steelers: Super Bowl XL
The Pittsburgh Steelers were an additional sixth-seeded team to achieve success, in addition to the Packers. Notwithstanding their underdog status heading into the postseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers executed a remarkable stretch in which they emerged victorious against the higher seeds—the Indianapolis Colts, the Cincinnati Bengals, and the Denver Broncos. Furthermore, in Super Bowl XL, the Pittsburgh Steelers prevailed over the Seattle Seahawks, 21-10, thereby becoming the first sixth-seeded team to overcome the odds.
4. Philadelphia Eagles: Super Bowl LII
Already a formidable task, contending with an NFL dynasty such as the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl significantly amplifies the difficulty. Ever since the merger, the Eagles had failed to produce a championship victory. Nick Foles delivered a crucial performance by surpassing Tom Brady and leading the Eagles to a 41-33 victory at the Patriots’ expense.
3. New England Patriots: Super Bowl XXXVI
Prior to becoming an NFL dynasty in 2001, the Patriots endured a difficult period during which they finished 5-11 in 2000. Nonetheless, a youthful Tom Brady and Adam Vinatieri’s outstanding performance undeniably contributed to the outcome.
The Patriots advanced to the Divisional Round by edging the Raiders 16-13 in overtime during the Tuck Rule Game. Following that, they pulled off an upset against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Tom Brady delivered an MVP-caliber performance as they unexpectedly defeated the juggernaut St. Louis Rams.
2. St. Louis Rams: Super Bowl XXXIV
Watching underdogs is always entertaining. Notwithstanding a sequence of unsuccessful seasons, everything altered in 1999 when the Los Angeles Rams were crowned the Greatest Show on Turf.
The record of the Rams was 13-3. The team defeated the Minnesota Vikings with relative ease in the Divisional Round, and then defeated the Buccaneers 11-6 via a game-winning touchdown. The Rams would win the Super Bowl by a score of 23-16, but more significantly, the legendary 73-yard pass between quarterback Kurt Warner and Isaac Bruce would seal the victory.
1. New York Giants: Super Bowl XLII
In the realm of upsets, the Giants’ triumph in Super Bowl XLII is indisputably the most monumental. As the Giants prepared to face Tom Brady’s Patriots (16-0), a considerable number of football enthusiasts were already anticipating the triumph celebration.
Nonetheless, the Giants accomplished the unfathomable by thwarting New England’s perfect season with a helmet catch by David Tyree in the final quarter, preceding the game-winning play. The Giants’ formidable defense caused Brady discomfort as the Patriots scored a mere 14 points in the contest.