Top 5 Nail-biters in Super Bowl History

Whether it’s the Kansas City Chiefs’ overtime heroics, the New York Giants’ monumental upsets or the Pittsburgh Steelers’ dramatic victories, these matchups showcase why the Super Bowl is the pinnacle of football excitement.

Ranking the 5 Most Exciting Super Bowls

5. Super Bowl LVIII: Chiefs Break the 49ers’ Hearts Again

Last year’s Super Bowl was one for the books. The Chiefs not only became the first team in 20+ years to win back-to-back titles but also only the second team to win a Super Bowl in overtime (25-22). While the game’s latter half was low-scoring — cashing under bets online everywhere — the back-and-forth nature never changed.

The @chicagosky welcomes Tyler Marsh as their new head coach 🚨

Marsh previously served as an assistant coach for the Las Vegas Aces franchise pic.twitter.com/qnXwBbAaKQ

— WNBA (@WNBA) November 3, 2024

The 49ers briefly held a 10-point edge over Kansas City. But the rest of the game was tight as neither team could pull away. And while the scoring was low, there were many brilliant moments from Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, which included the walk-off touchdown. The cherry on top, especially for Chiefs backers, is how KC prevailed as underdogs.

4. Super Bowl XLIII: Steelers Nab Title With Toe-Tapping Catch

Mike Tomlin has had many boss moments as the Steelers head coach. though none compare to him leading the team to its last Super Bowl victory. And it came in dramatic fashion. Pittsburgh engaged the underdog Cardinals in a scintillating Super Bowl that came down to the last play.

But before Santonio Holmes could make his iconic “tippy-toe” catch to seal the 27-23 game, Pittsburgh had to withstand a furious fourth-quarter rally from Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald. The duo seemed undeniable as they were this close to leading Arizona to an unlikely Super Bowl victory. Fortunately for Pittsburgh, the wideout made the legacy-defining catch.

3. Super Bowl XXV: ‘Wide Right’

The margin between a soul-crushing defeat or a legendary victory couldn’t be any slimmer than what transpired in Tampa, Fla., on Jan. 27, 1991. The Buffalo Bills were an unstoppable offense, favored by a touchdown on the NFL odds, and the team boasted six Hall of Famers. Meanwhile, the Giants were a scrappy defensive team. This should have been a blowout. Except it wasn’t.

WIDE RIGHT?!?! pic.twitter.com/XeVOQdWa6b

— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) January 22, 2024

What resulted was a tight contest where the Giants’ defense contained Buffalo 20-19. It came down to the final possession where Scott Norwood would infamously miss a 47-yard field goal wide right. While the ending remains a low point among Bills fans, we can’t deny how much of a heart-pounding experience this game was.

2. Super Bowl XXXIV: ‘The Tackle’

There are exciting Super Bowls. Then there is Super Bowl XXXIV. This championship battle was poetry from start to finish. You had the St. Louis Rams, the “Greatest Show on Turf,” trying to boat-race the Titans with their blistering offense. But Tennessee, an underdog NFL pick at +7, hung around.

The Titans engineered a late comeback to tie the game with two minutes left. But the Rams fired right back and went up 23-16. With just under two minutes left, the Titans got to within 10 yards of the end zone. But Rams linebacker Mike Jones tackled Titans receiver Kevin Dyson just inches short of the tying TD.

The Rams, a team built on record-busting offense, won their first Super Bowl by way of their defense.

1. Super Bowl XLII: The Greatest Upset

As great as some of the previous games were, none of them can’t quite beat the monumental upset the New York Giants pulled off against the New England Patriots. Yes, the Giants were once against giant slayers as they prevented the 18-0 Patriots from achieving sports immortality by beating them. The Giants were 12-point underdogs and almost all NFL predictions were against them.

The Patriots entered Super Bowl XLII undefeated, but that ended with some help from Eli Manning and David Tyree’s helmet. 😤 @Giants pic.twitter.com/MA9SUX4evG

— NFL (@NFL) February 12, 2022

But New York held the mighty Patriots, who scored an NFL-record 589 points in the regular season, to 14 points. Quarterback Eli Manning became an overnight superstar as he eluded Patriots defenders and completed the now-famous “helmet catch” completion to David Tyree. This final sequence alone makes this one of the greatest Super Bowls.

Odds and information are accurate at the time of writing. Please check with official sources for the latest updates before placing any bets

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