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With the Super Bowl approaching, it's time to look back on some past Super Bowls and some of the key performances that have happened in the big game.
Today, we're talking quarterbacks, with a look at the top five best individual QB performances in a Super Bowl.
Check out the list below and let us know what you think. Was there a big snub? Did we overrank someone?
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5. Phil Simms - Super Bowl XXI
Phil Simms set the record for completion percentage and passer rating in Super Bowl XXI, completing 88% of his attempts. Only one other player—Drew Brees in Super Bowl XLIV—also completed over 80% of his pass attempts.
The 1986 Broncos allowed 20.4 points per game, but the Giants put 39 on them. Simms threw three touchdowns, including one in the fourth quarter than put the Giants up 33-10. He finished the game with 286 yards, which isn't a ton when you're talking about the all-time best Super Bowl showings, but he didn't turn the ball over and he had just three incompletions. He also added 25 rushing yards, highlighted by a 22-yard scramble.
That's enough to earn Simms the No. 5 spot on this list.
4. Tom Brady - Super Bowl XLIX
In Super Bowl LII, Brady set the Super Bowl record for yards, throwing 505 of them and three touchdowns. But the Patriots lost that game, and part of making a list like this implies that the quarterbacks on it won their game. So let's turn to another Brady game: Super Bowl XLIX.
That game featured Brady going up against the Seattle Seahawks, who were the No. 1 scoring defense in the NFL that season, allowing 15.9 points per game. New England put up 28, tied for the third-most points that Seattle allowed in a game that year, including the postseason.
Brady threw for 328 yards and four touchdowns in this one, and if it hadn't been for a pair of interceptions, this might have ranked even higher. He threw touchdowns to four different players, and in the fourth quarter, he put the team on his back. The Patriots trailed 24-14 when the fourth quarter began, but Brady threw late touchdowns to Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman to put his team in front for good.
Maybe the interceptions tarnish something, but you can't have a list like this without Brady being on it.
3. Troy Aikman - Super Bowl XXVII
This game was...something. The Cowboys beat the Bills 52-17, giving them the first of their three Super Bowl titles in four years. Sure, there were two defensive touchdowns in there that made the numbers look a little better, but even with those taken out, the Cowboys were dominant on offense.
Aikman was 22-for-30 for 273 yards and four touchdowns, and he also added three carries for 28 yards. Michael Irvin caught two of those scores, with the others going to Alvin Harper and Jay Novacek.
His 140.7 passer rating in this game was the fifth-highest ever, behind Phil Simms, Joe Montana, Jim Plunkett, and Matt Ryan. He also had the eighth-best completion percentage in a Super Bowl. Aikman, who is the all-time leader in career completion percentage in the Super Bowl (minimum 40 attempts), had some good showings in the big game, but this was his best.
2. Steve Young - Super Bowl XXIX
You could probably order first and second in whatever way you wanted, but I'm ultimately going to put Steve Young's showing in Super Bowl XXIX at the No. 2 spot.
Young threw six touchdowns in this one, making him the only player to ever throw six of them in a Super Bowl. He was 24-for-26 for 325 yards and also added 49 rushing yards.
The 49ers beat the Chargers 49-26 in this one, with Jerry Rice catching three of Young's six touchdowns. The Chargers had the NFL's ninth-best scoring defense in the regular season that year, allowing 19.1 points per game. So, a really impressive showing against a top-10 defense. Young didn't turn the ball over and was sacked three times.
1. Joe Montana - Super Bowl XXIV
Like I said above, when it comes down to figuring out who had the best Super Bowl performance of all time, it comes down to a 49ers quarterback. Do you value Steve Young's single-game touchdown record, or do you value what Montana did back in Super Bowl XXIV? (And again, I don't think there's really a wrong answer here, but you can't write this kind of piece and call it a tie at the top.)
Montana led a 55-10 dismantling of the Broncos in this one, going 22-for-29 for 297 yards and five scores. He added 15 yards on the ground. He didn't have to post huge numbers in terms of yards, because he got the team out to an early lead. Montana threw two first-quarter touchdowns, then added another in the second quarter. By the time he threw his fifth one, it was 41-3, and the 49ers were able to just control the game on the ground from that point on.
The thing that pushes this game over Young—for me, at least—is the defense he faced. The Broncos were the NFL's best scoring defense that season, allowing 14.1 points per game. The most they gave up in the regular season had been 28 in a loss to the Eagles, and following that, the team held every team they faced over the last eight games of the regular season under 20 points. And Montana and the Niners just went out there and demolished that defense, which is why he's my pick for the best single-game QB performance in Super Bowl history.
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