Worst Super Bowl MVP Snubs of All Time, Ranked

The Super Bowl MVP Award shouldn’t be taken too seriously, as many snubbed candidates can vouch.

The Super Bowl Most Valuable Player (MVP) vote is worse than a botched election. The results are too predictable before the ballots are even counted.

You know there’s a good chance that the Super Bowl MVP choice will be named Brady, Manning or Montana (20 percent to date). You know that it’s better than even money that he’ll be a quarterback (56 percent). You know that he’ll likely have attended a college football factory (about 71 percent). And you darn well know that he’ll be on the offensive side of the ball (82 percent).

Granted, the NFL is an offense-driven product. But if you’ve watched the Super Bowl in recent years, you know that the guys behind center are coddled more than those on defense. And this MVP thing is no different. Here are the worthy candidates who should demand a recount…

30. Julian Edelman, Super Bowl XLIX

New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman catches game-winning touchdown pass

Doug Benc / AP Photo

Team: New England Patriots

Game statistics: Nine pass receptions for 109 yards, one touchdown

Who beat him out: Tom Brady (get ready to see his name a lot)

Bottom Line: Julian Edelman

New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman reacts

David J. Phillip / AP Photo

This one could have gone in any number of ways. Our pick would have been Edelman, who scored the game-winner late in the fourth quarter. He was the most consistently productive player at his side of the ball.

As for Brady (328 pass yards on 50 attempts, four touchdowns, two interceptions), pretty good was good enough.

29. Rod Smith, Super Bowl XXXIII

Denver Broncos wide receiver Rod Smith catches touchdown pass

Mark Duncan / AP Photo

Team: Denver Broncos

Game statistics: Five pass receptions for 152 yards, one touchdown

Who beat him out: John Elway

Bottom Line: Rod Smith

Denver Broncos wide receiver Rod Smith catches a pass

Elise Amendola / AP Photo

The voters presented Elway (336 yards, one touchdown, one interception) with a lifetime achievement award — the game was the final one of his career.

Yet this receiver who accounted for the only touchdown and nearly half the yards in the air deserved it as much if not more.

28. John Stallworth, Super Bowl XIV

John Stallworth, Lynn Swann, and Bennie Cunningham celebrate

AP Photo

Team: Pittsburgh Steelers

Game statistics: Three pass receptions for 121 yards, one touchdown

Who beat him out: Terry Bradshaw

Bottom Line: John Stallworth

Steelers John Stallworth prepares to straight-arm Miami Dolphins Earnest Rhone

R.C. Greenawalt / AP Photo

Bradshaw (309 yards, two touchdowns, three interceptions) was so good, he kept both teams in the game.

But it wasn’t decided until Stallworth made an over-the-shoulder catch of his bomb in the fourth quarter, a stunning play that officially stamped the Stillers as the greatest dynasty of the Super Bowl era.

27. Rob Gronkowski, Super Bowl LIII

Jeff Roberson / AP Photo

Team: New England Patriots

Game statistics: Six pass receptions for 89 yards

Who beat him out: Julian Edelman

Bottom Line: Rob Gronkowski

New England Patriots Rob Gronkowski celebrates a win

Gregory Payan / AP Photo

Edelman (10 pass receptions, 141 yards) wasn’t a bad selection. But Gronkowski would have been a better one.

Among his half-dozen catches was a key 29-yard grab, which set up the only touchdown of the game midway through the fourth quarter. Gronk also had an 18-yarder on the first play of the 69-yard drive.

26. Manny Fernandez, Super Bowl VII

Miami Dolphins tackler Manny Fernandez shown

Anonymous / AP Photo

Team: Miami Dolphins

Game statistics: Six tackles, one sack

Who beat him out: Jake Scott

Bottom Line: Manny Fernandez

Harold T. Waters / AP Photo

We have no problem with Scott (two interceptions, two tackles) for the honor, although co-conspirator Dick Anderson (one fumble recovery, five tackles) was no less impactful.

We prefer Fernandez as the ringleader of the front four, a unit that shut down Redskins star Larry Brown (72 rush yards, 22 attempts), the MVP of the regular season.

25. Mike Curtis, Super Bowl V

AP Photo

Team: Baltimore Colts

Game statistics: Four tackles, one interception

Who beat him out: Chuck Howley

Bottom Line: Mike Curtis

Baltimore linebacker Mike Curtis reaches for ball to make interception

AP Photo

Howley deserved to be a Super Bowl MVP in his career. Just not in this one.

Curtis made the biggest play of the game late in the fourth quarter when his interception and 13-yard return set up a short field goal that decided the most putrid Super Bowl ever played.

24. Damien Williams, Super Bowl LIV

Kansas City Chiefs running back Damien Williams carries ball

Ed Zurga / AP Photo

Team: Kansas City Chiefs

Game statistics: 133 total yards, 104 rush yards on 17 carries, two touchdowns

Who beat him out: Patrick Mahomes

Bottom Line: Damien Williams

Kansas City Chiefs running back Damien Williams runs away

Ed Zurga / AP Photo

Mahomes was the impetus behind a 21-point fourth quarter, but if not for his two earlier turnovers, the situation wouldn’t have been so dire. (Aha! The old John Elway trick!)

Williams scored two touchdowns in the final three minutes and was the most productive player on the field. We wouldn’t call this a James White-sized rip-off — more on him later — but it’s in the same stadium.

23. Duane Starks, Super Bowl XXXV

Baltimore Ravens defensive back Duane Starks hoisted by teammate Chris McAlister

Elise Amendola / AP Photo

Team: Baltimore Ravens

Game statistics: Five tackles, two passes defensed, one interception, one touchdown

Who beat him out: Ray Lewis

Bottom Line: Duane Starks

Baltimore Ravens Duane Starks reacts in end zone

Tony Gutierrez / AP Photo

Lewis (five tackles, four pass break-ups) was the loudest mouth of a defense that limited the Giants to 152 measly yards. But Starks authored the key play, a 49-yard pick-and-score that all but sealed the deal in the third period.

That was 25 more yards than Giants wide receiver Amani Toomer, whom he blanketed for much of the game.

22. Isaac Bruce, Super Bowl XXXIV

St. Louis Rams wide receiver Isaac Bruce runs 73-yards for touchdown

John Bazemore / AP Photo

Team: St. Louis Rams

Game statistics: Six pass receptions for 162 yards, one touchdown

Who beat him out: Kurt Warner

Bottom Line: Isaac Bruce

St. Louis Rams Torry Holt celebrates 10-yard touchdown in third quarter

Chuck Burton / AP Photo

Warner (414 yards, two touchdowns, zero turnovers) was the obvious pick for the prize, but the spruce Bruce deserved a piece of it.

Not only did he haul in the 73-yard game-winner in the final minutes, but his 162 yards worth of receptions would be the most in the last 33 years.

21. Rod Martin, Super Bowl XV

AP Photo

Team: Pittsburgh Steelers

Game statistics: Three interceptions for 44 yards, five tackles

Who beat him out: Jim Plunkett

Bottom Line: Rod Martin

AP Photo

Plunkett (261 pass yards, three touchdowns) was a worthy candidate, to be sure. But if defense received a fair shake — yeah, right — Martin would have received the new car.

He picked off a record three passes — one in each of three quarters. The first set the tone barely one minute into the game.

20. Devin White, Super Bowl LV

Tampa Bay Buccaneers inside linebacker Devin White in action

Steve Luciano / AP Photo

Team: Tampa Bay Bay Buccaneers

Game statistics: 12 tackles, two tackles for a loss, one interception, one pass defensed

Who beat him out: Take a guess

Bottom Line: Devin White

Tampa Bay Buccaneers inside linebacker Devin White makes interception

Mark Humphrey / AP Photo

The voters missed the big picture here. Again. The Chiefs boasted the greatest offense in the history of history, we were told, and the Bucs held them to … zero touchdowns. Repeat: Zero touchdowns!

So, while Brady (201 pass yards, three touchdowns) was highly efficient for the winners, White and his co-conspirators were just plain brilliant.

19. L.C. Greenwood and/or Jack Lambert, Super Bowl X

Linebacker Jack Lambert of the Pittsburgh Steelers portrait

Harry Cabluck / AP Photo

Team: Pittsburgh Steelers

Greenwood game statistics: Four sacks, three tackles

Lambert game statistics: Game-high six tackles

Who beat them out: Lynn Swann

Bottom Line: L.C. Greenwood and/or Jack Lambert

Jack Lambert sitting in chair answering questions

MK / AP Photo

Lynn Swann was a human highlights reel in this one, but the killer Steel Curtain defense made even more of a difference.

Greenwood had four of its record seven sacks, while Lambert changed the tenor of the game in the third quarter when he famously threw punk Cliff Harris flat on his butt.

18. Brad Johnson, Super Bowl XXXV

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Brad Johnson throws first half touchdown pass

Scott Audette / AP Photo

Team: Baltimore Ravens

Game statistics: 215 pass yards, two touchdowns, one interception

Who beat him out: Dexter Jackson

Bottom Line: Brad Johnson

Tampa Bay Buccaneers' quarterback Brad Johnson reacts

Rusty Kennedy / AP Photo

We know the Bucs picked off five passes in this one-sided affair. Because four of them came in the second half, they amounted to sprinkles on the sundae.

By then, Johnson and the offense had busted the game open on three consecutive touchdown drives (two on passes to Keenan McCardell) that turned a 6-3 lead into a 27-3 rout.

17. Dominic Rhodes, Super Bowl XLI

Indianapolis Colts running back Dominic Rhodes is pursued by Chris Harris

Mark J. Terrill / AP Photo

Team: Indianapolis Colts

Game statistics: 113 rush yards on 21 carries, one touchdown

Who best him out: Peyton Manning

Bottom Line: Dominic Rhodes

Indianapolis Colts running back Dominic Rhodes carries ball

Michael Conroy / AP Photo

While Manning was pretty good — 247 pass yards, one touchdown, one interception — Rhodes was the engine of a 191-yard ground attack that grabbed the game by the throat. His touchdown midway through the second quarter put his team ahead to stay.

The problem was that an undrafted free agent out of Midwestern State had no more chance to beat out a Manning than a cow jumping over the moon.

16. Thurman Thomas, Super Bowl XXV

Buffalo Bills running back Thurman Thomas fumbles the ball

Susan Ragan / AP Photo

Team: Buffalo Bills

Game statistics: 190 total yards, 135 yards in 15 attempts, one touchdown

Who beat him out: Ottis Anderson

Bottom Line: Thurman Thomas

Buffalo Bills' Thurman Thomas reaches for helmet

Bill Sikes / AP Photo

We understand why Anderson (102 rush yards, one touchdown) carted off the prize. His team won it all.

But in perhaps the most evenly played Super Bowl to date, Thomas was the best player on the field from here to Poughkeepsie. Without him, the Bills would have been bounced a lot earlier.

15. Chuck Howley and/or Duane Thomas, Super Bowl VI

AP Photo

Team: Dallas Cowboys

Howley game statistics: One interception, one fumble recovery, two tackles

Thomas game statistics: 112 total yards, 95 rush yards on 19 carries, one touchdown

Who beat him out: Roger Staubach

Bottom Line: Chuck Howley and/or Duane Thomas

Dallas Cowboy running back Duane Thomas sits

AP Photo

Staubach (119 pass yards, two touchdowns) had little to do with the outcome, but hey, he was America’s Quarterback, right?

This 24-3 mismatch was all about the big D of Big D as well as its ground game. Howley and Thomas deserved to split the pie.

14. Joe Greene, Super Bowl IX

Pittsburgh Steelers tackle Joe Greene gets ready to block Minnesota Vikings' Andy Maurer

Harry Hall / AP Photo

Team: Pittsburgh Steelers

Game statistics: One tackle, one fumble recovery, one interception

Who beat him out: Franco Harris

Bottom Line: Joe Greene

Harry Cabluck / AP Photo

Harris was not an incorrect answer here. After all, his 158 yards on the ground were a Super Bowl record. Yet it was the Steel Curtain that put an indelible mark on this game — it outscored the Vikings 2-0 in the first half — largely because Greene was double- and triple-teamed for much of it.

Besides, it would be only fitting for the greatest Stiller of them all to be their first Super Bowl MVP, don’t you think?

13. Brett Favre, Super Bowl XXXI

Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre fires downfield

Mark Duncan / AP Photo

Team: Green Bay Packers

Game statistics: 246 pass yards, three total touchdowns, zero turnovers

Who beat him out: Desmond Howard

Bottom Line: Brett Favre

Doug Mills / AP Photo

Hey, look, a marquee QB who got robbed! True, Howard (244 return yards, one touchdown) was lights out on kicks, but his TD came with a 7-point lead late in the game.

The real story was that Favre (246 pass yards, three total touchdowns, zero turnovers) outplayed counterpart Drew Bledsoe from start to finish.

12. Clarence Davis, Super Bowl XI

Lennox McLendon / AP Photo

Team: Oakland Raiders

Game statistics: 137 rush yards on 16 carries

Who beat him out: Fred Biletnikoff

Bottom Line: Clarence Davis

Nflmaverick / Twitter

Biletnikoff (four receptions, 79 yards) wasn’t even the most productive receiver on his own team. That would be Dave Casper (four receptions, 70 yards, one touchdown).

Meanwhile, Davis bench-pressed the Vikings for 137 yards on the ground, third most in Super Bowl history at the time. Dude got jobbed, pure and simple.

11. Buck Buchanan, Super Bowl IV

ChiefsFocus / Twitter

Team: Kansas City Chiefs

Game statistics: Five tackles, one sack

Who beat them out: Len Dawson

Bottom Line: Buck Buchanan

RachelSantschi / Twitter

Dawson (142 pass yards, one touchdown) and the offense failed to produce a play longer than 20 yards until late in the game. Meanwhile, Buchanan and his co-conspirators limited the Vikings to 24 yards on the ground in the first half.

He also had a key sack late in the second period when the losers threatened to make a game of it.

10. Willie Davis, Super Bowl II

Green Bay Packers defensive end Willie Davis in action

AP Photo

Team: Green Bay Packers

Game statistics: Three sacks, four tackles

Who beat him out: Bart Starr

Bottom Line: Willie Davis

AP Photo

Starr (202 pass yards, one touchdown) was solid in the second of two consecutive Super Bowl MVP performances.

Davis had more impact as the catalyst of a defense that forced three turnovers and limited the most potent AFL offense to one touchdown that meant anything.

9. Dan Ross, Super Bowl XVI

Cincinnati Bengals tight end Dan Ross drives for yardage

AP Photo

Team: Cincinnati Bengals

Game statistics: 11 pass receptions for 104 yards, two touchdowns

Who beat him out: Joe Montana

Bottom Line: Dan Ross

KevG163 / Twitter

Montana (157 pass yards, one touchdown) left the Pontiac Silverdome with a lovely parting gift. Somehow overlooked was that Ross had set the Super Bowl record (since broken) for pass receptions in a game. They remain the most ever at the tight end position.

Oh, and the guy also scored a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter when the Bengals got back in the game.

8. Ben Roethlisberger, Super XLIII

Chris O’Meara / AP Photo

Team: Pittsburgh Steelers

Game statistics: 256 pass yards, one touchdown, one interception

Who beat him out: Santonio Holmes

Bottom Line: Ben Roethlisberger

Ed Zurga / AP Photo

Six seconds before his double toe-tap in the end zone, Holmes (nine pass receptions, 131 yards, one touchdown) dropped a sure TD pass. Undaunted, Roethlisberger promptly threaded the game-winner to culminate an 88-yard march.

John Elway does this, and he gets The Drive named for him, but Roethlisberger didn’t get the same praise.

7. Rodney Harrison, Super Bowl XXXIX

New England Patriots Rodney Harrison celebrates interception

Ann Heisenfelt / AP Photo

Team: New England Patriots

Game statistics: 12 tackles, two interceptions, one sack

Who beat him out: Tom Brady (who else?)

Bottom Line: Rodney Harrison

New England Patriots safety Rodney Harrison intercepts pass

Gene J. Puskar / AP Photo

While Brady (236 pass yards, two touchdowns, one fumble lost) turned in a workmanlike performance, Harrison played absolutely out of his mind.

How could the voters miss this?

6. Ty Law, Super Bowl XXXVI

New England Patriots cornerback Ty Law celebrates his interception

Tony Gutierrez / AP Photo

Team: New England Patriots

Game statistics: Seven tackles, one interception, one pass defensed, one touchdown

Who beat him out: You know who

Bottom Line: Ty Law

New England Patriots cornerback Ty Law running

Tony Gutierrez / AP Photo

Basically, Tom Brady was gifted the award on the basis of one game-winning drive. Before then, he had passed for all of 92 yards and one touchdown.

Meanwhile, Law was the best player on the field. Not only did his pick-six settle down a young team in the second quarter, but the big play gave it a lead that held up the rest of the way.

5. Matt Snell, Super Bowl III

AP Photo

Team: New York Jets

Game statistics: 161 total yards, 121 rush yards in 31 attempts, one touchdown

Who beat him out: Joe Namath

Bottom Line: Matt Snell

Njbeacbum45 / Twitter

Namath did his talkin’ before the game, but Snell backed it up on the field.

While Broadway Joe (206 pass yards, zero touchdowns) played glorified game manager, Snell and the O-line were the hammers that controlled the clock and the game.

4. Justin Tuck, Super Bowl XLVI

New York Giants defensive end Justin Tuck tackles New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady

Charlie Riedel / AP Photo

Team: New York Giants

Game statistics: three tackles, two sacks, three quarterback hits

Who beat him out: Eli Manning

Bottom Line: Justin Tuck

New York Giants defensive end Justin Tuck celebrates

David Duprey / AP Photo

Manning (296 pass yards, one touchdown) was good but not great. Tuck and the Giants D were great.

You do know that the mighty Patriots didn’t score a stinkin’ point in the final 26 minutes, right?

3. Justin Tuck, Super Bowl XLII

Paul Sancya / AP Photo

Team: New York Giants

Game statistics: Six tackles, two sacks, two quarterback hits.

Who beat him out: Eli Manning

Bottom Line: Justin Tuck

Justin Tuck forces New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to fumble

David Duprey / AP Photo

Manning (255 pass yards, two touchdowns, one interception) threw the decisive touchdown pass in the final minute.

Hey, we’re happy for him. But anyone who actually watched the game knows that the Giants defense was responsible for the upset victory. Specifically, a Tuck-inspired pass rush that never allowed Tom Brady and the 16-0 Patriots to get comfortable.

2. James White, Super Bowl XXXVI

New England Patriots running back James White in action

Daniel Gluskoter / AP Photo

Team: New England Patriots

Game statistics: 139 total yards, 14 pass receptions for a game-high 109 yards, three touchdowns

Who beat him out: LOL

Bottom Line: James White

New England Patriots running back James White celebrates his touchdown

Elise Amendola / AP Photo

Did the voters get their oil changed while the game was in progress? Seriously, how could White not be the MVP of this game? The guy scored the tying and winning touchdowns in the final five minutes. He also set the current Supe record for most pass receptions in a game.

But nooooo, Tom Brady (466 pass yards on 62 attempts, two touchdowns, one interception) got the honor instead.

1. Max McGee, Super Bowl I

Max McGee with The Green Bay Packers football team after clinching the NFL Western Conference title

DVN / AP Photo

Team: Green Bay Packers

Game statistics: Seven pass receptions for 138 yards, two touchdowns

Who beat him out: Bart Starr

Bottom Line: Max McGee

Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt visits the Green Bay Packers' dressing room and congratulates Max McGee

AP Photo

It was a wonder that the 34-year-old McGee could get up for this one. The party animal was hung over from the previous night/morning, which he reportedly spent with two stewardesses after teammate Paul Hornung declined his invitation.

Thrust into action early in the game, the second-stringer responded with the game of his life. How could that go unnoticed?