Worst Super Bowl MVP Snubs, Ranked
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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
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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
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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
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Team: Denver Broncos
Game statistics: Five pass receptions for 152 yards, one touchdown
Who beat him out: John Elway
Bottom Line: Rod Smith
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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
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Team: Pittsburgh Steelers
Game statistics: Three pass receptions for 121 yards, one touchdown
Who beat him out: Terry Bradshaw
Bottom Line: John Stallworth
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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
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Team: New England Patriots
Game statistics: Six pass receptions for 89 yards
Who beat him out: Julian Edelman
Bottom Line: Rob Gronkowski
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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
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Team: Miami Dolphins
Game statistics: Six tackles, one sack
Who beat him out: Jake Scott
Bottom Line: Manny Fernandez
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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
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Team: Baltimore Colts
Game statistics: Four tackles, one interception
Who beat him out: Chuck Howley
Bottom Line: Mike Curtis
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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
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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
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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
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Team: Baltimore Ravens
Game statistics: Five tackles, two passes defensed, one interception, one touchdown
Who beat him out: Ray Lewis
Bottom Line: Duane Starks
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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
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Team: St. Louis Rams
Game statistics: Six pass receptions for 162 yards, one touchdown
Who beat him out: Kurt Warner
Bottom Line: Isaac Bruce
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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
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Team: Pittsburgh Steelers
Game statistics: Three interceptions for 44 yards, five tackles
Who beat him out: Jim Plunkett
Bottom Line: Rod Martin
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Team: Baltimore Ravens
Game statistics: 215 pass yards, two touchdowns, one interception
Who beat him out: Dexter Jackson
Bottom Line: Brad Johnson
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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
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Team: Indianapolis Colts
Game statistics: 113 rush yards on 21 carries, one touchdown
Who best him out: Peyton Manning
Bottom Line: Dominic Rhodes
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Team: Pittsburgh Steelers
Game statistics: One tackle, one fumble recovery, one interception
Who beat him out: Franco Harris
Bottom Line: Joe Greene
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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
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Team: Green Bay Packers
Game statistics: 246 pass yards, three total touchdowns, zero turnovers
Who beat him out: Desmond Howard
Bottom Line: Brett Favre
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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
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Team: Oakland Raiders
Game statistics: 137 rush yards on 16 carries
Who beat him out: Fred Biletnikoff
Bottom Line: Clarence Davis
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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
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Team: Kansas City Chiefs
Game statistics: Five tackles, one sack
Who beat them out: Len Dawson
Bottom Line: Buck Buchanan
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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
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Team: Green Bay Packers
Game statistics: Three sacks, four tackles
Who beat him out: Bart Starr
Bottom Line: Willie Davis
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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
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Team: Cincinnati Bengals
Game statistics: 11 pass receptions for 104 yards, two touchdowns
Who beat him out: Joe Montana
Bottom Line: Dan Ross
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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
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Team: Pittsburgh Steelers
Game statistics: 256 pass yards, one touchdown, one interception
Who beat him out: Santonio Holmes
Bottom Line: Ben Roethlisberger
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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
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Team: New England Patriots
Game statistics: 12 tackles, two interceptions, one sack
Who beat him out: Tom Brady (who else?)
Bottom Line: Rodney Harrison
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Team: New York Giants
Game statistics: three tackles, two sacks, three quarterback hits
Who beat him out: Eli Manning
Bottom Line: Justin Tuck
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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
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Team: New York Giants
Game statistics: Six tackles, two sacks, two quarterback hits.
Who beat him out: Eli Manning
Bottom Line: Justin Tuck
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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
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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
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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
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Team: Green Bay Packers
Game statistics: Seven pass receptions for 138 yards, two touchdowns
Who beat him out: Bart Starr
Bottom Line: Max McGee
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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?