15 Super Bowls ranked since NFL first came to London |
 |
| The NFL has been capturing the imaginations of UK audiences since the 1980s, but that interest has really spiked in the last 15 years. That is because the NFL is not just a sport played on the TV anymore: thanks to the London games, it is one that UK audiences get to enjoy in the flesh.
The first London game was played on October 28, 2007, and saw the New York Giants beat the Miami Dolphins 13-10. As the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs prepare to face off on Sunday, February 12 for a shot at glory, we've taken a shot at ranking the 15 Super Bowls since the NFL came to London...
|
| |
| |
15) New England Patriots 13-3 LA Rams (2019) |
 |
Oh. My. Gosh. This was a stinker in every way possible. We were a penalty away from the Rams and Chiefs facing off against each other this year, and it was the year they had already played out a 54-51 classic - instead, we got this. Both defences crushed it, which never equates to the best game, as the Rams could only manage a single field goal in what was a poor, poor Super Bowl. |
| |
14) Denver Broncos 24-10 Carolina Panthers (2016) |
 |
Peyton Manning saw his career end on a highlight, but it was probably the only highlight worth watching here. The Broncos defence did what no defence was able to do that year and stopped Cam Newton in his tracks, as they eased home to what was one of the more comfortable victories you can get in the big game |
| |
13) Seattle Seahawks 43-8 Denver Broncos (2014) |
 |
The Seahawks and their legion of boom defence dominated this game, but games that are dominated don't tend to make great watching. The Broncos were simply outmatched and unable to make this Super Bowl one to remember as Russell Wilson won his first, and last, Super Bowl ring in a dominating win for the Hawks. Go Hawks. |
| |
12) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-9 Kansas City Chiefs (2021) |
 |
Patrick Mahomes had no protection in this game as the battle of the super quarterbacks between him and Tom Brady was surprisingly won by the Tampa defence. The Chiefs were reigning Super Bowl champions going into this one, but it soon became clear it was not a crown they were going to keep as Brady won his seventh ring in his first season with his new team.
|
| |
11) Kansas City Chiefs 31-20 San Francisco 49ers (2020) |
 |
Just weeks before Covid-19 brought a halt to the world as we all knew it, the 49ers were rocked by the Chiefs in Florida. In what was the last NFL game to be played in front of a full house for more than a year, Patrick Mahomes led a fourth-quarter comeback thanks to 21 unanswered points. It could have all been so different if Jimmy Garoppolo had connected with Emmanuel Sanders on a deep ball though - another what-if in Super Bowl history…
|
| |
| |
| |
10) New York Giants 21-17 New England Patriots (2012) |
 |
History repeated itself as Eli Manning and the Giants once again stopped the Patriots in their tracks to win the Super Bowl. The Giants made history by winning this one as they became the team with the lowest regular-season winning record (9-7) to win the Super Bowl, and they did so thanks to a fourth-quarter shut-out of the Patriots.
|
| |
9) New Orleans Saints 31 -17 Indianapolis Colts (2010) |
 |
The Saints won their first ever Super Bowl, and they showed some balls to do so. Trailling 10-6 at half-time and with Peyton Manning and the Colts getting the ball after the break, the Saints came out and tried an on-side kick in the third quarter – and recovered it. They scored off the very next drive and the rest, as they say, is history, as Sean Payton and Drew Brees got that Super Bowl ring their time in New Orleans deserved. |
| |
8) Green Bay Packers 31 -25 Pittsburgh Steelers (2011) |
 |
Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdown passes in this win for the Packers over the Steelers. The Packers had raced off to a 14-0 lead but were pegged back heading into the fourth quarter, a quarter the Packers ended with a field goal, a turnover on downs and a kneel down. The Steelers didn't hold the lead once in this game that was dominated by Rodgers and Green Bay.
|
| |
7) LA Rams 23-20 Bengals (2022) |
 |
The Rams went all in for a Super Bowl and they managed to cash that cheque last year - but they left it late to do so. Cooper Kupp came so close to becoming the first wide receiver to break the 2,000-yard mark in the regular season and he came up clutch during the last minutes of the fourth quarter in this one, grabbing a late TD to give the Rams the lead - a lead Aaron Donald helped to keep safe with some last drive heroics on defence
|
| |
6) Baltimore Ravens 34-31 San Francisco 49ers (2013) |
 |
The Super Bowl, or the Harbaugh Bowl as it was coined, saw the brothers, Jim and John Harbaugh, face-off against each other. The game was a see-saw affair but the Ravens held strong at the end to take the win in a match that had a 34-minute delay thrown in due to a powercut nearby.
|
| |
| |
| |
5) New York Giants 17-14 New England Patriots (2008) |
 |
As a standalone game this probably should be ranked lower than we have it, but the perfect, and we mean perfect Patriots, saw their Super Bowl dreams crushed by the wildcard Giants. The game that brought us the David Tyree helmet catch, Eli Manning won the first of his two Super Bowl rings and he stopped a Patriots team that had gone 18-0 throughout the season to get to that point. |
| |
4) Pittsburgh Steelers 27-24 Arizona Cardinals (2009) |
 |
The James Harrison defensive touchdown, in which he ran 90 plus yards, has been shown so many times and it was a historical play that summed up a fantastic Super Bowl. The Steelers stole the win with just 37 seconds to go after Ben Roethlisberger connected with Santonio Holmes in what was a dramatic ending.
|
| |
3) Philadelphia Eagles 41-33 New England Patriots (2018) |
 |
A Super Bowl that is well worth a watch if you have access to NFL Game Pass. This one had everything and the Eagles came out on top, thanks largely to one of the gutsiest plays in Super Bowl history when they called a 'Philly Special' on fourth down at the end of the first half, a play that saw Trey Burton throw a touchdown to quarterback Nick Foles.
|
| |
2) New England Patriots 28-24 Seattle Seahawks (2015) |
 |
If the Seahawks had run the ball at the goal-line would this game be this high up? Who knows... but they didn't, and the rest is history. The Patriots won their first Super Bowl since 2004 and did so with the most dramatic of goal-line stands and a fantastic interception from Malcom Butler: a thrilling ending to a game that stopped the Seahawks dynasty before it had even really started. |
| |
1) New England Patriots 34-28 Atlanta Falcons (2017) |
 |
Tom Brady was already a Hall of Fame quarterback at this stage of his career, but he locked in his argument for the GOAT status with this comeback. Trailing 28-3 with the third quarter ticking away the Patriots looked done, but Brady led them on a comeback for the ages, eventually sealing the win in overtime. |
| |
| |
| |
