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Super Bowl 59 ended with the Philadelphia Eagles winning by a score of 40-22 over the Kansas City Chiefs. The dominant victory resulted in Philadelphia getting redemption from their championship loss two years prior, and it prevented Kansas City from becoming the first Super Bowl three-peater.
But while the 40 points the Eagles put up are impressive, as are the 22 points they limited the Chiefs' high-powered offense to, the final score doesn't even tell the whole story.
This was undoubtedly one of the most dominant Super Bowl performances ever, as most of the Chiefs' points didn't come until garbage time. So, where does the Eagles' performance over the Chiefs rank among the most dominant Super Bowls ever? We will answer that below.
While final score/point differential is a big factor in these rankings, it isn't the only thing that we took into account.
1. Super Bowl XXIV – San Francisco 49ers 55, Denver Broncos 10
Get used to seeing the Denver Broncos on this list. Unfortunately, they have an affinity for not showing up to play in the Super Bowl. John Elway is one of the best NFL players ever, and he eventually rode into the sunset of retirement after back-to-back championship wins. But he and his team struggled mightily in the big game in the '80s (when the quarterback didn't have a lot of help around him and willed his team to the championship game).
One such example was Super Bowl XXIV against the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers were quarterbacked by Joe Montana, who, like Elway is one of the greatest players in league history. Unlike Elway, Montana particularly thrived in the Super Bowl in the '80s, as he went 4-0 in the game. The 45-point differential in Super Bowl XXIV is the highest ever by nine whole points.
The year prior, it took a fourth-quarter Super Bowl comeback for the 49ers to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. That wasn't the case this season, as the 49ers dominated from the get-go.
Montana threw a then-Super Bowl record five touchdown passes. Three of those went to Jerry Rice. The quarterback/receiver duo both rank in the top three of our best players in Super Bowl history list largely because of this game.
All in all, San Francisco scored a record eight touchdowns en route to the most points ever in a championship game. The 49ers had 28 first downs to the Broncos 12, and the net yardage discrepancy was 461-167. The 49ers doubled the Broncos in time of possession, and they even forced Denver to turn the ball over four times.
2. Super Bowl XLVIII – Seattle Seahawks 43, Denver Broncos 8
The '70s and '80s weren't the only time the Broncos struggled in the Super Bowl. They were blown out in 2014 during Super Bowl XLVIII as well. This was a dominant game by the Seattle Seahawks, and fans basically knew it was over after the first play from scrimmage.
That play saw center Manny Ramirez snap the ball past Peyton Manning while the quarterback was making pre-snap adjustments. The ball rolled into their end zone and the Broncos were forced to take a safety. The two points added to the Seahawks' total occurred quicker (12 seconds) than any other Super Bowl score.
The Broncos had arguably the best offense ever coming into the game. The 55 touchdown passes Manning threw in the regular season are the most in league history. They only mustered up eight total points, though, as the Legion of Boom proved to be the more dominant force.
Seattle would go up 22-o by halftime, and their lead eventually stretched to 36-0 before Denver finally scored. That set the Super Bowl record for the largest shutout lead by 12 or more points in comparison to the last record holder. On top of the impressive defensive performance, Russell Wilson and the offense got things done as well.
This game was one-sided from start to finish. Some fans were optimistic that the Broncos could make some halftime adjustments, but they even gave up a second-half opening kickoff touchdown to Percy Harvin.
3. Super Bowl XX – Chicago Bears 46, New England Patriots 10
The 1985 Chicago Bears and their 46 defense are well regarded as one of the best defensive units in NFL history. That was on display at Super Bowl XX, as they only allowed 10 points to the New England Patriots. The Patriots actually scored the first field goal in this game, but they proceeded to give up 44 unanswered points.
This was an expected blowout. Not only was Chicago's defense elite, but New England was only a Cinderella story that wasn't really expected to compete with the Bears. The Patriots had -19 yards in the entire first half. Their 123 scrimmage yards are the second-fewest in Super Bowl history, too. Only seven of those yards came on the ground, so the Bears lived up to their defensive reputation.
4. Super Bowl XXII – Washington Redskins 42, Denver Broncos 10
Another dominant Super Bowl performance, another game with the Broncos on the losing end of a blowout. Super Bowl XXII was a 42-10 victory for the Washington Redskins. The Broncos actually got up to a 10-0 lead after the first quarter, but it was all Redskins' brilliance after that.
The second quarter, in particular, was dominant. The Redskins put up a Super Bowl record 35 points in just that frame. Doug Williams had four touchdowns during that time, and Timmy Smith ended up running for 204 total yards by game's end. Williams was a backup for most of the season, as he only had an 0-2 regular season record this year. He and his offense got hot at the right time, though.
5. Super Bowl LIX – Philadelphia Eagles 40, Kansas City Chiefs 22
The most recent Super Bowl ended up being only the 16th largest Super Bowl margin of victory ever. Make no mistake about it, though; this was a dominant performance by Philadelphia. The Eagles were up 24-0 by halftime, but no one was confident writing the Chiefs off.
Kansas City just couldn't get anything going, though, and Philadelphia eventually went up 40-6. Patrick Mahomes did not look like his normal self, largely because the Eagles' defense was suffocating. The secondary locked things up down the field, and the front seven relentlessly pressured the quarterback.
The game was over long before the fourth quarter ended, and the score would have looked a lot worse had it not been for two garbage time scores by the Chiefs.
6. Super Bowl XXVII – Dallas Cowboys 52, Buffalo Bills 17
The Buffalo Bills went to four straight Super Bowls in the early '90s. They lost all four of them. By Super Bowl XXVII, the team and their fanbase seemed cursed and felt like they were ensured to lose in the big game yet again. Their championship struggles continued with a 52-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
The Cowboys played well throughout the game, but they picked things up a notch in the final quarter of play with 21 unanswered points. Had it not been for Leon Lett's infamous fumble, this game would have been even more out of hand.
7. Super Bowl XVIII – Los Angeles Raiders 38, Washington Redskins 9
The Washington Redskins had a chance to make things interesting in Super Bowl XVIII, but John Riggins was stopped on a fourth-and-one play before Marcus Allen scored on an iconic 74-yard run. The touchdown gave the Los Angeles Raiders a 35-9 lead in which they would eventually increase even further.
In the end, this was a blowout and a dominant performance by the Raiders. Allen was particularly impressive, as he ran for 191 yards in total en route to being named the MVP.
8. Super Bowl XXI – New York Giants 39, Denver Broncos 10
Yet another Broncos appearance on this list, Denver was dominated 39-10 against the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXI. As would be the case in Super Bowl XXII one year later, Denver entered the second quarter with 10 points and a lead. Then, they were outscored 32-10, and that score includes a meaningless Vance Johnson score late in the fourth quarter while the game was already out of reach.
Phil Simms completed 88% of his passes. The Broncos' defense has struggled in the Super Bowl on multiple occasions, but their ineptitude against the passing attack in this game really stood out.
9. Super Bowl LV – Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31, Kansas Chiefs 9
Patrick Mahomes certainly has some Tom Brady in him, but he might have a little John Elway in him as well. Mahomes has been compared to the greatest NFL player ever, but he has two standout bad Super Bowl performances. Prior to his recent Super Bowl 59 loss, Mahomes suffered a loss in Super Bowl LV to none other than Brady while he was a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Mahomes put in a heroic effort, but he couldn't stay upright behind a struggling offensive line. The Buccaneers' defense got to Mahomes with ease, and of course, Brady did his thing when he had the ball. The Brady to Rob Gronkowski pairing was particularly impressive, as two of Brady's three touchdown passes went to the tight end.
10. Super Bowl XXIX – San Francisco 49ers 49, San Diego Chargers 26
Joe Montana won four Super Bowls with the 49ers, but San Francisco's dynasty continued when Steve Young took over behind center. Super Bowl XXIX was the game that truly broke him out of the shadow of his predecessor. Young threw four a record six touchdown passes, and Jerry Rice had yet another three-score championship performance.
This game was expected to be a blowout (the 49ers were 17.5-point favorites), and that proved to be true. The 75 combined points are the most ever in a Super Bowl, and both teams actually scored in all four quarters, so this game isn't one of the most one-sided affairs ever. The 49ers certainly outplayed the Chargers by a decent margin, though. so they deserve recognition here.
