Greatest fantasy performances of all-time: Super Bowls XLI-XLIII
As we gear up for Super Bowl XLIV it can’t hurt to reminisce about some of the great moments in the history of the biggest sporting event in America.
We only have three Super Bowls to review this time because old XLIV hasn’t quite happened yet. There are still some gret performances to talk about, but as has been the case in each of the last three posts in this series, none of them can crack the Top-10. Will we see a new Top-10 performance Sunday when the Colts and Saints do battle? We just might.
Check back Super Bowl Sunday morning because we’ll have some great content, including discussion on the chances for records to be broken in Super Bowl XLIV, a Super Bowl edition of breakfast links, Super Bowl fantasy rankings and staff thoughts on the Super Bowl.
To read more about this series, check out the post on the first four Super Bowls. To see every Super Bowl fantasy MVP and links to all of the posts in this series, check out our Super Bowl Fantasy MVPs page.
We’re using standard scoring with PPR: 1 pt/20 passing, 1 pt/10 rushing/receiving, 4pts/passing TD, -1 INT, 6 pts/(rushing/receiving TD).
Today’s edition of the series reviews Super Bowls XLI through XLIII:
Super Bowl XXLI: Colts 29, Bears 17
MVP: Peyton Manning
Fantasy MVP: Colts running back Joseph Addai, 24 points.
- Joseph Addai had 10 catches, tied for fifth all-time in the Super Bowl, for 66 yards. he also rushed 19 times for 77 yards. His teammate Dominic Rhodes added 19 fantasy points. Bears running back Thomas Jones rushed for 112 yards on just 15 carries and caught four passes to lead the Bears with 17 fantasy points.
Super Bowl XXXLII: Giants 17, Patriots 14
MVP: Eli Manning
Fantasy MVP: Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker, 21 points.
- With a Super-Bowl record 11 catches, Welker nudged passed Manning to take top fantasy honors. Welker finished with 103 yards. Manning threw two TDs, one interception and for 255 yards in the upset win. Tom Brady scored 19 fantasy points in the loss.
Super Bowl XXXLIII: Steelers 27, Cardinals 23
MVP: Santonio Holmes
Fantasy MVP: Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, 31 points.
- Kurt Warner was just two points shy of his third Super Bowl fantasy MVP trophy, throwing for the second-most yards in any Super Bowl (377). His three TD passes are also tied for the sixth-best. Warner hit Fitzgerald seven times for 127 yards and two TDs. Santonio Holmes, the reality MVP caught nine balls for 131 yards and a TD to finish third with 28 fantasy points.
Rankings after Super Bowls I-XXXLIII:
49ers WR Jerry Rice, SBXXIX……………….43
49ers QB Steve Young, SBXXIX……………..41
49ers QB Joe Montana, SBXIX………………40
Redskins WR Ricky Sanders, SBXXII………40
49ers WR Jerry Rice, SBXXII………………..39
49ers WR Jerry Rice, SBXXIV……………….39
49ers RB Roger Craig, SBXIX………………..38
49ers QB Joe Montana, SB XXIV……………36
Bengals TE Dan Ross, SBXVI…………………34
Raiders RB Marcus Allen, SBXVIII…………34
Redskins RB Timmy Smith, SBXXII………..34
Broncos RB Terrell Davis, SBXXXII…………34
Knocked out this round: None. Not even Warner’s, Fitzgerald’s and Holmes’ performances last year were enough to make it into the top 10.
Note: The rankings are 12 players long due to a tie for 10th place.
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I thoroughly enjoyed that journey through Super Bowl’s past. The 49ers certainly dominant the offensive leader board. Just goes to show how much of an offensive genius Bill Walsh really was.
@Sockonfl: Thanks. The project was one of the most enjoyable I’ve undertaken. It was surprising that none of Kurt Warner’s performances (he has the three best passing yards performances in Super Bowl history) could crack the Top-10.