If it’s anything like the previous three Super Bowls played in Arizona, Super Bowl LVII will be on the shortlist of greatest Super Bowls ever played.
Although it promises to be a classic, Sunday’s Eagles-Chiefs matchup has its work cut out if it is to beat the previous three Super Bowls contested in the desert. Each of Arizona’s previous Super Bowls were highly competitive games that went to the wire. Arizona’s first Super Bowl was the final chapter in one of the NFL’s great dynasties. The second was the second biggest upset in NFL history. The most recent big game played in Arizona had the most shocking end of any Super Bowl before or since.
Here’s a look at the competition this year’s Super Bowl faces regarding the biggest Super Bowls played in Arizona. We’ve ranked each of the previous three Super Bowls, starting at No. 3 with the first big game played at “The Grand Canyon State.”
3. Super Bowl XXX
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Arizona’s first Super Bowl was the only Super Bowl played at Sun Devils Stadium, Arizona State’s home stadium and longtime site of the Fiesta Bowl.
The heavily favored Cowboys took a 13-0 lead before needing two second-half interceptions by MVP Larry Brown to hold off the Steelers. Brown’s interceptions set up the Cowboys’ two second-half touchdowns as Dallas became the first team to win three Super Bowls.
Pittsburgh lost, but left the game with something to be proud of. Dubbed Blitzburgh, the Steelers defense held Emmitt Smith to just 49 yards rushing as the Cowboys gained just 64 yards in the second half. Pittsburgh’s defense did its part, but Brown’s two picks proved too much to overcome.
“If we don’t return the ball, I think we win this game with at least two possessions,” Steelers linebacker Levon Kirkland said at the time. recently told CBS Sports. “They took us a bit lightly, until we were in the game, and then it was like, ‘Whoa, these guys can play with us.'”
2. Super Bowl XLIX
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This Super Bowl is up there as one of the best ever. Trailing 24-14 to the defending Super Bowl champions, Tom Brady fired the Patriots with two fourth-quarter touchdown passes that included the go-ahead score to Julian Edelman with 2:02 left.
Unfazed, the Seahawks put themselves in position to win their second ring after Russell Wilson completed a bizarre 33-yard completion to Jermaine Kearse who brought Seattle to the New England 5-yard line. Two plays later, instead of giving the ball to Marshawn Lynch at one yard, the Seahawks decided to throw for the game-winning score instead.
The move fell into infamy after Malcolm Butler skipped the road while recording one of the biggest plays in Super Bowl history. Butler’s great play also preserved the Patriots’ first Super Bowl win in a decade.
1. Super Bowl XLII
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It was the biggest upset since Joe Namath led the Jets to victory over the Colts in Super Bowl III. It took a ferocious passing rush and a miraculous achievement to take down a Patriots team that was trying to become the first 18-0 team in professional football.
by David Tyree jaw-dropping headphone jack set up Eli Manning’s game-winning touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress with 39 seconds left.
New York held firm despite Brady’s last ditch effort to salvage New England’s perfect season.
Led by Justin Tuck, the Giants defense sacked Brady five times and hit him four more times. In the loss, the Patriots received a stellar game from Wes Welker, who caught 11 of 14 targets for 103 yards. Randy Moss, who scored an NFL season-high 23 touchdowns on the season, gave the Patriots a late lead before Manning and Co. made history.
