Quarterbacks and Super Bowl MVPs by Position

And He’s Gone…Desmond Howard Returns It 99 Yards For The TD And Takes Home Super Bowl XXXI MVP

It’s Super Bowl Sunday! Thanks for following Sports List of the Day throughout all the NFL playoffs!

Today, let’s look at the Super Bowl MVP.

Tom Brady has won his third today with a 328-yard, four touchdown performance (multiple winners here) – it’s the 27th time the award has gone to the quarterback, most of any position by far.

Twenty different QBs have won. If there’s no conspicuous standout by the end of the game, often the award goes to the quarterback, so that helps up the numbers.

Hard to believe, but only seven running backs have won the SB MVP – none in 18 years. Wow. Who would think that? So much for the critical running game in winning a title, at least in today’s game.

Nine defensive players have won it, divided amongst four positions, and Desmond Howard‘s big Super Bowl XXXI, capped off by a 99-yard kick return touchdown to put away the New England Patriots, puts one in the KR column.

Check out all the MVPs’ statistical highlights at my source, espn.com.

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	POS.	# SUPER BOWL MVPS	SUPER BOWL MVP	TEAM	SUPER BOWL	SEASON
1.	QB	27	Tom Brady	New England Patriots	XLIX	2014
			Joe Flacco	Baltimore Ravens	XLVII	2012
			Eli Manning	New York Giants	XLVI	2011
			Aaron Rodgers	Green Bay Packers	XLV	2010
			Drew Brees	New Orleans Saints	XLIV	2009
			Eli Manning	New York Giants	XLII	2007
			Peyton Manning	Indianapolis Colts	XLI	2006
			Tom Brady	New England Patriots	XXXVIII	2003
			Tom Brady	New England Patriots	XXXVI	2001
			Kurt Warner	St. Louis Rams	XXXIV	1999
			John Elway	Denver Broncos	XXXIII	1998
			Steve Young	San Francisco 49ers	XXIX	1994
			Troy Aikman	Dallas Cowboys	XXVII	1992
			Mark Rypien	Washington Redskins	XXVI	1991
			Joe Montana	San Francisco 49ers	XXIV	1989
			Doug Williams	Washington Redskins	XXII	1987
			Phil Simms	New York Giants	XXI	1986
			Joe Montana	San Francisco 49ers	XIX	1984
			Joe Montana	San Francisco 49ers	XVI	1981
			Jim Plunkett	Oakland Raiders	XV	1980
			Terry Bradshaw	Pittsburgh Steelers	XIV	1979
			Terry Bradshaw	Pittsburgh Steelers	XIII	1978
			Roger Staubach	Dallas Cowboys	VI	1971
			Len Dawson	Kansas City Chiefs	IV	1969
			Joe Namath	New York Jets	III	1968
			Bart Starr	Green Bay Packers	II	1967
			Bart Starr	Green Bay Packers	I	1966
2.	RB	7	Terrell Davis	Denver Broncos	XXXII	1997
			Emmitt Smith	Dallas Cowboys	XXVIII	1993
			Ottis Anderson	New York Giants	XXV	1990
			Marcus Allen	Los Angeles Raiders	XVIII	1983
			John Riggins	Washington Redskins	XVII	1982
			Franco Harris	Pittsburgh Steelers	IX	1974
			Larry Csonka	Miami Dolphins	VIII	1973
3.	WR	6	Santonio Holmes	Pittsburgh Steelers	XLIII	2008
			Hines Ward	Pittsburgh Steelers	XL	2005
			Deion Branch	New England Patriots	XXXIX	2004
			Jerry Rice	San Francisco 49ers	XXIII	1988
			Fred Biletnikoff	Oakland Raiders	XI	1976
			Lynn Swann	Pittsburgh Steelers	X	1975
4.	DB	3	Dexter Jackson	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	XXXVII	2002
			Larry Brown	Dallas Cowboys	XXX	1995
			Jake Scott	Miami Dolphins	VII	1972
4.	LB	3	Malcolm Smith	Seattle Seahawks	XLVIII	2013
			Ray Lewis	Baltimore Ravens	XXXV	2000
			Chuck Howley	Baltimore Colts	V	1970
6.	DE	2	Richard Dent	Chicago Bears	XX	1985
			Harvey Martin (T)	Dallas Cowboys	XII	1977
7.	DT	1	Randy White (T)	Dallas Cowboys	XII	1977
7.	KR/PR	1	Desmond Howard	Green Bay Packers	XXXI	1996

Photo: Andy Kuno via upi.com

NFL: Quarterbacks with the Fewest Passes in a Super Bowl

Bob Griese Threw Only Seven Passes In Super Bowl VIII – And Won!

Want to win the Super Bowl? Don’t throw too many passes.

Yesterday, after checking out quarterbacks with the most pass attempts in a Super Bowl game, we saw it just doesn’t pay to air it out. Only three QBs with 40 or more passes in the Big Game went on to capture the Vince Lombardi Trophy (out of 20).

It’s exactly the opposite for quarterbacks with the fewest pass attempts in the Super Bowl. Seventeen of the 20 QBs who threw it less than 25 times won.

Miami Dolphins back-to-back winner Bob Griese holds the top two spots – and he’s the only starting/main quarterback to throw the rock under 10 times.

Terry Bradshaw is tied for third fewest – and appears below for three of the four 1970’s Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl wins.

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UPDATED LIST: Through Super Bowl XLIX. Russell Wilson only threw 21 times in Super Bowl XLIX in the Seattle Seahawks’ loss to the New England Patriots, becoming only the fourth loser in the bunch below (now out of 21). But it doesn’t debunk the theory. There was, in fact, one pass too many in that game for Wilson – a mistake that led to the loss. Otherwise, the Seahawks were on their way.

	QUARTERBACK	PASS ATTEMPTS	SUPER BOWL (SEASON)	TEAM	OPPONENT	W-L	SCORE
1.	Bob Griese	7	VIII (1973)	Miami Dolphins	Minnesota Vikings	W	24-7
2.	Bob Griese	11	VII (1972)	Miami Dolphins	Washington Redskins	W	14-7
3.	Terry Bradshaw	14	IX (1974)	Pittsburgh Steelers	Minnesota Vikings	W	16-6
3.	David Woodley	14	XVII (1982)	Miami Dolphins	Washington Redskins	L	27-17
4.	Len Dawson	17	IV (1969)	Kansas City Chiefs	Minnesota Vikings	W	23-7
6.	Terry Bradshaw	19	X (1975)	Pittsburgh Steelers	Dallas Cowboys	W	21-17
6.	Ken Stabler	19	XI (1976)	Oakland Raiders	Minnesota Vikings	W	32-14
6.	Roger Staubach	19	VI (1971)	Dallas Cowboys	Miami Dolphins	W	24-3
9.	Jim McMahon	20	XX (1985)	Chicago Bears	New England Patriots	W	46-10
10.	Terry Bradshaw	21	XIV (1979)	Pittsburgh Steelers	Los Angeles Rams	W	31-19
10.	Jim Plunkett	21	XV (1980)	Oakland Raiders	Philadelphia Eagles	W	27-10
10.	Ben Roethlisberger	21	XL (2005)	Pittsburgh Steelers	Seattle Seahawks	W	21-10
10.	Russell Wilson	21	XLIX (2014)	Seattle Seahawks	New England Patriots	L	28-24
14.	John Elway	22	XXXII (1997)	Denver Broncos	Green Bay Packers	W	31-24
14.	Joe Montana	22	XVI (1981)	San Francisco 49ers	Cincinnati Bengals	W	26-21
16.	Troy Aikman	23	XXX (1995)	Dallas Cowboys	Pittsburgh Steelers	W	27-17
16.	Bob Griese	23	VI (1971)	Miami Dolphins	Dallas Cowboys	L	24-3
16.	Bart Starr	23	I (1966)	Green Bay Packers	Kansas City Chiefs	W	35-10
16.	Joe Theismann	23	XVII (1982)	Washington Redskins	Miami Dolphins	W	27-17
20.	Bart Starr	24	II (1967)	Green Bay Packers	Oakland Raiders	W	33-14
20.	Roger Staubach	24	X (1975)	Dallas Cowboys	Pittsburgh Steelers	L	21-17

Photo: datuopinion.com

NFL: Quarterbacks with the Most Passes in a Super Bowl

Jim Kelly Holds The Record For Most Pass Attempts In A Super Bowl (XXVI)

Throwing a lot of passes in the Super Bowl? Well, you’re probably on the way to a loss.

More definitely equals less when it comes to pass attempts in the Big One. Out of the 20 quarterbacks who threw the ball 40 times or more in a Super Bowl, only three won it.

Someone should have told Marv Levy.

Jim Kelly threw a chicken-winged 58 times against the winning Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XXVI in a desperate attempt to avert back-to-back Super Bowl losses for his Buffalo Bills.

Two  years later Kelly threw another 50 times, in a desperate attempt to avert a fourth consecutive title defeat.

Donovan McNabb and Dan Marino are the only other two QBs to record 50 attempts in the final game of the season. Both losers.

Now a big part of this high pass-loss connection is the (failed) catchup attempt late in the game – but there’s more to it. How well do you think quarterbacks with the fewest pass attempts did in the Super Bowl W-L column? See the answer in tomorrow’s post.

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UPDATED LIST: Through Super Bowl XLIX. Tom Brady threw it 50 times in Super Bowl XLIX, tied for third most all time with Jim Kelly and Dan Marino, and bucking the trend slightly, came up with the win.  It’s also the most Brady has thrown in any of his six Super Bowls and the most by a winning QB. There are now four winners out of 21 on the list. But we all know why – Russell Wilson’s fateful intercepted pass on the one-yard line.

	QUARTERBACK	PASS ATTEMPTS	SUPER BOWL (SEASON)	TEAM	OPPONENT	W-L	SCORE
1.	Jim Kelly	58	XXVI (1991)	Buffalo Bills	Washington Redskins	L	37-24
2.	Donovan McNabb	51	XXXIX (2004)	Philadelphia Eagles	New England Patriots	L	24-21
3.	Tom Brady	50	XLIX (2014)	New England Patriots	Seattle Seahawks	W	28-24
3.	Jim Kelly	50	XXVIII (1993)	Buffalo Bills	Dallas Cowboys	L	30-13
3.	Dan Marino	50	XIX (1984)	Miami Dolphins	San Francisco 49ers	L	38-16
6.	Matt Hasselbeck	49	XL (2005)	Seattle Seahawks	Pittsburgh Steelers	L	21-10
6.	Stan Humphries	49	XXIX (1994)	San Diego Chargers	San Francisco 49ers	L	49-26
6.	Peyton Manning	49	XLVIII (2013)	Denver Broncos	Seattle Seahawks	L	43-8
6.	Neil O’Donnell	49	XXX (1995)	Pittsburgh Steelers	Dallas Cowboys	L	27-17
10.	Drew Bledsoe	48	XXXI (1996)	New England Patriots	Green Bay Packers	L	35-21
10.	Tom Brady	48	XXXVIII (2003)	New England Patriots	Carolina Panthers	W	32-29
10.	Tom Brady	48	XLII (2007)	New England Patriots	New York Giants	L	17-14
13.	Peyton Manning	45	XLIV (2009)	Indianapolis Colts	New Orleans Saints	L	31-17
13.	Kurt Warner	45	XXXIV (1999)	St. Louis Rams	Tennesse Titans	W	23-16
13.	Rich Gannon	44	XXXVII (2002)	Oakland Raiders	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L	48-21
13.	Kurt Warner	44	XXXVI (2001)	St. Louis Rams	New England Patriots	L	20-17
17.	Kurt Warner	43	XLIII (2008)	Arizona Cardinals	Pittsburgh Steelers	L	27-23
18.	Brett Favre	42	XXXII (1997)	Green Bay Packers	Denver Broncos	L	31-24
19.	Tom Brady	41	XLVI (2011)	New England Patriots	New York Giants	L	21-17
20.	Eli Manning	40	XLVI (2011)	New York Giants	New England Patriots	W	21-17
20.	Ben Roethlisberger	40	XLV (2010)	Pittsburgh Steelers	Green Bay Packers	L	31-25

Photo: uni-watch.com