Big Performances In The Big Game: The Top 10 Super Bowl MVPs Ever

The Super Bowl is the NFL’s biggest stage, a stage where the stars usually shine bright. As opposed to winning the MVP based on a season long body of work, the Super Bowl’s MVP only has to be great for one game, be the brightest star among a bevy of them. Sometimes the MVP winner is an expected one, sometimes unexpected, but it’s almost always deserved. There have been a plethora of absolutely great players, from current Hall of Famers to future ones, who have won the Super Bowl MVP. Who's going to be the winner this year? Make your MVP Super Bowl bets, and all your other big game wagers, at 888 Sport!

Let’s take a look at ten of the greatest ones.

10. Terrell Davis, RB, Denver Broncos - Super Bowl XXXII

John Elway in his best years got blown out in Super Bowls. Once teams figured out all they had to worry about was Elway and nothing else, Elway had zero help. It looked like his, and the city of Denver, chances of ever winning the Super Bowl would never happen. Then Terrell Davis eventually came along, and finally the old veteran Elway didn’t have to do it all, he could just be a really good game manager and let Davis do the heavy lifting. And that he did in this game. Elway was a pedestrian 12 of 22 for 123 yards, zero touchdowns and an interception, but Davis went off for 157 yards on 30 carries and rushed for three touchdowns. Oh, and this was even after ​missing ​the 2nd quarter with a migraine.Elway and the Broncos win their first Super Bowl.

9. Joe Flacco, QB, Baltimore Ravens - Super Bowl XLVII

Flacco’s 2013 postseason was one for the ages. He broke records held by all-time greats and beat future Hall of Famers Peyton Manning and Tom Brady along the way. Regular season Joe often times looked like a deer in headlights out there, but you never wanted to see him in January, because Postseason Joe would emerge, and he was unflappable. If Montana was “Joe Cool”, Flacco became known as “Cool Joe”. In this Super Bowl he continued his postseason run, throwing for three touchdowns in the first half and staking the Ravens to a 21-6 halftime lead. Then “The Night The Lights Went Out In [Louisiana]” happened, and the Ravens had to hold on for a tight victory. Flacco finished with 287 yards passing, 3 TDs, and zero interceptions. Was he elite? Was he not? Who cares? For one magical postseason run, there was nobody better.

8. Phil Simms, QB, New York Giants - Super Bowl XXI

One of those Broncos blowouts mentioned earlier, Simms and the Giants found themselves down 10-9 at halftime, then came out guns ablazing in the second half. Simms completed al 10 of his second half pass attempts, going for 165 yards and two touchdowns. He finished the game 22 of 25 for 268 yards and two touchdowns. That 88% completion percentage was a single-game postseason record for 21 years until it was broken by Tom Brady in 2007. Giants head coach Bill Parcells called it the finest performance he had ever seen by a quarterback up to that point.

7. Emmitt Smith, RB, Dallas Cowboys - Super Bowl XXVIII

The Cowboys were the team of the ‘90s, winning three Super Bowls in the decade. The 1994 Super Bowl saw them in a rematch of the 1993 Super Bowl vs the Buffalo Bills, who were making their fourth ​consecutive ​appearance in the big game. Fourth time definitely wasn’t the charm. The heavily favored Cowboys found themselves down at the half, then they went to work. WEll, Emmitt went to work. He had 18 carries and one catch on three second half scoring drives, finishing with 30 carries and 132 yards with two touchdowns. Opposing quarterbacks Troy Aikman and Jim Kelly both combined for no touchdowns, two interceptions, and five sacks between them, so Smith was the obvious choice here.

6. John Riggins, RB, Washington Redskins - Super Bowl XVII

33-year-old running backs are geriatric by today’s standards, and Riggins had a very mediocre strike-shortened 1982 regular season. But boy did he go nuts during the playoffs that year. He ran for 444 yards and three touchdowns across three NFC playoff games, then put the cherry on top of the sundae with 166 rushing yards in the Super Bowl (his fourth consecutive 100-yard game, a postseason record). No run was greater than that iconic 43-yard touchdown run on fourth down in the fourth quarter to give the Redskins their first lead of the game. His 38 carries in this game is a Super Bowl record that still stands.

5. Doug Williams, QB, Washington Redskins - Super Bowl XXII

Williams began the season as the backup quarterback for the Redskins, but he entered this game staunchly entrenched as the starter after getting the job and leading Washington to two playoff victories. He also entered the game with the weight of the societal impact of being the first African-American quarterback to start a Super Bowl. The Redskins trailed 10-0 after the first quarter, then Williams went absolutely nuts. He completed 9 of 11 passes for 228 yards--​in the second quarter. ​It was an absolute air raid raining down on Denver. The Redskins went on to score 42 unanswered points and Williams went on to throw for 340 yards and those four touchdowns. Other players had huge games for D.C. and were considered MVP candidates, but the game began and ended with the former backup, and he was rightfully given the award. A watershed moment in the history of sports in America.

4. Jerry Rice, WR, San Francisco 49ers - Super Bowl XXIII

Finally we get a non-quarterback/running back on the list, and it just so happens to be the greatest wide receiver to ever lace up a pair of cleats. On a team full of stars who all performed like one, Rice shone the brightest. He had 11 receptions for 215 yards (still a Super Bowl record), and a touchdown. In the fourth quarter alone he caught five passes for 109 yards. Even though Joe Montana had a great game in his own right, the MVP honor went to Rice.

3. Steve Young, QB, San Francisco 49ers - Super Bowl XXIX

Young’s “monkey off the back” moment, the Niners quarterback finally got to his first (and only) Super Bowl, but only a win would fully get him out of the enormous shadow of Joe Montana. Not only did he and the Niners win, but they did so in dominant fashion. The oddsmakers had them as 20-point favorites vs San Diego, and that still wasn’t enough. Young couldn’t be stopped, throwing for six touchdowns and running for 49 yards in a 49-26 rout. It was the first time a player was the top passer and rusher in a Super Bowl, and his six touchdown passes remain a Super Bowl record. That 800-pound gorilla was officially off his back.

2. Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots - Super Bowl LI

The Atlanta Falcons were all but engraving their names on the Lombardi Trophy, up 28-3 in the third quarter. Then Brady led arguably the greatest comeback in not only Super Bowl history, but sports history itself. The Patriots chipped away at the lead and eventually tied the game, then went on to win in overtime. Brady’s numbers? 43 of 62 for 466 yards passing and two touchdowns. His yards and attempts stand as Super Bowl records.

1. Joe Montana, QB, San Francisco 49ers - Super Bowl XXIV

This was Montana’s final Super Bowl appearance, and boy did he put the final touches on his legacy. Still the largest margin of victory ever in the Super Bowl, the 49ers routed the Broncos 55-10. Montana passed for 297 yards, completing 22 0f 29 attempts, and five touchdowns. Oh, and he didn’t play the final 11 minutes of the game. For my money, this was the greatest MVP performance ever in a Super Bowl, and it was done by the greatest quarterback ever. Sorry, Brady fans.

*Credit to the main photos of this article belong to Matt Slocum/Associated Press (Flacco), File/Associated Press (Riggins), Phil Sandlin​​/Associated Press (Rice), Gregory Payan/Associated Press (Brady), Lennox McLennon/Associated Press (Montana)