Ranking worst Super Bowls: Where Seahawks-Patriots rematch falls among bottom 10

As is often the case, the Super Bowl sequel between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks didn’t live up to the original. 

After playing in one of the greatest Super Bowls of all time 11 years earlier, the Patriots-Seahawks rematch was anything but. In a game that largely underwhelmed, neither team reached the end zone until the second minute of the fourth quarter. The Seahawks led throughout and had a 19-0 lead before the Patriots got on the scoreboard. 

Seattle’s smothering defense told the story of what was one of the worst 10 Super Bowls of all time, a list that includes another game involving the new Super Bowl champions. 

10. Super Bowl XXXIII (1999): Broncos 34, Falcons 19

Everyone expected to see defending-champion Denver face the Vikings, who went 15-1 during the regular season, in what could have been an epic matchup. Instead, the Broncos laid waste to the Falcons after Atlanta upset Minnesota in the NFC Championship. Denver led 31-3 before Atlanta scored a few late touchdowns to make the final score look closer than it actually was. 

The Falcons were determined to not let league MVP Terrell Davis beat them. Davis still managed ran for 102 yards, but John Elway, who rode off into the sunset after winning MVP honors, dominated the game. Elway threw for 336 yards and totaled two touchdowns in his final game.

9. Super Bowl XII (1978): Cowboys 27, Broncos 10

While the game was a dud, it’s nonetheless notable because it was the first Super Bowl played indoors (inside the Superdome) and is still the only Super Bowl with co-MVPs after Cowboys defenders Randy White and Harvey Martin shared the award.

After watching this game, it’s a wonder the NFL decided to play any more Super Bowls indoors. The two teams combined to turn the ball over 10 times, with Denver accounting for eight of those miscues. The Broncos’ were an utter mess on offense, gaining just 156 yards. Their only touchdown was set up by Rich Upchurch’s 67-yard kickoff return (the longest in Super Bowl history at the time. 

It was especially brutal game for Broncos quarterbacks Craig Morton and Norris Weese. Morton, the first quarterback to face a team that he had previously started for in a Super Bowl, went 4 of 15 for 39 yards and four picks before being pulled for Weese, who went 4 of 10 for 22 yards and committed a fumble that set up the Cowboys’ game-clinching score. 

8. Super Bowl LX (2026): Seahawks 29, Patriots 13

There have been bigger blowouts, but few Super Bowls have lacked the excitement that this one had. Specifically, it was a extremely rough night for a Patriots offense that was kept off the scoreboard until the fourth quarter. 

Drake Maye finished with decent stats (295 yards on 27 of 43 passing), but most of those yards were gained with the game already somewhat in hand. His counterpart, Sam Darnold, also had a forgettable night from a passing standpoint as he completed just half of his 38 attempts. 

The game did include some standout individual performances from the winning team, especially from running back and game MVP Kenneth Walker (the MVP), kicker Jason Myers, and defenders Byron Murphy II, Derick Hall, and Julian Love and Uchenna Nwosu. 

7. Super Bowl VIII (1974): Dolphins 24, Vikings 7

Miami led 24-0 through three quarters before coasting to a 17-point win. The Dolphins became the second team to win back-to-back Super Bowls while compiling a two-year record of 32-2.

The game was bad, but it include a dominant performance by the Dolphins’ offensive line (specifically Bob Kuechenberg against former Notre Dame teammate and Hall of Famer Alan Page) and running back Larry Csonka, won Super Bowl MVP after rushing for a then-Super Bowl record of 145 yards and two touchdowns. Bob Griese went 6 of 7 passing for 73 yards, Super Bowl records for fewest passes attempted, completed and passing yards for a Super Bowl-winning quarterback. 

6. Super Bowl XXVII (1993): Cowboys 52, Bills 17

This game was actually close (Buffalo scored the game’s first touchdown) before a goal line stand by the Cowboys and an injury that knocked Bills quarterback Jim Kelly out of the game turned the momentum in Dallas’ favor. 

Ahead 14-10 in the second quarter, a pair of touchdowns from Troy Aikman to Michael Irvin gave the Cowboys a 28-10 halftime lead. Dallas led 31-17 after three before Aikman’s fourth touchdown pass — a 46-yarder to Alvin Harper — put the game away early in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys then padded onto their lead while forcing a Super Bowl record nine turnovers. 

Oddly, the game’s signature play occurred after the final points had been scored, when Cowboys defensive lineman Leon Lett — who had scooped up a fumble in Cowboys territory — was chased down by Bills wideout Don Beebe just short of the goal line.

5. Super Bowl LIX (2025): Eagles 40, Chiefs 22

Another Super Bowl where the final score isn’t an indication of how one-sided the game was. The Eagles never trailed, led 24-0 at halftime and took a 34-0 lead late in the third quarter when Jalen Hurts threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith. 

Philadelphia led 40-6 before the Chiefs ended the game with a pair of meaningless touchdown passes from Patrick Mahomes, whose two interceptions late in the first half helped seal Kansas City’s fate. 

The Chiefs did a good job containing 2,000-yard rusher Saquon Barkley (who had just 57 yards on 25 carries), but they didn’t do much else on either side of the ball. Hurts had an MVP performance that included touchdowns in the air and on the ground.

4. Super Bowl XX (1986): Bears 46, Patriots 10

While it wasn’t at all close (it was, at the time, the biggest blowout in Super Bowl history), the fact that this was the crowning moment for one of pro football’s most memorable champions is one of the main reasons why this is not the worst Super Bowl of all-time. 

This was one of the few Super Bowls where everyone (unless you were a hopeful Patriots fan) tuned in expected to see the Bears show out. That’s what everyone wanted to see, and that’s exactly what they got as Chicago reinforced their standing as one of the best teams in NFL history. 

After going 15-1 during the regular season, the Bears defeated the Giants and Rams in the playoffs by a combined score of 45-0. In Super Bowl XX, Chicago gave up an early field goal before scoring 44 unanswered points with relative ease. 

The Bears’ dominance was spearheaded by its legendary 46 defense that recorded seven sacks, forced six turnovers and held the Patriots to 123 total yards. 

3. Super Bowl XXIV (1990): 49ers 55, Broncos 10

New Orleans has hosted the two biggest blowouts in Super Bowl history. Four years after Chicago’s 36-point win over New England, the 49ers set a Super Bowl record for points and largest margin of victory. 

That wasn’t the only history made on this day. Joe Montana threw a Super Bowl record five touchdowns, and Jerry Rice’s three touchdown catches was also a Super Bowl first. In all, the 49ers’ historic dominance is why this isn’t the worst Super Bowl ever despite the game never being in doubt. 

This game is much less remembered for how bad the Broncos were and more so for it being the culmination of the 49ers’ dynasty. The win was the 49ers’ second straight title and fourth of the 1980s. 

2. Super Bowl XLVIII (2014): Seahawks 43, Broncos 8

Seattle is certainly no stranger to boring Super Bowls. In fact, their first Super Bowl win took the silver medal for the worst Super Bowl of them all. 

The very first play of this game was a foreshadowing of what was to come. The Broncos’ opening snap went over Peyton Manning and into the end zone for a safety. Little did anyone know at the time that that would be the first of 36 unanswered points by a Seattle team that entered the game as a decided underdog. 

Seattle led 22-0 at halftime and essentially put the game on ice was after Percy Harvin ran the second-half kickoff 87 yards for a score that increased Seattle’s lead to 29-0. The Seahawks’ dominance — especially against Peyton Manning and the Broncos’ high-scoring offense — was impressive, but the fact that the game was never competitive made it one of the most boring Super Bowls ever.

1. Super Bowl XXXV (2001): Ravens 35, Giants 7

Unless you were a Ravens fan, this was a brutal game to watch.

The only excitement was three touchdowns in a 36-second span that included back-to-back kickoff returns for scores — the first and only time that has happened in a Super Bowl — by the Giants’ Ron Dixon (97 yards) and the Ravens’ Jermaine Lewis (84) yards. There was also a record 22 combined punts.

Fittingly, the MVP went to Ray Lewis, who was the leader of an historically dominant Ravens defense. Baltimore joined the 1972 Dolphins and 1974 Steelers are the only defenses that did not allow a single point in the Super Bowl. While impressive, their dominance came at the expense of millions of football fans who probably struggled to stay awake.