The Super Bowl is the grandest stage in all of pro football. It’s where the lights are the brightest, the crowds are at their loudest, and the players are trying for their absolute peak performances. Other than winning the game, few things can match the feeling of setting, or breaking a Super Bowl record.
The modern day dynasty of the New England Patriots is known for setting record in both the regular as well as in the post season. Against the Carolina Panthers in in Super Bowl XXXVIII Patriots quarterback Tom Brady set a Super Bowl record with 32 pass completions. In that same game Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme set a record for the longest pass completed when he sank an 85 yarder to Muhsin Muhammad. Brady shares his record with New Orleans’ quarterback Drew Brees. One Super Bowl record Brady holds the lone ownership of is the most completions in the Super Bowl over a career with a staggering 100.
While Tom Brady may have the most completions in Super Bowls over his career the legendary Joe Montana holds the record for most touchdowns. On his way to winning four Super Bowl rings Montana logged 11 touchdowns in the big games.
The mighty Montana also holds the record for the best passer rating in Super Bowl history with an astounding 127.8 mark.
Who can talk about Joe Montana without talking about his best known big game threat Jerry Rice. Rice holds several Super Bowl records including most points scored in a game (18), which he shares with players Roger Craig, Ricky Waters, and Terrel Davis, most points scored in a career (48), most receiving yards in a single game (215), most receptions in a game (11), most touchdowns in a single game (3), and most touchdowns in his super bowl career (8). Rice holds more Super Bowl records than any other single player in the game, which makes it easy to understand why many feel that he is the greatest of all time.
Emmit Smith holds the touchdown career mark for ground players with 5 in three Super Bowls, while Denver’s Terrel Davis holds the record for rushing touchdowns in a single game 3 in Super Bowl XXXII. In Super Bowl XL the Steelers Willie Parker notched the longest run from scrimmage in history when he cranked off a 75 yarder.
Not to be outdone defense’s have put up some impressive records in the big game as well, such as James Harrisons’ 100 yard interception return in Super Bowl XLIII. Reggie White and Darnell Dockett share the record for most sacks in a single Super Bowl with 3 each, while Charles Haley owns the record for most sacks over a career appearing in five different Super Bowls, and accumulating 4.5 sacks.
Not all records are good one. John Elway would love to forget that he threw a Super Bowl career high in interceptions, getting picked off 8 times in 5 games. Rich Gannon can never live down his 5 picks thrown in a single Super Bowl. Even the tower legend of Roger Staubach had his down moments, losing 5 fumbles in 4 Super Bowls.