Super Bowl XLV will take place on February 6, 2011 at Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas. The Pittsburgh Steelers will be there for the third time in six years while the Packers will make their first appearance since 1997, a losing effort against the Broncos.
With that in mind, it’s a good time to look back at recent Super Bowls and rank the last ten Super Bowls.

Number 10 – Super Bowl XL – Seattle Seahawks 10  21 Pittsburgh Steelers

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Super Bowl ‘Extra Large’ took place at Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan, is pretty much remembered mostly for the referee mistakes. Hines Ward won the MVP with 5 receptions for 123 yards and one touchdown and Willie Parker ran for 93 yards on only 10 carries, but it was the second quarter Big Ben touchdown that shouldn’t have been approved and the Darrell Jackson bogus offensive pass interference call that made many feel the officiating cost the Seahawks the game.

Number 9 – Super Bowl XXXV – Baltimore Ravens 34  7 New York Giants

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Nearly 72,000 fans at Tampa and 84 million people at home saw the Baltimore Ravens become the third wild card team in NFL history to win the Super Bowl with an incredible defensive performance, allowing the Giants to only 153 yards, intercepting Kerry Collins four times and scoring one more touchdown on special teams. Ray Lewis won the Super Bowl MVP as the Giants punted or turned the ball over on 15 of their 16 possessions in the game.

Number 8 – Super Bowl XXXVII – Oakland Raiders 21  48 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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‘The Gruden Blow’ – The number one defense in the league ripped to shreds the number one offense as the Bucs intercepted Rich Gannon five times. The game was pretty much over after second quarter with the Bucs already leading 20-3. Dexter Jackson, with two interceptions was only the second Safety to win the SB MVP. Jerry Rice (Raiders) caught a touchdown, becoming the only player to catch a TD in four different Super Bowl games.

Number 7 – Super Bowl XLI – Indianapolis Colts 29  17 Chicago Bears

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Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy finally got their Super Bowl rings. Manning, with 247 yards, a TD and an interception won the MVP despite having just an 81.8 QB rating and Tony Dungy became not only the first African-American head coach to win the Super Bowl but also the third man to win a Super Bowl as a head coach as well as a player.

Number 6 – Super Bowl XXXVI – St. Louis Rams 17  20 New England Patriots

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The game that started it all of the Patriots and their transformation from lovable underdogs to the NFL villains. The previous champions and heavily favored Rams got into the game only in the fourth quarter and eventually lost to a Adam Vinateri kick as time expired. Tom Brady, a relatively unknown earlier that season stepping in for Drew Bledsoe won the MVP award, mostly for his ability to orchestrate the final drive.

Number 5 – Super Bowl XXXIX – New England Patriots 24  21 Philadelphia Eagles

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The third and last of the Pats’ Super Bowl domination years and the only won of the three not won at the last moment. Wide Receiver Deion Branch won the MVP with 11 receptions and 133 yards, becoming the third offensive player to win the award (alongside Joe Namath and Fred Biletnikoff) without scoring or throwing for a TD. The Patriots were also the first team since the Denver Broncos in 1998 to win consecutive Super Bowls.

Number 4 – Super Bowl XLIV – New Orleans Saints 31  17 Indianapolis Colts

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THE Feel good of Super Bowl on this list, as the New Orleans Saints, 4 point underdogs, won their first Super Bowl on their first visit to the big game. Drew Brees won the MVP, throwing for 288 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Saints to a 15-0 fourth quarter and win a game in which they trailed for most of the time.

Number 3 – Super Bowl XXXVIII – Carolina Panthers 29  32 New England Patriots

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Tom Brady won his second MVP award, throwing for 354 yards and three touchdowns. The Panthers Jake Delhomme also had a great game, throwing for 323 yards and three touchdowns. As usual, it was an Adam Vinateri field goal that got the win for the Patriots, hitting one from 41 yards with four seconds left on the clock.

Number 2 – Super Bowl XLII – New York Giants 17  14 New England Patriots

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The Patriots came into the game riding a perfect 18-0 record, regular season and playoff combined. Tom Brady came after throwing 50 touchdowns during the regular season, a new NFL record. Randy Moss came in after an NFL record 23 touchdown receptions and Wes Welker who led the league in receptions. The Pats were 12 point favorites. They also beat the Giants on the final regular season game. The game didn’t work that way, at least not when it counted. The Giants’ D-Line got to Tom Brady again and again and eventually, two great plays by Eli Manning, one including the David Tyree ‘Helmet catch’ and later the winning touchdown throw to Plaxico Burress, eventually winning the quarterback the game MVP.

Number 1 – Super Bowl XLIII – Pittsburgh Steelers 27  23 Arizona Cardinals

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The Steelers dominated for three quarters, and then the Cardinals woke up. Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald combined for two touchdowns, eventually getting a 23-20 lead with 2:37 left on the clock. Ben Roethlisberger lead a 78 yard drive in just over 2 minutes, ending with a six yard pass to Santonio Holmes, winning an NFL Record sixth Super Bowl for the Steelers. Holmes won the MVP award.