Despite differing degrees of pre-game buzz, large- and small-market teams, or high and low ratings for the regular-season and Championship games, every Super Bowl in the past 5 years has fallen into a relatively narrow rating range (from a low of 42.0 in 2009 (when the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals), to a high of 46.0 in 2011 (as the Green Bay Packers edged out the Pittsburgh Steelers).
The all-time highest rated broadcast, the 49.1 registered by the San Francisco 49ers' 5-point victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in 1982 seems out of reach. But given that the number of people in the country continues to rise, as does DVR penetration, it is quite likely that with this narrow rating range, each new Super Bowl will become the most viewed ever (as each of the last two season's were).
While there have been many blowouts in Super Bowl history (23 of the 45 games were won by two touchdowns or more), recent years have produced some of the most exciting games ever. One-third of all the contests (15 out of 45) were decided by 7 points or less - six of them occurring since the year 2000.
To whet your appetite for Super Bowl XLVI, here are game recaps from the last five contests.
The 2007 Super Bowl was the first to be played under inclement weather conditions, as a driving downpour soaked the stadium from start to finish.
The Indianapolis Colts were 7-point favorites over the Chicago Bears and won by 12. The score was extremely close throughout the game, as the 4th Quarter began with the Colts holding a narrow 5-point lead.
As the game got underway, it actually looked as though the Bears might dominate. Rookie sensation, Devin Hester, returned the opening kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown. Running back Thomas Jones broke a 52-yard run for another touchdown as the Bears took a 14-6 lead.
Extremely hard-hitting, there were three turnovers by each team during the first half alone. But Peyton Manning methodically drove the ball down the field in long drives that started to tire out Chicago's sturdy defense. By halftime, the Colts had taken a 16-14 lead.
With Chicago trailing by 5 points in the 4th Quarter, quarterback Rex Grossman threw his second interception, which was run back by Kevin Hayden 56 yards for a touchdown. This gave the Colts a 12-point lead and sealed their victory.
The 2008 Super Bowl featured the undefeated and seemingly invincible New England Patriots being 12-point favorites over the upstart New York Giants.
The Patriots had set several records during the regular season - most points scored, most touchdown passes (Tom Brady), and most touchdown catches (Randy Moss), to name a few. They were going for history - trying to match the 1972 undefeated Miami Dolphins, but in a season that is two games longer. So confident were the Patriots that they trademarked the phrase, "19-0."
Standing in their path was the New York Giants - the fifth seed in the NFC. They had also set some records - they were only the fourth team ever to make the Super Bowl after starting the season 0-2, they were the first NFC team to make the Super Bowl as a wild card, and they were coming off an unprecedented 10 straight wins on the road (including playoff wins at Dallas and Green Bay). As a sign of things to come, they were designated the road team for the Super Bowl.
The game was low-scoring but hard-hitting and exciting from start to finish. The Giants opened the game with the longest drive in Super Bowl history, lasting nearly 10 minutes, and culminating in a field goal. The Patriots responded with a long drive of their own, resulting in a touchdown just as the 2nd Quarter got underway. This was the first time in a Super Bowl that each team had only a single possession in the 1st Quarter - the previous year's game between Indianapolis and Chicago had 10 combined possessions during the 1st Quarter.
At halftime the score was just 7-3. The Giants continued to pressure Brady with their vaunted pass rush (sacking the quarterback five times during the game). There was no scoring in the 3rd Quarter.
In the 4th Quarter, the Giants managed an 80-yard drive, ending in a touchdown pass to David Tyree and a 10-7 lead. The Patriots responded with their own 80-yard march, which ended with Tom Brady hitting Randy Moss for a touchdown with just 2:42 left in the game. The Pats were on the verge of celebrating their undefeated season.
But Eli Manning came of age at that moment, engineering a drive that included several third-down conversions and a fourth-and-one along the way. This was highlighted by a play that will likely go down in history as the greatest Super Bowl play of all time. It was Third-and-5. With the Patriot pass rush descending on him for what looked like a sure sack for a big loss, Eli Manning somehow escaped and heaved a pass 30-yards down the center of the field. Despite the Patriots' Rodney Harrison hanging all over him, David Tyree leaped for the ball, caught it with one hand, pressed it against his helmet, secured the ball with his other hand, and held onto the ball as he hit the ground. A few plays later, Manning hit Plaxico Burress with a 13-yard touchdown pass for a 17-14 Giant win - and one of the greatest sports upsets ever. There were an unprecedented three lead changes during the 4th Quarter.
The 2009 Super Bowl might not have had as many compelling storylines as the previous season, but it was just as good a game, with even more exciting plays.
The Pittsburgh Steelers, with the number one defense in the league was going up against the high-powered offense of the Arizona Cardinals. This was Arizona's first Super Bowl appearance, while Pittsburgh was going for an unprecedented sixth win as a franchise.
The game started nornally enough, and with two minutes to go until halftime, the Steelers held a 10-7 lead. Then we saw one of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history. As Arizona was driving to score, Pisstburgh's defensive player of the year, Jame Harrison, intercepted a Kurt Warner pass at the goal line. With no time left on the clock, he runs an obstacle course all the way for a touchdown. This 100-yard run set a Super Bowl record for the longest interception return and longest touchdown run.
Going into the 4th Quarter, the Steelers held a 20-7 lead, which, given their great defense, seemed insurmountable. But the Cards weren't out of it yet. Kurt Warner went into a no-huddle offense taking his team downfield in less than four minutes, and hitting a well-covered Larry Fitzgerald in the endzone. The score was now 20-14.
With the Steelers backed up near their own endzone, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger made a great pass that was negated by a holding penalty. Since the penalty was in the endzone, it counted as a safety, making the score 20-16. After getting the ball back, it took Arizona just two plays to score, as Kurt Warner connected again with Larry Fitzgerald, who caught the ball without breaking stride and galloped 64 yards for the touchdown. The Cards had their first lead, 23-20, with less than 3 minutes left on the clock.
Pittsburgh got the ball back on their own 22 yard line with just 2:37 to go in the game. Three pass completions, including a 40-yard toss to Santonio Holmes, placed Arizona at the Steelers' 6 yard line with 35 seconds left. Roethlisberger threw a pass to Santonio Holmes in the corner of the end zone. In what has since become his patented move, he managed to catch the ball and land with both feet barely in bounds. Pittsburgh had a 27-23 victory, and the franchise's record sixth Super Bowl win.
The 2010 Super Bowl generated considerably more pre-game buzz than the 2009 game. The New Orleans Saints were coming off a hard-fought win in the NFC Championship game over the Bret Favre-led Minnesota Vikings in one of the highest rated games in years. Since Hurricane Katrina, the Saints had gained tremendous natrional popularity, and were playing in their first Super Bowl.
They were up against the popular Indianapolis Colts and Peyton Manning, which had gone 14-0 before controversally resting their starters and losing their first game. The Colts were just a 4-point favorite, indicating the expected competitiveness of the game. This was one of the smallest pointspreads in years.
During the 1st Quarter, it seemed as though the Colts might cruise to an easy victory. The Saints had to punt on their first two possessions, while the Colts scored on both of theirs - including a 96-yard touchdown drive that tied a Super Bowl record.
New Orleans and quarterback Drew Brees turned things around in the 2nd Quarter, scoring two field goal, and holding the Colts' high-powered offense to just 15 yards. The Colts did have one highlight during the Quarter, as they had a goal-line stand preventing the Saints from scoring a touchdown and tying the game. Saints head-coach Sean Payton, feeling that against the Colts you needed touchdowns, not field goals, went for it on fourth-and-four, but tailback Pierre Thomas was stopped at the one-yard line.
Sean Payton wasn't done with his bold play calling, as the Saints caught the Colts (and everyone else) off guard by opening the 2nd half with an onside kick - the first time anyone tried this before the 4th Quarter during a Super Bowl. This swung momentum to the Saints, as just a few plays later, a Drew Brees to Pierre Thomas pass acored a touchdown and gave New Orleans the lead.
Indianapolis scored on their next drive, once again taking the lead after a Joseph Addai touchdown. New Orleans scored a field goal on their next possession, as the 3rd Quarter ended with the Colts ahead by just a point (17-16).
Continuing their see-saw battle into the 4th Quarter, after stopping a long Colts drive, the Saints pulled ahead with a touchdown pass to Jeremy Shockey. After a two-point conversion (initially ruled incomplete, but overturned after video review), the Saints took a 24-17 lead.
The Colts got the ball back with 5:42 left to play. Even the announcers thought Peyton Manning would lead them to another score and perhaps send the game into overtime. But Saints cornerback Tracy Porter intercepted a Manning pass and returned it for a touchdown - sealing the Saints first Super Bowl victory, 31-17.
The 2011 Super Bowl between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers promised to be a good one. Both teams have strong national followings, and there were a number of compelling storylines. Green Bay was favored by just 2 1/2 points, the lowest pointspread ever.
Green Bay's quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, was trying to step out of the shadow of Bret Favre, one of the greatest QBs of all time, who's protracted retirement and movement from Green Bay to the NY Jets and then arch-rival Minnesota Vikings, was also one of the great sports soap operas of all time. Green Bay had barely made it into the playoffs as a wild card team, winning their final six games of the season to get there. The Pittsburgh Steelers, on the other hand, are perennially challenging for the championship, having won the Super Bowl in 2006 and 2009.
The game lived up to expectations. The Packers took a 7-0 lead on a 29-yard pass from Rodgers to Jordy Nelson. Less than 30 seconds later, the Packers were up 14-0. Steeler's quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's arm was hit as he was throwing from his own end zone, and the ball was picked off by Nick Collins and returned 37 yards for a touchdown. (Teams returning interceptions for a score in a Super Bowl are undefeated, now 11-0.)
After a Steelers field goal, Green Bay intercepted another pass and drove in for a touchdown, extending their lead to 21-3. With 2:24 left in the half, Roethlisberger completed three passes to Hines Ward, culminating in a touchdown, and a 21-10 Packer lead at halftime.
In the 3rd Quarter, the Steelers forced a Packers punt, and then scored on five consecutive running plays, making the score 21-17. On the first play of the 4th Quarter, Steelers running back Rashad Mendenhall, who had scored the previous touchdown, was tackled behind the line of scrimmage and fumbled. Rodgers led the Packers down the field, completing a 38-yard pass to Jordy Nelson, and a 8-yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings. The Packers led 28-17.
The Steelers came right back, with Roethlisberger completing 6 of 7 passes, ending with a 25-yard TD pass to Mike Wallace. After a successful two-point conversion, the score was 28-25. Green Bay took the ball with just over 7 minutes left in the game, and had to settle for a field goal and a six-point lead, 31-25. With just over 2 minutes left, Green Bay's defense held, and after three incomplete Steeler passes, the Packers were able to run out the clock.
The 2012 Super Bowl (XLVI) will be a rematch of the 2008 game, with the red-hot New England Patriots taking on the blue-hot New York Giants. Ratings should be strong. Early indications are that the respective championship games were the highst rated in years.
Super Bowl Household Ratings by Quarter
|
|
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
|
|
Indianapolis Chicago |
NY Giants New England |
Pittsburgh Arizona |
New Orleans Indianapolis |
|
Pointspread |
7 |
12 |
6 1/2 |
4 |
|
Margin of Win |
12 |
3 |
4 |
14 |
|
1st Quarter |
38.9 |
38.3 |
37.6 |
39.4 |
|
2nd Quarter |
42.1 |
41.0 |
39.9 |
42.5 |
|
Halftime |
40.9 |
39.3 |
38.4 |
40.6 |
|
3rd Quarter |
43.6 |
42.4 |
40.6 |
43.7 |
|
4th Quarter |
44.3 |
45.6 |
42.4 |
45.9 |
|
Game Average |
42.0 |
42.0 |
40.2 |
42.8 |
Sternberg analysis of Nielsen data – Live ratings
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