As Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium draws near, The Post ranks the 10 best performances in the history of the big game:
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1. Joe Montana, Super Bowl XXIV
In fairness, all three of Joe Cool’s record three MVP performances could make the list, but this one was the most prodigious. After needing last-minute heroics the year before against the Bengals, this time he utterly dominated the Broncos 55-10.
In his fourth and final Super Bowl, Montana went 22-of-29 for 297 yards, five touchdowns, no picks and a near-perfect 147.6 rating. Even more impressive? It came against the NFL’s stingiest defense (14.1 ppg) and both the 49ers’ point total (55) and margin (45) were Super Bowl records that still stand.
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2. Marcus Allen, Super Bowl XVIII
His 191 yards may have since been surpassed as the Super Bowl record, but his performance as a running back may not be equaled for years to come. Not only did it come against a Redskins team that led the league in rushing defense, but it came with the NFL equivalent of a Heisman moment.
Allen bounded for a 74-yard TD run that ended the third quarter and effectively finished off the 38-9 rout. He started up the gut, bounced left, reversed field and then accelerated back through the middle and through the heart of the defense. It was a broken play in which he admits he was supposed to stay over the guard, but it was still good for the longest run in Super Bowl history until Willie Parker ripped a 75-yarder in Super Bowl XL.
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3. Jerry Rice, Super Bowl XXIII
Jerry Rice reaches across the goal line for a fourth quarter touchdown. AP Sure, the play of the game was Montana’s winner to John Taylor with 34 seconds left. But the man of the day was Rice, who had 11 receptions for 215 yards, still atop the Super Bowl record book. And he was no slouch on that final, fateful 11-play, 92-yard march, with three catches for 51 yards.
Afterward, Rice said he thought Montana deserved the MVP, but the voters disagreed and gave it to the humble Hall of Fame wideout.
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4. Steve Young, Super Bowl XXIX
AP Critiqued and criticized for not being Montana, Young finally got out of his predecessor’s shadow by going 24-of-36 for 325 yards, six TD passes and zero interceptions for a 134.8 passer rating.
His six TDs were not only a Super Bowl record, but an NFL postseason record. (Daryle Lamonica tossed six in an AFL playoff game in 1969.) They were more than enough to lead the 49ers to a 49-26 triumph over the Chargers, earn Young an MVP and halt the naysayers. Young took the high road after the game, saying, “The critics and the skeptics continue to backpedal.’’
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5. Phil Simms, Super Bowl XXI
AP Many of the same Giants fans who wanted Simms gone at the start of the 1986 season were singing his praises by the end of what Bill Parcells said might be the best game a QB has ever played. He went 22-of-25 for 268 yards, three TDs and zero interceptions to lead the way to a 39-20 victory over the Broncos.
His 88.0 completion percentage was a playoff record until Tom Brady broke it in a 2008 divisional game, but it still stands as a Super Bowl record, as does his 150.9 passer rating. Following the game, Simms said: “I was like a fastball pitcher. I had great location all day. Almost every pass landed exactly where I wanted it to. I’ve never played better. I told ’em before the game I was smoking.’’
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6. Timmy Smith, Super Bowl XXII
AP Nobody had heard of the unheralded rookie, who had just 126 career yards in the 1987 regular season. He almost had that in the Redskins’ 35-point second quarter alone, with five carries for 122 yards, including a 58-yard score.
By the time the 42-10 beating of Denver was over, Smith had carried 22 times for a Super Bowl record 204 yards and two touchdowns. He essentially was never heard from again, but he crammed a career into one game.
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7. Lynn Swann, Super Bowl X
He only had four catches, but two of them were all-time greats. In the second quarter, he went deep and outjumped Cowboys cornerback Mark Washington for a juggling, tumbling 53-yard grab. And with the Steelers up 15-10 in the fourth, he skied for a 64-yard TD.
He finished with a then-Super Bowl record 161 receiving yards, and the Steelers finished with a 21-17 win over America’s Team.
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8. Doug Williams, Super Bowl XXII
AP Williams spent most of the season in Washington backing up pick-prone Jay Schroeder, but came on in relief for the playoffs. After a poor NFC Championship against the Vikings and down 10-0 after a quarter against the Broncos, Williams erupted.
He threw four TDs in the second quarter, including 80- and 50-yard strikes to Ricky Sanders. By the time the blitz was over, Williams had gone 18-of-29 for a then-record 340 yards, four TDs, no picks, a 127.9 rating. He led the way in a 42-10 win and dispelled myths about black quarterbacks being incapable of winning.
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9. Chuck Howley, Super Bowl V
Chuck Howley (54) AP Howley. One of the great coverage linebackers, he intercepted two passes that day and recovered a fumble for good measure to be named MVP.
It was the first time a defensive player had ever won the award — only eight have done so — and is still to this day the only time a player from the losing team has earned that honor.
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10. Whitney Houston, Super Bowl XXV
New York — city and state — remembers the game for the Giants’ dramatic 20-19 win over the Bills. The world remembers it for the late New Jersey icon’s rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner. With the country locked in the Gulf War, Houston’s unforgettable performance — deemed No. 12 on VH1 and TV Guide’s “100 Moments That Rocked TV” — had fans crying and the song released as a single and video.
It hit No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, the only time the national anthem had ever become a pop hit. It was included on her Greatest Hits, and after 9/11 it was re-released by Arista Records and hit No. 6, certified platinum by the RIAA.