Top Five Super Bowl Upsets

1. Super Bowl III (Jets 16, Colts 7)
After being dominated by the NFL champion for the first two Super Bowl, the AFL was hoping for a change of fortune. Entering the game as 17-point underdogs, it didn't look like the Jets had much hope. Joe Namath's guarantee of victory was dismissed as a foolish act of desparation. But the Jets held the Colts off the scoreboard for 56 minutes of the game (helped by the fact that Johnny Unitas missed most of the game with a sore arm) and proved that the AFL could run with the big boys. A year and a half later, the leagues would merge.

2. Super Bowl XXXVI (Patriots 20, Rams 17)
In the week leading up to the Super Bowl (already postponed one week due to 9/11) we heard all about the Rams and Kurt Warner and the Greatest Show On Turf. The Pats came in as 14-point dogs and the so-called experts thought the game would be a success if they could hold the Rams under 30 points and just make things respectable. Tom Brady and crew didn't get the message, however. The Pats jumped out to a 14-3 halftime lead thanks to dominating defensive play, then ignored John Madden's advice to kneel down and play for overtime in the final 1:30, driving into field goal range, where Adam Vinatieri sealed the game with a 48-yard kick.

3. Super Bowl XXXII (Broncos 31, Packers 24)
After the Packers won their first Super Bowl since the Vince Lombardi era the year before, people expected Brett Favre to lead the Pack to a repeat championship. The NFC had won 13 straight Super Bowls and looked just as dominant this year, so nobody thought that the 12-point underdog Broncos could snap that streak. In his fourth try, though, John Elway was determined to finally claim a Super Bowl, at one point launching himself into the air and being spun around 180 degrees while trying to claim a first down.

4. Super Bowl IV (Chiefs 23, Vikings 7)
Super Bowl III was the original stunning upset of the NFL champion, but people forget that Super Bowl IV featured a similar upset victory by the AFL representative. The Minnesota Vikings, who had won 12 straight games and had broken the 50-point barrier three times during the season, entered the Super Bowl as 10-point favorites over the Chiefs. But while people expected the Vikings' defensive line, dubbed the Purple People Eaters, to control the game, it was Kansas City's defense that proved unstoppable, coming away with three interceptions and forcing two fumbles while holding Minnesota to 67 rushing yards.

5. Super Bowl XVIII (Raiders 38, Redskins 9)
It wasn't that nobody expected the three-point underdog Raiders to win, it's just that nobody expected their win to be quite so decisive. The Raiders scored touchdowns on offense, defense, and special teams -- all before halftime. Then, Marcus Allen went to town, scoring a touchdown in the third quarter on a 74-yard run, which represented only a fraction of his 191 yards on the day. Washington did manage to reach the end zone in the third quarter on a John Riggins run, only to see the PAT get blocked. Redskins fans coined their team's humiliating defeat as "Black Sunday."