ATLANTA — We have plenty of ground to cover here with 11Alive Sports' super-sized version of the weekly Fun Facts ... so let's get rolling with some fun trivia:
1. Most people can identify Peyton Manning as the only starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl with multiple franchises (2006 Colts, 2015 Broncos).
However, did you also know that Manning's one of two starting signal-callers to a lose a Super Bowl with multiple clubs?
The other quarterback: Hall of Famer Kurt Warner ... who came up empty in Super Bowls with the Rams (2001 season) and Cardinals (2008 season).
2. The Steelers have the most franchise victories in Super Bowl history (six) – one Lombardi Trophy more than the Cowboys, 49ers and Patriots.
On the flip side, the Broncos have racked up the most Super Bowl losses – at five – with three wins during the same 38-year span (1977-2015).
3. Only 12 NFL quarterbacks have started three or more Super Bowls: Bob Griese, Roger Staubach, Fran Tarkenton, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, John Elway, Jim Kelly, Troy Aikman, Kurt Warner, Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger and Peyton Manning.
4. Among starting quarterbacks, Tom Brady (five-time Lombardi Trophy winner — 2001, 2003-04, 2014, 2016) owns the record of 'longest gap' between Super Bowl victories ... at 15 years.
Before Brady shattered this mark four years ago (rallying the Patriots from a late deficit against the Seahawks), the previous record-holder was Peyton Manning (nine years between Super Bowl triumphs).
5. NFL fans have a flood of enduring images from Super Bowl I — such as Max McGee’s reach-behind, one-handed circus catch for the opening touchdown, the second-half kickoff that didn’t count (NBC-TV wasn’t back from a commercial break) and Packers head coach Vince Lombardi walking off the field amid the Los Angeles Coliseum patrons, shaking hands without any security detail.
But here's a little factoid that rarely, if ever, gets mentioned:
Along with McGee (seven catches, 138 yards, two TDs), Packers tailback Elijah Pitts also scored a pair of touchdowns in the inaugural Super Bowl.
6. The 1970 Dallas Cowboys are the first team in history to lose a Super Bowl … when taking a lead into the fourth quarter.
But then again, we shouldn’t expect anything less from the infamous Blunder Bowl (Super Bowl V) — with the Cowboys and Colts netting 11 turnovers (five fumbles lost, six interceptions).
7. Speaking of Super Bowl V, played on the short-lived Astroturf at the old Orange Bowl, Cowboys linebacker Chuck Howley stands as the only MVP from the losing club.
Given the uniqueness of Howley’s award, it only makes sense for the Cowboys to be involved with this other distinction:
Randy White and the late Harvey Martin are the only co-MVPs in Super Bowl history — a reward for the Cowboys’ thorough rout of the Broncos in SB XII.
8. Two weeks ago marked the 50th anniversary of the New York Jets' landmark victory over the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III — easily pro football's greatest upset of the last half-century.
We all know the legend of Hall of Famer Joe Namath successfully guaranteeing a win during the mid-week hype (greatest prediction ever), but here's something that has been largely forgotten, over time:
For the Jets' 16-7 win at The Orange Bowl, Namath didn't attempt a single pass in the fourth quarter.
9. Strange but true: No head coach in history has won at a Super Bowl with multiple franchises.
10. Here's a loaded question for the masses: How many quarterbacks claim the top four spots, in terms of single-game passing yards for the Super Bowl?
The answer: Only two.
1 — Tom Brady (505 passing yards in SB 52)
2 — Tom Brady (466 passing yards in SB 51)
3 — Kurt Warner (414 passing yards in SB 34)
4 — Kurt Warner (377 passing yards in SB 43)
11. The Miami Dolphins are the only franchise of the Super Bowl era to post a perfect season (1972), from beginning to end.
On the flip side, the previous year's Dolphins are the only club in Super Bowl history not to score one touchdown on Super Sunday.
The anemic 1971 Dolphins lost to the Cowboys 24-3 in Super Bowl VI.
12. The Dolphins were certainly a run-first operation in the 1970s, even with the Hall of Fame tandem of quarterback Bob Griese and receiver Paul Warfield.
Speaking of Griese, the Purdue legend holds the Super Bowl single-game record for fewest completions by the winning starting quarterback — six against the Vikings in SB VIII.
To his credit, Griese had just one incompletion on the day — an errant fly pattern to Warfield.
13. Here a few Super Sunday records worth noting:
a) Tom Brady will likely claim this nugget for a while: The eight-time AFC champion owns the Super Bowl record for most career completions — 235 through seven games.
(The next-highest completions tally: Peyton Manning with 103.)
b) Patriots tailback James White has the Super Bowl record for most single-game receptions (14 vs. Atlanta in SB 51).
c) Former Bills kicker Steve Christie holds the Super Bowl record for longest made field goal — 54 yards in Super Bowl XXVIII.
14. Counting this Sunday's clash with the Rams, Bill Belichick has now coached in 12 Super Bowls — two as a Giants assistant, once as a Patriots staffer and nine as New England's head coach.
Is that an overall participatory record? By a long shot.
On a different plane, though, Dan Reeves owns the all-time record for players AND coaches, participating in nine Super Bowls (two as a Cowboys player, three as a Dallas assistant under Tom Landry and four as head coach of the Denver Broncos or Atlanta Falcons).
15. Jake Delhomme boasts a cool record that might endure for a decade or two — or maybe it’ll be erased by Sunday:
The retired Panthers quarterback gets credit for the longest pass play in Super Bowl history — an 85-yard touchdown toss to Muhsin Muhammad in Super Bowl XXXVIII (against the Patriots).
For what it’s worth, Steelers tailback Willie Parker possesses the record for longest rushing play in Super Bowl history — a 75-yard touchdown jaunt against the Seahawks in SB XL.
16. According to ESPN.com, since 1997, Patriots rookie Sony Michel and Hall of Famer Terrell Davis are the only tailbacks to amass five rushing touchdowns in a single postseason.
Simply put, Michel has 60 minutes to separate from Davis for all time.
17. Back-to-back Super Bowl victories aren’t as rare as you might think.
The Packers, Dolphins, 49ers, Cowboys, Broncos, Patriots, and Steelers have all pulled off the feat. In fact, Pittsburgh has won back-to-back Super Bowls on two separate occasions (1974-75, 1979-80).
18. Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw are the only perfect 4-0 quarterbacks in Super Bowl history. The only difference between the pair of Hall of Famers: Montana never threw an interception on Super Sunday.
19. From the department of Defensive Stars Can Never Catch A Break ...
Raiders linebacker Rod Martin holds the Super Bowl single-game record for interceptions — three off Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski in Super Bowl XV.
And yet, Martin's offensive teammate, quarterback Jim Plunkett (261 yards passing, three TDs against Philly), walked away with MVP honors.
Go figure.
20. Here's something weird: Rams tailback Todd Gurley has never rushed for 100 yards against an NFC South opponent (Falcons, Saints, Panthers, Buccaneers).
21. Dwight White, a member of the famed Steel Curtain defense of the 1970s, gets official credit for the first safety in Super Bowl history — essentially two-hand-touching Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton in the end zone (botched handoff in Super Bowl IX).
But the story doesn't end there: In the week leading up to the game in New Orleans, White ate some bad seafood and incurred a serious bout of food poisoning.
White subsequently lost 20 pounds from his unplanned hospital stay ... but rallied in time to suit up for the Steelers' first of four Super Bowl titles.
(Unfortunately, you won't find White in the official team photo, taken earlier that week.)
22. The Dolphins’ Fulton Walker was the first player in Super Bowl history to record a kick-return touchdown (98-yarder in SB XVII) — breaking a 10-all tie in the first half against the Redskins.
Miami would fall apart in the second half, losing to Washington, 27-17.
23. In 1982, the Bears selected Jim McMahon (No. 5 overall pick) as their passing savior ... and a complement to Hall of Fame tailback Walter Payton.
The surprisingly fleet-footed McMahon would also be proficient when escaping the pocket, tallying 16 rushing TDs in his 15-year NFL career.
Which brings us to this: McMahon holds the Super Bowl single-game record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback -- two against the Patriots (SB XX).
One last note: McMahon and 'Refrigerator' Perry accounted for three rushing scores in the Bears' 46-10 rout at the Superdome ... but Payton never found the end zone.
24. Redskins tailback Timmy Smith holds the Super Bowl single-game record for rushing yards, rumbling for 204 yards (and two TDs) against Denver in January 1988 (SB XXI).
It's a staggering stat, considering the unheralded rookie rushed for only 602 yards in three NFL seasons (1987-88, 1990).
In case you're wondering, Redskins QB Doug Williams took home Super Bowl MVP honors, after tossing five TDs in a single quarter against the Broncos.
25. One could easily make the case for Hall of Famer Jerry Rice (1,549 catches, 22,895 yards, 197 TDs) being the greatest player in NFL history, even though it's a subjective rationale.
However, here's something that cannot be argued:
Among non-quarterbacks, Rice holds the Super Bowl record for the most yards from scrimmage — 220 against the Bengals in SB XXIII.
And as a final bonus (sorry, Atlanta fans) ...
The largest halftime deficit for a Super Bowl champion stands at 18 points (the 2016 Patriots trailed the Falcons, 21-3).
The largest halftime deficit for any Super Bowl team .. belongs to the 1987 Broncos, who trailed by 25 points at the break (SB XXII).
