Super Bowl shocker: the biggest upset in Super Bowl history

The New England Patriots are set to play their 12th Super Bowl in franchise history on Sunday when they take on the Seattle Seahawks. No other team has more than eight Super Bowl appearances. When you get to that many Super Sundays, you are sure to have some sweet memories, but Pats fans have had their fair share of bitter memories as well.

The best that never was

The Patriots are the winningest team in the history of the NFL. They had the greatest dynasty this sport has ever seen, winning six Super Bowls from 2001 to 2018 and getting to another three. New England had been to two other Super Bowls before the Bill Belichick and Tom Brady era began at the start of this century, but the Pats lost both those games.

They have won six, but no Super Bowl loss stings more than the one they lost in the 2007 season. New England already had three titles under their belt, lifting the Lombardi Trophy in the 2001, 2003 and 2004 seasons. Their dynasty had already been established, but after a couple of seasons of crashing out in the AFC playoffs, they made a massive offseason move trading for Randy Moss.

One of the greatest receivers ever pairing up with Tom Brady who would become the greatest quarterback of all time. As you could imagine, the tag team became on of the most prolific tandems in NFL history. Brady threw for 4,806 yards, 50 touchdowns and just 8 interceptions. Moss caught 98 balls for 1,493 yards and 23 touchdowns and the Patriots had the second undefeated regular season in NFL.

Pats’ perfection spoiled

After a 16-0 season, the Patriots got the one seed in the AFC, and beat the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Divisional Round before beating the San Diego Chargers in the AFC Championship. That set up a Super Bowl matchup with the New York Giants who went 10-6 in the regular season and came into the game as massive underdogs after a getting a Wild Card spot in the NFC Playoffs, and shocking the world by getting to Super Bowl XLII.

New England went into the game as 12 point favorites, despite the two teams playing in the final week of the season and the Giants keeping the game close. They eventually lost that game 38-35, but got their revenge on Super Sunday, coming up with the biggest upset in Super Bowl history after David Tyree made the famous “Helmet Catch” to keep New York alive, and Plaxico Burress won the game with a go ahead touchdown with 35 seconds on the clock.

The Patriots are back in the Super Bowl this week, and unlike, that team in 2007, they are not favored to win this game. The Seattle Seahawks are 4.5 point favorites as of Tuesday afternoon. If the Patriots win, it would be far from the biggest upset in Super Bowl history, but they would add to their NFL record trophy cabinet with a seventh Lombardi Trophy.

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