Super Bowl By The Records

The Super Bowl, watched by over a 100 million people each year in the U.S., is the singular goal of every player and coach in the NFL. It's the ultimate prize, a defining career moment, and the playground of some of the greatest games in sporting history.

After thousands of hours of training, practice, and watching film, the NFL season culminates into one last game for two surviving teams on one of the biggest stages in sports. A game where legends are created and solidified to be placed among the likes of Namath, Staubach, Bradshaw, Montana, Elway, Brady, Manning and others.

Here is a look at some of the greatest record setting performances in Super Bowl games.

Quarterbacks

Of the 46 MVP awards handed out at the Super Bowl, over half have been awarded to QBs (24 or 52%).

• 414  - Most Passing Yards in a single game - Kurt Warner (Super Bowl 34). Warner won the MVP and led the Rams to a 23-16 win over the Titans. Kurt Warner also holds the career passing record with 1,156 yards (Super Bowls 34, 36 and 43).
  
  
• 6 - Most TD Passes in a single game - Steve Young (Super Bowl 29). Young had 4 TDs in the first half, passed for 325 yards, and won both the Super Bowl MVP and league MVP. Young's predecessor Joe Montana holds the record for most TD passes over a career with  11.
  
  
• 88.0 - Highest Passing Completion Percentage in a single game - Phil Simms (Super Bowl 21). Simms completed 22 of 25 passes for 268 yards and 3 TDs leading his Giants to a 39-20 win over the Denver Broncos.
  
  
• 150.9 - Highest QB Rating in a single game - Phil Simms (Super Bowl 21). The highest career passer rating goes to Joe Montana who had a 127.83 rating over four Super Bowls.
  
  
• 14.71  - Most Yards Per Pass in a single game - Terry Bradshaw (Super Bowl 14).

Running Backs

Of the 46 MVP awards handed out, running backs have received the second most with 7 or 15%.

• 204 - Most Rushing Yards in a single game - Timmy Smith (Super Bowl 22). Redskins, Smith had 22 rushing attempts scoring 2 TDs and averaging 9.3 yards per carry in a 42-10 win over the Broncos. Franco Harris holds the career record with 354 rushing yards over 4 games.
  
  
• 3 - Most Rushing TDs in a single game - Terrell Davis (Super Bowl 32). Despite a head injury suffered in the first half causing him to miss most of the second quarter, Davis returned strong in the second half and finished the game with 157 yards rushing, won the game MVP and helped lead the Broncos to a 31-24 win over the Packers. Emmitt Smith holds the career record with 5 Rushing TDs in three Super Bowls.
  
  
• 75 - Longest Rushing Carry - Willie Parker (Super Bowl 40).

Wide Receivers

Of the 46 MVP awards handed out, receivers have received the second most with 6 or 13%.

• 215 - Most Receiving Yards in a game - Jerry Rice (Super Bowl 23). Rice, one of the greatest WRs ever, showed up to play catching 11 passes, catching a TD and rushing for a TD in a 20-16 49ers win over the Bengals. Rice is also the career leader with 589 receiving yards over 4 Super Bowls.
  
  
• 3 - Most Receiving TDs in a game - Jerry Rice (Super Bowls 24 and 29). Jerry Rice is clearly the greatest Super Bowl receiver in history with an MVP, 3 Super Bowls and numerous receiving records. He scored 3 TDs in two different games and holds the career TD receiving record with 8 TDs.
  
  
• 85 - Longest Reception (was a TD) - Muhsin Muhammad (Super Bowl 38).

Defense

It's not all offense when it comes to the Super Bowl, out of the 46 MVPs awarded 9 were given to defensive players or 19.5%. The last was awarded to Safety Dexter Jackson who helped the Bucs win Super Bowl 37.

• 3 - Most Interceptions in a single game - Rod Martin (Super Bowl 15). Raiders Martin intercepted the first pass of the game from Ron Jaworski, which led to a TD. His second INT led to a field goal and his final TD ended the game as the Raiders were able to run out the clock for the 27-10 win over the Eagles.
  
  
• 100 - Longest Interception Return - James Harrison (Super Bowl 43). Harrison, Defensive Player of the Year, intercepted a Kurt Warner pass in the end zone and returned it for the longest play in Super Bowl history. The Steelers took a 17-7 lead on the play and won the game 27-23 over the Cardinals.
  
  
• 3 - Most Sacks in a single game - Reggie White (Super Bowl 31) & Darnell Dockett (Super Bowl 43). Charles Haley holds the career sacks record with 4.5. Haley also holds the record for most Super Bowl Championships with 5.

Special Teams

Only one player from the special teams has been awarded the Super Bowl MVP - Desmond Howard of the Packers in Super Bowl 31.

• 99 - Longest Kickoff Return (was a TD) - Desmond Howard. Howard returned kicks for a total of 154 yards, including the 99-yard TD return, and also recorded 90 punt return yards for a total of 244 return yards.
  
  
• 4 - Most Field Goals in a game - Don Chandler (Super Bowl 2) & Ray Wersching (Super Bowl 16). Adam Vinatieri holds the career record with 7 FGs over 5 Super Bowls including two game winning FGs (Super Bowl 36 & 38).
  
  
• 14 - Fastest Score (seconds) - Devin Hester (Super Bowl 41), kickoff return.
  
  
• 54 - Longest Field Goal - Steve Christie (Super Bowl 28).

Overall Team

Football is the ultimate team game, so here is a look at some of the most important team records in the Super Bowl.

• 6  - Most Super Bowl Victories - Pittsburgh Steelers (Super Bowls 9, 10, 13, 14, 40, 43).
  
  
• 5 - Most Super Bowl Victories without a loss - San Francisco 49ers (Super Bowls 16, 19, 23, 24, 29).
  
  
• 55 - Most Points Scored by