Corey "Philly" Brown and Ted Ginn Jr. led the Panthers' receiving corps in Super Bowl 50 with 80 and 74 yards respectively. Unfortunately it was not enough to overcome the Broncos' defense.
What are the best Buckeye Super Bowl offensive performances? Glad you asked.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Paul Warfield had 9 receptions for 108 yards in three Super Bowl performances with the Dolphins. However, he never had more 39 yards receiving in a single game.
Pete Johnson led the Bengals with 14 carries for 36 yards in the 21-26 loss to San Francisco in Super Bowl XVI.
Terry Glenn and Keith Byars made big contributions for New England's passing game in Super Bowl XXXI. Byars had 4 receptions for 42 yards and a touchdown and Glenn had 4 receptions for 62 yards in the 21-35 loss to the Packers.
Now, on to the best performances...
No. 3 Eddie George, Super Bowl XXXIV
| PLAYER | ATT | YDS | TD | REC | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EDDIE GEORGE | 28 | 95 | 2 | 2 | 35 | 0 |
Tennessee and St. Louis entered the game with identical 13-3 records. The Titans' offense was led by Eddie George and Steve McNair. The Rams featured Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk.
Eddie George was the heartbeat of the Tennessee Titans' running game. In the three playoff games before the Super Bowl George racked up 391 total yards. Super Bowl XXXIV was going to be the Eddie George show.
The Rams' defense designed its game plan to stop George. With the line stacked against him, the 1995 Heisman Trophy winner ran for 95 yards and scored both of Tennessee's touchdowns. He also had 35 yards receiving in the 23-16 loss.
No. 2 Matt Snell & Tom Matte, Super Bowl III
| PLAYER | ATT | YDS | TD | REC | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MATT SNELL | 30 | 121 | 1 | 4 | 40 | 0 |
| TOM MATTE | 11 | 116 | 0 | 2 | 30 | 0 |
The perception entering Super Bowl III was AFL teams were inferior to NFL teams. The Baltimore Colts (13-1) were the NFL champs and favored by 18 points to defeat the 11-3 New York Jets. The game is remembered for its quarterbacks, Johnny Unitas of the Colts and Joe Namath of the Jets. However, two Buckeye running backs powered the offenses.
Tom Matte played quarterback during his days at Ohio State in 1959 and 1960. The Pittsburgh native was the Colts first round draft pick in 1961 and became their starting running back. Matte rushed for 116 yards on only 11 carries in the loss to the Jets. His average of 10.5 yards per carry remains a Super Bowl record.
Joe Namath gets all of the accolades for guaranteeing the Jets would defeat the Colts in Super Bowl III. What goes unnoticed is the key contribution of Ohio State's Matt Snell. Snell had a game high 30 carries, 121 yards and a touchdown in the win. Namath was named MVP, but Snell carried the Jets to the victory.
No. 1 Santonio Holmes, Super Bowl XLIII
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| SANTONIO HOLMES | 9 | 131 | 1 |
The Steelers (12-4) entered Super Bowl XLIII favored by seven points over the Arizona Cardinals (9-7). The talk before the game focused on the Steelers defense against the Cardinals offense. Arizona's receivers Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston all had over 1,000 yards receiving in 2008. However, a receiver from Ohio State would come up clutch.
With 2:37 left in the game and the Steelers down 23-20 Santonio Holmes stepped up with the drive of his career. Holmes caught four passes for 73 yards on the game-winning drive. The most memorable of the four catches was his sideline toe-tapping game-winning touchdown with 35 seconds left in the game.
Holmes' late game heroics brought the latest Lombardi Trophy to the Steel City. He finished the game with 9 receptions, 131 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown gave the Steelers a 27-23 victory over Arizona. Holmes is the only Ohio State player to be named MVP of the Super Bowl.
