For most Patriots fans, choosing which Super Bowl title you like best is probably like asking which child you love the most. There's really no answer as all five are equally exciting and gratifying.
But unlike a parent being asked to choose which is child best, picking a favorite Super Bowl is at least possible. The Patriots offer plenty to choose from with each of the five offering something to distinguish itself.
The Rams win was the first, and the most unexpected. The Panthers win was a wild shootout heavy on drama. The Eagles victory a year later was a repeat and put the franchise in dynasty mode. The last two against Seattle and the Atlanta featured comebacks with magical endings.
So which was best?
This week's Samsonite Make Your Case asks: Was the Patriots miracle victory over Atlanta the best of the five Super Bowl titles?
PFW's Andy Hart says...
Yes
There's a tendency to overreact to the latest thing you've seen and call it the best ever but in this case I believe it's warranted. Completing the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history simply can't be ignored. So many plays and sequences had to fall into place for the Patriots to make it all the way back, and there were contributions from just about everyone along the way.
Tom Brady further cemented his legacy (even if he didn't need to) with an epic fourth quarter and overtime, and James White's heroics won't soon be forgotten. Dont'a Hightower's strip sack may have been the biggest play of them all.
For the shear drama and the circumstances in which it all played out, Super Bowl LI has to be the best of all the Patriots championships. That one will be tough to top, but then again I don't doubt that Brady could do it.
- AH
PFW's Paul Perillo says...
No
It's tough to say no with this game still so fresh in our minds, and I will say I'll never see a more stunning comeback than the one the Patriots fashioned over Atlanta, but I'm still partial to the first one.
Super Bowl XXXVI was where it all began, and that title was just so magical and illogical that it has to remain at the top of my list. New England was a heavy underdog in that game and then went toe to toe with the best team in the league. For four quarters the Patriots pounded the Rams and prevented the best offense from clicking despite the fact that the game was played in a dome.
Meanwhile, a young and still unproven Tom Brady directed the offense to just enough points to make history. And watching the final drive remains as scintillating today as it was 15 years ago back in New Orleans.
It doesn't get better than that.
- PP
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