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Fantasy Football

54 interesting Super Bowl fantasy facts

A ticket to Super Bowl I between the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers cost fans as little as $6. The game didn't sell out. In 2018, the average price of a single Super Bowl XLII ticket was $2,500. The Pittsburgh Steelers were the first Super Bowl team to visit the White House. That occurred in 1980, when the team visited President Jimmy Carter in a joint ceremony with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who won the 1979 World Series. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that Super Bowl Sunday is the "second-largest food consumption day" behind only Thanksgiving. There's only been one player named Super Bowl MVP who didn't play for the winning team ... Dallas Cowboys LB Chuck Howley, who won the award despite his team losing to the Baltimore Colts, 16-13, in Super Bowl V.

The fewest number of points scored by a team in a Super Bowl is three, by the Miami Dolphins in a 24-3 loss to the Cowboys in Super Bowl VI. There's never been a shutout in a Super Bowl. In 1983, almost 106 million people watched the final episode of MAS*H, making it the most-watched television show in the history of America. That record was broken by Super Bowl XLIV, as 106.5 million viewers watched the New Orleans Saints defeat the Indianapolis Colts. Super Bowl XLIX is the most watched Super Bowl, as the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots played in front of 114.4 million people.

Those are a few interesting Super Bowl facts you might not know.

Now for something even more interesting ... here's your 54 fantasy facts for the Super Bowl!

Special thanks to NFL research extraordinaires Matt Frederick and Michael Florio for their help with this column.

All set, enjoy!

  1. Three players have scored 100-plus career fantasy points in Super Bowls: Tom Brady (172.5), Jerry Rice (141.4) and Joe Montana (110.2). No one else has even reached 85 career points.
  1. The most fantasy points scored by a quarterback in a single Super Bowl game came from Steve Young, who threw for 325 yards, rushed for 49 yards and threw six touchdowns in a win over the San Diego Chargers (Super Bowl XXIX). His ridiculous statistical output was good enough for 41.9 fantasy points.
  1. Brady has scored a combined 172.5 fantasy points in Super Bowls, the most in NFL history. The next closest player in terms of Super Bowl points scored is Joe Montana, who has 110.2 points.
  1. Brady has scored 20-plus fantasy points in four different Super Bowls, which is the most in NFL history. Only four other players have done so more than twice, a list that includes Rice, Montana, Roger Craig and Kurt Warner. Each of them has hit the 20-point mark three times.
  1. Brady has thrown 18 career touchdown passes in Super Bowls, the most in NFL history. The only other signal-caller with double-digit touchdown passes in the big game was Montana (11).
  1. Brady has played in more than twice as many Super Bowls (9) as Montana (4).
  1. Patrick Mahomes has eight touchdown passes in two playoff games so far this season. The most in a single postseason is 11, by three players; Montana in 1989, Warner in 2012 and Joe Flacco in 2012.
  1. The last Super Bowl with two quarterbacks making their first Super Bowl start was Super Bowl XLVII (Flacco and Colin Kaepernick), seven years ago.
  1. In his five Super Bowl contests, John Elway had just three touchdown passes and eight interceptions. However, he did rush for four touchdowns including one in four of his five championship games.
  1. Six quarterbacks have thrown four-plus touchdown passes in a single Super Bowl, a list that includes Brady, Montana, Young, Troy Aikman, Terry Bradshaw and Doug Williams. None did it more than once. Of the five who are no longer playing, only Williams is not in the Hall of Fame.
  1. Brady set the record for the most passing yards in a single Super Bowl with 505 in Super Bowl LII. That broke the record he set the previous season (466 passing yards in Super Bowl LI). Warner has the third most (414 yards in Super Bowl XXXIV) and the fourth most (377 yards in Super Bowl XLIII).
  1. Brady has thrown for 300-plus yards in four Super Bowls, the most in NFL history. The only other player to do so more than twice is Warner, who reached that mark three times in three appearances.
  1. Brady has thrown for 2,838 passing yards in Super Bowls, the most in NFL history. Not only does he hold the record, but he has more than double the yardage of any other quarterback. Warner is second (1,156).
  1. Despite playing in nine Super Bowls thus far, Brady has thrown just six interceptions. Elway (8), Jim Kelly (7), and Craig Morton (7) have all thrown more picks in their Super Bowl careers.
  1. Morton completed 4-of-15 passes for 39 yards and threw four interceptions (-6.44 fantasy points) on his way to a 0.0 passer rating against the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XII. That's the worst ever recorded by a starting quarterback in the championship game.
  1. Morton's -6.44 fantasy points is the fewest by a starting quarterback in a Super Bowl.
  1. Brady attempted 62 passes in Super Bowl LI against the Atlanta Falcons, the most ever in a Super Bowl. Mahomes' career high is 53 (Week 14, 2018). Jimmy Garoppolo has attempted a total of 27 passes in his first two playoff starts combined.
  1. On the flip side, another Patriots signal-caller, Tony Eason attempted just six passes in Super Bowl XX. That's the fewest ever by a starting quarterback in the championship game. Eason was benched in favor of Steve Grogan after failing to complete his first six passes while being sacked three times and losing a fumble. The Chicago Bears and their monster defense went on to smash the Patriots, 46-10.
  1. Brady completed 43 passes in Super Bowl LI, the most in Super Bowl history. Mahomes had a career-high 36 completions in Week 10 against the Titans. Garoppolo's career high in completions also came this season, with 34 against the Cardinals in Week 11.
  1. Brady put up an impressive 30.8 fantasy points in Super Bowl LII in a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. That's the most fantasy points scored by a losing quarterback in Super Bowl history.
  1. No quarterback has more combined rushing yards in the Super Bowl than Montana (105).
  1. The quarterback with the most rushing yards in a single Super Bowl game, however, is Steve McNair. He rushed for 64 yards against the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV. Mahomes has exactly 53 rushing yards in each of his playoff games this postseason.
  1. Phil Simms completed 22 of 25 passes against the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXI, which was good for a 88.0 completion percent. That's the highest in a single Super Bowl in NFL history. His 150.9 passer rating in that contest is the highest every by a starting quarterback in a Super Bowl.
  1. Drew Brees, who had an 82.1 completion percentage in Super Bowl XLIV, is the only other field general to finish a Super Bowl with a completion percentage over 80 (min. 10 pass attempts).
  1. Matt Ryan's 144.1 passer rating is the best by a quarterback in a losing performance in a Super Bowl. He accomplished that feat during a 34-28 loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl LI.
  1. Johnny Unitas scored the fewest fantasy points (2.9) among starting quarterbacks to win a Super Bowl. He completed just three of nine passes for 88 yards with one touchdown and had two picks against the Cowboys in Super Bowl V. He was forced out of the game in the first half due to an injury and was replaced by Earl Morrall. The Colts went on to win the infamous "Blooper Bowl," 16-13.
  1. Peyton Manning scored just 3.6 fantasy points when the Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50. That is the second-fewest points scored by a winning quarterback in a Super Bowl. The former fantasy star finished 13 of 23 with 141 yards, no touchdowns and one interception.
  1. Manning is one of the best fantasy quarterbacks of all time, but he wasn't spectacular in the stat sheets in the Super Bowl. In fact, he had just three touchdowns and five interceptions in the big game.
  1. Cam Newton was sacked six times in Super Bowl 50, which is tied with Joe Theismann (Super Bowl XVIII) for the most times sacked in a single Super Bowl. Newton lost a combined 64 yards to sacks in that game, the most in NFL history. No other Super Bowl quarterback else has lost more than 50 yards.
  1. Jim Kelly threw 30 incomplete passes against the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XXVI, which is the most in NFL history. No other player has thrown more than 25 incompletions in a Super Bowl.
  1. Nick Foles is the lone player in NFL history to throw a touchdown pass and catch a touchdown pass in the same Super Bowl. His catch was on a 1-yard pass from Trey Burton in Super Bowl LII.
  1. Trey Burton's touchdown pass to Foles, which will forever be known as the "Philly Special," was not the first time a non-quarterback threw a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl. Fullback Robert Newhouse, running back Lawrence McCutcheon and wide receiver Antwaan Randle El have also done it in the big game.
  1. Only two non-quarterbacks have ever topped 40 fantasy points in single Super Bowl game. One player, Rice, isn't much of a surprise. He scored 43.9 against the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX.
  1. The second player to hit the 40-plus point mark was ... James White! He scored 47.9 fantasy points in Super Bowl LI, the most ever scored in a Super Bowl game at any position. He had 14 catches, 139 total yards and three touchdowns in the Patriots historic 34-28 comeback win over the Falcons.
  1. Despite the great number of Hall of Fame running backs who have played in the Super Bowl over the last five decades, the runner who has produced the most career fantasy points in the big game is ... Roger Craig (84.0). The versatile runner totaled 20 receptions, over 400 scrimmage yards and has scored four touchdowns in three Super Bowl appearances as a member of the San Francisco 49ers.
  1. Thurman Thomas put up 30 fantasy points in Super Bowl XXV, which is the most by a running back in a loss in Super Bowl history. He appeared in four Super Bowls during his Hall of Fame career, racking up a combined 20 catches, 348 scrimmage yards (fifth-most in the Super Bowl) and four scores.
  1. Franco Harris compiled a combined 354 career rushing yards in his four Super Bowl appearances, which is the most in NFL history. In fact, he's the only running back with over 300 career rushing yards on the NFL's grandest stage. The next closest running back in career rush yards is Larry Csonka, with 297. Emmitt Smith ranks third all-time at the position with 289 rushing yards.
  1. Emmitt Smith is the only player in NFL history to score multiple rushing touchdowns in multiple Super Bowls (2). In his three Super Bowl appearances, the Hall of Fame running back has posted 11 combined catches, over 300 scrimmage yards and five rushing touchdowns for the Dallas Cowboys.
  1. Emmitt Smith, Csonka and Terrell Davis are the only running backs in Super Bowl history to rush for 100-plus yards in multiple Super Bowls. They each did so twice.
  1. Davis is the only player in Super Bowl history to rush for three touchdowns in a single game. He accomplished that feat in Super Bowl XXXII when the Broncos defeated the Green Bay Packers, 31-24.
  1. Timmy Smith has rushed for more yards in a single Super Bowl than any other running back in NFL history, putting up 204 yards on the ground for the Redskins in Super Bowl XXII.
  1. Timmy Smith is also the only running back in NFL history to ever rush for 200-plus yards in a single Super Bowl contest. The next closest player was Marcus Allen, who had 191 rushing yards for the Los Angeles Raiders in Super Bowl XVIII. The Silver and Black demolished the Redskins, 38-9.
  1. Despite having the most rushing yards in a single game in Super Bowl history, Timmy Smith's pro career went downward fast. He would go on to rush for just 476 more yards in the NFL.
  1. Rice had 589 career receiving yards in Super Bowls, the most in NFL history. The next closest receiver is Lynn Swann with 364 career receiving yards. That's 225 fewer yards than Rice.
  1. Rice is the only player in NFL history to record 100-plus receiving yards in three different Super Bowls. Deion Branch, Antonio Freeman, John Stallworth, Julian Edelman and Swann are the only other players to hit that mark in multiple Super Bowls, each doing so twice.
  1. Rice posted 215 receiving yards against the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII, the most ever in a single Super Bowl. It's the lone 200-plus receiving yard performance in the big game. Ricky Sanders almost hit that mark in Super Bowl XXII when he had 193 yards against the Broncos.
  1. Only one receiver has topped 150 receiving yards in a single Super Bowl game since the 2000 season ... Danny Amendola. He had 152 against the Eagles in Super Bowl LII.
  1. Rice scored a ridiculous 39-plus fantasy points in each of his first three Super Bowls as a member of the 49ers.
  1. Rice scored a combined 141.4 fantasy points in his four Super Bowl appearances, the most of all non-quarterbacks. The next closest non-quarterback is Roger Craig with 84 fantasy points.
  1. Andre Reed was part of four Super Bowl teams in Buffalo, finishing with a combined 27 catches. That's the second-most catches among wideouts in Super Bowl history. Despite his high reception total, however, Reed didn't score a single touchdown on the NFL's grandest stage.
  1. The tight end with the most fantasy points scored in a single Super Bowl game isn't named Rob Gronkowski, Jay Novacek or Zach Ertz ... it's Dan Ross. He put up 11 catches for 104 yards with two touchdowns and finished with an impressive 33.4 points for the Bengals in Super Bowl XVI.
  1. Adam Vinatieri and Stephen Gostkowski have made the most field goals in Super Bowl history with seven each.
  1. For all of those IDP fans out there, the Super Bowl leader in combined tackles is Rodney Harrison with 33 in his four appearances. Believe it or not, but he has six more than the next-best total of 27 by Patrick Chung, then 26 by Devin McCourty and 24 by Tedy Bruschi. All four players played for the Patriots.
  1. Last season, the Patriots and Rams combined for the fewest points in Super Bowl history (16) and the Patriots scored the fewest points by a Super Bowl winner in NFL history (13).

Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on NFL Media and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Hall of Fame. You can follow Michael on **Twitter**, **Facebook**, **YouTube** and **Instagram** for all of the latest fantasy news, notes and analysis!

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