Just How Bad Was That Super Bowl? Updating Our Watchability Rankings

Reuben Fischer-Baum|published: Mon 3rd February, 11:56 2014

Last year we ranked all 47 Super Bowls on "watchability," a stat we devised based on performance against the spread, total scoring, closeness, and quality of finish. We ran the numbers for last night's massacre, and Super Bowl XLVIII ranks as the sixth-least watchable matchup of all time, and the worst since 2001. All of the games towards the bottom of the list are terrible, but Seahawks-Broncos gets a slight bump from being an upset (crazy, right?), and from its relatively high score.

Here is the updated list of the ten worst Super Bowls in history; three of the bottom eight are now Denver losses. You can see the original post below for complete rankings and an explanation of the methodology.

Rank	Bowl	Year	Winner	Loser	Upset	Score	Close	Wire	Total
39	II	1968	Green Bay 33	Oakland 14	5	12	8	0	25
40	I	1967	Green Bay 35	Kansas City 10	3	11	10	0	24
41	XXII	1988	Washington 42	Denver 10	8	14	0	0	22
42	VI	1972	Dallas 24	Miami 3	2	3	16	0	21
43	XLVIII	2014	Seattle 43	Denver 8	7	14	0	0	21
44	XXXV	2001	Baltimore 34	N.Y. Giants 7	0	9	11	0	21
45	XXIV	1990	San Francisco 55	Denver 10	0	20	0	0	20
46	XIX	1985	San Francisco 38	Miami 16	2	15	3	0	20
47	VIII	1974	Miami 24	Minnesota 7	4	5	11	0	19
48	XX	1986	Chicago 46	New England 10	0	16	0	0	16