Dominance of 2000 Ravens Defense Reflected in Super Bowl Quarterback Performance Rankings

The Ringer’s Steven Ruiz ranked all 50 Super Bowl quarterback performances of the 21st century, and the dominance of the 2000 Ravens defense is reflected in the rankings.

Kerry Collins, whose New York Giants were trounced by the Ravens, 34-7, in Super Bowl XXXV, was dead last.

“Rewatching this game was a surprisingly enjoyable experience,” Ruiz wrote. “There’s just something about seeing a powerhouse defense flatten an opposing quarterback. The Ravens made Kerry Collins look as if he had never played the position before. He ended the game with four interceptions, but that number could have been so much worse. Baltimore had its hands on three of Collins’s passes in the opening minutes of the game but couldn’t finish off the plays.

“When Collins wasn’t throwing it directly to Ravens defenders, he was missing his receivers high and lobbing hospital balls into the teeth of Baltimore’s unforgiving defense – all while a young Sean Payton, then the Giants offensive coordinator, looked on helplessly.”

Collins went 15-for-39 for 112 yards, with no touchdowns, and a 7.1 passer rating. He ranked 50th out of 50 in EPA per dropback (–0.74), success rate (18.6%), and yards per dropback (2.0).

Collins was coming off a strong performance in the Giants’ 41-0 rout of the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship Game, where he went 28-for-39 for 381 yards, with five touchdown passes, two interceptions, and a 120.8 passer rating.

Joe Flacco, the MVP of the Ravens’ 34-31 win over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII, was No. 16.

“It was the culmination of the single greatest playoff run we’ve ever seen from a quarterback,” Ruiz wrote. “Flacco’s three touchdown passes against an elite 49ers defense helped him finish the 2012 postseason with a perfect 11-to-0 touchdown-to-interception ratio, and he outplayed both Peyton Manning and Tom Brady (on the road!) en route to the Super Bowl, where he took home MVP honors.

“Flacco’s performance would have ranked higher if it had more memorable moments, but the post-halftime blackout at the Superdome and Jacoby Jones’s kickoff return that broke the game open have largely overshadowed Flacco’s big game.”

Trent Dilfer, the winning quarterback of Super Bowl XXV, was No. 41.

“Dilfer didn’t have to do too much with the Ravens defense ragdolling Kerry Collins and the Giants offense,” Ruiz wrote. “As you can see, 153 yards passing and no turnovers was enough for Baltimore to blow out New York.

“Still, Dilfer did chip in with two legitimately impressive throws. He hit Brandon Stokley up the seam for a deep touchdown that opened up the scoring and connected with Qadry Ismail on a tight-window throw down the sideline to spark the Ravens’ second scoring drive. Those two plays accounted for more than half of Dilfer’s passing yards on the day.”