The Ultimate Super Bowl Uni Matchup Rankings (Part I)

As we approach Super Bowl LVIII (aka Supe 58), it’s time for a ranking of every SB uniform pairing ever played, going from worst to first. Of course, these rankings are largely subjective, and I’m sure you won’t agree with the order of my selections. After literally hours of finding and grading all 57 games played to date, I’ve come to the conclusion that ranking games ain’t easy — sure, there are some stinkers and some absolute all time glorious-looking games, but the middle-of-the-pack uni matchups can be a bit tricky.

For my rankings, the most important criterion is how both uniforms look together; we can have games where one of the two uniforms is fantastic, but the other is not. By and large, two good uniforms opposing one another will rank higher than just a single great uni. But there are times when both uniforms may look tremendous individually, but when paired together, the matchup as a whole isn’t as good as the individual parts. Where a game was played (as well as time of day) also factor into it: dimly lit dome games are likely to rank lower than games begun in sunshine, with all other factors being equal. Colors also play a part: if two teams have essentially the same colors, that may either work for or against the overall matchup, depending on where they appear (helmet, jersey, pants). Finally uniform styles — be they classic or modern — will affect the rankings. Two things that are not considered in the uni matchups will be the quality (or final score) of the game (close games and blowouts are factored equally), nor will a team’s success in a uniform be considered. For example, the Patriots’ “Flying Elvis” uniforms of the Brady years may have been successful in terms of Super Bowl appearances, but that factor alone does not for a good uniform make. Conversely, many Broncos fans may consider the orange jersey “cursed” but that will not affect their rankings in terms of being a good or bad uniform.

The Rankings will be divided into four parts, in ascending order — today we’ll look at the 14 “worst” matchups, with tomorrow and next Saturday tackling the third- and second-best 14. On Super Bowl Sunday, I’ll finish up with the Top 15 best uni matchups in SB history.

Remember, it’s all subjective, so feel free to disagree in the comments below.

• • • • •#57: SB 49
New England vs. Seattle

Nike’s first redesign when they took over the NFL uni contract in 2012 was for the Seahawks, and while the mono-blue look has somewhat grown on me over the years, mono-dark unis (particularly with neon accents) never look good. Throw in the Patriots wearing similar navy blue pants, and you get a recipe for the worst Supe look of all time.

__________#56: SB 51
New England vs. Atlanta

I hate to make it look like I’m picking on the Patriots, but I’ve never particularly liked the Flying Elvis unis — and with as many SB appearances as the team has, they’ll make some appearances on the “good” side too. But those giant side panels, and non-synched pants stripes going up against the truly awful Falcons uniforms, and you have another terrible uni matchup.

__________#55: SB 43
Pittsburgh vs. Arizona

Of all the individual unis that have appeared in the big game, I’ll proffer that the Cardinals had the worst uni of all. It feels like I’m penalizing the Steelers, but even their solid black/white/golds can’t overcome Arizona’s sartorial disaster.

__________#54: SB 50
Carolina vs. Denver

The only non-Roman numeral Supe was another visual cacophony, featuring the “first” modern uniform (the Broncos with their parentheses striping) which didn’t match up well against Carolina’s silver, black and teal elements. Contrast wasn’t the problem here, but taste is certainly in question.

__________#53: SB 40
Seattle vs. Pittsburgh

Poor Seattle. Their 1976-2001 silver/royal unis were really nice, but the 2002-11 unis were a real step down. The mono-Suicide Blue unis just never looked good, and even Pittsburgh’s black/white/gold couldn’t save this matchup.

__________#52: SB 36
St. Louis vs. New England

With the move to St. Louis, the Rams wanted to differentiate themselves from their LA look, switching from athletic gold to a light-metallic gold in 2000, and for their first two seasons in that shade of gold, they also had gold side panels on their white jerseys. Top it off with stripeless shiny pants and it’s just not a very good look, and add in the Patriots and it’s just an unattractive game.

__________#51: SB 15
Oakland vs. Philadelphia

Generally I’m a big fan of the early Supes, but the Raiders/Eagles from 1980 was definitely the worst of the first 20 games. Both teams wore silver pants, and in the poor lighting of the Superdome, da Raidahs looked washed out, and the Eagles didn’t look much better. Oh, and the miniature golf carpet over poured concrete didn’t help either.

__________#50: SB 47
Baltimore vs. San Francisco

Here’s a case where one team’s bad look cancels out another team’s good look, and that’s the case here as the Ravens went with the black yoga pants. Add to that the toilet seat collar that was Nike’s signature back then, and you have a look that’s definitely in the bottom quarter.

__________#49: SB 48
Seattle vs. Denver

I’ll say one thing for this game: it didn’t lack for contrast. But those bright orange jerseys were the only bright spot for this matchup, as the Seahawks’ navy pants and socks, with both teams in navy hats, marred what might have been one of the more colorful games. Both separately and individually, the modern uniforms keep a great color matchup from being ranked any higher.

__________#48: SB 29
San Diego vs. San Francisco

The 1994 season was the NFL’s 75th anny year, and most teams wore throwbacks throughout the season. The Niners decided to wear theirs on the game’s grandest stage. Those unis were supposed to be a throwback to 1955, but like many of the 1994 throwbacks, they weren’t. And any time you have San Diego in anything but gold pants, it’s not a Super look. It wasn’t a terrible looking game, but neither team wore their Sunday best.

__________#47: SB 31
New England vs. Green Bay

I know there are some of you who like the original Flying Elvis uniforms, but I wasn’t one of them. And while I consider the Packers home uniforms to be the tops in the NFL, the clash of modern and classic (again, with the terrible Superdome lighting) puts this one lower than you probably thought it would be.

__________#46: SB 33
Denver vs. Atlanta

We’re getting to the point where we have Super Bowls that don’t look terrible, but still don’t look all that great, and that’s what we have here between Denver — still in the early years of their parentheses unis — and the Dirty Birds in their black/black/silver kits. Colorful it was not.

__________#45: SB 46
New York vs. New England

Despite my being a Giants fan, I’m not particularly a fan of their road look where the helmet is blue, but the jerseys are completely devoid of that color. If your nickname is “Big Blue,” you better have more than just a single blue stripe on everything below the waist. This is the lowest of the “rematch” looks we’ll see going forward.

__________#44: SB 42
New York vs. New England

If this looks familiar, it’s because in both Supe 46 and Supe 42, the Patriots and Giants wore basically the identical uniforms. And in both of those games, the Giants defeated the heavily favored New England team. In the greatest upset since Namath over the Colts, the Patriots entered the game 18-0. They left with 18 wins and one Giant loss.

• • • • •And there you have it — the 14 worst Super Bowl uni matchups of all time. As I mentioned at the outset, feel free to disagree in the comments below.