Heisman Winners In The Super Bowl – A Review

If you’re like us, you just spent your first Sunday without football in over five months and did not like it one bit.

Thankfully, Super Bowl week is here and this Sunday, we will get one final taste of football to hold us over until the 2025 season.

DeVonta Smith, our 2020 Heisman winner, will become just the sixth Heisman recipient to play in two or more Super Bowls when his Philadelphia Eagles take on the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 9 of a rematch of Super Bowl LVII.

Should the Eagles win, Smith would join Tony Dorsett, Marcus Allen and Charles Woodson as the only Heisman winners to have also won a Super Bowl and a national championship in college.

One other first to keep an eye on. Smith is trying to become the first Heisman winner to have a touchdown reception in the Super Bowl.

Overall, there has been a Heisman winner in 22 of the first 58 Super Bowls with 21 different players on Super Bowl rosters making a combined 29 appearances.  A combined 11 Heisman winners have won a total of 13 Super Bowls (Roger Staubach and Jim Plunkett being the only repeat winners).

Here’s a look at how past Heisman winners fared in the big game.

Super Bowl I, 1967 – Mike Garrett (Kansas City), Paul Hornung (Green Bay)

Garrett carried the ball six times for 17 yards with a long rush of nine, and also caught three passes for 28 yards. On special teams, he returned two punts for 17 yards and two kickoffs for 43 yards.

Hornung, a backup quarterback for Green Bay, did not play.

Super Bowl II, 1968 – Billy Cannon (Oakland)

Cannon started at tight end for the Raiders and caught two passes for 25 yards, with a long of 15.

Super Bowl IV, 1970 – Mike Garrett (Kansas City), John Huarte (Kansas City)

Garrett had 11 carries for 39 yards with one touchdown, a second-quarter 5-yard run. He also had two catches for 25 yards, a punt return for zero yards and a kickoff return for 18 yards. Huarte did not play.

Super Bowl V, 1971 – Roger Staubach (Dallas)

Staubach was the backup to Craig Morton, but did not play.

Super Bowl VI, 1972 – Roger Staubach (Dallas)

Staubach was 12 of 19 for 119 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed for 18 yards on five carries.  He was the first Heisman winner to earn Super Bowl MVP honors.

Super Bowl X, 1976 – Roger Staubach (Dallas)

Staubach completed 15 of 24 passes for 204 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. He also rushed for 22 yards on five carries.

Super Bowl XII, 1978 – Roger Staubach (Dallas), Tony Dorsett (Dallas)

Staubach completed 17 of 25 passes for 183 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. Dorsett carried 15 times for 66 yards, with a long of 19. He opened the scoring on a 3-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. He also caught two passes for 11 yards.

Super Bowl XIII, 1979 – Roger Staubach (Dallas), Tony Dorsett (Dallas)

Staubach completed 17 of 30 passes for 228 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. He also carried four times for 37 yards, with a long of 18. Dorsett carried 16 times for 96 yards (with a long of 29) and caught five passes for 44 yards.

Super Bowl XV, 1981 – Jim Plunkett (Oakland)

Plunkett completed 13 of 21 passes for 261 yards and three touchdowns (with no interceptions). He completed a then-Super Bowl record 80-yard touchdown pass to Kenny King in the first quarter on his way to becoming the second Heisman winner to earn Super Bowl MVP honors.

Super Bowl XVI, 1982 – Archie Griffin (Cincinnati)

Griffin had one carry for four yards for the Bengals.

Super Bowl XVIII, 1984 – Marcus Allen (Los Angeles Raiders), Jim Plunkett (Los Angeles Raiders)

Allen rushed for 191 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries to become the first Heisman running back to win Super Bowl MVP honors. Allen set the Super Bowl record for most rushing yards and also ripped off the longest run in Super Bowl history with a dazzling 74-yarder in the third quarter (a record since broken). Allen also caught two passes for 18 yards. Plunkett went 16 of 25 for 172 yards and one touchdown.

Super Bowl XXII, 1988 – George Rogers (Washington)

Rogers ran for 17 yards on five carries for the Redskins in their blowout win.

Super Bowl XXXI, 1997 – Desmond Howard (Green Bay Packers)

Howard returned six punts for 90 yards and four kickoffs for 154 yards, including a 99-yard return for a touchdown in the third quarter to seal the Packers’ victory. He became the fourth Heisman winner to win Super Bowl MVP honors.

Super Bowl XXXIV, 2000 – Eddie George (Tennessee)

George rushed for 95 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries (with a long of 13), and caught two passes for 35 yards.

Super Bowl XXXV, 2001 – Ron Dayne (New York Giants)

Dayne appeared in the game, but did not carry the ball.

Super Bowl XXXVII, 2003 – Tim Brown (Oakland), Charles Woodson (Oakland)

Brown caught one pass for nine yards while Woodson snared an interception that he returned 12 yards and had eight tackles.

Super Bowl XXXVIII, 2004 – Chris Weinke (Carolina)

Weinke was a reserve quarterback for the Panthers and did not play.

Super Bowl XLIII, 2009 – Matt Leinart (Arizona)

Leinart backed up Kurt Warner but did not play.

Super Bowl XLIV, 2010 – Reggie Bush (New Orleans)

Bush helped the Saints to their first Super Bowl title with five carries for 25 yards and four receptions for 38 yards. He also returned one punt for four yards.

Super Bowl XLV, 2011 – Charles Woodson (Green Bay)

Woodson broke his collarbone in the second quarter and did not return. He finished the game with two solo tackles and one assisted tackle in the Packers’ win.

Super Bowl 50, 2016 – Cam Newton (Carolina)

Newton was the first Heisman-winning quarterback to start a Super Bowl since Plunkett in 1984 when he led Carolina to Super Bowl 50. He completed 18-of-41 pass for 265 yards, throwing one interception. He also ran six times for 45 yards. He was out-dueled by Heisman-runner up Peyton Manning in a game in which neither QB threw a TD pass.

Super Bowl LVI, 2022 – Joe Burrow (Cincinnati)

Burrow, in his second year in the NFL, led Cincinnati to its first Super Bowl appearance since 1989 and came within a possession of leading the Bengals to their first Super Bowl win. Burrow completed 22-of-33 passes for 263 yards and a score, the lone TD pass a 75-yard TD strike to open the second-half.

Super Bowl LVII, 2023 – DeVonta Smith (Philadelphia)

Smith had seven receptions for 100 yards in his first Super Bowl appearance, both Heisman records. His 45-yard catch in the loss is also the most ever by a Heisman winner in the Super Bowl.

Heisman/Super Bowl Statistical Records

Players Who Won Heisman, National Title & Super Bowl

Tony Dorsett, Marcus Allen, Charles Woodson

Players Who Won Heisman, National Title, Super Bowl, Super Bowl MVP

Marcus Allen

Players Who Won Heisman, National Title, NFL MVP, Super Bowl & Super Bowl MVP

Marcus Allen

Most Super Bowl appearances by a Heisman winner

5 – Roger Staubach

Most Super Bowl rings by a Heisman winner

2 – Roger Staubach, Jim Plunkett

Most rushing yards by a Heisman winner in a Super Bowl

191 – Marcus Allen, 1984.

Most passing yards by a Heisman winner in a Super Bowl

265 – Cam Newton, 2016

Most TD passes by a Heisman winner in a Super Bowl

3 – Jim Plunkett (1981), Roger Staubach (1979)

Most TDs scored by a Heisman winner in a Super Bowl

2 – Marcus Allen (1984), Eddie George (2000)

Most receptions by a Heisman winner in a Super Bowl

7 – DeVonta Smith, 2023.

Longest reception by a Heisman winner in a Super Bowl

45 yards – DeVonta Smith, 2023.

Most receiving yards gained by a Heisman winner in a Super Bowl

100 – DeVonta Smith, 2023.

Most tackles by a Heisman winner in a Super Bowl

8 – Charles Woodson, 2003.

Most interceptions by a Heisman winner in a Super Bowl

1 – Charles Woodson, 2003.