There have been some exciting Super Bowls in years past, some even decided on the last play of the game, but there also were a long string of Super Bowl blowouts. That got us to looking at the Super Bowl margins of victory by decade. Which decade had the most blowouts or biggest margins of victory? Here are the results:

1960’s (Super Bowls I-IV)
The winners in these first four Super Bowls won by an average of 17 points, making for some games that were decided long before the final tick of the clock.

1970’s (Super Bowls V-XIV)
The winners in this first full decade of Super Bowls won their games by an average of 11 points per game. This decade saw a tightening up of the scores and more teams that were equally matched play against each other in the big game.

1980’s (Super Bowls XV-XXIV)
With the largest margins of victory in Super Bowls at 22 points per game, the 1980’s saw its fair share of blowouts. Included in this time were the Raiders defeating the Redskins 38-9, the Bears defeating the Patriots 46-10, the Redskins defeating the Broncos 42-10, and the 49ers defeating the Broncos 55-10.

1990’s (Super Bowls XXV-XXXIV)
The 1990’s saw the Super Bowl margins of victory reverse course and head back into the lower teens at 14 points per game.

2000’s (Super Bowls XXXV-XLII)
So far through the 2000’s, the Super Bowl margins of victory have returned to the levels of the 1970’s at 11 points per game. The matchups are tight again and many of the games have been highly watchable from beginning to end.

Another very interesting display of the cyclical nature of professional football.