Highest Scoring Super Bowl: Most Points Scored in a Super Bowl Game

Super Bowl XXIX between the San Francisco 49ers and San Diego Chargers produced 75 combined points, a record that has stood since 1995. Here is every Super Bowl ranked by total points scored, from the shootouts to the defensive battles.

Highest Scoring Super Bowls (Total Points)

Super Bowl XXIX: The Record-Setting Game

Super Bowl XXIX on January 29, 1995, at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami stands as the highest-scoring Super Bowl ever played. The San Francisco 49ers and quarterback Steve Young set a Super Bowl record with six touchdown passes, dismantling the San Diego Chargers 49-26 for a combined 75 points. Young, finally stepping out of Joe Montana's shadow, was named Super Bowl MVP after one of the most dominant individual performances in championship game history.

Wide receiver Jerry Rice caught three touchdown passes in the game. The 49ers scored on their opening possession and never trailed, turning the game into a showcase for Bill Walsh's West Coast offense — now being executed by Young with arguably even more athleticism than Montana.

Modern Scoring Trends

The Super Bowl has generally trended toward higher scoring games in the modern era due to rule changes designed to protect quarterbacks and receivers, the proliferation of spread offenses, and the increasing athleticism at all positions. Super Bowl LVII in February 2023 produced 73 combined points between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, the second-highest total ever.

Notable exceptions to the trend exist. Super Bowl LIII in 2019 produced just 16 total points — the fewest in Super Bowl history — as Bill Belichick's defensive scheme neutralized the Los Angeles Rams' high-powered offense. The contrast between that game and the modern norm illustrates how much schematic variance still exists at the championship level.