Updated: Jan 2, 2006, 1:22 PM

All-Time Super Bowl Team - Kick returners


On Jan. 26, 2006, at 9 p.m. ET, ESPN will unveil The Ultimate Super Bowl 40-Man Roster in advance of Super Bowl XL. A distinguished panel of voters, all of whom have covered all 39 Super Bowls, will cast their ballots to determine the first 39 spots. What about the 40th? Well, that's where you come in.

The panel will select 18 players on offense (including starters and backups), 18 on defense (including starters and backups), a kicker, a punter and a kick returner for a total of 39 roster spots. The 40th spot will go to the player with the highest vote total from SportsNation who was not already picked by the panel.

Week 10 brings us to kick returners, who have been a big part of field position battles and made some of the biggest momentum-changing plays in Super Bowl history. Is former Super Bowl MVP Desmond Howard (right) the best return man ever to take the field in a Super Bowl? What about Ron Dixon and Jermaine Lewis and the memorable sequence they fashioned in Super Bowl XXXV?

Review their credentials below and vote for your top five kick returners in Super Bowl history.

WATCH:
The Ultimate Super Bowl 40-Man Roster (Thursday, Jan. 26, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN)
40 Minutes That Define the Super Bowl (Thursday, Feb. 2, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN)

TELL US: Did we leave someone off the ballot? Click here to sound off.

Cast your vote for your all-time Super Bowl kick returners (pick your top five):

  • Larry Anderson (Steelers) -- Won two straight Super Bowls with the Steelers. Anderson returned three kickoffs for 45 total yards in a 35-31 win over Dallas in SB XIII, then brought back five kicks for 162 yards (including a 45-yard return) in a 31-19 win over the Rams in SB XIV.
     
  • Darren Carrington (Broncos) -- Played for Denver in Super Bowl XXIV, returning six kickoffs for a total of 146 yards, including a 39-yarder, but the Broncos were on the wrong end of a 55-10 trouncing at the hands of the 49ers.
     
  • Andre Coleman (Chargers) -- Returned eight kickoffs for 244 combined yards, including a 98-yard return for a touchdown, as the Chargers were hammered by the 49ers, 49-26.
     
  • Ron Dixon (Giants) -- His 97-yard touchdown in the 3rd quarter was New York's only score in a 34-7 loss to the Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV. Dixon brought back six kickoffs for 154 total yards.
     
  • Tim Dwight (Falcons) -- Returned five kickoffs for 210 combined yards in a 34-19 loss to the Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII, including a 94-yarder for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
     
  • Desmond Howard (Packers) -- The only special teams player in history to win Super Bowl MVP honors, Howard compiled 244 yards in kickof and punt returns in Green Bay's 35-21 win over the Patriots in SB XXXI. His 99-yard kickoff return for a TD late in the third quarter shifted momentum in the Packers' favor.
     
  • Stanford Jennings (Bengals) -- His 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown gave the Bengals a 13-6 lead late in the 3rd quarter of Super Bowl XXIII, but Cincinnati eventually lost to the 49ers, 20-16. Jennings returned two kickoffs for 117 yards in the game.
     
  • Jermaine Lewis (Ravens) -- Answered Ron Dixon's TD return early in the third quarter of Super Bowl XXXV with an 84-yard touchdown of his own, killing any momentum the Giants had. Lewis also had a 27-yard return in Baltimore's 34-7 win.
     
  • John Taylor (49ers) -- Won two Super Bowls with San Francisco (XXIII, XXIV). Taylor returned one kickoff for 13 yards and three punts for 56 yards (including a record 45-yarder) in a 20-16 win over the Bengals in SB XXIII. He also returned three punts for 38 yards in a 55-10 demolition of the Broncos in SB XXIV.
     
  • Rick Upchurch (Broncos) -- Returned three kickoffs for 94 combined yards, including a 67-yarder that set up a 3rd-quarter touchdown in Denver's 27-10 loss to the Cowboys in Super Bowl XII.
     
  • Fulton Walker (Dolphins) -- His 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in a 27-17 loss to the Redskins in Super Bowl XVII was the first return touchdown in SB history. Walker returned four kicks a total of 190 yards in that game, then brought back four more for 93 yards in a 38-16 loss to the 49ers in SB XIX.
     

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