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Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco beats Tom Brady in SB MVP Rankings

Flacco atop the best in ESPN recent Super Bowl MVP rankings

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

ESPN Recently ranked all 49 Super Bowl Most Valuable Players, and among those greatest players & performances is the Ravens franchise quarterback Joe Flacco.

The rankings are quite a fair assessment, not overpowering the QB position over others, but also not underselling the greatest performances.

At number one, Joe Montana himself for Super Bowl XXIV. An obvious performance to assess, looking at the 55-10 stomping over the Denver Broncos.

Skipping down some names you may expect Flacco to be top 15 or 20, but instead, Flacco is #8. Just below John Riggins in SB XVII and above Terrell Davis in the SB XXXII. Here is the description posted for Joe Flacco:

"Only a 34 minute game delay caused by a power outage in the Superdome could slow Flacco during the Ravens' 34-31 victory over San Francisco. The 49ers' defense finished the 2012 regular season ranked amont the NFL's top five in a long list of categories, but Flacco did not seem to notice. His three first-half touchdown passes gave Baltimore a 21-6 halftime lead before the power went out early in the third quarter. The 49ers stormed back to make the game close, but Flacco's early brilliance was enough for Baltimore. He finished the day completing 22 of 33 passes for 287 yards, 3 TDs and 0 INTs. Flacco was 7-10 for 158 yards and two scores on third down."

While others think Jacoby Jones deserved the nod, this clearly shows that Flacco not only deserved it for his outstanding performance, but how amazing Flacco was historically, beating many HOFers.

The man is ranked better than any Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, or Tom Brady Super Bowl. Ranked better than Brees and the comeback victory against the Indianapolis Colts.

Also ranked was former linebacker, future Hall of Famer Ray Lewis. His ranking seems bad, sitting at 43 of 49, but the realization that the entire defense was the reason behind the victory makes sense. Lewis stats were nothing special, five tackles and four passes defended. But keep in mind this team possessed Peter Boulware, Adalius Thomas, O.J. Brigance, Ray Lewis, Jamie Sharper, Chris McAlister, Tony Siragusa, and Rod Woodson. This squad was unbelievably set, and Lewis knew how elevate everybody to their peak abilities. For that he deserves the SB MVP, and a ranking that is not last. It is also worth noting Ray Lewis is one rank above Hines Ward for the Steelers. Good job ESPN.