Who is the only NFL player to be named Super Bowl MVP on a losing team?

Chuck Howley is the only NFL player to win Super Bowl MVP while playing for the losing team. The Dallas Cowboys linebacker received the honor after Super Bowl V, despite Dallas losing 16–13 to the Baltimore Colts.

Howley made two interceptions in the game, including one in the first quarter that he returned 22 yards. His performance stood out in a famously mistake-filled contest: the teams combined for 11 turnovers, and the game became known by nicknames such as the “Blunder Bowl.”

Super Bowl V was played on January 17, 1971, at Miami’s Orange Bowl. Baltimore’s Jim O’Brien won the game with a 32-yard field goal with five seconds remaining, completing the Colts’ comeback from a 13–6 deficit after three quarters.

Howley’s achievement is also notable because he was the first non-quarterback to win the Super Bowl MVP award. The award has gone to players from winning teams in every other Super Bowl, making his selection a unique piece of NFL history.