The NFL heads into its 100th season in 2019. A great time to see what teams stack up where in the league’s history. The top 100 NFL teams via power rankings.
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100. 1932 Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears deadlocked with the Portsmouth Spartans. The Bears finished with a 6-1-6 record. The Spartans also were 6-1, as ties did not count. The ultimate historical footnote here is the first NFL postseason game was played indoors. The Chicago winter forecast scared organizers from playing at Wrigley Field. So, the game went inside to Chicago Stadium and the Bears won, 9-0. They finished the season 7-1-6 and allowed 44 points. How about they were 0-1-3 after four games despite having three shutouts and the only points scored against Chicago were by Green Bay in a 2-0 loss. Bronko Nagurski and Red Grange were two famous names on the team.
99. 1951 Cleveland Browns
These Browns started with a loss and finished with one. In between, they sandwiched 11 straight wins, including four shutouts. Otto Graham threw 17 TD passes and for 2,205 yards. However, the Browns fell to the Rams 24-17 in the championship game when Norm Van Brocklin found Tom Fears with a 73-yard TD pass in the championship game.
98. 1962 Dallas Texans
This teams earns a nod off its 11-3 record under Hank Stram and famous victory in the AFL Championship Game. The Texans led 17-0, the Oilers rallied to tie the game before Tommy Brooker kicked a 25-yard field goal in the second overtime for the Texans. The game is best remembered for the Texans winning the coin toss for OT and running back Abner Haynes, saying, “We’ll kick.”.
97. 1984 Miami Dolphins
Dan Marino led an offense that scored 513 points by throwing for 5,084 yards and 48 touchdowns. That’s average of three per game in a 14-2 season for Miami. It also marked his lone Super Bowl appearance, a 38-16 loss to the vaunted Niners.
96. 1949 Philadelphia Eagles
Steve Van Buren was the workhorse of the championship Eagles, rushing for 1,146 yards as the team went 11-1. Philly was first in total offense, averaging 30-plus ppg and first in defense, permitting only 11. A fierce force.
95. 1963 San Diego Chargers
The 1963 Chargers were coached by Sid Gillman. He was a master of offense and the team was first overall. The Chargers were also first overall in total defense, allowing 18.2 ppg. The Chargers left no doubt as to who the best team in the AFL was that season, demolishing the Boston Patriots, 51-10, in the championship. They scored the game’s final 27 points. Keith Lincoln, who recently passed away, had an amazing game. The running back rushed for 206 yards and caught seven passes for another 123.
94. 1964 Buffalo Bills
These Bills led the league in offense and defense. They won their first nine games of the season and finished 12-2. The championship victory was 20-7 over the Chargers, a game that saw Buffalo rush for more than 200 yards.
93. 1941 Green Bay Packers
The Packers met the Chicago Bears three times and came away with losses twice, including a playoff game. Otherwise, Curly Lambeau had a strong team that finished second in overall offense and defense. The Packers did hand the Bears their only loss of the season in the sixth week of the season…
92. 1941 Chicago Bears
…The 1941 Bears went 12-1, their only loss coming to Green Bay, 16-14. While the defeat was by two points, the Bears actually trailed 16-0 before rallying in the fourth quarter. Chicago avenged that defeat with a 33-14 romp in the divisional round before pounding the Giants, 37-9, for the title.
91. 1945 Cleveland Rams
Bob Waterfield was the quarterback of the team that won the NFL Championship and outscored its foes 244-136 while going 9-1. The Rams won the championship, 15-14, over the Washington Redskins. The first two points of the game for Cleveland came when Sammy Baugh was called for a safety as one of his passes hit the goalpost.
90. 1963 Chicago Bears
The defense ruled for Papa Bear George Halas and his Bears in 1963. They allowed little more than 10 ppg while going 11-1-2. The lone loss came at San Francisco in Week Six. The Bears edged the Giants, 14-10, in the championship game as Billy Wade scored on two short TD runs. In that title game, five different Bears picked off Y.A. Tittle.
89. 1964 Cleveland Browns
Jim Brown was unstoppable for the Cleveland Browns. He rushed for 1,446 yards, going at a 5.2 ypc clip. The Browns were 10-3-1 in the regular season. They did not play the Baltimore Colts, who went 12-2 until the championship game. Cleveland shelled Baltimore, 27-0. Brown rushed for 114 yards in the title tilt and Frank Ryan found Gary Collins for three TD passes.
88. 1983 Washington Redskins
Hard to imagine a 14-2 team that added a pair of playoff wins so deep in this list. Washington was looking to repeat after their win in the strike season. Unfortunately, Washington ran into the Raiders in the Super Bowl and was squashed to the tune of 38-9.
87. 1975 Minnesota Vikings
Fran Tarkenton got a lot of the headlines but Chuck Foreman was also a star, rushing for 1,070 yards and 13 TDs A painful season for Minnesota fans to remember as it ended when Roger Staubach found Drew Pearson for what became known as the first “Hail Mary.”
86. 1934 Chicago Bears
Oh, so close to perfect. However, there is no such thing as almost perfect. The Bears’ lone flaw came in the championship game against the Giants. They brought a 13-0 mark in and actually led 13-3 going into the final quarter before Ken Strong and the Giants erupted for 27 points. Chicago had allowed foes double-digits three times in the regular season before the Giants’ huge fourth quarter.
85. 2001 St. Louis Rams
The Rams under Mike Martz scored better than 30 ppg. They went 14-2. They were dominant and fierce on offense. However, they ran into the beginning of the Brady/Belichick era in the Super Bowl and came away with a loss and bad taste.
84. 1942 Chicago Bears
Another team that was almost flawless. The Chicago Bears ran the table, going 11-0 in the regular season. They scored 376 points while allowing 84, 28 of which came in the first week of the season. Washington gained a form of revenge for the pounding it took two seasons earlier, edging Chicago, 14-6, for the title.
83. 1967 Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders dominated AFL foes. They doubled their opponents on the scoreboard while going 13-1. Daryle “Mad Bomber” Lamonica threw 30 TD passes on the season. Fred Biletnikoff (pictured) averaged 21 yards per catch on 40 grabs. Their only regular-season loss came in Week Four against the Jets, 27-14. They went to Super Bowl II and fell to the Packers, 33-14.
82. 1948 Chicago Cardinals
The Cardinals were dominant, outscoring opponents, by more than 14 ppg. They led the league in offensive yards, yards per play, rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. They went 11-1 and did not win the championship, losing to the Eagles, 7-0, in the title game as Steve Van Buren scored the game’s lone TD in the fourth quarter. The game was played in a snowstorm.
81. 1960 Philadelphia Eagles
A nine-game winning streak after losing their opener, had the Eagles as a championship contender. They trailed the Packers in the fourth quarter of the championship but Ted Dean scored on a five-yard run and the Eagles were champions. Long time before that occurred again. Interestingly, the QBs were starter Norm Van Brocklin and backup Sonny Jurgensen.
80. 1961 Houston Oilers
The 1961 Houston Oilers earn a spot for an oddity. Lou Rymkus had led the Oilers to the title the year before. However, he got off to a 1-3-1 start in 1961 and was fired. Wally Lemm, an assistant coach, took over and the team went 9-0 for the rest of the season. They won the AFL championship on Christmas Eve 1961 as George Blanda kicked a field goal and threw a TD pass in a 10-3 win over the Chargers.
79. 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers
Chuck Noll saw his Steelers have three four-game winning streaks in 1979. The final one started with the last game of the regular season and continued for three postseason wins, culminating in a 31-19 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl.
78. 1973 Los Angeles Rams
Chuck Knox’ Rams opened the season with six straight wins and finished 12-2. They scored 388 points while allowing 178 but ended up in disappointment, falling to the Cowboys in a Divisional round game. The Rams had many teams’ number but Dallas was not one of them, allowing 31 and 27 points while splitting a regular-season and playoff game.
77. 1982 Washington Redskins
In a strike-shortened season, Washington was clearly the best team. The Redskins, under Joe Gibbs, used a staunch defense to build an 8-1 regular season. They ran through the Lions, Vikings, Cowboys and Dolphins en route to capturing the Super Bowl.
76. 1921 Chicago Staleys
The Chicago Staleys, coached by George Halas, went 9-1-1 and allowed 53 points in winning the championship. The title was not without confusion. The league counted the All-Americans game in the standings, against Buffalo’s wishes, resulting in Buffalo (9–1–2) and Chicago (9–1–1) being tied atop the standings. The league then implemented the first tiebreaker: if two teams play multiple times in a season, the last game between the two teams carries more weight. Thus, the Chicago victory actually counted more in the standings, giving Chicago the championship. Buffalo sports fans have been known to refer to this, justly or unjustly, as the “Staley Swindle.”
75. 2012 Denver Broncos
John Fox led Denver to a 13-3 regular-season mark. Peyton Manning threw for 4,659 yards and 36 touchdowns. It all crashed down against the Baltimore Ravens in a 38-35 overtime thriller. The coincidence of Joe Flacco having thrown the miracle 70-yarder to Jacoby Jones to force OT for the Ravens and Flacco being in Denver now is not lost.
74. 1942 Washington Redskins
Washington lost to the Giants, 14-7, in the second week of the season. That was the only “L” it would absorb in 1942. Washington would go on to avenge its 73-0 defeat to the Chicago Bears in 1940 with a 14-6 victory in the championship two years later.
73. 1940 Chicago Bears
This fits into the What Have You Done For Me Lately? The Bears were 8-3 and actually lost to Washington, 7-3, in November. However, all anyone remembers from the 1940 season is: 73-0. The all-time throttling in a championship game. The Bears scored early and often, going up 21-0 after a quarter. They managed one TD in the second quarter before erupting for 45 points in the second half. When it comes to teams and history nothing else matters.
72. 1988 San Francisco 49ers
Not one of the best 49er teams with a 10-win regular season. However, they did win the Super Bowl, ousting Minnesota and Chicago before facing the Bengals. Joe Montana found Jerry Rice and John Taylor for TDs in the final quarter to give SF a 20-16 victory.
71. 1991 Buffalo Bills
Jim Kelly was 13-2 as starter for Buffalo while throwing for 3,844 yards and 33 touchdowns. The Bills beat the Chiefs and Broncos to gain the Super Bowl, where they were defeated by Washington, 37-24, one of four consecutive defeats in the title game.
70. 1981 San Francisco 49ers
Dwight Clark made “The Catch” on the pass from Joe Montana. One of the most historic plays in NFL history. Don’t forget that they went up 20-0 over the Bengals in the Super Bowl before having to hold off Cincinnati, 26-21.
69. 1922 Canton Bulldogs
The APFA became the NFL and the Canton Bulldogs were brilliant in the first season. They scored 184 points and allowed 15. That includes two scoreless ties in a 10-0-2 season. And now it is understood why the Pro Football Hall of Fame is in Canton.
68. 1974 Oakland Raiders
Another great team coached by John Madden. The Raiders went 12-2 and faced the Miami Dolphins in a memorable playoff game. The “Sea of Hands” play saw Clarence Davis made a great grab of a Ken Stabler pass to end the Dolphins’ hopes of winning three straight Super Bowls. Oakland wasn’t able to turn the win into a championship as it was downed by Pittsburgh in the Conference championship.
67. 1923 Canton Bulldogs
How do you go better than 10-0-2? Go 11-0-1. The Bulldogs followed their 1922 season with another dominant campaign. They outscored their oponents 246-19. Somehow, the Cleveland Indians scored 10 points in one game.
66. 1966 Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs were 4-2 before running off nine straight to gain a spot in the first Super Bowl against the Packers. They lost the Big Game but still deserve to be recognized for being in it. Len Dawson threw for more than 2,500 yards. much of it to his favorite receiver, No. 89, Otis Taylor.
65. 2010 New England Patriots
This Patriots team should have been much higher, except for the inexplicable 28-21 loss to the Jets in the playoffs after pummeling Gang Green 45-3 weeks earlier at the start of December. The Pats scored 518 points while allowing 313. Tom Brady threw for 3,600 yards with 36 TDs against 4 picks. BenJarvus Green Ellis rushed for more than 1,000 yards. However, it all fell apart in the Divisional round as the Patriots fell behind by two touchdowns and were unable to defeat a Jets team they had throttled.
64.2009 Indianapolis Colts
A 14-2 season and playoff wins by a combined 50-20 over the Ravens and Jets mattered not when Drew Brees and the Saints ruined the Colts in the Super Bowl.
63. 1952 Detroit Lions
The first of consecutive championships saw Doak Walker rush for 67 of his 97 yards on a TD run to give Detroit a 14-0 lead and they held off Cleveland by 10. Detroit wound up besting the Browns in back-to-back years for the championships.
62. 1998 Atlanta Falcons
This feels like one of — if not the — best coaching job Dan Reeves did in his long history. He somehow got 13 wins out of 14 starts from Chris Chandler. Steve DeBerg took an “L” when he made a start and Tony Graziani actually won the 14th game for the Falcons. They fell to John Elway and the Broncos in the Super Bowl after edging the Niners in a Divisional round game and taking advantage of Gary Anderson’s infamous miss in the Conference championship.
61. 1925 Chicago Cardinals
The Chicago Cardinals lost to the Pottsville Maroons in December, allowing 21 points. In the rest of their 11-2-1 regular season they permitted a grand total of 44 points. The championship, however, was contested because of two contentious situations. The Milwaukee Badgers used high school players against the Cardinals. The inferior opponent led to a 59-0 victory, which gave Chicago a better win-loss percentage than Pottsville. The Maroons had their own scandal. In December, the Maroons lost their title to the Cardinals for playing an unsanctioned game against the Notre Dame All-Stars. And think this was before social media …
60. 1950 Cleveland Browns
Big names were prominent on the Browns: Paul Brown was the coach, Otto Graham was the QB and Marion Motley was the running back. Cleveland was 4-2, ran the table in the playoffs before edging Giants and Rams en route to the NFL Championship.
59. 1958 New York Giants
These Giants did everything but win the title. They suffered the defeat to the Colts in the NFL’s first overtime title game. They went 9-3 in the regular season with an average offense but a dazzling defense, which led the NFL allowing 15.3 ppg. Frank Gifford (pictured) was a dual threat, rushing for 468 yards and catching passes for another 330.
58. 1953 Detroit Lions
The Lions made it back-to-back titles as Bobby Layne found Jim Doran for a 33-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter for a 17-16 victory.
57. 2007 New York Giants
One of the more shocking Super Bowl winners, the ’07 Giants went 10-6 in the regular season. They won their four playoff games by an average of five points. Of course, they get bonus points for knocking off the unbeaten New England Patriots. As great an accomplishment as it was, it doesn’t mean the team would compete at an elite level over an entire season with some of the greats in NFL history.
56. 1983 Los Angeles Raiders
The Raiders got it all together in the playoffs after going 12-4 in the regular season. They plastered three foes en route to the NFL championship by a combined 106-33. The final touch was a 38-9 romp over Washington in the Super Bowl. Marcus Allen rushed for more than 1,000 yards and caught another 590 yards passing.
55.2003 New England Patriots
Ho-hum, another 14-2 season for Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. All New England did in the long run was roll off 15 straight victories and outlast the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII. The season did not start off as if the Patriots would be dominant, as they were blasted by the Bills, 31-0. However, it is how you finish, not how you start and these Pats were stellar.
54. 1970 Baltimore Colts
The Baltimore Colts of 1970 made amends for the unforgivable from two seasons earlier when they lost to the Super Bowl to the New York Jets. These Colts took care of business when Jim O’Brien kicked a field goal to sink the Cowboys. Johnny Unitas was 10-2-1 as a starter, surprising since he threw 18 picks against 14 TD passes.
53. 2004 Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles were not able to finish off the magic in 2004 despite Terrell Owens’ tremendous effort in the Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots. Andy Reid saw his team start 7-0 and finish 13-3. Donovan McNabb had a great regular season throwing for 3,875 yards and 31 TDs against 8 picks. However, T.O. and McNabb did not see eye-to-eye on how the Super Bowl played out.
52. 2015 Carolina Panthers
The best team in Panthers’ history went 15-1 in the regular season, the lone blemish a 20-13 loss to the Falcons. Carolina came into the game 14-0. Cam Newton led an offense that averaged 31.3 ppg. However, the Panthers were unable to seal the deal, falling to the Broncos in the Super Bowl.
51. 2006 Indianapolis Colts
Peyton Manning’s first Super Bowl team saw Indy reel off nine straight wins to start the season. They took the Wild-Card route to the Super Bowl, where they downed the Bears, 29-17. Manning threw for 4,397 yards with 31 TDs against 9 INTs. He was the only Colt to throw a pass that season.
50. 1993 Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys began the season with two losses, as Emmitt Smith was holding out. Once the running back returned, the team hit on all cylinders. Despite missing the two games, the former Florida star ran for 1,486 yards. Troy Aikman started 14 games. The trivia comes from who started the other two: Jason Garrett is no surprise, but Bernie Kosar is borderline stunning. Dallas defeated the Bills, 30-13, in the Super Bowl.
49. 2008 Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers wound up the season with the championship as Ben Roethlisberger found Santonio Holmes to douse the Cardinals. The offense was far from potent, averaging only 21 ppg. However, the defense led the league allowing less than 14 ppg.
48. 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jon Gruden made the most out of the team Tony Dungy left him. The Bucs were staunch on defense, leading the league. Brad Johnson had a career year, going 10-3. One play that didn’t work saw punter Tom Tupa, a QB at Ohio State, throw his lone pass, which was picked off. They were dominant int he postseason, winning the three games by a total of 106-37, including the devastation of the Raiders in the Super Bowl.
47. 1995 Dallas Cowboys
After Jimmy Johnson left, Barry Switzer managed to keep it going for another season. The former Oklahoma coach led Dallas to a 12-4 season. Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin were all on point as Dallas ruled.
46. 1999 Jacksonville Jaguars
Tom Coughlin and Jacksonville went 14-2 and advanced to the Conference championship before falling to the Tennessee Titans. The most memorable moment probaly happened in the first playoff game, when the Jaguars destroyed the Miami Dolphins, 62-7.
45. 1997 Denver Broncos
Terrell Davis was the star of the show, rushing for 1,750 yards as Denver went on to defeated Green Bay in the Super Bowl. The Broncos led the league, averaging 29.5 ppg and outscored their opponents by almost 12 ppg. Davis scored three TDs in the Super Bowl, each on a 1-yard run.
44. 1968 Baltimore Colts
The Colts went 13-1 under Don Shula. They won a pair of playoff games by the combined score of 58-14. Yet all that is remembered is they lost to the Jets in Super Bowl III.
43. 2001 New England Patriots
The true beginning of the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick era saw the Patriots stun the St. Louis Rams on an Adam Vinatieri field goal in the Super Bowl. The Patriots did not appear to be championship material after splitting their first 10 games. They then went on to win every game for the rest of the regular season and postseason.
42. 1971 Dallas Cowboys
Roger Staubach became the clear-cut quarterback as he went 10-0 as a starter and Craig Morton was 1-3. Duane Thomas led the team in rushing with 793 yards and 11 TDs. Tom Landry’s team was thoroughly tough in the playoffs, allowing 18 points in three games en route to winning the Super Bowl.
41. 2015 Denver Broncos
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The big takeaway here was Gary Kubiak going back to Peyton Manning in Week 16 after having given the offense to Brock Osweiler. The decision proved beyond prudent as Manning led the team to a Super Bowl championship.
40.1969 Kansas City Chiefs
These Chiefs followed up the Jets’ upset of the Colts by stunning the Vikings. The victory was the last time KC has appeared in a Super Bowl. It also should be noted Minnesota has never managed to win a Super Bowl.
39. 2014 New England Patriots
The Patriots averaged almost 10 ppg better than their foes in the regular season. They edged the Ravens, crushed the Colts and faced the Seahawks in the Super Bowl. It appeared all was about to be lost but Malcolm Butler saved the day and New England had another ring.
38. 1958 Baltimore Colts
Arguably the team that won the game that thrust the NFL into the national spotlight. The Colts and Giants battled into overtime in Yankee Stadium. The game finally ended with Alan Ameche pounding into the end zone. The championship capped a 9-3 season that saw Baltimore score 381 points and hold its foes to 203.
37. 2017 Philadelphia Eagles
The “Philly Special” will love forever in the City of Brotherly Love as will Nick Foles’ incredible play off the bench.
36. 1969 Oakland Raiders
35. 2000 Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens marched the Wild-Card route to the Super Bowl, where they blitzed the Giants, 34-7. They outscored four playoff foes, 95-23, as the classic Ravens defense was in prime form.
34. 1990 Buffalo Bills
The closest Buffalo came to winning a Super Bowl, as Scott Norwood’s miss kept it 20-19, Giants.
33. 1990 New York Giants
Bill Parcells found a way to capture a Super Bowl with a backup quarterback. Jeff Hostetler filled in brilliantly for Phil Simms and Parcells managed the Giants to victory over the Bills in the Super Bowl. A game forever remembered for Scott Norwood’s missed field goal.
32. 1991 Washington Redskins
First in the league in scoring and second in defense when it came to points allowed, Washington was rugged in capturing the Super Bowl. It did not hurt that it faced Buffalo in the championship game.
31. 1996 Green Bay Packers
Brett Favre was at his best as Green Bay went 13-3 and won the Super Bowl over New England. The Packers’ defense forced four interceptions by Drew Bledsoe. Overall, they were first in the league in points for and in limiting foes in points against.
30. 1999 Tennessee Titans
One yard. Oh, the pain. The Titans came up one yard short of having a chance to force overtime against the St. Louis Rams. They went 13-3 in the regular season. After a loss to drop to 9-3, they reeled off seven wins in a row and gained a spot in the Super Bowl. One of the victories, of course, was the Music City Miracle over the Bills. Steve McNair was 9-2 as a starter that season and Neil O’Donnell filled in capably going 4-1 in his starts.
29. 1929 Green Bay Packers
All that kept these Packers from a perfect season was a scoreless tie against the Frankford Yellow Jackets in the 11th week of the season. GB allowed 22 points while going 12-0-1. It had eight shutouts and two other games in which Curly Lambeau’s team was touched for two points in each.
28. 2011 Green Bay Packers
Mike McCarthy & Co. ran off 13 straight victories to start the season before falling to Kansas City. They still finished the season 15-1, with the final regular-season game seeing Matt Flynn light up the Lions. However, the postseason for Aaron Rodgers was rude as the Giants trounced Green Bay, 37-20.
27. 1927 New York Giants
The New York Giants went 11-1-1 and were dominant. They allowed opponents 20 — 20! — points in the entire season. The Giants had 10 shutouts, including the title game. Their only loss was 6-0 to the Cleveland Bulldogs in the fourth week of the season.
26. 1992 Dallas Cowboys
Jimmy Johnson led the Cowboys to a 13-3 regular season. They scored 409 points. Dallas was beyond dominant in the postseason, winning its three playoff games by the combined score of 116-47.
25.1986 New York Giants
This was one of the best Giants’ teams in franchise history. They won 13 straight and the Super Bowl after starting 4-2. Bill Parcells was brilliant and it helped that he had a defensive coordinator named Bill Belichick. In the playoffs, the three wins came by a combined score of 105-23.
24. 2004 New England Patriots
Bill Belichick guided the Patriots to a 14-2 record and a victory over the Eagles in the Super Bowl. It marked the third title in four years for New England.
23. 2010 Green Bay Packers
The Packers were another team to take the Wild-Card road to a title. They were only 8-6 before finishing the regular season with two wins and notching four more in the postseason. Aaron Rodgers earned his ring with a 31-25 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
22. 2016 New England Patriots
The Super Bowl comeback of all Super Bowl comebacks. Down 28-3, and watching their season go up in flames, the Patriots rallied and rallied and rallied to defeat the Atlanta Falcons, 34-28, in overtime. They closed the regular season and playoffs with 10 consecutive victories. New England scored 104 points in three playoff games.
21. 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers
Terry Bradshaw was 12-2 as the starter and the Steelers were back-to-back champions. The “Steel Curtain” allowed 162 points on the season. They went through the Colts and Raiders en route to the Super Bowl, where they outlasted Dallas, 21-17.
20. 1961 Green Bay Packers
The first of consecutive championships came after a loss in the 1960 title game. Green Bay made no mistakes as it walloped the Giants, 37-0, for the crown. The Packers led the league in scoring with 391 points and were dominant.
19. 1977 Dallas Cowboys
Dallas went 12-2 in 1977 under the legendary Tom Landry, and this was probably Landry’s best team. Roger Staubach controlled a balanced offense. He threw 18 TD passes and Tony Dorsett rushed for 1,007 yards, with Robert Newhouse chipping in with another 721. They won three playoff games by the total score of 87-23, bouncing the Broncos 27-10 in the Super Bowl.
18. 2013 Seattle Seahawks
Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson led Seattle to the Super Bowl, where they crushed Denver, 43-8. Wilson threw for 3,357 yards and 26 TDs against 9 picks. Marshawn Lynch added another 1,257 on the ground and a dozen TDs. Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril combined for 16.5 of the team’s 44 sacks.
17. 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers not only played well but they drafted brilliantly. In 1974, the Steel Curtain selected Lynn Swann, Jack Lambert, John Stallworth and Mike Webster. All four wound up in Canton. They finished the season with five straight wins, culminating in a 16-6 victory over the Vikings in the Super Bowl.
16. 1999 St. Louis Rams
Dick Vermeil and Kurt Warner were integral to the Rams’ offense that scored 526 points en route to a Super Bowl. In 19 games, St. Louis scored better than 30 13 times. Warner threw for 4,353 yards and 41 touchdowns against 13 picks for the “Greatest Show on Turf.”
15. 2009 New Orleans Saints
One of the most charming stories in sports as New Orleans and the Saints savored the victory as the Big Easy continued to battle back from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Drew Brees was the heart of the team, which scored 510 points in the regular season. New Orleans handed Indianapolis its third loss of the season in a 31-17 Super Bowl triumph.
14. 1994 San Francisco 49ers
The Niners were a juggernaut, outscoring opponents by better than 13 ppg. Steve Young had control of an offense that scored 31.6 ppg and scored 131 points in three playoff games. Young threw for 3,969 yards and 35 TDs.
13. 1998 Denver Broncos
The Broncos put up 501 points, averaging 30.3 ppg. They started the season 13-0 before being derailed by the Giants. John Elway and Bubby Brister, who went 4-0, combined for 32 TD passes against 13 picks. Terrell Davis was unstoppable, rushing for 2,008 yards of the team’s total of 2,468. They outscored their foes, 95-32, in three postseason games.
12. 1967 Green Bay Packers
The historic Packers team that is better remembered for winning the “Ice Bowl” against Dallas than going on to throttle the Raiders in Super Bowl II. Two of the four regular-season losses came in the last two weeks of the season and one was avenged with a vengeance in a 28-7 whipping of the Rams in the playoffs. One interesting player was DB Tom Brown out of Maryland, who was on the Super winner and also hit a home run in the big leagues.
11. 1973 Miami Dolphins
The 1973 Dolphins were not perfect. They went 12-2. However, they were dominant. Miami was fifth in the league in offense and first overall in total defense. Larry Csonka rushed for 1,003 yards and Mercury Morris came up 46 short of the four-figure mark. Back-to-back Super Bowl champs. Bob Griese was 12-1 as QB, making him 17-1 in two regular seasons as a starter.
10. 1968 New York Jets
This team earns its spot for what it accomplished as much as its victory over the Colts in Super Bowl III. The strong argument can be made that without the brash and bold leadership of Joe Namath and his teammates, the NFL could have kept rolling Super Bowl after Super Bowl. Once the Jets won, and the Chiefs followed, there was little choice but for the NFL to accept the AFL and it has created the football we love today.
9. 1966 Green Bay Packers
The champs of the first Super Bowl, Green Bay went 12-2 under Vince Lombardi. The Packers were within four points of having an undefeated season. Bart Starr started 13 games and threw three interceptions all regular season.
8. 1976 Oakland Raiders
John Madden’s Raiders went 13-1, the only loss being a stunning 48-17 blowout by the New England Patriots. That was the only blemish as they ran off 13 straight victories and vanquished the Vikings, 32-14, in the Super Bowl.
7. 1984 San Francisco 49ers
A powerhouse on both offense (ranked second) and defense (ranked first). The Niners were 6-0 going into a meeting with the Steelers. They led 17-10 going into the fourth quarter. Pittsburgh scored 10 points and that wound up being the difference between a perfect season and one with one loss. Joe Montana threw for more than 3,600 yards and 28 TDs. The cumulative score in three playoff wins was 82-26.
6. 1978 Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers opened the season with seven wins in a row. After splitting their next four games, they reeled off eight straight wins to close out the season with a Super Bowl victory over the Cowboys. Franco Harris rushed for better than 1,000 yards. Terry Bradshaw threw for more than 2,900. The “Steel Curtain” was in rare form, allowing 12.2 ppg in the regular season. Pittsburgh won its first two playoff games by a combined 52 points and edged Dallas, 35-31, for the title.
5. 1962 Green Packers
A Packer powerhouse, which outscored its opponents 415-148, led to a 13-1 record. The only loss came on Thanksgiving when Green Bay fell behind Detroit 26-0 en route to a 12-point loss. The Packers regrouped and downed the Giants, 16-7, in a game that saw Jerry Kramer kick three field goals and Jim Taylor score GB’s lone TD.
4. 2007 New England Patriots
The Patriots scored 568 points and went undefeated … until the Super Bowl. Tom Brady threw for 4,806 yards and 50 TDs. Randy Moss and Wes Welker combined for 210 receptions and 2,600 yards. But that Super Bowl against the Giants will sting forever.
3. 1985 Chicago Bears
The Super Bowl Shufflin’ Bears had one blemish on their record and that puts them in the three slot. You can’t be No. 1 if your lone loss comes to the franchise that had the only perfect season in NFL history. The Bears went 15-1, with the only loss at Miami on Dec. 2. They wound up 18-1, and outscored their three playoff foes, 91-10, with a pair of shutouts thrown in.
2. 1989 San Francisco 49ers
The Niners went 17-2 with the losses coming by a combined five points. Joe Montana threw 26 TD passes against 8 picks. His backup, Steve Young, added another 1,001 yards and 8 TDs. Jerry Rice caught 82 passes for 1,483 yards and 17 TDs. They won their three playoff games by the astounding total of 126-26.
1. 1972 Miami Dolphins
The only team to run the table tops them all. And they make it simple because how many teams would have been able to remain perfect having to start two quarterbacks? Bob Griese and Earl Morrall played a considerable amount in 1971. On top of all its greatness, Miami remained unflawed despite having to use a pair of QBs. No other team has done it and no other team could.
