The Best Teams in NFL History
with the 2019 season nearing, we're ready for the official start of the celebration with a ranking of the 100 greatest teams in NFL history. It's sure to stir nostalgia, debate, Twitter hate, and maybe even a history lesson
Playoffs: 41-10 loss to Redskins, NFC Championship Game
I just mentioned that the criteria for this list is dominance. But, as a team, that 1991 Lions club really wasn't "dominant" in the truest sense of the word. They didn't have much of a defense and their quarterback play (the fabled Erik Kramer-Rodney Peete duo) was average at best.
But this Lions team—which won a franchise record 12 games and pushed farther into the postseason than any Detroit team in the last 55 years—and the presence of Barry Sanders does earn them a spot on this list.
Sanders averaged more than 100 yards per game that year and they blew past the young Cowboys—just a year away from starting their dynasty—in the divisional round.
So despite being manhandled by the eventual Super Bowl champion Redskins, overall this Lions team was exceptional, even if they were carried by a player standing no taller than 5'8".
2 Bears (won Super Bowl XX): Pure dominance. Their 15 regular-season wins came by an average of 18.1 points. The defense collected 64 sacks while allowing just 12.4 points a week. Chicago shut out the Giants and Rams in the NFC playoffs before that epic 46-10 Super Bowl dismantling of New England. All told, the Bears outscored their postseason opponents 91-10. Sure, it would have been nice to see a rematch with Dan Marino and the Dolphins, who handed Chicago its only loss of 1985, on Super Sunday. And maybe you'd like the best team of all time — arguably — to feature a more renowned quarterback than Jim McMahon, but the fact that an offense led by Walter Payton (1,551 rushing yards) was almost extraneous also illustrates just how transcendent Buddy Ryan's "46 defense" was. And for a list like this, a little flair should count for something, and with McMahon, Payton, Ryan, "Refrigerator" Perry, Mike Singletary, coach Mike Ditka and many others — most getting star turns with "The Super Bowl Shuffle" — the '85 Bears had character(s) in spades.
3. Championship Game: 34-27 loss to Raiders, AFC Championship Game
Throwing the ball was really the only thing that separated this Chargers team from being a pretty mediocre bunch, but because Air Coryell was so dominant and so effective, they earn a spot on the list.
Thanks in part to Dan Fouts, John Jefferson, Kellen Winslow and Charlie Joiner (each a 1,000-yard receiver) lit up the AFC West, enabling San Diego to reach the AFC Conference title game for the first time in franchise history.
4.Packers (won NFL title): Widely regarded as the premier team coached by legendary Vince Lombardi, even if it reigned four years prior to the Super Bowl's debut. Green Bay finished 13-1, its wins coming by an average of more than three touchdowns. The roster sported 11 Hall of Famers, not including Lombardi. They only beat the imposing Giants 16-7 in the championship game, but it was staged in New York's 8-degree wind chill, which didn't lend itself to much offense. Regardless, that battle helped launch NFL Films to prominence.
5.Championship Game: 34-19 loss to Broncos, Super Bowl XXXIII
They may have been best remembered for the upset of the Vikings (and thus spoiling a potentially epic Super Bowl between Minnesota and Denver), but this Falcons team was outstanding in 1998.
Even if it was only for one year, Jamal Anderson was a truly elite runner, Chris Chandler made plays in the clutch, and their defense was one of the most underrated in the NFL. They allowed the fourth fewest points in the NFL that year and completely manhandled Steve Young's 49ers in the playoffs then shut down a historic Vikings offense in crunch time to pull off that Metrodome upset.
6. Dolphins (won Super Bowl VII): Yes, it's still the only team to win a Super Bowl without dropping a game (17-0), and there's no real counterargument for "perfection." But it's also a lazy argument. Miami won its three postseason games by a combined 17 points. It also feasted on a horrid regular-season schedule that included just two teams finishing with winning records (both a middling 8-6). This isn't meant to shade the Fins and their "No-Name Defense," a roster with six Hall of Famers plus Don Shula, the winningest coach in NFL history. But context matters, and it already seems a concession ranking the '72 Dolphins ahead of 1970s contemporaries in Pittsburgh, Dallas and even Oakland — not to mention clubs previously ranked on this list. A special group indeed but not the most special for my money.
Playoffs: 41-10 loss to Redskins, NFC Championship Game
I just mentioned that the criteria for this list is dominance. But, as a team, that 1991 Lions club really wasn't "dominant" in the truest sense of the word. They didn't have much of a defense and their quarterback play (the fabled Erik Kramer-Rodney Peete duo) was average at best.
But this Lions team—which won a franchise record 12 games and pushed farther into the postseason than any Detroit team in the last 55 years—and the presence of Barry Sanders does earn them a spot on this list.
Sanders averaged more than 100 yards per game that year and they blew past the young Cowboys—just a year away from starting their dynasty—in the divisional round.
So despite being manhandled by the eventual Super Bowl champion Redskins, overall this Lions team was exceptional, even if they were carried by a player standing no taller than 5'8".
2 Bears (won Super Bowl XX): Pure dominance. Their 15 regular-season wins came by an average of 18.1 points. The defense collected 64 sacks while allowing just 12.4 points a week. Chicago shut out the Giants and Rams in the NFC playoffs before that epic 46-10 Super Bowl dismantling of New England. All told, the Bears outscored their postseason opponents 91-10. Sure, it would have been nice to see a rematch with Dan Marino and the Dolphins, who handed Chicago its only loss of 1985, on Super Sunday. And maybe you'd like the best team of all time — arguably — to feature a more renowned quarterback than Jim McMahon, but the fact that an offense led by Walter Payton (1,551 rushing yards) was almost extraneous also illustrates just how transcendent Buddy Ryan's "46 defense" was. And for a list like this, a little flair should count for something, and with McMahon, Payton, Ryan, "Refrigerator" Perry, Mike Singletary, coach Mike Ditka and many others — most getting star turns with "The Super Bowl Shuffle" — the '85 Bears had character(s) in spades.
3. Championship Game: 34-27 loss to Raiders, AFC Championship Game
Throwing the ball was really the only thing that separated this Chargers team from being a pretty mediocre bunch, but because Air Coryell was so dominant and so effective, they earn a spot on the list.
Thanks in part to Dan Fouts, John Jefferson, Kellen Winslow and Charlie Joiner (each a 1,000-yard receiver) lit up the AFC West, enabling San Diego to reach the AFC Conference title game for the first time in franchise history.
4.Packers (won NFL title): Widely regarded as the premier team coached by legendary Vince Lombardi, even if it reigned four years prior to the Super Bowl's debut. Green Bay finished 13-1, its wins coming by an average of more than three touchdowns. The roster sported 11 Hall of Famers, not including Lombardi. They only beat the imposing Giants 16-7 in the championship game, but it was staged in New York's 8-degree wind chill, which didn't lend itself to much offense. Regardless, that battle helped launch NFL Films to prominence.
5.Championship Game: 34-19 loss to Broncos, Super Bowl XXXIII
They may have been best remembered for the upset of the Vikings (and thus spoiling a potentially epic Super Bowl between Minnesota and Denver), but this Falcons team was outstanding in 1998.
Even if it was only for one year, Jamal Anderson was a truly elite runner, Chris Chandler made plays in the clutch, and their defense was one of the most underrated in the NFL. They allowed the fourth fewest points in the NFL that year and completely manhandled Steve Young's 49ers in the playoffs then shut down a historic Vikings offense in crunch time to pull off that Metrodome upset.
6. Dolphins (won Super Bowl VII): Yes, it's still the only team to win a Super Bowl without dropping a game (17-0), and there's no real counterargument for "perfection." But it's also a lazy argument. Miami won its three postseason games by a combined 17 points. It also feasted on a horrid regular-season schedule that included just two teams finishing with winning records (both a middling 8-6). This isn't meant to shade the Fins and their "No-Name Defense," a roster with six Hall of Famers plus Don Shula, the winningest coach in NFL history. But context matters, and it already seems a concession ranking the '72 Dolphins ahead of 1970s contemporaries in Pittsburgh, Dallas and even Oakland — not to mention clubs previously ranked on this list. A special group indeed but not the most special for my money.
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