10 best Super Bowl winning teams in NFL history
The way the 1985 Bears are deified in Chicago it would seem they are without question the greatest football team to ever grace the gridiron.Mike Ditka and Buddy Ryan led a bevy of future Hall of Famers: Walter Payton, Richard Dent, Mike Singletary, Dan Hampton and Jimbo Covert. Plenty of other stars made the Bears an incredible force that all opponents feared.But is it possible they weren't the greatest Super Bowl winners of all-time?
After winning the Super Bowl the season before, the 1975 Steelers won another one for an encore performance. Of the four Super Bowl wins for the Steelers during the 1970’s, it’s hard to pick the best one, but how about 1975, when they had a phenomenal +211 point differential (in 14 games!). The Steel Curtain Defense was the team’s signature, and Mel Blount led the league with 11 interceptions. Meanwhile, for the offense, Terry Bradshaw had a career-best 2 to 1 TD to interception ratio, and Franco Harris piled up a career-high 1,246 rushing yards.
The 2016 Patriots managed to go 14-2 despite Tom Brady missing the first four games due to the deflated football “scandal” and Rob Gronkowski missing eight games due to various injuries. The combination of Jacoby Brissett and Jimmy Garoppolo went 3-1 in Brady’s absence, though when Brady returned, he had a remarkable ratio of 28 touchdowns to just two interceptions. Martellus Bennett did a fine job in Gronk’s absence, while LeGarrette Blount punched in a Patriots record 18 touchdowns on the ground. The defense quietly led the NFL with the fewest points allowed.
The 1992 edition is likely the best team of the Cowboys’ star-studded 1990s dynasty. An extremely talented offensive line paved the way for Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin. Jimmy Johnson’s ‘Boys were top five in the NFL in points and yardage for AND against.
Arguably Bill Walsh’s finest 49er squad, and Jerry Rice hadn’t even arrived yet! Joe Montana had many weapons at his disposal, including a one-two punch of Wendell Tyler and Roger Craig in the backfield. Ronnie Lott anchored the defense, which helped to allow the fewest points in the league.
Joe Gibbs rode a career year from Mark Rypien to a Super Bowl victory. The 1991 ‘Skins were strong on the ground and through the air, with a bruising running attack led by Earnest Byner and an aerial attack featuring a trio of wide receivers known as “The Posse” – Art Monk, Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders. Charles Mann led the way on defense along with former Bear linebacker Wilber Marshall and speedburner Darrell Green at corner.
The “Greatest Show on Turf” was so dynamic on offense that it’s easy to forget that they were fourth in points allowed and sixth in yards allowed. But of course, offense was this team’s calling card. Kurt Warner entered the season with 39 career passing yards and no touchdown passes and ended up throwing for 4,353 yards and 41 scores. Marshall Faulk became only the second player in NFL history to rush for at least 1,000 yards AND receive for at least 1,000 yards in a season.
Perhaps a surprise on the list of the greatest Super Bowl winning teams, the Packers of 1996 are one of just two teams in NFL history to lead the league in both points for AND against, and win the Super Bowl (the 1972 Dolphins are the others). Green Bay’s 1996 champs had neither a 1,000-yard rusher nor a 1,000-yard receiver during the regular season, but the Pack had a deep roster, not to mention a Hall of Fame quarterback having perhaps his finest season. The defense was led by veterans Reggie White and LeRoy Butler.
The 1985 Bears are known for their historic defense, and rightfully so. But one thing about the 1985 Bears that’s easy to forget is that they scored a franchise record 456 points, as Walter Payton was still a force on the ground. Of course, the reason it’s easy to forget about all the points they scored is that defense. The 1985-86 Bears are the only team to allow fewer than 200 points in consecutive seasons since they moved to a 16-game schedule in 1978 (excluding the 9-game 1982 season). With a team of iconic characters and an emphatic 46-10 win in Super Bowl XX, the team remains beloved to this day.
George Seifert took over for Bill Walsh in 1989 and didn’t skip a beat. In fact, the Niners steamrolled their way through a 14-2 regular season, then proceeded to be the only team in NFL history with a +100 point differential over the course of a postseason. Joe Montana was brilliant, and when he couldn’t play Steve Young was his backup. Plus they had the greatest wide receiver in NFL history – Jerry Rice – at the top of his game. And to make matters worse for the league, they boasted a top-five defense as well.
The 1972 Dolphins were the first undefeated team to win a Super Bowl, and nearly 50 years later they still remain the only team to do it. They had the most points and yards, and the fewest points and yards allowed. No other Super Bowl champion can make that claim. The duo of Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris were nearly unstoppable on the ground, each collecting 1,000 yards, and the defense excelled as a unit; they were known as the “No-Name Defense.”
