2007 Patriots (lost Super Bowl XLII): They had a bad game at the worst time, narrowly losing the Super Bowl 17-14 to the Giants. 79. 49. 21. However all-pro K Gary Anderson's infamous FG miss opened the door for an Atlanta upset in the NFC title game. Position: QB; RB; WR; TE; K; DEF; Weeks: 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 2020 Season; Draft Rankings 11. Join our Facebook Group, The Ruling Off the Field, to engage in friendly debate and conversation with fellow football fans and our NFL insiders. 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. 74. 2011 Giants (won Super Bowl XLVI): No Super Bowl champion has a less impressive résumé, New York the only one with fewer than 10 regular-season victories (9-7), and only one to be outscored during the regular season. QB Tom Brady became the first player to throw 50 TDs in a season, 23 to WR Randy Moss — still a single-season record for scoring grabs. League insiders offer their thoughts on a new contract with Dallas, possible free-agent destinations and more. 1990 Giants (won Super Bowl XXV): Bold coaching from Bill Parcells and great relief pitching from Jeff Hostetler — Simms went down with a broken foot in Week 15 — allowed New York to upset San Francisco and Buffalo on the way to its second Super Bowl win in five seasons. 16. 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. That trend continued in the Super Bowl, when New England survived Carolina 32-29. And from a numbers standpoint, this club ranks favorably with any in Green Bay's vaunted history, going 13-3 in the regular season before trashing its playoff opponents by an average of 17.3 points. 2010 Packers (won Super Bowl XLV): Their fourth Super Bowl victory came via a wild-card playoff run as QB Aaron Rodgers officially emerged from Favre's shadow. Two years on the countdown. 84. Let's kick it off ... 1. Falcons, Jaguars still set to play after virus positives, More mistreatment claims hit Washington, including Dan Snyder's alleged threat toward cheerleading director, Temple Owls come back to beat Bulls late, 39-37, How Physical Changes Can Affect Your Identity, LeBron James is already back in the gym after Finals win, and has a new workout partner, Nick Saban cleared to return to the sidelines, Colts activate Sheldon Day, sign Marcus Johnson, Every Senior In Canada Urged To Wear This $49 SmartWatch, Classic Spy Photos Of The Week: Aborted Acura NSX With V10 Engine, Week 6 NFL Injury Wrap: Melvin Gordon out, Julio Jones returns, South Carolina's Shi Smith hauls in wild one-handed catch along sideline (Video), Jason Collins gives his advice to players thinking of coming out, the most accomplished player in NFL history through his first three seasons since Jim Brown, the Chiefs gave Mahomes a market-breaking half-billion-dollar contract. 50. Dallas set a franchise record with 13 regular-season wins before Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith and Super Bowl MVP Troy Aikman planted their dynasty flag with a 52-17 Super Bowl rout of Buffalo ... though DT Leon Lett's showboating cost his team the Super Sunday scoring record. Not only was he voted fourth, but he was also the third-ranked quarterback. 2013 Seahawks (won Super Bowl XLVIII): Appropriately slotted 12th, they get my vote as the preeminent single-season team of the 21st century. 1999 Jaguars (lost AFC Championship Game): Easily the best team in Jacksonville's brief history, they were 0-3 against Tennessee that year, but 14-0 against everyone else — not including a 62-7 playoff win against Miami in Marino's last game. 1988 49ers (won Super Bowl XXIII): Compensated for forgettable regular season (10-6 record) by smoking Minnesota and Chicago in NFC playoff bracket by combined 62-12 score before Montana engineered signature 92-yard drive to oust Bengals in Super Bowl's final minute. 18. The 4th and Monday newsletter brings our experts and analysis to your inbox. Is a premier college player that has all the skill to take over a game and play at a championship level. If you guessed their quarterback was Billy Wade, you're more than ready for NFL "Jeopardy!". 17. 1970 Colts (won Super Bowl V): A relatively uninspired regular season (11 wins, 11.3-point margin of victory) was capped by triumph in perhaps the ugliest of Super Bowls (Baltimore combined with Dallas to rack up 11 turnovers). But New England ended its mini-drought in dramatic fashion, rookie DB Malcolm Butler snuffing Seattle's repeat bid with his goal-line pick of Russell Wilson. 68. So the top spot of the NFL Top 100, the annual NFL Network poll in which NFL players vote on the 100 best players in football, seemed like a foregone conclusion. All NFL all the time: The 4th and Monday newsletter brings our experts and analysis to your inbox. Throw in a Super Bowl win against a Cowboys team that was nearly as good, and you have the makings of a powerhouse deserving recognition as one of the NFL's 10 greatest teams. USA TODAY Sports Network's top 100 all-time NFL teams. Had the AFC title bout, aka the "Freezer Bowl," not been played in Cincinnati's minus-59 wind chill, these Bolts might have given San Diego an elusive Super Bowl breakthrough. These are the world's most historic restaurants. The club was largely overshadowed by the 15-1 Packers in 2011 but had a much better, if more heartbreaking postseason, losing a 36-32 barnburner in San Francisco. With a playoff format non-existent at the time, they were actually awarded their crown during a league meeting on April 30, 1921 — old school. 48. 1973 Dolphins (won Super Bowl VIII): Though they only went 15-2, playoffs included, proponents believe this Miami team might have been superior to the undefeated '72 squad. 76. Would have helped had they more easily handled a post-Griese, pre-Marino Miami club on Super Sunday. And Warner's ascension from complete unknown to league MVP and, ultimately, a Hall of Famer is a quintessential rags-to-riches tale. 1963 Bears (won NFL title): The franchise owns nine titles, but the '85 Bears and this team have the only ones since 1946. But the '75 team's case is compelling given a 12-2 record and the largest point differential (plus-211) in franchise history. 1989 49ers (won Super Bowl XXIV): Stacking them up against their '84 brethren engenders a chocolate versus vanilla debate. 2005 Colts (lost divisional round): This had the look of a history-making squad after dominant 13-0 start. 1952 Lions (won NFL title): Yes, Detroit was once relevant, too, winning three championships in the '50s. 1950 Browns (won NFL title): They took the prize in their first NFL season — pretty special. Final note: Akron surrendered seven points the entire season, pitching 10 shutouts. 72. 1997 Broncos (won Super Bowl XXXII): They didn't win the AFC West but did finally notch the franchise's first championship, exacting playoff revenge on Jacksonville before Elway, Davis and Co. dethroned Favre's Packers. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Worth wondering if San Diego could have beaten the '63 Bears, NFL champs that year. It ended with reigning NFL MVP Tom Brady being ranked #1, making him the only player to be voted #1 three times, already being the only player to be voted first more than once. 67. 61. 65. But QB Phil Simms stole the show on Super Sunday, completing 22 of 25 passes in a 39-20 defeat of Elway's Broncos. Check in here and on NFL Network each day at 8 … 26. But two GOATs lead the way. 7. 1995 Cowboys (won Super Bowl XXX): The first time a club won the Super Bowl three times in four years. 1949 Eagles (won NFL title): Philadelphia lost only once, winning a second straight championship with a star-studded team that included future Hall of Famers Chuck Bednarik and Steve Van Buren, who rushed for 196 yards in the championship game shutout of the Rams. 1920 Akron Pros (won APFA title): May as well end at the beginning and acknowledge the inaugural champions of the league, then known as the American Professional Football Association (it was reflagged "NFL" in 1922). Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was ranked No. 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.