What was the best NFL team ever? There are many great teams that dominated for one or two years but we are talking about dynasties, teams that wrecked everybody in their path for 5-10 years. But I narrowed it down to five dynasties: the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers, 1980s San Francisco 49ers, 1960s Green Bay Packers, 1980s Washington Redskins, and the 2000s New England Patriots. This will be a ranking article, and yes I am biased.
Number 5: The 1980s Washington Redskins
The Redskins are now known as the Commanders. They won three Super Bowls over the time period from 1982-1991. They hired Joe Gibbs in 1981 hoping he would turn around the program, and boy did he! In 1982 they won their first Super Bowl with John “Diesel” Riggins, and arguably the best O-Line of all time, “The Hogs,” containing Joe “Jake” Jacoby, Russ “The Grimm Reaper” Grimm, Jeff “Bosco'' Bostic, Mark “May Day” May, and George “Head Hog” Starke. The following year in 1983 their tower came crashing down when they went into the slaughterhouse and lost to the Raiders 38-9. They came back in 1987 with high-caliber quarterback Doug Williams and a high-powered defense led by Darell Green. They tore apart the Broncos 42-10 with Doug Williams throwing for 340 yards (a Super Bowl record) and four touchdown passes. They capped off the dynasty with a Super Bowl in 1991 with Mark Rypien and Art Monk, and a reliant defense with Wilber Marshall and Charles Mann. I put them at number five because they only won three super bowls spread out over nine years and they lost a super bowl as well. Some of the other teams on this list won more super bowls in less time and they didn't lose a super bowl.
Number 4: The 1960s Green Bay Packers
Vince Lombardi and the Green Bay Packers hold down the respectable number four spot in this list. The Packers won two super bowls and three NFL Championships. The offense was led by quarterback Bart Starr and Fred Thurston and Forrest Gregg holding down the O-Line, a packed defense with multiple Hall of Famers such as fearsome Ray Nitschke, Herb Adderaly, and ruthless Willie Davis. The Packers won the first two Super Bowls in 1966 and 1967. They beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the inaugural Super Bowl by a score of 35-10, and snagged the second Super Bowl victory against the Oakland Raiders 33-14. I put them at 4th because there were only 16 teams in the NFL at that point. Also, they only won two super bowls when other teams won more. Yes, I know that they won NFL Championships but no one really cares about those.
Number 3: The 2000s New England Patriots
Now we have arrived at my most controversial one in this entire list. Yes, the Patriots did win six Super Bowls in this dynasty, BUT, they had 18 years to do it! That's averaging one super bowl every three years! Some teams on the list won four or five super bowls in 10 or less years. I can already hear the criticism, but Andrew Tom Brady is the greatest player ever! But Andrew, they are tied for the most Super Bowls of all time! Be quiet, first of all Tom Brady is overrated. Second of all, they are tied with the PITTSBURGH STEELERS! Nobody likes the Patriots except Patriot fans, and they have made poor life choices. Also, they lost to Chad Powers and the New York Giants not once, BUT TWICE! Finally, they lost to the Filthadelphia Eagles in 2018 with benchwarmer Nick Foles. I put them at three because they lost three super bowls and they are the New England Patriots. That's all I need to say.
Number 2: The 1980/90s San Francisco 49ers
Bill Walsh was handed the controls and he started cooking with this team right here. This team won five super bowls in 18 years with legends such as Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Stever Young, Ronnie Lott, Dwight Clark, and Roger Craig. San Francisco went 207-72-1 in that time period. Joe Montana is in the argument for the best quarterback in NFL history with a 4-0 record in Super Bowls and 3 Super Bowl MVPS. Roger Craig was the first player in history to have 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in a single season. Jerry Rice is the best wide receiver in history hands down. He is the all-time leader in three separate categories, catches (1,549), receiving yards (22,895), and receiving touchdowns (197). We can't forget about their star-studded defense, consisting of players such as fearsome outside linebacker Charles Haley, High-flying cornerback Eric Wright, and ruthless safety Ronnie Lott. They also had a pretty sweet kicker with an even sweeter mustache in Ray Wersching. I put them at number two because even though they had the same amount of time as the Patriots, they went 5-0 in the super bowl even though they won one less. Also, I put them ahead of the Patriots, because they are the Patriots. Enough said.
Number 1: The 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers
Now, the best one on this list. The 1970s PITTSBURGH STEELERS! I know what you're thinking, oh Andrew, what about the Patriots, oh Andrew, what about the 49ers. I don't care, the Steelers are better than them. The Patriots had 18 years, and the 49ers had 18 years as well. The Steelers only had 8 years. And they won FOUR SUPER BOWLS, EIGHT CONSECUTIVE PLAYOFF BERTHS, AND SEVEN AFC CENTRAL TITLES! You can't beat those numbers. The Steelers had easily the most well rounded team of all time, A explosive offense and a back-breaking, punishing defense. The offense was led by “The Blond Bomber” Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, and a one-two punch at wide receiver in Lynn Swann, and John Stallworth. But, we can't forget about Mike Webster and Jon Kolb holding down the O’line. Now, the best defense of all time, THE STEEL CURTAIN! Mean Joe Greene, Dwight “The Mad Dog” White, L.C Greenwood and his golden cleats, and Ernie “Fats” Holmes. Now, the best linebacker duo of all time, Jack Lambert, dracula in cleats, one of the most feared tacklers of all time, and Jack Ham, don’t think about throwing the ball his way, he will take it back to the house. Cornerback Mel Blount was so good they had to make a rule to prevent what he was doing, and Mike Wagner held down the safety position. The Steelers won four super bowls in a span from 1972-1979 in 1974, 1975, 1978, and 1979. I put them at number one because they won the four super bowls in the least amount of time, and they made the playoffs every year of their dynasty.