Greatest Single Season NFL Team Ever?

[Jedieb]

I saw a poll on MNF that had viewers choose amongst 5 teams for the greatest modern era team ever. I went searching for the poll and found a similiar one. The MNF had over 75,000 votes while this one had only over 26,000. The results are similiar, here they go:

85 Bears 27.2%
78 Steelers 15.3%
72 Dolphins 13.0%
92 Cowboys 12.5%
89 Niners 10.6%
And 5 other teams with less than 10 percent. (They had the 90 Bills at number 10 with 2.6% Obviously Chris Berman hacked into the poll somehow. :lol )

To me, that's a pretty good ranking. Although I'd be inclined to put the Dolphins ahead of the Steelers simply because they were undefeated. That's just an amazing accomplishment. If the Dolphins had put up a few more points in their Superbowl win, they'd probably get some more recognition. But as it was, that game was a virtual shut out with Washington's only points coming off of Garo Yepremian's legendary gaff. Hell, if he makes that they shut out the Skins 17-0.

The 72 Dolphins are the only team I have no memory of. I remember those Steelers teams from the 70's. They were so intimidating and if not for the Raiders and Dolphins they could have won 5 or 6 Superbowls. The 85 Bears team was just awesome. Not only did they have a defense that only the recent Ravens team could compare with, they had a potent offense as well. I remember what they did to Dallas that year. After they demolished Dallas the whole country started talking about them. Even their one loss to the Dolphins was aided by an injured McMahon not starting (he came in at half time), a few lucky bounces, and the 72 Dolphins patroling the Orange Bowl sideline. Their Superbowl against the Pats was a laugher. I'd have to give them the nod for the greatest single team season ever. I think if you matched them up against any other great team 10 times straight they'd win the majority of those games.

[CMJ]

Gotta go with the Dolphins, simply because they're undefeated.

[JonathanLB]

Well I still think the best offensive team I ever saw was the Vikings the year they went 15-1 and lost that 1 game by 3 points, if I recall correctly. They didn't have a very good playoff run, even though they were absolutely the best team that year, but oh well Cunningham was a choke artist it proved, basically.

Still, I've never seen anything so beautiful, a perfectly moving offense that took sometimes just 2-3 passes to Moss to score. It was insane, highest scoring offense ever, and I wish they had won the Super Bowl darnit.

That is maybe the best team that never won the Super Bowl, so that is my poll. :)

[sirdizzy]

what no 1998 broncos, with john elway and terrel davis they were pretty unbeatable and could have stood up to any team up there

[Figrin D'an]

Tough to call, but I'd go with the '85 Bears as well. Best defense ever, IMO... better than the '72 Dolphins 'No-Name' defense, better than the '00 Ravens D, better than the 'Steel Curtain' years of the Steelers in the '70's. They absolutely demolished the teams they faced. The '00 Ravens may hold the Fewest Points Allowed record, but they lost 5 games, and did give up some yards in the passing game. On the other side of the ball, they had a massive O-Line, Walter Payton tearing it up on the ground, and a QB that, while not a superstar, made the big throws when he had to and managed the game very well. The Bears, had they not been a little cocky, could have gone 16-0 in the regular season. Combine that with a very well-executed game play by Marino and the Miami recievers, and... well.. the rest is history.

'72 Dolphins are a close 2nd, then probably the '78 Steelers.

[BUFFJEDI]

The 1972 Fin's hands down best team ever. After them any and all Cowboy teams:D

[JonathanLB]

The Cowboys suck. They are like the Blazers, they take CON-AIR to play at other stadiums. I hear that in the 1990's they just went ahead and moved the courthouse in Dallas to the football stadium because they figured it would be more convenient.

[JMK]

You all know what I'm going to say.

72 Dolphins. A no brainer. Undefeated, I believe they're the only professional sports team in North America to ever go through the schedule undefeated. Then they won the Super Bowl to boot.

[BUFFJEDI]

Originally posted by JonathanLB
The Cowboys suck. They are like the Blazers, they take CON-AIR to play at other stadiums. I hear that in the 1990's they just went ahead and moved the courthouse in Dallas to the football stadium because they figured it would be more convenient. :lol

Bite me Jon;)

[Diego Van Derveld]

72 Dolphins. No brainer there. My number 2 is the 78 Steelers, because I love Pittsburgh :)

[JonathanLB]

Buff you know I had to! :)

'72 Dolphins really were incredible, but I don't think it's fair to say that the '72 Dolphins were better than the 14-2 Denver Broncos who went 14-0, actually, before losing those two games. I mean, the season is longer... you have to realize it's easier to go 12-0 in 1972 than go 16-0 today -- not to knock the Dolphins at all! That was an incredible feat, what a great team. I'm just saying that you have to give credit to those Broncos that year too, because they were headed towards possibly a perfect season, and nobody even expected that.

I like happy endings in sports, and though Marino, one of the greatest QBs of all time, could never get his Super Bowl ring, I was glad to see Elway walk away with two. I personally thought Elway was a likeable guy but I also thought he was somewhat of a playoff loser, after three defeats in Super Bowls, and he proved me dead wrong. He wanted it badly and he proved that is a true winner deserving of the highest praise. I love to be wrong about someone in those cases. I couldn't have been happier, either, than to see the Packers lose, lol.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I am biased I would go with the 89 49ers, Still the reason the 49ers were so good were that they were great over the whole decade and not just one year just like the steelers. Bias aside probably would go with Miami because they were unbeaten.

[JonathanLB]

Go Niners! :)

Young in '94 had a great year too, when they beat the Chargers like 49 to 17 or whatever the heck it was. They killed them, that's the point, wasn't even a fair game. Young had one of the best QB ratings ever that year, actually I think it WAS the best ever, better than Montana, better than Bart Starr, doesn't matter, better than everyone else who had ever played at QB before. Young was just the man, and last year Garcia actually had an amazing QB rating that I remember at one point was topping even Steve Young.

Ahh I remember three years ago, two years ago maybe when someone said, "Joe Montana, Steve Young, Jeff Garcia?" Something doesn't fit here. Well last year I started saying, "No, it fits perfectly, Garcia is a natural successor to a great line of QBs that is perhaps one of the most amazing strings in NFL history."

The Niners are really lucky sometimes, too. Such huge cap problems and I thought they were going to suck for a while, then it took only two years from them to rise back to playoff contention, which surprised basically everyone. Nobody imagined them being back in the picture that quickly. But I do remember being a Niners fan when they were 4-12 and 6-10, wasn't too fun, I was glad to see it end, haha.

[Jedi Master Carr]

To me Montana was the best, but I grew up when he was a star, he was my idol as a kid, I followed him all the way to KC, he played good there, unfortuntely he didn't have the recievers, his best reciever was Marcus Allen now thats a problem. Young was a great QB too, I just think Montana was a little better but that is just my opinion :)

[JonathanLB]

You are right! I think Montana is the greatest QB of all time, I was just pointing out that as a single-season accomplishment, Young's '94 season -- wow!

But Montana was the greater champion, I mean look no further than the hardware. The first game I ever watched in the NFL, no make that the first football game I ever watched, was the 49ers with Joe Montana playing, I was pretty young, and my dad got me started watching football. I was a Niners fan ever since. I don't remember much of Montana playing but I have these few images and that is enough :)

He was such a great competitor, wow, such a bright guy too. The level of confidence that guy had was just incredible. They would get behind and he wouldn't get a look of fear or desperation, but a look of confidence, motivation, and determination -- he knew the Niners were going to win, and he was going to make them win!

The Niners were just lucky to get a great QB like Young after Montana, and it's funny because I do remember that at the time, people had the same attitude about Young as they did of Garcia. That's so funny looking back on it! They were like, "Oh boy, Young, the second string QB, ugg... WE WANT MONTANA!" Little did they know he would lead them to the playoffs many, many times and win a Super Bowl for San Francisco, continuing their dynasty of 16 years of winning seasons and 5 Super Bowls to celebrate.

I would like to see the 6th added here in the next 3 years :D

[Jedieb]

Great QB's like Montana, Marino, Elway, Favre, and Unitas are all much closer to each other than their championships would tell you. Montana had the perfect system and great coaching to suit his talents. Elway often carried inferior team to Superbowls. I mean, how many hall of fame receivers or running backs did Elway have with him in his losing Superbowl teams? While Montana was loaded with the likes of Craig, and Rice. Meanwhile poor Marino never had a running game and aside from the early days of Clayton and Duper, not many HOF caliber receivers. Even those guys may never see Canton.

I wouldn't put Young in that category because he had multiple chances to win big games with really good Niners teams. But again, the Cowboys and later the Packers always stopped him. If the ego twins (J.J. & J.J.) had been able to keep it together Young probably never would have won a Superbowl.

Someone mentioned the 98 Broncos team. I think they were in the MNF poll but not the ESPN poll. That was a great team that went 14-0 I believe. They lost a couple of games at the end of the season primarily because they had HFlocked up and Shanahan was resting his starters as much as possible. I'd put them at 5 or 6 on my list.

[BUFFJEDI]

Buff you know I had to! :lol


And If you would not have, I would have had to think less of you;)

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well Montana didn't have great recievers in his first SB, except maybe Clark. And I am not sure about Craig I think Montana made him look better.Can't argue about Rice. Elway had pretty good recievers in the late 80's, I think, the 3 Amigos were good there for a few years. Elway's problem was that Denver always got beat by a better team (Giants, Redskins, and 49ers). I have to admit its hard to really say who is the greatest QB of all time, its really impossible, IMO.