Sports Then and Now

Despite not having a Hall of Fame caliber quarterback, the Washington Redskins clearly ranked as the best of the 44 Super Bowl Champions.

Since the first Super Bowl was held in January 1967, 44 teams have hoisted the Vince Lombardi Championship Trophy. But which of these championship teams was really the greatest of the greats?

In part two of our countdown of the Super Bowl Champions, we count down to the number one champion in Super Bowl history. For more details about the categories used to rank the teams, check out part one.

20. 1977 Dallas Cowboys – Record: 15-2 (32 points); Average loss by 11 points (9 points); Average win by 14.6 points (23 points); Opponent winning percentage: .485 (29 points); Wins over +.500 teams: 4 (25 points); Total Points: 118
Arguably the best of Tom Landry’s 29 Dallas Cowboy squads, the 1977 Cowboys combined an explosive offense led by Roger Staubach, Drew Pearson and rookie Tony Dorsett with a dominating defense led by linemen Randy White and Harvey Martin. Dallas finished 12-2 during the regular season with their two losses coming back-to-back after winning their first eight games. In the Playoffs, Dallas out-scored the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings by a combined score of 60-13 to reach the Super Bowl. Facing the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII, the Cowboys were dominant in a 27-10 victory.

19. 1990 New York Giants – Record: 16-3 (26 points); Average loss by 8.7 points (20 points); Average win by 11.4 points (9 points); Opponent winning percentage: .500 (36 points); Wins over +.500 teams: 4 (28 points); Total Points: 119
Because the 1990 New York Giants narrowly won the NFC Championship Game over the San Francisco 49ers and then had to withstand a last second missed field goal to win Super Bowl XXV, the Giants are often overlooked when the best championship teams are discussed. However, the second of Bill Parcell’s Super Bowl teams was a solid team led by a defense that allowed the fewest points in the NFL. After starting quarterback Phil Simms was lost for the season in the 14th week, backup Jeff Hostetler stepped in and did not throw an interception in three playoff wins. Read the rest of this entry →

Where do the 1992 Dallas Cowboys rate when ranking the 44 Super Bowl champions?

Since the first Super Bowl was held in January 1967, 44 teams have hoisted the Vince Lombardi Championship Trophy. But which of these championship teams was really the greatest of the greats?

Was it one of the teams coached by Lombardi himself, or was it the only team to finish a season undefeated? Was it a one-year wonder like the 1985 Bears or perhaps a team coached by one of the coaching legends in Walsh, Landry, Gibbs or Noll.

Trying to cut through the numbers and years to identify the best Super Bowl Champions of all-time is a lot like trying to rank Five Star restaurants or elite sports cars. Each one has its own merits and greatness that ultimately led to its ability to claim a championship.

Only twice in 44 years has a Super Bowl Champion lost as many as six games during a season and 28 champions lost three or fewer games on their way to winning a title.

But when you get past the win-loss records and start to analyze the entire picture, a clearer view of which teams were indeed a notch above starts to emerge.

In trying to identify the best of the best, I looked at five factors and ranked each champion in all five categories.

In addition to overall winning percentage, I also ranked teams based on the average margin in their losses and then separately the average margin in their victories. This helped paint a picture of whether teams were competitive in the games they did lose and then also illustrated if they were dominating in their victories. The best of the best were competitive in every game and dominant against their weaker opposition.

However, given that the caliber of each schedule was not the same and some teams may have played a more challenging schedule and didn’t have as many dominant victories, I also ranked teams based on the winning percentage of their regular season opponents and also by the number of teams they defeated during the season that had a winning record.

The championship team with the best ranking in each category received 44 points, down to one point for the team with the lowest score in each category. The points were then added up to determine the overall rankings.

The result is a ranking of the Super Bowl championship teams that doesn’t just give the nod of greatness to the teams with the best records. Instead, the full body of their championship season is analyzed and considered.

Because winning percentage was only one of multiple factors, the teams ranked as the best didn’t necessarily have the best record. Some of the teams often named as being among the best of all-time when simply looking at overall record fell to the middle of the pack when other factors are considered.

The goal of these rankings is to paint the full picture of which team played at the highest level against the toughest competition throughout a season in which they finished as the Super Bowl Champion.

So, here is my attempt at ranking the 44 Super Bowl Champions from “worst” to “best” based not on personal assessment, but instead on overall success during their championship season according to the five factors outlined above. Remember that even the worst team on this list was the best team in football during their championship season, so just to be on this list is special.

In this first installment are numbers 44-21: Read the rest of this entry →

This improbable catch by David Tyree in the final minutes of Super Bowl XLII led to victory for the underdog Giants in one of the greatest upsets in football history.

This is Part 3 of the ranking of Super Bowls I-XLIII from 43rd to 1st.

This installment is the top 15 Super Bowls of all time and most of all them are truly classic games that are revered in the history of the National Football League.

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So, here is 15-1:
15. Super Bowl XXXIX Patriots-24 Eagles-21
This game was close throughout as the Patriots won their third Super Bowl in four years, all by the margin of three points, though this time they did not need a last-second field goal by Adam Vinatieri.

Two performances turned in by wide receivers stand out from this game; Patriots wide receiver Deion Branch who tied a Super Bowl by making 11 receptions for 133 yards to be named MVP and Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens who caught 9 passes for 122 yards, six weeks after breaking his leg.

14. Super Bowl XVII Redskins-27 Dolphins-17
One of the Super Bowl’s most famous plays occurred with ten minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Miami Dolphins clinging to a 17-13 lead.

With a fourth-and-one at the Miami 43, the Redskins called for “70 Chip”, a short yardage run for running back John Riggins.

Riggins took the handoff from quarterback Joe Theismann and ran to the left side, then broke the tackle of Dolphins cornerback Don McNeal at the line of scrimmage, and ran the rest of the way untouched for a 43-yard touchdown run that gave the Redskins a 20-17 lead, their first lead of the game.

Washington added a touchdown in the final two minutes to clinch their first Super Bowl title.

Riggins was named the game’s MVP as he ran a record 38 times for 166 yards and one touchdown. Read the rest of this entry →

Butch Johnson's acrobatic catch in Super Bowl XII helped lift the Cowboys to a title, but it would not have been ruled a catch based on today's rules.

Welcome to Part 2 of the series that ranks the Super Bowls from 43rd to 1st.

In this installment, we take a look at 30 through 16 with some Super Bowls that competitive for about a half or were not put out of reach until the final minutes of the game.

There are also some blowouts included in this installment that are more memorable because of a historic individual or team performance.

So, here is part two:

30. Super Bowl XII Cowboys-27 Broncos-10
The first half of this Super Bowl was perhaps the most bizarre 30 minutes in Super Bowl history.

Broncos quarterback Craig Morton was intercepted four times as Denver turned the ball over seven times in the first half but only trailed 13-0 at halftime as Cowboys kicker Efren Herrera missed three field goals in the half.

It took two spectacular touchdowns in the second half for Dallas to put the Broncos away; a 45-yard diving, fingertip catch by Butch Johnson in the third quarter to make it 20-3, followed by a halfback option pass from running back Robert Newhouse to wide receiver Golden Richards for a 29-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.

29. Super Bowl IX Steelers-16 Vikings-6
This game marked the first of four Super Bowl championships in the 1970s for the Pittsburgh Steelers and their famed “Steel Curtain” defense.

Of the four Super Bowl wins, this was the best performance by the “Steel Curtain” as they recorded the first safety in Super Bowl history and limited the Vikings to 119 yards of total offense, 17 rushing yards, nine first downs, and did not allow an offensive touchdown (Minnesota’s touchdown came on a blocked punt).

However, it took until 3:31 to go in the game for the Steelers to put the Vikings away as quarterback Terry Bradshaw found tight end Larry Brown for a 4-yard touchdown that put the game out of reach. Read the rest of this entry →