The best NFL teams of the past 25 years, ranked from 25 to 1

On Sunday, Sept. 3, 2000, the NFL inaugurated its archetypal play to statesman with a "2." It was, to enactment things charitably, a antithetic time. There was nary opening nighttime with the defending champs connected Thursday oregon an planetary crippled connected Friday (or immoderate different crippled extracurricular of the United States each season). No games were watched successful precocious definition. The yellow, on-screen first-down enactment was astir 2 years old. Patrick Mahomes was a pitcher connected the Mets; his son was astir to crook 5. Tom Brady was a steadfast scratch aft making the Patriots' roster successful grooming camp; the feline who kept him, Bill Belichick, was taking implicit his archetypal crippled arsenic New England's coach.

The NFL we're astir to ticker successful 2025 is precise different, some successful presumption of aesthetic and presentation, than the 1 you followed 25 years ago. Offenses and defenses person evolved pre- and post-snap, though immoderate innovations are clever repackagings of past concepts. Rules person changed. NFL teams that mightiness not person needed oregon wanted computers 25 years agone are sorting done player tracking data. It's astir intolerable to pluck teams from 2 decades agone and comparison them to the teams playing now.

Good happening it's lone almost impossible, due to the fact that conjecture what we're doing today? That's right: With 25 seasons successful the books since the satellite celebrated the commencement of the 3rd millennium, I'm picking the 25 champion teams of the past 25 years of nonrecreational football. If you could someway instrumentality those 25 apical teams from the past 4th period and get them to play 1 another, who would extremity up connected top?

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That's the question I'm trying to reply below, which requires immoderate explanation. There are tons of ways to effort to reply this question. Should it beryllium a measurement of which squad was astir successful? Which teams played the champion connected a snap-by-snap basis? Should I see each squad astatine its highest oregon implicit the full season? What astir accounting for shorter schedules and antithetic playoff rules?

I tried to onslaught a balance. My extremity is to find the champion squad if each of these teams could play each different successful what amounts to a time-traveling Champions League of the past 4th century. I considered what each squad did implicit the people of the full season, each the mode from Week 1 done the playoffs, arsenic the champion measurement of its existent underlying level of play. I tried to relationship for injuries to emulate what we really saw play retired during each team's existent season. The 2017 Eagles, for example, are going to person Nick Foles commencement astir 31% of the time, since helium took implicit for an injured Carson Wentz and played six of their 19 full games during their tally to Super Bowl LII.

At the aforesaid time, I wanted to reward teams that won championships. I weighted postseason show arsenic much important than what happened during the regular season. I looked for teams that dominated their opposition, particularly erstwhile those opponents were besides among the league's best. I wanted to favour teams that were implicit and controlled some sides of the ball, but I didn't privation to permission retired existent outliers that were generationally impactful connected discourtesy oregon defense, particularly if they rode those successes into the Super Bowl.

To comparison their performance, with constricted information for the earlier years of the century, I kept things simple. I measured each team's scoring discourtesy and defence per game, including its postseason figures, and past normalized them against the league average. I'm going to see each team's percentile fertile connected discourtesy and defence implicit the past 25 years by this measure, a fig that is amended erstwhile higher, with 100 arsenic the peak. Where available, I tried to usage precocious metrics to get much penetration into each team's level of play.

I besides focused connected sustainable and beardown underlying levels of play arsenic opposed to teams that were spectacular successful adjacent games oregon managed to compression retired victories each week. While each of the teams present won plentifulness of games, this isn't a database of triumph totals. As a bully example, the 2024 Chiefs went 15-2 portion winning adjacent games with blocked tract goals, fumbled snaps and atrocious crippled absorption by the opposing coach, but they weren't that caliber of squad from their underlying level of play. You saw what happened to them against stiff contention successful Super Bowl LIX. They didn't marque this list.

Finally, I measured spot of docket utilizing the Pythagorean formula. For each hostile a squad faced successful a fixed season, I calculated its points scored and points allowed successful games not involving that team, past built an expected winning percent disconnected that formula. (In different words, to measurement however pugnacious of an hostile the Ravens were for the Steelers successful a fixed year, I calculated however the Ravens performed successful each crippled they played that didn't impact the Steelers.) Weighting for however often each squad played each opponent, this mean docket trouble helped pass the way each squad took during its season.

With each of that successful mind, for each the mathematics and analysis, I asked myself 1 question erstwhile I was comparing a brace of teams connected the list: Given everything we saw from each of these 2 teams implicit the people of their full seasons, which would triumph if they met connected a neutral field? Sometimes, that led to contradictory answers: There are teams connected this database that mislaid to different teams that didn't marque it oregon adjacent travel close. That mightiness look counterintuitive fixed that you virtually saw that squad win, but what happens connected 1 time won't needfully hap again. The Bills person beaten the Chiefs 4 consecutive times successful the regular season; you cognize however things person gone erstwhile they've met successful the playoffs.

I'll commencement with the honorable mention, past number down the champion teams of the past 25 years:

Jump to a legendary team:
2000 Ravens | 2002 Bucs
2007 Patriots | 2010 Packers
2019 Chiefs | 2024 Eagles

Honorable mention

If I database each azygous squad that garnered meaningful consideration, I'd beryllium 10,000 words heavy earlier adjacent hitting the apical 25. By restricting myself to 25 teams successful 25 seasons, adjacent my constricted mathematics is bully capable to cognize I'm grabbing an mean of 1 squad per year. Though determination are a mates of seasons successful which I ended up taking 2 teams, deliberation astir 2024 and what limiting ourselves to 1 squad means. With the Eagles being my pick, that means the Chiefs don't marque it. It besides means nary 15-2 Lions. No 14-3 Vikings. No 13-4 Bills with Josh Allen's MVP campaign. No 12-5 Commanders and Jayden Daniels' peculiar rookie campaign. There are akin large teams from each of the past 25 years that simply get squeezed out.

With that successful mind, I'm limiting the honorable notation treatment to the 12 teams that won the Super Bowl and didn't extremity up successful the apical 25. Obviously, winning pro football's biggest prize is simply a invaluable point to enactment connected a résumé -- I weighted things disproportionately successful favour of teams that took location the Lombardi Trophy -- but I'm considering what those teams did implicit the full season, not conscionable however their run ended. Let's tally done those teams and wherefore I judge they came up abbreviated successful this ranking:

Everyone remembers 3 moments for the 2001 Patriots: Drew Bledsoe suffering internal bleeding connected a September hit and opening up the doorway for Tom Brady, the Tuck Rule crippled and Adam Vinatieri's tract goals successful the snowfall to beat the Raiders, and an unthinkable show successful upsetting the Greatest Show connected Turf arsenic 14-point underdogs successful Super Bowl XXXVI.

What's mislaid to past is simply a bully squad that doesn't propulsion its mode into the apical 25. Including their playoff run, these Patriots played the second-easiest docket of immoderate Super Bowl victor implicit the past 25 years, arsenic they had conscionable 2 wins implicit teams with winning records during the regular season. Their playoff wins were each narrow, though immoderate bully luck they mightiness person travel crossed successful the triumph implicit the Raiders was offset by losing Brady to an ankle injury successful the 2nd 4th of the AFC Championship Game, with Bledsoe coming backmost successful to assistance apical Kordell Stewart and the Steelers. Their champion crippled of the season, rather comfortably, came successful the Super Bowl. Many of the players connected this squad would yet assistance crook New England into a dynasty, but determination were overmuch amended versions of the Patriots to come.

The 2005 Steelers were 7-5 precocious successful the play earlier going connected an eight-game winning streak to assertion Super Bowl XL. Some of those issues were owed to Ben Roethlisberger missing 4 games with genu injuries, but Pittsburgh didn't adjacent triumph its division. That grant went to the Bengals, who were past knocked retired of the playoffs successful the wild-card round by the Steelers erstwhile Kimo Von Oelhoeffen famously tore Carson Palmer's near ACL connected the latter's second postseason snap.

The Steelers past survived a Jerome Bettis fumble connected the extremity enactment against the Colts that astir produced a 98-yard touchdown that would person completed an 18-point fourth-quarter comeback, lone for Roethlisberger to marque the champion tackle of his career. Mike Vanderjagt past missed a 46-yard tract extremity that would person sent the crippled to overtime. In the Super Bowl, Roethlisberger posted a 22.6 passer standing and threw 2 picks, but the Steelers bushed the Seahawks successful a crippled marred by dismal officiating. They were survivors, but this wasn't adjacent a large squad by their lofty standards.

The 2006 Colts were a large squad erstwhile they had prima information Bob Sanders, going 7-1 with him connected the field. Sanders played conscionable 4 regular-season games earlier returning for the playoffs, astatine which constituent the Colts ran the table, astir famously with a comeback from 21-3 down against the archrival Patriots to yet get Peyton Manning his playoff triumph implicit Tom Brady. The Sanders-led defence forced 13 turnovers during a four-game playoff run, including 5 by Rex Grossman and the Bears successful Super Bowl XLI.

Without Sanders for overmuch of the season, the Colts finished 23rd successful scoring defense. They were the league's worst third-down defence and the second-worst reddish portion defence during the regular season. Just taking the champion mentation of this squad and assuming Sanders could play 17 games, they would beryllium successful the apical 25. As it stands, different versions of the Manning-era Colts marque the list, adjacent without a ring.

The 2007 Giants produced what mightiness person been the most memorable victory of the Super Bowl era, controlling the vaunted Patriots discourtesy and coming up with David Tyree's celebrated helmet catch to acceptable up a championship-winning touchdown. Making a tally done the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers connected the NFC broadside of the bracket, the Giants waylaid history.

Of course, they besides mislaid to those aforesaid Patriots during the regular season, wherever they were besides swept by the Cowboys and mislaid to the Packers. They had a minus-nine turnover differential during the regular season, and portion they played the Pats adjacent successful the past week, that followed an eight-game agelong successful which Eli Manning completed 51.1% of his passes and turned the shot implicit doubly arsenic often (14 times) arsenic helium produced touchdowns (seven, with six done the air.) This squad had a large antiaircraft line, and it deed a caller stride erstwhile it leaned into its young endowment during the postseason, but 1 drawback earlier the helmet catch, a would-be interception bounced disconnected Asante Samuel's hands. If helium had caught that pass, cipher would adjacent unreal this is simply a debate. The Giants merit each the recognition successful the satellite for what they accomplished, but I wouldn't similar their chances against these teams implicit different 17-game season.

The bully quality is that nary fans volition beryllium huffy astatine maine for besides leaving the 2011 Giants retired of the apical 25. Right? The 2011 mentation was really outscored during the regular season, albeit portion playing a pugnacious schedule. The Giants were 7-7 successful December and Manning was being unfavorably compared to chap New York backmost Mark Sanchez earlier the squad rolled disconnected wins implicit the Jets and the Cowboys to win the NFC East connected the last time of the season.

The league's 25th-ranked scoring defence improved massively during the playoffs, with the Giants holding the Falcons to a lone information and past slowing down the 15-1 Packers successful the divisional round. New York enactment up a large conference rubric game show against the 49ers, who did thing connected discourtesy and went 1-for-13 connected 3rd down 1 week aft dropping 36 points connected the Saints. The Giants past forced an aboriginal information from Tom Brady and unopen retired the Patriots for the last 26 minutes of Super Bowl XLVI, yet winning 21-17.

Was determination a spot of luck during their playoff run? Of course. Hakeem Nicks caught a Hail Mary to widen a pb against Green Bay connected a time successful which the Giants fell connected each 3 Packers fumbles. In the NFC Championship Game, 49ers punt returner Kyle Williams muffed 2 punts, with 1 starring to a New York touchdown and the different mounting up the game-winning tract goal successful overtime. Another fourth-quarter drop helped the Giants, this clip coming connected discourtesy from Wes Welker successful the Super Bowl. As with 2007, this was different squad that was large successful the postseason and person to league mean during the regular season. It's pugnacious to sneak successful erstwhile determination are truthful galore teams that were bully successful some spots.

Like the Super Bowl-winning Colts, the 2012 Ravens looked a batch amended connected defence during the postseason. Terrell Suggs missed the archetypal fractional of the year, and Ray Lewis was constricted to six regular-season games by injuries. By the extremity of the year, the Ravens didn't look similar a Super Bowl contender; they mislaid 4 of their last 5 games, limping into the postseason astatine 10-6.

Though Lewis wasn't anyplace adjacent his peak, his instrumentality for the postseason helped spark the defense, which forced 10 turnovers successful 4 games. The Ravens needed a occurrence to marque it past the Broncos successful the divisional round and got 1 erstwhile Denver information Rahim Moore misjudged a Joe Flacco weaponry with a seven-point pb and 43 seconds left, allowing Jacoby Jones to tally past him for a 70-yard score to necktie the game. The Ravens won successful overtime, beat the Patriots successful Foxborough and past won the Harbaugh Bowl against the 49ers successful Super Bowl XLVII.

Flacco had the hottest agelong of his vocation astatine precisely the close time, posting a 117.2 passer standing and throwing 9 touchdowns without a prime during the postseason. There's a important span of clip earlier and aft suggesting that agelong is an outlier for the seasoned passer. This wasn't the champion Baltimore squad of the Flacco/John Harbaugh era, but it was the 1 that had the champion timing.

The 2014 Patriots mightiness endure from being compared with truthful galore different Pats teams. (There are a few, arsenic you tin astir apt surmise, successful the apical 25.) This was the play they famously looked cooked connected "Monday Night Football" successful a 41-14 loss to the Chiefs, lone for a instrumentality to signifier from Rob Gronkowski and a revamped violative enactment to rapidly hush immoderate concerns astir a 37-year-old Brady losing his touch. Leaving speech a meaningless Week 18 game, the Pats went 13-1 aft the nonaccomplishment successful Kansas City.

The playoff tally wasn't arsenic ascendant arsenic others. They prevailed successful a chaotic 35-31 game against the Ravens, owing successful portion to a substitution tactic that was banned aft the season. They blew retired an overmatched Colts squad successful the AFC Championship Game. In Super Bowl XLIX, they allowed the Seahawks to travel wrong a gait of taking the pb with 26 seconds to go. You cognize what happened next.

The 2015 Broncos fielded a ascendant defense, with Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware and a stout beforehand producing 14 sacks and a staggering 33 knockdowns during their three-game tally to Super Bowl 50. The offense? Well, Peyton Manning was benched astatine midseason for Brock Osweiler and cipher batted an eye, which should archer you what you request to know. The Broncos ranked 19th successful scoring discourtesy and 30th successful turnovers (31). The discourtesy wasn't bully during the playoff run, but with Manning restored to the lineup, they turned the shot implicit lone 3 times successful 3 games, which was capable to gain a ring.

The 2018 Patriots were much bully than large during the regular season, arsenic an 11-5 squad benefited from an casual docket and finished 19th successful defense-adjusted worth implicit average. If you thought they were bully astatine the time, you had to reason with Brady, who insisted, "Everybody thinks we suck and can't triumph immoderate games" successful his postgame chat aft the divisional-round victory implicit the Chargers. (No footage could beryllium recovered suggesting this was true.)

This wasn't a large defense, and the Patriots relied heavy connected the discourtesy to propulsion retired victories implicit the Chargers and Chiefs successful the playoffs, beating the second aft blowing a three-point pb with 39 seconds near lone to prevail successful overtime nether the league's aged rules by winning the coin flip and scoring a touchdown connected the opening drive. In Super Bowl LIII, though, they were large for 1 day, arsenic Bill Belichick leaned into the 6-1 beforehand Vic Fangio had used to stymie the Rams successful the regular season, taking distant their tally crippled and forcing Jared Goff to go a dropback passer. The Pats scored the lone touchdown of the crippled successful a 13-3 win, giving Brady and Belichick their last rubric unneurotic successful New England.

Two years later, Brady won different rubric with the 2020 Buccaneers, who overran an injury-riddled Chiefs enactment successful a blowout Super Bowl LV triumph astatine their location stadium. Those Bucs didn't triumph their part rubric but led a charmed beingness successful the NFC playoffs. They got a location crippled against a dismal 7-9 Washington squad that mislaid starting backmost Alex Smith for the wild-card round, and they inactive fto a Taylor Heinicke-led squad support things adjacent successful the 4th quarter. The rematch against the Saints came successful what would beryllium Drew Brees' last start, a time successful which helium intelligibly didn't person his accustomed capableness to propulsion the football.

In the NFC Championship Game, the referees appeared to fto some sides play by Mutant League Football rules earlier a precocious pass interference penalty and a brutally blimpish call by Green Bay manager Matt LaFleur pushed the Bucs done to the Super Bowl. They were large successful the Super Bowl, and this was 1 of the champion wild-card teams of the past 25 years, but they ended up being Team No. 26.

The 2021 Rams got disconnected to a 7-1 commencement and unlocked immoderate benignant of Jerry Rice mode retired of Cooper Kupp, but they mislaid 3 consecutive successful midseason and past fto their rivals into the playoffs erstwhile they couldn't close retired the Niners successful Week 18. They dominated the Cardinals successful the wild-card round, but their 3 different victories were constrictive wins implicit the Buccaneers, 49ers and Bengals. They blew a 27-6 lead against Tampa and trailed for astir the entirety of the 2nd fractional against the Bengals earlier a precocious score, with a astir fatal dedication to establishing a dismal moving crippled against the culprit.

This was a precise bully team, but it's pugnacious to reason against the thought the docket broke their way. The 4-seed Rams got to play the NFC Championship Game aft the 49ers knocked retired the 1-seed Packers and 3-seed Cowboys. The Rams got to play the 4-seed successful the AFC erstwhile the Bengals eliminated the Titans and Chiefs, portion the second-seeded Bills fell successful the "13 Seconds" game astatine Arrowhead. After going 2-5 against playoff teams during the regular season, the Rams look much similar the past bully squad lasting than a historically large performer.

The 2023 Chiefs were their ain worst enemies astatine times, led by a radical of wide receivers whose drops straight led to aggregate losses during the regular season. A Christmas Day loss to the Raiders near them astatine 9-6, and though they had capable successful the vessel to triumph the AFC West, Patrick Mahomes & Co. were forced to question to play playoff games connected the roadworthy for the archetypal clip successful the aboriginal Hall of Famer's career.

After a blowout win implicit a frozen Dolphins squad astatine home, the Chiefs went done stiff contention connected the road, narrowly beating the Bills successful Buffalo and topping a 13-4 Ravens squad in Baltimore earlier an overtime win implicit the 49ers earned them different Super Bowl. It was an unthinkable tally for Chris Jones, who made a bid of season-saving plays successful the wins implicit Buffalo and San Francisco, and Mahomes, who led 2 fourth-quarter comebacks and a game-winning thrust successful overtime of the rubric game. Even Chiefs fans, though, would astir apt admit that this wasn't the champion squad of the Mahomes epoch -- oregon peculiarly adjacent to it.

The 25 champion NFL teams of the past 25 years

25. 2018 Los Angeles Rams (15-4)

Fate: Lost successful Super Bowl LIII to Patriots, 13-3
Offense: 95th percentile
Defense: 48th percentile

These Rams felt similar the aboriginal of football. Building connected their stunning 2017 season, it didn't look arsenic though thing could derail Sean McVay's offense. The Rams began the 2018 play by winning their archetypal 8 games, averaging 33 points successful the process. Although they mislaid to an excellent Saints team successful New Orleans to autumn from the undefeated ranks, Jared Goff & Co. followed the show by outdueling the Chiefs successful 1 of the most memorable games of the past 25 years, the celebrated 54-51 shootout connected "Monday Night Football," wherever the defence chipped successful with 5 takeaways and 2 Samson Ebukam touchdowns. (Don't inquire what happened erstwhile the Rams didn't unit a takeaway.)

Hitting their bye astatine 10-1, the Rams looked unstoppable. Then, suddenly, things changed. An wounded to Todd Gurley constricted the prima back, who wasn't the aforesaid for immoderate agelong of clip aft the bye. One week aft the Lions enactment their borderline rushers arsenic acold extracurricular arsenic imaginable to assistance unit Los Angeles' portion runs backmost inside, Bears antiaircraft coordinator Vic Fangio's 6-1 beforehand stifled the tally crippled and forced Goff to beryllium a pouch passer. He threw 4 picks successful a 15-6 loss. The Eagles got the Rams again the following week, and though Los Angeles came backmost with 2 victories against the dismal Cardinals and 49ers to extremity the regular season, informing bells were blaring.

After beating the Cowboys astatine home, the Rams were bailed retired by their defence successful the NFC Championship Game against the Saints. An overwhelmed discourtesy struggled aboriginal and handed the Saints an aboriginal turnover, but the Rams held New Orleans to 2 abbreviated tract goals aboriginal earlier a touchdown thrust enactment them down 13-0. Aaron Donald and the defence held the Saints to 10 points implicit their ensuing 7 drives, aided at the end by 1 of the astir celebrated missed walk interference calls successful league history, which gave the Rams clip to thrust and necktie the crippled successful regulation. John Johnson picked disconnected Drew Brees successful overtime, and though the discourtesy couldn't bash much, Greg Zuerlein deed a 57-yard tract extremity to nonstop L.A. to its archetypal Super Bowl nether McVay.

There, with 2 weeks to prepare, Belichick hard-coded the Fangio attack into his defense. McVay and the Rams had nary answer. The defence played its champion crippled of the season, holding an fantabulous Patriots discourtesy to 13 points connected 11 possessions, but the Rams ne'er recovered a mode to get the Patriots retired of their six-man fronts and couldn't get their dropback walk crippled going. They punted connected their archetypal 8 drives and scored 3 points. It's inactive tied for the lowest full produced by a McVay discourtesy successful a azygous game.

That nonaccomplishment yet changed the league. The McVay and Shanahan-style offenses were forced to diversify their tally concepts, modernizing what had go the league's favourite mode to onslaught defenses. Goff wasn't rather arsenic effectual without the dense play-action attack, and McVay yet grew frustrated, quasi-benched him for a playoff crippled against the Seahawks and past sent him to the Lions successful a salary dump arsenic portion of the Matthew Stafford trade, which led to a rubric for the Rams and a resurgent Lions franchise. The 2018 L.A. squad was yet overshadowed by the squad that won the title, but implicit the full season, it was amended than the 2021 edition.

24. 2004 Pittsburgh Steelers (16-2)

Fate: Lost AFC Championship Game to Patriots 41-27
Offense: 67th percentile
Defense: 89th percentile

At 15-1, this was the champion regular-season squad of the Bill Cowher era. Dick LeBeau's defence allowed a league-low 15.7 points per game. And aft Tommy Maddox started the play by going 2-1, rookie first-round prime Ben Roethlisberger took implicit arsenic the starter and won his archetypal 13 starts, averaging astir 9.0 yards per effort successful a low-volume, high-efficiency passing game.

Going 15-1 successful the regular play is 1 thing, but it's adjacent much awesome considering who the Steelers beat. In midseason, the Steelers stopped the Patriots from extending their 21-game winning streak, beating them by 2 touchdowns. The pursuing week, they hosted the different squad that would yet vie successful the Super Bowl and routed the Eagles 27-3. They ran a small hot, going 6-0 successful one-score games, but each squad runs a small blistery erstwhile it goes 15-1.

The postseason conscionable didn't spell rather arsenic well. The Steelers allowed 2 instrumentality touchdowns to the Jets and yet had to past a 43-yard miss by Doug Brien that would person won the crippled for New York earlier prevailing successful overtime. In their rematch with the Patriots, New England went up 17-3 successful the 2nd quarter; with the Steelers driving for a people to get backmost into the game, Roethlisberger threw an 87-yard pick-six to Rodney Harrison, putting it retired of reach.

23. 2014 Seattle Seahawks (14-5)

Fate: Lost Super Bowl XLIX to Patriots 28-24
Offense: 73rd percentile
Defense: 97th percentile

Although they mislaid by the narrowest of margins to the Patriots successful the Super Bowl, I'd reason the Seahawks were the amended squad crossed the afloat play than their eventual conquerors. This squad led the league successful DVOA, acknowledgment to a late-season surge.

After Bobby Wagner returned from a midseason pectoral injury, the Seahawks enactment unneurotic their champion agelong of antiaircraft shot successful the Legion of Boom era. Over the last six games of the regular season, they allowed a full of 39 points. In our 25-year window, it's the second-best six-game stretch by points allowed down a tally from the 2000 Steelers, who were playing successful a league successful which leaguewide scoring was 10% little than it was successful 2014. Colts manager Tony Dungy was sufficiently moved by Wagner's show to give him an MVP vote for an 11-game season, meaning that Wagner is apt to decorativeness his vocation with much MVP votes (one) than Russell Wilson and the remainder of these legendary Seahawks teams combined (zero).

Unsurprisingly, the Seahawks finished the play arsenic the league's champion defense. The discourtesy ranked lone 10th successful scoring, but it was amended by EPA (seventh) and played astatine a comparatively dilatory pace. Wilson threw for 3,475 yards and added 849 much with six scores arsenic a runner, some of which would go vocation highs (barring thing precise unexpected happening with the 2025 Giants). Seattle won its Super Bowl rematch with Denver successful overtime, swept the 11-5 Cardinals and dominated a Packers squad it would spot again successful the playoffs with a 20-point triumph successful Week 1. The Seahawks besides mislaid to an Austin Davis-led Rams team, which doesn't assistance their case.

The Seahawks' playoff tally to the Super Bowl was uneven. After Carson Palmer went down with a late-season injury, a 7-8-1 Panthers squad got to big Ryan Lindley successful the wild-card round. The Panthers won, giving the Seahawks a location crippled against a sub-.500 squad successful the divisional round, which was an casual victory. Facing the Packers successful the NFC Championship Game, Wilson threw 4 interceptions, lone to person his play saved by a brutal agelong of in-game decision-making by Green Bay manager Mike McCarthy. With a fake tract extremity for a touchdown, the world's shortest Hail Mary producing a 2-point conversion and a fateful onside footwear betterment giving the Seahawks a precocious lead, the Packers inactive managed to propulsion the crippled to overtime earlier Wilson deed Jermaine Kearse for a 35-yard touchdown to nonstop the Seahawks to the Super Bowl. Great teams persevere and find ways to win? Or was Seattle lucky? Both are astir apt true.

The Super Bowl was evidently a choky affair, with Chris Matthews producing 1 of the astir out-of-nowhere 100-yard games astatine receiver successful title history. The Pats made antiaircraft adjustments arsenic the crippled went on, and with Cliff Avril sidelined by a midgame concussion, the walk unreserved yet wore out, allowing Tom Brady to spell 13-of-15 and people doubly connected New England's last 2 drives of the game. Kearse's miraculous drawback gave the Seahawks life, but aft Dont'a Hightower made a title-saving tackle connected Marshawn Lynch astatine the 1-yard line, Malcolm Butler became a household name. The Legion of Boom-era Seahawks ne'er challenged for a rubric again. We'll get backmost to them and a much palmy play aboriginal connected down the list.

22. 2022 Buffalo Bills (14-4)

Fate: Lost successful divisional round to Bengals 27-10
Offense: 93rd percentile
Defense: 89th percentile

One of these Josh Allen/Sean McDermott-era Bills teams was going to marque it into the mix. The 2021 team went 12-7, but it had the league's champion defence and stomped the Patriots successful the wild-card circular earlier falling to the Chiefs successful the 13-second game. The 2020 team went 13-3 and won 2 playoff games earlier losing to the Chiefs successful the AFC Championship Game, but it wasn't arsenic bully connected defence arsenic the 2021 oregon 2022 editions.

This squad went 13-3 done a wildly awesome regular season. Its September loss to the Dolphins required a goal-line basal by Miami, portion the Week 10 defeat astatine the hands of the Vikings took 1 of the greatest catches of the past 25 years to widen the crippled earlier a atrocious drawback to Allen astatine the extremity enactment handed Minnesota a touchdown successful the last minute. The Bills started the play by manhandling the defending champion Rams, and they besides bushed the Ravens, Steelers and Chiefs successful consecutive weeks.

What happened astatine the extremity of the play couldn't person been anticipated. Set for a prime-time conflict against the Bengals for the 1-seed successful the AFC, Damar Hamlin's terrifying mishap led the crippled to beryllium called. Though the Bills came backmost the pursuing week to beat the Patriots and assertion the apical seed, a squad that had endured the Hamlin incidental and a deadly snowstorm that unopen down Buffalo for days successful December looked worn retired successful the postseason.

By the clip Buffalo faced the Bengals successful the divisional round, the Bills were down antiaircraft stars Von Miller and Micah Hyde, and aft backup information Dean Marlowe got wounded during the game, they finished the time with a fourth-string information successful their backfield against Joe Burrow. In the benignant of snowy conditions that were expected to beryllium successful their favor, they were overwhelmed and outplayed by a amended Bengals squad successful their de facto rematch of the abandoned game.

Pro Football Reference had the Bills arsenic the league's champion team that season, 3 points amended than the 49ers and astir 5 points per crippled supra the eventual Super Bowl-winning Eagles. It's hard to adhd the Bills to the apical 25 erstwhile their play came to specified a disappointing and anticlimactic end, but this was a peculiar squad that faced difficult, unimaginable circumstances.

21. 2008. Pittsburgh Steelers (15-4)

Fate: Won Super Bowl XLIII implicit Cardinals 27-23
Offense: 58th percentile
Defense: 98th percentile

The Steelers winning games nether Mike Tomlin with a middling offense, an elite defence and large plays from their peculiar teams? Never seen that 1 before. This was a amended discourtesy than the ones they've tally retired during their yearly trips to the wild-card circular implicit the past fewer years, though Ben Roethlisberger threw astir arsenic galore interceptions (15) arsenic touchdown passes (17) and took sacks connected astir 9% of his dropbacks during the regular season. He turned the shot implicit 4 times successful a late-season loss to the Titans, handing Tennessee the apical effect successful the AFC.

The discourtesy got a small amended during the postseason, erstwhile Roethlisberger averaged astir 8.0 yards per attempt. With Willie Parker averaging 3.5 yards per carry, though, the existent betterment came by mitigating immoderate of the atrocious plays; the Steelers turned the shot implicit lone doubly during that three-game span, which was capable for the defence and peculiar teams to instrumentality over.

Troy Polamalu and the defence added immoderate much-needed firepower to the offense, arsenic the Steelers enactment unneurotic instrumentality touchdowns successful each of their 3 postseason victories. In the divisional round, Santonio Holmes took a punt instrumentality 67 yards to the location against the Chargers. A week later, Polamalu broke unfastened a adjacent crippled against the Ravens with a 40-yard pick-six successful the 4th quarter. In the Super Bowl, rather famously, James Harrison helped swing the game with a 100-yard interception return astatine the extremity of the archetypal half, turning a imaginable Cardinals touchdown into 7 points for Pittsburgh. That ended up being the difference, with a precocious Roethlisberger touchdown walk to Holmes overturning a three-point deficit.

This was a spectacularly bully defense, with Harrison winning Defensive Player of the Year and Polamalu picking disconnected 8 passes (counting the postseason). Among different defense-heavy teams, though, determination are those that were astir arsenic bully connected discourtesy and conscionable a tiny spot amended connected D.

20. 2011 San Francisco 49ers (14-4)

Fate: Lost NFC Championship Game to Giants 20-17
Offense: 65th percentile
Defense: 98th percentile

These 49ers mightiness look similar a funny choice. They mislaid successful the NFC rubric game to the Giants, who aren't featured successful the apical 25. The 2012 49ers didn't person arsenic awesome a regular-season record, but with Colin Kaepernick taking implicit astatine quarterback, they boat-raced the Packers successful the playoffs and made it to the Super Bowl, wherever they astir pulled disconnected a 22-point comeback against Baltimore earlier coming up conscionable short. The 2012 squad besides did that against a tougher schedule, coming disconnected its first-place decorativeness successful 2011.

I wouldn't responsibility you for picking the 2012 team, but the 2011 49ers were much imposing connected defense, allowing conscionable implicit 14 points per game. They had 3 first-team All-Pros connected defence (Justin Smith, NaVorro Bowman and Patrick Willis) and a second-teamer successful Carlos Rogers, who had six picks successful his champion pro season. Coordinator Vic Fangio's defence forced 38 turnovers successful a stunning debut season, arsenic the 49ers' turnover borderline (plus-28) tied them with the 2010 Patriots for the champion from immoderate squad implicit this 25-year span.

The discourtesy wasn't pretty, but with a dense dose of the moving crippled and information valves built successful for Alex Smith, the 2005 No. 1 prime held his ain by protecting the ball. The Niners threw lone 5 interceptions each play and had conscionable 2 players (Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis) apical 250 receiving yards. They filled successful immoderate of the gaps connected peculiar teams, wherever their kicker (David Akers) and punter (Andy Lee) were some first-team All-Pros. These 49ers were similar a supercharged mentation of the modern Steelers.

Perhaps I person a brushed spot for what happened to them successful the postseason, which seems horrible. They won my prime for the champion NFL crippled I've ever covered, a brutal, melodramatic and yet cathartic 36-32 victory implicit the Saints successful the divisional round. One triumph distant from the Super Bowl, they were engaged successful a antiaircraft conflict against the Giants successful the NFC Championship Game, lone for it to beryllium decided erstwhile returner Kyle Williams muffed two punts to acceptable up the tying touchdown successful the 4th fourth and the winning tract extremity successful overtime. The Niners deserved better.

19. 2015 Carolina Panthers (17-2)

Fate: Lost Super Bowl 50 to Broncos 24-10
Offense: 98th percentile
Defense: 83rd percentile

I'll recognize if Broncos fans are huffy erstwhile they spot that the squad they bushed successful the Super Bowl made it onto the apical 25 portion their champs did not. The Panthers were simply a amended squad passim the season, adjacent if they weren't during the large game. Carolina won its archetypal 14 games and had a existent changeable astatine going 16-0 earlier it fell to an 8-8 Falcons team, 1 twelvemonth earlier Atlanta went connected its ain tally to the rubric game.

The Panthers' disappointing show successful the Super Bowl and a deficiency of sticky prima powerfulness has led them to rapidly slice from memory. The lone apt Hall of Famers connected the roster were Luke Kuechly and Jared Allen, the second of whom had 2 sacks successful his last NFL season. A Sean McDermott-led defence got vocation years retired of Josh Norman, Kawann Short and Kurt Coleman, a journeyman who got 9 of his 23 vocation interceptions during this regular play and postseason.

The main prima connected discourtesy won MVP: Cam Newton threw for 3,837 yards with 35 touchdowns and added 636 rushing yards and 10 much scores connected the ground. An discourtesy whose starring wide receivers were Ted Ginn Jr. and Jerricho Cotchery shouldn't person frightened anyone, but buoyed by Greg Olsen and a originative tally game, the Panthers were remarkably consistent: They scored 27 points successful 15 of their 19 games, a people that tied them with the 2007 Patriots and a fistful of different teams successful 2nd spot implicit the past 25 years. Only the 2018 Chiefs, with Patrick Mahomes and a fistful of different aboriginal Hall of Famers connected offense, got to 27 much often. The Panthers were 15-0 erstwhile they did so.

The Panthers were besides fantabulous during their tally to the Super Bowl. They dominated the Seahawks, going up 31-0 astatine halftime earlier Seattle racked up 24 unanswered points of its own. Newton & Co. past shellacked a precise bully Cardinals squad successful the NFC Championship Game, yet forcing six Carson Palmer turnovers successful a 49-15 victory. With a intelligibly constricted Peyton Manning waiting successful the Super Bowl, the Panthers were five-point favorites. They laid an egg, looked overawed by the infinitesimal and ne'er got their tally crippled going, which is wherefore they're not higher successful the apical 25.

18. 2023 Baltimore Ravens (14-5)

Fate: Lost AFC Championship Game to Chiefs 17-10
Offense: 92nd percentile
Defense: 99th percentile

If you tract 1 of the champion defenses of the past 4th period and your backmost plays good capable to win league MVP, you astir apt merit to beryllium connected this list. I'm good alert of however things ended for the Ravens successful the playoffs, but this squad outscored its absorption by astir 12 afloat points per crippled portion facing the league's seventh-toughest schedule. Playing successful a part successful which each squad posted a winning record, the Ravens comfortably won the AFC North and claimed the apical effect successful the AFC, blowing retired playoff teams specified arsenic the Texans (25-9), Browns (28-3), Lions (38-6) and 49ers (33-19) successful the process. They added a 2nd large triumph against the Texans successful the divisional round, overcoming a dilatory commencement to triumph 34-10.

Healthy aft missing the extremity of each of the anterior 2 seasons due to the fact that of injury, Lamar Jackson linked up with violative coordinator Todd Monken and won his 2nd MVP award. Jackson threw for 3,678 yards and ran for 821 more, completing much than 67% of his passes successful the process. He won 49 of 50 MVP votes and single-handedly rebuked the galore teams that had gone retired of their mode to importune they wouldn't marque him an offer arsenic a franchise-tagged backmost during the 2023 offseason.

The Mike Macdonald-led defence was conscionable arsenic impressive. Young players Nnamdi Madubuike and Kyle Hamilton broke done with All-Pro-caliber seasons, portion the soon-to-be Seahawks manager coaxed stunning years retired of seasoned castoffs specified arsenic Kyle Van Noy and Jadeveon Clowney. The Ravens allowed conscionable 1.3 points per possession, the third-best show by immoderate defence successful immoderate play implicit the past 5 years.

All of that came to an extremity successful the AFC rubric game, wherever the Chiefs looked similar the Chiefs and the Ravens, well, looked similar the Ravens. Zay Flowers fumbled going into the extremity zone for a would-be touchdown connected the opening drawback of the 4th quarter, with the Chiefs recovering for 1 of the 4 fumbles they fell connected during the game. After a spectacular play by Jackson for a 30-yard people successful the archetypal quarter, the Ravens weren't capable to support their discourtesy going and seemed to get distant from the run. The defence held Mahomes & Co. to 3 points connected their last 9 drives, but by allowing a brace of touchdowns connected the opening 2 possessions of the game, capable harm had been done for Kansas City to win. It's just to sound Baltimore for different postseason disappointment, but this squad was truthful bully successful the regular play that I'd consciousness foolish leaving it out.

17. 2022 Philadelphia Eagles

Fate: Lost Super Bowl LVII to Chiefs 38-35
Offense: 97th percentile
Defense: 81st percentile

Coming disconnected a promising 2021 play that ended with an overmatched discourtesy getting run implicit by the Buccaneers successful the wild-card round, determination were existent questions astir whether Jalen Hurts was up to the task arsenic an NFL passer. Philadelphia wide manager Howie Roseman had missed retired connected his superior people successful escaped agency, Allen Robinson, and alternatively had to commercialized 1 of his first-round picks for A.J. Brown. The Eagles had been passive and casual to propulsion connected nether antiaircraft coordinator Jonathan Gannon the play before, and though they had imported Haason Reddick successful escaped agency, it was unclear whether they had the defence to situation opposing quarterbacks.

Those concerns faded sometime astir September. Hurts had an MVP-caliber season, dramatically raising his crippled arsenic a passer for the 2nd consecutive play portion continuing to marque a monolithic interaction successful the designed tally game. He threw for 3,701 yards and 22 scores and added 760 rushing yards and 13 much touchdowns connected the ground. A shoulder injury kept him retired of 2 games successful December and took him retired of the MVP discussion, but helium returned and played done the wounded successful Week 18 to beat the Giants and fastener up a first-round bye for the Eagles.

Roseman's offseason additions were brilliant. Brown was an contiguous superstar, with his 119-yard crippled against the Titans helping to get Tennessee wide manager Jon Robinson fired earlier the extremity of the season. James Bradberry and C.J. Gardner-Johnson, the second acquired via trade conscionable earlier the play began, combined to prime disconnected 9 passes and fastener down the anemic spots successful the secondary. Reddick racked up 16 sacks, 1 of 4 Eagles successful treble digits; Gannon's defence finished with 70 sacks, the astir by immoderate squad successful this 25-year period.

The Eagles played the league's third-easiest schedule during the regular season, but they went 14-1 erstwhile Hurts started, winning those games by an mean of much than 10 points. That inclination continued successful the postseason, erstwhile they got to look a Giants squad that had been outscored successful the regular play successful the divisional round and a 49ers squad that mislaid Brock Purdy to an elbow injury aboriginal successful the conference rubric game. A farce of a crippled that saw the 49ers crook to fourth-stringer Josh Johnson earlier utilizing Christian McCaffrey and a intelligibly compromised Purdy astatine backmost followed. The Eagles won the 2 location games by a combined people of 69-14.

A Super Bowl against the Chiefs beckoned, and though Hurts played spectacularly, helium dropped the shot connected a scramble and handed the Chiefs a 36-yard people connected a fumble return. It was the lone turnover of the day. The vaunted walk unreserved wasn't capable to sack Patrick Mahomes erstwhile each day, and aft a Hurts touchdown and 2-point conversion tied the crippled astatine 35, a Mahomes scramble and a holding call connected Bradberry acceptable up the game-deciding tract goal. A triumph would person pushed this Philadelphia squad higher, but the constrictive nonaccomplishment and comparatively brushed docket support it down. There volition beryllium much Eagles teams of caller vintage aboriginal connected this list.

16. 2022 Kansas City Chiefs (17-3)

Fate: Won Super Bowl LVII implicit Eagles 38-35
Offense: 97th percentile
Defense: 46th percentile

After their 2021 nonaccomplishment to the Bengals successful the AFC Championship Game, 2022 felt similar a retooling play for the Chiefs. They traded distant Tyreek Hill for draft picks, fto Tyrann Mathieu permission successful escaped bureau and chopped seasoned linebacker Anthony Hitchens. They fielded the league's seventh-youngest team connected a snap-weighted property ground during the regular season, including its third-youngest defense, with 7 of their 10 most-used defenders homegrown players connected rookie deals. One twelvemonth aft rebuilding the violative line, wide manager Brett Veach revamped the receivers room, arsenic Kansas City's 4 most-used wideouts were caller to the roster.

Amid each the change, it was the aged stalwarts who propelled the Chiefs forward. Patrick Mahomes threw for 5,250 yards with 41 touchdowns, earning 48 of 50 MVP votes to take location that award for the 2nd time. Travis Kelce acceptable vocation highs for receptions (110) and receiving touchdowns (12) portion becoming the archetypal choky extremity since the merger to apical 1,000 receiving yards successful his age-33 season. And Chris Jones tied his vocation highs for sacks (15.5) and knockdowns (29).

The Chiefs went 14-3 during the regular season, with their 3 losses coming by a combined 10 points. It wasn't the astir hard schedule, but they went 6-2 against eventual playoff teams and bushed the teams they were expected to bushed by an mean of 8 points per game. They got amended arsenic the play went along, with Isiah Pacheco taking implicit the pb moving backmost relation and offering much physicality, portion Jerick McKinnon emerged arsenic the astir improbable reddish portion menace successful caller memory.

Their playoff tally was astir instantly fixed a scare erstwhile Mahomes sustained an ankle injury aboriginal successful the divisional-round win implicit the Jaguars. Against the Bengals the pursuing week, a rash of injuries astatine receiver near the Chiefs down to one-dimensional heavy menace Marquez Valdes-Scantling and special-teamer Marcus Kemp arsenic their apical 2 wideouts by the extremity of the game. After a Jones sack ended a Bengals thrust with 44 seconds left, Mahomes scrambled for a archetypal down and drew a late deed penalty connected Bengals defender Joseph Ossai, mounting up the tract goal that sent the Chiefs to the Super Bowl.

Facing an fantabulous Eagles squad that came adjacent to qualifying for this list, Mahomes and the violative enactment put connected a show, arsenic 1 of the champion walk rushes successful league past failed to sack him once. The Chiefs scored connected a fumble instrumentality and manufactured 2 reddish portion touchdowns by breaking Philadelphia's question rules successful coverage. After the Eagles tied the people with 5:15 left, the Chiefs ate up virtually the remainder of the crippled clock, with a Mahomes 26-yard scramble done the ankle wounded arsenic their biggest play. When James Bradberry held JuJu Smith-Schuster to person a captious 3rd down for the Chiefs, they were capable to tally down the timepiece and footwear a winning tract goal.

15. 2013 Denver Broncos (15-4)

Fate: Lost Super Bowl XLVIII to Seahawks 43-8
Offense: 99th percentile
Defense: 35th percentile

There are 2 strikes against the 2013 Broncos. One is simply a defence that gave up 399 points and finished 22nd successful scoring, which mightiness beryllium disqualifying if we're comparing them to truthful galore great, well-rounded teams from erstwhile seasons. One bully excuse is that they faced the second-most drives (213) of immoderate team; they ranked 18th successful points allowed per thrust and 17th successful antiaircraft EPA per play, leaving them person to league mean than it seems. The different is that they were shredded by the Seahawks successful the Super Bowl, which you'll work much astir overmuch aboriginal successful this column.

With that being said, this discourtesy was peculiar capable to propulsion those concerns aside. It ranks arsenic the 2nd champion of the past 25 years down the 2001 Rams, driven by what inactive mightiness beryllium the top backmost play we've ever seen. Peyton Manning threw for 5,477 yards with 55 touchdowns. He took sacks connected lone 2.6% of his dropbacks. The Broncos had 4 antithetic receivers drawback astatine slightest 10 touchdowns, which is ridiculous fixed that lone 1 different squad successful past (the 2004 Colts) had arsenic galore arsenic 3 receivers marque it to double-digit scores.

The Broncos topped 35 points 10 times during the regular season, a fig besides unmatched successful league history. Their 3 regular-season losses each came successful one-score games. In the postseason, they gained immoderate revenge for 2 of those 3 defeats, arsenic they went up large connected the Chargers and Patriots earlier immoderate garbage-time scores. Facing his aged playoff rival successful the AFC Championship Game, Manning threw for 400 yards and 2 touchdowns against Belichick and the Patriots, the lone clip an opposing passer has deed the 400-yard people successful a playoff crippled against the legendary antiaircraft coach.

Though they didn't person Von Miller for the archetypal six weeks of the play aft a suspension, oregon during the postseason due to the fact that of a torn ACL, the Broncos mightiness not person won the Super Bowl with five Millers connected defense. They were simply overwhelmed by the Seahawks, whose size squeezed the tract and Manning's windows to throw. The defence slowed down Marshawn Lynch, but it couldn't get overmuch unit connected Russell Wilson, and the Seahawks took an interception and a kickoff to the location for instrumentality scores. It was the incorrect clip to collapse, but it was besides the lone clip each play the Broncos looked overmatched.

14. 2009 New Orleans Saints (16-3)

Fate: Won Super Bowl XLIV implicit Colts 31-17
Offense: 98th percentile
Defense: 54th percentile

This was the play that proved "getting blistery astatine the close time" shouldn't beryllium a speech earlier the playoffs begin. The 2009 Colts, who narrowly missed retired connected the apical 25, won their archetypal 14 games earlier pulling Peyton Manning with a pb against the Jets successful Week 16 and losing their final 2 games. These Saints started 13-0 earlier losing their final 3 games, including an overtime defeat to the 3-13 Bucs successful Week 16. They inactive landed the apical effect successful the NFC, but the 2 Super Bowl teams combined to spell 1-5 implicit the last 3 weeks of the season, albeit portion playing Mark Brunell and Curtis Painter implicit immoderate of those losses.

This was a level-up play for Drew Brees, who became the 2nd backmost successful NFL past to station a completion complaint northbound of 70% portion starring the league successful passing touchdowns and QBR. His 82.0 QBR is the fifth-best mark since 2007, conscionable narrowly down his 2011 rating, erstwhile an fantabulous New Orleans squad was taken down successful a classic divisional circular game by the 49ers.

Though the discourtesy was ruthlessly consistent, it didn't person the unstoppable unit aboriginal Saints teams with Jimmy Graham and Michael Thomas would possess. Marques Colston's 1,074 receiving yards made him the lone subordinate connected the roster to apical 1,000 rushing oregon receiving yards. Reggie Bush, the archetypal draught prime of the Sean Payton era, was fundamentally successful a backup relation down Pierre Thomas for chunks of the season. Payton recovered roles for Devery Henderson, Robert Meachem and Lance Moore successful the passing game.

The Saints ranked 20th successful scoring defense, but expected points added takes into relationship their 39 takeaways and pegged them arsenic the league's 12th-best defence that season. They were a antithetic defence erstwhile they had escaped cause summation Jabari Greer, who missed 7 games during the regular season. Greer returned for the postseason and excelled, but erstwhile helium concisely near the Super Bowl to beryllium examined connected the sidelines, Manning instantly targeted his replacement for his lone passing touchdown of the day. Greer is 1 of the astir instantly impactful escaped cause signings successful league history, similar the 2009 mentation of Zack Baun joining the Eagles.

The astir celebrated cornerback from the play apt was Tracy Porter, whose interception of Brett Favre successful the NFC rubric game denied the Vikings a changeable astatine a winning tract extremity astatine the extremity of regularisation earlier the Saints won the coin flip and scored successful overtime. Porter added a 74-yard pick-six of Manning successful the Super Bowl for bully measure. Under the stewardship of coordinator Gregg Williams, this wasn't ever a large defense, but it was opportunistic and created tons of abbreviated fields for the offense, which inherited the third-best mean tract presumption successful the league. Brees and the discourtesy did the rest.

13. 2000 Baltimore Ravens (16-4)

Fate: Won Super Bowl XXXV implicit Giants 34-7
Offense: 58th percentile
Defense: 99th percentile

This defence was really successful the 99.7th percentile arsenic a portion led by Ray Lewis, Rod Woodson and Chris McAlister allowed conscionable 10.3 points per crippled and 0.8 points per drive, some of which fertile arsenic the lowest marks posted by immoderate squad implicit the past 25 years. More than simply stifling opposing teams, the Ravens besides served arsenic invaluable assistance for their offense, generating an unbelievable 49 takeaways during the regular season, the astir of immoderate squad during this 25-year window. They added 12 much crossed 4 postseason victories, including 5 each successful the AFC Championship Game and Super Bowl, a blowout triumph implicit New York.

The discourtesy is the crushed this squad isn't ranked higher. Even with a ascendant defence successful place, the Ravens were 5-4 astatine midseason, averaging conscionable 15.6 points per crippled connected offense. In the mediate of a agelong of 3 games without a touchdown, they replaced Tony Banks with Trent Dilfer and leaned into 21-year-old rookie moving backmost Jamal Lewis, who averaged 26 carries per crippled implicit the remainder of the play portion closing retired a bid of victories. Baltimore averaged much than 26 points per crippled the remainder of the way, and aft a last-minute victory implicit the Titans successful Week 11, cipher truly gave it excessively overmuch occupation during its tally to the title.

As with a fewer different teams connected this list, the Ravens' landing spot mightiness beryllium connected however you seizure these teams. If you conscionable dainty them arsenic the Dilfer-led squad that dominated successful the 2nd fractional and into their postseason astatine their best, they're person to a top-10 team. If you dainty them arsenic immoderate operation of that squad and the 1 that struggled to people touchdowns aboriginal successful the season, they autumn here. I'm choosing to instrumentality the wide attack for each team, trying to illustration what they were similar passim the play arsenic opposed to conscionable focusing connected their peak.

12. 2007 Indianapolis Colts (13-4)

Fate: Lost successful divisional round to Chargers 28-24
Offense: 89th percentile
Defense: 93rd percentile

This mightiness beryllium the champion squad successful modern NFL past that didn't triumph a playoff game. As 11-point favorites astatine home, the Colts were beaten by a Chargers squad that mislaid some LaDainian Tomlinson and Philip Rivers to injuries earlier the extremity of the game. Indy punted conscionable erstwhile and had 4 drives extremity connected San Diego's broadside of the tract connected downs oregon via turnovers. It would person been written disconnected arsenic the aforesaid aged Colts if Indy hadn't won the Super Bowl the erstwhile season.

Overshadowed by that nonaccomplishment and the legendary play by the Patriots was the champion squad of the Peyton Manning-Tony Dungy epoch successful Indianapolis. The Colts ranked 3rd successful the league connected offense, but with Bob Sanders winning Defensive Player of the Year successful his last afloat season, they led the NFL successful scoring defense. Some of that was owed to an discourtesy that ran disconnected agelong scoring thrust aft agelong scoring drive, but the Colts forced 37 turnovers and held the Patriots to a season-low 24 points, albeit successful a crippled successful which Indianapolis failed to clasp a 20-10 pb with 10 minutes near and gave up back-to-back scores.

On a full-season basis, this squad was importantly amended than the 2006 1 that won the Super Bowl, possibly a merchandise of having Sanders for an full twelvemonth arsenic opposed to solely for a 4th of the regular season. The Colts conscionable happened to beryllium stuck successful a league with 1 of the champion teams the NFL has ever seen.

11. 2016 New England Patriots (17-2)

Fate: Won Super Bowl LI implicit Falcons 34-28
Offense: 91st percentile
Defense: 98th percentile

Everybody remembers the comeback, but this is my prime for the champion coaching occupation of Bill Belichick's tally successful New England. There was Tom Brady, of course, and determination were a fewer longtime Pats standouts connected some sides of the ball, including Julian Edelman and Dont'a Hightower. But Chandler Jones had been traded, Rob Gronkowski missed astir of the play with a back injury and adjacent Brady was suspended for the first 4 games, forcing the Pats to crook to quarterbacks Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett.

When the 39-year-old Brady returned, helium went scorched world connected the league, going 14-1 arsenic the starter. He did that with Chris Hogan and Martellus Bennett arsenic his apical receivers down Edelman. LeGarrette Blount, connected a one-year woody for $1 million, ran for 1,161 yards and 18 touchdowns. The interior of the violative enactment included a rookie (future prima Joe Thuney) and 2 second-year players successful David Andrews and Shaq Mason. Behind Brady and Edelman, this was the lowest-profile large discourtesy successful caller league history.

The defence mightiness beryllium adjacent much obscure, afloat of coagulated players who had much occurrence successful New England than anyplace else, including Malcolm Butler, Patrick Chung, Jamie Collins and Trey Flowers. Belichick's legendary quality to spot players languishing connected different teams and find meaningful roles for them connected defence led to Shea McClellin and Kyle Van Noy establishing themselves successful situational roles. There was nary Ty Law, Darrelle Revis oregon Stephon Gilmore to physique the secondary around, nor was determination a Richard Seymour oregon Vince Wilfork up front.

An casual docket helped, which knocks them down a peg. The Patriots finished with the easiest docket of immoderate Super Bowl victor of the past 25 years by my model, and Pro Football Reference has them with the cushiest way of immoderate 2016 squad by a sizeable margin. They got immoderate assistance successful the postseason erstwhile the 12-4 Raiders mislaid Derek Carr to a late-season wounded and became cannon fodder for a Brock Osweiler-led Texans team, whom the Patriots stomped successful Foxborough. The Steelers mislaid Le'Veon Bell aboriginal successful the AFC Championship Game and couldn't screen Hogan, who went for 180 yards and 2 touchdowns.

What bash you bash with the Super Bowl? The Patriots indispensable get their owed for the most unthinkable comeback of this generation, but they're besides the ones who fell down 28-3 to the Falcons by the 3rd quarter. New England was a messiness for astir of the game, incapable to artifact Grady Jarrett oregon power the Falcons' offense, with Brady throwing a pick-six for bully measure. And then, well, that comeback happened. This was a large New England squad and 1 that seemed to thrive much connected sheer volition than overwhelming talent. The casual docket makes it hard to spot this squad up of different Brady-Belichick teams, but I wouldn't privation to person to effort to enactment distant these Pats from the different sideline.

10. 2001 St. Louis Rams (16-3)

Fate: Lost successful Super Bowl XXXVI to Patriots 24-20
Offense: 100th percentile
Defense: 75th percentile

Yes, the Rams had the champion discourtesy of the past 25 years by this methodology. Even including their playoff run, they averaged 31.3 points, 5.5 much than immoderate different squad successful 2001. They did this despite turning the shot implicit 44 times during the regular season, the 2nd astir of immoderate team. Turnovers were truly the lone mode to bushed them for astir of the year; their 2 regular-season losses came successful games successful which they coughed up the shot a combined 14 times. When they simply turned the shot implicit 4 times oregon fewer, they went 16-1.

Unlike the 2000 Rams, whose defence collapsed aft a title tally successful 1999, the 2001 Rams besides had a large D. All those turnovers near them successful susceptible positions from abbreviated drives, arsenic Lovie Smith's portion faced the fifth-worst mean starting tract presumption of immoderate squad successful the league. A Leonard Little- and Aeneas Williams-led portion forced 34 turnovers successful the regular season, past 8 much successful the divisional circular win implicit the Packers. (It was a antithetic time.) The defence held a high-powered Eagles squad to 24 points successful the conference rubric game, coming up with a precocious halt to acceptable up a travel to the Super Bowl.

And, well, a dynasty started there, conscionable not the 1 St. Louis fans were expecting. The Rams weren't capable to flooded their sloppiness connected the biggest signifier arsenic 3 turnovers led to New England's archetypal 17 points, including a pick-six by Ty Law. A 2nd antiaircraft touchdown was called backmost for a holding penalty. The Rams couldn't unit immoderate turnovers, and aft a precocious thrust to necktie the score, they couldn't get Tom Brady & Co. disconnected the field. The Patriots drove 53 yards successful 74 seconds to acceptable up the archetypal of Adam Vinatieri's Super Bowl-winning kicks.

Even with the nonaccomplishment successful the rubric game, I'm inactive putting the 2001 Rams up of the 2001 Patriots fixed that they were a amended squad for the immense bulk of the season. (They bushed the Pats during the regular play 24-17, though that crippled evidently mattered rather a spot little than the rematch.) And yet, it's lone just to constituent retired that the Rams could beryllium their ain worst force astatine times, with that coming backmost to wound them successful the biggest game. In a existent epoch successful which the mean squad turned the shot implicit conscionable nether 21 times successful 17 games past season, it's pugnacious to ideate a squad with 44 turnovers successful 16 games not having that travel backmost to wound them much often. That's a testament to however large the 2001 Rams were erstwhile they didn't springiness up the shot and a reminder of what kept them from confirming their presumption arsenic 1 of the top teams ever.

9. 2019 Kansas City Chiefs (15-4)

Fate: Won Super Bowl LIV implicit 49ers 31-20
Offense: 96th percentile
Defense: 74th percentile

The eventual "No pb is safe" team, the Chiefs simply broke competitors' hearts. Their playoff tally rapidly became legendary. Down 24-0 against the Texans wrong 20 minutes, Kansas City promptly scored the adjacent 41 points and won by aggregate touchdowns. In the AFC rubric game, the Titans went up 10-0 successful the archetypal 4th earlier the Chiefs answered back, with a Patrick Mahomes scramble earlier halftime giving them a pb they wouldn't relinquish. Then, having struggled for astir of the Super Bowl against the 49ers, the Chiefs converted a third-and-15 for 44 yards and scored 3 touchdowns successful the last 6:13, speeding distant from yet different shortage with what ended up arsenic a relatively comfy victory.

Kansas City wasn't ever playing from behind, of course. One twelvemonth removed from Mahomes' stunning 2018 play and an overtime nonaccomplishment to the Patriots successful the AFC Championship Game, the Chiefs won six games by 2 touchdowns oregon more. They were 1 of 3 teams to bushed a 14-win Ravens squad that missed retired connected the apical 25 lone by virtuousness of instantly losing astatine location successful the postseason. The Chiefs topped a Patriots team successful New England that fielded one of the champion defenses of the past 4th century. They avoided some teams successful the AFC bracket erstwhile they lost to the Titans, a 9-7 squad that rode Derrick Henry to a heavy playoff run.

This discourtesy wasn't rather arsenic explosive arsenic the 2018 edition, successful portion due to the fact that Mahomes and Tyreek Hill missed time, arsenic the backmost suffered a genu injury connected what appears to beryllium the past sneak Andy Reid volition ever fto him run. They ne'er truly settled connected a starting moving backmost during the regular play earlier yet landing connected Damien Williams, who had 53 vocation carries aft his breakout postseason.

The 2019 squad makes it implicit the 2018 mentation due to the fact that of however its play ended and besides a much-improved defense. The Chiefs jumped from 24th successful scoring defence to seventh portion making a large shift, swapping retired stalwarts Eric Berry, Dee Ford and Justin Houston for Tyrann Mathieu, Frank Clark and Alex Okafor. A defence that had been 28th successful points allowed per thrust successful 2018 jumped to 13th. A twelvemonth aft allowing 38 points to the Seahawks, 43 to the Patriots and 54 to the Rams successful a bid of shootout losses, nary squad topped 35 successful a azygous crippled against the 2019 Chiefs.

It's pugnacious to enactment them connected a pedestal with the genuinely large teams of this era, though. They mislaid 4 games during the regular season, and though 1 was with Matt Moore astatine backmost for an injured Mahomes, they besides mislaid 3 of their 4 games against the AFC South, including a defeat to a Colts team that would decorativeness 7-9. Unlike the Eagles, who person fielded 3 genuinely ascendant teams, 3 above-average ones and a catastrophe implicit the past 8 seasons, the Chiefs person been consistently large without ever fielding a genuinely overwhelming squad, which makes it harder for them to bash good successful this exercise.

8. 2010 Green Bay Packers (14-6)

Fate: Won Super Bowl XLV implicit Steelers 31-25
Offense: 81st percentile
Defense: 98th percentile

Since I've suggested I'm consenting to see broader show implicit what teams bash astatine the extremity of the season, I tin already perceive you wondering wherefore I didn't nominate the 2011 Packers, who went 15-1 with Aaron Rodgers winning MVP earlier losing to the Giants successful the postseason. Most of the quality betwixt those 2 teams was close-game luck. The 2010 Packers went 4-6 successful one-score games during the regular season, continuing what had been a frustrating commencement successful constrictive contests aboriginal successful Rodgers' career. They past won 3 one-score games connected their mode to the Super Bowl and went 5-1 successful those aforesaid contests during the 2011 season. Including the postseason, they won their games successful 2010 by an mean of 9.7 points and their games successful 2011 by an mean of 10.8. The 2 teams were much akin than their records suggest.

Rodgers had a amended 2011 season, but helium took a monolithic leap guardant halfway done the 2010 campaign. Through a Week 8 game against the vaunted Jets defense, Rodgers ranked eighth successful QBR, with the aboriginal Hall of Famer throwing 9 picks and completing 61% of his passes. From Week 9 onward? He led the NFL successful QBR, threw 25 touchdown passes against 4 picks, averaged a league-leading 8.9 yards per effort and accrued his completion percent by astir 10 afloat points. He had 3 sterling starts during the postseason, though helium was bailed retired of a unsmooth NFC Championship Game against the Bears erstwhile Jay Cutler was injured, and Green Bay spent astir of the crippled against Caleb Hanie and Todd Collins.

And though Rodgers was amended successful 2011, the defence was superior successful 2010. The 2011 defence forced 38 turnovers but ranked 28th successful points allowed per possession erstwhile the thrust didn't extremity with a takeaway. The 2010 portion forced 31 takeaways but ranked 2nd successful points allowed per thrust erstwhile the possession didn't extremity with the Packers taking distant the ball. It was a vocation twelvemonth for Clay Matthews, who racked up 13.5 sacks, and the Packers benefited from the beingness of Nick Collins, who was a second-team All-Pro successful 2010 earlier suffering a career-ending cervix injury 2 weeks into the 2011 season.

The Packers ran the array arsenic the 6-seed successful the NFC, beating the Eagles, Falcons and Bears connected the road. Green Bay avoided the 14-2 Patriots successful the Super Bowl erstwhile a Mark Sanchez-led Jets squad took them retired successful the divisional round, and the Packers went up 21-3 aboriginal against the Steelers earlier Pittsburgh made it a crippled successful the 2nd half. Green Bay wasn't ever ascendant but exemplified a squad that looks underrated for astir of the regular play and past lives up to its underlying metrics precocious successful the twelvemonth and done the playoffs.

7. 2003 New England Patriots (17-2)

Fate: Won Super Bowl XXXVIII implicit Panthers 32-29
Offense: 63rd percentile
Defense: 97th percentile

The 2001 Patriots were a bully squad that gritted its mode done a memorable playoff tally to a Super Bowl. The 2003 Patriots were overmuch much similar the ascendant New England teams that would people galore of their different Super Bowl runs, conscionable with the sides flipped. Tom Brady had a coagulated play and finished 3rd successful MVP voting, but this was different early-2000s rubric victor driven by a ascendant defense. The Pats forced 41 takeaways during the regular play and added 7 during the playoffs, including 5 successful a 24-14 AFC Championship Game victory implicit the Colts.

The play didn't commencement auspiciously. Bill Belichick made 1 of the archetypal abrupt and dramatic discards of his reign, cutting Lawyer Milloy conscionable earlier the play began aft the starting information decided against taking a wage cut. Milloy caught connected with the Bills, who past bushed the Patriots 31-0 successful the opener, giving Buffalo its archetypal triumph against Brady successful 5 tries. After the Patriots missed the playoffs successful 2002, the aforesaid skeptics who weren't impressed by Belichick's tally successful Cleveland were acceptable to constitute him disconnected arsenic an overmatched coach.

Well, the Patriots went 17-1 the remainder of the way, including a 15-game triumph streak done the Super Bowl. Over that run, they went 10-0 against teams that won astatine slightest 10 games during the regular season, becoming the lone squad successful NFL past to triumph double-digit games against double-digit winners. The defence produced 3 shutouts successful the 2nd fractional of the season, including a 31-0 win against the Bills to extremity the year. And though the defence doubly blew a pb that was arsenic precocious arsenic 11 points during the 4th fourth of the Super Bowl against the Panthers, an out-of-bounds kickoff by John Kasay and another Vinatieri tract goal gave the Patriots their 2nd rubric successful 3 years.

6. 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (15-4)

Fate: Won Super Bowl XXXVII implicit Raiders 48-21
Offense: 70th percentile
Defense: 99th percentile

The 2002 Buccaneers were the spiritual successors to the 2000 Ravens, arsenic they won by fielding the second-best defence of this era. (The 2000 Ravens really ranked third; the champion defence by this measurement belonged to the 2006 Ravens, who mislaid to the Colts successful the divisional round connected a time successful which they didn't let a touchdown.) That Tampa Bay defence sent 4 players to the Hall of Fame and had a fifth, borderline rusher Simeon Rice, who was a first-team All-Pro with 15.5 sacks. The Bucs allowed conscionable 4.5 yards per dropback to opposing quarterbacks, the second-best complaint of the past 25 years, trailing lone the 2008 Steelers.

With Jon Gruden imported at large expense to regenerate Tony Dungy arsenic caput coach, the Bucs got the champion of some worlds: The Monte Kiffin-led defence sustained its anterior level of play for different year, portion Gruden was capable to bash conscionable capable to spark the offense. The discourtesy wasn't great, ranking 18th successful scoring, 26th successful third-down conversion complaint and 28th successful reddish portion conversion complaint that season, but they protected the football, with Brad Johnson posting a league-low 1.3% interception rate.

Tampa Bay helped its lawsuit with a ascendant playoff run. It blew retired San Francisco 31-6, which served arsenic the past gasp of the 49ers' dynasty; they wouldn't instrumentality to the playoffs for 9 years. Traveling successful the acold to play the Eagles astatine Veterans Stadium successful the NFC Championship Game, the Bucs forced 3 Donovan McNabb turnovers, including a pick-six that sealed a 27-10 victory. They added 3 much antiaircraft scores successful the Super Bowl, picking disconnected league MVP Rich Gannon 5 times successful a rout. They are 1 of 2 teams successful league past to nutrient 4 instrumentality touchdowns during a postseason run. The other? The 2000 Ravens, of course.

5. 2017 Philadelphia Eagles (16-3)

Fate: Won Super Bowl LII implicit Patriots 41-33
Offense: 96th percentile
Defense: 92nd percentile

This is 1 of the astir amusive and out-of-nowhere teams of the past 25 years. The 2016 Eagles went 7-9 with fantabulous underlying metrics. Every nerd you knew, myself included, suggested they were going to improve. Nobody believed they would get this bully this quickly. And determination wasn't a psyche connected the satellite who thought their Super Bowl triumph would see a touchdown catch by eventual MVP Nick Foles.

The Eagles had to flooded losing Carson Wentz, who parlayed a white-hot play connected 3rd down and successful the reddish portion into superior (regular-season) MVP information earlier tearing an ACL precocious successful a December triumph over the Rams. At 11-2 and with a triumph implicit 1 of their rivals atop the NFC, the Eagles were inactive successful bully presumption to assertion the apical spot successful the conference. When Foles threw 4 touchdown passes and Philadelphia blocked 3 kicks successful his archetypal commencement -- a 34-29 win implicit the Giants -- it felt similar the Eagles could proceed steamrolling their competition.

Forgotten is what happened next. Foles and the Eagles limped done an ugly victory implicit a constricted Raiders team, taking the pb with 23 seconds near connected a time successful which helium went 19-of-38. With the apical effect clinched, Foles started the pursuing week but was pulled for Nate Sudfeld aft going 4-of-11 for 39 yards. In the divisional round, Foles and the discourtesy scored conscionable 15 points, including a captious tract extremity astatine the extremity of the archetypal half. That footwear came connected a thrust successful which helium sailed a would-be interception respective yards implicit his receiver's head, lone for it to bounce disconnected the knee of a Falcons defender and into the arms of Torrey Smith, who turned it into a 20-yard catch. The Eagles past came up with a halt connected the 2-yard enactment with 1:05 to spell to seal a 15-10 victory.

From that constituent on, Foles was dominant. He threw for 352 yards with 3 scores successful a blowout win implicit a 14-4 Vikings squad successful the NFC Championship Game. And portion the astir memorable infinitesimal of his Super Bowl volition ever beryllium that fourth-down touchdown catch connected the Philly Special, Foles went 28-of-43 for 373 yards and 3 scores successful the biggest crippled of his life. His 2 astir productive receivers connected the time were Corey Clement and Nelson Agholor. On a time successful which Tom Brady threw for 505 yards and 3 touchdowns, the Eagles needed Foles to beryllium brilliant. He was astir perfect.

This was a deep, talented shot squad with plentifulness of homegrown talent. Like the 2024 edition, the Eagles got immoderate assistance from unexpected places. Clement had a large crippled successful the Super Bowl, joining a backfield that included low-cost additions successful LeGarrette Blount and Jay Ajayi. Chris Long, who joined Blount successful leaving the 2016 Patriots for the 2017 Eagles and winning rings successful some places, added invaluable extent to the antiaircraft enactment rotation. Journeyman cornerback Patrick Robinson, moved into the slot role, had a vocation year. And of course, Foles had already astir retired aft his struggles with the Rams earlier returning to the Eagles to play down Wentz. These Eagles mightiness not person had the aforesaid caliber of prima powerfulness connected discourtesy arsenic the 2024 team, but with a spot of position this squad looks much akin than I had remembered.

4. 2024 Philadelphia Eagles (18-3)

Fate: Won Super Bowl LIX implicit Chiefs 40-22
Offense: 90th percentile
Defense: 96th percentile

You astir apt don't request maine to refresh your representation excessively overmuch with respect to these Eagles, truthful I'll support this 1 simple. If we were leaving speech the archetypal 4th of the season, I'd accidental they would person a reasonably beardown lawsuit arsenic the champion squad of the past 25 years. Before the bye, they went 2-2, blowing a precocious lead implicit the Falcons and getting overwhelmed by the Buccaneers successful Tampa. They won a sloppy affair successful Brazil implicit the Packers and needed a third-and-16 catch-and-run by Dallas Goedert for 61 yards with 1:16 near to avoid losing to the Saints. Through 4 weeks, the Eagles ranked 26th successful antiaircraft EPA per play.

Afterward, with rookie Cooper DeJean moving into the lineup arsenic the team's slot corner, the Eagles were the league's champion defence by EPA per snap. They were 5th champion connected offense. They proceeded to spell 16-1 implicit the remainder of the play into the playoffs, winning their games by an mean of 14 points. Though the Rams came wrong 13 yards of ending their tally with a precocious comeback successful the divisional round, the Eagles stomped the Commanders successful their rubber lucifer a week aboriginal and past ripped isolated the Chiefs successful the Super Bowl, going up 40-6 earlier a brace of garbage-time touchdowns.

The communicative of the play was Saquon Barkley, who enactment unneurotic one of the champion seasons ever by a moving back. Quarterback Jalen Hurts wasn't ever playing astatine his best, but adjacent erstwhile the passing discourtesy wasn't racking up immense numbers, helium was making an interaction arsenic a runner and protecting the football. After the Eagles turned the shot implicit 8 times during the archetypal 4 games of the season, they had lone 8 much crossed their remaining 17 contests.

Realistically, you tin marque a beardown lawsuit the Eagles were 2 drops distant from going 20-1. In Week 2, Barkley dropped a pass that would person allowed them to tally the timepiece out, with Philadelphia kicking a tract extremity earlier Kirk Cousins drove the magnitude of the tract for a winning score. Then, successful Week 16, DeVonta Smith dropped a walk with 2:07 to spell that would person allowed the Eagles to tally down the timepiece down earlier kicking a abbreviated tract extremity to spell up five. Instead, Jayden Daniels got the shot backmost and drove the magnitude of the tract for a winning touchdown.

And yet, astatine the aforesaid time, the Eagles weren't ever ascendant against immoderate middling opposition. They astir mislaid to the Saints earlier that Goedert third-and-forever conversion. They beat the Browns by lone four, needed a reddish portion interception with 1:13 to spell to beat the Jaguars and were fortunate to flight Carolina with a win aft an unfastened Xavier Legette dropped a would-be touchdown that should person fixed the Panthers a pb successful the last minute.

In time, those constrictive victories slice into history, and we retrieve each team's champion moments. At their best, connected the biggest stage, the Eagles were ruthless and overwhelming. They merit to beryllium considered arsenic 1 of the champion teams of the past 25 years close now, and they mightiness look adjacent amended with immoderate position down the line.

3. 2004 New England Patriots (17-2)

Fate: Won Super Bowl XXXIX implicit Eagles 24-21
Offense: 91st percentile
Defense: 92nd percentile

This was the champion Super Bowl-winning squad of the Brady era. Though its winning streak was disrupted by a midseason loss to the Steelers and its December interrupted by an inexplicable collapse successful a nonaccomplishment to a Dolphins squad that would decorativeness 4-12, the Patriots were different superb connected some sides of the ball.

They did it against stiff competition. By my model, including the postseason, this was the second-toughest docket immoderate squad has faced implicit the past 25 years, trailing lone the 2000 Jets. The Patriots faced some a 12-4 Colts squad and a 15-1 Steelers squad twice, winning 3 of those 4 contests. They dominated some of those teams successful the postseason, topping the Colts 20-3 successful the divisional circular earlier enacting revenge connected the Steelers, who were connected a 14-game winning streak of their own, with a 41-27 victory. They past controlled the Super Bowl against a 13-3 Eagles squad earlier a precocious people made things look close.

Though Brady wasn't rather astatine the heights helium would deed successful 2007 and beyond, the discourtesy was taken to the adjacent level by the summation of Corey Dillon, who ran for 1,635 yards and 12 scores. The defence forced turnovers connected a league-high 20% of possessions and added 10 much turnovers successful 3 games during the rubric run. Vinatieri was astir perfect, missing conscionable 2 of the 96 kicks helium attempted betwixt the regular play and playoffs. This was a genuinely awesome and implicit team, albeit 1 that gets a spot mislaid successful the shuffle betwixt the different victories and the play of 2007.

2. 2013 Seattle Seahawks (16-3)

Fate: Won Super Bowl XLVIII implicit Broncos 43-8
Offense: 80th percentile
Defense: 99th percentile

From the 2nd fractional of 2012 done the extremity of the 2014 season, the Seahawks were the league's champion team. They turned that tally into 1 rubric and came wrong a yard of a second. They were the archetypal illustration of however a squad could physique a Super Bowl contender by nailing their picks successful the rookie standard era; they had a fewer standouts connected tenable deals drafted conscionable earlier the CBA alteration successful 2010 (Russell Okung, Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor) and past added superstars connected bargain deals successful the 2011 and 2012 drafts (Richard Sherman, K.J. Wright, Bruce Irvin, Bobby Wagner and Russell Wilson). Seattle fundamentally had much headdress abstraction than it knew what to bash with, which led to the signing of Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett and trading a first-round pick for Percy Harvin.

I won't responsibility you for picking the 2013 Seahawks arsenic the champion defence of the past 25 years; they were the 4th champion by this measure, portion EPA has them arsenic the eighth-best portion since 2008. They're going to nonstop 3 players to the Hall of Fame successful Wagner, Sherman and Wilson, and they were heavy capable on the enactment of scrimmage to person Avril and Bennett successful situational pass-rush roles. They forced 39 turnovers and scored 4 touchdowns. They inspired a antiaircraft gyration among teams that tried to emulate their single-high attack and failed.

The quality betwixt these Seahawks and the different ascendant defenses, similar the 2000 Ravens and 2002 Bucs, is that the discourtesy was better. This squad had Marshawn Lynch moving for 1,257 yards and 12 touchdowns earlier adding 288 yards and 4 much scores during the playoff run. Wilson averaged 8.2 yards per attempt, threw for 3,357 yards and added 539 much yards connected the ground, each portion making a sensibly-priced sedan (just nether $31,000) per game. Harvin and Sidney Rice, nominally the team's apical 2 wideouts connected insubstantial due to the fact that of their contracts, combined for 16 catches during the regular play due to the fact that of injuries. Golden Tate, Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse stepped successful and held their own.

You can't poke galore holes successful what this squad accomplished. The tally to the Super Bowl required a fourth-quarter comeback against the 49ers and a precocious interception by Malcolm Smith (via Sherman) to send them to the rubric game. There, the Seahawks delivered a show each spot arsenic ascendant arsenic the 1 we saw from the Eagles earlier this year, manhandling a Broncos team that came into the crippled disconnected a 606-point regular season. The Broncos snapped the shot into the extremity portion for a information connected the opening drawback and didn't get overmuch amended from there, arsenic they didn't person immoderate answers for Seattle's physicality. Denver's lone scoring thrust came portion trailing 36-0 successful the 3rd quarter.

The lone crushed this Seattle squad isn't No. 1? It was sloppy astatine times during the regular season. The Seahawks went to overtime to bushed the 2-14 Texans and the 4-12 Buccaneers, needed a goal-line halt connected the last drawback to bushed the 7-9 Rams and gave up 34 points to the Colts successful an early-season defeat astatine home. The discourtesy went missing successful a late-season loss to the Cardinals. This is nit-picking, but the margins astatine the precise apical are thin. This was a peculiar team, and I went backmost and distant with the thought of picking them to apical the list. Very narrowly, though, if I had to prime 1 squad to bushed them, I'd thin toward the champion mentation of the backmost and the franchise that got them to the Super Bowl the pursuing season.

1. 2007 New England Patriots (18-1)

Fate: Lost Super Bowl XLII to Giants 17-14
Offense: 99th percentile
Defense: 94th percentile

No, the best team of the past 25 years did not triumph a Super Bowl. Would this adjacent beryllium a statement if Asante Samuel caught that interception connected the last drive? If David Tyree didn't bring successful the Helmet Catch? Of people not. Samuel didn't and Tyree did, and it's wherefore these Patriots aren't the astir palmy squad of the past 25 years, adjacent if they came wrong moments of being the archetypal 19-0 squad successful league history.

We're utilizing however each squad played implicit the afloat play to measure their chances of winning successful a caller season, though, and there's nary contention there. Even if we origin successful what the Giants did during the playoffs and springiness them other recognition for beating the Patriots erstwhile it mattered most, that squad lost six times, including a 24-point loss to the Vikings with Tarvaris Jackson nether center. They lost to the Patriots successful Week 17 successful a crippled successful which they famously were trying their hardest to compete, adjacent with thing to play for. Those games besides substance successful evaluating their existent level of talent.

Over a afloat year, it's pugnacious to find a squad that tin realistically vie with the 2007 Pats, adjacent with Super Bowl wins connected their résumé. They were the lone one-loss squad of the era. They had the largest mean borderline of triumph (17.5 points) by much than a tract extremity implicit the next-best team. The 2000 Ravens were the lone squad with a amended pythagorean anticipation implicit the regular play and postseason combined.

You retrieve (or person heard about) the offense, but the defence wasn't excessively shabby, either. The Patriots ranked sixth successful EPA per play and 4th successful points allowed per drive. The defence contributed six touchdowns during the regular season, which seems astir unfair fixed what the discourtesy was doing connected a play basis. Getting to play from up arsenic often arsenic they did evidently made beingness easier for Mike Vrabel & Co., but adjacent with triumph probability constraints connected their show and measurement what they did erstwhile each squad had astatine slightest a 20% accidental of winning, New England ranked 4th successful third-down conversion complaint and QBR allowed.

The Patriots' docket ended up being tougher than you mightiness remember. Before the Giants loss, they won each 8 of their games against 10-plus triumph competition, prevailing by an mean of astir 2 touchdowns. Things were a small friendlier successful the postseason erstwhile they got to look a Chargers team without LaDainian Tomlinson for overmuch of the time portion Philip Rivers played done a torn ACL. The Super Bowl gave them the 4-seed successful the NFC, acknowledgment to the Giants knocking retired two 13-win teams on the way. That seemed casual until it wasn't.

To beryllium fair, the Patriots slipped a spot arsenic the play went along. They needed a fourth-quarter comeback to bushed an A.J. Feeley-led Eagles squad arsenic 24.5-point favorites successful Week 12, past immoderate questionable calls and a touchdown walk with 48 seconds to spell to apical a 5-11 Ravens squad the pursuing week. They weren't large against that compromised Chargers squad successful the AFC Championship Game, with Brady throwing 3 picks. And portion they mightiness person been unlucky to person the Giants autumn connected each 3 fumbles successful the Super Bowl, Tom Coughlin's squad bushed them up connected the enactment of scrimmage and was hardly fortunate to win.

I've already written astatine length astir the stylistic and schematic bequest of that 2007 team, truthful I won't reiterate each that again. I'm not considering aesthetic interaction here, but it's pugnacious to prime different squad that was much influential oregon striking connected the league to come. The 2007 Patriots did everything but triumph a Super Bowl. If you enactment them against each different squad connected this database connected a neutral field, I judge they're the squad that would instrumentality location a title.