Best Super Bowl runner-up

The 72 Redskins posted an NFC-best 11-3 regular season record but ran headlong into the perfect Dolphins.

The 74 Vikings had the Purple People Eaters defense, which held opponents to a total of 24 points in the NFC playoffs, and Fran Tarkenton (2598 yards, 17 TDs).

The 78 Cowboys had the league's top-rated QB in Staubach (3190 yards, 25 TDs), Tony Dorsett and the Doomsday Defense.

The 1981 Bengals had the best record in the AFC (12-4), the league's top-rated QB in Ken Anderson, Chris Collinsworth catching for 1009 yards as a rookie, a defense that didn't give up more than 30 points in the regular or postseason and outgained the 49ers 356 yards to 275 (the 5 turnovers were killers).

The Bills ... well, you remember them. Thurman Thomas, Machine Gun Kelly, James Lofton, Andre Reed, the K-Gun offense, Cornelius Bennett, Daryl Talley and Shane Conlan, among others.

The 2001 Rams ... 14-2 record, vastly improved defense over their teams of the past two years (one of which won a Super Bowl), Marshall Faulk (Offensive Player of the Year for the third straight season) ... but ran into Tom Brady.

The 2004 Eagles finally made the big game after losing three straight conference championships. McNabb had 3,875 passing yards and 31 TDs, Tee Oh came in from Frisco at receiver (and they hated each other), three standouts in the defensive front seven (Jeremiah Trotter, Corey Smion, Jevon Kearse), and three of four defensive backs who went to that year's Pro Bowl (Lito Sheppard, Brian Dawkins, Michael Lewis).

So pick one.

 

What, no '84 Dolphins? (Hi Columbo)

 

You mean the team that only rushed for 25 yards against the 49ers while showing off a defense that gave up 537 yards? Nah ... they didn't make the cut. Best part of that game was Teri Hatcher in her days as a 49ers cheerleader.

 

The 1997 Packers. Gabe Wilkins and Antonio Freeman (dropped pass inside the 20 on final drive) can bite me

 

I went with the Bills. So dominant, but kept running into that Cowboys team that is one of the best teams of all-time. (yes, I know they played other teams in the Super Bowl)

 

Gotta go with the 1990 Bills. I think the Bills were underdogs the next three years, but that '90 offense was brilliant. It's easy to forget they throttled the Raiders 51-3 a week earlier in the AFC title game. That Super Bowl was supposed to be a 60-minute coronation.

 

1978 Cowboys. Defending champ, Hall of Famers on offense and defense.

 

Had Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas (but Kelly moreso) not sucked so bad, James Lofton would have been MVP and the Bills would have beaten the Redskins after the '91 season.

 

Don't mind me... I was just dragging in a foolish argument from another thread. The '84 Dolphins aren't even close to the '78 Cowboys or any of the others listed.

 

'90 Bills

 

1. 1978 Cowboys
2. 1990 Bills
3. 1984 Dolphins
4. 1983 Redskins
5. 2001 Rams

 

I had voted '78 cowboys, but I hadn't realized that the Bengals were a stunning 116 games over .500.